18. Michelangelo

“Come on up. We’ve been expecting you,” I overheard Sundance say to someone he was speaking with on his mobile. Less than five minutes later, there was a knock at the door. When he opened it, I was thrilled and stunned to see Penelope.

I hurried in her direction after our eyes met, and it occurred to me something may have happened to her. I stepped around Sundance and pulled her into an embrace, not caring if he or Flick didn’t like it. The five days since I last saw her felt longer and worse than the four years I’d spent in prison.

“Butterfly,” I whispered, resting my head against hers. “I’ve missed you so.”

She put her arms around my waist. “Same.”

“Okay, love birds, there will be time for that later. Let’s get through this meeting.”

That Sundance said we’d have time together later worried me. Something must have happened for our allotted training days to be cut in half.

When he motioned to it, I led Penelope over to the table, pulled out a chair for her, then took the seat beside hers.

“Good to see you, Brand,” said Doc, sitting across from me.

“You too, sir.” If he thought I’d apologize for only having eyes for Pen, he was wrong.

It dawned on me he hadn’t used my code name. That, along with Sundance saying Pen and I would have time together later, confirmed something was up.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Sundance began, looking over at me. “Michelangelo and I noticed two things on the day of his arrival that gave Flick and me pause enough to reach out to Doc.”

I thought back to that first day and seeing people being moved out of a container lorry and into a warehouse surrounded by more trucks. It was the same day we’d witnessed a woman being taken to a compound believed to belong to the Calabrian Syndicate.

“While what we saw made me suspicious, what we discovered earlier today confirmed my fears.” He turned to Doc.

“What Sundance is alluding to is a set of overhead footage of what we strongly suspect is a human trafficking operation.”

“What did you discover earlier today?” I asked.

“The woman,” Sundance said, looking straight at me.

“Dead?”

He nodded. “We’re waiting on a coroner’s report, but based on her visible injuries, I suspect it’ll say she was beaten to death.”

Undoubtedly, gang-raped too, not that it was necessary for me to vocalize it.

“Brand, Penelope, I’m pulling the plug on your proposed op,” said Doc. “Until we know better what we’re up against, I cannot, in good conscience, allow either of you to go in undercover.”

“Understood,” I said.

“Yes, sir,” Pen said at the same time.

Admittedly, I was relieved that the decision to abandon the op was taken out of Pen’s and my hands. I was especially grateful I no longer had to fear her involvement.

“We’re going to give the two of you time away from the camp to discuss whether or not you want to continue training,” said Flick. “I’ve been called to return to the UK for a few days, so the timing is good in that regard.”

“What happens now?” I asked.

“Pack up your gear. Doc has been kind enough to provide air transport, so our return to New York will be expedited,” Sundance responded.

I glanced at Penelope, who seemed subdued.

“How long do you need to pack?” I asked, hoping she’d engage.

She turned to me as if I’d jarred her out of a fog. “Ten minutes?”

Pen was clearly as anxious to leave as I was. For me, it meant being together again. I hope she felt the same way.

The plane transportingus back to the city was considerably smaller than the one we’d taken from LA. All five of us flew together, but when we reached JFK, Doc went in one direction to catch a flight home while Flick went to the international terminal to return to London.

We offered to share a ride to Manhattan with Sundance, but he said he had another stop to make on the way, which meant Penelope and I were finally alone.

Once seated in the town car I’d arranged to meet us, I found myself unsure what to do, especially given her silence.

“Talk to me, Butterfly,” I said, putting my hand on hers.

“I didn’t want to do it,” she said, barely loud enough for me to hear her. “I hoped something would happen, and we wouldn’t have to go.”

I scooted closer and gathered her in my arms. Seconds later, I felt the dampness from her tears.

“You’re feeling guilty.”

She nodded.

“Logically, you know your wish had nothing to do with the woman’s death.”

“My brain knows so, but the rest of me, not so much.”

I eased back and raised her chin with my fingers so I could look into her eyes. “I’m also relieved.”

“I felt like I was playing make-believe. I really have no business pretending I’m an intelligence agent.”

“I understand and feel that way myself.”

She rested her head on my shoulder. “I’m not going back.”

“Understood.” While I was happy about her decision, I had no idea what Doc intended for the second half of the proposed mission. Would it be delayed or abandoned? Would I continue training either with Sundance or elsewhere?

“Please don’t quit because I am. What you’re learning will help you in your job with K19, won’t it?”

“Very much so.”

Penelope tightened her grip around my waist. “We need to make the most of the time we can spend together.”

I raised her chin again. “Does this mean the friendship pact has come to an end?”

“As long as it’s all right with you.”

My response was in the form of a passionate kiss that continued until we pulled up in front of her town house.

Once inside,I dropped our bags in the foyer and waited for some kind of prompt from Pen. I was ready to race upstairs and spend the rest of what was left of the day, and into the night, naked and in each other’s arms.

She stepped closer. “We’re wearing too many clothes.”

My restraint snapped, and I was all over her. Kissing, touching, pressing my hardness against the place between her legs where I couldn’t wait to be inside.

Her passion matched mine as she deepened the kiss and arched to give me better access.

“We need to go upstairs,” I managed to say. “Either that, or I’m going to fuck you on these stairs.”

Pen’s response was to unfasten her jeans and push them down to the floor. I did the same.

She sat on the carpeted step, took off her remaining clothes, and stared up at me. God, she was beautiful with lips swollen from kissing me, eyes glazed with desire, and perfectly, amazingly naked.

I knelt in front of her, spread her legs, and lowered my mouth for a taste. Pen’s fingers wove in my hair, and when she pulled, my desire flamed. I spread her folds and swirled my tongue around her bundle of nerves.

“Brand, I need you.”

“Tell me, Butterfly.”

“I need you inside me.”

I thrust two fingers into her drenched pussy and pumped them in and out while I continued to strum her clit with my tongue.

“More,” she cried.

“Tell me exactly what you want, my darling. Say the words. Beg me, and I’ll give it to you.”

“Fuck me, Brand. Please.”

Remembering the oversized furniture on the second floor, I gathered her in my arms and carried her up the single flight.

There, I could give her what she wanted without hurting her. Except my condoms were on the fifth floor.

“God, Pen, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Protection.” I practically groaned as I squeezed my cock to mitigate my need to fuck her here and now.

“I haven’t been with anyone in forever, and I’m on birth control.”

“Before you, it had been four years. Actually, considerably longer than that.”

“Brand?”

“Yes, Butterfly?”

“Rather than stroking yourself, put your cock inside me. Now.”

I nearly came once I was engulfed in her hot, slick, velvety flesh. “Be still,” I whispered, trying my hardest to rein in my excitement before this ended seconds after we began.

Once I’d regained control, I pumped into her until I was all the way inside, then stilled, focusing on the way her pussy clenched me. When she writhed, my passion returned, and I thrust into her, increasing my pace and sinking even deeper.

“Is this what you wanted, Butterfly?” I asked, reaching up to tweak her nipple with one hand. Later, I would lavish attention on her breasts. For now, we both needed a release. “Answer me,” I said through gritted teeth.

“It’s what I needed. I have to have you, Brand. I couldn’t stand being away from you. I need you to fuck me so hard.”

Her words were my undoing. I thrust several more times until I knew she was on the brink, then went as deep as I could and stilled. Her pussy clamped hard on me, and I felt her come at the same time I did.

Nothing and no one had ever compared to being with her. “What did you mean?” I asked, bracing myself so as not to crush her.

Her eyes met mine. “When I said I had to have you?”

I nodded.

“You’re mine, Brand. I hope you really want me to be yours because, otherwise, I might have to turn into a stalker.”

I leaned down and kissed her. “You’ve always been mine, Penelope Ramsey. I felt it the first time we met. I didn’t know how we’d ever be able to be together; I just knew we would.”

She reached up and cupped my cheek. “That was the day I fell in love with you.”

I shifted to her side but pulled her just as close as we’d been when I was on top of her. “I’ve held back saying the words for fear it would seem like I was moving too fast, pushing too hard.”

Pen smiled. “Which words are those?”

“I love you, and like you, I felt something that very day.”

Apart from answeringthe door when the food we’d ordered was delivered, Penelope and I spent the next two days in each other’s arms. Even when we slept, we didn’t let go.

On the third day, I received a call from Doc. It came sooner than I’d expected and was unwelcome. I hadn’t given a thought to anything other than being with Pen, talking, laughing, and making love. I resented the outside world intruding already.

“You’d think he would’ve given us a few more days,” I grumbled.

“You won’t know what he wants until you return his call. Maybe it’s just to pass on information.”

She was right, of course, so I rang him.