The ragged disappointment in her voice didn’t do a damn thing for his resolve. He curled his hands into fists and rose as well, jamming his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “Are you okay?”
He wasn’t sure if he meant as a result of the kiss or the nightmare he’d woken her from.
“Yes.” She pushed a few silky wisps of hair out of her eyes. “Has something new happened?”
“Yes. Hart has demanded to see you. By noon tomorrow.”
She paled. “Or what?”
He didn’t want to tell her. “Kelly—”
“He’s going to kill someone.”
“Yes,” Spence said simply. “Marshals.” His muscles locked against the urge to take her into his arms and say to hell with everything.
She turned toward him, avoiding his gaze. He couldn’t help but notice that her breasts still rose and fell rapidly. His own heartbeat was off the charts. He cleared his throat. “Taggart’s got three snipers in place, but so far they can’t get a shot at Hart.”
She stilled, those blue eyes trained intently on him.
“He’s keeping the window covers down on the plane and when he shows himself in the cockpit, he’s got the pilot or copilot in front of him.”
“Snipers,” she murmured.
Fueled by the restless energy surging through his body, the want thrumming like rapid gunfire, he moved around the room.
“So what next?”
“Taggart’s going to send someone on board to take Hart out, but to do that he needs a distraction.”
“Is he sending only one of his men?” Her voice rose. “You said yourself that Carl could have an accomplice on the plane, too.”
“He could. It’s risky,” Spence admitted, watching her carefully, his lips still burning from hers. “But someone needs to be able to get to him.”
“Can’t Taggart send more than one man?”
“We have to be careful not to draw too much attention to the maneuver. Carl’s demanded more hot food and fuel so I can ride out with the food truck.”
“You!” She took a step toward him. “You! Why you?”
“Those men are my friends and…I made you a promise.” He stopped, his body rigid, hoping she didn’t come closer, needing the distance they’d established.
“But you’re risking your life!”
“I’m trained.”
“Spence.” She shook her head, visibly upset. His heart cracked a little at her concern. “And Taggart wants me to distract Carl while you board the plane?”
“He wants me to ask you.” Spence rubbed his neck. “But I told him no, that I promised you that you wouldn’t have to get near Hart.”
“I can’t.” Panic darkened her eyes. She moved toward the bed, then toward the window, as if trapped.
Spence ached to reach out to her, but caution held him back. “I gave you my word and I want to keep it.”
“What will happen if I don’t meet Carl?”
“Taggart will try to come up with another plan.”
“What about those guys on board?” Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t think I can do it. What is Carl doing? What does he want?”
Spence could hear the rising panic in her rushed words. “It’s okay, Kelly. It’s okay.” To hell with distance. He snagged her elbow, turned her toward him. “We’ll get the bastard. You don’t have to see him. We can dress up a policewoman to look like you. By the time Hart figures it out, I’ll be on board.”
“I just want this to be over. He’s ruined enough of my life. Now look what he’s doing to those other people.” She angrily wiped away a tear. “I’m so tired of him controlling my life, of being afraid of him, but I can’t help it.” Her voice broke.
The tightrope of stress and anxiety they’d walked all day snapped. Spence pulled her close and angled one arm across her back, surprised at how the feel of her eased something frantic in him.
She lifted her head, her eyes shimmering pools of blue. “Why couldn’t I have met you first?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s all right.” He curled a finger under her chin and lifted her head, losing himself in her eyes. The floor beneath him cracked like thin ice. Watch it, Cantrell. You’re about to go under.
A hundred warnings screamed through his brain, but for once he didn’t listen. “That would’ve been nice,” he murmured, his thumb grazing her bottom lip.
She smiled up at him. “Really?”
“Really.” How in the hell had he thought he could ever resist her? “I know you don’t trust easily, Kelly, but you can trust me.”
“I do,” she whispered, her breasts teasing his chest, her thighs hot against his.
This time when he lowered his head, he knew full well what he was doing. And when her lips parted beneath his, he knew he couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t.
He only wanted to feel. The way her hair tickled his wrist, the way her lips opened hot and wet under his, the way her hands moved over him with the same near-desperation rushing through him.
For once he shut off his thoughts and just felt. The hot velvet of her tongue. The press of her breasts, the eager way she held him to her. If she thought he was strong enough to walk away, she was wrong.
He hooked an arm around her waist. His other hand skimmed the length of her back, curved over her hip and he palmed one round, firm cheek. She made a low sound, both surrender and invitation. At once he felt a release and a tightening low in his gut.
“Are you sure?” he whispered. For both their sakes, she should say no. That one word from her was the only thing that could stop him from peeling the clothes from her luscious body and sliding into her the way he ached to do.
“Yes,” she breathed into his mouth. “Yes. So sure.”
He pulled back, searched her eyes as he stroked a stray strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear.
She slid her hands up his arms, onto his neck. The feel of her lean, warm fingers on his skin plucked at his nerve endings. Had he ever felt like this? As if he was teetering on the edge of reason and sin.
“I don’t want to stop,” she said in a low voice, her gaze fixed on his mouth, making his heartbeat skitter wildly. “I want you.”
He hauled her to him, his blood pounding at the feel of her full breasts cushioned against his chest, the V of her thighs nudging his arousal. Desire knifed through him, sharp, driving.
The horrible life she’d endured with Hart hovered in the back of his mind. Spence wanted to make it good for her, especially if Hart had treated her in the bedroom the way he’d treated her outside of it. Spence was glad she didn’t appear afraid of him.
He raised his head, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. Framing her face in his shaking hands, he skimmed his thumbs over her lips, the satiny line of her jaw. Her eyes darkened with hunger, the same hunger that gnawed at him. But he wanted to go slow. They had time, at least three or four hours while Taggart worked on Hart.
“I won’t break,” she breathed. Her hands massaged his upper arms, kneading, petting, as she pressed her body full into his.
His smile was wobbly. Swinging her up into his arms, he walked the few steps to the bed and laid her gently atop the pastel-striped cover. Her hands went to the buttons on his shirt and he helped her, shrugging it onto the floor as he leaned over her.
She splayed her hands on his chest, ran them over his pecs and through the hair on his chest. The pleasure that spread across her delicate features tugged at his heart. For a minute, he let her touch him while the anticipation coiled his muscles even tighter.
“I don’t want to go too fast or scare you.”
She took his face in her hands, her gaze burning into his. “I know who you are, Spence.”
She pulled his head down for a kiss, her tongue tangling with his. Shifting beneath him, she dragged her nails down his back, making him shudder when they skimmed lightly over his flanks. “Clothes,” sh
e said huskily. “Take them off.”
He raised himself up, fumbling with the small silk-covered buttons on her top, helping her slide the blouse off, then dragging his palm down the velvet of her belly, pushing off the slender silk slacks. Her skin was creamy soft beneath his rough palm. He wanted to taste her.
He could see her pulse beating rapidly in her throat. Pressing his lips there, he rained kisses down to the curve of her breasts that swelled over the top of a barely there lace bra. The urge to rip her panties off and bury himself to the hilt slammed into him. But he wanted to savor this, wanted to know what she wanted, what she needed.
“Tell me how to touch you.”
“Just like you are.” She took his face in her hands, lifted his face to hers. “Only more.”
He kissed her again, drinking from her with a thirst he couldn’t imagine ever quenching. Her hands were greedy, something he’d never experienced. It made it difficult to remember that he should go slow.
“You won’t hurt me. You couldn’t.”
“I want it to be good for you.”
“It is. It will be.” She smiled into his eyes, her hand sliding between them and reaching down to cover his arousal.
His stomach hollowed as she scraped her fingernails along his length. Rolling to his back, he took her with him and lay, muscles whipped tight, as she unzipped his slacks. The whisper slight feel of her hands grazing his arousal pitched his blood to boiling.
He ran his hands up her sides, cupped her satin and lace covered breasts in his palms. She closed her eyes and arched, hot and damp and hard against his erection. He thumbed open the hook on the front of her bra and pushed it off her shoulders, his hands filling with warm, soft flesh. Her nipples were rosy dark and tight. He pulled her forward, taking one in his mouth.
She cried out, holding his head.
“Yes?” He smiled against her breast.
“Yes, Spence. Yes. More.”
The way she purred his name had him rocking up against the core of her, wet, hot, ready for him. He wanted to let her call the shots this first time, but he was nearing the edge. Need, urgent and merciless, drove through him like a spike, pushing him closer, closer to a rocky ledge. Still, he was determined to wait for her.
He kneaded her breasts, squeezing, rolling, laving the tips with his tongue. She shifted atop him and her panties landed somewhere near his head. Then her hands were pushing down his slacks, his boxers. Her hand closed over his arousal, throbbing, pulsing in her hand. Spence closed his eyes, fisting the sheets as he savored the feel of her quick hands, then her tongue.
“Kelly, honey, slow down.”
“But I want—”
“Me, too.” He reached for her, pulling her up, gently turning their bodies so he was once again on top. “I’m on the edge. Don’t you want to wait a little longer?”
“No.” She stared straight into his eyes, her hands sliding over him, caressing, touching, moving over his back, his arms, his butt. As if she couldn’t get enough. “I want you, Spence,” she whispered. “I’ve waited my whole life to say that to a man. I want you now.”
He didn’t need to hear anything else. Settling into the V of her thighs, he eased inside. That first tight slide had them both catching their breaths. Her hands tightened on his shoulders, moved to wrap around him as she urged him in. She arched her head, baring her throat to him and he bit lightly on the place where her collarbone joined her neck. She wiggled, pulling him deeper, her legs going tight around him.
He lifted his head. “Tell me.”
A breath shuddered out of her as she opened those beautiful eyes and stared into his. “Slow and long.” A shy smile touched her lips. “Is that all right?”
“It’s perfect.” He slid deep, fitting his arms under her, stroking in and out of her body with a deliberation that had his muscles quivering, his own body screaming for release, but the look on her face made his wait more than worthwhile.
Euphoria flushed her skin. She stared into his eyes and he swore he was drowning, going down into a well of love where he’d never been before. His throat tightened even as his body did the same. In and out, long, gliding strokes, holding out as long as he could, waiting for her to peak first. And when she did, when she cried his name in a voice raspy with wonder, he let go, pulling her tighter into him, pumping into her with a frantic control.
When his world exploded, her name erupted from his throat.
She tightened her arms around him, her breath warm in his ear. “Thank you, Spence. Thank you.”
He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “That goes both ways.”
She smiled and they lay there as their bodies cooled. The doubts he’d refused to heed before began to filter in. What had he done? He was involved with Kelly Jackson. Hell, more than involved. He felt something for her, something that might affect his ability to protect her. Trying to soothe her after he’d startled her out of that nightmare about Hart had taken a completely unexpected turn for Spence, but he didn’t regret it.
A rush of emotion flooded him—blatant male satisfaction at what he’d just shared with the woman beside him, relief that he welcomed it, and a growing sense of possession. He was no longer able to remain professionally detached, if he ever had been. The first time he’d met her, she’d penetrated the wall he’d built around himself.
He’d never believed in love at first sight, had heard of people meeting and immediately knowing they were meant to be together. His own parents’ forty-year marriage had begun after a three-week courtship, but Spence had never bought into it. He couldn’t argue since it had worked for his parents, but he’d always thought himself too pragmatic for such romanticism.
He and Anna had been friends first, then it had grown into a strong, unshakable love. Could what he felt for Kelly morph into that?
Spence didn’t know. He didn’t know a hell of a lot right now. Deliberately he turned his thoughts to the hijacking, to the reason he’d originally come to her room. There was no way Kelly would agree to meet Hart, and Spence knew he couldn’t force her. Not after what Hart had done to her. Not after what she and Spence had just shared.
Morning, Day 4
Kelly lay there, Spence’s skin hot and supple against hers. She couldn’t remember ever being so satisfied, so perfectly matched. She snuggled closer to him, smiling at the steady thrum of his heart beneath her ear. She ran her fingers over his belly in a light circle.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yes.” What had they done? Kelly pushed the little doubt away. She’d wanted this, wanted to enjoy the way Spence made her feel beautiful and desirable. And she wanted to enjoy this sense of belonging as long as possible.
He knew all about her ugly marriage and she knew next to nothing about him. Sliding a leg between his, she pressed a kiss to his hard, warm chest. “Spence, have you ever been married?”
His arm tightened reflexively around her, his thumb stroking the soft underside of her breast. “Yes.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“I want to.” He paused. “Her name was Anna.”
Kelly turned on her stomach, searching the turbulent shadows in his eyes. “What happened?”
“She was killed,” he said flatly. “By a man I’d put in prison.”
Kelly drew back at the way his jaw tightened, the emotionless way he’d spoken. Horror and concern mingled. “What happened?”
“After the scumball got out, he came after me. He made threats, but someone was always threatening me.” His lips twisted in a grim smile. “I ignored them, until the night I came home to find Anna on the kitchen floor.”
His voice turned rusty as he told Kelly how he’d found his wife, beaten unconscious and how she’d never come out of the coma. “She died after two weeks. Because of my job.”
“You can’t blame yourself.” Kelly lifted up on one elbow. “That wasn’t your fault, Spence.”
He stared blankly at the opposite wall. Kelly wasn’t sure if he was
talking to her or himself. “It sure wasn’t anyone else’s and I did blame myself for a long time. I don’t anymore, but I regret things. My arrogance, for one. The future we lost. It’s been three years since I even thought my future might be something other than the job.”
His gaze shifted to hers, deep and thoughtful. He ran his thumb across her lips, still tingling from his, and her heart clenched at the naked pain in his eyes.
“Did she know you loved her?”
His gaze leveled into hers. “Yes.”
“My mother knew I loved her, too. She was sick for a long time and I took care of her.” Laying her head back down on his chest, she told him how her mother had suffered with systemic lupus, how Carl paid the bills for her mother’s medical needs, but always held it over their heads.
“I felt completely helpless. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could change, but I take comfort in the fact I was with her at the end, that she knew I loved her. I take comfort in those things because they’re all I have.” She reached up and stroked his hair. “That’s all you have, too. Anna knew you loved her, knew you would’ve given your life for her.”
“I would’ve.”
A comfortable silence settled between them before she asked, “How did you meet? Do you mind me asking?”
“No.” He squeezed her against him. “We met in college. Dated each other’s roommates, then each other.”
Kelly wondered if he was aware of the smile in his voice as he talked.
“We were friends first, then fell in love.”
Hearing him talk about Anna sent realization knifing through her. Spence and his wife had built a relationship over time, shared experiences, trials, years. Kelly had a relationship with Spence, but was it sex only?
Despite the sharp stab to her heart at the description, wasn’t that what it was between them? She’d known him such a short amount of time, how could it be anything else? “You and Anna were soul mates.”
“I guess so.”
“That kind of love comes along once in a lifetime,” she said sadly, suddenly wanting to get up, to ask Spence to leave. But she didn’t want to hurt him.
“That’s what I’ve always thought,” his voice rumbled in her ear.
Special Report Page 12
