by Diane Saxon
Perhaps it was time. Time for her to trust too.
Chapter Ten
“Professor Salter?”
He stopped himself from blowing out a disgusted breath, but he really thought he’d bought them all a little more time. He already suspected who it was, though, when he answered the phone on the first ring.
“Yes. What can I do for you?”
“I’m afraid it’s not what you can do for me, Dominic, but what I have been unable to hold back for you. I’ve been in discussions regarding Captain Barbara Lynn Perry. Strachan has made a claim that Barbara has knowledge of a criminal activity, and he’s adamant that she should be questioned regarding the matter.”
He could tell him that he’d not yet reached his own conclusions, but he had nothing. Not even the full story from Barbara, so how could he possibly be surprised at the decision? What did surprise him was the swiftness with which it had been acted upon.
“It would be far easier all around if Barbara volunteers to come in. I can dispatch an agent to collect her first thing in the morning. She’ll be escorted to an army facility where they’ll look after her. She’ll be treated with the greatest respect. She’ll have as much help as she needs, and if she has any information, they’ll be able to coax it from her.” If they could, they’d do a better job than he had. Although time had been against them, the race was now over. She’d at least be safe if they sent an agent to collect her. Once she was in the army facility, even Strachan wouldn’t dare go near her.
As Dominic hung up, he knew the colonel firmly believed in the justice she would receive once she was there, as he did.
He leaned his elbows on his desk, rubbed his lower lip between his fingers, and stared at the closed door of his study.
He was about to lose her.
His chest tightened with painful regret and the stupid belief she was his to lose. She’d never been his, because he’d never allowed it. He’d let his job and moral code stand in the way of something his heart had told him all along was right.
Well, no longer. There was nothing to stand in his way. She wasn’t his ward anymore. He’d been set free.
A fire of determination lit in his belly and coursed through his veins as he surged to his feet and strode with resolve from his office. He was damned if he was going to let her go just like that.
If it was the last thing he did, and it very well might be, he was going to make Captain Barbara Lynn Perry his, if only for one night.
He strode from the room and almost took Zak off his feet as he took the stairs two at a time.
“Everything okay, Dominic?”
“It is.” Impatient, the only thing he wanted was to push his way past Zak to get to Barbara. But he trusted Zak, knew he needed his help. “They’re sending someone to get Barbara in the morning. She doesn’t know yet.”
Zak’s eyebrows winged upward. “Strachan?”
“No. An agent.”
“Will she run?”
Dominic shook his head. “I’m not going to take the risk. I’ll tell her in the morning. I think it’s best all around. She’ll be safe.”
The frantic beat of his heart galloped in the base of his throat.
“Fine. It’s your call.” Zak’s mouth tightened fractionally while he squinted down at Dominic. “I’ve checked the place again for bugs. You never know. Everything’s clear. I’m about to head outside, check the grounds.” He hesitated for a second longer and then ducked his head and set off down the stairs. “You won’t hear from me again tonight.”
»»•««
In the inky depths of her room, she knew it was Dominic who’d slipped through the door while she was taking a shower. His fresh scent wafted on the heavy air. Not cheap aftershave and body odor like Strachan, but his own distinct, subtle fragrance. Indisputably him.
It assailed her senses, charmed her world.
The moment she sensed him, she’d chosen to remain in obscurity, making the decision to switch off the bathroom light and plunge them into darkness.
She stepped in deeper, welcomed by the shadows, with only the silver moonlight slanting through the slats in the blinds to light her way. Ready to expose herself to whatever the man would bring, it no longer mattered. She was his, whatever his decision. He’d won the battle with patience and understanding and barely even put up a fight.
His breath whispered softly across her skin. The warm touch of his lips smoothed her cheek. “We’re not going to have sex, Barbara.”
It was too late to save herself. He’d already melted her insides, and liquid warmth pooled low. Compliant, she allowed him to trail delicate kisses to the corner of her mouth, only registering his words when the torment stopped. Reluctant to acknowledge his meaning, she opened her eyes to gaze at his beautiful features. She blinked to bring him into focus through the stripes of light and shade slashed across his face, highlighting his turbulent eyes and the outline of his beautiful mouth.
They weren’t going to have sex, dammit. She’d known, even expected a second rejection, but this time it hurt, far more than the first. This time her heart was involved.
He raised his hand to sweep her hair in a tender action from her forehead, along her temple to circle her ear while his firm lips quirked. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Her voice rasped from her dry throat, making his lips twitch even more.
What was he doing there if it wasn’t to have sex? He’d only ever come to her room to apologize. What brought him there now?
Aggravated with his unnecessary cruelty and ashamed at her own stupidity, she whipped around, determined to escape him, only to have his arm snake around her waist. The hard band of muscle surprised her with its strength as he yanked her hard up against his solid chest. For a geeky type, he was well honed. There wasn’t a breath of air between her back as it fit flush against his chest and stomach.
“I…”
“I thought you said you understood.” His voice rasped in her ear, his accent smooth and thick.
Tired of his torment, she placed her hands on his steely forearm and braced herself to try and place some distance between them. She needed to breathe, and it was less his tight hold on her than his mere proximity. Confused by the contradiction of his words, embarrassed by her own foolishness, she wriggled in his embrace, all to no effect.
She tightened her mouth. If she’d been in the Dreampsych Transcender encompassed in a dream, she may just have put a bullet through his heart by now to put a stop to the torment. “I don’t understand. You seem to take pleasure in tormenting me. If we’re not going to have sex, then what do you think you’re doing?”
The touch of his firm lips on the top of her ear sent her pulse racing. She froze.
“Seducing you.”
“But…”
“Seduction isn’t about the sex, Barbara. It’s about the emotions. Desire, want, need.” He paused, nipped the top of her ear with his teeth, and weakened her knees. “Lust.” The heat of his hand against her stomach soaked through her T-shirt, branding her, already making her his as he drew her closer. The desire to escape him no longer filled her as she tilted her head back to listen to the smoky cadence of his voice. “It’s about the anticipation. Taking things one delicious…” his warm breath tickled the hairs on the back of her neck, “step…” he brushed his lips across the tender skin under her ear, “at…” smoothed them down the length of her neck, “…a time.”
She didn’t want him to control her. She just wanted him. Now. But as she tried to turn in his arms to face him once more, he held her firm. He slipped his hand under her T-shirt and spread his fingers across the cooler skin of her stomach. The sharp nip of his teeth on the cord of her neck held her motionless.
“I want to beguile you.” He already had. “Entice you.” He didn’t need to. “Persuade you to do everything I want.” It wouldn’t take much to persuade her, all he had to do was ask. She was his for the taking, but it appeared he didn’t simply want to take her, he wanted so much more
than she was willing or able to give. She realized now it wasn’t just her body he wanted, but a piece of her soul. A soul she wasn’t sure she could share. A soul she’d kept hidden for so long, she wasn’t sure it even existed anymore.
Her breath came in small, shuddering hitches.
“It’s okay, Barbara. One step at a time.” His voice itself was a seduction, a smooth captivation. He slipped his fingers under the loose waistline of her pajama pants and trailed them in soothing circles on the soft flesh of her belly just below her navel. “I have you.”
He’d used the terminology before, several times, making her wonder if he told everyone, or whether he reserved it especially for her.
“Dominic.” There was something she had to say, something really important, and if he’d just stop the enticing stroke of his fingers, if his heat wasn’t melting her bones, she might be able to churn a thought through her brain. “I thought…” His breath sighed over her flesh. She was never going to forgive herself for this, but it had to be said. “It went against your principles to have sex with a patient.”
If she could have dragged the words back through her mouth, she would have. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair, but she’d had to remind him. How would he possibly forgive himself or her if they made love? She’d discovered he was a good man. A man of honor, morals, code.
His arms tautened around her waist, steel bands frozen in place as his breath held. When he let it out on a small puff of laughter to feather across her ear, goose bumps sprinkled her skin while her bones turned to melted wax.
“It’s just as well my doctor/patient status with you has been terminated in that case.”
She wanted to question him about it, but hadn’t the strength of will to ask as his warm lips caressed the back of her neck, smoothed across her shoulder as he nudged the thin strap of her top to one side, all the time tracing small circles on her stomach with his fingers.
“I…”
“They’re going to send someone in the morning to escort you to an army facility. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
“But…”
“Ssshh, not now. Later, when we’re done.”
She could go for that. A short while of mind-numbing sex with the good professor was exactly what she needed. She couldn’t agree more, but he really needed to speed things up, because she was way ahead of him.
The welcome heat of his hand enveloped her breast. The soft press of his palm kneaded as he tucked his face into her neck and nuzzled his firm lips against her flesh. Assailed by sensation, she stood powerless, not knowing whether she preferred the gentle scrape of his teeth, the soft caress of his hand on her breast, or the promise of what his other hand might do as it slipped lower.
He grazed his fingers over her skin, raising a fine tremor as he slipped them between her legs, making her knees go lax. She leaned into his solid warmth to enjoy the tender slide and graze from hands not quite as soft as a professor’s should be.
“Oh good Christ, Barbara,” he murmured into the side of her neck, inducing a desperate groan to vibrate through her chest. He’d said touch was more important than speech, but she could do neither as she relaxed against him, absorbing the feelings he evoked by the stroke of his fingers, the gentle squeeze of his hand. He was killing her with the leisurely, seductive sweep of his tongue along the back of her neck.
It seemed the professor had more than just a great knowledge of the mind. His capacity to create pleasure showed an innate understanding of the female body.
“Dominic, I…”
“Not yet. Nice and slow.”
She bucked beneath the onslaught of his teasing fingers. It was there, relief from his torment was just beyond her, if only he would move instead of… He drove her crazy with the slow withdrawal of his fingers, until she blew out a sigh and waited.
The cool of the night air swept across her overheated skin as he let go of her. About to protest, the breath stopped in her throat as he spun her around to face him. He cupped her face in his hands and squinted through the oblique slashes of light into her eyes.
“Have you never done it slow?”
With no thought of lying to him, she shook her head. Not in so very, very long.
He swept his fingers through her hair. “My Barbara, always in a rush to get things done.” He’d called her his, but she wasn’t really. It was all part of the seduction dance. She was aware it was calculated, he knew exactly how to maneuver her with his brilliant mind games, but she was beyond caring and unable to stop the hopeful thrum of her heart.
He brushed his lips over the tip of her nose, her eyelids. “Well, in that case, my darlin’, let’s have these things off you and show you how it’s supposed to be done.”
Before her mind had acknowledged he was about to make a move, he’d already whipped her T-shirt up and over her head as her leaden arms had allowed him to do exactly as he wanted. Not always steadfast and slow.
He’d drugged her, not with narcotics but with the sweet intoxication of hope and desire.
He pulled at the silky cord on her pajama pants, and they dropped in a lazy slither to pool at her feet. His thick black lashes dipped as he took a moment to rake his gaze over her from head to toe. Then in another sleek movement, he swept her off her feet, taking just four swift strides across to the bed.
With a tenderness she’d never before experienced, he lay her on the crisp cobalt cover and let her sink into the downiness of the duvet. Sensation set her skin alight, the cool slide of the cotton, the heavy weight of Dominic as he settled on top of her, propping himself up on his elbows. The graze of his jeans against her naked legs sent shivers across her flesh.
She watched his eyes, turbulent and stormy as they glittered in the moonlight, and despite his display of tenderness, his desperation bubbled just beneath the surface. He dipped his head and still managed to smooth a gentle kiss over her collarbone. His lips feathered across the top of her bosom to play havoc with her senses.
Was she supposed to let him set the pace? It seemed she had no say in the matter. Slower than she could ever recall making love, his mouth warm and damp opened against her nipple to suck it in strong pulls against his tongue, while his hands took a leisurely route from her waist upward to cup her breasts and knead them in a delicate torment.
The thick swath of his hair brushed her overheated flesh, and she raised her hand to thread her fingers through its silkiness, drawing his head closer, offering her breast like a gift to him.
A swift line of fire shot through her veins, burned higher as he scraped his teeth over her tautened nipple and moved to the other one to give it the same treatment.
Her entire body jerked and strained until he smoothed his hands down to her hips to hold them still.
He raised his passion-filled gaze to meet hers. “I’ve never known a woman so keen to reach the end before she’s even past the starting post.”
Her harsh, choking sob served no purpose. He simply smiled and dipped his head once more to trail delicate nibbles back up to the base of her throat where her pulse thrummed in time with the one between her legs.
Impatient, she wriggled beneath him and slipped her hands up the inside of his crisp, white shirt. His muscles bunched and flexed, proving he was nowhere near as unaffected as he wanted her to believe.
“Dominic.”
He traced tantalizing nips along her jawline to the base of her ear. “Hmmm?”
She forced herself to remain still until she had his full attention. Silver glimmered through his eyes to make them a wicked temptation. She raised her hand in wanton appeal to stroke his whiskered cheek, thrilling at the quiet rasp as her fingernails grazed over his face.
“I want to feel your skin against mine, naked and ready.”
“I’ve never been more ready in my entire life.”
“Then show me.”
He slipped from the bed, his movements just jerky enough to show he wasn’t as calm as he wanted her to believe. He stripped his shirt, exposi
ng his body to the moonlight, lean and chiseled, his chest muscles flexed as he bent forward to slide his jeans and boxers down his legs and kick them off the end of his feet, the sound of his shoes making a soft thud on the carpet.
She took her time to rake her gaze from his fine feet, up his legs. Firm calves and solid thighs, the shadows depicted every dip and curve of muscle. The fine smattering of dark hair over his skin thickened as her slow scrutiny stopped at the juncture between his thighs. She raised her brows at his impressive erection, almost blurted out some trite comment, but she’d lost the ability to be flippant.
She tracked the line of his slender hips, his slim waist, and followed the thin line of hair until it flared over his broad chest.
A smile tugged at her lips when she noticed the fast contraction of his neck muscles as he tried to swallow. The professor didn’t have such tight control after all.
Patience at an end, she opened her mouth to speak, but his darkened eyes held hers as he slid onto the bed, parted her legs to nudge his hips in between them, and braced himself above her.
He pushed against her, slid in deep and smooth aided by her heat and her wetness. She clutched at his shoulders, ready to weather the stormy ride, but he held himself rigid above her, inside her, still watching. A small smile quirked his lips.
“Is that better?”
She could have howled, wanted to in her frustration, but instead she dug her nails into his shoulders in a desperate attempt to encourage him to get on with it, only to find it had the opposite effect of making him withdraw almost all the way.
“Dominic.”
“It’s okay, I have you.” He braced his elbows on either side of her head and sank down on her so her entire body was covered by him. He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers as he pushed back inside, deeper, harder, but still as aggravatingly slow. His lips nibbled at hers as he repeated the move, setting up a fine tremor so she forgot her frustration and concentrated on the sleek, smooth slide of him.
When he moved again, she slipped her hands down over his fine, muscular backside, gave a firm squeeze, and appreciated the powerful surge as he thrust inside her again to leave her overheated and breathless. Once more and she scraped her nails up his spine and slipped her legs out from under his to wrap them around his hips, encouraging him deeper, but he never gave up his steady rhythm.