Hot as Hell

by Monette Michaels

  “Why now?” She leaned in and placed a butterfly-soft kiss on the exposed skin in the opening of his shirt. “After our conversation last night, I figured we’d wait until after the op.”

  The light brush of her lips had him leaking precum and, if possible, getting even harder. He fisted his hands on her bare, lower back and fought for more of his vaunted control. He was a second or so away from lifting her and taking her where they stood. But their first time should be on a bed where he could give her the several orgasms he’d planned before taking his.

  “After watching you at the pool… seeing how other men coveted you… every instinct I possess tells me to stake my claim.” He blew out a breath. “Neanderthal that I am, I want you going into danger, knowing you belong to me … knowing that I’ll be there if you need me, because I protect what’s mine.”

  “Luv, there’s very little risk,” she said, her voice gentle, filled with a soft emotion that made his heart pound faster. She rubbed the side of her face against his shirt front much like the little cat he’d named her. “But I very much want you to claim me. So, yes, after we eat, we’ll definitely be taking that kiss and what follows into the bedroom.”

  Thank the fucking hell, she wanted him. She’d called him “luv,” and the tone of her voice was so sweet and affectionate, he knew she meant everything she’d said.

  “Good,” he whispered against the side of her neck, then gave it a little lick. God, she tasted so sweet and smelled like the coconuts and lime of whatever sunscreen she’d used with her unique musk underlying it all. He forced himself to stop tasting her, or he’d eat her instead of the sandwich he’d offered to share with her.

  “Need to feed you… now.” Picking her up by the waist, he set her on a stool. She shivered.

  Damn him, she was cold. He took off his shirt and put it on her. He focused on buttoning the shirt and avoided staring at the rosy-brown nipples so sweetly budded and decorated with little gold rings. They were practically begging for his mouth and teeth to pleasure them. His fingers shook and he forced himself to swallow past the desire constricting his throat.

  “Sam,” she glanced at his hands, a puzzled look in her eyes, “why cover me up? You just got me naked.”

  “You’re cold.” He let out a frustrated sigh and admitted his weakness. “And so I won’t be tempted to make a meal of you before you eat your sandwich.”

  “Such a good provider.” She ran her fingers through the hair on his chest and then rubbed one of his nipples with her thumb. His cock ached and jerked, demanding immediate relief.

  God, please let me maintain control—at least, until I get her off once… or even better, twice

  “What’s this?” Dawn’s exploration had traveled further down his torso. She lightly traced the exit wound on his lower abdomen and looked up. Her green eyes glittered fiercely. “Someone shot you in the back?” The words were uttered in a low, angry snarl. “When did it happen? Where? And please tell me the fucker is dead?”

  Her unrestrained reaction to his injury made him even hotter for her. She was just as furious on his behalf as he’d been about her past mission risks. Strong women were so damn sexy.

  Sam placed a half of the club sandwich in front of her and then moved to the refrigerator to get her a juice. “Eat. And I’ll tell you the story of how I got the wound and first became involved with the traitor MacLean and SSI.”

  “I’ve heard bits and pieces of that story. But I do want to hear your side.” Dawn’s gaze was fully fixed on him as she took little bites of the triple-decker sandwich.

  Fuck, she was a cute little thing, so petite all over. Her mouth couldn’t even stretch far enough to get around the thickness of the sandwich. Then his brain went straight into the gutter as he pictured her on her knees with that same mouth stretching to take in his dick.

  The sooner he told his story, the sooner he’d find out if she was amenable to making his fantasy happen. But only after he took care of her first. Ladies always went first.

  “I was in deep cover for the CIA’s National Clandestine Service. My job…”

  ****

  “Well…” Dawn daintily wiped her hands and lips on the napkin Sam had unearthed from somewhere in the kitchen. She frowned. “Do you really think you’ll have to fight Vanko? I mean…”

  “Sweetheart,” Sam leaned in and licked the corner of her mouth, “you missed a crumb.”

  “You’re deflecting.” She jabbed him in the chest with a surprisingly strong finger. “Fight. Vanko. Really?”

  “It’s a guy thing.” He shrugged, a slight twist to his lips. “We’ll both feel as if honor has been served after it’s over. Plus, if I give my notice to the CIA, I’d like to work for SSI. Clearing the air with Petriv would become essential for a good working relationship with the other operatives. If Petriv and Maddox accept me, so will the others.”

  Her throat tightened at the thought that he’d even consider continuing to work for the black ops portion of the CIA. She knew more than most about the dangers covert operatives were exposed to. If this attraction between her and Sam proceeded the way she suspected, she didn’t want him risking his life in third-world hell holes without her there to back him up.

  So, task one after MacLean and Benrabi were taken down, she’d work on convincing Sam to quit the Agency and join SSI. Her second task would then be to speak with Keely and Vanko’s wife Elana about what the SSI women could do to stop any future fights between Sam and other SSI operatives over a long-dead mission he’d undertaken in good faith and discharged honorably.

  “Dawn, you will stay out of this.” Sam tweaked her chin. “I mean it. Let me and Petriv handle it our way.” He took her mouth in a deep kiss, then released her just as she’d opened to engage his tongue. “And I’ll give my notice to the CIA once MacLean is either dead or in the DIA’s custody.”

  “Do you read minds?” She sniffed, suddenly wary at how easily he read her. It was scary to think she might not be able to keep her thoughts from him. A girl had a right to keep some things secret. Not that she’d purposely hide anything important, but still—

  “Just yours,” he husked in a loving tone that gave her goosebumps. “Just as you easily read mine. You want anything else to eat?”

  “No. I didn’t even eat all that.” She looked ruefully at the half sandwich of which she normally would’ve made into three meals.

  “Good.” He scooped her off the stool and carried her to the suite’s master bedroom.

  She twined her arms around his neck and enjoyed being held against his warm, bare chest.

  The bed was turned down invitingly, a couple of wrapped pieces of candy lying on the pristine white pillows—which was odd. It hadn’t been that way when she’d left the suite.

  “Did you turn the bed down?” She rested her head on Sam’s tanned, bare shoulder. He smelled so good.

  “Nope.” He looked at the bed, his brow creased. “It wasn’t like that before?”

  “No.” She bit her lower lip. “I put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. No maid should’ve entered.”

  Sam set her down. Placing a hand on her back, he nudged her toward the main room. “Go next door to Conn’s suite. Use the connecting door, it’s unlocked. He might be napping. Call to him from the doorway.” He tipped up her face so their gazes met. “Don’t, under any circumstances, get too close. He’s deadly when he’s coming awake from a battle nap. Understand?”

  “Yes.” She nodded and wondered if she’d have to worry about him.

  In tune with her as always, he kissed her lightly. “It’ll be different with us, sweetheart. I know your scent, feel you under my skin. You’ll never be in any danger from me. Understood?”

  “Yes.” She understood—he was her mate. They belonged to one another. Why had it happened? She didn’t bleeding know. But one thing she did know—he was sending her away from perceived danger.

  Like hell. She dug her heels into the carpet and refused to budge when he gave her another ligh
t push toward the main room.

  Her lips firmed. “I’m not leaving you.”

  While most people would find simple reasons for the turned-down bed, neither one of them thought it was innocuous. Their shared conclusion said something about their shared perception of the world in which they lived. Yeah, they were meant for one another, would be good partners as long as her man learned that she needed to be by his side, danger or not.

  “Sweetheart—” Her macho-man heaved an exasperated sigh. “I’m not investigating until you move back—as in the next suite back.”

  She didn’t move, just stubbornly planted her feet still in her jeweled sandals and crossed her arms over her chest covered only in Sam’s shirt.

  “Jesus—” Sam shook his head as he tapped his smart watch to activate the SSI communication system. “Ren? Someone’s been in Dawn’s bedroom. Can you check the hotel security feed for the hallway outside her room? Whoever was here had to have entered after she left the room this morning at—” He turned to her and frowned since she still hadn’t moved.

  Dawn held his gaze as she tapped her watch and activated her com unit. “Ren, I left the suite at 9:30. Sam and I returned here shortly after noon.” She then glared at her soon-to-be lover. “I’m not leaving you.”

  Ren laughed. “Problem enforcing orders, buddy?”

  “Yeah, she’s mule-headed. Don’t laugh. You have one just like her.”

  “Yeah, I do. Best thing that ever happened to me,” Ren replied. “Why do you think someone’s been in her room?”

  “The room isn’t as I left it—” Dawn refused to let the male bonding continue at her and Keely’s expense.

  Sam cut her off before she could add anything. “I want to examine the area to make sure there’s nothing that might blow up in our faces. Either you or security get back to me ASAP.”

  “Got it. Stay safe. Dawn, if Sam tells you to vacate—” Ren paused, then heaved a sigh. “At least give it due consideration, okay?”

  “I will.” She swept her hand up and down Sam’s tense back. “But I’ll probably drag his arse with me.”

  Ren was laughing as he cut off the transmission from his side. The audio from their side was still transmitting, so hotel security, Keely, Ren, and Conn could hear what was happening.

  Dawn moved to the other side of the bed and got down on all fours and looked underneath. “I don’t see anything obvious over here. No wires or anything looking like a bomb.”

  “Dawn, what the fuck? Get back over here. Now.”

  Her Marine was past pissed and well into coldly furious. Tough.

  “No. If you’re staying, I’m staying—and helping.” If Sam wanted her gone, he could go with her and let the locals handle the search of her room.

  Sam was there in an instant to swing her into his arms. “You’re outta here. I’ll clear the fucking room.” He carried her into the living area, placed her on the couch, and covered her with a fluffy throw.

  “Bloody cave man.”

  “Where you’re concerned, I am.” Sam bent over her, his arms caging her body on the sofa. “Stay here.”

  She moved her face close enough to his that their noses touched. “Fine. But if I wasn’t bare-arsed under your shirt and Conn, and probably bloody hotel security, weren’t already on their way here, I’d be clearing that bedroom with you. Got it?”

  Sam snarled, “Little cat, don’t…”

  A loud knock on the door and a key card being used cut off whatever macho-male pronouncement might’ve come out of Sam’s mouth. He straightened, placed his body between her and the suite entrance, and had his weapon aimed at the opening door.

  “It’s me. Don’t shoot.” Conn’s voice shouted. “I’ve got Theo Van Thiel, head of resort security, with me.”

  “Come in.” Sam looked over his shoulder and glowered, his look highly possessive. “Stay under that blanket, little cat.”

  Dawn bristled like an angry kitten, but she decided not to move since Sam seemed to be in an elevated state of dominant maleness. In her experience, such a state often led to temporary insanity.

  Conn and Theo entered. Theo, a tall Dutchman with brown hair and green eyes, had been the man who’d brought her and Conn into the hotel through the back way earlier that day.

  “Hi, guys.” Dawn peeked around Sam’s body and smiled at them. Then she sighed with exasperation as Sam moved to block the men’s view. “Stop hovering, luv. Why don’t you go check the room?”

  “Giving me orders, little cat?” Sam’s lips twisted in a brief smile. She nodded. “I don’t scare you at all, do I?” he asked.

  “Not a bit.” She winked.

  Sam looked at Conn and Theo. “She does not move. I want to check out the bed. I think I saw a lump under the bedspread.”

  “Really?” Dawn glared at Sam’s naked back as he strode toward the bedroom. His back was strongly muscled with the scars of the warrior he had been and was. But it was his arse that was a work of art. She wanted to grab his arse cheeks and knead and squeeze them.

  Conn and Theo came to stand behind the sofa, distracting her from her prurient thoughts. Both men examined her as if looking for damage.

  “I’m fine. Nothing happened.” She shrugged. “Sam snatched me up and out of the room before I could start searching.”

  A muffled shot came from the bedroom. Dawn jumped and couldn’t hold back a gasp. Conn and Theo turned as one, their weapons in their hands, pointed at the bedroom. And just as Sam had earlier, they placed their bodies between her and any potential danger.

  “Sam!” Throwing off the blanket, she jumped up and skirted the men’s bodies, and headed for the bedroom. “Sam—!”

  Sam walked out of the bedroom, a dead snake dangling from one hand, his weapon in the other.

  Dawn stopped dead in her tracks. “A s-s-s-snake?” she stuttered.

  With weak knees and shaky legs, she backed away until she reached the couch and then collapsed on the cushions and pulled the blanket around her. She fucking hated snakes, was scared to death of the slithery, fanged creatures. She’d rather face down a band of brain-eating zombies than a single snake. Going to find Sam in the Belizean jungle had taken every ounce of courage she’d possessed—and she still had nightmares about that night. But she’d done it since there had been no other choice at the time.

  “Dawn?” Sam threw the snake onto the kitchen bar counter and then came to her. He picked her up and then sat on the couch, placing her on his lap. “You went white all of a sudden. You okay?”

  “Was it poisonous?” Her teeth chattered, but she couldn’t help it. She buried her face against his neck and inhaled his unique male musk. His smell calmed her as did the hand he rubbed up and down her back.

  “Yeah.” Sam’s voice promised murder for the person who’d placed it in her bed. He rubbed his stubbled cheek over her hair. “Herr Van Thiel, tell me you got a clear picture of the fucker who entered her room.”

  “Yes.” Theo turned his attention to her. “Lady Wilson, I am sorry you had a scare.” The Dutchman held up a computer tablet. “Herr Crocker. Lady Wilson. Do either of you recognize this man?”

  “Call me Sam, please.” Sam reached for the tablet.

  “And I am Theo.” Theo handed the tablet to Sam.

  Sam cursed under his breath. “Fuck me. The mother-fucking, pecker-headed douchebag.”

  Dawn blinked and focused on the image. “That’s Ron Lloyd.”

  “Who’s Ron Lloyd?” Conn asked.

  “He’s an Interpol agent I had the misfortune to work with.” She looked at the tablet again, making sure her eyes hadn’t played tricks on her, then turned her gaze toward Sam. “What in the bleeding fucking hell is that fucking wanker doing here?”

  Sam’s eyes blazed with anger. “Don’t know. We’ll find the fucker and ask him.”

  Dawn had a fairly good idea of what Sam’s method of questioning would involve. Ron would end up bloody and bruised. The mental image made her happy.

  “Yeah,
we’ll ask him.” Then she shuddered. “I’m extremely grateful you found the snake and not me. I hate snakes… they’re my only real phobia. The arsehole knew that. Bloody buggering twat. I’ll kick his fucking arse and then feed him the bloody snake.”

  Theo coughed back a laugh. Yeah, she swore like a trooper, to the despair of her mother.

  Sam hugged her. “Happy to kill any and all snakes for you.”

  “Thanks, luv.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

  “Who is this Lloyd person?” said Theo, a frown on his handsome face. “Is he part of the human trafficking operation with the Sheikh and the MacLean person you’re making contact with in my casino?”

  “Ron Lloyd was assigned to an Interpol Incident Response team that Dawn was also assigned to.” Sam frowned. “He’s not part of our current operation. He could’ve been hired to kill her, but it could also be personal. Obviously, he’s a threat to Dawn. Also, he could endanger our mission if MacLean recognizes him as Interpol, since that agency—and Lloyd’s team—had been investigating him for drug trafficking.”

  Theo’s face grew dark with concern. “I will have my people and the military officers liaised to this operation look for this Lloyd and hold him for the police.”

  “Thanks, Theo. That will be very helpful,” said Dawn. “You should coordinate your search for Ron with Keely Walsh-Maddox.”

  “I met Keely earlier when she came by with her husband to view our security room. She appears to be a very competent computer specialist,” Theo said.

  Dawn had to laugh. “Very competent” was an understatement. Keely was one of the brightest of the bright in computer investigation and security in the world. “Yes, she is. I’m sure she has facial recognition software she can share with you that will make the hunt go more quickly.”

  Theo smiled. “Keely’s already monitoring our system from the estate where she is staying. It will be just a matter of letting her know that this person is present and needs to be found. She has already found two fugitives on the Interpol most-wanted list. The national police have already arrested them. I have no doubt if this Lloyd person is somewhere within range of our security cameras she will find him. If not, my men or the Dutch marines will locate him.” Theo paused, then asked, “Can you assure me he is not a direct danger to the resort guests?”