Chapter Twelve

I STEP OUT OF THE CHANGINGcubicle and get catcalled for the first time in my life. Any other guy would have his teeth knocked off by now, but since it"s none other than Rake who"s the culprit—-

No, no, no.

I am not going to give him the satisfaction of rolling my eyes just so he can grin at me and have us flirting again like two idiots.

Rake comes close to place his hands around my waist. His touch is firm and hot, and just like that I"m strangely out of breath as he guides me to turn around so that both of us are facing the full-length mirror. It spans the entire wall opposite the row of changing cubicles, and our reflection on it shows Rake towering over me from behind and looking deliciously hot and manly despite his ultra-preppy attire of white button-down shirt and khaki shorts.

"Damn, Kayra."

His tone is rough with desire, and his gaze hungry as he stares at the sundress I"ve changed into. It has a halter neckline that I need to securely tie behind my neck and a loose, swirly skirt that"s just long enough to hide the gun I have strapped around my thigh.

"You look too hot, dammit."

"You look hot, too," I tell him, and after a moment, I add, "Darn it."

Rake grins. "Stop being so cute."

"Stop being so gross."

But this only makes his grin widen as he turns me around to face him. "Your mug shots seriously haven"t done you justice."

"I can say the same about your video in Pornhub."

"In my defense—-filming that video was part of a Strakh op."

"I didn"t expect it to be anything else."

"I was also of the impression that our tech team had already scrubbed every trace of it on the Internet."

"They have," I assure him.

"And yet you still managed to watch it."

"I have my ways," I say with a shrug.

"I love how you sound matter-of-fact even while low-key bragging like that."

And there he goes risking having his hands chopped off again as he manages to steal another stupid pinch from my cheeks.

"You truly are a girl after my cock," Rake purrs.

Yuck.

"You"re just being vulgar for vulgar"s sake, aren"t you?"

"No, darling. I actually wasn"t—-"

Rake makes a lightning-quick movement that has me on my knees in a blink.

"But now I am."

He unzips his shorts, and I suddenly find myself at eye-level with his cock, which has already swelled double its size.

Rake starts stroking it, and I actually feel myself getting wet between the legs.

His other hand grips my hair, and I feel myself getting even wetter.

But...seriously, though?

I look up at him, asking, "Really? Here? Now?"

"Yes, really," he answers by mimicking my tone. "Here. Now."

"What if someone sees us?"

"Are you trying to turn me on?"

"And aren"t you worried I might bite your cock off for making me give you a blow job?"

"So you are trying to turn me on."

Grrr.

I tried, darn it.

But he"s just saying the craziest things, and so the next thing I know I"m laughing...and it"s while I"m still laughing that he grins down at me just before thrusting his cock all the way down to my throat.

Argh!

It"s like having a giant hotdog stuffed in my mouth, and I can barely breathe as his cock starts sliding back and forth between my lips.

Unbelievable.

I can still hear people talking outside the changing area, and yet I can"t seem to make myself care. The taste and feel of his cock is intoxicating, and instead of pushing him away I find myself clutching at his shorts while both of his hands are now gripping my head as his cock shoves in and out of my mouth.

"Sir?"

A sales attendant suddenly calls out to him, and her voice sounds alarmingly close.

Shit.

I"m about to pull away when Rake"s grip on my hair tightens, and I"m stuck with my lips around the swollen girth of his arousal.

"Is there anything..." She suddenly squeaks in audible embarrassment, and I realize she must"ve finally caught a glimpse of our reflection on the mirror.

"We"ll let you know if we need anything," Rake says smoothly.

"Of course, sir."

I only know she"s gone when Rake starts moving again, and even though I"m indeed tempted this time to bite a chunk off his cock, just to let him know what happened was not funny at all—-

The sound of him panting as he starts fucking my mouth faster and harder is impossible to ignore, and all I can think of once again is making him cum.

"Suck harder, dammit."

Why does being ordered around like this makes my belly cramp with so much need?

"Yes, God, yes, fuck."

Moisture coats the swollen folds of my throbbing pussy, and when I feel his big, hard body suddenly jerk—-

Aaaah.

My eyes squeeze shut as he shoots his cum down my throat, and the taste and feel of it on my tongue is nothing like I imagined. It"s thick, hot, and salty, but more than anything else, this cum is like having Rake"s essence enter my body, and I just can"t get enough of it.

More, yes, more.

There seems to be no end to the thick, sticky cum rushing down my throat, and I love it. Every twitch of his cock has his fingers gripping my hair more tightly, and I love that even more. But it"s when the violent movements of his cock finally fade, and he gently withdraws from my mouth before guiding me back up to my feet—-

I think it"s this that I love the most.

This moment where his dark gaze meets mine, and we see in each other"s eyes the truth we"re now absolutely certain of.

I love you.

I love you.

The act of his cock pounding my pussy is just to see if we have chemistry, and we do. But it"s when his cock slide inside my mouth that"s the true test of our feelings: blowjobs can be fatal for him and degrading for me...but they can also be shatteringly beautiful when between two people in love.

And that"s exactly how it felt, when I was sucking on his cock and swallowing his cum.

People will likely think we"ve gone mad to base our feelings on giving head...and I can"t really say they"re not right since I"ve always been a little crazy because of what I am, and Rake has to be a little crazy himself to want someone like me.

I love him, he love me, and that"s that.

But both of us also know...the right time to say the words has yet to come.

RAKE IS STRUTTING LIKEa six-foot-plus peacock when we come out of the changing area, and it"s annoying and strangely cute at the same time. I think he"s mainly doing it to piss me off, but...whatever. I did what I did, and we both felt good about it.

"Nuff said.

Greg and Corey are already waiting for us when we step out of the shop, and the way they"re grinning tells me they definitely knew about what went went down earlier—-or rather who went down on whom.

Huh.

How is it possible that it was only an hour or so ago when these two were practically shaking in fear in my presence...and yet here they are now, ribbing Rake and me about not being able to keep our hands off each other like teenagers.

I"m really starting to think something"s seriously wrong with all of their heads, and maybe that"s why the three of them are friends?

It"s just a short walk from the shop to the port, and Rake"s friends use the time to humor me with stories about their newly engaged friend. "Major" isn"t actually a major at all as it turns out, but a nickname he earned on his first day on the job.

"Hi, I"m Royce, Jr. I majored in engineering and advertising."

Corey"s attempt to mimic how Major introduced himself to other newly recruited agents is hilarious, and it"s when I feel my lips start to twitch that I realize this was Rake"s plan all along.

Grrrr.

He made me think us attending this party is just a whim of his, but now I know it"s simply his way of making sure his friends and I have enough time to realize we can actually get along. It"s yet another sweet but misguided gesture—-

"Can I be the one to tell Major that Drake"s fallen in love? Dude is going to be so psyched—-"

Greg freezes up like he"s just yelled out God"s name in a party full of Satanists, and it"s only when I make a dismissive gesture with my hand that Rake"s friend relaxes with a sheepish grin.

Amazing.

Does he really believe I"d automatically feel offended every time someone says a word with "psych" in it in my hearing?

How this guy ended up working for the FBI, I honestly have no idea, but whatever the reason is, I"m betting it"s also why being with Greg and Corey makes me feel normal...albeit in a mostly exasperated kind of way.

We spy a long queue of guests waiting to board the yacht when we reach the port, and it"s while waiting for our turn that Rake suddenly cups hold of my cheeks.

Grr.

I try slapping his hands away, but he refuses to let go.

"Why do you keep trying to piss me off like this?" I snarl under my breath.

"Mostly because you"re cute when you"re angry," he answers promptly, "but this time, it"s also to make sure I have all of your attention."

"For what?"

"To warn you about other idiots I used to work with—-"

"And who I"m most likely to meet tonight?"

"Unfortunately."

"Are there really that many idiots working in the FBI?"

"Definitely more than there should be," Rake admits with a grimace, "and some of them might tell you things that could make you think twice about marrying me."

"You haven"t actually asked me to marry you—-"

"And risk having you say no?" Rake looks at me like I"m more psychotic than psychopathic. "I know I said there are idiots working in the FBI, but I didn"t say I was one of them."

No, no, no.

I must be strong. I must not waver. I must remember that my smiles absolutely can"t...come...cheap!

Hearing my phone ring is the distraction I need, but the news I get from my men isn"t anything good.

Shit.

"What"s wrong?" Rake has no trouble sensing the change in my mood as I drop my phone back in my pocket.

"It"s Yiorgos. He hasn"t been answering my calls since this morning, and my men are still out looking for him."

"Let me see what I can do."

Rake is already walking away before I can decide whether to stop or thank him. I"ve never been the type to ask for help or accept it, but it feels weirdly good that Rake"s willing to step in even for my pro bono cases.

Greg and Corey immediately start talking as soon as Rake leaves, and I call them out on it as soon as they pause for breath. "Are you guys worried I might start killing people for fun if you don"t keep me entertained?"

"Nah, of course not."

"Aww c"mon, we know you better than that now."

I"m about to tell them they"re the worst liars on the planet when a woman walking past us catches my eye. She"s matched her denim bikini top with a pair of silk pants, and tattooed on the underside of her right breast is a familiar-looking vagina flower.

"Do you guys know who she is?" I ask Rake"s friends.

"Suzanne Packer," Greg supplies with a grimace when he sees who I"m looking at. "She"s friends with Nicole, Major"s fiancée. Only daughter of John Packer, whose yacht we"re about to board."

"How did she and Nicole meet?"

"Art school. Nicole loves to collect works of 21st century Impressionists while Suzanne"s into the more modern stuff."

Like GRWK, I can"t help thinking.

But since I also know liking the same artist does not a dog-napper make—-

"Has she ever gotten in any kind of legal trouble before?"

Corey looks at me in surprise. "How do you know—-"

"So she has?"

"She"s had several ex-boyfriends sue her in the past few years..." Corey"s voice lowers a notch as the queue starts moving, and it"s finally our turn to board the yacht. "But none of the cases ever made it to court. Rumors have it she"s either paid or scared them off—-" Corey breaks off when a taut-looking Rake suddenly appears by my side.

"Sorry," Rake says abruptly. "I need to talk to Kayra in private."

He finds a secluded spot for us next to the railings and tells me without further ado about traffic cameras showing Yiorgos being forcibly taken out of his car by a couple of men wearing ski masks.

"Where did this happen?" I ask.

"A couple of blocks away from where Milo"s confined. The last footage we have of him is his abductors taking him to this port—-"

I grab his hand, and Rake raises a brow. "Are you about to ask me to marry you?"

How is this man ex-FBI and Strakh and yet still come up with the craziest ideas?

I give his hand another insistent tug, and this time he finally gets it. He follows my gaze to where Suzanne is. The other girl is also leaning against the railing just a couple of feet away from us, and it"s when she takes her phone out to answer her call that she raises her arm...and I see Rake"s gaze narrows upon spotting the tattoo under her bikini top.

Rake glances back at me, and I nod in confirmation.

Yes, I am definitely sure Suzanne is Yiorgos" ex.

He abruptly lets go of my hand, and my heart feels strangely tight when I see his jaw clench. I know right away that he"s thinking of the last time he allowed the girl he loved to face danger, and it"s also at that moment I realize this is it for us.

Some couples may need to hear the words "I love you" in order to move forward, but I"ll never be that kind of girl...and Rake will never be that kind of boy.

If the two of us are to work, he needs to trust me to keep my promise.

I"ll live for him no matter what.

And it seems the time to prove this has come as well, with Suzanne suddenly looking at us with cold, hard eyes.

She knows we"re the ones who rescued Milo from her clutches...

Just like we know she"s the one who had Yiorgios abducted.