Cole Waverly. Fuck, what was she going to do?
Well, that wasn’t really a question; she knew the answer: she was going to clear Clay Waverly’s name. And what were those little jabs about? She wasn’t the one who got all noble and walked away. The espionage game was a dirty business and neither of them had clean hands.
Cash led her down to the guest house that had an enormous room with an ornate, king-size iron bed and a nicely appointed kitchen, plus a spa-like bath. One portion was set up as a sitting area office combination with a lovely antique desk and credenza.
“You’re right, Cash. This would be ideal, if you’re sure I won’t be an imposition.”
“No, you won’t. Why didn’t you mention to me that you knew my brother, Cole?”
She smiled, looked down at her feet, exhaled, and looked him in the eye. “Because it has nothing to do with my handling of Clay’s case and it’s none of your business. If you didn’t know, it’s because Cole didn’t tell you. If you have any questions about it, I suggest you direct them to your brother. My personal life is off limits. As I said to your brother, if you don’t want me to handle the case, I can hand it off to another attorney in my firm or refer you to someone else. But the fact is, I’m one of the best defense attorneys in the country. You already paid a hefty retainer to engage my services, and I always put the needs of my client before anything. My advice would be to shove your suspicions of what might or might not have happened between me and Cole and let me keep your youngest brother from being convicted of murder.”
Cash smiled in response to her direct answer. “No, I think it might be entertaining to watch you and Cole spar. For the record, nothing ever riles Cole, but one look at you and all his hackles went up. I don’t know what happened between the two of you—and you’re right, it isn’t any of my business—but I will tell you this: for all his sarcasm and don’t give a shit attitude, I’ve never known anyone who feels things more intensely than Cole. Whatever happened wounded him deeply. As long as you don’t try to hurt him even more, you and I won’t have an issue. But I swear to you, Kennedy, that if you do anything that harms any of my brothers, I will bring all the power of Koyama' to bear and end you and your precious law firm.”
He handed her the key to the door, telling her it was the only one, then turned on his heel and left her standing in the middle of the cottage. It was easy to see the Waverly brothers were cut from the same cloth. She spent the next hour unpacking, putting her things away, and making a grocery list. Once she got her laptop and the secure network router set up, she called the firm.
“Casey? It’s Kennedy,” she said, calling her legal assistant’s direct line.
“So, how’s it going in Hicksville, Idaho?” Casey had been born and bred in the posh Seattle suburb of Mercer Island.
“You do remember that I grew up in Idaho and that Ernest Hemingway...”
“Committed suicide there. Personally, I think it was because he finally realized he never should have left Paris.”
Kennedy laughed. Casey was a snob, but she was also nuts about Paris. She took all three weeks of her vacation there every year and threatened that one day, she would never return.
“You could be right. In any event, call and cancel whatever hotel reservation you have. The client has a secure and separate guest house and I’ll be staying there. It has a great office space and a cozy, river rock fireplace. And they’ve got horses for me to ride,” Kennedy teased. Casey was terrified of horses.
“So, what you’re saying is that I can do anything you need doing from here.”
“I don’t see why not. This is a small town. I don’t think showing up with my paralegal or sending you to file documents with the court would go over well here. I need to get the lay of the land and blend in. I don’t want Clay’s case to suffer because the local yokels decide to show the big city lawyer they can’t be intimidated.”
“Those poor bastards have no idea what’s in store for them. So did he do it?”
“Too early to say for certain,” said Kennedy after thinking about it. “But I highly doubt it. I think the victim was genuinely hated by all four of his sons, but none of them strikes me as a killer. I’ll put together a list of things I’m going to need from the office and things for you to help with.”
“I’ll take care of it as soon as I get the email.”
Kennedy hung up and went to work completing her office setup and making lists of the things she would need in order to win. It was a thorough list. Kennedy had no intention of losing.
Naples, Italy
Seven Years Ago
Cole Waverly lay next to Quinn Williams, although he was beginning to suspect that wasn’t her real name. Her even, rhythmic breathing indicated she was asleep. He nuzzled her hair and breathed her in. He loved the way she smelled, a kind of earth goddess with hints of prickly pear and vanilla. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his body, hugging her tightly, reveling in the warmth and silky texture of her skin.
Quinn moaned and laughed. “Again? I’m beginning to think you’re insatiable.”
“Not true,” he murmured against her skin. “The problem is, I’m beginning to crave the complete and utter satisfaction I get from fucking you.”
She laughed softly and rolled over in his embrace. Cole knew she wasn’t what she said she was and only hoped they were on the same side. He knew he should walk away, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He could, however, lower his mouth to hers and kiss her softly, letting the intimate dance of their tongues spark arousal all over again.
Kissing Quinn broke all the rules. Normally, he didn’t kiss at all. Normally, he kept his distance. Kissing was far too intimate, so he settled for satisfying his lust by fucking his partner through numerous orgasms, leaving them sated, replete and utterly alone, but he hadn’t been able to do that with Quinn. He wanted more but wasn’t entirely sure he could solve the puzzle that was this mysterious woman. Maybe he didn’t need to. Maybe he could find a way to get her out and keep her safe.
She hooked one of her legs over his, drawing him closer and letting her hands roam all over his body. He never let a woman take charge during sex; that concept was foreign to his nature. He was a dominant predator, and it permeated every area of his life. Cole rolled to his back, allowing her full access, remembering to repress the barbs that wanted desperately to form.
He only made love to her face-to-face or with her on top. He didn’t trust himself not to sink his fangs into her in a claiming bite if he took her from behind and mounted her properly. God, he longed to feel her writhe beneath him as he raked her tender flesh with his barbed cock. As she kissed, licked, and nipped her way across his torso, he stroked her skin, purring to her in a way she could barely hear, but he knew she could feel.
There was no doubt in his mind that Quinn Williams, or whatever her real name was, was his bonded spirit. The fact that she was a human pureblood and not a mountain lion-shifter was of little importance. His only hesitation was that she continued to lie to him. Granted, it had gone from outright to merely evading his questions but lies remained. The problem was, he didn’t care. She could be spying for Russia, China, or any other foreign government and he wouldn’t mind one bit. He’d remove whatever hold they had over her and take her out of this life. They’d go home to Idaho, to Koyama', where they’d settle down and tell the world to go fuck itself.
He kissed her again, opening himself to the possibilities, letting go of the need to withhold a part of himself, to be ever mindful of what he said or did, to never give the game away. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered was her. He fused his mouth to hers in the same way he wanted to do with their bodies. He knew he should be careful, to listen to the alarms clanging in his head warning of danger, but he couldn’t.
Cole pushed her on to her back. Quinn was relaxed and the smile that played at the corners of her mouth was one of anticipated pleasure as the spark of passion ignited and burned anew. She opened her arms and invited him in. He leaned over, cupping and caressing her breast with one hand while he sucked her pebbled nipple into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. She wriggled closer and he allowed his hand to drift down between her legs. The copious amount of warm cream that covered his hand was partially his and partially hers. His finger sought and found the hard little pearl at the top of her sex and teased it by circling around and over it, but never settling.
“Cole,” she said, frustration lacing her tone.
Time to remind her who was really in charge. He gripped her clit between his thumb and forefinger and just as she sighed, thinking she’d gained what she wanted, he pinched the little nub before giving it a sharp tug and giving her nipple the edge of his teeth. Both made her gasp in pain before morphing into a pleasured sigh. He covered her body with his own, using his knee to force her thighs apart so he could settle himself there.
She wrapped her legs around him, making a place for him. He could feel her breath matching the beat of her heart.
“Please, Cole, I want you. I need you.”
He held himself off of her only as much as he needed to start working his cock into her agonizingly slow. Her pussy was tight, but he knew it would soften and take him in. Nothing and no one had ever felt better than Quinn.
“You’re still so tight. Am I hurting you?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “You feel amazing. I love the way you fill me up.”
She was wrong. It was so much more than amazing. It was fate, destiny—his bonded spirit, his home, his everything. Her pussy was warm, wet, slick, and felt as though it had been created for him and him alone.
He pressed her into the mattress as he surged inside her in one long pass. Quinn’s fingers flexed into the muscles of his shoulders as her back arched and her inner walls trembled, contracting all up and down his length. As he stroked her strong and sure, her heart and breath rate increased and became thready as she writhed beneath him. Her body stiffened in anticipation, then shook as a powerful orgasm washed over her.
Cole continued to hammer her pussy. He wanted her to come at least once more. He savored the connection they had as he felt his need for her, to be connected with her, coursing through his veins. He dragged himself back, then thrust into her powerfully, all the way to his balls. He pounded into her, harder and harder. It felt so right to be with her, as though the missing piece of his soul had finally fallen into place. He didn’t hold back; there was no need. She could take all he had to give her and was as savage in her need as he was in his.
Her body began to prepare to come again for him. It shuddered and her face tightened as her pussy clamped down on him and she cried out his name. He covered her mouth with his, negating the sounds she was making until they were only sweet, muffled moans that bespoke of her pleasure. Just as she reached the crescendo of her orgasm, his own hit him like a wildfire burning out of control and consuming them both.
Cole grasped her buttocks, holding her still as he pumped his seed into her. His cock jetted a stream of semen in a wave of sweet relief. He ground himself against her cunt as it milked him dry. When he had nothing more to give, he collapsed on top of her, letting her take his full weight. She nuzzled his neck as her fingers wound in his hair. He buried his face in her breasts, knowing that if he died then and there, he would do so the happiest of men.
Fuck that, the lion in him roared. Cole knew he would never be happy, never be content until he had claimed her in the ancient ways of his kind and seeded her furrow so that it would bear fruit. His lion intended to claim his mate and make her his. The needs of the service and his country be damned.