“Until we’re established. I don’t think you can call what we do detective work. We’ll be more in the business of problem solving.”
“For the government,” she added.
“Sometimes. The money’s good.”
“And the work’s dangerous.” She wished she could take the statement back. She loved the whole package and this was part of it.
“You’re right on both counts. Think of it this way. The pay’s enough to allow us to help regular people find solutions. I’d like to continue finding lost or missing people.”
“Lost and Found, Inc. has a nice ring to it.”
His hand went to his head. His fingers seemed to hunt for the long hair no longer there.
“You looking for a job?”
“I have a job.” She paused. “At least, I think I do.” She again noticed the tattoo on the inside of his bicep. The SEAL markings over his right breast made sense, but this one was a mystery. She stroked a finger down his arm. “You never explained the tattoo. It’s a word, isn’t it?” His raised eyebrows prompted her to press harder. “It’s my name, isn’t it?”
His laugh stirred heat through her veins, coiling low in her stomach. “Aren’t you the conceited one?” He tried to sound stern, but the edges of his mouth quivered.
“Well? Am I right?”
“No. As a matter of fact, you’re wrong.”
“Then tell me.” She stalked him, and he moved to the living room, avoiding her.
If he continued to handle her as if she were a piece of fragile glass, Kay might just tackle him.
“You didn’t give me a definitive answer. Do you want to work with us?”
His question floored her. “You’re serious.”
“Hell, yeah. Why not? You’re smart and trained. Besides, if you’re involved, maybe you won’t freak out every time I take a job that’s the least bit dangerous.”
She placed her hands on his chest and stroked up to his neck, kneading her fingers as she went. His gaze darkened for a second, then he tried to escape.
Kay pressed against him. The length of their bodies touching, she rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in his essence. Warmth rushed south when his large, strong hands caressed her back.
“Don’t push your luck. It was all I could do to resist your moves last night.”
She moved back a step and slid her hands under his T-shirt, up the trail of hair to his nipples. Lord, heat boiled from his body, soaking through her clothes and deep into her skin.
She stood on her tiptoes and nibbled her way around his jaw to his ear. She pulled the lobe between her teeth and then gently sucked. His groan sent flames licking through her nervous system.
“I won’t break. I promise,” she whispered, staring up into eyes full of desire. Waves of need rolled through her.
“There’s nothing I’d like better than to set you on that countertop and ravage that sexy body of yours. But you’ve had a rough few days. The doctor said bed rest.”
His chest rose and fell rapidly against her. From the size and hardness of the erection pressing against her, he was struggling. She wasn’t about to let him get away.
She kissed him, a soft and gentle touch of the lips that quickly exploded to a round of simulated sex as his tongue dove in and out. She willing surrendered as he plundered her mouth.
He tugged her shirt over her head.
“Shit,” he muttered. “I wish I could kill him again.” His head snapped back and studied her injuries. He lowered his head and placed feathery kisses on her collarbone.
“Nate.” She tugged his face to hers. “Don’t see the bruises. Don’t treat me as if I’ll break. Make love to me.”
The air crackled around them as his gaze filled with concern. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
He tilted his head and captured her lips again. Hard, hungry and demanding.
She jerked his shirt up, and he finished by tossing it and his jeans across the room. She followed by kicking her yoga pants and panties off.
His gaze drifted down her naked body, searing her skin as he went. He cupped her breasts with those large hands.
“You are incredibly beautiful.”
His encouragement gave her strength and power. She sank to her knees in front of him, dropping small nips and kisses on the way down. She licked the satin skin of his erection with the tip of her tongue, circled him before taking him in her mouth.
“Oh, God,” he moaned. His tone urged her on. His hands tunneled deep in her hair.
She placed her hands on his butt, pulling him closer, deeper inside her mouth, feeling him grow larger still.
Nate hissed through his teeth. Ha. She had him.
“Tell me.” She took one more swirl with her tongue and then looked up from her kneeling position. “The tattoo.”
“You cheat. It’s nothing romantic. It says, One Shot One Kill.”
She stood, running her hands up his body as she rose. She placed her hand over his racing heart before continuing her trek down to his hips and back to his stomach. She kneaded, smoothed, and relished the perfection of his body as he stood still, barely breathing. Standing on tiptoes, she kissed his cheek and then the other.
“Make love to me.”
“My pleasure. There’s one particular thing I’m looking forward to. But we need the bed for this.”
She relaxed and let him take control. He wrapped his hand around hers and led her down the hall. As if she were a piece of fine china, he helped her to sit on the side of the bed. Kneeling in front of her, he tongued her nipple. Of its own accord, her back bowed, offering her body, her mind and her soul to him.
He lay down, and rolled her on top of him. “Sit right here.” He patted his chest.
She hesitated before putting one knee on either side of his belly and sliding up his body. She settled herself, the apex of her thighs resting against his upper chest.
“You okay? Not hurting?”
“I’m fine. I swear.”
“Then don’t get too comfortable. I need you to lift up for a second.”
“Do what?” A sizzle of excitement raced across her skin.
“Kaycie. Up on your knees, okay?” His eyebrow arched as if to say “don’t question me.”
He’d said her full name in the same throaty way he had when they were young and in love. It rolled off his tongue, seeped into her pores. He always could seduce her with his voice. She willingly complied.
He held her thighs still and slid down the bed between them. Kept sliding until his face lay directly under her most private parts.
“Nate?” she questioned, feeling way too vulnerable and exposed.
He answered with a slide of his tongue. Spreading her layers open with his fingers, he provided himself access to her very core.
She gasped out loud, her last remnant of shyness evaporated, leaving nothing behind but a glorious need. Her passion dominated her every thought, demanding more.
“You say something?” he asked, his breath warming her moist folds.
“No. Nothing,” she choked out. She struggled for balance, couldn’t find anything to hang onto until she leaned forward and placed her hands on the wall above his head. Then she surrendered to the luxury of his mouth.
He explored, probed, and licked, bringing her to the very edge of a climax, before backing away to nibble on the insides of her thighs.
She moaned his name as his tongue returned and set a blistering pace, holding her to him with his hands dug into her hips. She abandoned all reason as her orgasm rushed to the surface, and she lowered herself closer to his magical mouth. Stars exploded inside her head. She cried out as her body vibrated, pulsated, throbbed when his teeth gently pulled at her. Spent, she slumped forward, trying desperately to catch her breath.
When he slid out from under her and laid her down to face him, she was sated and exhausted.
“Sex like that should be illegal.” For a second, she considered purring.
“Then I’d happily become a criminal.”
He trailed kisses around her belly button. Slowly worked his way up to her face, setting every nerve ending on fire. Desire spread to her core like lava flowing to the sea. He moved away for a condom, and she instantly missed his warmth.
He rolled to his back, placing her astride him once more. Her body, still melted into the mattress, found strength in that desire.
“This way I know I won’t hurt you.”
His tender concern for her bruises touched a place deep in her heart. Emotion welled in her chest, and she slid sideways and then onto her back.
“No. You drive,” she whispered.
“You’re the boss.” His Cheshire cat grin lit his face.
“Not anymore.” Opening for him, her hand slid down, guiding him to her opening.
“At last,” he said as he drove himself deep. “Inside you, this is where I belong.”
His thrusts grew in intensity. Their Saint Jude medallions clicked against each other, playing the tune of lovers. His eyes turned midnight blue, and she lost herself completely. The fullness, the belonging, the love swept her to a new dimension of sensation. She went to the very edge with him, until in one breath, she cried out his name, and together they surged into a realm reserved for lovers.
“Kaycie?” His face was burrowed into the pillow next to her head, muffling his voice.
“Nate?” She answered from inside a dream. Still strolling around in the clouds, her mind seemed reluctant to return to earth.
“I love you,” he said.
“I know.” It was all she could say, words of joy stuck in her throat.
****
Nate hesitated. His heart jackhammered against his rib cage. He was pretty sure his climax had blown the top of his head off. Yet she’d ignored his announcement.
A satisfied, contented and confusing smile lit her face. “You’re amazing.”
“No. We’re amazing.” He rolled to his side and disposed of the condom. Returning to her, he held her snugly against him. “We keep this up and one of us will have to be wheeled down the aisle.”
She lifted her head and locked gazes with him, a question written across her features.
“What?” he asked. “You don’t think we should get married?
The light from the nightstand reflected off her eyes. Did he read doubt in her gaze?
“Never mind,” he said, trying to sound blasé. Instead, his tone came across as that of a hurt teenager.
“No.” She smiled and stroked her fingers up and down his arm, generating an instant reaction from his body.
“No what?” He braced for her refusal.
“No, you’re not backing out. You asked. I accept.” She reached up and wound her fingers through his hair. “I love you. Always have. Always will. So, no. You’re stuck with me.”
“Thank God. You scared the crap out of me.” The weight on his shoulders lifted.
Together they’d work through anything life could throw at them.
“You do have more than one condom?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He wasted no time in taking care of the situation.
She slid on top, and he found his way back inside her warm body. Where he felt whole.
“See, I told you I wasn’t too injured to make love.”
“Point taken.” Then with a slide of her hips, she rendered him almost speechless. This chocolate-eyed woman, beautiful, brave and his.
“About that job.”
“It’s yours.”
Whatever she wanted, he’d figure it out. Together they’d build a business, stay close to their friends and help Jake get well. At the same time, they’d make the world a safer place.
Read COLD DAY IN HELL
Book two in the Lost and Found, Inc. series
Ty Castillo shook his boot and flicked a tarantula larger than his hand to the jungle floor. The arachnid crawled away uninjured, disappearing into the constantly undulating ground cover. Poor bastard was probably looking for relief from the heat.
His original orders were to meet his Colombian contact in Bogota, meet his contact, pick up the necessary explosives, and use them to blow up Manuel Ortega’s drug-manufacturing compound.
Lost and Found, Inc. had taken this supposedly simple assignment to pay the rent. Slip in, obliterate the place, and then get the hell out. The plan fell apart when that contact, Ana Cisneros, failed to show. She’d left Ty scrambling for supplies.
Then the FBI added the task of locating and rescuing her. After some digging, he’d learned she was being held at the very site he intended to obliterate off the map.
A minimal number of guards were on duty tonight. The rest had bedded down for the night. Various birds and nocturnal animals squealed and squawked, providing him with good noise cover.
One of the guards spotted the fire Ty had started in a small clearing four-hundred meters from the compound. The warista yelled at the top of his lungs and fired two rounds into the air.
Half a dozen men ran from three buildings, some struggling to get their pants fastened. They barreled into the jungle with nothing to fight the fire with except the AK-47s they carried over their shoulders.
Ty knelt behind a row of palm fronds. A perimeter guard came into view. He continued his patrol, ignoring the shouting and the fire. The oversized gorilla at the back door hadn’t budged either.
It would be a deadly mistake.
Ty waited five minutes to allow the men to reach the fire. Then he pushed the button on a radio frequency timer and blew the C-4 he’d placed on the diesel-powered generator. The compound fell into total darkness, leaving the remaining guards at a loss for which fire to fight first.
Chaos was a good thing.
He had a lot to accomplish and no time to waste. His plan didn’t allow for a lot of interruptions. He stepped out of the darkness and directly behind the guard. His neck snapped easily, and Ty dragged him into the dense growth. Now to get inside to Ana Cisneros.
He ran across the open area. Hugging the exterior wall, he circled to the back to find Gorilla Guy’s attention turned toward the blaze. By the time the guard realized he was in danger, it was too late. Ty drove the SOG up through the diaphragm, through the lung, and into the man’s heart. He retrieved his knife, wiped it clean on the man’s shirt and entered the back door.
Thanks to his surveillance of the compound over the past few days, he knew where he’d find the woman. He moved through the large kitchen and headed up the stairs. He paused at the landing. Shit. Gorilla Guy’s twin stood outside the hostage’s door. Ty stepped into the hall and cleared his throat. Before the man turned, the SOG was airborne. It seated in the man’s chest with a soft thump. The last person between the target and freedom slid to the floor.
Ty retrieved his knife, dragged the heavy body away from the door, and quickly moved to the figure handcuffed to the metal headboard. She stood as close to the window as the restraints allowed. Craning her neck to see outside, she was unaware he’d entered the room. With no time for introduction, he reached around and clamped his hand over her mouth.
As expected, he’d startled her. She fought, slinging her body back and forth like a wet dog. She kicked at him, so he whirled her around and jerked her body snug against his.
“Quit struggling. I’m here to help you,” he whispered, trying to sound reassuring. No doubt, with the flames outside casting an eerie glow, he looked like an alien. The night-vision goggles would scare most anybody. “Do you understand?”
He took the slight movement of her head as a yes and relaxed the pressure off her lips. His reward? She bit his finger and pummeled his chest with her free fist.
What the hell? The lamb had attacked the lion.
“Stop that,” he commanded, holding back a chuckle at her bravado. He reapplied the pressure while keeping one eye on the door.
Even through the lens on the goggles, he spotted a bruise on her cheek. Anger sizzled up his spine at the bastard who’d hit her.
&
nbsp; He’d expected fear or panic to be oozing from her every pore, but didn’t sense either emotion from her. Waves of rage rolled off her instead.
“Do you understand?” he repeated. She nodded slightly, relaxed her tense muscles, and then tried to kick him in the nuts.
He didn’t have time to reason with her. And from what he’d seen so far, sweet talking her was out. “I’m going to remove my hand. If you fight me, I’ll tie and gag you. Got it?”
This time he got a full nod. The expression behind her eyes made him doubt her honesty.
“I don’t have time to argue, so you’ll have to trust that I’m the contact you were supposed to meet in Bogota.” Cautiously, he lifted two fingers from her lips and waited to see if she complied.
“I know who you are,” she hissed. “And you’ve ruined everything.”
“Me? I think you’ve cornered the market on screw-ups.” He made quick work of the handcuff and pulled her to her feet. Long dark hair fell around her shoulders. She wore jeans and a T-shirt. All she needed was shoes, preferably a good pair of boots.
Damn, she was a little thing. Beautiful, bruised, and boiling mad. It was bad enough the jungle was sweltering. This woman was going to make the next few days a living hell.
“Get something on your feet. The rest of this place is going to blow soon, and we’re going to be clear when it happens.”
Her eyes went wide. “Did you make sure Ortega’s on the property?” Her tone hinted at panic.
“Haven’t seen him. He—
“I have to know.” She curled her fingers around Ty’s bicep. He ignored the holes her nails dug. “Promise me that he’ll die in the explosion.”
That piece of information caught his curiosity and slowed him for a second. Under different circumstances ... nope, he’d been tasked with bringing her out alive. He didn’t have the time to help her with whatever wrong she thought she needed to right.
“I’d advise against going barefoot. With or without shoes, you’re leaving with me.”
Never taking her eyes off him, she jerked a pair of leather ankle boots from under the bed and quickly pulled them on. Good. They were running out of time.
Hell Or High Water (Lost and Found, Inc.) Page 25
