by Carmen Faye
***
It had taken him a moment to regain his composure. Asher wasn’t expecting the agent to react as she did and it had done a number on him
He couldn’t lie. She was hot. But it was more than the perky tits crying for his attention. It was her. The sound of her voice as she tried to keep things professional. The way her legs trembled every time she looked into his eyes. Something deep inside of her that was calling to him and begging him to take her as his own.
Still, he hadn’t expected the kiss. She hadn’t asked. She hadn’t let on that she was going to cave. She’d just turned and fucking kissed him. And his body had reacted with a jolt that he wasn’t very familiar with.
He had known instantly that he had to stop this. He couldn’t let this woman get inside his head like that. He had to keep it about what it was. Sex. Hot and passionate sex. But still just sex. She was too dangerous to his life.
That was when he’d pulled her closer and forced his tongue into her mouth. Not that it’d been hard. She’d almost sighed as she parted those sexy lips and let it slip inside.
“Mmm,” he heard her moan as his hand slipped down to her bare ass and squeezed.
Asher knew women and he’d been able to spot her weakness almost immediately. The sound of his voice. The words he used. The fact he watched her. She liked it all and he’d played on that. But he had to remind himself of the purpose. The reason he’d done it all.
Asher knew the game well. He had played it for years. Charm them. Please them. Let them scream his name. Then they’ll leave him alone.
Granted, he rarely brought them into his home, into his bedroom, into his passion for dominating them. Most of the women he’d encountered to keep himself out of trouble were simpler. Wining. Dining. Complimenting. Romancing.
There was that one judge who really liked the powerful side of him in the bedroom. But nothing like Agent Melissa Fuller.
It wasn’t that Asher didn’t care about these women. He’d grown to care about many of them. But he always grew tired of them. He was the proverbial bad boy and most of them were just so good, so willing to jump into bed with him, so easy. They couldn’t put their careers on the line, but they rarely tried so damn hard to stand up to him. Not like this naughty ATF agent.
There was something about her….something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It had attracted him the moment she stood before him downstairs. It was a dangerous something and it went beyond the badge and authority she possessed.
He slid his hand from her backside and grabbed her hair. The soft tendrils wrapped easily around his fingers and he tugged them. A groan slipped from the mouth he currently possessed and it drove him a little bit wilder. He had to put a stop to the sensations that he was having and that meant pushing her a bit farther.
Asher had promised her he wouldn’t force anything. But he had to have control in this situation and that meant she had to give it to him.
His mouth pulled away from hers and he watched the longing flood her cheeks as she looked up at him.
“Why Agent Fuller.” He smirked in her direction, “I do believe you are trying to seduce me,” he chuckled lightly.
“Me? Seduce you?” She huffed louder than he’d expected. “I wouldn’t seduce you if you were the last man left on earth!” She snapped.
“And yet,” he stated. “I don’t believe I ever asked you for that kiss.” The grin on his face widened as Melissa’s face flooded with crimson.
***
Damn him. It was the only thought that Melissa had in her mind. Damn this man for what he was doing to her. First he made her body go crazy. He fucked with her head because she knew better than to want a man like this. Then he teased her into turning around and planting a kiss on him. And once that was done, he turned it on her and made it seem like he didn’t really want her. Now she was naked, at a loss for words, and worst of all, she wanted more.
She wondered if maybe this was a game. Perhaps he was doing nothing more than making her crazy enough to leave him alone. Keeping himself out of trouble. It wouldn’t be unheard of. Criminals did a lot of things to save their ass. If it happened she’d likely deserve it for letting it go there.
That wasn’t the problem. Her issue in that moment was the way she felt at the idea. The sadness that enveloped her body. What in the hell was wrong with her? She didn’t need this kind of nonsense when she was working.
The thought made her laugh. She was working. Naked. In the bedroom of the county’s worst criminal. She was working.
“Right,” she conceded. “You weren’t asking or looking for anything, were you?” her confidence was fake, but she was pretty sure she nailed it.
She watched as he entertained her comment. His facial expression remained unchanged, but she saw some emotions flicker through his eyes. There was no sense in trying to understand them when she didn’t even understand the man that was experiencing them.
“I didn’t say that,” he finally told her. “There are plenty of things I want.”
Her body shivered at the thought of what his words meant. She couldn’t deny that she wanted this man. She told herself that it was just a physical attraction. Chemistry that she’d never had with another man before. But the flinch deep inside her gut told her that she was lying.
Fuller knew that she needed to regain her composure. The only way to get through this situation was to stay in control of her emotions. But her body was fighting her every step of the way. Her desire was getting in the way of her common sense.
She backed up and moved towards where her clothes were. She had to stop this and remember her goal, her mission. For starters, it sure as hell wasn’t be naked and entertaining the idea of kinky sex with her target. If she did, she could forget about the respect she tried to gain at the office, and she’d sure as hell lose the biggest case of her career. No amount of chemistry was worth it.
“Too bad, Mr. Hudson. The kiss is the best you’re going to get,” she smiled and grabbed her underwear from the floor at her feet. “My moment of weakness is over.”
She felt his presence behind her and the heat of his breath against the nape of her neck. “You’re right. That’s entirely too bad.” His voice was quiet and low. “I was looking forward to the sight of you in handcuffs by choice and begging for me.”
“Hope you aren’t holding your breath for that to happen,” She lied and tried to contain her emotions as she slipped her clothes back on, denying her body what it wanted the most.
***
Asher didn’t say another word. He watched Melissa get dressed and watched as she sat down in the chair across the room from the bed. He thought again how unattractive her wardrobe was, but mostly he was trying to calm the storm that was taking place inside of him.
To say he was disappointed was an understatement. But he knew she was lying—to him and possibly even to herself. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. There was no way she didn’t feel the spark. The heat between them whenever they were near each other wasn’t just in his head. He’d seen it in her eyes when she’d been on the bed under him.
That chemistry was what he was most afraid of. Asher Hudson did not have time for something like that. It would be suicide for his career and mission. Especially with an ATF agent hell bent on seeing his ass in prison.
As she looked around the room and avoided his gaze he had one last thought on the matter of Agent Fuller.
He would most definitely fuck her. If he had his way, that would be soon.
CHAPTER 4
Melissa jumped as she was startled awake by a random noise she couldn’t place. The life of anyone fighting the bad guys meant that you slept light and you heard everything. It stood to reason that this would be stronger when being held captive. Even if captivity meant being left in the bedroom of a man you wanted to fuck, and you were left alone for the better part of an entire day dreaming lurid thoughts of languid arms in tangled sheets.
It took her some time to find the light, and once t
he room lit up, she was disappointed to learn that she was alone and the noise appeared to be nothing important.
Asher hadn’t returned to his room for sleep or anything else. Half-heartedly, Melissa tried the door and discovered it was locked. Of course it’s locked. She looked around and noted that there were no windows and no other ways to escape.
At least he left me in a comfortable place. She made her way over to the small bar he had in the corner and looked inside of it, hoping that there might be more than liquor. Unfortunately, the only alternative was water. She’d almost kill someone for a damned cup of coffee at that point.
Exhaustion had overcome her after the festivities of being caught and she’d fallen asleep soon after Hudson left her along in the room. He didn’t say much after she’d gotten dressed. Somehow, that intrigued her.
She had a knack for dreaming about the cases that she was on, and this case was different. Except… Her face flushed as her mind replayed the dream even as it faded like water leaking through her fingers. Her body. Spanking. Handcuffs. His body. She was somewhere between excited and pissed off about how this man got to her the way he did.
Regardless of the desire she felt, she had to keep herself in control. That was first and foremost. A team was no doubt searching for her at that very moment and it would suck to be killed before they got there.
A shudder went through her. How could a man she feared killing her turn her on the way he had? Why was she sitting here, still wanting to touch him and let him touch her?
The sad part was that this was the first time it’d ever happened. Yes she’d been with men. She’d even been happy with a few of them. But nothing like this. And all we did was frigging kiss! The feelings overwhelming her body were more along the lines of those cheesy romance novels her sister Bonnie read all the damned time. They shouldn’t exist. Yet here she was.
She wondered how she would get out of this. Not the ache for his body, but the house she being held in. Against her will. Although the small tingle when she heard footsteps in the hallway outside told her that maybe her will wasn’t as strong as she thought it was.
The sound passed her door and she realized it wasn’t him. That pissed her off again. The least he could do was make sure she was okay. Some food would be nice too. She was starving. Maybe that was the plan. He was going to let her starve to death.
She was not in the right environment for her jeans and long sleeve top. She was not only uncomfortable, she was going to sweat to death. The room was excessively warm. Maybe she should have prepared better for potential capture and worn something a little more appropriate.
Melissa decided it wasn’t a big deal. Hudson was nowhere to be seen and she could relax some. That thought led her over to his dresser to see what was available. She almost screamed in excitement when she found an entire drawer of t-shirts.
Picking one up, she held it to her face and took a whiff. It had the same scent she’d smelled on him the day before. A musky scent she didn’t recognize. And even if I did, it’s not like I can afford anything like it. The shirt seemed quite large for her, but she decided that it would do for the moment.
Dressing quickly in case he came back, Melissa slipped off her top and jeans; replacing them with his massive t-shirt. She tried not to think of how he would look with the material draped across his muscular torso, but the idea invaded her thoughts.
Reaching underneath the shirt she slipped off her bra and stacked it neatly with her own clothes. Now she was comfortable. One last quick sniff of the fabric and she settled down to try and figure out how she was supposed to get food if there was no one was around.
***
"You have my word," Asher's voice was firm. He wasn't pleading, but he wasn't ordering either. "The agent is not a problem. I’ll take care of her"
He slipped the phone back into his pocket. It had been a difficult day at best. Hudson had been unable to attend his scheduled meeting and that made him look bad. Even though he had sent Dakota to lead and he trusted Dakota with everything; it was him that was expected to be in charge.
Apparently someone had found out about the girl upstairs. She was in his home and he was already canceling meetings. But no one understood his reasons. He couldn’t be seen out and about. It was too risky.
Whether they could prove it or not, the ATF knew he had their newest token of legitimate work. They may not actively be on the hunt, but if they saw him, there would be no choice. Besides, to the best of his knowledge, at least one other agent was on the up and up.
The only thing going for him at that moment was that this entire operation had been illegal. He wasn’t sure if Melissa was aware of that or not, but he’d found out almost as soon as she was in discovered in his home. It paid to have friends in high places sometimes.
There was no legitimate reason for her to be inside his home. And no one had a specific location for where it was. Only a rough idea. Except for the one who’d provided her with the false details of his basement. He knew exactly where Asher lived; but he’d never set foot on the property.
She really wasn’t going to be a problem. Unless he continued to let her get under his skin. But she was changing the way things were handled for a minute and some of his guys didn’t like that.
What the fuck was he doing? Asher asked himself as he walked around the kitchen aimlessly. Thank God the guys were gone. He would never want to be seen this way.
There was a sexy fucking woman in his bed and he was in the kitchen, making a goddamn sandwich.
She came into his home and threatened everything he had, turned him on beyond anything he'd experienced, and he was making her a goddamned sandwich. That was completely unacceptable.
She was a tough cookie. He'd seen the way she reacted to him, saw the way she longed for more, and felt the way she’d kissed him. She wanted him. But the part that didn’t was just as strong. She was battling good and evil in her mind, not even fully aware of who really played those roles.
She’d been asleep for hours. About a dozen of them. He imagined she didn’t sleep well or often. Her job was a tough one. And it looks like she’d been set up as bait because she was the new girl. It pissed him off. Not only because he now had to deal with her, but because she seemed apt enough to handle her shit.
Asher wanted her to submit. To beg. To want him. But he wasn’t sure if that was because he needed the control or because he needed her. He didn’t want to explore it and find out.
Fuck it. So now he was making a sandwich. Just my fucking luck.
***
“Much sexier than when I left.” Melissa hadn’t heard the door and jumped at Asher’s voice.
“There’s a new thing called knocking. You should try it sometime.” she snapped and ignored the comment that caused a stir inside of her again.
“There’s a thing called privacy.” He smiled at her. “You should try it sometime before breaking in and…” he paused long enough to look her over from head to toe. “Stealing someone’s clothes.”
The words surprised her and she felt her face flush. She hadn’t even really thought about it when she’d done it. She just wanted something comfortable and she assumed he owned t-shirts. She’d been right, but now she was realizing she was also wrong.
“I….I’m sorry…I….It was….Hot.” The words were broken up as she tried to explain why she’d gone through his things.
“It’s okay,” he nodded and set a plate down on the bar. “Besides.” He turned to face her, “That just means you’re one step closer to naked.”
Her face flushed again for a different reason. Her nipples stiffened beneath the fabric and she saw his eyes move to look at them.
“Make that two.” He winked and brought the plate to her. “Hungry?”
“You read my mind,” she smiled and took the plate. Slowly she began to eat the sandwich and chips he’d brought to her. “Thanks,” she managed between bites.
“No problem,” he answered and sat down at the foot of the be
d.
The two of them sat in silence as she ate her food. "Why do you do it?" She finally asked.
"Do what?"
"Crime, drugs, all of it. Why do you do it?" She looked at him and in that moment he wanted to toss that sandwich aside and give her something else to enjoy.
"It's not the way you see it." He smiled, knowing she'd never believe him. "But you’re trained to see things the way you do." He shrugged and took a sip of the coffee he was holding.
“I’d kill for coffee.” She sighed.
“Have this, and I’ll pass on the killing.” He offered his cup to her.
“Are we going to do that?” she looked up at him with questions in her eyes.
