Danger Signs (Delta Force Echo: An Iniquus Action Adventure Romance Book 1)

by Fiona Quinn

  “She said to use her given name on weekdays, my pearl for the Sabbath, and when he wanted something for a special occasion, he could call her a goddess.”

  “Goddess, then.”

  “Only for special occasions.” She batted her eyelashes.

  “It’s Wednesday. That seems special enough. Do I really need to reserve ‘my pearl’ for Sundays? You’re not Christian. That wouldn’t make any sense.”

  “The Muslim holy day is Friday.” When she said that, Kira quickly moved her hand away from Ty’s abdomen and put it on her own hip.

  An internal line was crossed. Kira would not speak of religion when she was touching Ty.

  This was actually a difficult problem for her. Kira had been sexually involved with men since she thought she was in love her senior year of high school. But as a woman who was not a virgin—she could be charged in Qatar under Zina laws. Sexual intercourse between a man and woman outside of a legal marriage meant she could be punished beyond bringing shame to her family. She could be jailed, or worse. In the Qur’an, Zina is punished with a hundred lashes.

  If and when she married the man her uncle had chosen, she would have to be very careful about how she approached their marital bed. If he was a good man, kind…or even someone worried about having such a crime associated with his name, Kira might be safe. If he were a brutal man, her life could be in danger. She could act the virgin. She could turn any aversion she had toward the stranger to make it look like bashfulness. Her revulsion could be read as innocence and inexperience.

  It was just another layer of considerations she needed to weigh.

  She risked her life if she agreed to the marriage. She risked her life if she didn’t agree to the marriage.

  But how could she go the rest of her days without the family she loved?

  Kira flapped around restlessly. Her breath caught as anxiety squeezed her ribs down tight against her lungs. She tried to hide her reaction by climbing from the bed and pulling on her robe.

  “Are you okay?” Ty pushed up onto an elbow. “Have I upset you?”

  “No, no.” She gathered her hair from under the collar and let it fall down her back. “I just need a moment.” She pointed to the bathroom and went in. Kira shut the door and leaned her weight against it. She looked at her face in the mirror.

  She’d gone white.

  Her eyes held too wide.

  Kira felt like Ty was her lifeline, and she should grab at it. Grab at him. But wasn’t that a literary trope? The princess in dire straits in a foreign land, depending on the strength of body as well as the heart of the knight in shining armor to save her from her dragons?

  They shouldn’t be dragons.

  She should trust her uncle to have chosen someone that would be a good match for her. But Uncle Nadir was an ambitious man. And he knew her little as she spent most of her visits in the women’s area of the compound.

  She was chattel.

  And she was on her own.

  Kira took a deep breath and left the bathroom. She had today to be happy. She wasn’t going to let her worries rob her of this joy.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Kira

  Kira had just emerged from a hot bath.

  While she soaked, Ty had gone out to get some things for Rory, so they could spend the night. He would also grab dinner from the Thai place around the corner.

  Now, dressed in loungewear, Kira was sitting at her kitchen counter, a video chat open with London.

  “What do you think of this dress?” London asked.

  “I don’t love you in yellow. It’s hard for most people to pull off, and with your blonde hair, it makes you look sallow. How about the blue?”

  London turned to pick up the lapis-colored gown.

  “So I was asking if you saw the reports,” Kira said. “There have been some attacks on westerners.”

  “Why would you be concerned?” London asked, pressing the dress's bodice to her and swishing the voluminous skirt as she considered the choice in her floor-length mirror. “You speak Arabic. You look like that Disney princess.”

  “Cartoonish?”

  “Funny.”

  “Actually, this isn’t funny. I love you. But I’m not willing to be part of tribal unrest or terrorism. You remember what happened last summer in Ngorongoro. You’re the one who told me about it—all of those tourists killed in the bombing. All of those International workers who were hostages were taken west toward the Range.”

  “Not toward our Range. They were northwest on the other side of Lake Victoria. Hours away. That’s like saying that you are in particular danger in North Carolina for something happening in, I don’t know the exact distance, but up in Pennsylvania or something.”

  “London, I’m scared to come. Let me send a man. Jordan maybe?”

  “To set things up with an artistic eye? To explain things to our chef? To make sure all is exactly correct and comfortable so my husband’s friends will have a seamless stay? Jordan can’t do any of those things. I’m depending on you. You promised me.”

  “Yes, but that was before I knew this was happening. It’s right there on the Tanzanian border.”

  “Four hours away. And if we hear of anything happening, pile on the plane and take off.”

  “How would I know?”

  “You wouldn’t,” she admitted. “But neither would they. Honestly, you’re flying in. You’re off-grid. No one knows you’re there. The people who work at our Range live in the domestics’ quarters. They don’t interact outside of the compound. Delivery men, that’s all.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Who would they tell about you? Why would anyone care that you’re there?”

  “I. Don’t. Know. But London, I’m frightened.”

  “You will be gone again in almost no time at all. We fly in. You greet us. Twelvish hours later, we’re on the plane heading for Washington. The pilots already know it’s an immediate turnaround.”

  Kira didn’t respond.

  “I can’t send you my security. I need them where I am to protect me because of the baby. Can you hire someone there? Call Omega, tell them you need a man.” London snorted. “Sorry. Sorry. That wasn’t nice.”

  “I didn’t like the Omega guys. I didn’t trust them. They felt…wrong to me.”

  “Do you know someone who would make you feel comfortable about doing this? I’m not being a bad friend. I hear your concerns. I want you to feel safe. If not Omega, I’m not sure whom to suggest.”

  “I’ll think about it. But if I find someone, I can bring them?” Ty had offered, but if she just came out and said that to London, it might get back to her uncle, and her uncle might ask her pointed questions about her relationship with Ty.

  It was better if this idea came from London.

  “As a paying gig? I’d need to know how much. It has to be reasonable. And they have to follow all of the laws. I’m not digging them out of prison.” She rejected the blue gown, tossing it onto the pile on her bed. Standing in her bra and panties, she pawed through her closet for another option. “Do you want me to ask your uncle for a name or have him put someone in Tanzania when you get here?”

  “No! Promise me you won’t bring up my name with my uncle.”

  “Fine. Just let me know what you decide to do. Only thing, please, please, please don’t decide to not come. I’m depending on you. Figure out who’s flying in with you, give me the guy’s name, and William will make a phone call and get that put into place with the customs guards, so your close protection guy can bring a sidearm. Normally, the laws say no handguns in Tanzania. Oh, but it's no problem to bring rifles if he says they’re for hunting.” She paused to examine her fingernail then focused back on Kira. “Anyway, you’ll have the paperwork tomorrow if you can get me a name before you go to bed.”

  “Thank you, London.”

  “Now, where’s my pooky-wooky precious princess?”

  Kira leaned down and scooped up Beatrice.

  �
�There you are, lovie! Mama misses her cutie pootie. You’re going to see Mama on Sunday, sweetums.” She made kissing noises at the screen. “Thank you, Kira. I appreciate you bringing Bea along. I need to give her some mama snuggles. It’s been way too long. Love you, Kira. Find a good man!” She laughed, and finger waved, then the screen went black.

  Oh, Kira had definitely found a good man.

  But finders keepers wasn’t a game she got to play.

  ***

  Ty had picked up Rory's food at his hotel and had brought some clothes back to Kira’s house.

  With the food growing cold and forgotten on the entry table, they had sex in the foyer.

  Sex on the couch.

  They had played Mr. and Mrs. Clean in the shower, but Kira had gone to her bedroom to pull on a negligee while she let Ty have some privacy to brush his teeth.

  It felt natural. They fit like puzzle pieces. If only he had shown up last year at this time, her life might have taken a very different trajectory.

  While Ty was out gathering things from the hotel and getting some take-out, he must have stopped at the pharmacy and a high-end gourmet shop. There was a new box of condoms on her bedside table next to a box of Belgian chocolates, tied with a rose-pink ribbon that exactly matched the color dress she had worn to the park yesterday when he and Rory had protected her from the aggressive rottweiler.

  That had to have been a conscious choice, didn’t it?

  Seeing those boxes together had sent a woosh of hormones flooding through her system.

  She got another tidal wave of horny hormones when Ty emerged wearing a pair of sleep pants that rode low on his hips.

  Bare-chested. He was an Adonis. Kira had never seen such a desirable man.

  Oh, the bittersweetness. Well, as Jane Austin wrote in Pride and Prejudice, “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

  Yup. It had been just a moment since she and Ty had met, and yet she couldn’t remember not knowing him, and she couldn’t imagine him only lighting the shadows of her memories.

  Before grief wrapped too tightly around Kira’s heart, she pushed those thoughts away to focus on Ty.

  He lifted a framed photograph from her dresser. “Are these your parents?”

  “Yes. That photo was taken at our neighbors’ house just before Dad died. I like it because they look happy together which was rare.”

  “What brought your parents to America?” He set the photograph back exactly as he had found it.

  “Education and opportunity. Dad was a chemical engineer. He met Mom at university. She studied physics.” Kira looked over to the corner at the bed she’d made of cushions and blankets where Rory slept in a protective circle around Beatrice. His tail was thumping against the wall as he saw Ty come into the room.

  “Smart,” Ty said as he went over to give Rory some attention and make sure he’d settled in.

  “Very. I didn’t get any of the number genes. My mind likes words.”

  “So a compliment to their talents.”

  “Their brains were a world apart from how mine works. They kept giving me science kits—build a robot, mix chemicals to make them explode. All I wanted to do was curl up and read the day away. I got in so much trouble in school because I’d hide my novels in my textbooks. The teachers would figure out that I was just a little too intent on my schoolwork. They’d walk around behind me and then—punished.”

  “That seems so wrong, to reprimand a child for reading when it’s their job to instill the love of literature.”

  “Maybe,” Kira said, plumping her pillows and wiggling under the covers. “Or maybe they were using reverse psychology. They wanted me to feel like I was a rule-breaker by consuming books while in the class.”

  “Did it work?”

  “No. Oh, definitely not. I have an internal punishment system. If I feel like I’m doing the wrong thing, I’m quite hard on myself.”

  Ty stood up and went to wash his hands. Kira assumed it was so that he didn’t smell like dog when he touched her. That thought sent a rush of yum! through her system.

  When he came back to her room, he walked straight to the bed and under the covers, reaching his arms out for her. “I’m glad your parents' science didn’t deter you from studying the subject you love.” He kissed her hair.

  “I think we all have to justify why we’re here on this Earth. I think I’m here to preserve the voices of the women who came before me, so they can be heard. Who knows, perhaps my life trajectory is taking me to Qatar to better understand the voices. While their social structure isn’t a replica of the 19th century, many of the mindsets are similar. I’m conflicted by my move, but aren’t we all?” She licked her lips, sorry that this conversation was so bleak. “I have the pressures of my heritage sitting on my shoulders.”

  “And if you didn’t?” Ty smoothed the hair from her face, looking her in the eyes.

  “One could either say I was unmoored as in set adrift. Or one could say that I had the opportunity to explore. As you know, words have meaning, and how one frames a situation changes the brain and the way one perceives a situation.”

  “I’m not sure I understand what we’re talking about here.”

  “Duty. Honor… I don’t know where I fit in. It’s an existential question, isn’t it? I wish I was one of those people who was sure. Where they live is where their roots run deepest, and they belong. Family… Let’s change the subject.”

  “Okay.” A twinkle came into his eyes. “Changing the subject, did you find your chocolates?” He pointed to the box on her bedside table.

  “I did.” She smiled. “I’m looking forward to both the chocolates and the condom box. Thank you for both.”

  “I was hoping to play a game tonight.”

  “Game?”

  “Pirate.” He quirked his brows.

  “Pi—what?” She laughed. “Seriously? How does that go?”

  “I’d like you to show me your treasure chest. Do you play with toys?”

  “You mean sex toys?”

  “I want to watch you pleasure yourself.”

  “You please me,” she said emphatically.

  “I’m glad. Would you let me watch? Because that way I can learn what you like. And I find it erotic.”

  Kira felt pink tinge her cheeks. She liked that Ty knew what he wanted and wasn’t bashful about asking for it. He was a straight shooter. Kira grinned, as she didn’t miss the double entendre of her thoughts.

  Climbing from her bed, Kira reached underneath for her embroidered satin box. She didn’t think it would be traveling with her when she went to Qatar. It was a shame; she had some very expensive and very arousing toys that she used when she was alone.

  Ty’s wanting to watch her made her horny as hell, yet another sexual discovery.

  Too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ty

  Kira was sleeping with her round ass pushed up against his hips. If he hadn’t made love to her three times in quick succession, his cock would be loving this, but his dick was taking a nap.

  He pulled the blanket up and tucked it under her chin as the air conditioning cut on and chilled the air.

  Today was their last day in the United States.

  He was on his way to accomplishing his mission of climbing on that private jet, winging over the Atlantic Ocean, and getting his eyes on the inside of the compound.

  His focus was on getting past the compound security and putting hands on Omar Mohamed Imadi.

  And yet, here he was. The most pleasurable assignment of his time with the Army was about to become one of the worst.

  White was right—he’d fallen in love.

  It was a sensation he’d never felt before. And yet, undeniable.

  Maybe he should go ahead and start White’s antidepressant meds to get them going in his system as soon as possible.

  No, Ty wanted to feel every nanosecond of this, wanted to revel in his feeling
s for this woman—he hadn’t understood what love could mean to his mind, body, his very soul.

  It wasn’t part of his vocabulary to even explain these sensations. He was humbled by this experience.

  Yeah, this mission was going to fuck him up.

  He just hoped that for Kira, anything she felt for him was quickly overcome.

  When Kira came awake, Ty closed his eyes to hold on to this moment, wrapping Kira in his protection for as long as he could.

  She lifted up and turned to look at him. Then turned back and buried her head in her pillow. Her body trembled as she cried.

  Now, Ty had slept with enough women in his lifetime to know that orgasms were stress reducers. Sometimes, as the top layer of stress sloughed off, another layer bubbled up, ready for its release, and that manifested as silent tears. The first time it had happened to him, Ty thought he’d hurt the girl he was with—it was a horrifying thought. But luckily, she had calmly explained that was just something she did, especially after a bad day at work. She was letting it all go so she could sleep.

  That wasn’t what this was.

  Ty opened his eyes so if Kira looked again, she’d know he was there, supporting her. He thought if he said anything, she’d wipe her tears and move on with her day. He didn’t want that. He wanted the truth.

  When Kira reached out for a tissue to blow her nose, Ty smoothed a hand down her back.

  She curled herself into his arms, dabbing at her eyes and letting him stroke his fingers through her hair.

  I will go up against anything that is coming to harm you, he thought—the beast of male power swelling his chest.

  “Ty,” Kira’s words whispered over his skin. “You should know that I am… I’m enjoying our time together.”

  Ty was surprised by the tone in her voice. He recognized it as the one he used to color his own words when he had “the talk” with a woman he’d been seeing. It was the “let me set clear expectations with a velvet glove” tone.

  On the one hand, he was glad to know what she was experiencing.

  On the other hand, White had told him that she was under immense pressure to succumb to her uncle’s directives. Ty was afraid this meant she was about to tell him that she was giving in. He’d done a little research on Qatari women. It seemed that in some families, the male head of the family was the one to pick a woman’s spouse. Sometimes, the woman didn’t even meet the guy until she showed up to sign the marriage contracts. It was a different way of life. It was Kira’s choice.