by Elle Kennedy
“Good. I look forward to it,” he said pleasantly. “I’ll enjoy eliminating them, too, just like I eliminated ninety percent of your buddies tonight. And if your boss decides to send another hit squad after that, I’ll take them out, too. And then the next hit squad, and the next one, and—well, you get the point. See, I’m getting damn tired of these games. Enough with this cowardly crap. Tell him if he wants me, he can come after me himself.”
With the lightest of touches, Nick swiftly moved his other hand to the man’s beefy neck and sought out the correct pressure point.
Then he chuckled again. “So when you wake up, please make sure your boss gets the message, okay, pal?”
“Screw y—”
He applied pressure on that delicate spot and the soldier went limp in his arms. Lights out.
Nick hastily lowered the man’s heavy body onto the metal bench, then holstered his gun.
As he walked away from the bus stop, he kept his gait casual, relaxed, just a man out for a late-night stroll.
Your move, Mr. X.
Chapter 14
Rebecca launched herself at Nick the second he strode into the motel room. Their chests collided with a loud thump, and her panicked brain registered the sound of husky laughter and crinkling plastic.
Nick had barely been gone two hours, but she felt like she’d been waiting for an eternity.
She pulled back and searched his face, which revealed nothing. “What happened? Are you all right? Did you take care of the mercenaries? Was it—”
“How about one question at a time?” he cut in with a grin.
“Sorry. I was just worried.”
“No need for that, Red. I’m perfectly fine.”
“And the mercenaries?”
“Taken care of,” was all he said.
“I see,” she said warily.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. I told you exactly what I planned on doing, Rebecca. It was necessary.”
She released a sigh. “I know. Kill or be killed, right?”
Nick blinked in surprise. “And you’re okay with that?”
“I have to be.” Her jaw tightened. “Those men killed Jesse and Dave, and one of them probably slipped Harry some kind of drug that stopped his heart.” She frowned. “I should really get my hands on Harry’s tox screens. Shoot. I bet the hospital didn’t even run any if Mr. X had anything to say about it.”
Nick shrugged his holster off, then held out a brown paper bag she hadn’t noticed him holding until now.
“What’s that?” she asked suspiciously. “One of the soldier’s heads?”
He burst out laughing. “This isn’t the medieval times, darling. Jeez. I stopped at an all-hours deli and grabbed us some sandwiches. I know how much you hate those MREs, and I was worried that if I didn’t put something tasty in your belly, you’d starve.”
Warmth trickled through her. He’d actually stopped to buy her food? At four-thirty in the morning? God, this man was too thoughtful for words.
As if on cue, her stomach grumbled, officially betraying the fact that she had indeed forgone that MRE.
Rolling his eyes, Nick reached into the bag and said, “Ham, turkey or tuna?”
“Turkey,” she said, holding out her hand.
He slapped a foil-wrapped sandwich in her palm.
Rebecca sank on the edge of the second twin bed and hurriedly unwrapped the food, then brought the sandwich to her mouth and took a big bite. The flavors instantly suffused her taste buds—lettuce, tomato, honey mustard, mayo. She chewed fast and swallowed faster, enjoying the first yummy meal she’d eaten in days.
On the other bed, Nick tackled his own sandwich. He finished it in no more than five or six bites, making Rebecca grin even as she chewed on a mouthful of turkey.
Nick stood up and grabbed two bottles of water, chugged one and handed her the other. She accepted it gratefully and took a long sip.
“I’m going to take a quick shower,” he told her.
“Go for it.”
He bent down and grabbed a fresh shirt, boxers and a pair of pants from his duffel bag, and he’d nearly made it to the bathroom door when Rebecca noticed the white first aid kit he’d tried tucking inside the pile of clothes.
“Stop right there, Nicholas!”
He glanced over, his lips twitching. “Did you really just call me that?”
Scowling, she hopped off the bed and marched up to him. “Did you really think you could hide the fact that you’re injured?”
“I’m not injured,” he protested.
“Yeah, right.” Her gaze swept over him, up and down and side to side. She gasped when she noticed the wet spot on his shirt right over his left shoulder and the flash of red skin where the material had been torn away.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake! Take off your shirt.”
He looked extremely reluctant, but he must have seen the flames of anger in her eyes because he peeled off his long-sleeved black shirt without a word.
Rebecca paled when she saw the nasty red burn mark on his shoulder.
“Just a graze,” he said gruffly. “It’s no biggie.”
She grumbled under her breath. “Why do men always have to act all macho?” She pointed to the bed. “Sit. Let me clean this up.”
“Let me take that shower first.”
“No. Because once you’re in the bathroom, you’ll lock the door and try to patch yourself up alone.”
His tiny shrug told her she’d hit the mark.
“Fine, you want a shower so badly? I’ll sit there until you’re done.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
She grabbed hold of his uninjured arm and ushered him into the washroom. His tall, muscular body dominated the small space, and when she looked at their reflections in the mirror, she almost laughed at the difference in their sizes.
“Well?” She flopped down on the closed toilet seat and pointed to the shower stall. “Get in.”
Heat flared in his brown eyes. “And what, you’re going to sit there and watch?”
She lifted a defiant brow. “Sure am. Got a problem with that?”
“Nope.”
He unzipped his pants and let them drop to the tiled floor.
His boxer briefs were next, and Rebecca sucked in a breath when his erection sprang up and bobbed against his navel.
He was incredible. So hard, so male, so virile.
He spun around to turn on the water, providing her with the most mouthwatering view of his spectacular ass. She went on sensory overload, unable to focus on any one detail for too long. Golden skin, roped muscles, heavy chest, muscular legs.
Nick Barrett was the sexiest man on the planet.
Rebecca was suddenly hungry again. God, she wanted him. Wanted to feel his hot mouth on hers. His rough hands on her breasts. His male hardness filling her.
“What are you waiting for?” Nick said mockingly, tossing her a knowing look over his shoulder.
He stepped into the shower stall, but didn’t close the pink plastic curtain. Instead, he just stood there, his eyes locked with hers as water streamed down his naked body and clung to the defined ridges of his chest.
Rebecca knew she was supposed to be doing something important. What was it again? Um...letting him take a quick rinse so she could bandage up his shoulder. Right. That was it.
So why was she unbuttoning her jeans?
While her gaze stayed glued to Nick’s naked, soaking-wet body, her hands continued to do their own thing. Taking her jeans off. Pulling her shirt over her head. Unsnapping her bra. Wiggling out of her panties.
Throughout her striptease, Nick watched in silence, the fire in his eyes burning hotter and hotter as each piece of clothing exposed a new body part.
“Get in here,” he growled.
He didn’t have to ask her twice. Rebecca slid into the stall and into his arms, tipping her head to welcome his blistering kiss. Their tongues tangled, breaths mingled with the steam that was beginning to fill
the stall.
As the hot water rushed over their heads, their bodies became slick, plastering to each other as Nick brought her flush up against him and cupped her bottom. The position caused his erection to slide over her mound, bringing a moan to her lips.
Everything about this man drove her wild with desire. The bad boys she’d dated in the past didn’t even compare to Nick Barrett—she’d thought those lovers were passionate, but she’d been wrong.
This was passion. Nick’s heavy-lidded eyes. His features, taut with arousal. His deft fingers and talented tongue teasing her lips and breasts.
“Oh, that’s good,” she whimpered when he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, getting them stiff, making them tingle.
Rebecca’s head lolled to the side, the pleasure so intense she could barely stay upright. Her breasts had always been particularly sensitive, and it thrilled her that Nick enjoyed focusing so much of his attention on them.
“You like that, huh?” he rasped, his warm breath heating her lips as he bent down to kiss her again.
He squeezed her breasts, sweeping his thumbs over those puckered buds until she was moaning in impatience.
“What is it? What do you need, darling?” he said roughly.
“Your mouth,” she squeezed out.
He gave her what she wanted without delay, dipping his head and capturing one nipple between his lips.
A jolt of hot pleasure seized her core.
Nick licked the distended nipple, then suckled gently. His tongue teased and explored, summoning moan after moan from her deep in her throat.
It wasn’t long before she was shifting in agitation, desperate for more. She reached between their bodies and encircled his shaft, giving it a long, languid pump.
Nick’s groan vibrated against her breasts. “Oh, that’s good, darling. Tease me a little.”
As she stroked him lazily, he brought one hand to the juncture of her thighs and did some teasing of his own. Rebecca’s entire body hummed with pleasure as he stroked her hypersensitive folds, teasing that swollen bud. When he slid one long finger inside her, she gasped with delight and rocked into his hand, all the while quickening the tempo with which she stroked him.
“I need to be in you,” he muttered, backing her into the wall.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, opening herself up to him, waiting for him to plunge inside. But he didn’t. Instead, he made a frustrated sound and met her eyes. “No condom.”
“I’m clean and on the pill.” She blushed. Sometimes sex was so darn awkward, yet she still had to ask, “Have you been tested?”
“I’m clean, too. Do you... Are you sure I should...”
His awkwardness was adorable, and for some weird reason, it succeeded in turning her on again. He was such a good guy. So very thoughtful all the time. Which made the times when he lost control so much more satisfying.
Like now, as he drove into her and filled her to the hilt, his hips moving fast and furious. A thrill shot through her, followed by a rush of excitement as he pounded into her in a relentless rhythm that made her breathing go shallow.
She watched Nick’s face through the haze of steam, loving the way his amber-colored eyes slitted with passion, the way the tendons in his neck strained, the way he muttered her name under his breath.
His mouth found hers again, his tongue sliding in with one greedy thrust and stealing the breath from her lungs. She clung to his strong shoulders, dug her heels into his firm buttocks and closed her eyes as a rush of pleasure consumed her body and sent her mind soaring. She felt Nick tense, heard him groan and knew he’d reached that same explosive pinnacle.
With a groan, he slipped out, then eased aside so she could duck under the spray, which had gone lukewarm. They quickly washed up before the water turned freezing, and then Nick shut off the water and pulled back the curtain.
Rebecca stepped out of the shower first, turning to shoot him a sheepish look. “FYI, when I followed you in here, that wasn’t a seduction attempt either. I really wanted to take care of that wound.”
“Sure. You keep saying that, but I don’t think I believe you anymore.” He slanted his head thoughtfully. “I think you’re in seduction mode 24/7, Red.”
“Well, it would be a lot easier to snap out of it if you weren’t so darn tempting,” she grumbled.
“You want to talk tempting?” He gestured to her naked body. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re the most tempting woman on the planet.”
She offered an impish smile. “I’m sorry?”
Nick offered a grave look in return. “Never apologize for your hotness. Ever.”
Rebecca laughed, then grabbed two towels from the rack and handed Nick one. They dried off in silence, and the air in the bathroom went from comfortable to uneasy, echoing with questions that neither of them voiced.
What are we doing here? she wanted to ask. Where will it lead?
Nick had insisted he didn’t do casual, and yet he’d stopped putting up resistance a long time ago. He’d pretty much commanded her to get into the shower with him just now, which told her he wasn’t trying to keep her at arm’s length anymore.
But where was his head at? She wished he would be more forthcoming about the way he felt, about what he wanted from this, but it was clear that Nick Barrett, as sweet and gentlemanly as he was, did not like discussing his feelings.
On the other hand, maybe that was a good thing. Because she had the sinking suspicion that if she asked him about the future, she wouldn’t like what he had to say.
So rather than force a serious discussion—at five in the morning to boot—she stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips over his in a casual little kiss. “Come on, Watson. Let’s bandage up this ‘graze’ of yours and get some much-needed sleep.”
* * *
“We’ve got a problem. A very big problem.”
What else was new?
With a sigh, he rose from his desk chair and walked over to the redbrick fireplace across the room. It was six in the morning, but he hadn’t been in bed. After another night of elusive sleep, he’d finally given up and gone into his study with a tumbler of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes that his wife, God bless her soul, would have been horrified to see. She’d forced him to quit years ago, insisting she wanted him to live a long, healthy life.
How ironic that he, the one who’d been smoking for twenty years, was still alive while the love of his life was buried under six feet of dirt in a New York cemetery.
And now he had to listen to Carraway inform him of yet another problem. Another mess he’d no doubt be forced to clean up.
“What is it?” He could barely muster up interest; it was too early in the morning to dwell on how out of control this situation had gotten.
“Six of my men are dead. Barrett took them out.”
Shock slackened his jaw. “Are you sure it was him?”
“Positive, sir. He passed along a message to one of the soldiers he left alive. He wanted us to know that he’ll kill any hit squad we dispatch to take him out.” Carraway paused. “And he had a specific message for you.”
“What is it?” he said warily.
Carraway sounded awkward. “For you to stop being a coward. If you want him, stop sending soldiers and come after him yourself.”
His lips curled in a sneer. Coward? Who did that young punk think he was, accusing him of cowardice?
Would a coward have put his neck on the line for the sake of his country?
No, he didn’t think so.
“So what’s the order, sir? Do you want me to assemble another team?”
He mulled it over. “You might as well. Maybe the next crew will have better luck.”
“Or maybe they’ll die at Barrett’s hands, too,” was the bitter reply.
“Find better men.”
“This crew was my best.”
“This crew was garbage,” he snapped. “Otherwise they’d have taken care of our little
problem. So hire some soldiers who are more skilled, and get the job done.”
He hung up without a word, angrily slamming the phone on the fireplace mantel. It required several deep breaths to ease the volatile emotions swirling in his gut.
Setting down his tumbler, he headed for the desk and peered at his calendar. Thursday’s entry caught his eye, inspiring a nod of satisfaction. Good. McAvoy would be back from Beijing. His gaze shifted to the following day where the words Veterans Gala were penciled in.
Christ, the last thing he was in the mood for was a highly publicized event.
He shoved the annoying reminder aside and glanced at McAvoy’s name again.
It might be time. As unhappy as the idea made him, he knew they’d officially reached a critical point here.
It was time to start distancing himself from this Meridian virus fiasco. Time to transfer the burden of blame onto someone else’s shoulders.
Time to save himself.
* * *
Nick woke up to the feel of a warm, wet mouth encircling his shaft.
As wicked reality settled in, he nearly jerked three feet in the air, eliciting a soft laugh from the woman who’d decided to bestow him with a wake-up call never to be forgotten.
“What are you doing?” he croaked, even as his hips lifted and his arousal sought out that incredible mouth again.
“Seducing you.” Her soft laughter tickled his engorged head. “Officially.”
Then she took him deep in her mouth and sucked.
A wild groan burst out of his chest. She was trying to kill him.
Well, then you’ll die happy. Now, shut up and enjoy this.
He decided to listen to that impatient voice. Closing his eyes, he thrust his hands in Rebecca’s hair, loving the way those silky red strands slipped through his fingers.
Her enthusiasm was a major turn-on. She took the time to discover what he liked, though in all honesty, he couldn’t imagine her doing anything he didn’t like.
With featherlight licks, she dragged her tongue along the length of him and teased his tip, making him groan again. Then she brought her hand into play, wrapping it around his base and stroking firmly. She created a steady tempo with her hand and mouth, driving him to a level of arousal that had him clawing at the sheets.
