by Debra Webb
Exasperated, he rolled his eyes. “Gin, you just said you were done.”
“Assuming my precautions work, and they will, Isely can’t track his product anymore. I am done.” Her eyes flashed. “Which means I’ve got all kinds of time to help you with your problem.”
“Not tonight, dear,” he said through gritted teeth. He jerked his chin, trying to make her see the people staring at them.
“But we know where she’ll be and when,” Gin countered. “Her repeated involvement means something.”
He shook his head. “Another hired hand.”
“Come on. I’m just getting my second wind.”
“Go to the room now or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and tuck you into bed myself.”
“Promises, promises.” Her eyes locked with his, she deliberately dropped another token in the machine.
He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do it, but he couldn’t let the dare in her eyes ride. Even as the payout began pouring from the machine, he scooped her into his arms.
“Wait! We won!”
“Looks that way.”
“Just let me collect.”
“Nope. Let someone else enjoy it. We have other things to do.” She kicked her feet and squirmed, apparently all deals about how they’d behave in public forgotten. “Just married,” he said with a wink for the closest group of people gawking at the scene they were making.
“Stop,” he muttered close to her ear. “Or I’ll drop you and you can’t outrun me on that foot, which means when I catch you, you’ll go over my shoulder.”
She glared at him but went still, even wrapping an arm around his neck as he headed for the bank of elevators. It made carrying her easier, but he didn’t think she was done fighting.
Not a problem. He wasn’t ready to quit, either.
“Put me down,” she said when they were alone in the elevator.
“No.” He didn’t trust her not to take a cheap shot.
“That scowl of yours doesn’t scare me.”
He kept his gaze on the screen showing the elevator’s upward progress. “Maybe it should.” He didn’t know what he meant to do—only that he wanted her out of the casino, out of danger. It had been nothing but one problem on top of another since they started this married farce this morning and second wind or not, she needed rest.
It wasn’t over. She wasn’t walking away from this until he said so.
Chapter Fifteen
Gin tried to stay mad, but it was becoming more of a challenge with each passing second. Not even thinking of the coins she had left pouring from the slot machine squashed the excitement kicking through her bloodstream. The sexual energy was rolling off him like a cloud of steam. Her body was only too happy to respond in kind.
“This Neanderthal routine is not cute.”
“No one’s ever accused me of cute,” he said without looking at her.
His refusal to make eye contact frustrated her. She wanted those rich brown eyes—and much, much more—on her. What started as a purely feminine appreciation when she’d undressed him last night had grown into a serious craving. The elevator rushed closer to their floor and her pulse rushed along with it. This close to him, the smooth, warm scent she recognized as all Jason teased her nose under the lingering bits of fire and hotel soap.
The doors parted and she nearly whimpered aloud when she felt the strength of his arms and abs flexing as he carried her to the room.
“Key.”
She fished it out of his jacket pocket and pushed it into the lock. At the green light, she turned the handle and he kicked the door wide to carry her inside.
“That’s becoming a habit,” she teased when he set her gently on her feet.
“What do you mean?”
His confusion showed on his face and gave his frustration a target other than her. She should have been grateful for the reprieve. Should have been immune to the urge to soothe him. Nurture wasn’t her strong suit.
“You insisted on doing the same thing last night after the wedding. Not all the way from the chapel—just when we reached the room,” she explained. “You carried me over the threshold.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“It was fun. You were fun.”
“Fun.” He grunted.
She nodded. She’d told some big fat lies in her career, but this one had to be the worst. Last night he’d been so loopy she worried he wouldn’t pull out of his drug-induced haze.
“Have I wounded your pride?” She licked her lips, eager to see what he’d do about it.
He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “You should rest.”
“That’s why you brought me up here. To rest.”
He jerked his chin affirmatively, but he refused to look at her, studying a spot just over her head.
“I told you I’m not tired.”
“No. It’s obvious you’re wired from your success. You should sleep it off.”
“We both know that’s unlikely.” She tugged on the zipper of his open jacket, running it up and back down again, the back of her hand brushing against his shirt. “If you won’t let me help you track down the woman, you’ll have to let me help with something else.”
He twitched, not quite a flinch, when she tugged his shirt from his jeans and ran her fingertips along his warm skin just above his waistband. She wanted tonight to be something to take with her when this was over. She’d wanted it since spotting him last night at the bar.
Or maybe she’d wanted it since she ran into him in Colorado last month.
“We both could use a shower.”
She shrugged out of her denim jacket and let it fall to the floor. His eyes tracked her movements as she unbuttoned her jeans and pushed the zipper down. Grateful for the smaller room, she hid the pain of her aching foot behind a smile as she walked backward toward the shower.
“Come on, Jason.” Why wouldn’t he make a move? She reached in and turned on the shower, then peeled off her sweater. “Come have some fun with your wife.”
At the last word, his dark eyes flared and he advanced, stripping away his jacket and shirt as he rushed toward her.
She reached back to unhook her bra, but he caught her in that awkward position, arched her back a little more and bent his head to her breasts. His mouth, warm and wet, worked her nipple into stiff, needy peaks through the sheer fabric of her bra. She twisted a hand free and pushed her fingers through his thick sable hair, desperate for more.
He’d been tempting enough when he was incapacitated; she could hardly stand it now that he seemed ready to do all the things he thought they’d done last night.
She moaned a little as he shifted his attention to her other breast and she gripped his strong shoulders in an effort to keep her balance. Caught between the steam of the hot shower and the wall of heat Jason provided, her desire spiked to unprecedented levels. She pushed her jeans down over her hips then struggled to step out of them with her sore foot.
Jason knelt down and carefully resolved the problem, taking time to feather kisses over her midriff and thighs as he did. He slid a finger between her skin and the sheer fabric of her panties then slowly pulled them down and away.
Naked in front of him, she’d never felt more exposed or a more delicious anticipation. She experienced a sensory overload as he stood up, his rough jeans against her legs, his big hands trailing little fires over her skin.
His mouth closed over hers and she opened to him fully, her hands fumbling with his jeans. He nudged her back just so he could tug them off, then he nabbed a condom from his wallet. Watching him put it on was one of the sexiest things she’d ever watched.
He lifted her against his chest and stepped into the shower, the hot water cascading over their bodies.
He boosted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He reached down and stroked her until she was rocking against his hand and using the last of her abused voice to beg him for more.
“Look at me,” he said, his voice as hoarse as
hers.
She pushed her hair back and met his hungry gaze as he entered her slowly. She flexed her hips, so damned impatient for what she knew he could give her.
He obliged, thrusting inside her, and she rocked against him as he set the pace. She watched the water bead against his skin and she leaned forward, licking it away.
He nipped at her ear and whispered words she couldn’t make out over the rush of water and the pounding of her blood through her veins. Her climax rolled through her and over him and she clung as he stroked into her twice more and then joined her in that place of pure sensation.
His breath sawing in and out of his lungs teased her breasts as his chest pressed against her. She sighed when he parted from her and lowered her legs to the shower floor, making sure she was steady.
Her knees were weak and her pulse didn’t want to stop racing. She nudged him under the spray of the shower and indulged herself with washing his body. When they swapped places she discovered it was equally exciting to be on the receiving end of such tender treatment.
She never expected these feelings, never experienced this level of a connection with a lover. With a glance at the ring circling her finger, she wondered if the slim gold band was playing tricks on her mind. Tricks her heart was only too happy to fall for.
“Hey, where’d you go?” He traced the curve of her shoulder. “You’ll give a guy a complex.”
“Not you.”
“You tired?”
She walked her fingers up his biceps. “Not even close.”
“There’s some good news.” He grinned and kissed her as he reached around to shut off the faucet. She let him wrap her in one of the thick towels and was about to tease him when he kissed her so thoroughly she would have been hard pressed to remember her real name.
It was a heady sensation, to be swept away by the moment and the man guiding her through it. He lowered her to the bed without letting loose of the contact of their mouths.
“Jason.”
“Hmm?”
She didn’t know what to say, couldn’t remember why speaking was important. She explored his stunning body as he touched hers, slowly stoking her passion and leading her up to another climax. Her entire world zeroed down to him. The concerns of the case—hers and his—fell away to a hazy place in the back of her mind and she forgot whatever she’d intended to say.
That had never happened to her, no matter the personal involvement or isolation during an assignment. But right here, they were two normal people sharing something extraordinary.
When their bodies joined again, it was with a steady rhythm, less frantic, but just as intense and passionate. And when at last they parted, she curled next to his side, his heart beating strong under her hand as she let sleep claim her.
* * *
JASON, MORE THAN a little overwhelmed by what they’d just shared, let her sleep. Intoxicating didn’t begin to describe her. He wanted to tell himself he should have resisted, but it would have been a waste of energy.
He was no stranger to temptation, but she’d been utterly irresistible. Already, his mind turned over the immediate and long-term options. They might be married, but would she want to stay that way?
It wasn’t just the physical connection. Smoothing her hair back from her cheek, he kissed her, smiling as she snuggled closer. Had last night been this way for her? He wished like hell he could remember.
He also loved the way her mind worked, loved her dedication to the job.
Oh, Lord, it hit him like a fist to the gut. He loved her. Was there any way to actually make a marriage between them work?
Chapter Sixteen
Saturday, November 22, 9:30 a.m.
Gin awoke with a delicious contentment. She couldn’t remember feeling quite this good. Ever. Warm and relaxed, with Jason’s masculine scent surrounding her, she reached out. She wanted to indulge herself, to touch him when he wouldn’t be awake enough to know how he fascinated her.
Her hand found only air and soft bedding. She sat up, confirmed the bed was empty, then grabbed the bedside clock. Half past nine already?
She pushed her hair behind her ears and, drawing the sheet up to cover herself, leaned against the headboard. He must have gone out to watch the blonde take back the vial.
A thousand dark thoughts and theories raced for dominance in her mind. The thought that wouldn’t go away wasn’t about the case at all, but rather about Jason.
The man had fooled her completely. Seducing her, lulling her into a deep sleep with his talented hands, then sneaking out to interfere with her case. Damn it!
“You would have done the same,” she whispered to the empty room. She had, in fact, been considering it as a viable plan of action. Until somewhere along the way she’d gotten lost and let the fantasy become the reality. She buried her nose in the sheet, inhaling his lingering scent and remembering falling asleep in the perfect security of his embrace.
She swore. If she never saw the man again—and why would she—the past few hours had been worth it. Pragmatist that she was, it no longer mattered which of them was seducer and which one was fool because they’d both managed to win along the way.
Too late to go after him, she headed back to the shower to clean up. Her superiors would want that virus locked up in the lab as soon as possible so no one else could make a play for it.
She stopped, let the sheet fall as she rushed to the chair where she’d dropped her purse last night. It wasn’t there. He couldn’t have done it. Could he? Her breath stalled in her lungs and her hands fisted in her hair as she tried to think it through.
He wouldn’t have done this—had no reason to do this. But he obviously had. She looked everywhere in the room, but her purse—and the virus—were gone. He was a spy, like her, and sides were never as clear-cut as the lines of white picket fences of happily-ever-afters that had danced through her sappy love-blind dreams last night.
Choice words for Jason Grant rolled through her mind and were nearly out of her mouth when she heard the soft click of the electronic lock on the door.
Caught, she brazened it out, irrationally hoping it was Jason and her raw physical state would divert attention from her raw emotional state.
She enjoyed a fast, grim vision of attacking him for his sneaky betrayal, but it fizzled when he quietly backed into the room towing a hotel luggage cart loaded with everything they’d left behind at the Palace. As he turned to unload the cart, he saw her and almost dropped the white bag in his free hand.
“You’re awake.” He quickly closed the door behind him.
“I am.” She’d gone from angry to shy to needy in such a short span she couldn’t keep up with herself. Her head was spinning and her heart was pounding.
Feeling ridiculous modesty under his heated stare, considering all the things they’d done a few hours ago, she couldn’t think. “Is that breakfast?” She forced herself to move forward, to smile, as she took the bag and set it on the table. “Smells good.”
“I thought you might be hungry.”
“In a minute. I was just about to hit the shower.”
* * *
Not without me, Jason thought, but he didn’t say it. Faced with the stunning beauty of her body, it took him a little longer to process what he’d walked in on. His gut twisted at the reality of what the scene told him. “You thought I left.”
She paused, tossed him a look over her shoulder, then turned to face him again. “You weren’t here.”
He wasn’t buying the casual routine she was trying to sell. Trust didn’t come easily to either one of them—for good reason. “Your purse is in the room safe.”
Her face colored, along with the delectable column of her throat. “Thanks.”
“I wanted to put as many layers as possible between that tag and any other tracking device. Especially since you were alone and asleep.”
“I appreciate that.” She turned on her heel and continued toward the bathroom, where she closed and locked the door.
J
ason smiled to himself, more than a little pleased he’d surprised her. She shouldn’t be stuck expecting the worst from everyone she met—especially not from him.
He unloaded the luggage cart and pushed it back into the hallway, relieved beyond measure he’d told the bellhop he could manage on his own. He didn’t want anyone else enjoying the view of Gin’s amazing body. At least not while she was his wife.
“Fool,” he muttered.
Maybe he should have left her a note, but he’d thought it would be a quick trip. As smoothly as the casinos managed people and details, he’d learned the hard way the streets were crowded no matter the hour. Getting sidetracked at the jewelry store hadn’t helped his timing. The rings in his pocket would probably get returned when this was over, but he’d bought them anyway. Just in case what they’d shared felt as real to her as it did to him. Sure, the sex had been incredible and he’d be forever grateful for the memory if she did walk away. But the more time he spent with her, the more he realized he wanted whatever they’d started as part of her mission to go beyond that. Infinity might be enough time.
He’d recognized the calculating look in her green eyes when he’d returned. She most likely believed he’d stolen the virus and gone after the blonde.
To be fair, he’d thought about it for all of two seconds. The virus thing was her case, and he didn’t need to interfere beyond the point the blonde intersected with his situation.
He carried Gin’s suitcase to the bed and then returned to the table to start up his laptop. Getting into the protected systems of the hotel security offices might be a challenge, but he knew he could hack the email of at least one of the reporters covering the shootings.
He heard the bathroom door open and close, but he didn’t turn around, didn’t want to push her.
“Did you check me out?”
With a laugh, he shook his head, eyes still on the laptop. “Is that a trick question?”
She walked up behind him and gave his shoulders a rub. “I meant did you check me out of the other hotel room at Caesar’s.”
“No. I thought you might want access.”
She bent down and kissed his ear. “You’re a smart man.”
