“God,” he said, gritting his teeth.
Before she could catch her breath, he tugged her hand toward his lap, closing it around his erection. He watched her with lust-dark eyes, helping her stroke him up and down. She marveled at the steely softness, the creamy bead at the tip. His shaft jerked in her hand and he let out a hoarse cry, spilling himself across her stomach.
When he was finished, she released him and he fell back on the bed, gasping for breath. She looked from her hand to his groin in amazement, pleased with her performance. He’d clearly enjoyed that. So had she.
He cleaned her tummy with a wet towel and climbed under the sheets, gathering her into his arms. A few seconds later, she burst into tears.
“I’m sorry,” he said, as if he’d done something wrong.
She was too choked up to tell him that they’d just shared the sweetest, most intimate experience of her life. He’d made her incredibly happy. But she was also sad, because she knew they couldn’t be together again.
Instead of trying to explain it, she curled up in his arms and clung to him, savoring their last embrace.
27
Adam woke just before dawn.
Kari was a warm, soft weight beside him. He’d stayed up late, watching her sleep. Aching for her.
Although he knew he shouldn’t touch her, he couldn’t stop fantasizing about it. Her naked bottom was inches from his lap, torturing him. He wasn’t supposed to engage in any “vigorous activity” because of his injury. More important, she was hurt. She’d lost her sister, gotten kidnapped, and almost died in a burning building.
He wanted to show her that he was serious about their relationship by exercising control. Kari was special to him, not just a temporary bed partner. He cared more about her emotional needs than about his physical discomfort.
But she looked so sexy in his T-shirt. During the night, the hem had ridden up in the back, revealing her shapely curves.
Smothering a groan, he tore his gaze away. His cock didn’t have any lofty ideals about treating Kari with respect. It was straining at the front of his shorts, demanding attention. Thanks to his sore ribs, he’d had no release all week.
After a few more moments, she stirred. Pushing her hair off her forehead, she reached for the water on her nightstand, taking a drink. “Want some?” she asked, gesturing with the glass.
He accepted the water, trying to stay cool.
She set the glass aside when he was finished drinking and snuggled against him, her bare bottom brushing his distended fly. He clenched his teeth, praying for strength. She made a humming sound and pressed closer, teasing him.
“Make love to me,” she said, lifting his hand to her breast. As he cupped her soft flesh, her nipple pebbled in his palm.
He wanted to say no but his body wouldn’t let him. She sat up and tugged the T-shirt over her head, her full breasts jiggling from the motion. His erection throbbed at the sight of her. She twined her arms around his neck, touching her lips to his jaw. “Please, Adam,” she said. “Chase the nightmares away.”
Although he tried to kiss her chastely, she wouldn’t have it. Smoothing her palms over his chest, she dug her fingernails into his pecs and panted against his mouth, flicking her tongue against his.
“Baby, wait,” he said, gripping her upper arms.
She slid her hand into his shorts, undeterred. “I want your cock.”
“Christ,” he muttered, inhaling a sharp breath as she stroked him. “You have a dirty mouth.”
Murmuring her agreement, she pushed his shorts aside and lowered her head, enveloping him with that dirty, sexy mouth. His hand rose, as if by its own volition, cupping the nape of her neck to guide her. Her wet lips parted, stretching around his shaft. She moaned with pleasure, her eyes half-lidded, mouth full.
He’d never felt anything better, nothing, ever. He threaded his hand through her hair, directing her motions. Her cheeks hollowed as she took him deeper. His balls drew up tight, ready to explode.
Although he longed for her to finish, he couldn’t let it end this way. He wanted to show her some tenderness and win her heart.
“Stop,” he rasped, tugging her head up.
“Am I hurting your ribs?”
“Yes,” he lied.
She was perplexed. “What can we do, if not that?”
His eyes drifted south, lingering between her thighs. “Lay back, bella.”
Complying easily, she reclined against the pillows. Her hair was mussed, her mouth swollen and damp. Wearing nothing but his knee-high sweat socks, she looked like a locker room pinup.
“Spread your legs.”
Her eyes widened at the command but she followed it, parting her sleek thighs for him. Above the lips of her sex, she had a tawny triangle of closely cropped hair. Below, she was bare, glistening. Beautiful.
He wanted to lick every inch of her. “Quiero comerte.”
She moaned, throwing her head back. Her hand slid down her stomach, making a V with her fingers.
“You’re so delicious,” he said in Spanish, lowering his mouth to her. She tasted sweet, like tangy honey, and she smelled like a woman should, earthy and fragrant and female. He drew his tongue through her slippery folds, loving the way she squirmed against his face. When he settled his mouth on her clit, sucking gently, she bucked her hips, begging to come. He eased back, surprised by her eager mewling. His own control had ebbed away. He was so hard, he might go off against the sheets.
But he wanted to feel that hot little pussy around him, see it taking every inch of his cock. “I need to be inside you.”
Her eyes flew open. “I thought you couldn’t.”
“Turn over.”
She rolled onto her side, which was good enough. He hooked his arm under her knee and took his cock in his hand, entering her from behind. As he slipped the head of his penis between the lips of her sex, rubbing it back and forth, a terrible thought occurred to him. “I’m not wearing a condom.”
“Don’t stop,” she panted. “It feels so good.”
Even in this position, which was fairly comfortable, he couldn’t thrust hard without exacerbating his injury. So he moved with short strokes, sliding in and out of her slick heat, dying from the need to go deeper.
“Oh God,” she said, gripping his forearm.
He cupped her breasts roughly, pinching each stiff nipple while she groaned. She was fantastically wet, and he was hard as iron. He smoothed his hand down her belly, finding the taut nub of her clit. With his mouth on the nape of her neck, he bit down gently and stroked her to completion. She cried out his name and shattered in his arms, her inner muscles clenching around him, her hips jerking against his.
Adam couldn’t hold back a second longer. Ignoring the twinge in his side, he urged her onto her hands and knees and thrust forward, penetrating her all the way to the hilt. She gasped and moaned and shuddered, still coming. He could feel the tremors of her orgasm as he pumped mindlessly, driving deep.
At the last possible moment, he pulled out, pushing her down on her belly. Cock jerking in his hand, he came all over her quivering buttocks, painting her passion-flushed skin with ribbons of semen.
He collapsed next to her, hoping he hadn’t just fucked himself to death. His ribs ached like he’d been shot again.
“Are you okay?” she murmured, her voice muffled by pillows.
“Yeah,” he said, playing it off. “Fine.”
He had the vague notion that he should get a towel or some tissues for her, but he simply could not move. While he lay there on his stomach, taking shallow breaths, she rose from the bed. He heard water running in the bathroom. When she returned, crawling across the mattress, he tried to relax his face.
Unsuccessfully.
“You’re hurt,” she accused.
“It was worth it.”
He thought about apologizing for his lack of finesse. She’d wanted him that way, and it was difficult to regret something that felt so goddamned good, but he wished he’d touch
ed her a little more lovingly.
“I should have used a condom,” he said, disturbed by his negligence.
“Since I begged you to continue, I deserve at least half the blame.”
They would have to disagree on that point. Adam had always considered protection a man’s job.
She stretched out beside him, tucking one arm behind her head. “Are you sure your injury isn’t serious?”
“Of course. It’s an annoyance, nothing more.”
“I don’t know what I would do if you got shot again.”
“It’s unlikely,” he said, touched by her concern.
“It was reckless of you to chase after Moreno.”
Adam didn’t say anything. Yesterday afternoon she’d criticized him for being too soft. That had been a blow to his male ego and it still smarted.
“I’m glad you were wearing a bulletproof vest.”
“So am I,” he replied.
“Did it hurt terribly?”
“It didn’t feel good.”
She traced the bruise on his back with her fingertips, her expression troubled. “I don’t want to go to your funeral, Adam. I just buried my sister. I can’t survive that kind of pain again.”
He knew exactly what she meant. His fear of loss had prevented him from entering committed relationships for years. He’d built a wall around himself, an emotional border. Somehow Kari had slipped past his defenses.
And now that she was inside, he wanted to keep her there.
Adam couldn’t leave this room without telling her how he felt. Experience had taught him that his world could collapse in a flash. He might not get another chance to say these words. “Last night, I almost went crazy worrying about you,” he said, moving onto his side. “I thought Pena was going to kill you. I was terrified that you were going to die inside that house.”
Her eyes became clouded. “If you hadn’t carried me out, I would have.”
“When you started breathing again, I felt like I’d won the lottery. It was the single greatest moment of my life.”
She glanced away, swallowing.
“You mean the world to me, Kari. I’d run into a dozen burning buildings for you, take a hundred bullets, walk through a thousand fires. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I love you.”
Kari wasn’t ready to hear that.
The last thing she expected from Adam was undying devotion. He’d given her a great time in bed, but he wasn’t her boyfriend. This confession was premature. They’d never even gone out on a real date.
Trying not to panic, she scrambled out of bed, putting his T-shirt back on. Maybe she’d heard him wrong. He looked calm and comfortable, resting against the pillows with his weight braced on one elbow. “What did you say?”
“I love you,” he repeated easily.
“You can’t.”
He arched a brow. “Why not?”
Moistening her lips, she racked her brain for a few good reasons. Maybe she’d encouraged this revelation by mooning over his injury. It wasn’t as though she didn’t return his feelings. She just wasn’t prepared to deal with them yet.
“I’m emotionally disturbed,” she said.
“You’re grieving.”
“I—I smuggled Maria over the border.”
He rubbed a hand over his face, chuckling. “I know. I won’t tell anyone.”
She stared at him in astonishment, her heart racing. How could he think this would work? They’d gotten off to a shaky start. He’d lied to her about his mother. Their attraction was based on danger, escape, and illicit thrills.
A drug lord had brought them together. That didn’t bode well.
Kari also hadn’t even started to process her sister’s death. It didn’t feel right to have this bubbly sensation in the pit of her stomach less than a week after Sasha died. At this point, sorrow was the only acceptable emotion.
Besides, she and Adam didn’t have a solid foundation for a relationship. They’d been through a series of traumatic ordeals and enjoyed a few rounds of hot, ill-advised sex. This was not the stuff happily-ever-afters were made of.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he said, leaning back against the pillows. “It’s not an interrogation.”
“I have the right to remain silent?”
He linked his hands behind his head, sighing. Her eyes were drawn to his bulging biceps, the tufts of hair under his arms, and the etched musculature of his smooth, dark chest. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”
“Let’s back up a few steps,” she said, disconcerted. “We just had unprotected sex. Maybe we need to talk about … diseases.”
There. If that didn’t kill the mood, nothing would.
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “I’m safe. I haven’t been with anyone but you since my last checkup.”
“Same goes for me.”
“What about birth control? Pulling out is hardly foolproof.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. Not only had she encouraged him to enter her au naturel, she distinctly remembered feeling a twinge of disappointment when he withdrew. Momentary insanity? “It’s the wrong time of month,” she said, counting the days of her cycle. “The possibility is very low.”
He glanced down to her flat stomach, unconvinced but not particularly alarmed. “Okay.”
She wondered what they would do if she got pregnant. A strange mix of dismay and longing washed over her, confusing her further. Although she wanted a family someday, it was a huge responsibility, not to be entered upon lightly.
And yet, Adam’s steady gaze and calm manner felt reassuring. He wanted to see where this was going. He wasn’t going to abandon her. Maybe she should relax her guard and trust him to stay the course.
Before she could decide what to say, someone knocked at the door. “Kari?”
It was Maria.
Adam sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Kari tugged down the hem of his T-shirt and went to the door, opening it partway. Maria was standing there in a white bathrobe, her feet bare, hair mussed. “I need to talk to you.”
“In here?”
“No, outside. Bring your purse.”
Kari nodded and closed the door, saying she’d be ready in a minute.
“Do you want me to go back to Ian’s room?” Adam asked.
“No,” she said, grabbing his shorts from the bed and slipping them on. She had to tighten the drawstring waistband so they wouldn’t fall off. “We’re going down to the lobby for coffee,” she said, picking up her purse.
On impulse, she leaned in to kiss him goodbye. He returned the kiss with relish, cupping the back of her head to prolong the moment. But when she pulled away, he let her go. “I meant what I said,” he murmured, meeting her eyes.
Her throat tightened. “I know.”
When she opened the door again, Maria glanced inside, getting an eyeful of Adam. With his chest bare and the sheet riding low on his hips, he made an alluring picture.
Blushing, Kari pulled the door shut and they walked down the hall together. “Did you have a good time with Ian?”
Her expression was secretive and a little sad. “Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He kissed me,” she admitted.
She smiled at Maria’s demure confession.
“How was your night with Adam?”
“It was … nice.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Nice?”
“Okay, it was fantastic,” she said, her emotions in turmoil. Maybe this was what she deserved for jumping into bed with him too soon. She’d wanted mindless orgasms and he’d given her complex feelings.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I guess I feel guilty. My sister is dead.”
“But you are not.”
She nodded, aware that Sasha wouldn’t have begrudged anyone a good time. Her sister had been unabashedly hedonistic. She’d have pushed Kari into Adam’s arms and told her to wear him out.
As they stepped inside the elevator, Maria said, “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything,” she said, setting her troubles with Adam aside.
“I left money in a drawer at your house. Can you send it to me?”
“What do you mean? Send it where?”
“I’m going home.”
The elevator doors opened before Kari was ready. She entered the quiet lobby, her thoughts spinning.
“I want to see my family,” Maria explained. “And I have to deliver a letter.”
“To who?”
She pulled a crumpled envelope from her robe pocket. Its surface was stained with dried blood. “Armando asked me to give this to his daughter.”
“You can’t put a stamp on it?”
“Her school is near my hometown. It’s no trouble.”
“It’s no trouble? He’s a psychopath!”
She put the letter back in her pocket. “When Chuy pointed the gun at me, Armando stepped between us. He saved my life.”
Kari studied her friend’s serene face and felt like bursting into tears. She didn’t want Maria to get mixed up in another dangerous situation. Not only that, she couldn’t bear to lose her again. “Please don’t go, Maria.”
Her eyes softened with sympathy. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay.”
“Yes, you can. I’ll sneak you across the border.”
She took Kari by the hand. “I need to see my mother,” she said, her voice trembling. “Do you understand?”
Of course she understood. Kari’s mother had been gone almost twenty years, and she still missed her. She would always miss her.
Maria had left home at a young age. She’d suffered a terrible experience trying to cross the border the first time. Over the past few days she’d witnessed several violent deaths and been trapped in a dark basement.
Anyone in her state of mind would want her mother.
So Kari pulled herself together, holding the tears at bay. “What can I do to help?”
Maria hugged her tight. “I love you, Kari.”
They visited the hotel gift shop, where Kari bought them each a new outfit. Maria chose a sleeveless top and a basic black skirt with ballet flats. Kari found an aqua tank dress and a pair of beige sandals. Outside the hotel, she made a withdrawal from the ATM machine, giving Maria a wad of cash.
Caught in the Act Page 29
