“Thank goodness. You got somewhere safe?” Something creaked in the background and his voice dropped in pitch.
“Safe enough. What is it you wanted to tell me, Baron? You have two minutes.”
“Shit. Yael—”
“That’s not my name anymore.” She said it on instinct, but it rang true. Ever since she’d died, her identity had been a fluid thing. Abigail felt…right. Like Luke. It was who she was now.
“Why did you fake your death?” There was a note of urgency in Baron’s voice.
“Because Zach was being blackmailed. I killed him—”
“Zach? Zacharias, your handler?”
“Yes, I thought—”
“Yael, he’s not dead.”
“What? No, I killed him myself.”
“I just had a meeting about him with the heads of Unit. We have documented proof he’s removed files—sensitive files. We failed you, Yael. We did. They’re going after him now, but I don’t think Zach is here.”
If she hadn’t already been sitting, her legs would have given out.
“What are you saying?” She swallowed. After an op, she should have checked, she should have ensured Zach was dead. She’d shot him from a distance, and then she’d needed to disappear. She’d just assumed…
“I’m so sorry Y—Abigail. I’m sorry. I’m pushing for you to be exonerated. You could come back—”
“I’m never coming back, Baron. I’m out.”
Those words freed her. For so long she’d wanted to go back to the way things were. But her handler had betrayed her, her ex-husband had interrogated her using methods the United Nations would scream over—and there was no going back from that. She was tired. Tired of the life, the lies, and everything to do with Mossad. It wasn’t the shining pillar of light in her life anymore. No, that was Luke.
“I’m going to find Zach, and I’m going to kill him. This time I won’t miss.” She’d made the mistake once. Not again.
“I never heard that.” Baron’s voice was…funny. Was that…sadness?
“One more thing?” She slid her gaze from the floor to Luke. “My mother?”
Baron blew out a breath.
Zain tapped his wrist. They were long over those two minutes.
She nodded.
“Baron?”
“She died. Heart failure. It’s what got me looking into things. She was working for these people… I made sure the autopsy was done myself, by someone I could trust. It was natural. Her time was up.”
“Her heart was weak after dad died.” Abigail looked up at the ceiling. She hadn’t wanted to believe Baron could lie to her, that he’d say something so cruel as an interrogation tool, but she also hadn’t wanted him to tell her the truth either.
The one person she’d lived for was gone.
Now what did she do with herself?
Kill Zach.
That’s all there was to it.
Once Zach was dead and his intel had been recovered…she could cease to exist. She could become someone else.
Until she accomplished that, she had to stay away from Luke. Being near him put his life at risk.
“Zach showed me pictures of her, working for this couple—he said they’d employed her to get to me. Did he organize all of that?” she asked.
“They arrested the couple this morning. They were Palestinian spies.”
“Shit.” Abigail rubbed her temple.
“Look, I know you don’t want to, but I’d appreciate it if you’d come in. We have a lot of questions I think you can answer about how much damage Zach has done.”
“No. Goodbye, Baron. I hope we never see each other again.” Fixing Mossad’s leak wasn’t her job. It never had been. She was a tool aimed at a problem to fix it. This time, she’d fix the problem on her own terms.
She hung up and laid the phone on the table, staring at the number pad for several long seconds. Neither Luke or Zain moved. They all just sat there in silence.
Wasn’t this what she’d wanted? Absolution?
But it wasn’t enough anymore. She didn’t want to go back.
Zach wouldn’t go down easy, but he would go down. If it took her life, so be it. But if it didn’t…would Luke wait for her?
Luke inhaled the fresh ocean breeze, the familiarity of the sounds and smells orienting him as he rose from sleep to wakefulness. He blindly reached across the bed, searching for the warmth he was missing.
Cool sheets.
No Abigail.
He turned his head toward her pillow and listened.
Drip.
Drop.
Splatter.
She was there.
She wasn’t gone.
He smiled and sat up, letting his legs fall over the edge. A quick glance at the clock told him it was early afternoon. Probably time to start moving, get some food in their bellies, and prepare to move out. Their overnight flight home would be rough, but after what they’d been through? Piece of cake.
Luke shuffled around the bed and leaned against the archway leading into the bathroom.
Fluffy white bubbles obscured all but Abigail’s head. Her hair was pinned up, the better to highlight her long neck and delicate features.
How could someone so small be so dangerous?
It just underscored the fact that appearances were deceiving.
Abigail was more than she appeared. So much more. He hadn’t wanted someone in his life in the way he wanted her. Ever.
“You’re awake,” she mumbled.
“I was wondering if you were.”
“Not really. Joining me? Or watching?”
“Both? You ever been to Turkey?”
“A few times.”
“I always wanted to go.”
“They have wonderful coffee. Is this your new game?”
“What game?”
“Where you try to figure out where I’ve been? What I’ve done?”
“The better to get to know you, sugar.”
“Join me?”
He pushed off the arch and shoved his shorts to the ground. She shifted, pulling her legs up. He stepped in, sinking down on the opposite end to face her. Their legs tangled and shifted until he pulled her feet into his lap.
Luke started with one foot, cupping her heel and gently kneading up to the ball of her foot, her toes, and then switched to the other. She groaned and winced, but otherwise remained as she’d been—eyes closed and utterly relaxed.
How had this woman wormed her way into his heart?
She didn’t need him. But he wanted her to. Maybe that was his Achilles’ heel. If he stuck around long enough, perhaps he’d matter to her. All his life he’d fallen victim to needy, damsel-in-distress women who couldn’t see their way out of their problems with a map, a guide, and a yellow brick road. Abigail was none of that. She was different. And he wanted to matter to her. How to do that was beyond him, but damn it he was going to try.
“You keep doing that and I’m going to fall asleep,” she mumbled.
“I wouldn’t let you drown.”
“How kind of you.”
“I’m a caring kind of guy.”
The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.
“You’re beautiful, you know that?”
Her eyes opened, and she lifted her head slightly. An errant tendril of hair fell from the mess on top of her head, curling toward her cheek. With the way the decorative window cast spires and arcs onto her and the water—she was otherworldly.
“That almost sounded sincere.” She tilted her head one way, her expression unreadable.
“How about this?” He sat up and crawled toward her until she was under him, her mouth so close a tip of her chin would bring them together. “If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I'd have a galaxy in my hand.”
Abigail leaned hear head back and laughed. She swatted at his chest, splashing bubbles and water everywhere.
“You’re terrible,” she said.
“So you keep saying.” He ki
ssed her neck.
She turned her head aside and he continued up, all the way to that spot just behind her ear. She sighed, and her eyes closed. Her hands slid down his chest, her nails pressing little tracks into him.
“Luke.” She whispered his name. Her knuckles bumped the head of his cock.
“Hm?” He dipped his head, kissing that tender spot again, waiting to see what she’d do.
Her hand wrapped around his erection, pumping him with firm, root-to-tip strokes. He groaned and leaned into her. Those hot little hands knew how to handle a man, a skill he could appreciate.
He found her mouth with his and thrust his tongue past her lips. Her knee rose, shifting him until her other hand could cup his balls.
Fuck, he’d only meant to tease her.
If he’d learned anything in the short time he’d come to know Abigail, it was that nothing stood in her way. Not even his intentions. And he wasn’t about to say no to a lady.
Luke shifted his weight, leaning against the tub so he could free up one hand. He cupped her mound, her legs already spread around him, and thrust his fingers into her. She lifted her hips, rocking into him. He let his forehead rest in the crook of her neck as he worked first two fingers and then three, while her hands stroked him in concert.
Christ, the little twist she gave his dick was going to send him over the edge.
She released his balls and pushed at his shoulders.
“Over,” she demanded.
He pulled his fingers from her pussy, wrapped his arm around her waist and turned. Water sloshed, bubbles went everywhere, but they managed to slide around until he was stretched out in the gargantuan tub with her straddling his thighs, suds clinging to her olive skin, nipples peeking out from the bubbles.
The way she stared at him robbed him of his ability to breathe.
Had a woman ever looked at him with such fierce, stark need?
It echoed the way he felt about her. How the hard edge of it pushed him toward her all the damn time. It was a pull he couldn’t fight.
She slid her sudsy hands up his chest and leaned down. There were shadows in her gaze, a darkness he wanted to wipe away, forever, if she’d just let him. She set her mouth against his, suckling his lip between hers until she could nip it. He cupped her breasts, rubbing his palms over the tight nubs. On a second pass he gripped her nipples between his fingers and tugged harder, just how she liked. She pressed her chest against him, a spark lighting in her eyes and wrapped her hand around his cock again.
He’d never wanted someone like he wanted her.
They were made from the same stuff, so she understood his drive. Who and what he was. Because they were the same. Maybe that was what he’d been missing all along.
She broke the kiss, rising up above him. Her hand guided his cock to her pussy, their gazes locked. He saw the way her lashes fluttered when their flesh met, how her lips parted just a bit when the head of his cock slipped into her.
It was different with her. And not just because there were no barriers, no condom. He knew her secrets, the things no one else knew, and she knew his.
He gripped her hips, guiding her, lending his strength to her as her body stretched, adjusting to his girth. She leaned down, one arm draped around his neck. This close—she was his world. The beginning and end. Nothing else mattered except this moment.
Their bodies fit perfectly together.
They breathed in time, neither looking away.
He pushed her hair out of her face.
Abigail leaned in, kissing him as her internal muscles squeezed him. He groaned and gripped her hip. If she didn’t move the ache in his balls was going to kill him.
She rose up, his flesh sliding against hers, the warm water, cooler than her, swirling around him. Her breasts grazed his chest as she sank back down with her spine arched. He hooked his forearm around her thighs, just under her ass, giving her better leverage.
This was when he’d say something, but the way she stared at him spoke more than words could. They were connected, and nothing could change that.
The water sloshed around them. The sun cast filigree wings onto the wall behind Abigail, making her into some sort of sensual angel.
He thrust up into her and she gasped, throwing her head back, looking down through her lashes at him. Again she rose, higher this time. Their bodies met in a spray of water and moans from each of them.
“Like that,” she said between breaths.
Abigail’s words broke whatever spell of silence had woven over them.
“Fuck, you feel good,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Yeah?” She grinned, one hand on the tub, the other on his chest as she lifted, rolling her hips at the same time.
“I’d do you all day.” He thrust, she fell, they groaned.
“Someday we’ll have to see how much stamina you’ve got.”
“All day, sugar, all day.”
“Oh!” Her eyes fluttered wide.
“Like that?” He let go of her breast and cupped her mound, finding the hard nub of her clit with his fingers.
“Yes.”
Her head fell back on her shoulders. This time he practically lifted her all by himself, working her body up and down on his cock, letting gravity help deepen the thrusts.
“Luke.” She groaned his name, her nails digging into his shoulder.
“Yeah.”
Abigail grabbed the sides of the tub and worked with him, the muscles in her arms flexing with the strain of keeping the rhythm of their thrusts. She kissed his forehead, his temple, muttering words he didn’t understand.
Her groans changed pitch, the moans longer until her pussy clamped down on him and her eyes dilated. She tossed her head back, those shadow wings spread out behind her as her orgasm rocked her.
She was so damn beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.
He gritted his teeth and pumped into her, keeping the pace, stroking her through the wave of pleasure. She leaned forward, cupping his cheek and muttered more secret words.
Abigail kissed him, her hips rolling, their bodies joining.
He loved her, and maybe she loved him too, but it was new and scary and bigger than them. Her words spurred him on, until his body went taut and he came so hard his vision blurred. Her hands stroked his face, his chest until it was over.
Luke hugged her to him, his face buried in her now damp hair while the water cooled around them.
They’d make it work, one way or another. They could do this. They were determined, strong people. Together they could find a way.
“I think I’m turning into a raisin,” she mumbled against his neck.
“I’d lick your raisin.” He didn’t like the way she was breathing, a little too hard, a little too heavily. He had a mental countdown going until the Aegis staff doctor could look Abigail over.
“I bet you would.” She chuckled.
They sat up, and he climbed out of the tub first. He grabbed towels, wrapping them around her. Instead of letting her walk the dozen or so steps to the bed, he picked her up and carried her back to their nest of pillows and blankets, following her down onto the mattress.
The way she smiled at him… It was the kind of smile that made a man want to do anything to keep it in place.
He pulled her closer until they lay face to face, he stroked her hair, his other hand between hers.
Abigail had lived her life shrouded in secrets, full of double talk. He couldn’t begin to imagine what she’d had to survive.
“When all of this is over, what do you want to do?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to imagine.”
“Whatever happens, I’ll be there.”
“That’s sweet, but—”
“Ethan died because of this guy Zach. I get needing to finish this, but we’ll do it together. I don’t want to lose you, too.” She was a woman worth fighting for.
“Luke…” Her face creased, as though she were in pain.
Neither of th
em had the luxury of grieving, yet—him for Ethan, her for her mother—but there would be time to do their memories justice.
“Look, I…” His throat constricted, holding the words he wanted to say deep inside of him. “I care about you. I can’t lose you, too. We can do this together. And then…we’ll figure it out. Whatever you need to do, I’ve got your back.”
Her lips pulled up into a tight smile. She gripped his hand tight between hers.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He could imagine the loneliness of her life. Well, no more. She had him. They’d figure it out. Either with or without Aegis, they could do whatever needed to be done. And then she could relax. Hell, she’d probably never had a proper vacation in her life. At least one where she didn’t have to watch her back. Now, he could do that. He could shoulder some of the strain for her. Like a team.
Luke leaned in and kissed her.
They belonged together. He could feel it in his bones, the way they touched, how it felt being in her—everything about them clicked. It worked. Every woman before her it’d been about what she needed. He’d pulled their weight through the troubled times. Abigail though, she was next to him. They were a team. She supported him as much as he supported her.
He pulled back, those damn words still lodged in his throat.
It was too early for a confession like that. He wasn’t one to shy away from how things were, but he could see that she probably needed more time. To see he was serious, to let trust grow.
“How long until we leave?” she asked.
“Long enough for a nap.” He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.
“How many are going with us?”
“Just the six of us left here. You, me, Zain, Marco, Felix, and Ian. I don’t think you’ve really met Felix or Ian yet. They’re good guys.”
“I’m sure they are. Any chance there’s food still in the kitchen?”
“Yup. Hungry?”
“Yes.”
“How about I run downstairs and get us something to eat and you…stay right here?” He tapped her nose, a spark of joy lighting up inside of him when she smiled. “Be back in a minute.”
Luke bounded out of bed, snatched up his shorts and a shirt, and pulled them on as he went. He spared one glance over his shoulder at Abigail, who’d rolled over to watch him.
Dangerous Assignment (Aegis Group Book 4) Page 18