Hot Shot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#5)

by Lynn Raye Harris

  She shot to her feet and glared down at him. Yeah, she understood why he was pissed at her. She’d kept the truth from him when she shouldn’t have, but now they were here, on their way to Stavros and whatever crazed plan he had, and she didn’t need to deal with Jack’s anger on top of her fear and anxiety about Eli and what awaited her on St. Margarethe.

  Jack rose. He towered over her and she hated that. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he growled. “But I’d prefer you weren’t there so I could concentrate on getting Eli back and stop worrying about you.”

  Her heart throbbed, but she told herself not to read anything into it. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of myself.”

  “The way you did the last time?”

  “I ran into you, didn’t I? I’d say I did a pretty good job.”

  He took a step closer to her, his nostrils flaring. “And what about in the compound, Gina? What about when you’re at his mercy?”

  “I’ll do the best I can. You’ll be there.”

  Or so she hoped. They’d decided that she would call Stavros’s bluff when they arrived. He wanted something from her. They didn’t know what that was, but Jack and his team seemed to believe she had a bargaining chip. It wouldn’t get her much, but they believed it would earn her some concessions. For one, they thought she should insist on meeting him in the city. They didn’t believe he would agree to that, but it was the first step in insisting she be allowed one bodyguard.

  That bodyguard was Jack. If Stavros refused, then she didn’t know what she would do. But that was a bridge they’d cross when they got to it.

  “Maybe I’ll be there. But what if I’m not?”

  Her stomach churned.

  “I’ll do what I have to do to survive.” Her throat ached, but she knew deep down that was the case. She’d do what it took to buy herself time and to keep Eli safe until Jack and his team arrived. No matter what it was, she’d do it.

  And Jack seemed to think so too. His jaw tightened. “Will you fuck him, Gina? Give him a taste of that sweet pussy if he asks for it?”

  She wanted to gasp in outrage. But she didn’t. Worse, her pussy throbbed with heat. Damn him anyway. Judgmental asshole. She bared her teeth. “I’d fuck the devil himself if it got me what I wanted. Don’t you know that, baby?”

  “Yeah, I know it.”

  And that was the last straw, no matter that she’d taunted him. They’d spent three days together waiting for rescue and they’d only had sex on the last day. She’d thought he’d seen beneath the glitzy tough-girl veneer, but he hadn’t. He’d said the words so matter-of-factly, like she was the kind of woman who’d achieved everything she had by screwing her way to the top. It was the kind of thing the tabloids liked to say about her, and it made her utterly furious.

  She didn’t know what she was doing when she closed the distance between them and swung her fist at his head.

  He caught it before it connected and spun her around until her back was to him, her body pressed against his, her ass wedged tight to his groin. His arms wrapped around her and he held her hard against him.

  “I hate you,” she spat. “I wish I’d never met you.”

  His breath was hot on her neck. “Likewise, babe.” But his cock was growing against her and her stomach twisted tight.

  Oh, it wasn’t fair. Gina closed her eyes and tried to will away the arousal sweeping through her body like a flash fire. Why did he affect her this way? Why, when he was such a jerk? He’d been so wonderful and tender the last time, but this time he was an arrogant prick and she hated him.

  Except that her body didn’t. Her body recognized his and responded. Her nipples tightened until the lacy fabric of her bra was almost torture.

  “Let me go.”

  He did as she asked, letting her go so quickly that she stumbled forward and would have fallen had she not caught herself on the chair. She whirled on him, angry and hurt and frustrated.

  “You bastard. Don’t you ever touch me again!”

  “Or what?” he said. “You’ll get too excited?”

  Gina stiffened her spine and glared at him. “Fuck you, Jack Hunter. Fuck you for the asshole you are.”

  Her pride stung and her heart ached. It didn’t matter that she donned a tough exterior with him. She was wounded by his indifference and his casual assumption that she could give her body to a man like Stavros without any remorse or feeling.

  Not that she was going to choose Stavros. And it truly angered her that Jack thought she could, or that he believed her body was somehow more sacred than his as a bargaining chip. She had no doubt he’d screw some modern day Mata Hari for information if he needed it.

  “I told you I’m not interested, babe. But thanks for the offer.”

  And that made her utterly ballistic. Jerk. Asshole. Fuckhead.

  She wanted to prove to him, more than anything, that he wasn’t the tower of strength he thought he was. He was a hypocrite.

  “Not interested, huh? What’s going on in your jeans, hotshot?”

  His gaze hardened. “Told you before, if you’re gonna display the tits and ass, it has an effect.”

  “I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt, jerk.”

  “And I can see every curve and bump.”

  She put her hands beneath her breasts and hefted them. “Oh, you mean these? Yeah, they’re such a nuisance.”

  “Gina.” His voice was torn between a growl and a plea, and she felt a reckless surge of adrenaline in her veins.

  “Oh, I’m so hot,” she whispered, pulling her shirt from her waistband and lifting it. “The infamous Gina Domenico who gangbangs ten men before going on stage every night.”

  “Gina.”

  She knew she should stop, but the tone of his voice spurred her on. Like he was aching something fierce. Like she was torturing him.

  “Yeah, you know me, baby. Just a girl who can’t control her urges.”

  “For God’s sake, I didn’t say that.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  He only glared at her.

  She suddenly wanted to win this contest between them. She wanted him panting and gasping, and she wanted to walk away and leave him hard and unfulfilled.

  Gina whipped the T-shirt over her head and tossed it on the chair. “Oh, my urges are out of control.”

  Jack moved so fast she couldn’t get away from him before he had his hands on her shoulders. But instead of yanking her into his arms, he turned her and pushed her toward the back of the plane. Toward the bedroom that was there.

  “Are you taking me to bed, big boy?”

  He pushed her forward. “Yeah, something like that.”

  She walked down the aisle, laughing softly. When they reached the door, he yanked it open and thrust a hand against the frame to steady himself.

  She leaned into the door and gave him a smile. “Don’t you want to come in?”

  His Adam’s apple moved. “No.”

  She let her gaze drop to his crotch. The outline of his cock was long and firm, and a surge of wetness flooded her.

  “Doesn’t look like that to me.”

  “Gina.”

  She lifted her gaze and found him looking at her with a combination of heat and fury that made her stomach clench. “What?”

  “You don’t want me. You’re pissed off at me. And you’re trying to make me pay for it.”

  “Aw, does it hurt?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  She had no idea where it came from, but she reached out and ran her hand over his cock. It leapt at her touch. “Or I could handle it.”

  He couldn’t quite stifle his groan. “What game are you playing with me?”

  His words chilled her, reminded her of her mission. “You’re hard for me, Jack. You want me. You want to sink deep inside me and fuck me hard. Me, Jack. Not Stephanie. Not some other woman. Not Hayley. Me. And you hate that about yourself. You can deny it all you like, but you want me. Be man enough to admit it.”


  He was silent for a long moment. And then he swore long and hard. “I’d like nothing better than to strip you naked and fuck you until you scream. I want to lick you and suck you and make you come. But so does every man who sees you on that stage, Gina. I’m one in a million to you—and I know when I’m being played.” His eyes raked over her, his look disdainful, and she felt small, as if she’d lost control of the situation after all.

  Her throat was tight. She’d trotted out the persona, large-and-in-charge Gina, and it was coming back to bite her in the butt.

  He shook his head. “And even if you weren’t playing me, you lied to me. I can’t forget that.”

  She tried to be nonchalant, and yet it hurt. “So that means sex is out of the question, I take it? No licking after all?”

  He reached out and ran a finger over her jaw. “I’d lick anything you wanted me to lick. But it’d be meaningless. Is that really what you want?”

  She swallowed, her heart thumping. No. “Maybe I do.”

  He bent toward her then, his lips so close to hers that her breath razored in and out of her lungs while she prayed he would kiss her. Where had her determination to humiliate him gone? Oh, she had no idea. All she wanted was his mouth on hers. On her body. Everywhere.

  And then his mouth touched hers and she whimpered. His lips licked across hers, fanning the flames of a desire she’d tried to convince herself she was in control of.

  She wasn’t. She so wasn’t.

  He pulled away, his mouth a hair’s breadth from hers. “You’re just a paper tiger, babe. And I’m not scared.”

  He backed away, staring at her for a long moment. And then he turned and walked up the aisle.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  JACK WAS PISSED. At himself. At Gina. And he hurt. His balls ached with the need to spend inside Gina’s gorgeous body. He flopped into the seat and adjusted himself to take some of the pressure off. It didn’t do much good. His body was tight, the testosterone raging through him and demanding release. This was no way to embark on a mission.

  But what the fuck was he supposed to do? Spread her out on the bed and lose himself in her willing body?

  Yes.

  No. Jack clenched his fingers into a fist and closed his eyes. She’d brought up Hayley. She’d told him he wanted her instead of sweet Hayley—and she was right, which angered him even more. He’d loved Hayley with his whole being, and he’d thought he died when he lost her. His life had closed in on itself like a rare flower deprived of sunlight.

  And he hadn’t opened back up again. He’d existed in darkness and loneliness, and he’d been just fine.

  He was still fine. Except he wanted the woman he’d just hustled back to the bedroom more than he could remember wanting anyone in a long time. He wasn’t deprived when it came to sex. He had plenty of numbers in his contacts list and he could call up a dozen women who would be happy for a one-night hookup.

  Which he’d probably do if he weren’t on a plane over the ocean, winging toward an island in the southern Caribbean. Jack put his forehead in his hand and concentrated on breathing deeply. Fuck.

  “Can I get you anything else, sir?”

  He looked up at the woman standing over him. She was a redhead, busty, and had a pretty smile. She wasn’t wearing an engagement or wedding ring. He could flirt with her. He could take her to the lavatory and join the mile-high club.

  She was looking at him expectantly, and he realized she’d unbuttoned her blouse another two buttons. Her cleavage was nice. Inviting.

  He shook his head. “Thanks, uh, Stephanie. But no. Nothing else.”

  Her smile dimmed. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  She picked up his glass and napkin and disappeared up the aisle. Jack let out his breath. Jesus. What the hell was wrong with him? He could have cleared his head with Stephanie, released some tension.

  But, goddamn, it hit him like a ton of bricks that he actually felt some sort of loyalty to Gina in this moment. Like he owed her something. She’d fucking lied to him about his child, and he thought he owed her something? She was screwing with his head, sobbing on him one minute, teasing him the next, begging him to touch her and acting all vulnerable and confused when he didn’t.

  He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t go into this mission with his head so muddled. Mendez had accused him of being emotionally compromised, and it hit him hard that he was, that his life was changing because a woman he’d made love to three years ago had had his child.

  Jack got up and stalked through the cabin. He had to tell her they needed to stop fighting each other. That this was too important and he needed her to be straight with him. Utterly straight.

  He reached the door and stopped, uncertain for a second. And then he rapped on it. When she didn’t answer, he jerked it open. She wasn’t in the room. His heart throbbed. She couldn’t have gone anywhere, but it was a reaction to her absence just the same. He took a step forward.

  And then he saw her in the adjoining bathroom, her body bare, her arms over her head as she twisted her hair up and pinned it. She’d turned on the shower. It was an amazing shower for an airplane, a space big enough to hold six people. There was even a full-sized bathtub. It hit him again just how rich she was. How out of his orbit she was.

  He was a boy from a working-class family in Florida, and she was a superstar. She looked into the mirror then and saw him. Her hands stilled on top of her head and her mouth fell open. Her nipples were hard little points and her waist dipped in before flaring over her hips. He wondered if she was wet, if her body had responded to his when she was caressing him or if it really was all a game.

  Her hands slowly fell to her sides. And then she turned, her arms crossing over her breasts. Which was ridiculous because her pussy was still bared to his gaze. That little triangle of dark blond hair. The dip of her belly and plumpness of her lips.

  “What do you want?”

  He couldn’t speak. “I…” He shook his head, but it didn’t clear. She was still there. Still beautiful. Still tempting. His balls ached harder than before. His cock was thick and full. All he could do was tell her the truth.

  “You make me ache, Gina. You make me not care about consequences.”

  *

  Gina’s throat was dry. Jack was looking at her with that same combination of pain and anger he always seemed to look at her with and it made her heart hurt.

  Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. “I don’t want you to hate me. That’s not what I want.”

  “I don’t hate you. I told you.”

  “You’re here against your will. You’d rather be with your team—or with anyone but me.”

  He blew out a harsh breath. “I’d rather be with them because I want you safe, Gina. You aren’t a special operator. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “But Stavros wants me.”

  He swore. “I know. And I don’t want him to have you.”

  Her breath hitched as she took his meaning. “We don’t know that’s what he wants—”

  “Whether he does or not, it makes me sick to think of you with him.”

  She dropped her chin and looked at her feet. It occurred to her that she was naked, and that she was doing a poor job of hiding her body from Jack. She reached for a towel and pulled it over herself.

  “I don’t want to sleep with him. I won’t.” She swallowed. “Unless it’s the only way to save Eli.”

  He crossed the distance and tilted her chin up until she had to look him in the eye. His gorgeous blue eyes were troubled. “I don’t want him to have you. I don’t want anyone to have you.”

  Her heart squeezed tight and butterflies swirled in her belly. “Why not?”

  “Because I’m a jealous bastard. Because I want you, and I’m not sharing.” He cupped her jaw. “Do you understand me? I don’t share.”

  “I’m not yours, Jack.”

  He reached for the towel and carefully stripped it away. She didn’t
stop him. And then he circled a nipple with one finger. The steam in the bathroom had made her sweat, so his finger glided slickly around the sensitive flesh.

  “I think you are, babe. I think you want to be.”

  “You’re too full of yourself.”

  “I’d like to fill you.”

  Her pussy throbbed. Oh, how she wanted that too. But it was dangerous with Jack. So dangerous. She’d given herself to him before. Given him her heart. And he hadn’t even known it. Those three days in the cave had been the most honest exchange she’d ever had with a man—but he wasn’t in the same place she’d been, and when he’d told her it couldn’t go anywhere between them, she’d retreated into the pop-star persona that insulated the real her from the world. It hadn’t ended well, but she’d never stopped thinking about those three days.

  About this man.

  “What changed your mind?”

  “Stephanie.”

  Gina didn’t like the flare of jealousy in her soul. “Why, did you make a move and she turned you down?”

  He pinched her nipple and she sucked in a breath. “No. I turned her down.”

  He lifted his other hand and cupped her breast. The shower continued to steam.

  “I’ll fire her,” Gina gasped as he tweaked her nipples.

  Jack lowered his head and licked one stiff nipple and she shivered. “That’s harsh, babe. I think you should thank her.”

  She clutched his shoulders as he continued to lick and suck. Her eyes threatened to roll back in her head it felt so good. “Why would I do that?”

  “Because she made me realize how much I wanted you. Only you.”

  “Jack,” she gasped as he glided a hand down her body and slid his fingers between her lips.

  “God, you’re wet.”

  He pushed a finger inside her and then another. His thumb skated over her clitoris and she wanted to scream. Instead, she bit her lip. His fingers moved rhythmically, sliding in and out of her body and driving her arousal higher. She was strung tight, but she knew she could go tighter still. And she knew the release would be incredible.