HOT Justice: A Hostile Operations Team - Book 14

by Lynn Raye Harris

  “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all. I think it’s sweet.”

  “You ready to head back to your room now?”

  She smiled up at him. “Guess I should.”

  “I’ll walk you.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I know I don’t have to. But I’m going to.” She stood and he waited for her to move. And then he realized what she might be thinking. “I’m not planning to collect on those kisses, Haylee. Just walking you to your room before heading to mine. I’m not a total dick.”

  “I didn’t think you were. You’ve been more than decent to me. You saved me from that guy, and then you’ve been with me every step of the way. I think I know what kind of man I’m dealing with by now.”

  He liked the way that sounded, and yet if she could peek into his mind and see what he was thinking about her, she’d probably have a different opinion on his decency. Because nothing he was thinking was decent. More like hot and sweaty and dirty.

  “After you,” he said, waving a hand for her to precede him. He followed her down the hallway, around a corner, and into another hall. She stopped in front of a door and turned with her back to it as she took her keycard from her pocket.

  “This is me.”

  “Then I guess it’s time for me to say goodbye,” he said softly.

  Her brows drew together. “Goodbye? Not goodnight?”

  He shook his head. “We’ll be gone before they transport you out of here tomorrow. It’s been nice hanging out with you tonight, Haylee.”

  “I… Yes, it has.”

  He couldn’t stop himself from tucking a lock of hair behind her ear just so he could touch her again. “I’m still planning to pay up, don’t worry. I’ll find you back home.”

  “You promise?”

  He grinned. “Found you this time. I’ll find you.”

  She rolled her eyes mockingly. “You didn’t even know I was there.”

  “Yeah, but now I do.”

  He started walking backwards down the hall. “Get some rest, Haylee. Go home and take care of yourself. I’ll see you around. Promise.”

  He was nearly to the end of the short hall when she called out. “Wolf. Wait.”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I… I don’t want to say goodbye just yet.”

  His heart clenched tight in his chest. Neither did he. But he also didn’t want to assume a damned thing where she was concerned. He returned to where she still stood with her back to the door, the keycard clutched in front of her, her eyes wide as they searched his face. He took the card gently. Reached behind her and slipped it into the slot. The door clicked.

  “Then we don’t have to,” he said, pushing the door open behind her. Waiting for her to move. His heart rate sped up, but he didn’t budge. Didn’t push her.

  Her gaze roamed his face, slipped down his body, landed about mid-abdomen and stayed there. Wolf sighed and tipped her chin up, made her look at him again.

  “Not gonna lie to you. I don’t know what this is or where it’s going, but I’m not planning to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. If all we do is talk, then that’s all we do.”

  She gave him a soft smile. And then she stepped backward and entered the room. Wolf followed.

  Haylee didn’t know what she was doing. Not really. Her heart hammered and her palms were sweating and her senses seemed to be hyper-engaged.

  Wolf was in her room. Standing just inside the door, his big frame filling it, making her belly throb and her sex tingle. She was crazy. Had to be. She didn’t know this man, not really, and yet here she was. Letting him inside her room—no, begging him to come inside and stay. What must he think she wanted?

  Hell, she didn’t know what she wanted. Sex? Talk? What?

  He closed the door softly behind him, plunging them into a darker environment than the brightly lit corridor. There was a light on in her room, but it wasn’t very bright. She swallowed. Now what, girlie? You brought him here.

  She wasn’t sure if it was her voice or Nicole’s talking to her in that moment. But, yeah, now what?

  “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said. And then she started because she wasn’t sure she’d meant to say it aloud.

  One corner of Wolf’s mouth curved into a smile. So sexy. “So we’ll figure it out together.”

  “What if I don’t want sex?” she burst out as he took a step toward her.

  He stopped. “Already told you I didn’t expect it. Nothing’s changed just because you’ve invited me in.”

  Haylee folded her arms over her chest. Was this guy for real? She didn’t think she’d ever dated a guy who was so understanding. Not that they were dating, but the ones she’d gone out with always seemed to think they were owed something at the end of the evening. Wolf seemed perfectly content to hang out and not try to get his hands in her panties.

  Was he gay?

  Haylee nearly rolled her eyes. Was the man gay? Not likely considering the way he’d kissed her earlier. Sure, maybe gay men kissed women like they wanted to eat them for dinner, but she didn’t think it was a typical reaction.

  “I don’t think there’s anything interesting to drink in here,” she said, trying to cover her nervousness with busyness as she turned and went into the small kitchenette. She tugged open the door and blinked. “Okay, strike that, there’s beer. And water and soda.”

  She felt Wolf walk up behind her. His heat was so close, but he didn’t touch her. “Probably a VIP room.”

  “Can we drink it? Or should we leave it alone?”

  He reached past her, his body leaning into hers. Making her ache. She bit the inside of her lip.

  “I think if they didn’t want it drunk, they shouldn’t have left it,” he said in her ear. His fingers closed around two bottles of light beer. He pulled them from the fridge, straightening, his heat fading. He twisted off first one top and then the other as she turned to face him.

  “Cheers,” he said, handing her a bottle. She took it and they clinked the glass. The beer was cold and smoother than she expected as she took a sip. Three beers in one night. She was turning into quite the party animal.

  Wolf went over and sat on one of the chairs in the living area. She went and sat in the opposite. Then she dropped her gaze, uncertain what to say. And then she knew.

  “Do you usually spend so much time with your rescuees?” she asked.

  “Nope. We’re usually moving out pretty quick, and we go our separate ways as soon as we get them to safety. This time was… unusual.”

  “Why?”

  “We don’t typically have to go to Plan B like we did with this group. And then there are the storms in the Gulf which kept us from flying straight out.” He shrugged. “So we get an extra night of R&R. Not a bad thing.”

  “No, guess not. Plus it means I got to beat you at pool.”

  He laughed. “Definitely that. You have some amazing skill, Haylee. The guys were impressed.”

  She felt her pride sit up just a little bit. “Were they?”

  “Oh yeah. Mal thinks you should join us at the bar back home, be a ringer for us.”

  “A ringer? For what?”

  “We’ve got this one guy—well, he’s on a different team. Name’s Cage, and he’s so good nobody wants to play him for money anymore. Might be nice to send you up against him.”

  Haylee laughed. “Hey, there’s no guarantee I’d beat him. Besides, how would you get this guy to play me? All of you pushing and laughing like fools, you think he’s not going to figure it out?”

  “Nah, we’d be cool. It’s a great fantasy though.”

  Fantasy. Good Lord, just hearing that word on his lips made her mind go to places she wasn’t sure she should allow it to go. “I might not win. What then?”

  Wolf scoffed. “No way, baby. You’re a fucking shark.”

  Haylee laughed then. She couldn’t help it. His utter conviction was amusing. And sweet. “Well, I don’t
know about that. I’m a bit out of practice.”

  The look on his face was comical. “Out of practice? Hell, you could have gone to Vegas on those games.”

  Haylee laughed harder. “No, really. I’m good—I’m not that good. I know a few tricks. I pay attention. You play me a few more games, you’ll spot my weaknesses.”

  “Yeah, you’d still blow Cage out of the water. He wouldn’t even see it coming.”

  “Well then. Maybe one day.”

  He twisted the beer in his hand. “Yeah, maybe so.” He was silent for a moment. “You know, I’d ask for your number, but neither of us has a cell phone right now.”

  She dipped her head shyly. “I appreciate that. I have to get a new one when I get back.”

  “What’s your address?”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said, shaking her head. “You don’t have to ask me. It’s okay.”

  “I said I’d find you, and I will. But an address would make it easier. I’ll remember.”

  She recited it. She could see the gears turning. Then he nodded. “Got it.”

  The conversation got easier after that. They talked about mundane things, about living in Maryland, eating the local seafood, taking visitors to the Capitol Mall and still being excited to see it all again, even though they’d seen it several times before. Haylee was tired, but she didn’t want him to go so she kept talking.

  And then, finally, he leaned back against the chair and sighed, eyes closing. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I think it’s time to call it a night. I’m losing the ability to stay awake.”

  “Me too,” she said on a sigh, legs curled in the chair, eyes drooping.

  He stood. She stood too, not easily. And then he was at her side, tugging her against him, one hand spearing into her hair, the other curving around her back. “It’s been great meeting you, Haylee. I’ve enjoyed every minute with you.”

  Her throat tightened. Her arms snaked around him, held him tighter than she should have. “Me too.”

  “But I gotta go.”

  “I know.”

  “You want to collect a kiss now? Or save it?”

  She knew the answer. Didn’t have to think twice. “Collect.”

  It wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. She could see it on his handsome face. His eyes sparked. His nostrils flared. But then he seemed to make a decision. “Whatever you want, baby.”

  He was so much taller than her that she almost had to stretch up to him on tiptoe, but then his head dropped, slowly, and her eyes closed long before he arrived. She waited, her heart pounding, her senses on edge—

  And then his mouth met hers, warm lips pressing to hers, and she shivered as a thrill rolled through her for the second time tonight.

  “Haylee,” he murmured against her mouth. She opened to him, tilting her head to give him better access, heart throbbing with excitement. He groaned as he took what she offered. Their mouths sucked and nipped and tasted, and her body began to tremble.

  A moment later, he set her away from him. Gently. She blinked up at him. “Why did you stop?”

  “Can’t keep doing that, Haylee. Not without wanting more.”

  “Oh.” She twisted his shirt in her fingers. What was this reluctance to let him go? Why was she so damned clingy with a man she hardly knew?

  “I’d better go. Before something happens that we both regret.”

  That thought sobered her right on up. “What’s that mean?”

  “Means I don’t want to push you into something. I wouldn’t force you, not ever, but I’m this damned close—” He pinched his fingers together to show, well, no space at all. “—to using every trick in the book to convince you that sleeping with me is a good idea. Except I’m too fuckin’ tired to do it right, which means I really need to go.”

  Haylee pulled in a breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable. In truth, I could lay down beside you and sleep all night so long as we didn’t kiss. I could do that and be happy. Swear to God.”

  She searched his gaze. “Could you? Really?”

  Even his grin was sleepy. She figured she was reflecting it back to him, tired as she was. What a mess.

  “Yeah, really.”

  Haylee dropped her arms from around his waist. Took one of his hands lightly in hers. “I’d like that.”

  “You would? Just you and me sleeping together?”

  She shrugged shyly. “Yes. You and me. Sleeping. I want to.”

  He didn’t say anything for a long moment. And then he sighed. Shook his head. “So do I, babe. More than you know.”

  Chapter Eight

  Wolf didn’t know what the hell he was agreeing to but he knew he didn’t want to go. Could he lie in bed with this woman and sleep? Yeah, right now he could. He was exhausted. So he followed her into the bedroom and they lay down together, completely clothed, on top of the covers. He opened his arms and she curled into them, slipped her arms around his body. He lay there in the darkness and breathed in and out, forcing himself to think about what was happening.

  He was in bed with a woman he’d just met—not unusual—and doing nothing more than holding her close—highly unusual. Her fingers splayed over his chest, her nose burrowing against his neck. Contentment dripped through him like melting wax, settling warm and sticky deep inside.

  He closed his eyes. He had to be outta here before daylight, but he had her address. He’d see her again in DC. He ran his thumb absently up and down her arm, wishing he was touching bare skin instead of a camouflage shirt.

  “This is the strangest thing,” she said softly after a few seconds.

  “What is?”

  “This. Lying here with you. I don’t even know you, but I want to be near you.”

  He thought about that for a second. “Yeah, me too.”

  She sighed. “You could just be saying that. I know it, and yet I feel like you aren’t. Like this isn’t something you usually do.”

  He frowned. “No. Not at all. I’m comfortable with you, Haylee. I like you.”

  “I like you too.”

  “I never met a girl in the jungle before. Never escaped a drug cartel with her. Just so you know.”

  She laughed. “It’s a first for me too, I have to say.”

  He squeezed her softly. “You might have… issues when you get home. Don’t ignore them, okay? If you need help, get it. Talk to someone. What happened tonight was intense.”

  “You mean the bodies in the camp?”

  “Yes. And the man I, uh, stopped from hurting you.” He’d killed a man in front of her. He’d done it quickly and he’d done it because it was necessary, but he didn’t enjoy it. And he worried how she’d feel about it once she was out of here and memories of her captivity and rescue started hitting hard.

  “I keep expecting to feel horror over it, but I don’t. Is that wrong?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. That’s the kind of thing you talk to someone about. It wasn’t wrong for me, but you’re different. Only you know if something is bothering you or not.”

  “I’m not bothered right now. But I understand what you’re saying.”

  “Good.” A jaw-cracking yawn snuck up on him.

  Haylee burrowed closer. “I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. See you in the morning?”

  “Yeah, morning,” he said. And then he fell fast asleep next to a woman he hadn’t had sex with.

  It was still dark when Haylee woke. She was warm, burrowed against the hard body of a man. When was the last time that had happened? She knew where she was and who she was with, because the circumstances were unusual enough to stick in her mind. But she had to pee, so she gently disentangled herself and pushed away. Wolf didn’t stir.

  She escaped to the bathroom, did her thing, and swigged mouthwash from the small bottle on the sink. Just because.

  Haylee blushed. Not just because. She did it because she intended to collect another of those kisses if he woke befo
re she fell asleep again. She tiptoed back to the bed, pausing at the edge when bright eyes landed on her.

  “Hey,” she said, her heart skipping.

  “Hey.” His voice was gravelly, sexy. It thrummed deep inside her.

  “Sorry if I woke you.”

  “You didn’t.” He put an arm behind his head. Yawned. “I don’t sleep deeply on a mission.”

  “Oh.”

  He levered up and stood. “I’ll be back,” he said. Then he smiled.

  “Okay.”

  She climbed onto the bed to wait, her heart pounding a little faster as Wolf headed toward the bathroom to do his business. What the hell was she thinking anyway? Swigging mouthwash? Wanting a kiss? This wasn’t a romance. This was a tough situation creating a closeness that wasn’t real.

  And yet she still wanted to kiss him. Wanted to run her hands down his body, feeling all that hard muscle beneath her palms. He returned a few minutes later and her heart skipped at the sight of him. So sexy. So desirable.

  “It’s nearly time for me to go,” he told her as he sat on the bed beside her. “Another hour, maybe a little more. They’ll be looking for me.”

  Her belly tightened inexplicably. “Do you need to leave now?”

  “Soon.”

  Haylee bit the inside of her cheek. She didn’t want him to go, and yet there was nothing she could do to stop it. She told herself she was just being clingy. That the circumstances of their meeting meant she felt a closer kinship with him than she should.

  That’s not it. Nicole’s voice again. You’re hot for him. He’s hot for you. For God’s sake, Haylee, do something about it before he walks away.

  Haylee bit her lip. She didn’t know that she could. That she should.

  He reached out and skimmed his fingers along her cheek. Then he tucked her hair behind her ear. “Thanks for letting me sleep here.”

  Haylee swallowed. “You’re welcome.” Her skin tingled. Her body ached. Wetness pooled between her legs. It had been so long since she’d been touched by anyone but herself. Did she dare to risk more with this man? Or did it even matter? What if it was a one-night stand? Could she handle that?