His kiss was surprisingly soft. First a whisper, then a caress, then a slow seductive slide. His tongue licked into my mouth, caressing, teasing, cajoling. His hand slid into my hair, twisting into my curls, and I felt both possessed and cherished. And neither one of those feelings were what I was accustomed to. As we kissed, my hips lifted slightly.
“Tell me what you need, Lyra.”
“I need you to touch me.”
“Bloody brilliant.”
He went back to kissing me, but he didn’t move his hand, so I raised my hips to encourage him. Which only made him chuckle as he whispered, “Stop being so impatient. I’ll get there.”
Oh, I had no doubt. But first, he was going to take his time and kiss me like we had all the time in the world.
He whispered against my lips. “That’s it, love, open your thighs wider for me.”
I dragged in a shuddering breath. All I could do was nod because words would have led to begging.
His hand slid up my thigh, and his knuckles gently brushed over my sex. When he made contact, he dragged his lips from mine and kissed along my jaw as he said, “I’ve been dying to know what you felt like. It’s like you’ve taken over my mind. There was a time when I was able to do other things, to focus on other things, but you’ve made that impossible.”
He was close. So close. Just a little higher.
His knuckles grazed over my sex again, and I could hear him swallow audibly. “Oh fuck, Lyra.”
“Marcus, please. Please, just touch me.”
“Oh my God, you are so wet.”
One of his long fingers hooked under the elastic of my panties, stroked over my clit, and sank deep. Both of us groaned. I clutched onto his shoulders and moaned, “Marcus, oh God.”
“I know. I know. I’m barely even touching you, and I’m so ready to bloody blow.”
Ever so gently, he made love to me with his hand. His finger sliding in and out as his thumb gave me butterfly kisses over my clit. When the pace picked up, he dragged his lips back to mine, his tongue mimicking the actions of his fingers, fucking my mouth and making me crazy. The tension coiling inside me was ready to blow.
His finger slid and retreated, slid and retreated, his thumb casting its own spell over me, drugging me slowly with his strokes and his words. Mostly hushed murmurs of need, want, God, Lyra.
As I gripped his shoulders, I could feel the quaking need snaking over my body. That tightly coiled tension I held inside me at all times breaking apart.
Marcus pulled back, touching his forehead to mine, his gaze locking, never letting me go. “Let me see it, Lyra. I want to watch you be free.”
And then I let him see. A massive shudder wracked my body. With a muffled scream into his neck, my body tightened and convulsed around his fingers as he buried them deep within me.
I was in trouble. Marcus Black was dangerous to me, because instead of thinking ahead to my mission and my partners, people depending on me, I wanted to be on this Ferris wheel with Marcus Black forever.
I wasn’t thinking about logistics or identifying the target. No, I was only thinking about Marcus and how to get more of what he just gave me. Something told me that I would be safe with him, that if at any point I wanted to be free, he would give me the freedom I needed.
I’d always thought Tyler had broken me. But I could see it clearly now; Marcus Black would be the one to destroy me.
Suddenly, sitting there on the Ferris wheel wrapped in Marcus’s arms, both of us panting and breathing hard, I could hear Addie’s voice in my comm unit.
“It’s showtime. Switch to channel A.”
I tapped my earring to change the comm channel and then tapped it twice more to let everyone know that I was on and listening but couldn’t speak.
Tyler’s voice came on next. “We have a sighting on Mads McLean. He’s with a woman. Not sure who it is, but she’s blond, tall, and has a scar on her left cheek.”
And then it was Kira’s voice in my ear. From her vantage point she could see them. “He handed something to the woman. He’s doubling back and leaving.”
I tried to keep my face neutral until I knew what to do. I waited for Tyler to come on with the command.
When he came back on, it wasn’t good news. “The woman is Sasha White. She’s a member of Victus, and she’s been given her card for the private auction.” That was when all hell broke loose. “Lyra, you’re up. Get that card.”
The Ferris wheel car came down to a stop, and Marcus helped me out. Desperate for an excuse, I asked him, “Do you know where the bathroom is?”
He frowned as he glanced around. “I think there is one over there.”
He was pointing in the wrong direction. “Oh, okay, let’s go.”
Then I asked the ride attendant, “Is the bathroom over there the nearest one?”
She shook her head and pointed the other way. “No, there’s one just right there.”
I turned around in the direction I needed to go. “Okay, thanks.” I turned to Marcus. “Do you want to wait for me here?”
Marcus frowned. “Uh, sure, okay. I’ll wait for you.”
I tried to give him my brightest smile. “I’ll be right back. Don’t you move. After this, I want funnel cake and a latte.”
He nodded and then pushed me lightly in the direction of the comfort room. “Go, I’ll be right here. Funnel cake, latte, and more rides after you get back.”
I gave him a cheery smile. “You’re on. I won’t be long.”
I prayed I was right.
Chapter 11
Marcus
I’d been on the lookout for Mads and waiting for a status update while we
