Chapter Fourteen

A fter they each packed a bag, Inda and Lucas met Hunter “Pyro” McGrath at the private airport on the outskirts of the city. Inda embraced the slim woman who was a former Navy pilot. Her sage green eyes turned appreciatively to Lucas, and Inda introduced them, trying to ignore the twinge of jealousy when they shook hands.

God, it was so unlike her to be envious. Hunter was a great person and was always there to support Ex Nihilo on their quest to eliminate The Agency. But the insecurities Inda possessed screamed out that the beautiful woman with russet-colored hair might be more to Lucas’ liking.

“We can be wheels-up in two minutes and—” she glanced down at her watch “—twenty-two seconds.”

“Roger,” Inda murmured and started up the steps, hating the self-doubt plaguing her. As she stowed her two bags—one clothes and one her gear—in the overhead bin, Lucas moved up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest.

“Hey, there.” He pressed a kiss against her neck and her hands came up, covering his. “Have I told you how I can’t stop thinking about last night and how beautiful you look coming on my cock.”

A shudder ran through her body.

“I can’t wait to fill you up again, On?a. To fuck you until you’re screaming my name. Would you like that?”

“Yes,” she whispered, rubbing her ass against his hardening cock.

A throat cleared behind them and they both glanced over to see Hunter standing in front of the cockpit, an amused look on her face.

“Flight time is two hours and forty-five minutes,” she announced with a smirk. “Once we reach cruising altitude, feel free to move around and…whatever.”

Inda felt her cheeks burn as Hunter disappeared into the cockpit. Well, Lucas had definitely staked his claim and she wasn’t even a little upset about it. Pushing down the desire burning through her veins, she sat down beside him and buckled up. The takeoff went smoothly and the moment they leveled off, Inda received a message from Zane.

“Banshee got us reservations at Summit Serenity as Mr. and Mrs. Kroft.”

“As in Lara Croft?” he asked, grinning.

Her attention slid to his dimples and she wanted to lean over and lick the sexy indentations. Instead, she gave herself a mental shake. Get your head in the game, Bruja. “No, as in Alexis Kroft and…” She couldn’t help but smile. “Sherman Kroft. With a ‘K’.”

“Sherman?” he echoed with a scowl.

Inda laughed. “What? I think you can pull off Sherman quite nicely.”

“Oh, for chrissake. What’d he do? Pick the worst name he could think of?”

“Knowing Zane, yeah, probably.”

“Whatever. You know my real name and it is not Sherman Kroft. Thank God.” He shifted in his seat, turning toward her. “What about you? Inda is a pretty unusual name.”

“I guess,” she said carefully, not wanting to talk about her past or any of the darkness she’d experienced growing up. She did her best to keep her tone light. “My mom’s best friend growing up was a guy named Indalesio. She named me after him.”

Lucas nodded slowly. “Were you close to your mom?”

Her gaze snapped up and she could see the sadness swirling in the depths of his ice-blue eyes. His loss was still so raw. “Yes, in our own way. We only had each other. I know she did her best, but…”

“But it wasn’t always enough,” he finished.

“Sometimes she put her needs before mine,” she explained carefully.

“I’m sorry.” He reached over and laid a hand on top of hers. “What about your dad?”

“I never knew him. My mom said he took off after he found out she was pregnant.” He cursed under his breath, threading his fingers through hers. “What about you?”

“I never knew my dad, either. But only because he died in a car accident shortly after I was born. It was always just me and my mom. That’s what made losing her so damn hard.”

A pang of emotion swept through Inda and she squeezed his hand. “If you need help with anything…” Her voice trailed off and even though she was offering help, she’d never felt so helpless in her life. She wished she could heal the hole in his heart. Loss was a terrible thing.

“Thanks, but she didn’t want a service or any kind of memorial. It was just us, so…” He swallowed hard. “Her last wishes were to be cremated.”

There were no words she could offer that would comfort him, so she unbuckled her seat belt and he pulled her onto his lap. They kissed softly, tenderly, clinging to each other and offering support.

It wasn’t long before the kiss deepened and Inda shifted on his lap, unable to miss the thick ridge of his erection pressing into her hip. He’d taken care of her last night and now she wanted to return the favor. Plus, truth be told, she wanted to make him feel good. To chase the sadness away.

Reaching down, she undid the button on his jeans then tugged the zipper down. When she dipped her hand down the front of his boxer briefs, he pulled back, breaking their kiss.

“Inda…” He was breathing harshly and a muscle flexed in his cheek when she released his thickening cock from his briefs. Gripping him in her hand, she watched him grow harder and longer as she slowly stroked him from root to tip.

“Just enjoy it, Daddy.” She tossed him a cheeky smile, popped her lips and lowered down to her knees, settling between his spread legs.

“Christ, you’re gonna kill me with that daddy shit,” he growled.

“You love it,” she said and flicked her tongue out, watching his reaction as she began licking his engorged tip.

The bluest fire flared to life in his eyes as she circled her tongue around and around. When she ran it down his length, he groaned, head dropping back against the seat. Holding him in her hands, she wrapped her mouth around his pulsating cock and sucked him deep.

“Fuck!” His hips jerked and he began to slowly thrust, fucking her mouth, gripping onto the arm rests so hard his knuckles turned white.

Inda was back in control again, right where she belonged. But, she quickly realized it wasn’t as important as she thought it would be. Instead of reveling in her power over him, she focused on delivering him pure, unadulterated pleasure.

Watching him from beneath her lashes, meeting his blue, blue eyes, she sucked until her cheeks caved and saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth. She could tell he was trying to maintain his control, but it was a losing battle. After several more deep sucks, he groaned, coming hard with a shudder. Thick, hot, salty ropes shot down the back of her throat and she swallowed.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she tucked him into his briefs and crawled back onto his lap.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he whispered.

“I know.” She kissed him hard, losing herself in the moment.

It was official—Lucas Sheridan was going to be her downfall if she wasn’t very, very careful. Hell, it might already be too late.

◆◆◆

They landed right on time at a small, private airstrip located outside of Salt Lake City. After donning sunglasses and baseball caps, Inda and Lucas thanked Hunter and told her they would be in touch. Then they climbed into the SUV waiting for them. Everything had been arranged by her team, and now they were headed for Summit Serenity, the five-star resort where Marcus and Selma Santiago were staying.

Lucas drove while Inda navigated, and the trip was easy. The entire time, he couldn’t stop picturing her lips wrapped around his cock and the way he’d stretched her little mouth to its limit. Just the thought made his groin tighten.

No doubt about it, his fierce one kept him on his toes. And he loved every second of it. In his previous dating experiences, women had never challenged him. Not like her. Not even close. They’d all been, or pretended to be, simpering airheads, ready to bend over backwards to please him. And he didn’t want that. He was looking for a partner, a woman who would stand beside him as an equal, and face life’s challenges head-on. Someone who could dish it out as well as take it.

Someone exactly like Inda Diaz.

He knew things were complicated between them, but he was ready to give her his all.

“It’s so beautiful,” she commented, jolting him out of his thoughts.

“I remember you saying you wanted to visit here and go rock climbing,” he reminded her. And she was right about its rugged beauty. The mountains rose to insane heights and gave new meaning to the word majestic.

“Yeah. Pulling plastic at the gym is a great way to stay in shape. It’s when I clear my head and just relax. But there’s no way it could compare to the real thing.”

“Only you would think climbing is relaxing.” Hell, she never ceased to amaze him.

They shared a smile. “Are you teasing me, Sherman?”

He groaned.

“Better get used to your alias, hubby, because we’re here.”

Lucas pulled the car up to the large main doors of the Summit Serenity Resort. The place was huge, possessed a rustic charm and sat ensconced in a mountain valley. Guests could stay in multiple buildings and each room had a large private balcony. The resort was known for its award-winning spa and every stone and beam screamed luxury.

A valet hurried over to assist them. They grabbed their duffel bags out of the back and Lucas handed the keys over. Keeping their heads down, they avoided cameras as best as they could on their way to the front desk. Checking in was a breeze, thanks to Zane. Once they were safely in their massive room, they tossed their hats and glasses and went straight to the window. The view was positively breathtaking.

“Wow,” Inda breathed, absorbing the magnificent scenery. “Those are the Uinta and Wasatch Mountain ranges.”

Her nose was practically pressed to the window.

“You’d climb those humongous rocks?” he asked, completely in awe.

“Hell, yeah,” she murmured.

He chuckled. “Maybe after we get what we need on the Santiagos, we can take a little side trip. You think we’d have time?”

“I’ll climb fast,” she said, and they laughed.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked. “You think Marcus and Selma Santiago have a meeting with Carlisle about this chemical plant?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out. Can you get us into the hotel security cams?”

His mouth edged up. “Child’s play.”

Lucas set up an extra laptop, hacked into the resort’s security feed and brought up continuous images of the lobby, the exterior of the room where the Santiago’s were staying, and other main areas of the resort’s property. While Inda kept a close watch on that monitor, he began the more challenging task of breaking into Carlisle’s email.

It didn’t take long, though. Hacking, coding, and the web were such familiar and comfortable places. He’d discovered computer systems were a lot like a lover. If you learned the right combination of moves, possessed good technique and applied some finesse, she’d open right up.

“I’m in,” he murmured, fingers flying across the keyboard.

“Impressive,” Inda complimented.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

“Oh, I’ve seen quite a lot.”

He chuckled and his voice dropped, becoming husky. “I have tricks you can’t even begin to imagine.”

“Really?” She spun around in her chair. “Do tell.”

“How about I show you later?”

“That can definitely be arranged.” She gave her head a shake. “Okay, back to work. Anything in there that can help us?”

“Let’s take a closer look.” After scanning through several emails, Lucas found what they were looking for. “Yeah. Looks like Carlisle is meeting the Santiagos for dinner tonight.”

“Where?”

“A place called the Rustic Table at six PM. It’s about twenty minutes away.” He glanced over and saw the gears in her head turning.

“We need to be able to hear that meeting,” she said.

“Agreed. What do you suggest?”

“That we bug their table.”

“How do we know where they’ll be sitting?” he asked.

“Leave that to me.”

Damn, he was beginning to love this woman. Love? Wait, no, admire. That was the right word.

Or, at least, that’s what he tried to tell himself.