STORY EXCERPT

Cali Devereaux needed a vacation and, in less than twenty-four hours, she was going to get it. She ran through her mental checklist as she packed, making sure she had all the necessities and not-so-necessities for two weeks of soaking up the rays in the Florida Keys. Her bikinis ranked top of that list and were the first things she’d packed. Her top clothes were all shorts and tank tops. She considered that decision as she moved to her open closet and sifted through the hanging clothes. Maybe she should take a sexy dress or two with her in the event she met a tall, dark, and handsome man who was up for a two week hot and easy fling.

Smiling, her belly jittery with excitement, and her nipples beading at the possibility, she selected a few of her favorite dresses and pulled them off the hangers just as her cell phone rang. A quick glance at the screen informed her of her caller.

“I promise I didn’t forget to pack the sunscreen, Aunt Constance,” she said in lieu of a greeting.

“Cali, your uncle has been kidnapped.”

Cali froze, certain she hadn’t heard her aunt right. “What?”

“Vincent is missing.”

Okay, so she had heard right and, just like that, her internal switch flipped from her upcoming vacation in the Florida Keys to full-blown NYPD Detective mode. Her aunt wasn’t the type of person to panic over nothing. “What happened? What makes you think he’s been kidnapped?”

“I was starting to get worried because he was supposed to come home early so we could get ready for a dinner party we were supposed to attend tonight. I called the office and was told he never made it to work today.”

Cali tossed the dresses on the bed, her grip on the phone tightening as the first sliver of fear raced through her. Her uncle Vincent hadn’t missed a day of work in probably twenty years. “Have you called his cell?” It was a stupid question—of course, that would’ve been her aunt’s next move—but she needed to cover all the basis.

“He didn’t answer. I drove by the coffee shop and, Cali—” Constance’s voice wobbled. “His car is still in the parking lot.”

Cali’s blood turned to ice. Her uncle stopped at the coffee shop on Main every morning on his way to work.

“I found an employee who was working a double shift. She said he came in this morning like always and left with a tall man with blond hair. He’s told me about some man who has been making him uncomfortable at the coffee shop for about a week now. Every morning, this man has been sitting with him. Vincent said the guy came up to him the first day, sparked a friendly conversation, and took it upon himself to sit down. He’s been doing that ever since, but Vincent said the conversations were shifting from friendly chitchat to subjects about the government, the military, and weapons. Some of the things he said to Vincent made him start to think the guy is some kind of terrorist.”

“Oh, God.” Cali’s uncle worked for the Defense Advance Research Agency, a company that specialized in creating weapons that were supplied to the U.S. Military. Her uncle’s knowledge and research would be the sweetest of candies to a terrorist.

“There’s more, Cali,” her aunt went on, obviously trying to maintain her composure. “He did come back home sometime today. The laptop was open in the office. I watched him close it last night before we went to bed. He’d left the thumb drive he keeps to backup his research plugged into the port. I remember seeing it, but it’s not there now.”

Cali turned, her gaze landing on the high heels she’d kicked off just inside the bedroom door when she’d gotten home from the precinct. “I’m coming over. We need to go straight to the FBI with this. We’ll call them together.”

“No, Cali,” her aunt’s voice was suddenly steady and firm. “You need to go to Gabe.”

Cali teetered on the one heel she’d slipped on before her aunt made that announcement, her free hand flying out to flatten on the wall for balance. “You want me to contact Gabe?”

“I want you to go to Gabe. You know where he is. You said he’s working for some kind of counter-terrorist agency, right?”

“The ETDF.” The Elite Terrorist Defense Force was an agency formed and operated independently of government protocol, taking on missions the sanctioned agencies couldn’t. The FBI truly should be their first step, but Cali knew the operatives who worked for the ETDF were even more skilled at combating terrorism than anyone the FBI had on their payroll.

“Make up a reason why you’re going to him directly,” her aunt instructed. “Get him to find Vincent, Cali. Don’t tell Gabe about me.” Her voice wobbled again. “He might not help if he knows you’re my niece now.”

Cali had been trying to convince her aunt to get in touch with Gabe for years, but Constance had refused. Now, Gabe was exactly where Constance was sending her. Cali knew where to find him, knew he had been a weapons specialist with the SEALs before he’d been recruited by the ETDF, and had a feeling her aunt was right. If she told Gabe Constance was her aunt, he very likely wouldn’t help them.

“Okay. I’ll call and change my flight.” She could be in Pleasure, Tennessee in two and a half hours by plane rather than the twelve and a half it would take her to drive. She would have to put off her fantasies of meeting that tall, dark, and handsome man in the Florida Keys for a two week hot and easy fling. Then again, from the pictures she’d managed to dig up on Gabe Wilson, she couldn’t deny that he fit the TDH bill to perfection. “After I do, I’m going to call you back. I need to you to tell me anything and everything else Uncle Vincent has told you about the man we think took him.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“You’re thinkin’ again, darlin’.” Jimmy released her waist with one hand to cup her cheek and lift her face to meet his gaze. “And, you’re not thinkin’ about the right answer.”

“Yes, I was.” Her words were barely a whisper, but she knew he heard them because he shook his head. 

“You’re thinkin’ it would be wrong given the current circumstances.” How did he know? Was she really that transparent? “How can it be wrong when you know it’s felt right since the three of us met?”

Damn the man. She couldn’t argue with him no matter how badly she wanted to. She didn’t understand the feeling she got with him and Gabe. It had been instantaneous, overwhelming, massively powerful, and not even an ounce of it had dimmed at all. It would be sex, nothing more. It would be a momentary escape. She could handle that, couldn’t she?

“Yes, I want that.” Her words were a bit louder this time, though no less breathy. They rang with a certainty, too, that surprised her. Except, she was certain. She did want them, to give herself to them, and explore the lust that had been building to an explosion ever since the three of them had met.

Gabe’s lips had traveled to the side of her neck when Jimmy had lifted her head. She felt them unfold in a grin against her flesh. More wetness seeped from between her folds, soaking her panties, as she felt that smile. Her pussy burned for an attention it hadn’t gotten in so very long. She felt the ridged length of his cock flex against the small of her back and couldn’t resist the urge to grind against it. The move made both men growl and elicited a low moan from her own lips because they had sandwiched her so tightly between them that she not only ground her body against Gabe’s cock, but Jimmy’s got the attention, too.

“Christ.” Jimmy stared down at her, his bedroom blues turning the color of dark sapphires. “You keep that up and you’re going to get more than you bargain for, darlin’.”

Gabe nipped her earlobe, sending electric sparks of need charging through her system. “Have you ever been with two men at the same time, sugar?”

“No.” The word quivered as it escaped her lips, sudden nerves twisting with the desires coursing through her.

“We’ll take it easy on you tonight.” Jimmy dipped his head, bumped the tip of his nose to hers, and then brushed his lips lightly over her mouth. “You’re not allowed to think, only to feel. Do you understand, darlin’?”

Feel. So far, she wasn’t having any problem with that one. She felt the heat of both their bodies surrounding her, thickening the air, and making it difficult to breathe. She felt the muscles in Gabe’s chest flex against her back as his arms slid around her, his hands gliding to her elbows. His long fingers closed around her upper forearms, tugged, and guided her arms until they were behind her back. He held her wrists in a firm grip as he nipped her earlobe again and sent more of those electric sparks ping-ponging through her body.

“We’re going to pleasure you,” Gabe whispered gruffly in her ear. “Give yourself to us, let us take control, and we’ll give your sexy body a satisfaction it’s never felt before.”

They already were, and they had barely started yet. Jimmy skimped his large hands up her sides and dragged down again in a caress that had every nerve ending sizzling with pent-up desire.

“Are you givin’ yourself to us, Cali?”

“Yes.” The word morphed to a breathy moan when Gabe licked his way down the side of her neck. Her head leaned away from his mouth on its own accord, giving him more flesh to explore.

Gabe nipped the muscle, drawing another moan from her throat, and shifted behind her. He adjusted his hold on her wrists, caging them in one hand, and she had only a moment to wonder what he was doing before she heard the clink of metal.

“You found my handcuffs?”

“I pulled open the desk drawer to look for an ink pen and found them inside.” She shivered when he closed the cuffs around her wrists, the cool metal a direct contrast to the heat radiating through her system. “Thank you for making a toy so easy for me to find.”

She let out a breathy laugh at the amusement in his voice. “It wasn’t intentional, but I suppose you’re welcome.” The handcuffs were an extra set she’d stashed in the drawer a long time ago and had all but forgotten about them, never expecting them to become a sex toy.

Gabe moved in closer behind her again and dragged his hands down her shoulders. Her hands were now resting on the front of his thighs. She needed only to lift them and she would have his jean-clad cock in her hand.

Her nipples beaded to hardened points, pressing more firmly and demandingly against the solid sinews of Jimmy’s chest. He dipped his head, his lips hovering over hers, the warmth of his breath fanning her flesh and sending embers of heated promises raining through her body. He shifted his weight, the move putting one of his legs between hers, and he lifted his thigh to press against her pussy.

That slight pressure to her heated cunt stole her sanity. They’d said they would be in control, but they were giving her too much leeway right now. This might be her only chance to make use of it. With that in mind, she lifted her hands and covered the enormous bulge of Gabe’s cock even as she closed the scant distance between her mouth and Jimmy’s.

She tasted Jimmy’s surprise for all of a half second. Then he was kissing her back and, oh, God, he tasted so freaking spectacular. He allowed her to rule the kiss for only a moment before he assumed control. His tongue explored her mouth, pressed against hers, and she melted between him and Gabe in full surrender.