“I’ve been trying to call you. Where have you been?”
Dammit. He’d forgotten to check his messages. “I had to turn my phone off for a while. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I wanted to tell you something.”
Now that he knew she was healthy, he noticed that she had made some significant changes to her appearance. The thick dark cloud of hair he loved to run his fingers through was now shorter, not even skimming her shoulders, and had been straightened. She had on more makeup than he’d ever seen her wear; her dark lashes looked longer and made her brown eyes seem even larger. Her lips were colored a luscious pink, and he felt a gut kick all the way through him as he imagined how she would taste.
Her clothes were different, too. The nicest outfit he’d ever seen her in was jeans and a shirt. Now she was wearing a dress; the soft blue material emphasized every beautiful curve, and the color made her skin glow like magnolia petals. She looked sexy as hell and a million miles out of his reach.
“What the hell are you wearing?”
Apparently not put off by his tone or his words, she whirled around as if modeling for him. “You like it? I figured since I needed some clothes for this assignment, I might as well start dressing the part. I even got my hair cut and a mini makeover.”
Like it? No. Seeing her like this only reemphasized how different they were. Which didn’t matter, since this would be a short-lived affair. But for whatever reason, it pissed him off.
“You sure you’re just planning on getting Ricard to show you the ropes of running a charity and not his bedroom talents?”
The brightness in her eyes dimmed, and Jared felt like he’d kicked a kitten. Then her chin lifted and a different kind of gleam entered the dark brown depths of her eyes. One of challenge, temper. “So, did you bring that bad attitude home just for me?”
The cheerful minx with the slightly sloppy way of dressing had disappeared, and a sophisticated, elegant beauty had taken her place. Her perfect mouth didn’t need the shiny lip gloss to make it look better. In a flash, his hands jerked her to him. Lowering his mouth to hers, he growled, “This attitude is all for you” and proceeded to devour those luscious lips.
She tasted like hot, pink-frosted perfection—soft, sweet, and delicious. A longing developed deep within him, one he hadn’t had in years and barely recognized as belonging to him. He wanted her with a depth and a need that didn’t mesh with the person Jared Livingston had made himself into. A voice told him to let her go, reminded him that other than the pleasure of the moment, nothing good could come from aching for something that didn’t really exist … couldn’t exist for someone like him.
With a growl, he pushed her away. Breath rasped from their lungs as they stared at each other. In a distant part of Jared’s mind, regret hovered like a dark cloud … he had mussed up her perfect look. Her lips were now bare; the lip gloss he hadn’t eaten off was smeared around her mouth. The hairstyle that had been perfectly straight was once again a dark cloud of messiness and, dammit, when the hell had he ripped the shoulder of her dress? Something pounded hard on his chest as shame clogged his throat.
He opened his mouth, words of apology clamoring through his head. Words he hadn’t used in years slammed into one another, crowding his thoughts. How could he have treated her like that? He—
Mia launched herself into his arms, wanting to hold him and love him until neither of them had breath. Wrapping herself around him, she gave him all the passion and heat she had within her, but most of all, she gave him the acceptance his eyes told her he needed.
His mouth moving all over her face and neck, Jared carried her to the bedroom. Mia hung on tight, her mouth equally busy as she kissed every part of him she could reach. She vaguely heard various things hit the floor as he swept the bed clear, and then he dropped her onto it and followed her down.
Even as he devoured her mouth, his hands were busy pulling and tugging at every piece of clothing she wore. Mia chose not to regret the rips she could hear as she tore at his clothing with the same rough treatment. The most important thing was to have their bodies bare and as close to each other as possible.
Jared pulled away from her and stood. Through eyes glazed with passion, Mia looked up at him and felt heated shivers run through her body. Never had she seen such need on his face. And, as if in apology for his earlier forcefulness, he bent over her and began to touch her as if she were delicate and fragile. His hands glided roughly over her skin, then his mouth followed each caress with a feathering, whispering kiss, as if to make up for the strength of his hands. Mia loved it all. Never had she been made love to with such intensity and focus, as if every touch, every caress, and every kiss was designed to give her the ultimate pleasure.
Her hands cupped his head and her fingers weaved through his thick hair as Jared’s hands, followed by his mouth, traveled to every part of her body. Mia felt alive and free, uninhibited; every cell zinged with sensation. As he paid homage to a breast by covering it with his mouth and sucking hard, her entire body arched up and she screamed his name as climax tempted her … just out of reach. She needed, wanted, had to have him inside her immediately.
“Jared, please …”
“What, Mia?” Jared growled, his raspy voice thick with arousal and need. “Tell me.”
Instead of using words, she used her body to show him. Since he was lying beside her, she pushed him over onto his back and climbed on top of him. Straddling his thighs, she wrapped her hands around his hard length. “This,” she whispered and then lowered her head and licked. “This is what I want.”
“Then take it, sweetheart. Any way you want it.”
She gave him one last long lick and grabbed a condom lying on the table beside them. Her teeth ripped it open, and then she slid it over him. Jared’s hot, glittering gaze followed her every movement. When he was fully sheathed, Mia lifted herself up and lowered herself ever so slowly, taking him in increments until he at last filled her completely. And then she began to ride.
Jared figured he was as close to death as he’d ever come. Every part of him felt as if it would explode any second. Having Mia above him, her mussed hair swaying, her perfect breasts red-tipped from his mouth, her skin glowing like ivory, and an expression of wanton arousal on her beautiful face, gave him a picture he wanted to keep in his mind forever. He had never seen anyone so exquisite or wanted anyone more.
Clenching his teeth together to prevent his explosion, he let her take control. What he’d done before, treating her so roughly, was unconscionable. She should have slugged him; instead, she’d leaped into his arms with a fervor he had never expected and sure as hell hadn’t deserved.
She was close. Her movements became more erratic as she rode him up and down, her breath coming out in raspy little gasps. He told himself he could hang on … this was for Mia. She was in control. And then she did something totally unexpected. She stopped suddenly and gave him a smile, brilliant and sexy at the same time. All his good intentions went up in smoke. With a guttural growl that came from deep within him, Jared grabbed her by the waist, rolled her over onto her back, and then he was pounding, thrusting, retreating. The roaring in his ears prevented him from hearing, but a small, still sane part of him recognized Mia’s arms as they held him tight and her legs wrapped around his waist.
Electricity zipped up his spine, telling him explosion was imminent, and then in an instantaneous and soul-shattering moment, he was there. Lowering his mouth to her lips, Jared devoured her, his tongue plunging and retreating as he continued to thrust again and again, wanting to extend the ecstasy as long as possible. He never wanted to stop … he wanted to stay inside her forever. He never wanted this to end.
How in the hell was he going to let her go?
“What went wrong with your marriage?”
If there was a question that could spoil the aftermath of the best sex he’d ever had, that was it. Talking about your ex-wife while in the arms of a lover was probably never a good
idea. Even for a normal guy who’d gone through your average, run-of-the-mill divorce, he doubted the subject was recommended pillow talk. No one had ever called him normal, and his divorce, though inevitable, hadn’t been average. So why the hell did he hear himself begin to do just that?
“We never should have married,” he admitted.
“Why did you?”
Unable to shrug without dislodging the silky head on his shoulder, Jared sighed instead. “I thought she had more in common with me than any other woman I’d met. She was so focused on her career, seemed so logical and unemotional, I thought we made a good match.”
Even as he said the words, he winced. Hell, for someone like Mia, who thrived on emotions, that description probably sounded more like a marriage from hell than something one should want.
“Where did you meet her?”
“In the emergency room where she worked. I needed a shot and some antibiotics for an infected cut. She was the attending physician that night. I asked her if she wanted to go for coffee. Three months later, we were married.”
“How long did you stay married?”
“Almost three years.”
“What happened?”
“She found out who she’d married and didn’t like him.”
Mia raised her head to look down at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The disapproving, protective look in her face and the growl in her voice almost made him smile. He pulled her head down to his shoulder again. “We were out for a rare night on the town. Our anniversary was a few days away, but she was scheduled to work, so we were celebrating early. We were walking down the street and passed by an alley. Two men had a woman against the wall, about to rape her. I intervened, knocked the bastards out. The woman ran away. I turned around and discovered Lara staring at me as if she’d never seen me. I’d never told her about certain skills I have. All through our marriage, I worked for Lucas Kane’s company as an investigator. She saw me as a calm, suitable man to be married to. When she realized there was nothing calm or suitable about me, it was over.”
A thousand questions crowded Mia’s tongue. Those certain skills he’d mentioned had been developed and honed somewhere, for a specific purpose. Beneath his brooding “I don’t give a shit what you think of me” exterior lay courage, bravery, and integrity. Mia had seen it the first time she’d met him. Where he’d developed those lethal skills could be discussed at another time. What stunned her was the fact that Jared had saved a woman from rape or worse and instead of appreciating him as a hero, his wife had apparently been appalled.
She treaded carefully. “She didn’t like that you could handle yourself?”
“I guess the handling myself wasn’t as much an issue as the disillusionment she felt.”
“So you told her how you developed the skills?”
“I didn’t tell her a lot—just as much as I thought she could deal with. When I saw that she couldn’t stomach even that amount, I was glad I hadn’t told her more.”
So Jared had revealed his true self to his wife and she hadn’t been able to take it. Mia’s heart hurt for him.
“For the first time ever, I saw her lose her temper.” His voice held a trace of amusement. “She’d always been so coolly controlled, but I thought if she ever lost her temper, there’d be fireworks and at least some drama. We got back home and she shrilly screamed at me to get out. And then she calmed down and told me that I wasn’t who she’d thought I was and that she wanted me to leave. And so I did.”
There was more, but Mia would delve no deeper. He’d shared things with her she’d never expected. No matter how badly she wanted it, to ask for more would be greedy and self-serving.
Mia pulled herself from his arms to gaze down at a man who was the most handsome and physically appealing man she’d ever met. She had seen beneath that surface to the goodness beneath those good looks. And now, knowing that his wife had been too stupid to appreciate him for what he was, she was determined to show him how much she appreciated him. This affair wouldn’t last, but until it ended, she would do her best to convince him that she thought he was the finest of men.
With only his pleasure in mind, Mia set herself on a quest of exploration and adoration. Her mouth trailed down his body, similar to the way his had voyaged over hers before. Only Jared’s hands kept doing all sorts of distracting things, like tweaking her nipples, caressing her butt, and inserting his fingers into places that made concentration impossible.
Laughing while totally aroused was a new adventure for Mia, but she loved every moment of it. When Jared finally gave her what she wanted and slid into her with just the right amount of friction, climax slammed through her like an unexpected tidal wave. The wail Mia released held both extreme pleasure and joyous laughter. Seconds later, she had recovered enough to realize she’d just made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a deranged hyena. She peeked up at him. The expression on his face was priceless. His eyes bright with laughter, he said, “I think that’s what’s referred to as wild monkey sex.”
Giggling, she collapsed beside him, then sighed with extreme contentment when his arms tightened around her and he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. Never had she felt so comfortable or so free with a man. And now came the question she’d been avoiding with all her might. Could she really say goodbye to him when this case was over?
“Wow, is this all LCR-issue stuff?”
“Some of it is. A few things I borrowed from some old friends.”
The glance she gave him held questions, but she didn’t ask. One of the many things he was beginning to appreciate about this woman. He’d shared a hell of a lot of things with her tonight, but he’d held back a lot of stuff, too. She had known that, but instead of digging for more, she’d accepted what he was willing to share.
Dressed in one of his T-shirts and nothing more, Mia stood over their new toys. She looked like a cross between a curious kitten and a sexy siren. She still hadn’t combed her hair, and the makeup she’d worn earlier was completely gone, except for the dark smudges of mascara beneath her eyes. And not once had she looked in the mirror or acted the least bit concerned about her mussed-up appearance. Damn, he liked her.
“What does this do?”
Jared’s eyes dropped to the small flashlight in her hand. “It flashes light when you turn it on.”
Her laugh was carefree and open—another thing he liked about her. She never tried to hide what she was feeling. Which brought him back to his major concern. How the hell was she going to pull this off?
“You said you’ve been undercover before?”
“Yes, several times.” She was examining a jeweled watch—one of the most helpful tools for LCR’s undercover female operatives. The watch held a powerful microphone but looked like a shiny piece of feminine jewelry any woman might wear. Apparently hearing the concern in his voice, she glanced up at him and said, “Why? Are you having doubts again that I can do this?”
“You just don’t seem the type to be able to hide your emotions.”
A small smile played around her mouth. “I think you’d be surprised at how well I can pretend.”
It was intrigue more than doubt that prompted him to say, “Tell me about your undercover ops.”
Dropping the watch on the bed, she went over to the small sofa against the wall and, with a graceful abandon, collapsed onto it. “Let’s see. My first undercover assignment with LCR, I was a homeless streetwalker. There was a creep in Marseille who was stealing young prostitutes off the streets and selling them to other countries. Took three days before he came after me.” Her face brightened. “We got him.”
“What else?”
“Once, I played a stripper in a bar.” She shuddered. “Didn’t like that assignment at all. Oh, and another time, I played Noah’s girlfriend.”
“What was the op?”
“High-stakes poker games. Instead of playing for money, the men played for women.” She shrugged. “If that’s what floats a couple
’s boat, that’s their business. However, we found out that a few of the women being traded weren’t aware that they were the prize. Noah went in as a high roller, and I was his girlfriend. He deliberately lost a game; I was his payment. The guy took me to a small house where several women had been traded in a similar manner. Noah and some LCR guys followed, and we rescued the women.”
“How old were you?”
Her smooth forehead furrowed in concentration. “Twenty-three, maybe twenty-four. It was after college, and I think I started working for LCR just a couple of months after I left college.”
She had told him she didn’t like to talk about her past, so he figured at some point she was going to either turn the tables on him and demand that he answer some of her questions or just completely shut down. That didn’t stop him from continuing.
“What would make the daughter of a diplomat with a charmed life leave all of that for the dark and dangerous world of LCR?”
“A charmed life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
And still he pushed. “What happened?”
She leaned back against the sofa cushion, her gaze seemingly far away. “You’re almost right … it was a charmed life until I was seventeen years old. Nadia, my older sister, and I were like two spoiled princesses. We had beautiful clothes, dashing escorts, the most elite education …” She shrugged. “The very best of everything.”
When she paused, he had the strange compulsion to go to her. Crossing the room, he sat down beside her but didn’t touch her. He waited.
“I came home late one night. Two men were hiding in my closet.”
His heart stuttered. “They raped you?”
“No, thank God that’s not what they were after. The plan was to kidnap me and hold me for ransom. At that time, I wasn’t trained to defend myself, and before I knew it I was tied down and knocked out with some kind of drug.”
Sweet Reward: A Last Chance Rescue Novel Page 18