Just the Messenger Read online

  “CableNette has hired us to protect Warren Bell and the information he’s procuring. They want that story, and they want it bad. You’ve heard of the IIB?” At her nod, he went on. “They’re the group Marco works for. They’ve offered protection, but the IIB wants Warren’s information before he breaks it through CableNette. That will cost CableNette a lot of money. Money they’d rather pay to me. Our job is to get that reporter’s findings on the news before Marco and the IIB take the evidence and secure it away.”

  Gene struggled with his next message. “I’m going to say this quickly, one time, and you are going to follow instructions, okay?”

  He waited, but she gave no response.

  He slipped a small pistol into her white clutch. “I’ve just put a gun in your bag. Do you know how to shoot one?”

  She shook her head no.

  “We’ll have to go over that at some point, then. It’s no matter. This one is simple. It’s not meant to kill, although it could if aimed correctly and shot at the right distance. It’s meant to wound. There’s a safety catch on it. Slide it back before pulling the trigger.”

  “Pulling the trigger?”

  “Marco is in the sitting room. I need you to go shoot him.”

  “What? No!”

  “Grace,” Gene sighed. “You have to trust me here. Unless you’re an amazing shot, you will not kill him. You will only injure him. I need him out of commission. I need you to take his place as Warren Bell’s sidekick.”

  Grace shook her head again. “I’m scared. What if the police are called? I can’t go to prison!”

  “Here’s where you either trust me, or you step aside,” Gene said. “No harm will come your way from this, in terms of the law. That I promise you.” His look was meant to be mysterious, testing her, daring her. “Do one thing at a time. Right now, all you have to worry about is getting rid of Marco. He’s in the sitting room right now. It’s soundproof. I checked. Go get him.”

  He smirked to himself as she walked away. Even though he had no intention of letting her shoot Marco—not that she had the personality to pull it off—he needed to see how loyal to him she really was.

  Grace felt curls of fear deep in her belly and nausea rolling over her, but she turned and left him. She’d at least go to the sitting room. She wouldn’t make promises after that.

  Her clutch was so heavy in her hands, even though the pistol couldn’t have weighed more than half a pound. Probably less. The knowledge that she was about to shoot someone, someone she liked, on the whim of her boss, shook her to her core. And to take over his job, his mission? Grace had always assumed Marco must be a spy, as well. Now that she knew he worked for the IIB, she was doubly reluctant to get involved. Who was she to go against a government operation?

  She approached the sitting room with slow, careful steps. Peering through the heavy wooden doors that were opened only enough for a person to squeeze through, she saw Warren Bell striding toward her. The tall, dashing television personality oozed confidence, his picture perfect features calm and collected, though his gait was quick, urgent.

  She had to twirl and duck away from the doors as he burst from the room, shouting jovially at some coworkers across the reception space. He hadn’t seen her, and she sighed in relief. Not allowing herself to pause again, she crept into the sitting room to find Marco studying a map tacked to the wall in the back corner.

  It would be easy. All she had to do was open her purse, take out the pistol, aim it and shoot. She would get one shot. She felt woozy but forced the nausea back down. She brought up memories of that afternoon, when he had kissed her then sent her callously on her way, to remind herself that she was only a toy to this man, to make herself angry. It didn’t work. Seeing him there, head bent in concentration, his almond-shaped eyes intent on his work, she found herself frozen in place.

  He looked up. “Grace.” He smiled warmly and took a step toward her.

  She opened her purse, the sound of the snap too loud to her ears. He stopped and gazed at her, alarm etched on his face.

  She pointed the pistol at him and closed her eyes, forcing her fingers to apply pressure to the trigger.

  The clatter of the gun on the floor startled her more than the pain of her twisted wrist as Marco disarmed her expertly. How he’d gotten to her so quickly, she couldn’t be sure. He jacked her arm behind her back, pushing his thighs against hers, walking her against the wall by the door. Never taking his dark gaze from her face, he reached out his other arm to push the sitting room doors shut then brought his hand to her face.

  “I should kill you, you know,” he whispered, his hungry gaze lingering on her lips.

  “So why don’t you?”

  Marco smiled. “Well,” he said, pinning her against the wall with the entire length of his body, “I wouldn’t want to take the life of such a lovely woman.”

  She could feel the heat of his cock burning through her dress. He lowered his head just an inch to put them face-to-face, and the scent of cloves and cinnamon radiated off him, causing Grace’s head to spin. She wrenched her wrist, testing the strength of his hold, and contemplated dipping her body low against him to drop to the floor. She glanced around the room, looking for the pistol.

  “It’s way over there,” he said, jerking his head to the left. “Even if you could get out of my hold, you’d never reach it in time.”

  “What if I screamed?”

  “You won’t.” And Marco slanted his lips over hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth in a forceful kiss that silenced her and wiped all thought of escape from her mind.

  Grace shuddered into Marco’s warmth. One of his large, callused hands swept the skirt of her evening gown over her shoulders, leaving her clad only in lace from the waist down. Keeping her still with the weight of his lower body, he unbuttoned his dress shirt and slipped it and his coat off his shoulders then deftly switched arms so that he was still holding her wrist behind her. He allowed his garments to drop to the floor. Her breasts pressed against his naked torso, the tips grazing his skin through their satin covering, on fire at the touch. A wanton lake of desire opened within her, and she shifted, just slightly, allowing his powerful thigh to nudge hers apart. Their bodies melted together. She’d made her decision.

  She would spend these moments in the arms of this chiseled secret agent, no matter that they were on opposing sides. She’d hand in her resignation tomorrow. How could a spy go against her heart? Apparently, she wasn’t cut out for this life, and she would not be ashamed to admit it to her smolderingly gorgeous boss. Gene would have to accept it. He’d have no choice. And it wasn’t as if he hadn’t had his chance with her. Grace couldn’t have been more obvious about her attraction to the blond-haired Adonis. Weeks ago, she had thought she’d seen desire for her in his smoky blue eyes, and when he’d kissed her, her world had toppled upside down. She’d wanted to pass this test, to prove herself to him. But she’d had no idea how sensual and provocative her target would be.

  The lace of her panties slid off her backside, lowering to reveal her pulsing core. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she enjoyed the sensation of the flowing air. Marco drew her away from the wall, and she stiffened when soft fabric caressed her bare bottom.

  “Marco? What—”

  “You’ve failed.” The baritone voice murmuring in her ear was not Marco’s. A strong hand cupped her buttocks, and she felt a ramrod heat searing her from behind.

  She looked up at her lover, her enemy. A smile played on his lips but didn’t reach his eyes. He groaned in need and looked beyond her.

  “What should we do with her, Gene?”

  The photographer didn’t answer but buried his face in her chestnut locks, inhaling deeply. His erection jutted up against her, making her quiver with a mixture of need and excitement.

  “Gene, Marco,” she breathed, “what is this?”

  The man behind her straightened, and she protested as his heat left her body. She thrust out her ass to connect with him again, even as
he began to speak.

  “Graciela Merced, you have failed your initiation. A spy must be ruthless, seductive but not yielding. You are far too supple, too giving, to work for our operation.” His voice faltered over the adjectives.

  She could tell she was affecting his ability to think clearly. She rubbed up against him and sighed before asking, “So, Marco is not my enemy?”

  Gene leaned down to kiss her neck, her collarbone, while Marco trailed his hands down her tight stomach with the lightest of touches. The simultaneous sensations caused her to tremble from the inside out.

  “I’d say we’re both your enemy,” Marco whispered, his dark eyes flashing up at her as he took her cloth-covered breast into his mouth. She strained against his lips, and he teased with his teeth until Grace was writhing against him.

  Gene slipped his hand down her thigh, and she gasped as a single finger entered her in one fluid motion. “Or both your friend,” Gene said, pushing his digit farther into her.

  She didn’t understand what was going on, or what would become of her, but in that instant, she didn’t care. They’d probably kill her after this. She held their secrets, and she’d failed them. The only things that weren’t failing right now were her bronze skin, her supple lips and her generous backside. Her mind was screaming for answers, but she shut it off, choosing instead to listen to her body, which was screaming for the touches of the two men about whom she’d fantasized for weeks. She reached one hand around Marco’s thick neck, pulling him up to her for a searing, wrenching kiss. Her other arm wound its way to the front of Gene’s waist, angling him toward her again. She fumbled at his buttons, which she could not see. He growled and pushed her hand away. A moment later the sound of fabric hitting the hardwood floor reached her ears. Marco thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, tangling her hair in his hands. She undid the top of his pants, and those, too, fell to the floor.

  There was nothing between her and the two sexy secret agents aside from her lacy stockings. One hot cock pressed up against her abdomen, another tantalized her lower back, sex mirroring life as she went back and forth between the two of them.

  Marco reached around her to caress Gene’s shoulder, and the man behind her made a guttural sound in the back of his throat, squeezing Grace between them even tighter as he lunged at the agent in front of her. The two shared a kiss filled with raw passion, and as Grace watched, she felt liquid heat gathering at her center, dripping down her inner leg.

  “Are you two…?” Her voice trailed off as Gene broke from the kiss and knelt behind her. He rummaged in his discarded pants’ pockets.

  Marco tipped up her chin, forcing her to look at him, and took her mouth in a demanding rush. He tore away from her as quickly as he’d attacked and smiled.

  “Let’s just say we’ve…worked together before.”

  She sighed softly, totally hypnotized by his gaze. She could not believe this was happening. In ten minutes she had gone from trying to shoot someone to being caressed by the two most attractive men she had ever seen. She wanted to bolt, but the sensations running through her body kept her glued in place in fascination. Marco’s glance shifted, and his sculpted shoulders heaved as he acknowledged the stormy-eyed male behind her.

  She felt a coldness tickle her most private area and pulled away instinctively.

  “Hush, now,” Gene said softly, applying even more lube before tossing a condom to Marco. “We had to know what you were capable of. We needed to test your limits. When you leave on this mission, knowing what you can do will help us save your life if need be.”

  “But what will happen when you’re through with me? When the mission is over?” Grace had to ask the question through gritted teeth as Marco’s tip pushed up into her. Her body tensed, and she had a fleeting moment of fear. She needed to get out of here. Hot or not, these two were lethal, and they would kill her. If not now, later. Not to mention she’d never had sex with two men at once before. She was fairly certain she would only just be able to handle one of them. Still, the sensations of both were driving her wild, driving her beyond herself.

  As Gene entered from behind, her world went black with only sparks lingering on the edge of her peripheral vision. The only things that existed were the two cocks dueling for dominance within her. The groaning, pulsing men pushing rhythmically in and out of her, barreling toward climax.

  Marco took her breast in his hand, adding teasing touch to the sensations ripping through her.

  “Does it matter what happens when we’re through?” he whispered.

  She managed to shake her head. “No. Just fuck me.”

  The words coming from that bow-shaped mouth nearly pushed Marco over the edge right then and there. He felt Gene’s cock thrusting toward his through Grace’s body and imagined the rosy length of it pushing into his asshole, shocking his nerve-endings, nerve-endings that hadn’t been touched in many months. Since the operation had begun, Marco hadn’t had time for dating.

  As if reading his mind, Gene stretched his arms across the dark-haired beauty between them and opened Marco’s cheeks, slicking a finger through him, teasing the soft fuzz of hair there. Grace raked a hand down his torso, stopping where their bodies met for just a moment before tracing their connected outline below his abdomen and fingering his sac gently, lovingly, wrenching a groan from his lips as the orbs tightened and raised at her touch.

  He fisted his hand in her hair, pulling her face to his and drank of her, opening her, suckling her tongue before exploring the deepest recesses of her mouth. She writhed against him, craning her neck to allow him full access, and Gene slipped a finger into his hole, causing him to jolt with sudden pleasure. Marco broke from Grace’s mouth to place an appreciative bite on Gene’s tensed shoulder. He licked his way down the other man’s muscled arm to his free hand and slipped the thumb into his mouth, sucking on it in rhythmic washes of his tongue until he could feel the blond spy quaking behind Grace.

  Their librarian surprised them both by coming in a flash of screams and moans, her entire body clenching, tightening around them. Marco heard Gene’s guttural pleasure as his eyes lost their focus, and he felt his own cum racing up his length from the depths of his balls, shooting out in long spurts, over and over again, until he was totally spent.

  Sinking down into a pile of satisfied limbs, Marco suppressed a laugh as Grace looked up at the door in alarm.

  “Won’t people…”

  Gene hushed her. “Honey, you think I didn’t take care of that? Even if anyone heard us, which they didn’t since these walls are soundproof, they couldn’t get in.” He motioned at the door, and Marco looked up even though he already knew what was there.

  A thin block of wood had been laced through the handles, making entry from the outside impossible.

  Grace’s languid gaze hovered on Marco’s mouth, and she reached out to touch his lips, sending a shiver of remembrance down his spine. Behind her, Gene was already starting to straighten, searching out lost articles of clothing. Ever the businessman. Marco respected his attitude toward sex. He strove to emulate it. But looking at the gray-eyed lioness in front of him, he wondered if that would be possible this time. He was already fighting a strong urge to protect her, to claim her, to keep her safe…even from Gene. Her ambition battled with her naivety in a way that made her both adorable and dangerous. Marco stroked her slim arm, wondering if he could possibly make a go of it with her when this was all over. Wondering if Gene would let her go, if she would even want to leave Gene for him. He hardened his heart. A girl you fucked with another man in a sitting room after she tried to take your life wasn’t really the type to take home to mom. He’d have to keep that in mind.

  “Get dressed, you two,” Gene called to them. “You’re wasting time.” He strode over to the corner and picked up the gun from the floor, tsking his disapproval and shaking his head at Grace. She ducked under her hair to avoid his gaze.

  “Grace,” he continued.

  Marco felt the girl start nervously in
his arms.

  “Pull yourself together. You’re leaving first. Take the town car. I’ve got a ride coming for me in ten minutes. Marco,” Gene turned to him, “You hail a cab to Grace’s apartment in thirty minutes. Tie up your shit with Bell, first. I’m sure you’ll have to convince him to leave before your bosses will let you get out of here. Good luck. I expect to see you tonight. We have to talk.”

  Chapter Four

  This time Gene didn’t knock before entering. He used his key. The look of surprise on Grace’s heart-shaped face gratified him. She covered it quickly, and he allowed himself to sweep his gaze over her figure. The blue dress had been replaced by tight, pink sweat pants and a light gray tank top. Her wavy hair was held up in a messy ponytail at the back of her head. She had scrubbed her face clean of the seductive makeup, but somehow she looked just as tempting, fresh-faced and bare. Gene forced his mind from memories of her appealing, soft curves under his hands, the juxtaposition of her feminine skin to Marco’s taut expressions running another surge of desire through his body.

  Not now, he chided himself.

  He loosened his tie and was about to ask for a scotch when she reached her hand to the end table and presented him with a poured glass of the amber liquid.

  He cocked his brow.

  “Not bad,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  He could tell she was pleased, though she tried to hide the smile that played around her lips.

  “Now, if you could tell me what Marco drinks, I’d like to have his ready, too.”

  “Red wine, please,” a baritone voice rumbled from the corner. “Cabernet if you’ve got it.”

  Gene rolled his eyes as he watched Grace look up in shock.

  “Nice trick, Agent Valencia. It’s a shame you can’t pull off your actual missions with such finesse.”

  “You’re just jealous that you can’t slip into a room unnoticed. And upset that you left the door unlocked.” Marco’s eyes crinkled at the edges. “Our little lady must really be rattling you.”