Geek Squad 02 - Operation Foxtrot Read online

  I looked.

  If I had been in human form, my eyebrows would have been in my hairline. It wasn’t no-neck mobster thugs looking for their prey. It was a couple of kids, teenagers. They were over in the corner giggling like two fools as they passed a joint back and forth between them.

  I would have laughed, but I didn’t think ocelots laughed, but they growled.

  We were cats after all.

  I growled.

  Loudly.

  “Hey, did you hear that?”

  “Dude, you’re high. It’s nothing.”

  “No, really, I heard something.”

  I growled louder and pushed into one of the stacks of boxes until it moved.

  “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”

  I seriously wanted to laugh as the two teens dropped their joint and tore back up the stairs. I doubted they would be coming back down here again, at least not anytime soon.

  I shifted back to my human form and walked over to where they had dropped the joint, grounding it out beneath my feet. I didn’t want to accidentally start a fire down here, even if that would be an improvement on the place.

  I stayed hidden where I was as I waited a few minutes to see if we would have anymore company. When nothing happened, I pushed the stacks of boxes out of the way and opened the door.

  When I couldn’t immediately see Cooper, I cautiously stepped inside the room. “Cooper?”

  I yelped when I was grabbed, pulled into the room, and slammed into the wall. Cooper’s hard body pressed up against me, trapping me against the wall. His heavy breath panted out across the nape of my neck.

  “What was that?”

  “I heard someone coming,” I replied.

  Yeah, that sounded lame even to my ears.

  “Look. I heard someone coming. I just reacted.”

  “By shoving me into a room?” There was definite bite to Cooper’s voice. “I’m Marine Force Recon. I do not get shoved.”

  My jaw dropped.

  Cooper was pissed because he thought I had insulted his manhood? Seriously, the guy had nothing to worry about in that department. He was all male.

  “I was trying to keep you safe.” I raised my hand in the air and flicked out my very sharp claws. “Marine Force Recon or not, I’m a little more lethal than you are.”

  Well, maybe not, but it sounded good in my head.

  I really had no idea what all I could do beyond turning furry and growling. I’d clawed a few things just to test my claws out, but beyond that, I had no clue.

  It still sounded good in my head.

  Cooper leaned in close, his breath blowing out over my face. “Never shove me into a room.”

  “Cooper—”

  “I had no idea what happened to you, and I had to sit here and do nothing because someone was coming into the room and I didn’t know if you had shifted or not. If you had gotten into trouble, how was I supposed to know, let alone help you?”

  My breath stuttered in my throat. “You were worried about me?”

  Why?

  Cooper’s frown deepened. “Of course I was worried about you.”

  Again…why?

  “I can take care of myself,” I insisted.

  “Then why are you hiding in a basement?”

  Good point.

  “Thank you,” I whispered. Except for my friends, I couldn’t remember the last time someone had worried about me.

  Cooper’s green eyes softened. “Just don’t try and face this stuff by yourself, okay?”

  I smiled up at the big man. “Okay, Cooper.”

  God, I wanted to kiss him.

  Cooper must have read my mind. His gaze dropped to my lips. For a moment, I thought he might give in, but then he turned away. My heart sank. I tried not to take it personally, but it was nearly impossible. I wanted the man so badly, and I knew he wanted me, but he wouldn’t give in.

  It was aggravating.

  And I was stupid for even considering it. Cooper had already stated that what had happened between us could never happen again. I didn’t need to have my heart broken any more than it already was, and that was exactly what would happen if I kept fantasizing about Sgt. Dennis Cooper.

  “We need to go,” I said as I pushed away from Cooper. The furry creature inside of me was howling. It seemed to be perfectly happy pressed up against Cooper’s muscular body.

  “Hey.” Cooper grabbed my arm, pulling me back. “Don’t walk away from me.”

  Seriously?

  I jerked on my wrist, but Cooper wasn’t letting go. I huffed and stared at the man. Apparently, I wasn’t going anywhere until Cooper had his say. I knew I could break the hold if I really wanted to, but did I want to?

  Hell, no!

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  I knew it wouldn’t be what I wanted.

  “Stop dismissing me.”

  Was that what I was doing?

  “Stop putting your hands on me,” I countered, dropping my eyes to where he gripped my arm.

  Cooper instantly let me go.

  I brushed my hands down my sweater to get the wrinkles out, grimacing when I got a good look. The sweater could not be saved. Not even my dry cleaner would be able to get the stains out of it, and they were the best in my neighborhood.

  “We need to go,” I said, giving up on the sweater. I would mourn later. Right now, I just wanted to go home and climb into something more comfortable, preferably my bed. I’d like to have company in that bed, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  “Fucking hell.” Cooper grabbed me and slammed me back into the wall, pressing into me once again. “You drive me fucking nuts,” he said right before he lowered his head and captured my lips in a kiss that curled my toes.

  I wasted no time in opening up and allowing Cooper in. Rejection or not, kissing the man was like kissing a light socket. It was exciting, arousing, and dangerous all at the same time. I’d take a thousand more of them before I protested.

  If I protested.

  I’d be stupid to protest.

  By the time Cooper lifted his head, I was out of breath. When he opened his mouth, I braced myself to be rejected once again. If he said this could never happen again, I’d smack him.

  “We should go,” he said.

  I wasn’t so sure about that. I had no idea how we were going to get out of here, and Cavetti’s thugs were still searching for us. The chances of us escaping the building without being seen were pretty slim.

  Being hunted sucked.

  Chapter Six

  “Maybe we should just stay down here for a while.”

  The astonished look Cooper shot me said he thought I’d lost my mind.

  Whatever.

  “Look, they are up there looking for us, but they are not down here looking for us. Let’s just sit this out until they move on.”

  “You don’t think those two kids are going to run to the first cop they see and report a wild animal down here?”

  “As high as they were?” I snickered with amusement. “The last person they are going to go to is a cop. I doubt they are doing anything but heading to the closest pizza joint.”

  Cooper’s lips twitched at the corners. “Okay, you may have a point there, but I’m still not sure staying down here is a good idea.”

  It was a freaking fantastic idea. My feet ached. I was tired.

  I was hungry.

  “You got anything to eat?”

  Cooper’s eyebrow rose before he reached into one of the many pockets on his pants and pulled out a granola bar. I smiled when he tossed it to me. I walked over and sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall the farthest from the door.

  I could feel Cooper’s eyes on me as I tore the granola bar open and started eating it. I couldn’t say it was comfortable, exactly, but it wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen to me. Flying to South America and being turned into an ocelot after drinking jungle juice would always—always—top that list.

  “Want some?” I asked as I held up th
e granola bar.

  Cooper shook his head, but walked over and slid down the wall to sit beside me. “You go ahead. I’m not hungry.”

  I was starving.

  “I could eat a cow.”

  Did ocelots even eat meat?

  Maybe I needed to spend more than ten minutes with Santos. That crazy jungle shaman seemed to know more about being an ocelot shifter than I did, and that wasn’t a good thing.

  I was the damn shifter.

  I finished the granola bar and shoved the wrapper in my pocket. The basement might be in the pits of hell, but I wasn’t a litter bug.

  I dropped my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. That whole tired thing was catching up with me. I’d pretty much sell…well, one or two sweaters…for my bed right at the moment.

  “Here.”

  I opened my eyes and glanced at Cooper. He was holding his arm out. “What?”

  “Scoot over here. You can use me to rest.”

  “I’m good,” I said quickly. Cuddling up to Cooper was the last thing I needed to be doing, especially in my exhausted state. My resistance to the man was practically nonexistent.

  “Just get over here, Andrew.”

  “No, really, I’m—”

  I was grabbed and pulled close to Cooper’s side. He couldn’t see me roll my eyes, but that was only because he was pressing my head down to his shoulder.

  “Close your eyes and rest, Andrew. I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

  I wanted to argue, but my eyelids were already flickering.

  It didn’t help that Cooper smelled divine. I turned my head and pressed my nose against him, drawing in a deep breath. My ocelot purred inside my head. He, apparently, was totally on board with sleeping curled up with Cooper.

  I still had misgivings.

  I don’t know when my eyes closed or I slid into a light slumber, but I woke to someone’s fingers threading through my hair. I took a moment to take in my surroundings. We were still in the basement, but I had somehow ended up with my head in Cooper’s lap. There was no hiding the hard length pressing against my cheek or the delicious smell of Cooper’s arousal.

  I barely kept my groan locked behind my lips.

  When I turned my face downward and pressed against the thick rod trapped behind Cooper’s pants, his hand clenched in my hair. Instead of glancing up at him—mostly because I was afraid he’d tell me this was a really bad idea—which I already knew—I nudged at that hard bulge.

  Cooper needy groan told me all I needed to know.

  I reached up and grabbed the zipper of his pants, lowering it slowly. The farther down I pulled it, the stronger the musky fragrance of aroused male permeated the air. My fingers shook when I grabbed the edge of his underwear and pulled it down past his balls. Cooper’s hard cock bounced right up, slapping me in the face.

  I didn’t care.

  I stuck my tongue out and licked a long line up his cock from balls to mushroomed head. Saliva pooled in my mouth at the man’s heady taste. It was addictive. I wanted more.

  I needed more.

  I lifted up just enough to sink my mouth down over Cooper’s thick erection. I swallowed hard as his thick cock filled my mouth, the head bumping against the back of my throat. I swallowed again when I heard Cooper groan.

  I swallowed the head of Cooper’s erection, licked the underside, sucked, and moaned around the taste of pre-cum that had spilled from the tiny slit at the tip.

  “God, yes,” Cooper said with a hiss of brutal pleasure. “Deeper, kitten.”

  I took Cooper deeper, flattening my tongue as I swallowed Cooper’s cock to the back of my throat again and then took the heated flesh down my throat. I eagerly licked at the erection as I moved my head back and let Cooper’s shaft slip from my throat. I palmed Cooper’s balls before moving my head forward again.

  Cooper’s legs trembled slightly as he placed his hands on my head, holding me still before he jerked his hips back and forth. I rolled Cooper’s balls in my hand as Cooper began to move in a series of hard strokes.

  I had a second to catch my breath before Cooper clenched his jaw, spurts of cum shooting down my throat. Even before I was finished licking Cooper clean, the man lifted me, placing me on my back before Cooper yanked my pants down and swallowed my cock.

  I shouted as I swirled my hips, writhing beneath Cooper’s powerful touch. Cooper held my hips in place as he took my cock down his throat.

  Lasting for more than a second just wasn’t an option. Not when Cooper inserted a finger into my ass. The thick digit moved until Cooper touched the hot spot deep inside of me. I cried out as I came. I jerked and shuddered as Cooper drank me down, licking a long path up my softening cock before he pulled back.

  I braced myself. I knew any moment now Cooper would say this had been a mistake, leaving me feeling cold and alone once again. Cooper didn’t do that. He pulled me up into a sitting position and dragged me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin.

  I didn’t know what to think.

  Cooper held me close for several minutes before pressing a kiss to the top of my head—a totally odd behavior—and then standing. He set me down on my feet before pulling a hanky out of one of his many pockets.

  I just stood there as Cooper cleaned me up and then pulled my clothes back into place. A moment later, he was cleaned up, as well, and then all tucked back into place.

  Now things were awkward.

  “We should probably see if the coast is clear,” Cooper said.

  “Yeah.”

  I wanted to demand to know what was going on in Cooper’s head, but I was too afraid to find out. I’d already been rejected once. There was nothing to say it wouldn’t happen again. It probably would. I just had to be strong enough to survive it.

  I also needed to stop lusting after Cooper.

  The only way I could figure to do that was to put as much distance between us as possible.

  I wonder if there were any photo shoots in Antarctica?

  If I ever figured out how we got out of the basement and then the building without being seen, I’d sell my entire sweater collection. It seemed as if the fates were smiling down on me for once.

  It didn’t happen often.

  I held that belief until we rounded the street my apartment was on, and I saw the long black limousine parked in front of it. I grabbed Cooper’s arm and pulled him back around the corner.

  “That’s Cavetti’s limo.”

  “Are you sure?” Cooper asked as he peeked around the edge of the building we were hiding behind.

  Technically, no, but just how many mobster limos could there be in the city?

  “Is there somewhere else we can go?” Cooper asked. “Do you have any friends around here that could put us up overnight?”

  “All my friends are back home.”

  Cooper’s eyebrows rose. “There’s no one here you can call?”

  I grimaced as I shook my head. He didn’t have to make it sound that bad. I didn’t forge friendships easily. I knew that, but the ones I did make tended to last for years, even decades.

  “What about your manager?”

  “Not on a bet.” He’d probably demand I attend another cocktail party or something. “He’s good at getting me modeling gigs, but I wouldn’t trust him with a rat.”

  “Sounds to me like you need a new manager.”

  I nodded. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

  “I’m open to suggestions,” Cooper said. “This is your town. Where can we go?”

  I glanced around as my mind went through the different places we could stay. None of them were jumping out at me until I spotted the small corner market across the street, and then a slow smile began to spread across my lips.

  “What?” Cooper asked.

  “I think I know of the perfect place.”

  A line creased between Cooper’s eyes. “Where?”

  “My place.”

  “And just how are we going to accomplish that with Cavetti
parked downstairs?”

  “The last time I spoke with Cavetti, he asked about you. I told him we’d had an argument and were taking a few days off from each other.”

  “And?”

  “And, if you go over to the store right there”—I pointed across the street—“and bought some flowers, you could get up to my apartment. If Cavetti stops you, you can simply tell him you were coming to make up.”

  “What about you? How will you get into your apartment?”

  “Open the window in the living room. I’ll come in through the fire escape.”

  Cooper’s eyebrows rose. “That actually might work.”

  I thought so.

  “What if Cavetti’s men are waiting in your apartment?”

  “Kick them out.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key to my front door. “You’ll need this.”

  Cooper took the key and slid it into his pocket. “Give me about ten minutes to get flowers and then get inside.” He glanced back in the direction of my apartment, even though neither of us could see the building around the corner. “If you hear voices, don’t come in.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  Cooper gave me a quick nod before sprinting across the street to the corner market. I stayed where I was until I saw him come out of the store with a bouquet of flowers and then made my way inside the building I was hiding behind.

  Having become an ocelot shifter, I’d explored a lot of the neighborhood in my furry form. I knew every way possible to get to my apartment unseen. Some of them were just a little more tricky than others.

  I walked up the stairs all the way to the roof. Once there, I walked to the edge of the building and peered down. The limo was still parked outside, and now a couple of those no-neck goons stood next to it.

  There was no sign of Cooper.

  Chapter Seven

  I swallowed tightly, something dark and foreboding welling up in my throat. My fear that something had happened to Cooper was like a rock in my gut.

  My ocelot was snarling. I didn’t understand why he was going so crazy over the idea that Cooper might be in danger. It was almost as if he felt it was his responsibility to keep Cooper safe.