Distinguished Service & Every Move You Make (Uniformly Hot!) Read online

  But it was Mace’s reaction that mattered. Just as quickly as he’d tensed up, he’d relaxed again. And when she looked to find him smiling at her, she swore she could feel it like a physical sweep of his hand against her bare back.

  She wasn’t sure what, exactly, she’d done…but she hoped that she did it again soon. Preferably the next time they were alone together…

  * * *

  “THAT WAS INCREDIBLE,” Mace said quietly.

  Geneva released her seatbelt after the nearly two-hour lunch with his family, trying not to feel too smug. She knew she’d saved the meal by offering herself and her pregnancy up as a willing distraction.

  They’d ridden to her place in silence, but now Mace reached for her hand and held it fast in his.

  Her heart hiccupped and she returned his grasp, reveling in the warm feel of his skin against hers.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “For what?” she asked as innocently as possible. “The way I see it, I should be thanking you.”

  “For what?”

  “For a terrific meal. For a good time. For sharing your family with me.”

  He looked away and grimaced.

  She got the distinct impression his reaction was a preprogrammed one. Because from where she sat, the only grimace material had been that brief period before she’d announced her pregnancy.

  “Your family is wonderful, Mace,” she said.

  He looked at her, seeming to search her face for an answer she wasn’t sure she had, but openly allowed him to search anyway. “I’d forgotten that,” he said. “Thank you for the reminder.”

  “No problem.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments.

  It was the middle of the day and they still held hands but there didn’t seem to be a rush to leave.

  But she knew he would be leaving. He needed to get back to work protecting that political bigwig.

  But she’d be damned if she was going to remind him of that and miss out on sharing this closeness.

  “I don’t know how late I’ll be tonight,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “I’d ask you to wait up…”

  She smiled at him. “If you did, I would.”

  He smiled back. “I’m thinking we could both do with a bit of sleep.”

  She looked down and nodded, trying to hide her disappointment.

  He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back.

  She didn’t know how much time they had left together, but she wanted to enjoy every moment. Still, he was right: they did need some solid rest.

  “Call you tomorrow?”

  She nodded again. “Sure.”

  He leaned over to kiss her.

  She was sure he’d meant to give her a brief goodbye peck, but the instant his lips met with hers, they lingered.

  Geneva breathed deeply, taking in the sweet scent of him. How she was coming to look forward to his kiss, his smell, his touch.

  He leaned back and she sighed.

  “Let me walk you up.”

  She began to object but he’d already opened his door and was getting out.

  She waited for him to open her door, feeling ridiculously touched that he liked to do these little things for her.

  Before she knew it, they were standing outside her apartment door.

  “Thank you again, Geneva.” His eyes were earnest. “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve enjoyed my parents’ company. Today, well, today isn’t something I’m soon to forget.”

  “Good,” she said.

  She reached out and touched the side of his handsome face, smiling deep into his eyes. Then she leaned in to kiss him softly, communicating more than gratitude or sexual need or even friendship.

  Long minutes later, he made a low sound in his throat and pulled away.

  “If I don’t go now, I’m afraid I won’t.”

  “And your point is?”

  He chuckled as he quickly kissed her one last time and slowly took his arms from around her. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  She watched him go, stopping every few steps to look back at her before continuing again. She didn’t go inside until she heard the downstairs outer door close behind him. Then she closed her own and leaned against it, staring at nothing and everything. She told herself she should be concerned about her wistful state. But her heart was hearing none of it…

  15

  TOMORROW AFTERNOON’S RALLY was going to be far more dangerous.

  Mace didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. If his radar had been tweaked while walking the route on the first go-round, this time alarm bells were going off.

  He told Darius about his concerns over the phone. His friend was still in Oregon working the kidnapping case.

  “He refuses to cancel,” Dari said finally.

  “Well, then, we’re just going to have to do the best we can to protect him. So long as you’ve outlined the risks and made your recommendations, that’s the only course of action to take.”

  “We could pull out.”

  Silence.

  Mace knew it was a radical solution that wasn’t really a solution at all.

  “Then we wouldn’t get paid.”

  “I feel that strongly about this.”

  “I know you do.”

  He paced the length of the conference room then back again, the men around him giving him a wide berth.

  Forget that the perpetrator from yesterday’s rally had yet to be caught; there were warning signs that tomorrow’s event would leave Norman even more vulnerable.

  First off, the venue was larger, harder to protect, not to mention the turnout was predicted to be quadruple, possibly more given the publicity received.

  Second, well, the gunman had gotten a taste of fame himself. Who was to say he wouldn’t make the next attempt bigger? Bolder?

  A normal man might be scared off.

  But they were dealing with someone who was far from normal here. Someone driven, someone insane enough to make the first attempt might be doubly motivated to make a second.

  He took a deep breath and stopped pacing.

  “Okay. I just needed to say the words,” he said to Dari.

  “Yeah, I know. And they would have been the same words I’d say if our roles were reversed.”

  “Yeah.”

  He doubted that, but he was grateful to his friend for saying it.

  A few moments later they disconnected and Mace turned to face the guys. They had their work cut out for them.

  But he had every confidence they could do it.

  “Okay, let’s get down to it…”

  * * *

  GENEVA’S CELL PHONE CHIMED. She rolled over in bed and squinted at the clock: it was just after five-thirty. Who would be texting her that early? Probably Trudy. She likely needed her to fill in again at the diner this morning.

  She groaned and reached for her cell phone. She’d worked the dinner shift last night and with a football game running into overtime, they were kept busy until well into the night. She didn’t get home until after eleven and while she’d made really good tips, she felt like she’d gotten maybe two hours of solid sleep.

  She accessed the text and experienced an instant infusion of adrenaline.

  It was Mace.

  “I’ve got an hour to spare. Do you want coffee?”

  Geneva tossed off the blankets even as she began texting back. “Where are you?”

  “Outside your place.”

  She hurried to the window, instantly catching sight of him where he leaned against her car holding up two cups of extra-large coffee in white foam cups.

  �
�I’ll buzz you in.”

  She looked down at her faded flannels, grabbed jeans and a sweater, then hurried to press the buzzer to let him into the building. Then she opened the apartment door even as she dashed for the bathroom. She’d gotten on her jeans and was putting on her sweater when she heard, “Hello?”

  She cracked the door. “Make yourself at home. I just need five.”

  She closed the door again then ran the water, washing up and upgrading herself to mildly presentable. Once finished, she stood staring at her reflection. What was she doing?

  She found herself smiling. She didn’t care. Right then, the only thing that mattered was that she had fifty-five minutes left to spend with Mace.

  She emerged from the bathroom to find him standing in front of the living room window staring outside, sipping coffee. He looked so damned good in dark slacks and a crisp white shirt, his dark hair combed and neat. She, on the other hand, felt like a field mouse who’d just emerged from a dusty hole.

  He sensed her presence and turned to face her, that grin of his lighting his face. “Hi.”

  “Hi yourself.” She cleared her throat.

  He put his coffee down and stepped closer, folding her into his arms. “I hope you don’t mind my stopping by so early unannounced.”

  “No, no.” She found she had a hard time breathing with him so close. “Not at all.”

  He smiled down at her then leaned in for a kiss. “Good, because I have another request to make.”

  Sleep still clung to the fringes of Geneva’s consciousness, emphasizing her wholehearted response to his kiss. “Oh?” she somehow managed to say, even as her thighs vibrated as if he were licking them instead of her lips.

  “I want to spend every moment possible of the next hour inside of you…”

  * * *

  MACE WASN’T SURE what had made him say the words. One minute he’d been on his way back to Denver following a long night and an even longer day ahead of him. The next he was pulling Geneva close and her sleep-enhanced scent made his need level surge.

  She blinked liquid hazel eyes up to stare at him and he chuckled softly, trailing his fingertips over her jawline before leaning in to kiss her even more deeply.

  She felt so good. Better than anyone had a right to. Holding her in his arms made him feel all-powerful yet grounded, hot as hell yet cool as could be.

  And it made him want her with an intensity he was loathe to ignore.

  He drew back and looked at her, waiting for her response.

  He heard her swallow thickly. “I’m sorry. Was I supposed to say something?” she whispered.

  He groaned and led her to her bedroom, drawing her close the instant they were inside. He kissed her then pulled off her sweater as she undid the first few buttons on his shirt and tugged it the rest of the way off. Within moments, they were stripped and breathless.

  She turned, rubbing her bare bottom against him, then reached an arm back and positioned her head so she could kiss him over her shoulder.

  Dear God, but she was sexier than any woman he’d ever known.

  He curved his hands around and cupped her breasts.

  She caught them in her hands. “Gently,” she whispered.

  He lightened his touch, kissing her more tenderly. Her quickening of breath told him she approved.

  He snaked his right hand down lower, over her abdomen, lower still…until his fingers rested against the springy hair between her thighs.

  Geneva made a small sound in the back of her throat then caught his hand. But rather than move it away as he was afraid she might, she budged it the rest of the way down until his fingers pressed against her dampness. Then she grasped his wrist as if to steady herself as he stroked her.

  So hot, so wet…

  He moved his fingertips back and forth and forth and back, lightly pinching her clit. At her gasp, he slid his middle finger between her silken folds, moving deep within her.

  She went limp in his arms. He gently moved her toward the bed. She reached out until her left hand rested against the mattress, bending slightly, even as she continued kissing him over her shoulder. He increased the frequency of his thrusts, taking pleasure in the way she bore down against him. He lowered his other hand and stroked her outside even as he did inside.

  “I…want…to…feel…you…” she rasped.

  “You will, baby, you will.” He thrust deeper. “Come for me now…”

  She moaned, her hips rocking against him.

  Geneva’s mouth opened against his in a gasp. He breathed it in and kissed her deeply, feeling her slick muscles contract around his fingers. He continued stroking and caressing her, drawing out her crisis, supporting her weight as she surrendered to the sensations rolling through her.

  “Please…” she whispered, kissing him languidly.

  He didn’t need any more encouragement. His penis was so erect it was nearly painful. Watching, bringing her to climax, had turned him on more than sex.

  He sheathed himself then pressed against her soaked flesh. She kissed him, replacing his hand with hers, then took him in.

  He nearly groaned aloud at the feel of her surrounding him, tight, still shivering. She reached her other hand out until she leaned completely against the bed. The sexy sight of her back, her hips, her rounded bottom made his erection pulse harder. He smoothed his hands down her spine then grasped her hips, holding her still as he surged into her. Her low moan echoed what he was feeling as he thrust again, then again.

  “Yes, oh, yes…”

  Each stroke brought him closer to her…closer to orgasm…closer to a euphoria that left him wondering with awe at its complexity and simplicity.

  He slowed, afraid of coming too fast. Geneva bore back against him, shifting her hips hungrily. He reached around, finding her damp curls, and rubbed her lazily. She caught his wrist. Not to pull him away, it seemed, but to hold him there as her body stilled, her back arched.

  Mace groaned and surged into her again, reaching for an unnamable something he needed more than he’d ever needed anything.

  Then, suddenly, it was upon him…

  His entire body stiffened, his blood roaring past his ears, through his body, making him feel totally, gloriously alive.

  Geneva moaned.

  Somehow, he found the will to thrust into her again, and again, harder, tilting his hips to change the angle of his stroke.

  She went still and her breathing seemed to stop.

  Mace grasped her hips tightly, moving in, pulling out…

  Reaching out his hand and taking her with him as he toppled over the edge into sheer bliss…

  16

  GENEVA LAY BONELESS in bed, her hand resting against Mace’s thigh next to her. They’d both ended up there, and somehow she’d managed to cover them both, but beyond that, she could do little more than marvel at the music pulsing through her body and focus on trying to breathe again.

  She sighed and curved against Mace, who seemed to be wearing the same expression she probably did as he stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.

  “You okay?” she whispered, kissing his shoulder.

  “Hmm? Oh. Yeah.” He grinned down at her then kissed the top of her head, rubbing his hand against her tangled hair. “I’m… I don’t know how I feel…”

  She sighed again and closed her eyes. “Yeah. Me, too.”

  They both chuckled then fell silent again.

  She couldn’t be sure if the spontaneous element of their lovemaking was behind her elevated reaction, but whatever it was, she wanted to do it again.

  And again and again and again…

  She guessed Mace would be in complete agreement.

  “You need to be in Denver again?”

  He nodded, his hand running lazy circles along her back
. “Yeah.”

  “Oh, okay. By the way, I thought you should know, your mother called me last night…”

  * * *

  MACE WENT TOTALLY and utterly still in abject terror.

  “What?”

  He was incapable of any other verbal response. Only that one word.

  Geneva gave a quiet laugh. “No worries. She just wanted to tell me how much she enjoyed meeting me.”

  Had his mom ever called Janine? He couldn’t recall. In fact, in that one moment, he couldn’t recall much of anything. His mind was frozen on the image of his mother calling Geneva…and Geneva picking up.

  “I haven’t even heard from my mother,” he said.

  Geneva shifted slightly. “Maybe because she thinks she’s bothering you whenever she calls.”

  He tucked his chin against his chest so he could look down at her. “Is that what she said?”

  “In so many words…yes. She did.”

  That was odd. He’d never considered that his mother might feel awkward about calling him.

  “What else did she say?”

  Geneva snuggled a little closer to him, putting her wet sex in direct contact with his thigh. He grew instantly hard.

  What had they been talking about?

  Oh, yeah. His mother.

  “That’s between me and your mother,” she said in answer to his question.

  He grimaced. “I can only imagine.”

  She shifted again, this time to prop herself up on one elbow so she could look at him. “Can you?”

  “Mmm.” The way she kept moving her sex against him was driving him to distraction.

  “I’m not entirely sure you can.”

  “One word: Marcus.”

  She seemed to consider him for a long moment. “Not in the sense you’re thinking.”

  He blinked.

  “Let’s just say I think there’s a whole lot going unsaid between you two.”

  “Oh, I think everything’s been said. And then some.”

  “Do you? Well, then I’m not sure which of you is more stubborn.”

  He raised his brows. “And you’re an expert on my mother and me because…?”

  She visibly winced then smiled. “I don’t consider myself an expert on anything,” she said quietly. “But I am a good listener.”