“So hard, Jude. I need it,” she said, desire coating her words, making them thick in her throat.
“I’m going to give it all to you,” he replied, following her down as he laid her on the small bed.
He was inside her as soon as she parted her legs, sliding home with a groan.
“God,” she prayed reverently. “I love you, Jude.”
His response was to push deeper, forcing her body up the bed with the sensual ferocity of his thrusts.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, sank her fingers into his shoulders, and held on for the ride. Over and over, he dove and retreated, his cock filling her up and then emptying her. She spiraled up, felt the heat of his skin melt into hers, and then saw the sun behind her eyelids as he took her to the peak.
“Give it all to me, Ella. Every last bit of you,” he begged harshly.
“It’s yours,” she promised as she exploded around him.
He rode her through the orgasm, slowing for a time, never leaving her body, using his pelvis to build the fire between them again. He rotated his hips, and she lifted hers.
“Don’t let me go,” she whispered in his ear.
He cursed and withdrew from the clasp of her body, turning her over to her stomach and using his legs to spread her. “On your knees, Ella.”
She complied, her body begging for what he was about to give her.
“Relax, baby. I’ve got you.”
His voice in his ear was a low growl of need. His cock parted her folds and slid so deep that he was the center of her world. He sank inside, pulled out all the way, and dove back in.
Every hard stroke was a loving declaration, a promise of ecstasy, a vow fulfilled between two people who only knew that their hearts resided in the other’s chest.
When release came, it slammed into her, a supernova of pleasure as his body curved over her back, his voice in her ear praising her body, her desire, and the way she gave both to him without reservation.
His release followed hers, and he groaned her name, soft, seductive. She was reborn in the sound of it.
Ella fell to her stomach, her body limp and sated. He fell on top of her but rolled to the side, his hands tracing her spine as their breathing calmed.
Ella opened her eyes and found him watching her in the darkness.
“You shouldn’t have come, but I get it.”
The pressure in her chest released. “You shouldn’t have left, but I get it.”
He snorted, then pulled a blanket over her body. “Stay here,” he said, getting off the bed and dressing. “I need to talk to the team. Rest, Ella. It’s a big day tomorrow.”
She didn’t argue with him. But she didn’t sleep either. She wouldn’t do that until he came back and slid in beside her.
Chapter 21
“We’ve got to hit him fast,” Brody said, and for the first time since the man had returned to his team, Jude noticed the sandpaper roughness of his voice.
It wasn’t so much that he hadn’t noticed before, but that he’d ignored it. After losing and then finding himself inside Ella’s body and heart, he couldn’t help but hear the pain in the man’s voice—the echoes of the torture he’d suffered in that room with Ella.
“We’ve got the layout now,” King said. “Rook, you’ve got point. Brody, you’ve got Keeper. Ella’s with me.”
Jude nodded. It was best that Ella stay with King. She messed with Jude’s mind, and he absolutely couldn’t have his thoughts divided when he got a bead on Dresden. “I’m good,” he said easily.
King inclined his head, accepting that. “It will take about two hours to reach Simferopol. Dresden’s place is on the northern outskirts of the city. It’s walled, but we’re heading in with the cleaning crew.”
“Fedir, the guy who gave me the plans, is driving the truck,” Jude pointed out. He shrugged his shoulders when Rook threw him a look. “I had no choice. He provided those worthless plans. Says his sister was hired by Dresden and can’t leave. He’s got a scheme to get her out.”
“And he’s using our attack as cover? Great. Who else are we dragging along?” Brody asked, his tone grumpy.
“Nobody. Georgia is out. She’s in the Piper’s pocket. Said she was heading in for Loretta Bernstein. The Piper wants Loretta in a bad way apparently.” Jude sighed and ran a hand down his face. His mind was on the planning. His heart was back in that tiny bed with his woman.
“We don’t need Loretta, but if we get her, it’s a bonus,” King said. “Vivi?” he called out.
“Your Highness?” she answered via the satellite phone.
“I need coordinates sent to my GPS by oh six hundred. Will you have satellite coverage for this op?” King asked.
“You’ll have two hours to get there, but my satellite access should not be in danger on this op. In spite of that, you need to get in and out. Dresden doesn’t have a huge contingent of men on his property, but he does have access to more men, if he needs them. Operational details have been sent to your personal comm units. Full disclosure, guys—my reach in Ukraine is limited. You’ll be pretty much on your own, should the local police or, God forbid, the Ukrainian military get called in.” She hummed a bit to herself, which wasn’t unusual. Vivi was always all over the place. “Oh, one more thing. I received video of the occupants of the plane disembarking in Anchorage. It’s much clearer than the Provo video.”
Silence held sway as Jude looked at King, confusion swimming through him. King held up his hand.
“Baby, come on, what’d you find?” Rook prompted.
“Facial recognition confirms it’s Nina Lassiter,” she told them, her
