I dried my hair as I came out of the ensuite bathroom and stared at Raven, still sleeping in bed. In my room. In my apartment. Half the time, it seemed to good to be true. We'd only been dating for about five months now. And yet here he was.
Twenty-five years old and I was just now finding someone I wanted to keep in my life.
I smiled and leaned against the wall, taking in his massive shape. The only way to define Raven Ravenstahl was powerful. He covered himself in tattoos and used his intimidating appearance to his advantage on his Academy missions, but to me, all I saw was my adorable, cuddly bear. His stacked muscles were almost overwhelming. He had broad shoulders but the substance in his torso balanced him out.
He slept on his stomach now, the blanket down around his waist to show off the tattoo of the ferocious bear covering his entire back. His head was turned away from me so all I could see was thick brown hair too short to become mussed in the morning. I'd been trying to talk him into growing it out because I loved the idea of being able to tug on the soft strands and run my hand through it, but hadn't been successful as of yet. I wasn't giving up hope though.
My phone buzzed on the night stand and I walked over, picking it up.
Dr. Roberts: Sang, let's have brunch. Bring Raven too.
I put my phone back down and sat down on the edge of the bed, running my fingertips along his back lightly. His muscles tensed and I smiled, knowing he was up instantly.
"Only you can touch me and not risk getting killed," he growled out, his deep voice hoarse with sleep, his thick Russian accent making the words harder to understand.
I laughed, barely containing the flutters his voice gave me, and stood up. "Except the first time you shoved me up against a wall and threatened to break my neck," I said.
He turned, his expression serious. "Not funny, Sang. I could have hurt you."
My smile softened at the guilt he still held from that moment.
"Are you sure?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "You did end up on the floor after all."
He chuckled and sat up. "What is wrong, my little one?"
"Mission. Apparently it's the two of us this time."
"Good. I've been wanting to do a mission with you."
I rolled my eyes and walked over to the door. When he moved to get up from the bed, the blanket shifted and I got a good look of the whole package that was Raven. Heavily tattooed, with piercings in more places than you would expect. My face heated as I thought about exactly where some of his piercings were. I shifted, growing uncomfortable, feeling phantom pains despite not having the same equipment as him. The idea of getting a piercing down there made me cringe. Not my thing, obviously.
"I like your thoughts," Raven laughed, now standing in front of me.
My face burned with embarrassment and he leaned down, giving me a deep kiss. I drew closer to him, enjoying the way he felt underneath my touch. My hands explored the hard planes of his abs as I got a reminder of just how much fun we had last night.
Finally, he pulled away, leaving me breathless and dazed.
"Maybe we should do a different mission? I can think of one I would really like to try with you right now." He wiggled his eyebrows and bit down on his lip ring, drawing a laugh from me.
"Go get ready, you big brute. I'm curious about this mission. I don't team up with others often."
He briefly kissed my forehead before turning to go into the bathroom. I watched, enjoying the way his muscles moved, the firmness of his butt, the way his bear tattoo shifted.
I sighed.
How the hell did I get so lucky?
I left the room, nearly tempted to get in the shower with Raven but knew we had to get going soon.
I went down the hall and into the kitchen, digging out a baby coffee from the fridge and taking a drink before gathering ingredients to make a quick breakfast.
The scrambled eggs were almost done when Raven came into the kitchen, wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans that kept drawing my eyes to his butt. I enjoyed that very view as he dug through the fridge for something to drink. My fingers twitched remembering how my nails dug into him last night.
"Where are you hiding your guns today?" I asked. I had a good idea but this became a game we played.
"Would you like to come and search?" he replied as he turned to face me, giving me a challenging look, his right eyebrow raised as his lip curled into a slight smile. He made sure to close the fridge before taking a step forward but then stopping. He wanted me to come to him.
Challenge accepted.
I turned off the burner, knowing the hot pan would finish the eggs as I stalked toward him, staying focused on his deep brown eyes. They darkened to nearly black as he watched me approach. When we were inches apart, I rested my hand against his chest, then rubbed down to his waist.
My fingers skimmed the edge of his shirt and I lifted the soft fabric up. I smirked as my fingers brushed against a gun tucked into the holster in the waistband of his jeans. I pulled it out and placed the small gun carefully on the table.
I continued my search, letting my arms go around to his back as I pressed up against him. He leaned forward, giving me a peck on the lips as I found the other gun tucked into the middle of his back and put it on the counter.
"That's two," I whispered. Taking a moment to drag my nails across his flesh, I smiled wickedly as my Russian growled. His reaction was more than audible, though, and stiff evidence pressed into my stomach. Heat pooled between my thighs, but I stepped away, having a search to complete. My competitive nature was one of the few things that could get in the way of the need stretching between us.
He didn't say anything else and I went down suggestively, allowing my hands to freely explore him along the way, making sure to take my time. I started with his back pockets, giving a good squeeze. His posture stiffened in all the right places, and I repressed a giggle as I gave him a feisty swat on the ass. I moved on to his front pockets, smiling as I got dangerously close to a certain favorite part of his. Mine too. He smirked as I lowered my hands to his thick thighs, then to his calves, and stopping at his ankles. Each ankle had a gun tucked in a small holster.
"Four," I said, standing up.
"Are you sure?"
I laughed. Teasing Raven was fun, but part of the reason we played so well together was because I knew how to push him to the edge without stepping past it. If I kept this up any longer, we wouldn't be having breakfast today. And while the thought of skipping breakfast for a little more fun was tempting, we had a job to get to and I desperately needed sustenance after last night. And this morning.
"With you, never." I stepped away from his warmth and back to the stove, plating the eggs. Raven grabbed the toast, his guns tucked away once again, and we went to the small table in the kitchen.
Breakfast went by quickly and soon we were out the door and heading to Academy headquarters. Our destination was only a block away from the Academy hospital and was a four story nondescript building blending in with Charleston all around. There was a small parking lot off to the side and I tucked my little car between two others.
"I'm driving next time," Raven said as he pulled himself out of my tiny dark red Mazda that suited me to a tee, but made Raven look like he was attempting to get out of a clown car. "And we are using one of my brothers' cars."
I laughed. "Never happening. The last time I let you drive, you nearly killed me. I'd like to make it through my twenties safely."
He didn't say anything, remaining silent as we bypassed the security desk. I tapped my ID against the turnstile so I could pass through. A beep came after me and then Raven was right there beside me.
We went up to the second floor and to the conference room Dr. Roberts texted to me while I was driving. He was already inside the room, patiently waiting for us. I went in and spotted him to the right, looking over a new photograph someone hung on the wall.
Phil was best described as warm. As an older man approaching retirement, he had white thinning hair, especially on the very top of his head. His friendly face brought out the age spots kissing the thinning skin over his cheekbones, and reminding us that he was getting up there in age despite his youthful personality.
When his blue eyes fell onto me, he flashed a warm smile and pulled me into a hug. I returned it happily, Dr. Roberts was my father figure. He taught me what a father really meant because the one I had was nothing but a wimp, letting the women in his life control him. He was a spineless waste of space and that meant I didn't have any protection from my stepmother.
But Dr. Roberts. He saved my life and taught me what independence was all about. What freedom tasted like. He taught me to be my own person.
We sat down at the long conference table and Raven decided he didn't want to wait anymore.
"What's happening?" he asked, leaning back in his chair with his hands resting on his thighs.
"I want to send you both on a mission. We are investigating a specific hotel in Las Vegas. The place serves as both a hotel and a casino and we believe there is illegal gambling going on along with drug deals in the back. I want Sang to go into Elysium Resort posing as a rich woman who enjoys her gambling. You'll have to spend about a week there. Explore the resort, gamble, introduce yourselves to the important people and find out who is who. You'll be a high stakes roller, spending a lot of money. Our contact will be providing all the funds you will need, so please don't hold back or feel guilty."
"And Raven?" I asked.
"He will act as your personal bodyguard. It isn't unheard of for people who spend a lot of money there to have them. His presence will help cement the persona we created for you for this mission. I had someone set everything up for you so if they do try to look into you, you'll pass their scrutiny."
I leaned back as I flipped open the folder that had more details of the mission, including the people of interest. "So go in and throw around money."
"And attract attention."
Raven stiffened next to me because we both knew what that meant. Since this would be our first mission together, this would be the first time he would have to see what I did. Being female, single, and young would go a long way in a place like this. Especially if they were rich too.
"We need you to get invited to the rumored private parties. That's where we believe the illegal gambling occurs."
I nodded in understanding and glanced at Raven. He didn't bother to look over the mission details. That wasn't who he was. From what he could tell me, he's really good at following orders, but investigations weren't ideal for him. He liked to shoot first, maybe even throw a few punches, before he even thought to ask questions.
"How do you want me to set up surveillance?"
"The usual."
I nodded. "That will keep me busy."
"You're thinking about something, what is it?" Dr. Roberts asked. When I had suggestions, he was really good at listening and taking them into consideration. It took me a while, but I learned to voice my limits on a mission. It was important to know when something would be too much for me to do alone.
A painful visit to the hospital had taught me that early in my career.
"If we have a full team with us, they can go deeper into the investigation while I spend my time enjoying the resort. This is a lot of work for just Raven and me. Since you're asking me to be in the limelight, I won't be able to get into certain areas unnoticed and do you really think Raven, with his size, will be able to do that?"
"What are you suggesting?"
I turned to Raven and grinned. "I think it's time to meet the Toma team. You've kept me away from your family long enough. I want to finally put faces to the names you talk about so often. And from what I know, they'll be perfect for this."
Raven narrowed his eyes but I could see the amusement spark within them. "Fine, I'm sure they are going stir crazy anyways. And Marc has been wanting to do something a little more challenging."
"How do you plan to use them?"
"Well, I need different arm candy. I figure, each day, I'll be with someone different. It'll show our persons of interest I'm not committed to anyone and that I enjoy a good time with men. It'll draw them in." I glanced at Raven, noting his stony expression. He didn't like it. "And since there are, what, six on the team? I'll be able to have someone different with me each day. While we are getting around, face-to-face, with those under investigation, the others can be working in the background to gather all the evidence we need and to get into the places I can't."
The room fell silent as Raven and Dr. Roberts thought about what I proposed. I could tell Raven wasn't fond of the idea, but I also knew he trusted his brothers. He'd trust them with me. He knew they wouldn't do anything to hurt me.
Dr. Roberts nodded. "This will work. I need to get in contact with the sponsor since he only wanted two people but I'll get him to budge on this. When he agrees, I'll get in touch with Axel and set up a time to meet." He stood up. "Sang, you'll need to go buy some nice cocktail dresses. There's a credit card in there for you too."
I nodded and we watched as he walked out the door.
I turned to Raven and reached out for his hand, letting my fingers trace over his knuckles. I'd never been so touchy feely before, not until I met Raven.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"I think they are finally going to get what they've been asking for."
I cocked an eyebrow.
"They've been bugging me to meet you," he fake pouted.
I giggled. "And now you have no choice but to let me meet them."
He grumbled something underneath his breath in Russian. I only knew a couple of words so all I could make out was the word steal.
I leaned over and nudged him with my shoulder. "Besides, I finally get to meet Corey."
Raven didn't say anything. He had told me about his attraction to his teammate, Corey, when we first started dating. He didn't think Corey liked him. He said he wanted to be transparent about his feelings. I was surprised at first but despite his feelings for Corey, I never felt any less cared for. I had told him it was Corey's loss and I meant it.
Raven was definitely rough around the edges but his loyalty endeared him to me all the more. Plus he made me feel safe. Not many did that. While Dr. Roberts was a great mentor and a father figure, I never felt as safe as I did when I was in Raven's arms.
"Come, my little one," Raven said, getting to his feet. "If I have to share you for the next week, then I'm not wasting another minute on mini things."
I giggled and let him pull me to my feet. "Little things, Raven," I corrected.
"Same."
"Of course it is," I said, adding just a little dose of sweet sarcasm to my voice.
I let him drag me out of the conference room and out of the Academy building because I agreed with him.
If we were going to be busy for the next week, I wanted all the time I could have with him right now. We became experts at making use of the little bits of time we had together considering how our different missions got in the way.
I had to admit, though, I was excited about getting to work with Raven.
Should be fun.