Page 93 of Final Exit

“Getting there.” She grasped his shoulders, balancing her calves against his thighs, and lowered herself more fully onto him. “You weren’t kidding about the shoe size, were you?”

He groaned and rested his forehead against hers. “Do you want me to stop?”

“Are you freaking kidding? Don’t you dare. You’re every woman’s dream.”

His shoulders shook with laughter until she gyrated her hips, pulling him deeper inside. He sucked in a breath, then pushed deeper. Her body had finally adjusted, the discomfort replaced with a pleasure so intense she spasmed against him.

And just like that, he became the wild lover she’d craved from the moment he’d begun this delicious dance with her. He rocked against her, pulling her down onto him, pushing deeper, and deeper, filling her as she’d never been filled.

He transported her to another place, a world filled with love and passion, where there weren’t any bad guys waiting to hurt anyone. He took her to a world where her friends never died. He took her to heaven.

The intensity of her climax shook her entire body, a wildfire of pleasure roaring across every nerve ending, bowing her back, thrusting her breasts forward. He greedily took what she unwittingly offered, suckling her while his hands molded her bottom and he drove in powerful thrusts that had her climaxing all over again.

He shoved deep inside her again and again until he tumbled over the edge with her. When he shouted her name, she didn’t think anything could have ever sounded so sweet.

Bailey lay on her side in the bed, her legs tangled with Kade’s as she watched him sleep. The moonlight shined through the tops of the plantation shutters just enough to let her see his face, so handsome, relaxed, with no worry frowns marring his brow. His long lashes formed dark crescents on his cheeks. And for once, there were no winces, no intakes of breath that she was so used to whenever the muscles cramped in his hurt leg. He was resting peacefully, and so beautiful her heart melted.

Awake, Kade was incredible.

Asleep, he was devastating.

It was five in the morning. They’d made love twice more since that explosive, surreal first time that she would always treasure and never, ever forget. Then they’d sunk into an exhausted sleep. But Bailey had been restless, waking up just a few hours later.

Because she was afraid.

Never before had she dreaded an assignment, a mission, or a task given to her. She was confident in her abilities, at peace with whatever plans she’d made. But she was realistic, too. No one was perfect. Everyone made mistakes. And she’d accepted long ago that she might make a mistake one day during a mission that would cost her her life. The thought of dying had never bothered her. And it still didn’t. But the thought of Kade dying tore her up inside. For the first time in her life, she was terrified about an upcoming mission. Because for the first time in her life, she had something—someone—to lose.

Chapter Twenty-two

Friday, 6:15 p.m.

What Bailey and the others hoped would be the final assault on EXIT Inc. was about to begin. She tugged at the harness strapped to her body and looked past Kade to the others, standing in small groups on the field putting on their harnesses.

Austin stood with Devlin, deep in conversation. He’d surprised them all this morning bywalkinginto Mason’s dining room instead of using his wheelchair. Apparently he’d been working with his therapist on the side and was finally ready to try out his brand-new prosthetics.

Of course, his hope had been to accompany everyone on the raid. But after a heated argument with his brother, he’d finally conceded that he could become a liability if there were any issues with the prosthetics. So he would stay behind and do what he did best, logistics. Anything the team needed, from weapons to far larger equipment, he would wheel and deal with the devil if necessary to ensure they had it. Which apparently included today’s mode of transportation.

Bailey tugged at the harness again.

“You’re going to wear that out if you keep pulling on it,” Kade teased.

She blinked. “Really? Maybe I need a new one then.”

“Bad joke. Forget I said that. Trust me, you’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You know I’ve been taking care of myself for years now, right?”

He pressed a whisper-soft kiss against her lips. “Humor me. I like to pretend that you need me.”

She shivered and pulled him down for a much more thorough kiss.

“I do need you,” she whispered.

His eyes darkened at her words, much as they had darkened last night each time they’d made love. She immediately regretted her teasing and looked down at her harness, pretending to check it one more time.

Somehow she had to stop getting caught up in the moment with him, stop making him think they were a couple. Because lying on the bed for hours this morning worrying and thinking, had finally revealed the truth to her—that she was kidding herself if she believed that she and Kade could ever be anything more... permanent.

No matter how she looked at the future after EXIT—assuming they even survived—she couldn’t picture herself as the wife, or even girlfriend, of an FBI agent. For one thing, how could Kade continue to do his job post-Faegan and pass the scrutiny of security clearance investigations when the woman he was with had a fake past? Would it stand up to the kind of scrutiny the FBI would put on it? If even a hint of her past work for EXIT surfaced, it would ruin everything.

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