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  She grabbed his head and pressed her lips to his, sliding her tongue into his mouth.

  Holy shit! Even her kisses were off the charts.

  “Okay. Good to know.” He cupped her chin. “We’ve got most of an hour before the helo gets here. I think I know a good way to pass the time, right?”

  “Yes.” She wriggled against his cock. “I want this. With you.”

  He locked his gaze with hers for a long moment, but he felt a little better about this now. “Good. I want this, too.”

  The time for talking was over. Rocket set Mallory aside so he could strip off his fatigues and lay them on the floor to give her as much protection from the dirt as possible. He thought about leaving his boxer briefs on, then figured, what for?

  When he turned around, Mallory had kicked off her shoes and stripped off her jeans. She looked at him as she eased her bikini panties down her legs, giving a sexy wiggle. Was it possible for him to get any harder? If he did, his dick might just break off. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her toned legs, her nicely rounded butt and the trimmed patch of auburn hair that covered her sex. His mouth watered as he imagined her sweet taste.

  They were lying on the floor, naked bodies pressed together, the heat of her sex scorching him, when his brain kicked into gear.

  Shit!

  “Mallory?”

  “I thought we were done talking.” She wriggled beneath him.

  “Yeah, well, I have to tell you this.”

  She frowned up at him. “A confession? Now?”

  “Uh-huh. I, uh, don’t have any condoms with me.”

  She burst out laughing. “I already figured that. You’re on a mission, not a night out. No sweat. I’m on birth control.”

  “And I’m clean,” he assured her. “I get tested regularly.”

  He didn’t want to tell her it was a leftover from his days as an extreme horndog. He waited for her to say something, but instead she pulled his head down to hers and licked his lips. Her tongue was like a hot flame, scorching him clear to his balls. He held her head in place as he licked every inch of her mouth before trailing his tongue along her chin and down her neck. He pressed the tip of his tongue against the hollow of her throat, feeling the strong beat of her pulse, before moving down the smooth skin between her breasts. He loved the feel of them against his hands as he palmed them and rolled the nipples between thumb and forefinger.

  Mallory moaned, a soft, sensuous sound as he trailed his mouth down over the slight curve of her stomach until he reached that gorgeous thatch of auburn hair. He slid his arms beneath her thighs so he could place them over his shoulders and used his thumbs to separate the plump lips of her sex. The pink bud of her clit peeped out at him and he couldn’t resist stroking it with his tongue.

  Mallory shivered and lifted her hips, raising herself closer to his mouth. Shit, she tasted like the sweetest sin, a flavor that he had a feeling he could become totally addicted to. He traced the delicate skin on either side of her clit with slow licks, stopping to nibble that little bud every few seconds. Each time he did, she made such a delicious sound that his hunger spiked even more, and she tried to lift herself to his mouth. The painful ache in his dick and his balls told him he was closer than he would have liked. He wanted to make sure she got her orgasm before he lost all control.

  Nudging her thighs farther apart, he slid two fingers into her soaked channel, humming his satisfaction as her inner walls tightened around them. Her eyes were closed and her face flushed with pleasure, obvious even in the dim light of the cave. The little sounds she made aroused him even more. When he added a third finger, she planted her feet on either side of him and pushed herself into his touch.

  “Don’t stop,” she begged.

  He gave a low, throaty chuckle. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of stopping.”

  As he increased the pressure, he curled his fingers slightly so that with each glide, he scraped lightly against her sweet spot. She pushed against his hand harder and harder, riding it, her little moans making him impossibly more aroused.

  Her orgasm rolled through her, tightening her body, her inner walls fucking his fingers. He thrust again, pinched her clit…and she came, making those delicious tiny sounds as her liquid coated his hand.

  At last the shivers subsided, the groans of pleasure became softer and her body relaxed slightly. But he was almost at the breaking point, drinking in the sight of Mallory lying naked and flushed on the floor. He was so aroused by this time that he had to grit his teeth and reach for control.

  Then he was on his knees between her thighs, lifting her legs to rest on his shoulders so her hips were raised. She was open to him and he could not wait another minute. With his fingers wrapped around his throbbing dick, he positioned the head at the opening of her sex, drew in a breath and thrust forward. Her hot, wet flesh gripped him like a vise, the electricity of it shooting straight to his balls.

  Oh, sweet Jesus!

  He didn’t remember the last time he’d fucked where his cock was bare. The sweet feel of her skin and her liquid sent him into overdrive. He closed his eyes for a moment to gather himself. Then, with his palms beneath the cheeks of her incredible ass, he began the familiar rhythm. It didn’t matter that they were in this cave, his clothes spread out as a shield on the dirt floor, or that the light was so dim he couldn’t see every inch of her the way he wanted to. All that mattered was that this delicious, hot woman was here and he was having the best sex of his life with her.

  She grabbed his forearms, digging in her nails as she moved with him. They fell into a rhythm as if they’d been doing this forever, as if their bodies were used to it. Every one of his nerves was on fire. In, out, back, forth…he wanted to make it good for her, but his control was snapping.

  “I can’t last much longer,” he gasped, “although I’m trying, babe. I really am.”

  “I’m almost—almost—yes!”

  He felt the surge of her second orgasm and the clenching of her walls just as he exploded. Their bodies throbbed together, spasming, her tight sex pulsing around his shaft. On and on it went, beyond anything he expected, until finally the last tremor faded. He managed to lower her legs to the ground and fell forward, catching himself on his elbows. He studied her face, seeing the satisfied glow and the look in her eyes. His heart was still beating erratically and hers matched the rhythm.

  For a long time, they just lay there like that, staring at each other as if exchanging silent conversation. Then he lowered his mouth to hers and indulged in a deep, deep kiss. And when the last of the tension finally left both their bodies, he eased his cock from her grasp and sat back on his heels. Fishing in the pocket of his pants, he pulled out the bandana he used to wipe sweat from his face and cleaned both of them.

  “We’ll both need a good shower after this.” He chuckled, but then his face sobered. “Mallory, I—”

  She reached up a hand to touch his lips with her fingers. “Don’t. Do not say a word. Don’t ruin it. Please.”

  “But I should—”

  “No.” She shook her head. “It was special and let’s keep it that way.”

  Rocket had no idea where the conversation would have gone from there, but at that moment his radio squawked. “Rocketman here.”

  “Helo is four clicks away,” came the voice from the command center. “Get ready. How copy?”

  “Good copy.” He clicked off and looked at Mallory. “Time to get ready.”

  They dressed in silence, brushing off as much dirt from their bodies and their clothes as they could. Before they left the cave, he pulled her into his arms for one last kiss, as tender as it was erotic.

  “Just so you know,” he told her when he lifted his mouth from hers, “I’m never going to forget this, Mallory.”

  “Me neither, Rocket.” She brushed her lips against his. “By the way, where did your call sign come from?”

  He grinned. “We’ll save that for another time. Because I’m sure, no matter how long
it takes, there will be one.”

  “I’ll hold you to it.”

  “And now we’d better get out there so the helo can see us.”

  He checked the immediate area outside the cave before motioning her forward. Just as she stepped outside, Rocket heard the sound of the rotors and the helo lowered to the plateau just outside the cave. Rocket grabbed Mallory’s hand and they ran for the door one of the men inside was just sliding open. Rocket boosted her inside before grabbing for the hands that hauled him up.

  Then they were airborne.

  As the chopper cut through the night, Rocket quietly studied Mallory. Was she glowing or was that his imagination? Could the others in the helo look at her—or him—and guess what had taken place? As he studied her, as casually as possible, she glanced over at him and their gazes locked. For one moment, heat flashed, then she looked away. He’d broken protocol with her, but he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it. What the hell, anyway. He’d never see her again, and that actually saddened him.

  When they finally reached the field camp and Mallory was helped down out of the helo, two men came running forward to hurry her off. Rocket watched, and at the last minute before being hustled into a car, she turned and waved.

  Then she was gone, and for a long moment, Rocket wondered if the whole thing had even happened at all.

  Chapter Two

  Five years later

  “This is Senator Alicia Kane. I believe you know my sister, Mallory. I’d like to book a trip to nowhere.”

  Rocket listened to the message that had been left on his phone, wondering if he was imagining it. He’d just turned the phone back on after they’d all left the plane and headed home. He never had it on when he was involved in a case because it distracted him from what he was doing. He had only brought it to life after settling in the passenger seat of his partner Blaze Hamilton’s truck, and was looking forward to a lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Maybe catching the Tampa Bay Rays on television. But all that had flown right out of his head when he’d seen Mallory Kane’s name.

  At least until he got Alicia Kane’s call.

  And that sentence, the one people used when they wanted to meet Galaxy and hire them.

  Mallory Kane. He hadn’t heard that name in five years, but he couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about her. In point of fact, she’d occupied his mind way too much. The image of her warm, naked body flashed in his brain again, and the remembered feel of her slick channel squeezing his cock surged through him. Somehow or other, he could never completely get her out of his brain. To the extent that he’d taken to reading her books, admiring her skill as a writer and researcher while damning that need to jump into dangerous situations.

  She was the only woman he’d ever been with whose memory hadn’t disappeared with time. Instead, it had grown stronger, sometimes haunting him when he was very tired, and other times driving him to the shower for icy water and his good right hand. Or it popped up in the kind of dreams he hadn’t had since he was a horny teenager. He’d done his best to submerge those thoughts. Being a SEAL had been his life then and, as with his partners, there’d been no room for anything except the most casual connections. Long-term relationships were just not in his wheelhouse.

  But now, although immersed in Galaxy, two of those partners had found the women they wanted to spend their lives with. Both Blaze and Viper were on schedule to be married in the next few months. And now Mallory might be in his life again, putting her image front and center in his brain. And his dick was shouting Hooray! But more than that, maybe if they connected through this, they could explore the thread of something that had been between them, even for such a short time.

  Depending on what her crisis is, he reminded himself. And was he even open to that?

  Blowing out a breath, he played the rest of the message. He hadn’t heard about a situation in Santa Marita before now. For one thing, it wasn’t a place that stood out on people’s radar. He’d barely even heard of it. For another, Galaxy had been immersed in one high-value, high-tension case right after another, and was now coming up for air, looking for some breathing room.

  And now, just hearing Mallory’s name, every drop of testosterone in his body began surging through him.

  Can it, asshole. This call has to mean she’s in trouble, not that she’s lying naked on a bed waiting for you. Damn it! You’re a professional. Act like it.

  The cryptic message left on his cell phone had two questions colliding in Rocket’s brain. One, what kind of situation had Mallory Kane gotten herself into now, and two, how had Senator Alicia Kane gotten his number? Of course, a powerful senator like her could probably find out anything she wanted to. Still, it wasn’t as if they advertised or were in some kind of directory.

  It was late morning, they were all tired from the situation they’d just resolved and he was sure everyone just wanted lunch, a beer and to veg out for twenty-four hours. Of course, Blaze was going home to Peyton just as Viper was headed off to Hannah. They’d no doubt do a different kind of ‘vegging out’. He could probably put this off until tomorrow, but he already knew he wouldn’t. He hadn’t seen Mallory Kane in five years, but just the sound of her name woke up his brain and his body.

  He listened to the rest of the message again.

  “Mallory is in trouble.” Pause. “Again. And she needs your help. Please call me back at this number.”

  He sat holding the phone for a long moment, letting the message run around in his head.

  “Client?”

  Scott ‘Blaze’ Hamilton glanced over at him from behind the wheel of his truck. They were heading home from the hangar where their Gulfstream 550 was kept.

  “Maybe. Senator Alicia Kane.”

  “Whoa. Big-time, right?”

  Rocket nodded, although the senator wasn’t the first big-name client in Galaxy’s portfolio. Their specialized ‘We are your last resort’ agency, which also included Matt ‘Viper’ Roman and Vic ‘Eagle’ Bodine, had just finished a special job for their attorney and very good friend, Tom Hernandez. Rocket had definitely been looking forward to some down time, but he knew there was no way he could turn away if Mallory was in trouble. But what kind? It had to be pretty bad for the senator to find them and reach out to them. He was sure she knew nothing about what had gone on between him and Mallory, so Galaxy’s reputation must be spreading.

  “Well?” Scott glanced sideways at him. “You going to call her back?”

  “We just came off a big case,” he reminded his friend and partner. “And lord only knows what trouble this is.”

  “I think for a senator we can get it together. That’s a nice connection to have. Just like the one Peyton has that helped us twice.”

  “True. Well, at the very least, I’ll return her call and arrange to meet with her. Then we can decide.”

  “It isn’t every day we get a call from a United States senator.” He pulled off the Interstate and into the neighborhood where Rocket lived. “Good idea to call her back. Wait. Mallory Kane. Wasn’t your SEAL Team involved in a mission to rescue her before you got out?” He glanced sideways at Rocket. “Is there something about Mallory we should know? Did something happen on your team’s mission to rescue her five years ago that we should know about?”

  Yes. We hid in a cave and fucked our brains out while we waited for extraction.

  “No, it’s fine.” He cleared his throat. He sure wasn’t about to spill what had happened to his partners. It was ancient history, anyway. He and Mallory had not had any contact in five years, so what was there to tell?

  “Well?”

  “Yes. I remember Mallory and yes, I’m going to call the senator back. Right now.”

  He found the number and hit Redial, putting the conversation on speakerphone. It only rang twice before it was answered.

  “Who is calling?”

  Not hello, just…who is this?

  “This is John Hardin. You left a message for me.”

  “Yes, I did. Sorry, the
number is blocked so I didn’t know who was calling. This is my personal cell and not too many people have the number. Thank you for calling me back.”

  He let out a breath. “Okay. Sorry I couldn’t call before, but we were in the middle of an op.”

  “Understood. I’m told you and your partners have an—unusual—company.”

  “Effective,” he corrected. “And we take the jobs no one else can do.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  He wanted to ask who she’d heard it from, but he wanted to get to the topic at hand more than that.

  “Tell me what the deal is with Mallory?”

  “I won’t beat around the bush,” the senator told him. “I worried about calling you because Mallory never gave indication if you two parted as friends or enemies after you rescued her. But I don’t believe there is anyone else who can help her. I flew in from Washington early this morning. I figured if I was already in town, you couldn’t refuse to see me, but when I didn’t hear back from you right away I wondered if it was a useless trip. I am desperate here.”

  Rocket was beginning to get an idea of what was going on and his gut tightened. What is it with a woman who chooses to put herself in danger?

  “I was away on business. We just got back a little while ago. Why don’t you tell me what’s up and we can go from there?”

  “I’d rather meet with you in person.” She paused. “I’m not playing games or stalling, but even if these phones are secure, I’d feel safer if I could tell you face to face.”

  He thought for a moment, turning it over in his mind, but in his gut he knew what his answer would be.

  “Are you up for a little plane ride?”