Page 128 of Every Last Breath

She nodded, hauling his shirt over his head. “But not for food. Please tell me you’ve got a decent bed in this place and not some economy-size cot.”

They both chuckled.

“I have a nice setup in the master, the best mattress and sheets money can buy.”

“Of course you do. Superman’s Fortress of Solitude might’ve been stark and efficient, but he did have a luxurious king-size bed waiting for Lois.”

He hiked his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak.

She pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him, and flashed a naughty grin.

They stared in each other’s eyes for a sweet moment that had his blood pounding in anticipation before she curled her fingers in his hair and gave him a long, lazy kiss that sent a shock of heat racing through him.

Cupping her breast, he ran a thumb over her bra across a pebbled nipple.

A mewling sound rose in her throat, and she eased her lips free. “Let’s shower. Then you can show me that bed. And it better live up to the high expectations I have for my Man of Steel.” She winked at him.

Her words went right to his heart and several places farther south.

* * *

Soft candlelight flickered like fireflies, casting the bedroom in an amber glow. Maddox kissed Cole, needing another taste of him. Their bodies were a tangle of limbs, breath mingled, supple flesh melded as one. The musky scent of sex thickened the air.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” The whispered chant spilled from her lips in his ear, and she couldn’t stop it, wanted him to hear it, ached for him to feel it.

They rocked against each other in the sumptuous bed fit for royalty, clutching one another, fueled by this sensual craving that never diminished. She relished the cocoon they spun in their slow, nurturing connection. Skin on skin, the thudding of their hearts vibrating through her, they were as close as possible in every way.

His warm, rough hands slid over her body, cupping the swell of her breasts and butt. Those fingers had explored her curves, every scar with such tenderness, there was no doubt he cherished her. Imperfections and all.

Her whole body tightened, unraveling in the ecstasy they made together. In a vicious groan, he came undone with her.

The full weight of him pressed down on her, his breath ragged against her throat, his lips tracing her jawline. She smiled in his lush hair, never wanting him to move, relishing the ache. Sated and rooted in this moment, in their love, in being his from skin to soul.

He caressed her face with both hands and kissed her. “Hungry, lyubov moya?”

She’d never tire of hearing him call her “my love” in Russian. “Starving.”

“The steakhouse a couple of blocks over delivers until midnight on the weekends.”

“Sounds perfect. Along with a glass of wine and a couple of ice packs.” The ache from her bruises and scrapes was setting in.

Her cell phone buzzed, vibrating on the nightstand. Groaning, Cole rolled off her, and she grabbed it.

“It’s the office.” Surprise was rich in her voice. She answered. “Maddox here.”

“Sanborn got the thumbs-up on an immunity deal and it’s being ironed out,” Castle said. “But the president insists after the deal is signed that Novak is transferred into the custody of the U.S. Marshals until we can apprehend the broker.”

She jackknifed up in the bed. “What? Novak will never agree to it. For the first time, I saw something that terrified him. The broker. He can’t be transferred.”

“It’s out of Sanborn’s hands if he wants the president to sign the immunity deal.”

A dark, sinking sensation churned in her stomach. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” It wasn’t going to end well.

“None of us do.”

“I’ll come in early to help oversee the transfer.”

“No, you’re taking time off. We thought you should know. That’s all. Sanborn is recalling Alastair and Ares. They’ll help. And we’re going to start polygraphing everyone. Listen, get some rest and enjoy your downtime with Lover Boy. When you get back, you’ll be working around the clock until our leak is plugged. Later.” Castle disconnected.