Secret Guardian Page 9

  “I have a condo just outside of Austin that my mother left to me when she died.” She felt the alcohol in the drink relaxing her entire body. Normally one fruity drink wouldn’t have affected her this much, but it had been almost twenty-four hours since she’d had anything substantial to eat.

  “I’ve got two other places. One by my parents’ place in Washington, so when I visit them I don’t bug them too much. The other is in the south of France. What do you say to a cook out? I noticed Raul had stocked the fridge with some steaks. I’ve got a state-of-the-art grill and some mad skills as a chef.” He smiled and she noticed how his eyes lit up.

  Later, as they sat around the outside patio eating grilled steak and vegetables, they finished talking about his travels. It seemed to Ann that he’d been everywhere. He’d also had as many fake jobs as he had different names. She giggled at some of the names and laughed at some of the jobs. Her favorite was when he’d been a male stripper in Vegas under the name of Sergeant Pecker.

  “The worst part of that gig was that I had to wear this stupid police outfit, but I made really good tips.” He smiled and she couldn’t help falling a little more for him.

  “How about the worst job?” she asked still laughing. She didn’t realize the kind of hardships he might have with his jobs, until after she watched his face fall. Then she thought, really thought about what it was he actually did.

  “Ethan?” She reached out and took his hand.

  “No, it’s okay. It is part of my job, losing someone. It just hurts more when it’s a kid.” He took a swig of his beer. “It was almost a year before I took the job for your dad. This little girl had been snatched from day care. Her father was a diplomat in Kenya. And well, when things got ugly a few years back… Anyway, that was the hardest I’ve had to deal with, seeing her… after…” She could tell he was having a hard time with the story. He took another sip of his beer. “They let a pack of wild dogs have her.” He closed his eyes and her heart broke. “She was only four and they treated her like she was meat. All because her daddy wanted change for his country.”

  She reached over and took his hand. “Ethan, I’m so sorry.”

  “But then there are the good days.” She could see he was trying to remove that image from his mind. His eyes flashed to another scene, a happier scene. “A few years back I did this job for a friend of the family. Actually, it was one of my new brother-in-law’s friends. I didn’t know the connection at the time, but I can still remember this young girl’s face. She is an artist, very talented girl. Her family was one of the most influential families in the Middle East. They had oil money that went back a couple generations. She was engaged to a prince at the age of six. The wedding was to be in the spring after her eighteenth birthday. But because she wanted to pursue art, her family decided to punish her. She was to undergo female circumcision. It’s rarely done on someone her age in the Middle East anymore. When she contacted Mitchell Kovich—he’s my brother-in-law’s friend—Mitch contacted me directly. I’d done another job for him a few years back when I was still in the forces.”

  She watched Ethan lean back in his chair and realized she could imagine sitting here years from now, listening to his stories. He took another sip of his beer and when he realized it was empty, leaned over and grabbed another from the small fridge under the outside bar.

  “What happened to the girl?” She leaned on the glass table; she couldn’t stand the suspense.

  “Oh, she’s fine. She’s safe somewhere in the States. It took some doing, and I don’t think I’d ever try to go back into certain parts of the Middle East again, but she’s healthy and happy. Or so my sister tells me. She and her husband own the art galleries that sell her art. I can still remember the smile in her eyes when I showed up the night before her punishment was to take place. I was hanging from the banister outside her window, and when I showed up, she didn’t even scream. It was like she was dead inside. She’d actually thought I’d come to kill her. When I told her I was coming to take her to Mitch, her eyes…” He paused and Ann thought she saw something close to pride on his face. “She was wearing her hijab, the heavy, dark robes they wear, and all I could see was her eyes and I swear, I’ve never seen eyes light up like hers did that night. I guess I decided then and there that this job is what I was made to do.”

  “You are amazing,” she said then drank the last of her second drink. “Is there anything you can’t do?” She smiled over at him while resting her chin on her hand.

  He looked over at her and smiled slowly. “I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you.” She smiled back and slowly rose to her feet. Then started walking backwards towards the pool.

  “Why even try?” It came out as a whisper. She saw him stand up quickly and start to follow her towards the water. She knew she wouldn’t make it to the edge of the pool before he was on her. He grabbed her around the waist as they went sailing across the empty space and landed in the deep end of the pool. Their bodies tangled, their lips found each other’s and within seconds, her slick silver swimsuit was floating on the surface of the cool water.

  When they surfaced again, she pulled back and had to gulp for breath. “You super-agent types may have super-sized lungs that can stay under for minutes, but us mere mortals have to have air once in a while.” She smiled at him. Then he moved his hands and the smile fell away, and she was left gasping for air for another reason.

  She’d never made love in a pool before and at first she was trying to figure out just how they would accomplish the task. As he ran his hands over her slowly, he kicked his legs until he was able to stand on the tile bottom. He moved so her back was against the pool wall and her head rested on the tiled side. She quickly pulled his shorts down and he kicked a few times before he finally got them loose from his feet. Then he was kissing her again, his hands on either side of her head, holding her to the wall. Even though he wasn’t touching her with his hands, she could feel the heat from his body as his skin rubbed against hers. Her chest rubbed against the light covering of hair on his chest, causing little tidal waves of pleasure.

  Her hands ran down his slick shoulders, down his sides, until she gripped his hips and pulled him to her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She held herself up but when her head started to sink below the surface, he grabbed her under her arms and held her tight against the wall so she wouldn’t fall back down. Then with one quick motion, he sunk deep in her as she arched to greet him.

  The water lapped at her chest and neck as the slow motion of their bodies colliding caused little waves in the otherwise calm water. The sun felt wonderful on her face as she leaned back and enjoyed his hot kisses on her jaw and neck. His free hand was roaming her body, giving her immense pleasure everywhere.

  Her legs were still wrapped around his hips and when she tried to pull him tighter, he pulled back a little and looked at her. When she opened her eyes, she could see something there, something she hadn’t seen yet.

  “I want you to meet my family in Washington.” He held still, almost holding his breath. She could tell it meant a lot to him and when she nodded her head yes, he smiled and kissed her softly on the lips.

  She took the kiss deeper, running her fingers through his dark hair, keeping his mouth to hers until she felt her lungs would explode. Then she pulled back, and reaching around, took his hips, sinking her nails into his skin. She willed him to move faster. He did.

  He grabbed hold of the side of the pool to anchor himself as he pumped his hips until they were both breathless. Then, when she couldn’t wait any longer, she felt him tense with his release, just as the stars exploded behind her eyes.

  “I’m going to get you in a bed one of these times,” he groaned as he buried his face in her wet hair. She smelled of chlorine and tasted like heaven. If he didn’t hold them both up in the water, there was no doubt that they would sink to the bottom.

  She chuckled lightly, her perfect breasts rubbing against his chest. He could already feel himself getting hard
again and this time, he wanted her horizontal and on a soft surface.

  Using his new-found energy, he pulled her to the wide steps and carried her to one of the large, soft recliners that sat on the wide deck. He laid her down on it, grabbed the large towel, and quickly dried himself off, shaking his head like a dog to dry his hair quickly. Then, while she watched him, he took the towel and slowly started to dry her legs. As he traveled up each long limb, he thought he saw her desire building.

  By the time he ran the edge of the towel across the apex of her legs, her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back. He couldn’t pass up the chance to tease her, so he lightly passed over the spot again, watching her face as he went. He slowly dried her stomach, making sure to hit every sensitive rib. Her hands came up, trying to pull him down until he finally gripped them in one of his hands and pulled them above her head, holding her still.

  “Ethan, please.”

  “I want to enjoy every inch of you. You look so beautiful in the sun. Your skin is like silk under my fingers.” He leaned over and took her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently on the peak until he heard her moan. Then he started down, raining hot kisses over her toned stomach until finally he came back to her core, where he dipped his head and tasted her sweetness. Her hands gripped his hair as she spread her legs wider on the soft cushion. He ran his hands up her legs and spread them even wider, pulling her knees up so her feet were flat beside his shoulders, exposing her even more to his mouth. Then he moved his hands to her butt and lifted her hips off the cushions, holding her tight so he could slide his tongue over her from front to back. He enjoyed licking every inch of her as her toes curled next to him.

  When he was happy that she couldn’t stand any more, he kissed his way up her body until he slid slowly into her. He watched as her eyes clouded and closed on a moan.

  “Come with me, Ann,” he said with his mouth next to hers as he claimed her, completely.

  Chapter Ten

  Ann woke later in a darkened room. Reaching around and feeling the sheets, she found that she was lying in a very large bed, alone. Sitting up, she realized she was still very naked and grabbed the sheet to cover herself as she looked around for something to wear.

  She noticed a large suitcase sitting on the dresser. Walking over, she realized it was full of woman’s clothing. Looking at the expensive items, she wondered how Raul had known her size, or for that matter, how he’d known that she’d be coming along.

  She pulled out a silk tank top and slipped it over her head, then put on a pair of black shorts and tiptoed into the next room. She could hear him talking on the phone out on the patio and when she walked out, he turned and smiled at her.

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you then. I love you, too, Mom.” He flipped the cellphone closed.

  She thought it was the most endearing thing for him to tell his mother that he loved her. She hadn’t realized until then that she’d totally fallen head over heels in love with him. The realization took her breath away, and she stood there looking and feeling like an idiot. Her arms were down by her sides, feeling like weights holding her still.

  Her eyes were staring off into the distance, not really seeing. How had she come to this point in her life? Sure, she’d felt infatuation before. She’d even felt a distinct like, but nothing had ever come this close to the big fall before. Her heart started beating faster, and she wished he’d stop staring at her. But he stood there across the dimly lit deck with the bright stars and moon overhead, and they just looked at each other, almost like they had just found each other after searching years and years.

  “Ann?” Her name sounded good in the wind and before she knew it, she was in his arms as he carried her back into the bedroom.

  The next morning, she woke to the enticing smells of bacon and eggs and stretched on the large bed. She realized she was once again naked and smiled.

  Grabbing up her top and shorts, she walked into the next room and laughed as she saw him standing at the stove with an apron on.

  “Is this what you always wear to cook in, in your glass house?” She chuckled as he turned a circle and showed her the front of his apron which had a large picture of a woman’s front in a string bikini. He held the spatula up and smiled at her, looking absolutely ridiculous.

  “Only on Monday’s. Okay, it’s Raul’s, but it’s kind of growing on me.” He looked down and chuckled at his image, then looked back up at her and waved his finger at her. “Why don’t you come over here and kiss the cook.”

  She walked over and laid a long, heated kiss on him.

  “Mmmm, why don’t we forget the food and…” He started walking her back to the bedroom.

  “Oh no! That food smells too good to pass up. Besides, we have the whole day to…” She kissed him again.

  She enjoyed sitting out on the deck and eating breakfast with him. This morning they kept the conversation light. After they had cleaned the dishes, they decided a quick trip to the beach and town would help pass their time quickly. Besides, she’d never been to Peru and wanted to have a look around before they had to hop back on another plane tomorrow.

  In the back of her mind, she kept dreading being shoved into another crate and carted to the US. Even though she didn’t know if that was how they were going to travel, she doubted they’d get first class seats since they were trying to lay low.

  They drove a small Audi that had been parked in the garage into town and when she asked, he said he kept it around for Raul to use. She started wondering how much he earned by being a mercenary.

  But when they finally made it into town, she was too preoccupied by all the wonderful shops and stores to think about what he did for a living. It was almost as if she was back in the US. The shops and tall glass buildings made her feel a little more like she was home. The fact that everyone spoke Spanish didn’t escape her, though. She’d spent a few years taking the language in school and felt almost at ease speaking it. She purchased a new handbag and some new boots at the small stores thanks to Ethan, who had quickly paid for the items in cash. When she told him on the short ride to the beach that she’d pay him back, he just smiled.

  When they made it to the white sand beach, she knew exactly why he’d chosen to buy a place here. The beaches were more beautiful than any resort she’d ever been to. The sand and water sparkled and the people smiled and were very friendly. They spent almost two hours playing in the surf. He even taught her how to body surf. She was a complete failure at it, but enjoyed having his hands on her while he taught her how to lay her body flat to catch the surf.

  By the time they made it back to the house, she was worn out. Ethan walked into the next room to check his messages and came back in holding the phone and looking worried.

  “Your father called. He wants you to call him as soon as possible.” He handed her the phone. “Don’t worry, it’s a secure line. No one can trace the call.” When she took the phone, he turned and walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him.

  In the last few days, she hadn’t really thought of what her father must be going through. She thought that since Ethan had talked to Dave that first day, her father knew that she was okay. But other than that, he’d been so far from her mind. She started feeling guilty. Okay, so she’d been running for her life. It wasn’t as if she’d had time to think of him. Then her mind played over last night and today and she felt even more guilty.

  She should have called him last night when she’d heard Ethan talking to his mother. Damn.

  Dialing the phone, she waited as it rang. On the third ring, Blake picked up the phone. Hearing his husky voice, she almost cried. To think he’d gone through something like this just five years ago.

  “Hey, Blake. How are you doing?” She tried to sound lighthearted.

  “Hey, Ann. Dad and Mom were just talking about you. I guess you got in some trouble, huh?”

  “Yeah, but everything is okay and we’re on our way back home.”

  “Is GI Joe with you?”

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sp; “Yeah,” she smiled.

  “Cool, tell him hi from me. Here’s dad. He’s pretty upset that you didn’t call him last night.”

  Her heart sank a little and she listened as her brother handed the phone over.

  “Hey, Ann. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, Dad. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I guess I’ve kind of been in shock with everything that’s happened over the last few days.”

  She hated lying to her father, but doubted he would want to hear all the details of her sex life.

  “Listen, the real reason I needed to talk to you was that I have some news as to why you might be in trouble.”

  He let the phone ring until finally, on the fourth ring, the man answered.

  “They are in Lima.”

  “Lima? Are you sure? I can have my men…”

  “Don’t bother, they won’t be there long. They are heading back to the States. I need you here.”