“I should have said that’s what you’ll let him think you intend to do—you’ll have to stall him. We’ll get there before anything actually happens. We just need to get him to the point of making you do it, then we have him ten ways to Sunday. We’ll have access to the computer, we’ll have access to Locke and we’ll have him red-handed in the act. We’ll set up surveillance and grab him then. If you can get him to tell you about the money—if there is any—all the better.”
“Okay,” Sage said, sounding weary and resigned.
“I’m going. He’ll think it’s weird if I don’t show.” Sarah spoke resolutely.
Sage shook her head. “I can say we had a fight, I’ll say I snuck out on you. He wants me for himself—he said we were going to get rid of you. He might hurt you.”
“I’d like to see him try, the weasel. He could hurt you, too. There’s safety in numbers.”
Ian broke into the conversation. “No one’s getting hurt. EJ and I will be there, and this time we’ll have police backup and the Coast Guard at the ready. Sarah’s right, it’s safer if it’s two on one.”
Sarah sat back, smug, but her smugness was erased when Ian turned to her, his voice brooking no argument.
“Just don’t go cowboying it—you ride according to the rules and you don’t leave each other, period. And don’t get sidetracked.”
Sarah’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Hey, that thing with the guys at the bar—”
Ian cut her off. “If you want to be part of this team, you’re going to have to learn to take orders. From me. You can’t go off half-cocked, getting in people’s faces and drawing unnecessary attention. You need to stay on message, Sarah.”
Sarah dropped back in her chair, glaring but biting her lip self-consciously and nodding. Ian felt a little sting of conscience at coming down on her so hard in front of the others, but he was concerned about her ability to perform if she was going to run around with a chip on her shoulder. For her safety and Sage’s, he had to make it clear to her what her part in this was.
The awkwardness around the table was thick, until Sage rose, her chair scraping across the floor, startling all of them. Her voice was low, lacking any intonation. She didn’t look at him.
“We only have a few more hours then. I need to rest up.”
Ian’s gaze followed Sage until she disappeared through the doors.
Sarah’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry, Ian. You’re right. I let my temper get the best of me and I shouldn’t have. I’ll stick by Sage tonight. We’re going to get this guy.”
Ian knew she would. “Why don’t you guys go get some rest, as well,” he said wearily. “This is going to be a late one.”
“What about you?”
“I have some calls to make. See you at oh-one hundred. Set your alarms.” He took out his cell phone, dismissing them effectively, and they rose to leave without a word.
“Wait,” he called out as they reached the door. Sarah stopped and he asked the question that was driving him crazy. “I have to know. Did he…touch her?”
Sarah paused and quietly nodded, then walked out of the kitchen. Within moments he was alone, his voice low and determined as he made arrangements for what would go down later that night.
SINCE SHE’D GONE UPSTAIRS Sage had been standing in her room in front of the closed window. She had no intention of sleeping, as if she could. As she stared out into the darkness, she wondered—was Locke out there even now, spying on her? Her skin crawled thinking of it.
The memory of Locke’s cold, possessive touch, played over and over in her mind. Needing to rid herself of the feel of his hands crawling over her body, she went into the bathroom and stepped into the shower, turning on a full blast of hot water. As she scrubbed her skin raw, she sobbed, gulping for breath. She’d made such a mess of her life, sometimes it felt as if it would only get worse.
She jumped, panicked, as she sensed another presence. Ian was there, his tortured gaze fixed on her. I need you, she thought and didn’t even try to disguise it.
As they stared at each other, he didn’t bother taking his clothes off but came into the shower, pulling her close and holding her tightly. She collapsed against him, finally giving in to his gentleness and her need to lean on someone. Regardless of anything that had been said between them, regardless of the past or the future, she knew she could lean on Ian.
And she did, letting the last tears drain from her as he just held her tightly until she could breathe again and the water began to turn cold. He didn’t let go of her as he reached behind himself with one hand and shut the spray off. His voice was rough with regret.
“I’m so sorry I got you into this.”
She attempted a half smile. “Actually I think I was the one who got me into this. Remember it was my idea to help trap Locke.” The massive solidness of him was so comforting. She never wanted to move from this spot. “I’m okay, Ian. It was just rough…seeing him again. But I’m good. I’m ready.”
Admiration washed through him at her bravery and toughness. “You’re free, you know, Sage. No matter what happens tonight, no matter what happens tomorrow, there’s no way I’ll let anything take your freedom away from you again. I know it never should have been taken in the first place. You deserve to be free.”
Sage couldn’t believe her ears. She knew Ian had heard Locke admit to setting her up, yes, that’s what she’d wanted. But she’d never expected him to say the things he was saying to her now. Never dared to hope. She swallowed, her response seeming silly and small to her ears.
“Thank you.”
He lowered his lips to her cheek, planting a soft kiss but also licking away a drop of moisture, hearing her catch her breath at the contact. He nuzzled her, still not letting her move even a hair’s width away from him. His chest rose and fell in a deep sigh.
“He put his hands on you. I’m sorry for that, too.”
She shook her head vehemently. “I don’t want to think about that.” She raised her face to his. “I want you to touch me, Ian. Make love to me, please. I want your hands on me.”
He gathered her impossibly closer, burying his face in her neck, and she lifted, wrapping her legs around him. Her voice was urgent, pleading.
“Wipe his touch away, Ian. Take it all away. I only want you. You make me feel free.”
Twisting around in the small space of the shower, he groaned deeply, pressing her back up against the tile, and found her mouth in a savage kiss. Sage met him on equal ground, burning for his touch, desperate to forget anything and everything else but this man who held her and made her feel things she never expected to feel. Needed. Cared for.
She didn’t dare let her mind trip over the next thought, though her heart was unafraid and whispered it to her anyway.
He is everything. To her. Somewhere in the midst of all the game playing, deception and fear, she had fallen in love with Ian Chandler.
The realization should have scared her. She had no indication that he loved her or felt anything more than he ever had. She could be setting herself up for a world of hurt. But instead her heart sang, and she felt more alive than she ever had in her life. She laughed against his lips, rejoicing, devouring him, opening herself and letting him know that she was his completely.
Ian didn’t know what had changed between them, but it was consuming him. He couldn’t get close enough, plundering her soft mouth, taking everything she was giving him. She moved hungrily, holding on to him as if her life depended on the contact.
He realized that while he’d taken her before, this was the first time she was really giving herself to him. The knowledge softened the edge of his desire, burning as it was. Swinging her around, he carried her back into the bedroom.
Sage didn’t say anything as he laid her back on the bed, stepping back to strip off his own soaked clothing. Reaching into the pocket of his slacks, he grabbed a condom he’d picked up in EJ’s bathroom on his way upstairs. He set it on the table next to the vases of fresh flowers pla
ced in the room earlier in the day.
Naked, Ian stood before the bed, drinking in the sight of Sage.
She met his gaze directly, never breaking the visual contact as she stretched like a cat over the soft cotton sheets. She ran a hand over her smooth stomach, then lower, grazing the shadowy triangle of hair.
Like a man in a trance he followed her hand as it moved over her skin. Reaching out, her hand lifted, her fingers weaving with his as she tugged him down gently, smiling. He’d never seen her look more beautiful and he knew this time it was going to be different between them. He didn’t think about why but just lost himself in the magic of her spell.
He bent over her, almost too excited to know where to start, wanting to touch her everywhere. He touched his mouth to the firm skin of her stomach, kissed her reverently there, tracing a path up to her breasts, where he closed his lips over the sweet, hot bud of her nipple and sucked until she arched up under him. Sliding one arm underneath her, he supported her while he laved and suckled her tender flesh.
When he nipped her lightly, she moaned, quivering in his arms. He smiled, setting out on a journey over every inch of her body, touching everywhere, tasting all the sweetness she had to offer, until she was writhing beneath him.
Reaching over to grab the packet, he sheathed himself quickly, and levering himself up over her, he nudged her thighs apart with his knee and lay between them, looking deeply into her face, framing her features with his hands as he nudged his heat against hers.
“Open your eyes, Sage. Look at me.”
She did, and he felt some part of himself open, connecting with her on a deeper level than he had ever connected with anyone, any woman, before. She looked at him with such absolute trust in her eyes, such open desire, that he felt the weight of it in his soul. He lowered his lips to hers, falling into her gaze as his mouth caressed hers and he eased his hard length inside her.
Slowly, gently, he deepened the kiss as he sank into her. She moved against him slightly, clenching him and sighing. The pleasure was exquisite, but something even more profound than that made him determined to extend this experience as long as he possibly could.
Sage was in heaven. Encompassed by Ian’s warmth, feeling the solid maleness of him inside and out, he became her world and she never wanted to leave this spot. Love and passion mixed headily as she rotated her hips against his, urging him to move with her. Shimmering sparks of pleasure shot through her with every slight movement, her entire body responding in unison to his.
His eyes were like molten silver, fixed on hers as he thrust deeper. She wrapped her legs around his waist, hitching herself up higher, planting her hands back against the thick headboard to provide maximum resistance against his long, confident thrusts.
She felt the tight tension in her body suddenly burst as she came, the strong waves of orgasm pulsing through her limbs. Needing to be closer, she clutched his shoulders.
His skin was gleaming with perspiration, every muscle in his body defined as he held himself tense above her, maintaining control over his own pleasure for the sake of hers. She beckoned him to come back down to her.
“Kiss me, Ian. Hold me. I want to feel you come inside me.”
His eyes flared at her words as he descended, his mouth consuming hers as he thrust harder. He was so deep inside of her, filling her, giving himself over to her so passionately that she cried out, helpless against the pleasure winding its way through her body again.
His mouth was by her ear, and he was breathing heavily, barely able to form words, but he did, urging her along with him.
“Come…come with me, come, Sage…say my name, say it….”
She said it over and over, letting his loving erase anything else that had touched her mind or body, letting herself be claimed by him, and claiming him in return. Nothing existed except Ian.
He licked her earlobe, chanting into her ear as he kissed her in that overly sensitive spot, his words mirroring his hard thrusts that pushed her over the brink just as his chant turned into a long growl of release. His arms were around her like steel bands as they rocked together. She burrowed against him, not wanting to let go.
“Oh…my…God…” His voice was still ragged with pleasure as he continued to move inside of her as if he could never stop. She squeezed him, hugging him with her whole body, sighing as little remnants of pleasure continued working their way over her skin and love blossomed in her heart, full and unafraid of anything, including the future.
He stopped moving and started to lift off her, but she held him firmly there.
“No, don’t move.”
“I’m too heavy.”
She shook her head, wondering if he was remembering how she had pulled away from him before, how she had said she didn’t like the closeness afterward. Those fears seemed foreign to her now.
“You’re not. I like it.”
He tentatively relaxed against her, kissing her face, searching for the least bit of discomfort he could be causing her. But she just kissed him back and nestled against him. Finally he did relax, though he shifted much of his weight to her right side, and she fell asleep in the warm burrow of his body.
Ian, however, did not sleep. He studied the peaceful features of the woman he held. They had only a few hours left together. Touching her face lightly, he knew he wasn’t going to put her through one more moment of hell if he could spare her that. God knew, he’d caused her enough.
He felt his heart seize remembering what she’d had to do and how she’d been weeping in the shower. It wasn’t going to happen again. He stayed awake for a while, thinking and planning, until finally disengaging himself from her embrace, picking his still wet clothes up from the floor and going to get ready.
SAGE MUMBLED INTO THE pillow when the pounding sound wouldn’t go away. Jeez, would someone make that stop?
Then it got worse—the pounding became a shaking—and her eyes flew open. She gasped when she saw someone standing before her.
“Sage, it’s just me, Sarah. Calm down. Here.”
Sage pulled on the robe that Sarah was handing her. Oh, God—it must be time. The realization startled her awake.
“I’m sorry…I forgot to set the alarm….” Still groggy but realizing what was at stake, she stood up too fast and wove slightly before sitting back down on the edge of the bed. “Shit.”
“You sleep like the dead, woman. I thought I was going to have to dump something over you. But you have to snap to, it’s urgent. EJ’s getting ready. We have to go.”
Sage prodded her brain to work. “Let me get dressed. Where’s Ian?”
Sarah snorted and threw her a shirt from the dresser. “That’s the million-dollar question.”
Sage was awake now. “What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t sleeping—I felt, you know, kinda cruddy about that stuff that happened earlier—and about fifteen minutes ago I heard a door close and footsteps and saw Ian heading out the door. He took off on foot. Alone.”
Sage wrinkled her brow. Fifteen minutes? She looked at the clock and groaned. That’s why she was so dead asleep—she’d only passed out in Ian’s arms less than an hour ago. A tingle worked its way over her skin as she remembered what they’d shared, and she shook her head, trying to make sense of what Sarah was saying.
“Maybe he was just going to the station for something he forgot? I’m not supposed to meet Locke for an hour yet.”
Sarah shook her head. “Why wouldn’t he drive then? He looked like a man on a mission—all geared up so I barely saw him, head to toe in night gear. I think he’s gone on without us. He was heading toward the waterfront.”
“He’s going to take on Locke alone.”
“That sounds about right.” EJ’s voice interrupted them from the doorway. He was also decked out, as Sarah called, in “night gear,” and suddenly Sage felt a little obvious in the bright blue tank Sarah had tossed at her.
“What are we going to do?”
EJ blew out a breath, his face tens
e. “If Ian has gone ahead, he’s probably going to try to sneak in and lay in wait for Locke. Or take him early by surprise.”
Sage paced the room.
“We have to go help him.”
“That’s a little hard to do when we don’t know what his plan is,” Sarah huffed, crossing her arms in front of her indignantly. “So who’s the one going off half-cocked now? That guy has some nerve.”
EJ shook his head. “Ian’s experienced. He knows what he’s doing, but he still should have clued us in. I have a feeling his emotions might be clouding the issue more than he thinks.” He looked at Sage meaningfully, and she just turned away to brush her hair quickly.
“Should we call Marty?”
EJ was quiet as he apparently considered their situation. As the only one in the room with any law-enforcement experience—even though it was years ago—he was the logical choice to be the stand-in team leader.
“No, if they try to scramble and send troops in early, it could tip Locke off. Better to stick to the original plan, especially since we have no idea what Ian’s up to yet.”
“So we’re the cavalry?” Sarah arched an eyebrow, trying to look cool, but her obvious excitement at the prospect infused her question.
“Looks like.”
“What’s the plan?”
“We’ll go down to the waterfront. Once we’re there, we can either intercept him or at least keep an eye on what’s happening and do what we need to from that point. We have to get a grasp on the situation before we make any other decisions. I have some radios we can bring in case we get separated.”
Sage suddenly felt a clog form in her throat. It was hard to breathe. Noting her distress, EJ came to her side, quietly talking her out of the anxiety attack that engulfed her as she thought about Ian confronting Locke alone. What if Locke hurt him? What if the unimaginable happened?
“He’s going to be fine, Sage. He’s done this a hundred times with much more dangerous perps.”
Sage nodded mutely and pulled herself together. “I know. Let’s go. I’m ready.”
Fascination Page 15
