For Whom the Bell Tolls

She knew that she could have a helicopter on the roof within the hour and be sipping margaritas on her corporate jet two hours after that.

But instead - she was going to stay with him. And when she was done he was going to be the happiest and most well-fucked husband in the history of the species.

Furthermore, she knew that they were going to live the rest of their lives together. And their bond would be forever. Marigold would make certain of that.

Marigold had always been a force of nature. She was not as sensual as Maddie and not as smart as Millie – but she was the one who always got the job done.

She might be headstrong. But she was almost always right. And she had built a career on her decisiveness and her exceptional strength of character.

Jordan was looking at her puzzled. So she retreated back into her typical neutral expression. Perhaps she had allowed too much of her actual self to show in her face.

She could excuse that slip because she was also feeling something she had never felt before. It was a simple sense of loving the man in front of her - a desire to be his mate.

She could sense his masculine power and his tenderness - and his steadfast dedication to his mission. And that knowledge washed away all of her past conceit. It was an instant cleansing of her psyche.

Up to this point guys had been disposable items. They came and went. They gave her great pleasure. But one man was never enough for Marigold Wilson.

It wasn't the sex. Many of her partners could satisfy her that way. There was just something missing in all of them.

She was looking for a stalwart comrade in arms. A man she could truly respect. Somebody as tough and strong and smart and independent as she was. That was the place where none of the others came close to measuring up.

Now that she had that one indispensable man she would never lose him. Admittedly his initial role as her knight in shining armor had influenced her perception of him. But it was his kindness, gentleness and the aura of calm noble strength that had cemented her love.

Nonetheless, there was something she had to clear up first. Marigold looked Jordan squarely in the eye and said, "What are you doing here? Is this some sort of drug operation? Are you like those people back in the compound?"

The look of horror that came over Jordan's face answered the question. But he spluttered, "God NO!! I swear!! I am a private contractor for a security firm. I'm here on a mission that involves Pablo and Pilar. That's all I can tell you."

Nevertheless, the idea that she might think he was a drug smuggler upset him so much that he couldn't stop himself. He was not socially adept. And this incredible woman had worked her way through his defenses.

It all came rushing out in a single burst. The story of the Tybee Island Bomb and how it was going to be used just poured out of him.

Jordan was horrified. Golz would have him killed if he knew – literally!! In his entire life he had never been so foolish. But this woman caused him to do unprecedented things.

She looked at him quizzically, like she thought he was telling her a story.

She said, "Seriously?? You expect me to believe that you are here to save the world?"

He said, "Frankly I don't care what you do, or do not believe. I have a mission to accomplish and time has just about run out for me."

At that point the room phone buzzed. He picked it up and it was Pilar. She said five words, "We know where it is!!"

Jordan said with command authority in his voice, "Get down here fast and explain it to me."

He turned to the woman and said, "We found it. You can't be included in this conversation from now on so please leave."

Marigold looked at him like he had lost his mind.

She said, "I felt the earth move when we met and there is nothing that will stop me from being your companion in this. I am not a helpless victim. I am a strong and intelligent woman."

She looked resolute and said, "My belief in my ability to overcome any obstacle might have been shaken when you met me. But I had just killed my tormentor and escaped from a house full of Cartel soldiers. So no matter what you might think I can take care of myself in a fight."

She looked intently at him – like she wanted to reinforce her point. Her amber eyes flamed like the face of the sun. She said, pronouncing the words very slowly and distinctly, "I killed the man who raped me with my bare hands and I don't regret doing it for a second."

The she looked even more serious and said, "More importantly, I do not trust the man you are working with. He is the same person as the man I killed. So I am going to watch your back while you do whatever you have to do."

Then she paused and looked thoughtful, like she was coming to the same kind of momentous decision that Jordan had just made.

She said, "But the one thing that you will just have to get used to is the fact that I am yours and you are mine. We are yoked together for life and there is nothing that you can say or do that will change my mind about that."

Jordan was flabbergasted. He was a lone wolf. He had been on his own so long that he couldn't even conceive of living his life in company with another person. Least of all an earthbound angel like Marigold Wilson.

He said totally flummoxed, "What are you talking about?"

At that point somebody pounded on the door and a loud voice said jocularly, "You'll have to climb off the Puta Gringo. We've got news."

Jordan rose and gave Marigold a look that said, "We'll talk about this later." And he opened the door.

Pilar bustled past him with Pablo slouching along behind her. She said excitedly, "That was an excellent idea Roberto. You bugged the four Capo's who were at the hacienda. One of them was El Sordo's phone. Your woman had already eliminated him. But Capitan Moro was there too."

She laughed delightedly and said, "I was with one of Moro's soldatos last night and he was bragging that Moro's crew had something really big planned. He wouldn't tell me what it was but he told me to be sure to be out of the City by Saturday. So I knew Moro was the hombre to listen to."

Jordan marveled at how clever this uneducated woman was.

He said, "Brilliant, Pilar."

Then the two Latinos noticed that Marigold was following every word they said. Pablo laughed evilly and said, "Golz isn't going to like this Gringo."

Jordan gave him a hard stare. But before Robert could answer Marigold said, "Shut up you fool!! I know all about why you are here. Robert told me. And as far as I can gather he needs all the help he can get."

Then she added with steel in her voice, "And maybe when we get out of here Golz is going to have to worry about me."

She hung that little statement in the air without further explanation. The threat was evident in her tone of voice.

Marigold was already thinking about asking her friends at the DEA to wipe out that compound and everybody in it – just as a personal favor. So she wasn't bluffing.

For the first time the two Latinos understood that maybe Marigold wasn't the helpless damsel in distress they thought she was. The command in her voice also changed Pablo's mind about sampling that delectable little puta – at least until he could find out what she represented in terms of a threat.

Pilar just gazed at Marigold with newfound respect.

Pilar continued with, "El Sordo's killing spooked them. They couldn't believe that a woman was able to do something like that. They thought it was a rival Cartel, or maybe even the government. So, Moro called his Lieutenant Paco Berrendo and told him to move the bomb. It is all on the intercept."

She paused and a triumphant look came over her face. She said, "We know exactly where he's sending it. It's an address in an industrial park out in Xalostoc!"

Jordan knew the place. It was a collection of warehouses and abandoned factories built around a rail yard.

He said to Pilar, "What's the address."

Pilar gave it to him. Jordan entered it into the KH11 overflights that he had on his special laptop – the one with everything encrypted and shielded – and thanks to the NRO's geospatial imaging there was the location in three dimensions.

Jordan could see that it was an abandoned factory surrounded by a series of low hills. That would be an advantage in that it would hide anybody approaching. But it also meant that the only way to surprise anybody at that site was via vertical envelopment.

That was all the information Jordan needed. He picked up the encrypted satellite phone and called Bernie.

Golz answered after the second ring. Jordan said, "We have the location Bernie. But we have to act tonight."

Bernie said with deep relief, "That's wonderful Robert. We have already dispatched a couple of teams of operators. They can extract you after the op is over.

Jordan pondered for a second then then he said, "When is your team due? They are in the process of moving the bomb so the best time to hit them would be just as it arrives at its new location."

Golz said, "They're launching from the Boxer. It's off of Vera Cruz. We can get them there in a couple of hours.

They're on two Night Stalkers taxis. One's a HH-60 Pave Hawk with a team of Deltas and the other's a MH-53 Pave Low. It's there to do the heavy lifting. There has also been a Reaper continuously on station.

The Mexicans know we are running an op but they don't know what it is. They gave their authorization on POTUS's personal assurance. So tread lightly. We'll read them in after it's over. And of course if we fail they'll never know. Since there won't be anybody left to read-in."

Jordan said, "The sun sets at around 21:00. They should fly directly to the location I am sending to you now. And I will BTID them directly onto the target.

The Cartel folks outnumber us but they don't know we're coming. So this is going to have to be a fast in-and-out operation."

Jordan added, "There could be some very serious shit happening once we make our move so tell them to bring the good stuff."

Bernie said, "The Reaper is carrying seven Hellfire Romeos. That ought to be all of the good stuff you need. And the Deltas know their business. They'll secure the package. All you have to do is sit back and watch. Good job by the way." The praise was fatherly.

Jordan terminated the call and turned to the three other people in the room and said, "We have five hours before we have to move. So spend your time wisely. We will meet at the truck at 20:00 hours. If we all show up together it is going to be suspicious. So when it's time to gather time it as surreptitiously as possible. We don't want to attract attention"

Then he thought for a second and added, "Mary and I will stay holed up here and I suggest you do the same in your room. We can change into our tac-gear in the truck."

He looked at Marigold and marveled at her toughness and resilience. There wasn't an ounce of fear or anxiety in her face. She was standing at his right hand looking both calm and dangerous like a lioness ready to hunt.

Jordan checked out her tall frame and said, "I have gear that will probably fit you. But you need to stay in the truck while this is going down. This might get a little intense."

Jordan was thinking about his time with four-five Commando in the caves during Operation Condor.

Even sitting up on a ledge with his SIGINT gear he could sense the intensity as the Royal Marines went from cave to cave rooting out the Taliban.

The AK47 rounds and RPGs did not discriminate combatants from noncombatants. That was what he expected to happen tonight.

Pablo and Pilar exited and there was just the two of them now.

Marigold was staring at him intently - like she expected something to happen. Instead, Jordan sat down in the chair nearest the window. He crossed his legs and said puzzled, "What did you mean yoked together?"

She looked at him like she was talking to a moron and said, "Don't you realize that we are meant to go through life together. Didn't the earth move for you when we first met?"

Jordan knew exactly what she was talking about. He was surprised at the flash of emotions that had flared up in him when he had first looked into that dirty terrified face.

It was not a sensation he could describe, let alone express. But he instinctively knew that this woman was some kind of gift. Somebody valuable who he needed to keep and protect.

But Jordan was way too disconnected from his own feelings and too repressed to acknowledge that thought. So instead he said, "If you mean do I think that you are the most incredible woman I have ever laid eyes on – absolutely!! But I don't understand what you mean when you say the earth moved."

He looked into her smoky amber eyes and the fire was back. She said with amusement on her lips and total womanly assurance in her voice, "You will... Here... Let me show you."

She, glided assertively over to him, stopped and stood in front of him. At five ten she towered over him as he sat. And with her formidable body she was like an Earth Goddess.

She gestured toward the bed and said, "Let's go over there."

Then she reached down and grabbed both of his hands, jerking him roughly to his feet. Jordan had the passing thought that she was also physically stronger than any woman he had ever known.

As soon as she had him standing she reached up, grabbed the back of his head and aggressively yanked his lips down for the hottest open mouthed kiss that any woman had ever given him.

Her mouth was red hot. She was totally open to him. It was eerie, like there was nobody else in the world but her and him.

She felt it again. It was a lurching sensation, like time and space had temporarily suspended. There was no temporal reality for her while the two of them melded together. All she could sense was their tongues languidly moving back and forth on each other and the rising tidal wave of her arousal.

She growled a low animal Unhhhh!! And then the realization hit her. She had experienced three days of the worst kind of sexual violation. And yet she absolutely had to fuck this man right here -and right now!!

And that act would burn the pain and humiliation out of her soul.

Marigold could feel herself getting very wet. The beautiful man holding her was kind and generous, brave and stalwart and he was arousing feelings in her that she had never experienced before.

She wanted to give herself to him - totally!! Not take FROM him like she did with every other man. That was a new concept for her, since up to that moment her sexual partners had simply never registered.

Marigold thought that all men were alike. They were a source of pleasure. But like big hunting dogs, you wouldn't want to have one lying around the house all of the time. And Marigold was particularly NOT interested in being somebody's woman. She had worked too long and too hard for her success.

But this gentle self-effacing man was not like any of the other men she had ever known. For one thing he was an exceptionally deep and sensitive person. But he was totally unassuming. He was a warrior. Nonetheless, UNLIKE all of the men that Marigold had known, he had no desire to force his will on her.

Jordan's world was totally rational, not overwhelmingly instinctual like hers. Marigold arrived at her life conclusions without thought. And they were almost always correct.

Marigold simply knew what was right and acted on it without question. Jordan reasoned things out. And in that respect she was a perfect yin to his yang.

Marigold broke the clinch and walked over and sat inquiringly on the bed. She crossed her legs sexily at the knee and gave him the hottest glance she could muster.

He stood there looking at her like he didn't know what to do next.

Marigold thought to herself, "OH MY GOD! He is actually SHY!" It was endearing.

Marigold was used to sex in every offbeat place on the planet. And the males got right down to the task. Of course they tended to be very direct and perhaps a little brutal. And they were only interested in her conquest and their satisfaction.

But she couldn't recall experiencing sex with a man who actually treated her - and the act itself - like something special.

Of course she also had to ruefully admit that in the past she had never sought out those kind of men either.

She felt a wave of passion overwhelm her. But she was also experiencing something else. It was a sense of connection, a tenderness toward somebody who she was about to fuck. Sex with love would be a new experience for her. It also occurred to her, "So THIS is what making love feels like??"

She was ashamed to admit that she could not recall having ever made love. It was a devastating revelation. Almost as disturbing as the realization that she really, truly loved and trusted this man.

She said patting the bed, "Come over here and sit next to me."

He came over and sat next to her looking uncomfortable. She turned toward him and without further ado threw both of her arms around his neck, put her right hand behind his head and dragged him down for another scorching kiss.

Her wide sensual lips opened and she could feel her tongue probing his mouth. The sensation made her moan loudly.

He threw his arms around her and hugged her to his chest. Her huge boobs pillowed out between them. He was breathing rapidly now, caught up in the feeling.

She freed herself momentarily, stood up, threw her t-shirt over her head and stripped off the yoga pants. She was wearing nothing underneath.

Jordan was transfixed by two of the most beautiful breasts in creation. They were magnificent, full, meaty, high and proud, with two huge dark nipples sticking out like something in a pornographic cartoon. He had an overwhelming desire to suck on them.

She walked back toward him, spread his knees and stepped between them. She was so tall that his mouth was aimed directly at one of her big brown nipples.

He grabbed her huge round muscular ass and dragged her hips to his chest. Then he latched his lips on her left nipple. Her breasts jutted so far off her chest that it fell into his mouth naturally.

As he teased the nipple he hefted the pendulous weight of the breast. The boob was so big that the bulk of it still hung out past the edge of his hand.

She uttered a loud groan and threw her head back overwhelmed by sheer lust. He was pushing his pants off as he worked the nipple with his lips. She was making rhythmic ugh-ugh-ugh noises as he nursed that swelling red-hot nub.

Marigold was on fire. In her entire and very extensive sexual history she had never been so turned on. Jordan had shed everything but his shirt and she looked down to see the largest and most delicious cock she had ever beheld. It was sticking straight up in the air and it was waiting just for her. She thought happily to herself, "What a wonderful bonus!!"

She needed him inside her so badly that it was painful. That was another new experience for Marigold. She was always in control when it came to deciding when things would happen – not the cock crazed slut that he had turned her into.

She was standing between his spread legs, with her hips plastered against his chest, while she humped him like a demented terrier. He was sitting on the bed. She hastily hopped up on the bed, straddled him and inserted that delicious cock directly into her white hot passage.

She was totally, inarticulate by the first four inches, making odd gasping noises and hugging him to her chest so tightly that it was like she was cemented to the front of him. The next four inches nearly killed her. And THEN there was the final inch and a half. That put her into an absolutely brave new world of wild cries, frantic bucking and hyperventilating.