Not for the first time, she was reminded that he had put his life on the line for her.
But it didn’t negate the fact that he’d kept the truth of her brother’s death from her.
Still, she didn’t pull away from his touch.
“Now, are you going to answer me, Jarrod Martin, or do I need to sit you down on this bed and interrogate you as you have interrogated me?”
His lips formed a smile, like he found what she was saying to be some kind of turn-on instead of the castigation it was intended to be. She considered correcting him, but oh, that smile. She loved that smile.
“Ask away.” He let go of her hands and sat down upon the bed.
“How did my brother die?”
“Do you really want to know?” he asked, giving her a look of pity.
“I just need to know if he suffered.” The lump returned in her throat.
“No, don’t worry, it was quick,” Jarrod said, taking hold of her fingers and giving them a reassuring and apologetic squeeze. “During my questioning, the rookie agent, Agent Arthur was there.”
“My Arthur?” she asked, some of the faintness she had been feeling threatening to return.
“The one and only.” Jarrod nodded. “Your brother moved for something in his pocket and pulled out a pen. Agent Arthur mistook it for a weapon and shot him in the chest. At least that was how it seemed at the time. Now I have to assume he intended to kill him all along.”
“What happened to Arthur?” she asked, moving to sit back down on the bed beside Jarrod.
“I’m sure his actions are being investigated by the CIA. Though spooks have a different set of standards, shooting someone in the middle of interrogation isn’t something they are going to ignore.”
“And you think Arthur was out to murder my brother?” Her words came out as a whisper, like they were some kind of secret that she could barely utter.
“Until I saw that photo, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. But now I’m sure that was his intention.” Jarrod reached up and pushed a loose hair behind her ear. “Are you feeling any better?”
She had been until now. Just when she thought her world couldn’t be more in turmoil, there was another twist.
“Do you think it was Arthur who was selling our company’s secrets to North Korea?”
Jarrod nodded. “Everything seems to be pointing that way. My best guess is that he was compromised by North Korean agents when he worked for your dad. They probably paid him well for his services.”
She leaned into him, letting him wrap his arm around her. “Did you try and save my brother?”
He sighed. “There wasn’t time. I should have seen Arthur going for his gun, but I missed it. I’m so sorry, babe.”
She felt herself soften as he called her by the pet name. Though she was deeply saddened by the loss of Daniel and the lies that were unfolding around them, she didn’t have it in her to completely turn Jarrod out. She was angry and hurt, but without him at her side she was left with no one. As it was, she was already more alone than she had ever been. She needed him. And gauging from his rapid heartbeat as she drew closer, she could tell that he needed her, too.
Right now, they were each other’s rocks, and the world around them was their hard place.
Chapter Sixteen
Jarrod was at a loss. Although he had finally gotten a break in the case, he was unsure of what to do. If Agent Arthur truly was a double agent for the North Korean government and the CIA, he would be a very dangerous suspect to pursue.
And if he did go after Arthur, he couldn’t leave Mindy and Anya in his sister’s care. Not when she was here alone. They would be vulnerable to attack. If the Gray Wolves found them, there would be nothing to stop them without him here. Sure, they were tough women...and his sister was one heck of a shot, but he wasn’t willing to take the risk.
He also couldn’t take Mindy and Anya with him.
What would happen if the North Koreans found out that their agent and source had been revealed? He couldn’t know for sure if they would simply let Arthur fall under the hatchet or if they would stop at nothing to prevent him from being taken out. No doubt, if they thought that he and Mindy were the only ones who bore witness to the truth, they would come after them in order to protect their investment.
Jarrod couldn’t be certain that Arthur truly belonged to the North Koreans. He would have gone through rigorous background checks and training to become a CIA agent, not to mention his work as an undercover agent within Mindy’s company. So, either Jarrod was missing something, or Arthur and his people had someone working for them within the agency.
Of the two, he had a feeling it was the latter.
Double agents, though difficult to identify and pin down, weren’t hard to come by. They were much like police officers in the sense that in order to be a good police officer one must also have the mind-set of a great criminal. Only an uncorrupted moral compass set the two apart.
“What are we going to do, Jarrod?” Mindy asked, and as she spoke her body vibrated against his, filling him with a strange sensation of never wanting to be apart from her again.
Giving in to that desire, to keep her at his side always, would only put her in more danger than he already had. And yet, here he was, the one she depended on for answers, and he only had more questions.
“I could go to my people at the CIA, but I’m worried that they may have a leak.” He took his phone out from his pocket and sent a text off to Zoey. The sooner she could get to work, the better. They were already behind the eight ball when it came to this investigation. And now, with his concerns about a leak in the agency, STEALTH was the only group he could trust.
Zoey’s code name popped up on the screen as she pressed for more information. As quickly as he could, he told her exactly what they knew. She was their greatest weapon when it came to finding out secrets.
“I’ll strip him of all of his access. I have some great people on my staff, especially in IT.” She smiled up at him. “Your sister isn’t the only one with a corner on the hacker market.”
He didn’t doubt that for a second, but if her people were as good as she thought they were, how in the hell did they miss Arthur stealing secrets in the first place? Still, they could be put to work in the meantime.
“Why don’t you call your people. Have them start going through Arthur’s computer. See if they can dig up anything that would indicate that he is, in fact, the man behind this.”
“Okay,” she said, but she didn’t move from his arms, almost as if she was as reluctant to pull away from him as he was to let her go.
“I’ll have Zoey work on our side. She can dig around. See what she comes up with.” As he spoke, he wasn’t really thinking about anything other than how she smelled of fresh sheets and shampoo.
He didn’t recall her taking a shower since they had gotten to the house, but at some point, she must have. He took a deep breath, pulling the scent of her soap deep into his lungs.
“You smell good,” he said as lust stirred in his body.
Though he was well aware that this wasn’t the time, he couldn’t help himself. He wanted her. More, he wanted to sweep her up into his arms and carry her away from all the stress filling their lives. He wanted to be her hero. He wanted to be her lover...until the end of time.
Leaning closer as she looked up at him, their eyes met. From the way she gazed at him, he could see that she felt the same confusion, the same needs and the same wants.
He grazed his lips over hers, soft and questioning, making sure that he wasn’t misreading her.
She moved into him, reaching up and taking hold of his hair with her hand, pulling his lips hard against hers.
Damn, it felt good.
He leaned back slightly as he thought of everything he had just told her. “I’m sorry, Mindy. About your brother and all the deception.
”
Her lips moved into a smile as they brushed against his. “Shut up, Jarrod Martin. Just shut up and make love to me.”
There was no misreading that.
She must have needed a respite from the confusion as much as he did. And though he questioned whether or not this was a good idea, his body and its desires held precedence over the logical part of his mind—sometimes a man needed to follow his heart.
She pressed him down onto the bed and straddled him. He took hold of her hips as she moved her body over his, reminding him exactly what part of his body was in charge at the moment.
“Mmm,” she moaned, rocking back against him.
She was wearing his old Nirvana T-shirt and as she moved, he could make out the subtle curves of her breasts and the hardening of her nipples. Oh, how he wanted to take those little nubs and run them over his lips before popping them in his mouth. He could almost hear her now, moaning his name as he flicked her nipples with his tongue until she was nearly in pain with ecstasy.
She leaned down and he ran his hands up her sides, pulling her lips into his and driving his hips against her so she could feel exactly what it was that she did to him.
Damn, he wanted her.
He kissed her lips and then positioned her head so he could trail his lips down her neck. As he kissed her, her lips found his neck as well and he could feel the subtle graze of her teeth against his skin as though she threatened to devour him. The sensation made him groan with both desire and warning.
“No teeth,” he groaned.
“Just like you, Jarrod Martin,” she said into the crease of his neck, letting her hot breath brush against his skin where she had just played rough. “I do what I want.”
He laughed, and as his body moved, she shifted on him, reminding him exactly who was in control.
He could only love her more for it.
“I hope you realize that I have wanted this, and you, from the first moment I laid eyes on you,” he said, pressing himself against the thin fabric of her panties.
“Is that right?” She shifted off him and he reached after her, but she playfully moved out of his reach. “What is it that you want exactly, sir?”
He wasn’t sure what game she was playing with him right now, but he liked it. “Well, ma’am, I want to watch you take off your shirt.”
“Oh, yeah, is that right?” She reached down and toyed with the edge of the shirt. “How badly?”
“So badly, that if you don’t, I may just have to rip it off you. And that’s one of my favorite shirts.” He smiled.
“You would be willing to destroy your favorite shirt just to get to me?” she teased.
“That’s the least of the things that I would do to make love to you.”
“Oh, is that where you think this is leading?” She lifted the edge of the shirt higher, over her belly button, exposing a pair of fresh black lace underwear. They weren’t the same kind as before; rather, they hugged her hips like a pair of hands. Exactly where his fingers ached to be.
“I believe it was you who told me to make love to you, ma’am.” He grumbled, reaching for her again, but instead of giving in, she moved farther from him on the bed.
“If you are lucky, I just may let you. But you are going to have to play your cards right, sir.”
He threw himself back into the pillow, groaning as he ran his hands over his face and tried to regain control over the flood of desire he was feeling.
She brushed her fingertips against his legs and up his thighs. She found the elastic band of his pajama pants and, running her fingers under it, pressed the fabric down his legs and over his feet. He heard the fabric hit the floor beside the bed.
“Do you like it when I play with you?” she asked.
He uncovered his face and looked up at her. “I would like it better if you would take off your shirt before I have to do it for you.”
She laughed, the sound high and unmarred by the world outside of his bedroom. Humming a little song like something from a risqué movie, she lifted the edges of her shirt until he could see the bottoms of her breasts. Rubbing her hands over her nipples, she gave him an impish smile. “Is this off enough for you?”
He reached for her, and this time she didn’t pull away. “Hardly,” he said, his voice gravelly and harsh with want.
He kissed the little space between her breasts. The skin was soft. She arched like she was begging for more than his kiss. Running his lips over her skin, he found the curve of her breast as he moved his other hand under her shirt and thumbed her nipple gently as he moved his face back and ran the scruff of his goatee against the little trail of wetness his kiss had left behind.
Her body stiffened at the sensation of soft and scratchy.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Not daring to play nice, he took hold of her hips and moved her back on top of him. He pressed himself against her, only a slip of fabric between them.
It didn’t escape him that all he had to do to enter her was press the cloth to the side. But no, he had to take this stolen moment for all it was worth. If this was the only time they made love, he wanted to make it the best she’d ever had.
Pushing up her shirt, she took hold of it, and lifted it over her head, exposing her body to the cool midmorning air.
Her nipples were the color of cherry drops. Leaning in, he sucked one into his mouth. It tasted almost as sweet as it looked.
Damn, he was one lucky man.
She shifted against him, but he didn’t play along. Instead, he moved his hand down her belly and moved her panties to the side. Ever so gently, he thumbed her as he had thumbed her nipple. Her body was taken with a gentle but sharp spasm as he found and worked her.
“Mmm,” she said, her head leaning back as he stroked her. “Yes, Jarrod, yes.” Her words were like satin, smooth and silky, giving away the pleasure she must have been feeling beneath his touch.
“I’m yours, my lady. This day, this time, is for your pleasure.” He slipped his fingers inside of her as his thumb continue to circle.
She moaned, and the sound made her shudder against his fingers. If he had his way, it wouldn’t take long to satisfy her...the first time. And once she found release, he would enter her and hopefully make her find the edge once again.
Gently, and without stopping, he flipped her over so that she lay open for him. For a brief moment, he paused and stripped her panties from her so that he could have complete access to her naked body.
He sat there, gazing at her. He loved the subtle curves of her waist and that place where they met the luscious roundness of her hips. She really was a thing of beauty.
Moving between her legs, his mouth found where his thumb had been. She tasted even sweeter than her nipples had. In fact, he could think of nothing more delicious. It was as if they were made for one another—each the other’s nectar and ambrosia.
She moved beneath him, taking his head in her hands and moving him exactly where and to the speed she liked.
“Yes, Jarrod, yes...” she moaned quietly.
Just when he thought he couldn’t find anything hotter, she had to go and moan his name like that.
Her breath caught, and he could feel her body shift and sway under his mouth.
She stiffened as her body pulsed with his touch as she found the place he had been leading her.
He kissed away her wetness and she pulled him up to her lips. There was something kinky and hotter than hell in the way she kissed him, and it made him love her more. It was a special woman who wanted to share in everything.
Releasing him from their kiss, he moved down her body and rested his head on her heart. For a moment, he lay there, listening to her heart and the rhythm that told him how he had made her feel. He had done it, brought her to this place of joy and relaxation.
“You can hardly think we’re done,” sh
e said, her voice swathed in the remnants of euphoria. “One cannot have true pleasure without the other.”
He grew impossibly harder at the promise laced in her words.
“That’s where we disagree,” he teased. “Nothing pleases me more than watching you turn to putty under my touch.”
She giggled and he looked up from her chest. “Is that what I am to you?”
He laughed. “And what am I to you?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he could see a storm cloud roll into her eyes, and she closed her mouth as though she were second-guessing herself.
“Nothing?” he teased, hoping that she would open up to him.
“If I’m putty,” she said, her impish smile returning, “then you are the form that I shape myself upon.” She sat up, moving atop him. She dipped him slowly into her.
If he had his way, this is how he would be taken from this world...spending the day in bed with the woman he loved and buried deep within her.
No matter what happened in their future, he would be forever thankful that, for now, they were one.
Chapter Seventeen
By the time she was dressed and ready to go downstairs it was approaching evening. The smell of hot food had drifted up from the kitchen and she realized she was starving.
As they made their way into the dining room, Zoey gave them a knowing and highly entertained grin. Anya was sitting in a booster seat beside her and there was a swath of half-colored pages that had been ripped from a coloring book spread around the table.
“You guys have a nice day?” Zoey’s smile widened. “I hope you got everything sorted.”
Jarrod cleared his throat as a rush of embarrassment burned through Mindy. She hadn’t thought about the rest of the household. Really, how could she have when she had been gifted hours in the comfort of Jarrod’s embrace?
That man certainly knew his way around her body. If she had another chance, perhaps he could show her again all the ways he could make her feel with just his thumb.
In His Sights (Stealth Series Book 2) Page 13