Close Pursuit

by Cindy Dees

  She jumped about a foot in the air when a voice said from the doorway, “I approve.”

  “Alex! You can’t just barge in on a lady when she’s dressing!”

  “Why not? I’ve already seen you naked, and you’ve seen me naked. I’ve had my hands on your body, and as if that’s not enough, I’m a doctor. I’m used to looking at naked bodies.”

  Yeah, and he had a long history with the kind of women who had no modesty and were at ease doing naughty things she hadn’t even imagined. This kind of lingerie wouldn’t faze them. But he was decent enough not to bring that up. “Doctors don’t look at their patients in sexy underwear, do they?”

  He shrugged. “Most of my patients to date have been male prison inmates. Not much black lace going on in that crowd.” His lips twitched with humor. “And none of them could have pulled it off like you do, anyway.”

  She made a face at him. “Ha-ha. Very funny.”

  He pushed away from the door frame and advanced until he stood directly behind her, tall and dark in contrast to her light coloring. He’d changed into a black shirt and black dress slacks that made him look like a mobster. A drop-dead sexy mobster.

  He stared over her shoulder at her body, his eyes blazing in the mirror, and she decided he actually looked more like a fallen angel looming behind her, waiting to claim her eternal soul.

  Her pulse leaped at the raw lust in his expression. An urge to cover her girl parts nearly overcame her, but she suspected he would mock her for false modesty. After all, she’d had a screaming orgasm on his hand only hours ago. Truth be told, a tiny piece of her enjoyed having him look at her like that. Who knew she had an inner exhibitionist just waiting for trashy lingerie to draw her out? Or maybe it was the way Alex made her feel that made her bold. He treated her like a woman. A naive, fragile one, but it was a start. One way or another, she would figure out how to get him to show her all the gnarly things he knew about sex.

  As if he was thinking about the exact same thing, he reached out slowly and placed his palm on the back of her neck. His hand was almost unnaturally hot. He ran his fingers up under her hair, lifting it off her neck and shoulders. Then, slowly, he dragged his fingertips downward, tracking her spine lower and lower. Past her shoulder blades, sliding inward at her waist and following the rising swell of her behind over the flimsy, slippery nylon. And then, oh my, lower still, down the cleft between her cheeks. She had to force herself not to leap away from his leisurely caress as it slid lower and pressed gently between her legs. Without his having to ask or urge, she moved her feet apart, opening herself to him.

  Her head fell back, coming to rest on his shoulder as her eyes drifted closed. Through the crotch of the panties, his fingers played on her feminine flesh, which was all too eager to respond to the touch. His left hand touched her ribs. Slid around to her front. Cupped her left breast, lifting it and testing its weight. His thumb circled around her nipple, and it pebbled up beneath the thin nylon. Above and below, his fingers played with her, circling, stroking and teasing her body. Lust, hot and liquid, speared through her, and her knees went so weak she feared she might collapse.

  Her body undulated against his, and she felt like one continuous puddle of molten desire. Something hot and firm touched her neck, his lips. His mouth opened and teeth closed on her skin there. He didn’t bite her as much as he held her in place. It was primal and raw and sent bolts of electric pleasure zinging through her to gather at his magical fingertips in clusters of sensation that drove her crazy.

  “Put your hands on the counter,” he murmured.

  She was standing several feet from the sink and had to lean forward to splay her fingers on the cold marble.

  “Spread your legs wider.”

  He moved close behind her, his groin hot and hard against her behind. He reached up with both hands this time to fondle her breasts, which felt heavy and swollen in their nylon confines. His hands ran down her ribs to clasp her hips, and then they slid forward and down to grasp her inner thighs. He lifted her up slightly, tilting her hips forward until she was spread completely open to him from behind before he set her back on her feet. His magic fingers went to work on her flesh, casting their spell of pleasure on her body.

  “Look at me,” Alex ordered. “In the mirror.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at the tableau. Her half-dry hair was disheveled and her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright with lust. She looked nothing like herself. But then she spied Alex and was mesmerized. That intense fire burned in his eyes, which were black and so very alive as he looked at her body, devouring the sight of her undulating shamelessly on his fingers. The mere sight of him stroking her like that brought her to the brink of release, and the pressure built inside her rapidly toward an explosion.

  “Don’t come yet,” Alex ordered sharply. “You will do it only when I say so.”

  She stared at him, stunned. The explosion retreated slightly as she asked, “How do I stop it?”

  “You must discipline yourself. Hold it in. Restrain the impulse to lose control. If you fail, I will have to punish you.” Something dark and dangerous passed through his eyes when he said that, and a frisson of alarm skittered through her. Wait a minute. This was Alex. He would never hurt her. And with that comforting realization, her lust expanded tenfold.

  “Ah, ah, ah. No orgasm yet, pet,” he warned.

  She concentrated on the bolts of lightning zinging around wildly in her belly. More quickly than she could believe, they were aligning themselves like magnetic charges, and every last one of them centered on his fingers playing so cleverly between her legs. The energy built and built, and she fought like mad to stop it from reaching critical mass. But it was unbelievably hard as his fingers kept coaxing more and more voltage from her body.

  “Alex, please,” she pleaded. “I can’t take it anymore.”

  “Yes, you can.” His left hand gripped the back of her neck and pushed her head down until her elbows rested on the counter and her forehead rested on her forearms. Her back arched of its own volition, thrusting her rear end up into his hand. She felt wanton. The pose opened her entirely to his plunder, and her need to explode climbed a few more notches.

  She groaned with pleasure and then moaned and then begged, “Please, Alex. I can’t stand it.”

  “Almost, baby. Tell me how bad you want it.”

  “I’ll do anything for you. Just let me come.”

  He leaned over her, covering her with his hot, hard body, pinning her to the cold, hard counter. He slipped his left index finger into her mouth and she sucked it mindlessly, desperate to do anything, everything, to gain his permission to explode.

  His right index finger slipped inside the lace panty, poised at her convulsing entrance. “Ready?” he murmured in her ear.

  She nodded, too overcome by lust to speak.

  “Now,” he ordered. “Come for me now.”

  He didn’t even have to penetrate her with his finger. Just the thought of it plunging into her female heat made her detonate. She went up like a rocket, incinerating in a blazing glory that ripped a cry from her throat. On and on it went, tearing her apart from the inside out. She only belatedly realized it was Alex’s name she was all but sobbing, so overwhelmed was she by wave after shuddering wave of unbearable pleasure.

  Her knees did collapse then, but Alex lifted her with his strong hands and set her upright on her feet. He held her in his arms, pressed back tightly against his body. In the mirror, his hands were tanned and strong against her pale flesh. She smiled at him and was shocked at how sultry and well pleasured she looked.

  “You really must teach me how to do that to you.” She sighed, relaxing back against him.

  “You’re proving to be a more apt pupil than I anticipated,” he replied in a detached tone.

  “And the absent professor is back,” she murmured drolly.

  He frowned heavily at her, and she couldn’t resist grinning back at him. “Never fear. I like both sides of you, Alex.” Tru
th be told, she was beginning to suspect there were many more sides to this complex man than she’d yet seen. She probably ought to fear some of them, but mostly she was fascinated at the prospect of unraveling the mystery of him.

  “You’re such an open book,” he commented.

  “Is that bad?” She could envision a man like him wanting a complex and challenging woman.

  “Lord, no. It’s just unexpected. I’m so used to women with hidden agendas that I find myself not knowing exactly how to react to you.” As she started to frown again, he added, “I like your honesty.”

  If only she was being as fully honest as he thought she was. How would he react if he found out her brother had sicced her on him to watch him? Or that she was intentionally trying to get him to let down his guard and cut loose physically and emotionally with her? Would he walk away? Or maybe, just maybe, would he let go of the dark streak he was currently keeping in check so tightly? The notion thrilled her like nothing she’d ever experienced before. And it made her nervous. No question, she was playing with fire.

  She barely recognized the woman she was becoming all of a sudden. Since when was she such an adrenaline junkie? Since they’d nearly died on a mountainside and she’d learned how piercingly satisfying the thrill of cheating death could be?

  She turned in Alex’s arms and gave him a lopsided smile. “I think I hear the baby.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  STILL WIPED OUT by their recent trek and by the emotional roller coaster that was life with Alex, she crawled into bed. While he took a shower, she promptly fell asleep.

  Some time later she was jolted awake by Alex calling her name urgently. “Katie, wake up. Now.”

  She sat up quickly but was deeply disoriented for a moment. Hotel room. Dark outside. Crib— Oh, yeah. Dawn. Where— Oh, yeah. Osh. What—

  “Get up. We have to go right now. Hurry.” Alex didn’t look like he was kidding.

  Alarm surged through her, and she was abruptly wide-awake and scared stiff. “What’s going on?” she asked as she flew out of bed and yanked on her new clothing.

  “I went out for food, and I wasn’t able to shake my tail. I didn’t think they’d find us so fast. I thought we’d have twenty-four hours to rest before we had to run. But I was wrong.” He added under his breath, “Bastard. Wouldn’t even let me catch my breath before he forced me back into the game.”

  Was he talking about his father? How could it be anyone else? Why was he running from Peter? Hadn’t Koronov arranged their flight to safety? Why would the man turn around and chase his son then? Confused, she packed Dawn’s gear in the diaper bag Alex had bought earlier, while he moved around the room wiping down surfaces with a handkerchief.

  He didn’t sound surprised that someone had figured out where they were. Only that it had happened so quickly. “Who followed you?” Americans? Russians? Someone else?

  “Gather up our wet clothes. Put them in a bag. We’ll toss them outside the hotel,” he ordered tersely, overtly ignoring her question.

  Fully into the spirit of “holy shit” now, she snatched up one of the plastic shopping bags and stuffed their wet clothes into it. She eased Dawn into her sling without waking the infant and nodded grimly to him that she was ready to run. From what, she had no idea.

  She followed him quickly from the hotel room. No surprise, he headed for the back of the building and the service elevator. They entered it in tense silence. The doors whooshed closed, and Alex said quietly, “The good news is I don’t think they know I spotted them.”

  “And the bad news?” she asked reluctantly.

  “It’s a professional surveillance team. I can’t tell if it’s Russian or American. My guess is Russians. But if the guy I stabbed was American and he saw our flight take off, it could as easily be a CIA team.”

  “What will they do if they catch us? Can’t we just hand ourselves over to Americans and ask to go home?”

  He snorted. “You forget who you’re with. I’m the devil’s spawn. The Americans would love any excuse to toss me in jail and throw away the key. And we’re talking about spy agencies here, Katie. They don’t play by the same rules as law enforcement agencies. It’s ops normal to torture and kill people, to make people disappear never to be seen again. They’re not nice people.”

  Right. And he is one of them.

  He murmured tersely, “Give me the baby. When we leave the hotel, do exactly what I say, no questions, no hesitation, no matter how weird it sounds. Okay?”

  She nodded, terrified, as she passed him Dawn, sleeping in her sling. Had Alex been this scared as a little boy when he’d lived with Peter Koronov and they’d had to do this sort of stuff? Who would teach a young child how to be a spy? And why? What kinds of scars did a life filled with this kind of fear leave behind?

  There was no more time to wonder, for the elevator door opened. Alex headed for an exit, and she followed him outside. It was cold, and her breath hung in the air in a great white cloud around her head. Alex took off down the alley behind the hotel at a quick walk, sticking to the shadows.

  She followed, doing her best to be quiet. Thankfully, she’d spent a lot of years skulking around in the woods behind her parents’ house playing hide-and-seek with her brothers. They’d always won, of course, but she considered herself reasonably stealthy. Alex was dead silent in front of her.

  He slipped around the corner into the street, and she tried to mimic his fluid movement. “Try to look normal,” he whispered.

  Normal. Right. She linked her arm in his and smiled up at him. “Got it. Normal,” she replied under her breath.

  They walked for maybe a block; then Alex swore quietly. “No good. They’ve spotted us.”

  Oh, crap. They walked another fifty feet or so, and, without warning, Alex yanked her to the side by her arm. She all but fell over as he dragged her into a convenience store. Once inside, he turned her loose and took off running for the rear of the store. She regained her balance and raced after him. A startled clerk stared at them. Alex called out something in Russian to the man, and the guy pointed. Alex swerved in that direction, and she veered after him.

  They burst into a dim storeroom, tore through it and popped out the back door into another alley. A sprint down this one and Alex darted into the street. His long legs stretched out as he crossed the street and sprinted into a park of some kind. She pushed hard to keep up with him, and the baby bag banged against her back uncomfortably.

  She spared a glance over her shoulder and was dismayed to see two dark figures running behind them. And the tails were closing in on them. Alex sped up even more, and she dug deep to keep up with him.

  They came out of the other side of the park and Alex turned left, tearing down a side street and ducking into a restaurant. He said something to the manager and this time threw a handful of cash at the guy, who pointed to the back of the deserted dining room. This time they raced frantically through a kitchen. Alex yelled something to the cooks, who called something back to him.

  Outside again, into the dark and cold.

  “Not much farther,” he grunted at her as they took off running yet again. Her lungs were starting to close up. Her respiratory tract didn’t like the hot to cold to hot to cold routine. Not to mention the whole mad sprinting thing. She worked out regularly, but not with bad guys chasing her who intended to do who knew what if they caught her.

  Alex turned one more corner, and they tore down a residential street. Row houses lined the block, maybe five stories tall and old-looking. He screeched to a stop without warning beside an ancient Volkswagen and bit out, “Keep watch.”

  She was more than glad to stand there, huffing hard. Meanwhile, Alex shocked her by pulling out his pistol and bashing the VW window with its butt. He let himself into the car quickly and gestured for her to get in. She raced around to the passenger side and climbed in. He thrust Dawn at her and bent down to hot-wire the car. In under a minute, the engine sputtered to life and he pulled away from the curb.


  It was viciously cold with the wind whipping through the car, and she tucked Dawn inside her coat and held her close. The baby kept sleeping, though, so Katie guessed she must be warm enough for now.

  “We’ve got to ditch this car. The broken window is too obvious,” Alex said.

  “Then why did you steal it?”

  “You couldn’t run forever, and neither could I with the baby.”

  “Where are we headed?”

  “Airport. Lots of cars there. Long-term parking.”

  She frowned, not understanding.

  “Watch behind us for any car that follows us for more than a few minutes.”

  It was hard to track individual cars at night using only glimpses of vehicles as they passed under the sparse streetlights. But as best she could tell, no one followed them.

  When they arrived at the airport, Alex guided the car into the long-term parking lot like a normal traveler and took a ticket from the automatic dispenser. He parked at the back of the lot and they got out.

  “Start trying door handles until you find an unlocked one,” he instructed under his breath. “If I tell you to get down, do it fast. I’ll be watching the exit gate attendant.”

  They commenced creeping around the dark parking lot and she only had to dive for cover twice before Alex murmured, “Bingo.”

  He slipped into a small Ford via the unlocked driver’s door and unlocked the passenger door for her. He tore apart the steering column and hot-wired the car, then did his best to more or less put the car back together. He handed her the parking ticket, which the owner had conveniently left on the dashboard for them. He started the car and docilely pulled up to the gate attendant.

  Katie contained her shock as Alex casually pulled cash out of his wallet and paid the parking fee. He said something that sounded like a good-night to the attendant and drove out as pretty as he pleased.