He saw the closed bathroom door and sighed in relief. The sun must have baked his brains. Of course she wouldn’t wander off after what she’d just experienced. He checked his watch. He’d been gone thirty minutes and she’d decided to take a shower or a bath. With another sigh, he peeled off his dirty clothes. He smelled like hell. He tossed his shirt onto a chair, then worked on his pants.
He didn’t want a repeat of earlier in the morning when they’d bathed in the pond. The little vixen had wanted him to suffer. She’d shown him the full view of her smooth, silky body and he couldn’t help the reaction. His cock had come to attention like a flagpole after one glance of her flesh. He’d been so damned tempted to draw her into the water with him and slide deep inside her heat again. Thinking about those soft, beautiful breasts, that small waist, rounded hips, and long legs made his cock rear. When they’d lain together in the tent and he’d been unable to resist touching her, Zane thought he’d go mad. Plumping those breasts in his palms, tugging on her little nipples—Jesus, God, they’d been delicious—had almost made him come. Touching the slick flesh between her thighs had sealed his fate. From that moment forward he knew he had to sink his cock inside her. Having her mouth wrapped around his cock had been paradise, but her pussy…yeah, that was the ultimate.
“Get a grip on yourself,” he muttered to the empty room.
Gritting his teeth against the vision of her nakedness, he went to the door. He knocked gently. “Keira? It’s too quiet in there. You all right?” When he got no response he knocked a little louder. “Keira, answer me.”
Seconds eased by and not a sound came from the bathroom. Unreasoning panic punched him in the gut. He tried the doorknob and breathed a sigh of relief.
As the door opened without a squeak, he saw why she hadn’t answered. Sprawled out in gentle relaxation, Keira lay in the tub with her head tilted back on the porcelain. Sound asleep. She’d propped one smooth leg on the rim of the tub, and her delicate-looking arm hung over the side. Her small, fragile fingers, those same fingers that had caressed his cock into screaming madness, also dangled and brushed the bath rug. He knew if he stepped closer he would see that stunning beauty again, and he couldn’t stop himself as he walked toward her.
Zane sat on the edge of the tub and indulged his need to watch her. Admiration for her strength came to him once more, whether he wanted it to or not. His desperate need to remain detached emotionally and physically eroded every second. Try as he might to restrain his emotions, whenever it came to Keira, they ran high and deep. Half the time he wanted to throttle her, the other half he wanted to fuck her.
Before she woke up, he wanted to drink in the essence that belonged to her alone. As his gaze glided over her face, he saw vulnerability there. Her small nose and mouth and the subtle arch of her brows. Her hair, wispy and fine, kicked up around her face in a wet mess that made her adorable. The long column of her neck begged to be kissed, the high, plump breasts dared him to lean forward and suckle. Beyond that, her small rib cage and flat belly needed to be caressed.
Under the water, with her leg tilted up on the rim of the bathtub, her female mysteries were open to him. Dark pubic hair curled over her mound, then down around the pink folds of her sex. Her pussy…God, yes, her pussy.
He didn’t think she trimmed her pubic hair or shaved it, and he didn’t mind. Nothing he liked more than a woman in her natural state, lush and delicious. His gaze feasted on the sight of her tender flesh and he licked his lips. More than anything he wanted to feel those folds closing around his fingers again, and watch her face this time as he brought her to screaming climax. Licking her sweet moisture and capturing her clit in his mouth would be the nearest thing to heaven. He wanted to slide his cock into her heat and feel the wetness, the tightness as it cradled him.
He wiped a dot of sweat off his upper lip. Too late to pretend the sight of her didn’t turn him on. His cock stood at rigid attention.
Somehow he must ignore those divergent feelings and get to business.
His cock didn’t care. It stayed at full erection.
“Keira,” he said quietly, not wanting to frighten her.
She opened her eyes slowly, looking sleepy and uncertain. When she realized he sat on the edge of the tub drinking in her nakedness, she jerked like a startled fawn.
He laughed. “Easy.”
Eyes wide, she gripped the edge of the tub, then drew her leg back down into the water, splashing him in the process. “What are you doing?”
“You didn’t answer my knock on the door.”
A smile curved his mouth as he allowed his right hand to drift under the water, passing within inches of her mons. Her gaze followed his movements with a look akin to alarm.
“I didn’t hear you. I was taking a bath.”
“I see that. You look exhausted. Why don’t you dry off and take a nap? You’ll feel much better for the wedding.”
She shrugged and water pearled on her small shoulders. “So much for a romantic wedding, eh?”
Her lack of enthusiasm for the wedding made him feel a little strange. It’s a farce, Zane? Why do care if she wants to go through with it or not. It’s part of the mission. You aren’t going to be jilted at the altar. “Like I said before, we’ll get it annulled.”
Sadness made her tawny eyes shimmer, and he wanted to do everything it took to remove that unhappy look. It made him crazy, but he couldn’t stop a protective streak that erupted inside him the moment he’d saved her life in Egypt.
Why can’t I keep my fucking mind on the mission?
He’d worked with other women agents before and not once did these crazy feelings overwhelm him. Most of them had been attractive, competent, strong women like Keira. So what made her different?
He had to touch her. He simply had to. After dipping his fingers into the bathtub and trailing his fingers over her arm, he felt her shiver.
She inhaled sharply. “Zane.”
“Yeah?” he asked hoarsely.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it feel like?”
“You’re staring at me like a man ready to devour a bowl of ice cream.” Her gaze flicked down to his sizable erection. Her face went pink as she stared.
Her breathy voice, a little startled and maybe scared, made him laugh. “Sorry, but it’s a little hard…difficult to keep my mind on business when you’re lying there naked and wet.”
Her eyes widened a little as she caught the triple entendre. Like a man without willpower, he touched between her breasts, then over the flat plane of that delicious belly. With slow precision he tested the waters as he tested her. Down, down, he moved until he touched her mons with the tip of his fingers.
She ran her tongue ran first over her bottom lip, then her upper. “Please.”
“If I don’t touch you now I’m going to die.”
He couldn’t help the confession, and he didn’t care if she saw it as weak. His fingers smoothed between her slightly parted thighs and discovered the warm slickness between soft folds. Hot and wet, and not from the water, her entire body shivered as he strummed the sensitive area with continual strokes.
“Zane.” Her pupils dilated and her hips tilted upward slightly, and he understood she wanted more.
With slow precision he plied her warmth. He could almost feel it, taste it. Whatever she wanted, he wished to give to her. Attuned to her body, he played with her, flicking her clit with soft touches until her breathing came hard, her eyes closed, and her hips moved continually. Her beautiful breasts rose in time with her panting breaths, those rounded hips twitching a little as her arousal heightened. Beautiful and open to experience, she allowed him the pleasure of showing her how he could make her feel yet again. With slow intent he slipped two fingers deep into her pussy and she gasped and shivered. Moving his fingers into position, he located her G-spot and rubbed with insistent pressure.
“Zane, oh God. That’s… Oh God.”
“That’s it,” he said. “Show me ev
erything.”
Her hands clutched the sides of the tub as she spiraled higher and hotter. As she tipped back her head, a flush rose on her cheeks heralding an imminent explosion. His drive to push her over the edge quickened as he stroked faster. By now her panting breath and soft sounds heralded her excitement, and he concentrated on working that spot inside to shove her over the edge. When she couldn’t take it anymore her muscles went rigid and a loud moan left her throat. As she shuddered he enjoyed how her tight femininity contracted over his fingers. Finally she subsided back into the water and sighed.
When her eyes opened he saw the pleasure lingering there. Flushed, she looked ready and willing for anything else he might have in mind. Shit, he wished she wasn’t so fucking tempting. Touching her had been too easy, and fucking her would be even easier if he didn’t keep his mind on the mission.
Keira turned and spied him as he strode away. She swallowed hard and stared. Oh yes, she looked. She probably owned the same damned expression on her face as she’d seen on his a moment ago. Zane’s beautiful back rippled with power, and those tight, incredible buns bunched with muscle as he ambled to the shower. Instead of glancing away, she kept her blatant stare on his strength as he stepped into the shower and turned it on.
How did a woman keep her sanity around him? Wearing a blindfold whenever he walked into the room?
When she’d awakened from her nap, he’d been staring at her like he’d excavated a treasure from a tomb and her heart had about jumped from her chest. She’d become wet inside all right, watching him watching her with a primitive look that branded her straight down to her toes. Then she’d allowed him to stroke her into the most maddening G-spot orgasm she’d ever experienced.
She stepped out of the tub; the water went cold long ago. As she toweled off he started to sing, this time with a melody that caught her by surprise. When he’d sung before the lyrics expressed sexual hunger. These words held tenderness, fraught with love and longing, a desire a woman could hope for from a man, but may never find.
As he continued to sing, she recognized it as a love tune from long ago. She’d heard the song several times and had always loved it.
“This time you’ve made me see, I’ve been lonely and deep in misery. I feel an emptiness that makes me realize, I can’t live forever like this.”
As he sang she stopped toweling off, listening to the words pouring from him in that beautiful, deep silk and velvet voice. Every word sounded sincere, feelings straight from his heart. She could hear the song revolving in her head, adding the music to his lyrics.
“I once met a woman who told me to believe in my heart, but I never believed it until there was you. Long ago I pretended I didn’t care, but now I’ve tasted your hidden fire, I know I must have more of your hidden desire. I know my heart’s in danger of falling so hard for you.”
As she glanced in the mirror at her body, she saw a flush creep up her neck and into her face. His words turned her on as heat flashed through her body. More than that, the lyrics fed her soul, her heart in a way she’d never experienced before. She ached so badly she wanted to tear open that shower door and join him. Beg him to make love to her.
“Now I’ve got to decide whether to trust what I feel. God, how much of my soul can I truly reveal?”
Like a fool she started to sing with him as she fluffed her hair with the towel and continued to stare into the mirror. He had the order of the lyrics a bit mixed up, and it made her smile. No matter. His voice was so heartrending, so smooth and gorgeous, she about melted into a puddle right there on the cool tile.
“Your world has opened my heart, I never realized until I met you how often I cried…”
As the words flowed over her she realized her heart thumped harder and tears welled. She felt the pathos, the longing in this song and the way his voice made it sound added to the feelings.
“I once met a woman who told me to believe in my heart, but I never believed it until there was you. Long ago I pretended I didn’t care, but now we’ve joined passion for passion, I must have more of your hidden desire. I know my heart’s in danger of falling so hard for you.”
Her heart thumped with an erratic beat. As his singing faded, she realized exhaustion must be making her vulnerable to a seductive voice. Not just any voice, but the man who’d saved her life twice. For one clarifying moment she wondered what it would be like to be loved that way by Zane Spinella. Loved and cherished in the deepest part of his heart.
As she left the bathroom and closed the door behind her, she realized with a heavy sadness that she would never know.
Chapter Twelve
“Wake up,” a husky male voice said close to Keira’s ear.
She jerked awake as she had when she’d fallen asleep in the bathtub, her senses on high alert. She rolled over and scarcely kept the white terrycloth robe from slipping off her body. “What?”
Zane looked down at her. Her gaze coasted over the Italian designer black suit, and electric blue shirt and tie. Athletic cut, the suit fit him like a dream, emphasizing his broad shoulders and lean waist and hips. With his hair dry, his face shaved and a white smile that put every movie star she’d seen to shame, he made her heart turn over. She wished he would smile like that more often. Then she thought about it. He did smile more often than when she’d first met him.
No man has a right to look so good. Ever.
She gawked at him, then frowned. “What time is it?” She bolted upright and looked at the digital clock. “Damn. I’ve only got two hours to get ready.”
Another male grunt confirmed his contempt. “You don’t need two hours. You just had a shower—”
“I have to fix my hair. I slept in it wet and now it looks terrible.” She rushed for the bathroom. She stopped dead at the door. “Wait. I don’t know what I’m even wearing for this sham of a wedding.”
“The white dress in the closet.”
At the hotel she’d glanced at the garment without much thought. She hurried into the bathroom and the walk-in closet. She flipped garments aside until she found a gorgeous two-piece silvery white ensemble. Extracting the items, she held up and admired the simple, elegant design. Thin straps held up the demi-cut seed bodice that was designed almost like a corset with boning along the ribs. The waist tapered into a Basque waist. Seed pearls decorated the entire bodice.
The long, slim skirt skimmed over her hips and widened slightly at the knees. Beaded pumps with high heels went with the elaborate decoration on the bodice and hem of the dress. Plainly put, the outfit was beautiful. She hoped it fit her. Everything in the wardrobe did so far, but that didn’t guarantee this dress would.
She looked toward the bathroom door, half expecting to see her groom-to-be to watching. Marching back into main room, she found him sitting in a chair near the bed reading a Spanish language magazine.
As she rushed by him and dug into the chest of drawers, she found a suitable half slip that would be long enough. She remembered the white long-line strapless bra and retrieved it, then grabbed white thigh-high stockings. When she saw the stockings didn’t have elastic at the top, she hoped to hell the SIA had provided her with a white garter belt. The one she’d worn the other night was black. Her fingers found the lacy white scrap of seduction and smiled. Yes. She located a whisper-soft, lacy white g-string bikini and grabbed that, too.
Retreating to the bathroom, half afraid she’d run out of time, she rushed through the dressing process. She stopped after she’d wiggled into the bra and realized the push-up element would assure every male, taller than her or not, would be able to see her cleavage. She grimaced. Damn it. Then she shrugged. What could she do? These were the only undergarments that would work with this dress.
Finally she stood in the ensemble, ready for action. She cleared her throat. She hadn’t worn anything this beautiful in years. Not even with her last boyfriend two years ago. Now, here she stood, ready to participate in a fake marriage and she gave a damn about the “fuck me” quotient in her
underwear? She must be losing it. After she put on the long dress and struggled to zip it up, she slipped into the pumps. Not only did the dress fit like a dream, so did the shoes. Amazing.
She managed to wrestle her hair into a semblance of order and anchored one side of it back with a sparkling rhinestone butterfly barrette. After taking a cleansing breath to steady her nerves, she looked around the side of the door. He still read the magazine.
She stepped into the room. “What do you think? Will it do?”
As he lowered the magazine and took in her apparel, his gaze immediately went hot and appreciative. He liked the affect, all right. He tossed the magazine on the bed and stood. With a purposeful stroll, he walked toward her. She felt every minute of that walk as he perused her from head to toe, his gaze touching with intimate attention.
When he stood in front of her, she saw Zane take in the way her breasts curved in the bodice. “Beautiful.” The one word came out rough with unexpected emotion. A frown marred his brow. “Haan is going to eat this up.”
Haan. She didn’t want to know how Haan would react to this dress. “Why should we care about that?”
“Because he’s a lech of the first degree.” He turned away and went to the dresser. He retrieved the strange ring Haan had given her. “Here, slip this on. I’ve got the wedding ring in my pocket.”
When he clasped her left hand and started Haan’s ring on her finger, she snatched her hand back. “No. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I told you what this ring does. This is what caused me to wander off into the jungle. You do remember the way it was glowing when it was in the tent last night, don’t you?”
He stared at the ring in his palm for a second. “I remember. It was probably light from the pillars outside the tent.”
“Right.” She put her hands on her hips. “That sounds like the theory people use on other people who’ve seen UFOs. Light reflecting off Venus and all that.”
She thought he’d demand that she put it on. Instead he shook his head and put it back on the dresser. “Fine. Maybe Haan won’t notice.” His gaze flamed, a little anger mixed in with defiance. “He’ll be too busy looking down your dress to notice.”
Special Investigations Agency: Primordial Page 21
