“He took out a weapons facility three weeks ago. Dead or not, he’s back.”
“But,” she stuttered. Surreal was dead. Dead. She watched him blow himself up. Although she’d expected him to do exactly that, she was still shocked when he detonated that shack, killing himself. He loved himself too much to commit suicide.
She saw through Thomas Macy long before even he knew he’d be capable of the things he eventually did, all under the cover of his codename of Surreal. Handsome and charming. Maniacal and deadly. As soon as she realized the dangers lurking inside the man’s heart, she had him banned from TREX. She should have placed a tracer on him long before she eventually did.
It made perfect sense now and she muttered a curse that she didn’t come to this conclusion sooner. The man had a ridiculously high opinion of himself. He would have never taken his own life.
Holy Jesus. Surreal was still out there, and from the sounds of it, back to his old ways. “How do you know it’s really him?”
“Not now.”
“Why the hell not now?”
David’s attention flicked to the camera in the upper corner of the hall, zeroed in on them. Charis gave him a nod in understanding. Surreal had the ability to tap into anything plugged into the grid. “What now?”
“We could go back to talking about last night.”
She threw him a glare.
“Come on,” he urged. “You know you want to.”
“I don’t think so. Not when you think I could do...” She motioned with the flat of her hand. “You. All in the name of a job.”
He kept her locked in his gaze. He seemed to be reading into her soul. “I know that now.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly.
“If you would have taken a minute to get to know me, you would have already known that.”
“When were we supposed to get to know each other? Before you took a swim? Or how about after you seduced me in your room?”
“I didn’t—” She stopped. Of course she did. He laughed. The gesture made her laugh as well. “Yes, I did.” After several seconds, she added, “You put up a lousy defense.”
“You put up one hell of an offense.”
She hummed in the back of her throat as her mind drifted back to last night. “Thank you.”
“How about this—and I’m going out on a limb here—but you just might...maybe...just a little bit...” He pinched his thumb and forefinger together. “Want it to happen again? You know, to get out all that sexual frustration you have pent up inside you.”
Charis had to blink twice at his comment. “Didn’t we take care of that last night?”
“Sure, but that was yesterday’s frustration. You’ve had an entire day’s worth of events to frustrate the hell out of you.”
It took her several seconds to recover from his comment. “Right now, the only thing frustrating me is that this elevator seems to be stuck.”
“You could take the stairs.”
“I don’t know where they are.”
“You know,” he started slowly, his tone low and husky. “You seem so tense. Let me take care of that for you.”
She spiked an eyebrow as she eyed him. “By going away?”
“Ah,” he grinned and nudged her. “You don’t mean that. I think you kinda like me.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She cocked her head and gave her best attempt at a sultry look. “You don’t say.” She didn’t deny it. She couldn’t. As a student of propriety, she knew not to lie. Besides, she was a terrible liar. When she’d broke her mother’s favorite strand of pearls, she tried to blame it on the twins. Who would punish four-year-olds? So when her mother asked, she’d started in with her story.
“The twins did it,” she’d said. Her mother had simply looked at her, waiting for the truth. When she stuck with her story, her mother reached over and pulled the matching pair of pearl earrings out of Charis’s ears. After that, she sang like a bird.
She’d never lied to her mother after that, or anyone else for that matter. The feeling of getting caught, of her heart in her throat as she tried to pass off the lie as the truth, had made her stomach hurt for hours. When she’d tried to lie to David, in the name of national security, she couldn’t even do it then.
Good thing they didn’t have her in the field that often.
They stood in silence waiting on the stupid elevator. Even the one in Maui didn’t take this long. And then it dawned on her. The fingerprint scanner. Damn it. She reached forward and allowed it to scan her thumb.
He didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “I was wondering when you were going to get around to that.”
“You could have said something.”
“You looked deep in thought. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Oh, why thank you. You could have always used your thumbprint.”
“I don’t have clearance,” he pointed out.
“Didn’t stop you from getting in.”
He gave her a wink. “Didn’t think I’d need to break out.”
She ignored the jump in her pulse from the gesture. “And you couldn’t find a way to break out in the time we’ve been standing here? I guess you aren’t such a superspy after all.”
“The hell you say,” he grunted. When she looked at him, he winked again. She really wished her heart didn’t leap every time he did that.
“I guess you’re right. TREX wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to get you back if you weren’t some spec ops agent with magical powers.”
“You already accused me of being able to fly.”
“I did?”
He nodded. “Back in the hospital.” With a grin he added, “Any other powers you’d like to bestow upon me?”
“Lord knows you are definitely magic with your hands.” She warmed at the memory.
“My other assets are even better.”
“I’ll say.” She laughed when he did. “I have this really bad habit of speaking my mind.”
“Then let me ask another question. Why did you sleep with me last night if it wasn’t all for the love of your job?”
Don’t do it. Do not open your mouth. “I wanted to be bold. I saw you and thought, what the hell, you know?” That wasn’t so bad. “It had nothing to do with my job.”
He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. Or so she hoped. “And do you want it to happen again?”
“More than anything,” she answered, inserting her foot and cursing inwardly for her inability to apply the filter from her brain to her mouth. With wide eyes, she quickly found interest in the way the overhead lights shined in the polished floor. “But, it was just a one-time thing.” Right?
“You sure?”
She wanted it to happen again, but also needed to think about her life, her career as a TREX agent. She couldn’t run around sleeping with other agents. Would that be an old Charis or new Charis rule? “Yes.”
He stared straight ahead for several torturing seconds. “Yes,” he repeated, barely audible. He sounded as disappointed as she felt.
Finally, the elevator arrived and the doors slid open. Once David followed her inside, she pushed the button for the surface.
“Did Weber fill you in as to why he wanted me back when you two met this morning?”
She shook her head. Weber had been increasingly quiet about why he wanted David home. When he didn’t speak, she brought her gaze up and rested it on his face. She caught him eyeing her body. “Well?”
He jumped his gaze to her face. “What?”
She kept her smile to herself. It felt good to have someone admire her, even if it was only her legs. Leg. He wouldn’t be admiring her right leg, not with all the scarring. But then again, he’d gawked at her like that in the hospital. Apparently, he had a thing for legs. Leg. “Why did Special Director Weber send me to get you?”
He shook his head, dismissing her question. “We’ll find out the details at the briefing.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“Not everyt
hing. He gave me a piece a paper.”
“Paper?”
He nodded. “Our rendezvous point.”
“Ours?”
He looked at her. “We’re teaming up on this one.”
Her smile hurt her cheeks it was so wide. On assignment with the world’s sexiest agent. She liked the sound of that. Even if he had the tendency to be an ass.
But what a fine ass. She stole a glance at said body part and hummed. “How did I luck out to draw you as a partner?”
He shrugged and then rotated his right shoulder. “When TREX pairs agents together, they don’t just pull a name out of a hat. There are careful planning and background searches. You didn’t draw me.” He nailed her with a cool look. “And I didn’t ask to be paired with you.”
The verbal slap smacked her across the face. Her heart jolted and she lost her smile. She faced forward as the elevator lifted them to the surface. It took effort, but she forced the hurt from his words out of her mind. She’d have to grow thicker skin if she wanted to last in the field.
“That,” he said, his tone softer, “didn’t come out right.”
But it still came out. “I get it. No need to sugarcoat it for my sake.”
“No, that—”
“I get it, David.” She brought up a hand to stop him. “You and I are on this assignment together because TREX wants it that way. That’s it. Nothing personal.”
He cocked a dark eyebrow as he studied her. “You sure do take things personal though, don’t you?”
She was done talking about this. “How long do we have until we need to meet up at the rendezvous point?”
He glanced at his watch. “A while. Listen, Charis. It isn’t that I don’t want to be paired with you. But you’re intel. You aren’t trained for fieldwork. When you’re paired up with another agent, that agent has to be able to hold his own. After the way you fell apart when those waves had a hold of you...” He let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t think you can.”
Ouch. At least he didn’t sugarcoat anything or bother sparing her feelings. “Don’t worry about me. I’m more than ready for this.”
“I want you to understand we’ll be focused on our assignment. Our primary objective is the op, not each other.”
Too bad. She licked her lips. “What’s our assignment?”
“You’ll find out at the briefing.”
“What do we do until then?”
His smile sent a wicked glimmer to his eyes. That was an interesting look. “We have some down time.”
“And?”
“We should find something to do to fill the void.”
She had a void she’d like him to fill. That thought had her peaking painfully, the hot surge rushing to her entrance, drenching it. “You said we needed to focus on the op, not each other.”
“We aren’t on the op until the briefing.”
“Hmmm.” She chewed on her lower lip at the thought. His hands pulled some pretty amazing reactions from her body. It wouldn’t hurt to give it another shot, to see if their chemistry was isolated to Hawaii. Judging by the crackling electricity charging the air between them, she doubted it.
Without warning, David dropped his coat and swung around, stopping inches from her. Not able to deny her body the taste of him, she lifted her chin to give him access. He took it, plunging his tongue into her mouth as soon as their lips met. Charis shuddered against him, the heat from his kiss centering into her core. She needed to touch him. Now.
She untucked his shirt and shoved her hands inside, relishing in the hardness of his chest beneath her palms. She loved the feel of the coarse curls entwining with her fingers. Flicking one of his nipples with her thumb, knowing the reaction it drew from him the last time, he didn’t disappoint when he hissed in a breath.
He kissed her deeper. A rage of fire flooded her soul, centering into a pool of wetness surrounding her clit. Her breath hitched. He undid his pants and dropped them around his ankles. He then lifted her skirt and literally ripped her panties off. The passion between them fused their bodies together as with one thrust he sank his iron flesh deep into her, granting her the contact she so desperately needed. He filled her so completely it had her losing control. She cried out, the pleasure so great she bit down on his shoulder.
He barked a sound somewhere in between a groan and a laugh. “Goddamn, woman. I think you...took…a…chunk.”
He emphasized every word by grinding deeper and deeper with every drive, every piston thrust. Grabbing her ass, he lifted her higher to gain better access. Wrapping her legs around him, pulling him in tighter, fisting her channel to keep him inside, she held on for the ride of her life.
And what a ride.
He moaned and thrust deeper, faster. His breath raced along her neck, sending delicious chills across her flesh. What started as a hint of a spark buried in her body grew fast until he had her begging, crying for release with each drive of his engorged cock. Her womb clenched, the coil fisting around him, pulling him deeper inside her.
“Oh, David!” She threw her head back and cried out, his rhythm just enough for her to lose herself as she came. He plunged one last time and followed, spilling inside her with a guttural moan. Together they rode the waves until they ebbed.
Breathing hard, hardly breathing, David lowered her to her feet and leaned against her, using the wall to brace them both. He bent down and kissed her softly, gently nibbling on her lower lip before pulling away.
Wow. She’d never had sex in an elevator. She’d never even had sex standing up. Last night didn’t count since they didn’t actually finish. Well, at least standing up. He was full of firsts for her.
She loved the new Charis. After cleaning the smudges from her glasses, she grabbed her panties and tucked them into her sweater pocket since he’d snapped the elastic when he tore them from her body. He righted his pants and chuckled as he shook his head. “I think we broke a record.”
Thank God nobody loitered in the corridor. Somewhere in the middle of their passion play, the doors had opened. He grabbed his coat and walked out. She straightened her glasses and followed, her body still humming from the incredible sex they’d just had. In the TREX elevator no less. She smiled.
She really started to enjoy fieldwork.
“Are we going to the rendezvous point?”
“Nope. We’re going to your place.”
Okaaay. Apparently he wasn’t done with her, yet. That didn’t bother her any. Hell, what they just shared in the elevator merely whetted her appetite for more. “Why?”
He threw her a look. “Do you have a place in Seattle or not?”
“No. In case you weren’t listening when I told you my entire life story last night, I live in Montana.”
He didn’t seem pleased with that answer. “We need to find somewhere to go, to get out of the public’s eye.”
My God, did he want her so bad he had to drag her to the nearest bed? Although she was flattered, it also irritated her that he was being such an ass about it. “What’s going on?”
“Not here,” he replied shortly. He scowled, which didn’t do his handsome features justice. If he wanted privacy, they couldn’t get much more private than in the belly of HQ. Why go offsite?
What did he and the director talk about in that room after she left? He didn’t enter the room in a bad mood. Was he channeling Weber? This mood was more his style, not David’s.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She doubted that. “What—”
“Charis?”
“Hmmm?”
“Stop talking,” he ordered, the scowl on his face deepening.
She did, but only for a moment. “I like the way you kiss, by the way.”
He groaned and raised his eyes to the ceiling of the long corridor, muttering something about how silence was golden.
ELEVEN
God help him, he was going to lose his mind if she kept talking to him in that damn sexy voice. He couldn’t think straight, and h
e didn’t need her constantly invading his thoughts any more than she already had. He couldn’t control his raging hormones, let alone keep his pants on.
After the elevator incident, he knew they were in some deep shit. Add that to the slight complication that he’d been ID’d and they were in some seriously deep shit.
Holy shit storm. This was not good. He’d been ID’d, and by a man who was supposed to be dead, a threat TREX assured had been terminated. He needed to think, to sort things out. If he didn’t stop Surreal before the crazy son of a bitch made David’s name public, it would be the end of his career. Hell, it could land him and the entire board at TREX in front of the senate. Not everything the agency did exactly followed the rules. The government had plausible deniability when it came to TREX, and that suited the agency just fine. If Surreal leaked the names of TREX agents to the press, the government would shut them down without hesitation before it spiraled into a scandal.
David had to get to Surreal before that happened.
Weber wanted them to meet up at the address he gave him, saying even the corridors within TREX weren’t safe. Sure as hell sounded like a mole to him. But then again, Surreal didn’t need any help breaking into computer systems all across the globe. Maybe Weber thought Surreal had tapped into TREX’s security monitors. They carried both audio and visual, which would give him, yet again, the upper hand.
If he hacked into TREX, then he already knew David was back. He knew Charis was brought in to track him again. He knew Weber assigned David as point to bring him in. They’d blown the only thing they had going for them—the element of surprise.
No wonder Weber wanted the rendezvous off site. Surreal knew how to tap into any system, which meant they had to meet outside the system.
He shoved his hands deep into his coat pocket, confirming the location of the note and to stop him from reaching out to touch Charis, kiss her soundly, if for no other reason than to shut her up.
What was that noise? He didn’t remember TREX piping music through the corridors. He tuned in behind him. It didn’t surprise him to realize the noises were coming from her. “I asked you to be quiet.”
Seek and Destroy (TREX, #5) Page 14