Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(59)

“Famous last words.” He leaned over, settling himself on top of her, his mouth hovering above hers. “Do you know how good you feel to me? If you don’t believe a damn word I say, believe that I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.”

He kissed her swiftly before shoving back up and taking her hips in his hands. He held her tight, his hips moving in a hard rhythm. He f*cked in and out, his pelvis grinding against hers on the down stroke.

There was nothing she could do but take everything he had to give her. She would have sworn she couldn’t come again. She’d never been one of those screaming multiple orgasm girls, but Master T was bringing it out of her.

He thrust in and his hips swiveled and she went over the edge again. She wanted to hold on to him, but all she could do was take what he gave. She shouted out his name as another wave hit her. This one was hard, rougher than the first. The pleasure crashed over her, leaving her breathless and exhausted, but she forced herself to stay with him. She wanted to watch him, wanted to see the moment she gave him the same pleasure he gave her.

His eyes closed, head dropping back as he held himself hard against her. His whole body tensed, but he didn’t make a sound. He thrust in a few more times, obviously in the grips of his orgasm, but there was a distance that disappointed her.

When he pulled out, she wanted to reach out and touch him, but he was pretty good with the bondage thing.

“Give me a minute,” he muttered and moved off the bed, disappearing into what she thought was likely the bathroom.

He’d left her. He’d f*cked her like she was the last woman on earth and then he’d walked away.

Why would he do that? Faith felt the beginnings of tears and forced them down. She didn’t know this was a rejection. People had odd reactions sometimes. She had to be patient and figure out what the problem was. Diagnose the issue.

Ten had been through a lot. His body attested to his rough life. Something could have triggered a bad reaction.

Or he could have not enjoyed the sex.

God, Faith, go to the worst-case scenario much? The man told you he wanted you more than he’d ever wanted a woman. Give him a minute to process.

Deep breath. It was going to be okay. They were learning each other’s quirks, and she wasn’t going to let her own insecurities derail what was turning out to be a really good relationship. If he felt the desperate need to run and hide in the bathroom moments after orgasm, then she would deal with it.

She wasn’t going to immediately think that the world was over. Positive thinking. Negativity never got her anywhere. Nope. It was going to be all right.

What was she going to do if he dumped her after one night?

The door opened and he strode out, a smooth smile on his face. “Extra large, my ass. I’m going to have a serious talk with Tag about the condoms he uses. I damn near filled that one to overflowing.” He started to work the ties off her wrists. “Or I was incredibly inspired. Sorry I left you in these. I didn’t want to make a horrible mess.”

She sighed as he got her free and drew her into his arms. He rolled over and cuddled her to his body.

“Can you forgive me?” He kissed her nose and smoothed back her hair.

She was warm again. She hugged him tight. This was what she’d missed during sex. She’d never really needed it before, but she craved this kind of intimacy with Ten. Warm and naked and safe. She rested her head against his shoulder. “Totally forgiven.”

“Will you come back to my place?”

Would she spend every minute with him until they had to decide what to do? Until reality invaded? Hell, yes. “Absolutely. My bags are packed and waiting.”

“Perfect,” he murmured.

Faith breathed him in, loving the smell of his skin mixed with the musk of their lovemaking. She relaxed and realized she would do almost anything for this man.

It wasn’t as scary a prospect as she thought it would be. She looked forward to the next few weeks and trusted that everything would work out the way it should.





Ten stared at himself in the mirror and wondered what the f*ck had happened in there. All around him the locker room was buzzing with sound and life, but he was focused on those last few moments with Faith, when he’d forgotten about anything but the silky feel of her skin, the hot clasp of her body. He’d closed his eyes because looking at her had been too intimate, too close. He’d never felt as close to a woman as he’d felt to Faith in those moments, and it had been far too much.

He’d been an ass. He’d practically jumped off the bed and run the f*ck away. He’d stood in the bathroom, trying desperately to stop his f*cking hands from shaking.

He’d covered it well. He’d forced himself to behave like an actual operative and not some lovesick idiot. He’d strode back out, made a joke about a condom, and pulled her into his arms. She’d settled in like she belonged there and all was right with the world.

Except he kind of hated himself.

“Just tell her.”

He turned and noticed Liam O’Donnell had left the man cave section of the locker room for the quieter changing stations. Big Tag had kitted up the men’s locker room with a widescreen LCD and a bunch of state-of-the-art lounge chairs. A good portion of the crew was currently sitting around the TV discussing the game that was on. The Rangers were up by two, but according to Tag it was all going to fall apart because the pitcher had a lazy arm or something and it was the top of the eighth.