“How about . . .” She looks up at the ceiling in deep thought before continuing, “Gump?”

My eyebrows furrow because of her word choice. “Gump?”

She gives me this look that says, ‘Really? You don’t know this?’ Typical woman. “That day we played paintball . . .” she trails off, giving me a clue.

“Yeah,” I draw out. Then it hits me. “Oh, I remember now. You got shot in the ass that day.” I try hard to hold back the laughter, but it comes out anyway. Out of all the places for her to get hit, she takes one to the ass. What are the odds?

She giggles a little. “Exactly. So if there’s a problem, I’ll call you that in my email.”

I lean in and kiss her. “That’s perfect,” I say against her lips. She seals her lips over mine and I’m about to pull her down on top of me when I realize I’ve been out for a while and I need to get back. My lips pull away from hers reluctantly. “As much as I’d like to keep doing this, I really have to go.” Her shoulders sag in disappointment and I hate it. I place my hand on her face and rub her cheek with my thumb as I stare into her eyes. Damn, I love this girl. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’d stay if I could.”

She lets out a sigh and leans into my touch. “I know. When will I see you again?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll come back as soon as I can though.” I get up and get dressed. I’m not even gone yet and I’m already dreading being away from her. She stands up and slips her arms through the sleeves of her shirt. She starts to button it but pauses when she realizes she can’t. I give her a cocky grin when she looks up at me through her eyelashes. My eyes drag over her body. She’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen with her shirt open down the center, only exposing the middle of her body. I follow the path down until they stop at the apex of her thighs. My tongue darts out and licks my lips as I remember the sweet taste of her arousal.

A throat clearing brings me back to the here and now. When I look up, it’s Elizabeth that has a cocky grin plastered on her face now. “You sure you have to leave?” she taunts with a seductive gleam in her eye.

A growl rumbles in the back of my throat before I’m advancing toward her. She retreats until her back hits the wall and there’s nowhere for her to go. Grabbing her wrists, I pin them above her head with one hand. My finger feathers down her sternum and her breath hitches when I reach her clit. “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart,” I say against her lips. “My restraint is hanging by a thread. If you keep pushing me, I’m going to fuck you against this wall until you can’t move.” Her breathing accelerates with each word. She thought she had the upper hand with her display, but I’m in control now.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a deterrent, Mr. Matthews.” She’s trying to play it cool like she’s unaffected, but the breathy tone of her voice and darkening of her eyes says otherwise.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To be taken against this wall hard and fast?”

She shrugs nonchalantly. “Eh,” is her only response. She wants to play? I’m down.

I grind my hips into her, earning a small moan. “Looks like I’m not the only one ready to snap, am I?” She bites her lip, refusing to admit to me that she desperately wants more. That’s okay, I’m a patient man. I’ll have her begging me in no time. “Don’t move your hands from this spot. Understand?” She nods in acknowledgment.

My lips find her neck and kiss down it ever so slowly. She gasps when my tongue traces her collarbone. Fighting back the smug smile that threatens to take over my face, I continue sucking, kissing, nipping, and licking her skin. I push her shirt open to uncover her large breasts. Sneaking a glance up, I see she’s watching my every move with clouded eyes that are filled with lust and desire. My finger traces a circle around her nipple, careful not to touch it. I flick it, causing her to arch her back and throw her head back on a moan.

“You want more?” I ask, my own restraint being tested to the limits.

She swallows hard before bringing her gaze back to me. “Eh,” she says again with another damn shrug. A low chuckle leaves my mouth at her stubbornness.

My tongue traces the same path my finger took around her nipple. Looking up at her while I do it, she squeezes her eyes shut and presses her lips together. I drop to my knees quickly, causing her to look down at me as I grab one of her legs behind her knee and drape it over the back of my shoulder. I raise my eyebrows at her in expectation, but she’s still holding back from me. Time to make her beg for it.

I kiss her thigh, her stomach, everywhere but where she wants it. While I do this, I rub my hands up and down her legs and cup her ass. She whimpers in frustration, but I’m not giving in. My fingers skim over her core softly and her hands go to my head and fist my hair.

“Uh, uh, uh. Hands up top,” I chastise.

“Please, Alex.”

“Please, what?”

“I want more. I need more.” She tries to pull my head to the apex of her thighs, but I’m not done toying with her yet.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Please. Make me come. I need to come,” she says breathlessly. In a flash I’m standing on my feet, pick her up, and have her pinned against the wall. She lets out a small yelp in surprise. I unbutton and unzip my pants quickly before pulling out my throbbing cock. Positioning it at her entrance, I slide into her in one, hard thrust. I don’t stop fucking her until she’s screaming my name and begging for her release.

We walk to the front door hand in hand. Before opening it, I turn back toward her and kiss her on the nose. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

She nods her head, tears pooling in her eyes. “Okay. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” I place a soft, lingering kiss to her lips and then leave. Hurrying down the driveway, I have to fight not to turn around and go back to her. I feel off when I’m not with her, like a part of me is missing. And I guess it is. She holds my heart, giving me a greater purpose in this life.

Once I’m shielded by some of the larger bushes at the edge of the yard, I look over my shoulder toward the house and see her standing in the large window. She waves and then blows me a kiss. I couldn’t stop the grin that spreads across my face if I tried. I wink at her and continue my way toward the street. Yeah, it’s going to damn near kill me to try and stay away from her for a few days.

NO ONE SAYS a damn word to me when I get back. Where did Cal find these dumbasses? If I didn’t have a bunch of shit on the line right now, I’d be out of here so quick. I’m trying to hide it, but I’m starting to feel really anxious and getting impatient waiting on Turner to put the pieces together. Each minute that ticks by is another minute closer to my deadline, and puts me further away from Elizabeth.

I hate sitting here feeling like I’m not doing anything, so I decide to try to get some information from Rodney and Bruce. “So, how long have you guys worked for the Senator?”

“A few years or so,” Rodney offers up. From the information we’ve been able to gather, we’re estimating Cal started taking illegal campaign funds around four years ago, so this would match up with our timeline.

“Do you guys always hang out and watch people that are forced to do his dirty work?” I pretend to be engrossed in doodling on this scrap piece of paper.

“What’s it to you?” Bruce interrupts sternly. Looking up, he glares at me and I know I need to watch it.

I shrug. “Just curious.”

“Don’t fucking worry about it. You do your job and that’s it.” I nod slowly and continue drawing on my piece of paper. That wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but I can’t interrogate the assholes and chance blowing my cover, so I drop it.

The stress of the last two months is taking its toll on me. Usually, I’m pretty good under pressure. Hell, I strive in it, but not when the stakes are so high. Not when the one person I love is being used against me. I don’t give a shit what happens to me at this point, but I will make damn sure that she gets out of this situation unharmed.