The Marine Bk. 02 Ch. 07

He lowered his head, wringing his hands. "I'm not angry, Nick. I'm terrified."

Adriana was up immediately, giving her father a hug. Luciana rose and hugged them both. I glanced at her friends, all of them with wet cheeks. "Are you girls okay?"

"We'll feel better soon, Nick. Thank you for coming for us. And the others too, of course."

"Lesson learned?" I asked softly. They all nodded. "You want to go to a party, you let me know first. I know I might come across as boring, but as I said, you are all under my protection."

"Girls, you're welcome here anytime. You already know that. Please, consider this place a second home," Luciana said, "We have spare rooms. You may come and go as you please."

"You mean that?" Luana asked.

"Adriana needs her friends. So, yes, you are welcome whenever you want."

Tony looked at his wife in surprise before he actually started to chuckle. "The place is more than big enough to support another five young women. Though I'm not sure what their parents would say."

"As you said, we're nineteen," Fernanda replied, "We're adults and allowed to make our own decisions."

"Are you serious?" Elena asked.

Luciana and Tony shared a glance. To my surprise, they glanced at me. I shrugged. It wasn't my decision. "My daughter has been alone for far too long," Tony said, "She needs not only her family but her closest friends, sisters in every way but blood. I'll call your parents and smooth everything over." He stood up and gestured to his office. "Nick, a word please."

Wiping my mouth with a napkin, I followed Tony into his office. Closing the door, the first thing he did was shake my hand while embracing me for a moment. "Just doing my job, Tony," I said.

"You saved her life, Nick. If not her life, you saved her from perhaps something worse." He walked towards the sideboard, offering a glass of whiskey. It was early but I nodded. The man had taste. Walking to the large window overlooking his back garden, we sipped from our glasses. "You will take care of them?"

"They were after her, and going after her hurts you. So I'll return the favour." I sipped at the whiskey. Damn, it was good. Probably more expensive than all the booze I'd drunk in my life. "It will get bloody, Tony. I've read about the shit that goes on here. They'll meet fire with fire. I'll need the men who were with me last night. They're all ex-military. They'll know how to move through the favelas with me."

"I know you have experience, Nick. But just how much?"

"Six tours total in the sort of hell-holes that a favela will just feel like home."

I watched him sip at his drink, mulling over his options. "These people are protected. They have allies everywhere. It is why I am a target. Anyone who loudly proclaims that they will tackle corruption..."

"So we put the fear into them in return."

"What do you need?"

"The armoury has most of what we require. I'll talk to the men, see what else they might want." I glanced at him as he met my eyes. "This place is defensible, but if we go on the offensive, they might get desperate in return. How protected is the panic room?"

"It has everything we'll need for a siege." He noticeably gulped. "Do you think it will get that bad?"

"Piss off enough of them, and they might just think 'Fuck it' and go for it. Your speech impressed me, Tony. But it put one hell of a target on your back too."

"I have to do it, Nick. For my country. For my people."

"I know. And my gun is yours too."

"No. I have enough people. My daughter is precious. Protect her."

"I will, with my life." I rested a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone in this house, Tony."

He gripped my wrist, holding it tightly. "I will owe you too much in the end."

"Continue being the good man you are when you win. Then we'll be even."

"I give you my word."

"We not going to mass this morning?"

"After last night, I think even god would understand wanting to remain at home, Nick."

Joao and I drove the other five girls home later that morning, waiting outside as they walked out within half an hour, carrying a suitcase. I knew they would end up staying indefinitely with us. The six girls all attended the same university, though didn't all study the same courses. Adriana was in the SUV with me, and she was ever so excited at the idea of her friends staying with us long-term. I did have a thought that they were putting themselves into the lion's den, but they wanted to be with their friend.

Returning home once the five had collected their luggage, hearing parents were not particularly happy but couldn't stop them, the six girls settled in quickly before changing into bikinis and heading outside to the pool to enjoy the afternoon sun. Marcia had cocktail jugs already prepared. She offered me a beer and I sat in the shade, playing with my phone.

"They're going to add life to this house," Luciana said quietly, sliding into the chair next to me. She sighed happily. "It's just what Adriana needs too."

"Nice to see her already smiling after last night."

"She's resilient... But she's going to need you going forward, Nick." I glanced at her. She removed her sunglasses, meeting my eyes. "She loves you, Nick."

I grinned. "She's infatuated. It's not love," I retorted gently before sipping at my beer.

"I think it's young love. She's had crushes before, but I see how she looks at you, Nick. And after what you did last night? That would only cement her feelings for you." She paused a moment. "It's her birthday soon, and then Christmas within the month. I'm sure she'd love a gift from you."

"Is that appropriate?"

"Nick, trust me on this. I see how she looks at you." Laughing to herself, she added, "And her five friends. Most popular man in this household." She leaned closer. "Tony knows too. He knows you won't be here permanently. My husband is a pious man, and while he has expectations of his daughter, he does not expect... Hmmm...."

"I am wondering what you're insinuating, Luciana."

She grinned broadly. "I was not a virgin when I married Tony. And he certainly wasn't. Does that shock you?"

"Not particularly. Just because you're Catholic doesn't mean you'll follow all of its ideology and rules. I mean, I've never married and have experience. Then again, I'm not particularly religious anyway."

"We do appreciate you attending mass with us. I know Adriana does."

"She asks, I'm happy to oblige."

"You are a good man, Nick. The sort of man her parents would approve of. As for her friends, well, I'm fairly sure they've already been honest about their intentions."

"A couple of them have."

"Well, despite what people think, millions of us do enjoy some sex when we were younger. And I can certainly understand why they all look at you with such lustful gazes."

"If I didn't know you were happily married, I'd think you were hitting on me, Luciana."

That made her laugh. "Just being honest. You're a good man and I understand why my daughter is infatuated, as you say. But my husband and I will do nothing to stop that unless you are uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable. I just don't want to hurt her feelings when I leave."

"She is aware this is a temporary assignment, Nick."

I finished my beer and stood up, removing my shirt. "Guess I'll go for a dip then."

The six girls were laughing away, clearly enjoying themselves, but whenever I met their eyes when the laughing died away, I didn't miss the slightly haunted look in their eyes. All of them received more than one long hug, quietly reassuring them they were now safe, but to please... Please not do something like that again. All six promised me they wouldn't leave without me going forward. I believed them.

Retiring for the evening that night, I was lying back reading a book when there was a soft knock at the door around midnight. Getting out of bed, I opened it to see a very shy looking Adriana standing there is a vest and shorts. She met my eyes, not saying a word, before I pulled her tight to my body as she wept. "You're safe," I whispered.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

I shushed her. "You have nothing to apologise for. I'm just glad I got there in time."

"Can I..."

She didn't even have to finish the question, softly closing the door, before taking her by the hand towards my bed. Sliding under the blanket first, she carefully joined me, making sure she was looking at me, not turning off the light just yet. She snuggled into me, feeling her arm around my torso as I held her petite body in my arms, gently stroking her back. "I've never felt so safe," she said softly.

I kissed the top of her head. "I'll be going to work soon enough, Adriana. Joao and the others, we're going to be doing things. They'll be running reconnaissance this week. I'll be remaining with the six of you at university, though I will be in your lectures and waiting outside your classrooms."

"You don't..."

"I want to. Not because I don't trust you. But his brother is there. I want to force the issue. So trust me on this. We'll be solving this matter in the end."

She lifted her eyes towards mine, caressing her cheek which made her smile, before I leaned forward and kissed her. I felt her smile before she opened her mouth, eagerly accepting my tongue. Running my hand down her back towards her arse, I pulled her closer, though didn't do anything more than that. No idea how long we made out for, but when we finally pulled apart, she couldn't stop smiling. "I care about you far too much already, Adriana," I admitted.

"I want to be intimate with you, Nick," she whispered.

"I know. I feel the same way. But not now. Not yet."

"Because of last night?"

"A little bit. I just want to be sure it's the right decision for both of us, but mostly for me. This isn't Croatia. We never had a problem there, or elsewhere until the attack. Things are different here, and I'm not sure I can afford the distraction." I caressed her cheek again, ensuring her eyes met mine. "But I do care, far too much, Adriana. You're a beautiful young woman."

I seemed to be saying the right thing lately as she happily snuggled into me as I turned off the light.

She was probably disappointed to wake up alone the next morning as I followed my normal morning routine, the six girls coming downstairs together, dressed for the day. Joao and Marcos would be coming with us, Joao and myself taking three of them, Marcos at the front. Joao and Marcos would hopefully be following the same man I'd taken care of, as Adriana knew he dropped off his brother. They would know his car.

Parking up outside the university, I escorted all six girls onto campus. Tony had already sorted everything out. I would be shadowing Adriana and the others, and would be armed. I spoke with the administrator for a few minutes, and I think the fact I spoke Portuguese to some sort of standard helped smooth any potential issues.

Adriana had to attend a morning lecture, so I sat towards the back, earning more than one curious glance. The lecturer knew I was there and ignored my presence. I had no doubt the staff had been told I would be present for the next couple of weeks. I joined the six girls in the cafeteria for lunch, and that's when Luana pointed out the brother of the man who was attacking Adriana.

He stopped when he noticed me sitting with Adriana, the colour draining from his face. That's when I pulled back my suit, showing him the holstered weapon, ensuring he would have seen only the butt of the weapon before meeting my blue eyes, ensuring they were cold and without any empathy. I wanted him scared, running to his brother and friends. He managed to make himself walk by our table but didn't dare even glance in our direction.

During the afternoon, Adriana had two classes, so I was stuck in the hallway, playing with my phone while Joao and Marcos kept me up to date with what they were doing. I kept all six girls inside until they arrived to pick us up, Adriana riding with me as always with Luana and Camila, the other three with Joao, the same convoy home that afternoon.

And that was how the week went. The same thing every morning, all day at campus, the same thing on the way home. By Friday, Joao, Marcos and I gathered in Tony's to go over everything they'd seen. Joao had a word in Tony's ear and managed to get us a couple of detailed maps.

"The guy you smacked around who was trying to hurt Adriana, his name is Felix," Joao explained, "Proper scumbag. Little brother is at the university on a scholarship. Each university will go around to the poorest schools in the suburbs and take the most promising pupils. Does Adriana know the little brother?"

"Not particularly. But everyone knows who she is."

"Whether he's involved or not, I won't speculate right now. But Felix is definitely working for one of the kingpins from the favela. We followed him in on Wednesday and today. We look like locals so could blend in, but we were also strange faces, so we were followed today. Young men with phones, obviously reporting us in, but no-one approached us."

"So what do you think?"

"Felix headed to one of those favela palacios, basically someone with power and money buys up a whole section and runs his little kingdom. I have no doubt that's who gave the order to Felix to mess with Adriana. And if we go after whoever that is, we'll end up knocking over dominos."

I scratched my cheek. "This could get ugly."

"We won't make a move without alerting Tony, but there is no doubt he'd back us. He won't want revenge, but it'll be justice for not only his daughter, but all six of them."

"I think another week of recon before we suggest making a move," Marcos suggested.

"I agree. But when we do, we're going to need to go in completely tooled up. Figured out the best route to get as close as possible undetected. And I can only assume a night-time raid would be best?"

"Yes," Joao replied, "They'll still be watching, but we can certainly spring a surprise or two."

The six girls had no desire to go out on the Saturday, content to laze about the pool most of the day. I'll admit, I did have a little look when they started to sunbathe, noticing all six bikini tops taken off. Sitting under an umbrella, sipping at a beer, Luana eventually lifted her head. "I need some cream applied. Want to help me with that, Nick?"

All six of them giggled as I did choke on my beer. Placing it on the table, I stood up, and approached her, taking the offered bottle. Lying on the ground as she was, at least I could get comfortable. "Entire body, Luana?"

"Yes, please," she replied quietly.

So I started at her calves, not just applying the cream but basically massaging her, slowly moving up her thighs. I could see the other five watching intently as I pulled back bikini so it rested in her crack, ensuring each cheek had cream applied. I may have also ensure my thumbs went very close to her front. That earned a soft moan. I didn't have soft hands so remained gentle as I moved up her back, then running my hands up her arms before I reached her shoulders and the back of her neck. Leaning forward, I placed my lips near her ear. "Want me to do your front?" I breathed.

"Do Adriana... Her first... We agreed..."

"Are you turned on, Luana?"

"Estou tão excitado agora, Nick."

"You're a beautiful young woman."

Standing up, I moved over towards Adriana, who I had sensed had watched me intently. I did the same with her, starting with her little feet, up her calves and then her utterly perfect thighs. The thin fabric of her bikini was already buried between her perfect cheeks, and I spent a bit of time gently caressing them. She moaned softly as I moved up her back to her shoulders, ensuring I was leaning forward so my crotch rested against her. Moving up and down her arms, I put my lips next to her ear. "Are you okay?"

"I'm turned on. I'm so turned on right now."

"Turn around," I instructed softly.

She didn't hesitate, getting a look at her breasts for the first time. They were perfect, just like the rest of her. I leaned down and kissed her softly, the five other squealing as her soft hands ended up on the back of my neck. Her tongue found mine, and she was ever so playful. Digging my groin into hers, she whimpered as she would have felt my hardness, breathing through our noses and neither of us wanted to break the kiss just yet.

"Okay, I'm a little jealous right now," Juliana said, thankfully with humour.

"About time," Elena added.

We only broke the kiss as we needed to take a deep breath. Caressing her cheek, I kissed the tip of her nose before I started applying cream to her front, starting back at her legs and moving up. Once I reached her breasts, I met her eyes, raised an eyebrow, then gently squeezed them. Within a couple of minutes, once her nipples were hard as I was simply brushing them, she was almost shivering with delight.

"I don't think we should do too much in the open," I whispered.

"Make me orgasm," she whispered, "Please. I've dreamed of you just touching me."

Resting next to her, I slid my fingers underneath the thin fabric of her panties. She was soaking wet, turning her head so I could kiss her as I slowly fondled her pussy. No surprise I didn't feel any hair above it. The bikini's they all wore suggested that all six would have shaved themselves. Breaking the kiss, her eyes didn't leave mine as I felt her body shudder, glancing to see her friends moving their closer to watch us.

"How does it feel?" Luana asked.

"I can't wait until he makes love with me," Adriana replied, her face breaking into a smile, "I'm hoping it's soon."

I kissed her as I slid a finger inside her, stifling her moan, feeling her hips start to move as I gently finger-fucked her. She had to break the kiss to release another loud moan. Thankfully, her father and brothers were not home. Her mother? Perhaps watching from somewhere upstairs. Since she'd given her blessing, I wasn't worried about her. Marcia would probably notice, smile that something was finally happening, and carry on preparing the next meal.

Withdrawing my fingers, I moved to sit up on my knees, helping take off her bikini, and she was looking at me expectantly. When I spread her legs, she started to giggle as I'm fairly sure she figured it out. Kissing up from her foot all the way towards her pussy, I could feel the warmth, her scent was driving me wild, and she looked on the verge of smiling and crying.

Running my tongue along her slit earned another loud moan. "Oh my god!" she cried.

Glancing at her friends, they all looked completely turned on. "You can masturbate if you want, girls. Adriana shouldn't be the only one to orgasm soon."

All five of them sat up and hands immediately dipped below bikini's. As they got themselves off, I focused on Adriana. I slowly licked up and labia, enjoying her taste, letting her get used to my tongue, running my hands up and down her body to keep her relaxed. She shuddered, sometimes from excitement, but I knew she was nervous. I wasn't going to have sex, as in penetration, but this was as close to sex as we could get without me getting naked.

I avoided her clit for as long as possible, my tongue not leaving her pussy untouched elsewhere, sliding inside her, which provoked such a groan, I'm fairly sure it was a small orgasm. "Please," she whimpered, "I need to cum, Nick. Please make me cum."

Sliding my finger back inside her, I started to focus on clit, and she enjoyed light flicks to start with before she suggested the best way to get her off. She knew her body well. Grabbing her hands, I placed them under her knee, spreading them back, opening herself up into a very provocative position. Resuming what I was doing, her first orgasm took me by surprise.

"Oh meu Deus!" she moaned.