STORY EXCERPT

“Cutter, what do you need us to do?”

“Get to the bar, find out if the feed was cut accidentally or on purpose. Back up those asswipes guarding Piper, too. I’m going to go do a little shopping at the General’s favorite store, and then will meet you there. We will be rewiring the entire fucking bar, tonight.”

Connor, though he remained silent, was still a smartass at heart. He snapped to attention, threw up a jaunty salute, and then spun off to march out of the room.

Grabbing the gun magazine from Cutter, he clicked his tongue. “Uh, no. You want to throw gun parts at him, you go and get some of your own,” he told the other man. “While you’re at it, go and find a fucking Valium, or something.”

Earning a glare from Cutter had him rolling his eyes. “Please, that’s fucking foreplay for me. And you’re not my type. Go, get what you need, we’ll meet you at the bar.”

He waited until Cutter stormed off before setting the magazine back down. “Sorry, baby, we’ll have to finish up later.” Carefully wrapping all the parts up, Markham eased everything into the case, shut, and locked it tight. While he trusted each man he’d worked with both out in the field and on home turf with his life, a sniper’s weapon was sacred. No one touched it and lived. Not for long, anyway.

* * * *

“Piper, baby, we’re here to save the day,” Connor called as soon as they arrived at the bar. “We even left the bear at home for the time being. So get your perky little ass out here, and tell us how much you love us.”

“She’s likely in the office, where he told her to go, you idiot. Go and let her know we’re here. No video feed, remember?” He pointed to the camera over the bar.

“Oh, right.” Conner shot him a grin, and then nodded to the bartender. “Patty, looking as delectable as always. Piper back in her office?” At her nod, he shot her a megawatt grin, and headed into the back of the bar.

Sighing, Markham eased onto a stool at the bar and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why they insist I take him out anywhere. He’s like a three year old after a visit to the grandparents’ house. You know he’s been fed nothing but sugar, and won’t come down for days. All. The. Time.”

“That’s my seat, buddy,” someone growled in his ear.

“I didn’t see your name on it,” he said in reply. “And I definitely know you weren’t sitting on it, otherwise I wouldn’t be.”

“That’s my seat, move it.”

“Sorry,” he said to Patty. Then he stood and turned around. “Back the fuck off, now. Or I will make you. And given how my day is going, if you only end up going to the hospital you’ll be counting yourself lucky,” he said, looking down into the shorter man’s eyes.

The asshole actually had the nerve to push him. Not that it did any good, Markham didn’t even budge an inch. What he did do was grab the guys hand, twist it, and jerk him around so he was facedown on the bar with his arm cranked up nice and high behind his back.

“Do you want to find out how much pressure it takes to pop that joint out of place? Cause I’m all for giving you, and any other asshole in here, a demonstration. Like I said, it’s been one of those days.”

“Let me go, fucker! I’ll sue your ass! I’ll sue you, and the fucking whore that runs this place!”

That had Markham seeing red. Unlike the others, though, his temper ran into subzero temperatures. “Patty, would you mind calling the police for me, please? I’m going to get this piece of trash out of here and leave him on the curb for them to collect. Have Rusty meet me out front so he can sit on this jerk off too if you wouldn’t mind.”

He threw her a quick look. “Patty? You okay?” he asked her softly. She was oddly silent as she stared at him. “Hey, Patty. Hi,” he said when she blinked at him. “Call the police, please. Tell them we have a rowdy, belligerent customer that is being forcibly removed from the premises. That the owner will be pressing charges against him for, hell, being an asshole. Have them send a car by to collect him. Then ask Rusty to meet me out front. Okay?” he asked her softly. She looked oddly pale.

Keeping the guys arm screwed up behind him, Markham grabbed the collar of his jacket, and pulled him onto his feet. Then he hustled him out a side door, and into the alley. The guy might, or might not, make it to the curb without “tripping” a time or three. If he was really, really lucky.

ADULT EXCERPT

She leaned up and pulled him to her, her lips meeting his halfway, and kissed him as if her life depended on it.

He met her urgency with some of his own. Pressing her back down into the bedding, his body eased over hers, hot flesh sliding to her own. A growl sounded deep in his throat, the vibrations rubbing her nipples just right.

When she pulled apart from him, she was panting. “Please god tell me that you have a condom with you.” She didn’t have any for obvious reasons, and she prayed that he did because if not she might just scream in frustration.

“Of course I do,” he said. He lifted a hand, and with a flick of his fingers he showed her the condom he held. Pressing it into her hand, he kissed her again, biting and tugging on her lower lip gently. “I also have a couple spares should you feel energetic.”

“Oh, I love how you think,” she said with a grin. “I think that we might have to use those spares before we give in and fall into an exhausted sleep. If you are up for it, that is,” she teased him with her fingers running over his shoulders, up his neck, and to his cheeks. “I need you, Slater.”

“I think I’ll manage,” he said softly. He pressed a kiss to her lips gently, a hand stroking down over her side, her hip, and her leg. He changed direction when he got to her knee, his fingers sliding up her inner thigh until he was close to her pussy. Slowly he brushed his fingers to her folds, slipping one between them to rub through the moisture pooling there. “So wet,” he breathed out.

“I seem to be in a constant wet state when you are around. I even began to bring extra panties to work when I knew you or Connor would be coming by.” She wished she was just fibbing to him, but she was being completely honest. She would just see them, they would tease her, and her pussy would become so wet she literally had to change panties. Often.

“That explains a lot,” he said softly. A soft chuckle from him, deep and rough sounding, surprised her. “I’ve watched you bend over from time to time. I thought it was just a trick of the lighting that made your panties appear to be different colors. Now I know I don’t need to have my eyes examined.” Nipping at her chin, he began to stroke her clit with a rough finger.

“Oh god.” She moaned and braced a foot to the bed to lift her ass up to meet his fingers halfway. “That feels so fucking good.” She had her eyes half closed and need was all but screaming through her body. “Please. More,” she begged him.

“More?” he asked. At her whimper, he slid his finger down slowly to rub around her opening. Then, in a move designed to make her toes curl, he thrust two fingers deep into her pussy, his thumb pressing down on her clit.

“Slater.” She cried his name out now. Her eyes closed and whole body shuddered. “Please.” Oh God, she was never going to survive this delightfully amazing torture, but she couldn’t think of a better way to go, truth be told. “Again.” It was a demand, not a request.

His breath was hot against her neck. Slowly at first, he began to thrust his fingers in and out of her pussy. He curled them as they slid in deep, rubbing over the nerve bundle inside of her, causing little quakes to begin to rock her body.

“Oh lord.” Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him. She was whimpering, she was pleading for him to give her more, to do more. “Slater, please.” Each time she went to touch him, he shifted out of her way. Every time she tried to wrap her hand around his cock he would move just slightly out of her way so she couldn’t, and it was driving her nuts.