by Cherry Adair
She paused, face pink. They both remembered with crystal clarity what'd happened on that first day.
"AJ—"
"I screwed up. I know that. But I won't screw up again. That I can promise you."
"I believe you."
She slowed to look at him. "You do?"
"Implicitly."
She stopped walking, closed her eyes. "Jesus God, Kane. You have no idea what those three words mean to me." She turned and flung herself into his arms and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips. "Thank you."
The Shaaeawi brothers were closing the gap, and the sun was a brilliant tangerine streak across the horizon. Raazaq's tracks pointed south across the windswept desert floor. Kane wrapped his arms around AJ's slender waist and took her mouth greedily.
His kiss was slow and voluptuous. As if they had all the time in the world. As if they'd shared a lifetime of kisses. He knew her body so well already, and a little part of AJ rebelled that he knew that sucking her lower lip would make her shiver, and licking a slow, silky trail across her open mouth would make all her girl parts contract and throb. He didn't have to touch her breasts to make them ache. He didn't have to be inside her to have her on the brink of coming.
Her body hummed with pleasure as his tongue slid between her teeth. She met him boldly with her own tongue, gliding and caressing, imitating sex until she shuddered with longing. She clutched the back of his shirt with fisted hands as he drew her hard against his body, moving her hips against him in an erotic slide, like a virtuoso stroked a violin. Lips. Tongue. Teeth.
AJ ached, and her heart pounded hard enough to hear it in her ears. They broke apart. Both panting slightly. AJ blinked several times, like a sleepwalker, to clear her vision.
"I wasn't bullshitting you," Kane told her softly, holding her body against him Without moving. She could feel each individual pulse point in her body throb in frustration.
"I know you'll do whatever it takes to kill Raazaq. What happened the other day was stage fright. First-time nerves." He brushed a long strand of hair off her cheek then let his finger linger on her skin.
"The first time someone is shot is a traumatic experience. It's the first time we realize just how vulnerable we are." His lips tilted in a smile. "Getting shot hurts like hell. Our brain shies away from letting it happen again."
"Some things in life are just begging to be experienced, right?"
He smiled. "Right." Then, as if he couldn't not touch her, Kane ran the edge of his thumb across her lower lip. He glanced over her shoulder. "Our ride's here."
"My butt protests, but let's do it."
"We need to get some rest," Kane said, following her to Kika. "Spell me while I grab a couple of hours, then I'll spell you."
"No problem." AJ climbed onto Kika with a smile. "I'll call ahead and make a reservation at Motel 6."
He swung his leg over behind her and slid against her behind rather nicely. "We'll take a camel nap."
"Camel nap, huh?"
Riding double with Kane on a slow-moving camel was quite an experience. As the sun set and the black sky became a star-studded canopy, she appreciated the warmth of his hard chest at her back. He'd wrapped his arms loosely about her waist, not for balance—the saddle was as wide as a chair—but maybe, she thought, to keep them connected, as if he, too, didn't want to be separated from her. It was a nice thought, but knowing Kane, not terribly likely.
They'd removed their hats and stuffed them in her backpack. Kane rested his chin on top of her head. "What got you from beauty queen to queen of snipers? "
"I told you. I honestly wanted to make a difference." She smiled, resting her head back onto the curve of his shoulder. "It's all very well standing up on the stage saying I want world peace while I twirled a baton—"
"Baton twirling was your talent?"
"Hell, no." AJ gurgled a laugh. "At the time my talent was shooting marbles. But the judges didn't seem to want to watch me flick goonies for ten minutes at a stretch. I suppose there was something unappealing about having a young woman in a swimsuit onstage with her butt in the air, one eye closed."
Kane chuckled. "I don't know. Sounds pretty damn appealing to me."
"That's because you have a very sexy, very one-track mind."
"Apparently so. Okay, not marbles. What, then?"
"I did some fancy footwork gymnastics—"
"Can you do the splits? I once saw a girl in a circus who—"
AJ smacked a muscular thigh bracketing hers. "Can I finish this boring story?"
"I'm not bored."
"We are riding together so we can get a few hours' sleep, remember?"
"You take first watch. Finish your autobiography. It'll be my bedtime story. World peace," he prompted.
AJ snuggled her bottom into the V of his thighs and rubbed the top of her head against his chin like a contented cat. "Don't laugh. I did, do, want world peace, but I didn't want to chat about it. I wanted to be part of the people who can make it happen."
"Of course you did," Kane said dryly. "Why'd you do the whole beauty-circuit thing if you hated it so much?"
"My mom's gorgeous. She wanted to be Miss America more than anything. She was obsessed with it. Not mildly obsessed, but rabidly, one-track-minded obsessed. It broke up her marriage, lost her friends—hell, gave her enemies, for that matter. But as much as she so desperately wanted the crown, she never made it past Miss Junior Illinois. So then I was her shot at it. At first I was just happy to have her attention. Then I realized she wasn't seeing me. Her daughter. She was seeing her entree into the world she wanted to belong in." AJ paused when he didn't say anything. "Bored you into a coma, did I?"
"Keep going."
"Okay. But if you find yourself slipping into a stupor, don't say your weren't warned. Where was I?"
"Stage mother," he prompted.
"Did I say that?"
"Not in so many words."
"She was my handler in more ways than one. My life was micromanaged. What I ate, when I slept, when I exercised—"
"Sounds like boot camp."
"A hundred times worse. I was froofed, fluffed, and frillied ad nauseum, and dressed in scratchy, girlie crap from morning to night. My hair had to be straightened—too curly. That was one of the few perks. It took me a while to hate that life enough to hurt her by saying, 'no more.' Man, that was a different lifestyle. As far back as I can remember I was a tomboy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to be male, particularly."
He snorted, which actually made her feel good.
"Unfortunately," she continued, "being a tomboy wasn't something I could hide from my mother. I was always coming home with a skinned elbow or knee, or a colorful bruise. It drove her nuts. I was the only kid in the pageants who wore makeup on her knees." She laughed.
"I woulda kissed them better."
"Aw, how sweet is that," AJ said with a bit of bite that made him chuckle. "I just knew I could do everything the boys at the playground did. My mother, though, would put any stage mother to shame. She had a goal, and nothing, not even me, was going to stand in her way of achieving it. She put everything she had into my career, micromanaging my every waking moment. And every sleeping moment, with motivational tapes."
"Christ."
AJ shrugged. "She didn't handle the separation very well, She's the type of woman who needs a man to tell her what to do, and when to do it. She and my dad never divorced. But they separated when I was about five. Darrel still pays her bills and balances her checkbook. Our house was all frills and flowers. My father and brother's house was tweed sofas and paper plates. I preferred the paper plates. Gave my mom fits when I went there, because I'd come home more rebellious than ever."
"Good for you."
"Between them, Gabriel and Darrel treated me like a china doll when I visited, but I saw how they 'played,' and more than anything I wanted to be like them. Darrel wanted my brother to be a SEAL, too. But Gab was approached by T-FLAC when he was in college, and he joined up and loved i
t. I'd go over there for my one weekend a month, and he'd give me little glimpses of what he did. Not the classified stuff, but enough to whet my appetite. The more I heard, and the more stories my father told me, the more frivolous my life became, and the more frustrated and smothered I felt."
"Not surprising."
"I wanted to be a SEAL like Darrel. He and my brother said, over their dead bodies. 'Said' being a mild word for two extremely volatile Alpha males. I said, fine. Because I couldn't be a SEAL, I signed up for the Police Academy. I was three for three. My mother was pissed, the two men I admired most were terrified I'd be gunned down in the streets before I got out of training."
"Then you were recruited by T-FLAC."
"Best day of my life." She grinned.
"I'm sure your dad and brother are proud of you now."
"I don't think Gabriel knows, and my father says war's no place for a girl. My mother hasn't talked to me since I entered the Academy last year. I stole her dream of the crown and she'll never forgive me."
He'd fished a blanket out of the saddlebag behind him, and draped it around both of them, enveloping them in the warmth of wool. The back of his fingers brushed her breasts as he gathered it in front of her. "She loves you," he told her. "She'll get over it."
AJ gave a half laugh. "You don't know my mother."
"Bad, huh?"
"Think the evil queen in Snow White," AJ said dryly. "Mirror and all."
"Will she get over it?"
AJ shrugged. "I hope so." There was a world of hurt in her voice. "She's pretty unforgiving. It's tough when someone wants something that badly and it's stolen from them."
"You didn't steal anything." Kane brushed aside her hair and dropped a kiss on her nape. "That was her dream, not yours."
"Doesn't matter. As far as she's concerned, I could've given her the crown, and I didn't."
"No matter what you say, your father must be proud as hell of you. An A-l Sharpshooter? Top of your class at the Academy? Recruited by one of the most respected elite private antiterrorist organizations in the world."
AJ's smile was sad. "Ironically, he wanted that crown, too. For such a macho guy, he's got a lot of very old-fashioned ideas. He still thinks a woman's place is in the kitchen. Preferably while wearing high heels, pearls, and a chiffon apron."
"And nothing else? I'm enjoying the image myself."
AJ turned to stick her tongue out at him.
He laughed. "That, too."
"Take your nap," AJ told him tartly, drawing her Dragunov across her lap and relaxing into her spine.
"Two hours," Kane instructed.
Other than the soft thud of camels' feet on the sand, the quiet was absolute. AJ had never seen so many stars. The sky seemed infinite and unbelievably vast. If one wanted to commune with God, this seemed the place to do it.
But somehow it didn't seem appropriate to ask God to help her kill Raazaq.
She had no idea how this was going to play out. A spurt of adrenaline shot through her system and tasted right. That was one of the things she enjoyed most about her job. The unexpected. The fact that an operative had to be on their toes and ready for anything.
And she was convinced she was ready. But nothing could have prepared her for the reality of the man who slept behind her. She'd known all his ops inside and out, having studied them at length. But she hadn't known the man. She didn't know he loved children—that had been evident from the way he'd enticed the kids to help free the Humvee. Didn't know that he had a sense of humor that went beyond sarcasm. She had come into this thinking of him as a robot. Now that image was dissipating. There was a great deal to Kane Wright, including some secret she had not yet uncovered.
AJ figured that she was slowly eking her way through the chinks in his shell. He was a hard nut to crack.
And now that she was, nothing would ever be the same for her. AJ didn't have a clue what the future might hold. Didn't even figure she should be thinking about a future, since they still had to face and survive Raazaq.
Kane Wright was a lot more complex than the men she'd dated in the past. He was like the iceberg, nine-tenths submerged. She was a pretty good diver, but she wasn't sure she was equipped to handle what she might find at those depths. And really, she reminded herself, why try? He'd walk away eventually. They always walked away.
They'd get sick of other men staring at her, trying to hit on her, for one thing. For another, there was always someone prettier, more well known, or with better contacts.
She'd gotten used to how men looked at her. How they perceived her before getting to know her. Sometimes it was useful, like getting this op. Other times it was annoying on a sliding scale.
Oh, yeah. They always walked away. Unless she walked faster.
Her brother tried to tell her she'd never given a man a chance. Cutting them loose first. But that was a guy thing. AJ called it self-preservation.
It had never bothered her before, she tended to measure their worth by their staying power. But she had a sinking feeling she wouldn't be quite as blasé this time when it was Kane disappearing into the sunset. And while she'd spilled her guts about practically everything, despite what they'd shared she knew little more about him now than she had before. Clever Kane.
Being a T-FLAC operative was something she'd wanted more than anything else. It had become an obtainable dream. She was a T-FLAC agent, and with Raazaq's death, her reputation would be assured.
One day rookies would read her reports, hear stories about her ops, and want to be just like her. She'd be a great role model for the new female students.
What a woman looked like had nothing to do with how she did her job. It didn't give her any more or less value as an operative. Being an excellent operative did that.
She was doing a job she loved, and doing it with her hero. And, for now, her hero was her lover. What could be better than that?
AJ knew exactly two hours had passed when Kane kissed the side other neck. His internal clock was incredible.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." She kept her voice low.
His chuckle was warm against her neck. "Your turn. I'll wake you." He reached around her and took the sniper rifle out of her loose grip. AJ immediately closed her eyes and rested more of her weight against him. "No bedtime story for me?" For some stupid, stupid reason, she felt like crying.
"Sure." His voice held a smile. "Once upon a time…" She fell asleep and dreamed she was looking at Kane's back as he strolled into a sand-colored sky. Rain fell on her face.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
« ^ »
AJ climaxed before she was fully awake. Her body clenched around Kane's fingers as tremors shook through her, shattering in tiny explosions as she surfaced to complete awareness from a dead sleep. The camel's rolling gait only emphasized the rocking motion shaking her body. She blinked open bleary eyes to a star-studded sky and a barren desert lunarscape washed by moonlight, her body singing.
"Wow," she turned her head to languidly kiss the bristly underside of his jaw, "that beat the hell out of an alarm clock."
"Wait'll you see what touching the snooze button'll get you."
She shivered a little and hugged the arm he had draped like a bandoleer across her midriff. While she'd slept, Kane had drawn up the all-enveloping caftan, baring her legs to the cool night air. But her skin was steaming—it wasn't the chill in the air that had her shivering, it was the look in his heated gaze that sent ripples of sensation along her spine.
A mile ahead, the Brothers Grim cast three elongated shadows against the moon-bleached sand. But here, it was just the two of them. And the night.
"You sleep soundly, I'll give you that," Kane muttered.
"If I knew my wake-up call would be this interesting, I wouldn't have slept so long." She glanced at the sky again. "You didn't wake me after two hours, did you?"
He shook his head. "No need. I'm good."
"Oh," she said softly, "you're better than good."
Hungry, eage
r to taste him while her body still shuddered and burned, she turned her face up to his.
He captured her mouth in one of his succulent, deliciously carnal kisses. His fingers delved into her slick wetness until her body did that quick trip down Electric Avenue again.
AJ's spine arched and her hips lifted for better access as Kane pressed his palm to her mound. His other hand cupped her left breast, manipulating the nipple into a hard, aching peak through her sports bra and the thin fabric of the caftan. She wiggled against the hard length of his penis, rubbing her bottom against him. He groaned, low and deep in his throat.
AJ reached back between their bodies and worked determinedly at his zipper. Eager to touch him, she cupped him and stroked his length through the fabric of his pants, and still it wasn't enough.
"As hard as I am, you'll never get that zipper down, Agile Jamboree," Kane said on a strangled chuckle. "If wishes were horses…"
His zipper opened with a satisfactory zip.
"I so love a challenge," she said on a soft burst of laughter as Kane groaned tightly behind her.
AJ laughed again as she snuggled her butt closer. "Isn't this fun?"
Kane choked out a short laugh. "You're out of your mind, woman."
"Hey. You started this, remember?"
He chuckled, a wicked gleam lighting his eyes. "You know this is impossible, don't you?"
She gave him a saucy glance over her shoulder. "Nothing's impossible if you want it badly enough."
"Oh, I do," Kane assured her. "But this is nuts."
"Move this leg." She patted his right knee.
"To where?" Kane demanded. "There aren't a hell of a lot of options on a camel."
"Okay. Watch this." AJ shifted her bottom, and stood in the stirrups.
Kane grabbed her waist as her body swayed, then shot a look at the distant trio. "Don't fall off. Jesus. Can't we wait until we stop?"
"Have you ever done it on a camel?"
"Nobody's done it on a camel."
"Camels probably have."
"No people."