by Dawn Ryder
He hated showing his feelings.
Keeping the world guessing was a skill, one that helped keep Dare alive and effective. Kagan was a master though. A man who never raised his voice and made a man wait for him to decide what was going to happen. Dare had no idea if Kagan was his name or a cover label. Not that it mattered. Kagan was his section leader and possibly other things Dare wasn’t aware of. It was a sure bet Kagan had roots that ran deep in the Shadow Ops world.
“There is going to be a nice little medal ceremony for the Coast Guard boys who pulled you two in. Take your witness to it and make sure the press has an open shot at her.” Kagan stopped and drew in a deep breath before letting it out. “Your witness wanted to help, get her on board.”
“An impulse which nearly got her killed,” Dare reminded his section leader.
Kagan grunted. “Almost doesn’t count.”
“She’s a civilian.”
And he was being defensive.
As far as plans went, it wasn’t a bad idea. Thais was right, he was taking things too personally. The problem was, he couldn’t seem to change his responses. Logic was failing to have the effect it normally did.
Kagan ended the call. Dare tucked his cell phone into his vest pocket. It was a habit that served him well. Making sure his phone was on him in the event they had to bug out fast. Communication meant being able to reach his resources.
He also needed to fill in Jenna.
Dare glanced toward the hallway but went toward Thais first. It made sense because the team was his life.
His choice.
His family.
Logic would prevail.
* * *
She was bored.
And yet, Jenna was resisting the urge to nap halfway into the afternoon because she was drawn so tight, the stress was burning through her energy.
Well, you don’t have anything else to do …
She scoffed at herself, finding a thread of humor in knowing she had all the time in the world and now, all she longed for was an inbox full of stuff to keep her busy.
Okay, lab. She really missed her lab time. The emails were just a necessary evil. What she really craved was a nice batch of new samples to test.
“What put that smile on your lips?”
Jenna jumped, whirling around to find Dare a step inside the door.
“Don’t you knock?” she asked.
Dare shook his head and strode another couple of steps into the room to elucidate his point. “If you can’t anticipate my movements, neither can a bad guy. There is no personal space in safety.”
She felt him.
In that insane way he affected her, like flipping on every light in the house in the dead middle of a moonless night. If she was being honest, she’d admit the reaction fascinated her.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jenna.”
She lifted a hand. “You might have to be a little more precise in explaining exactly how I’m treading on your space here.”
His dark eyes flashed. They really were black, which suited his black hair and part of her was über-curious as to his ancestry.
Yeah, he’ll likely think you’re being nosy if you ask …
Jenna felt herself grinning, which earned her a scowl from Dare.
“Cases like this,” he began, “cause a surge of hormonal response. It’s a survival instinct. You can’t trust it, Jenna.”
He clearly wasn’t.
That ticked her off because he looked so damned composed while she felt like she was sliding down a sandy cliff face.
Well, life wasn’t fair. No news flash there. At least she could give him back the cold shoulder he was trying to introduce her to.
“Fine by me.” She pointed at the doorway behind him. “Shove off.”
His expression tightened. “It’s not personal.”
“Well hell,” she exclaimed. “I guess you should have thought about that before you kissed me.”
His eyes glittered.
“I did,” he rasped. “I thought about it and lost the argument.”
He’d closed the distance, filling the room with his presence. There was a whole lot of logic in his words, and yet Jenna admitted she was far more fascinated by the way her body was reacting.
She let out a little sound of mirth.
His eyebrow rose in question.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” she offered as she waved her hand in the air between them.
“Let me be the judge of that,” Dare insisted.
Red alert …
Temptation was flaring up inside her, like a log drenched in lighter fluid. All she needed was one little spark and Dare Servant was playing with fire.
“You enjoy playing chicken, know that?” she said seriously.
“What part of me strikes you as safe playing, Jenna?”
“None of you,” she answered honestly. “But you’re the one whining about the lack of barriers.”
He slowly smiled and there was nothing friendly about the expression. “Sure you want me to unbuckle my collar?”
Oh yeah …
She felt like the wind was knocked out of her with his question. He was warning her, and she felt like there was a bone deep recognition of just how wild he was when he wasn’t forcing himself to toe the line.
“I’m a combustion expert,” she muttered, more for herself than for him. “Watching things blow up is a personal fascination.”
His lips twitched. “I’ve noticed.”
“And you like it…” she shot back.
Honestly, she’d meant that as an inside comment. Her eyes widened as she realized she’d spoken. His eyes narrowed, warning her she’d scored a direct hit.
She wasn’t sorry.
He caught her wrist and pulled her forward.
“Yeah, I like it too much.”
He smothered her response beneath a kiss that was hard and slow. Dare took his time, pulling her hand around him as he turned so she was locked against him, completely immobilized while he caught a handful of her hair and used it to keep her head in position.
It was bliss.
And a storm of insanity.
She shivered, enjoying every second of the intensity as she indulged herself in smoothing her hands along his chest. Up to his collar bones and onto the warm skin of his neck.
He shuddered, the reaction fueling her need to kiss him back.
It wasn’t her first rodeo, and yet there was something vastly different about the moment. Everything she felt was off the scale, like the first time she’d drank shots. It was fast, blistering hot, and so quickly done, there was no time to second-guess herself.
Not that she wanted to.
No, she wanted him. Jenna stretched her head up as he trailed a line of kisses down her neck. She’d never realized how sensitive her skin could be or how impossible it would be to contain the little sounds of delight bubbling up from inside her.
He drew back. Frustration drawing his lips thin. “Door’s open.”
She bit her lip because she wanted to protest. The glitter in his eyes told her he was just as interested in continuing as she was but reality was a cold bitch.
“You’re one hell of a pistol, know that Dare Servant?” Jenna pushed against his chest.
It wasn’t what she wanted.
Neither did he.
For a moment, his arms were locked around her, letting her feel his strength, absorb just how hard his body was compared to hers.
Her curves were melting against him and the last thing she wanted was to let him get away before she discovered just how mind blowing the experience might get.
“Are we closing the door or what?” Jenna was on the edge, ready to just throw every last bit of reasoning she had to the wind and take what she could while she had the chance.
Enjoy the ride … before the wave crashed.
“You don’t mean that,” Dare muttered as he released her.
Jenna started to turn away but realized she was likely be
ing way too chicken. So she faced off with him, locking gazes.
It was a challenge.
Dare didn’t miss it either.
She watched as his eyes narrowed, his features drawing tight with the same hunger gnawing at her insides. There was a certain allure in toying with the flames flickering in his eyes. Was it dangerous? Only if she thought it through. Which seemed less and less important as she stood there, so close she could detect the scent of his skin.
Man animal …
He suddenly grinned and lifted one hand up to his forehead where he cut her a two-finger salute.
“I’m impressed, Jenna,” he muttered in a husky tone that sent a shiver down her spine.
He walked toward her, making her tip her head back so she could maintain eye contact. Time slowed down while her heart accelerated. The thing was pounding against her breast bone as she heard her breath rasping through her teeth.
“You’re all woman.”
He was pleased with her. She heard the compliment and soaked it up, reveling in the moment of praise. Dare wasn’t the sort to hand out idle comments.
“Seems sad to waste the moment.” It was almost a confession, but at least her tone of voice resembled a declaration. Jenna felt her nipples drawing tight even as she enjoyed knowing she was standing fast.
Dare didn’t miss it either.
He contemplated her, noticing the details of her stance before he reached out and stroked her cheek.
“I’d like to close the door.”
Her breath caught, heat teasing her cheeks. He tapped the skin, his lips curving into an arrogant grin of victory.
But there was lament in his eyes.
“But you deserve better from me than that.”
He was backing away, the expression on his face determined.
“I know what’s going to happen when this case is finished,” Dare continued as he made it to the doorframe and grasped the doorknob. “You’ll have plenty of reasons to hate me, Jenna. But me being a callous opportunist jerk won’t be one of them.”
It was her turn to grin. “Careful, Servant, keep talking like that and I might start to like you.”
She was trying to lighten the mood, but his eyes darkened. She caught the hint of danger instantly, like a deer who’d been oblivious to the predator lurking nearby.
“Don’t … like … me,” he warned her. “You were dead on the mark. You’re here because of me, and there is no way I can let you go back to your life. I will close this case and have something to show for my personal effort, you … will be resettled with the stipulation of never being allowed to connect with anyone or place from your past.”
“Guessed that all on my own.” She sounded pissy but couldn’t quell the urge to just stand silent.
“You’re sharp,” he agreed with a nod. “And in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can’t change it, just my personal conduct. My badge is my identity. This team, my family.”
He disappeared as he closed the door. She was suddenly more alone than she had ever been. The forgotten décor of the room like some sort of comparison of how she herself was now lost to the passing of time and slated to be revamped in an effort to cover up everything she’d ever been.
Opportunistic jerk?
Truth be told, he’d been in more danger of her jumping him, just to prove she could make a choice.
She flopped onto the bed, feeling like a teenager stuck with a tide of rising hormones while stuck in a body that was too young for action.
Dare was … decades older than her in many ways. More worldly for sure, deeply committed to his badge in a manner she’d only ever expected to come face to face with in movies and spy novels.
The face-to-face thing was a major buzz.
Her body was throbbing, her clit begging for attention. In short, she’d never been so turned on.
“My badge is my identity…”
His tone had been so determined. Like he was hiding.
Whoa … girl, don’t go trying to save him …
Jenna forced herself up and off the bed. She took a long look at the bedroom door before going toward the bathroom and a cold shower.
She was all for tossing aside the rules she’d lived by before her life went through a shredder, but what she wasn’t going to do was be alone in choosing to enjoy the moment. Dare wanted to walk away.
So she let him.
CHAPTER FOUR
Dare’s team were very good at what they did.
Jenna stood on a huge expanse of asphalt outside a Coast Guard hangar. The afternoon breeze was whipping her hair around her face as she stood and waited for the official ceremony to begin. The members of the team who had rescued her were lined up next to a podium while she stood on the other side and listened as the Chief spoke about dedication and duty and the fact that she was alive because of the efforts of the men waiting to be decorated while members of the local press watched.
Dare and his team had blended in flawlessly with the people attending. Greer McRae was snapping pictures and sporting a lanyard around his neck with a press badge. In the direct sunlight, she caught the hint of copper in his hair. It suited the hint of Scottish accent that came out of his mouth from time to time.
Zane was looking too sharp in a business suit. More than one female member of the press was sending him obvious invitations. Thais had on a pair of head phones while she sat in a news van and appeared to be working the video feed.
Jenna didn’t see Dare.
But she would have sworn she felt him watching her.
Half the people here are looking at you …
True. Jenna’s smile was genuine for a moment. The crazy way Dare affected her made her laugh.
Maybe she’d tell him so just to see the reaction.
Not done playing with fire?
Clearly not and she refused to be contrite over it. After all, it seemed an extremely poor choice to lie to herself when the only thing she had left was who she was at her core.
Music started up. The press settled down, their cameras raised.
“Ms. Henson is here as an excellent example of what teamwork can accomplish.”
Jenna did her part, nodding as the men who had lifted her off the ocean were awarded metals. The press offered up the expected round of applause before the master of ceremonies concluded the official part of the afternoon.
That was when the press swooped in.
Jenna felt her eyes widen and struggled to grasp at her composure as she was surrounded.
Like a loaf of bread tossed in the center of a flock of pigeons.
Questions came at her from all sides as huge microphones were shoved into her face. Zane was watching from just a few feet back but held his position. Greer sent her a wink along with a half grin of confidence in her abilities to survive.
* * *
“Going to leave her to that bunch?” Thais asked Dare without turning to look at him.
“She’s holding her own,” Dare replied.
And she was. After a moment of wide-eyed shock, Jenna drew herself up straight and started answering questions in a clear, firm voice.
“When she calls you a dick again, I’m going to tell you I agree,” Thais informed him.
Dare took his attention off his witness for a moment to look at his team member. “Getting her in front of the media is the point of today’s exercise.”
“You could have warned her what to expect,” Thais said.
“It would have altered her reaction,” Dare replied.
Thais sent him a narrow-eyed look. Dare turned his attention back to Jenna.
You are being an ass.
Or at least he wasn’t making much of an effort to ease the circumstances for his witness.
Ass …
Right. It was a solid truth even if he was doing it for valid reasons.
He couldn’t let her fall in love with him.
Settling down wasn’t something his life-plan included. Even if he thought Jenna was damned cute. She
had a pixy hair cut that begged for him to shove his hands into the uneven strands of dark hair.
And she had a butt.
Vulgar? Maybe but he had a weakness for a girl with a little curve on her bottom. Thais was considered prime quality with her slim figure and tiny derriere. Dare preferred the way Jenna’s backside would give him something to hold onto. Her love of cooking was likely the source of her curves because she wasn’t slow. Her shoulders and arms were toned, proving she was hands-on all the way.
You might have noticed that when she went back into the line of fire … or when she asked if he was going to shut the door …
There were another couple of reasons he wasn’t going to become her friend. She was spunky and curvy, and his cock hardened too often when she was around. Better to keep her frustrated with him, better to have her putting up barriers between them because he was losing ground when it came to keeping her delegated to the parts of his brain where witnesses were filed.
So he’d be the hard-ass she called him.
No matter how much more he wanted from her.
* * *
She truly hadn’t realized how many television stations there were in the world. The press were eager to get their time with her. They offered her business cards with their credentials and her stack quickly grew into such a handful that she longed for a purse to stuff them into. The sides of her cheeks felt sore as she forced a smile, and she was pretty sure the two Coast Guard officers who had framed her were getting ready to strangle her if she elaborated on any of her answers.
The sun was a glowing ball on the horizon, turning the surface of the ocean to ruby red lava. The on-shore breeze made the surface of the water ripple while the waves crashed off in the distance. When they’d started, there had been a steady line of fishing boats making their way into the marina for the night. Now the parking lot was almost empty as the birds swooped in to dine on the trimmings from the fishermen.
“Thank you, Ms. Henson.”
The last reporter ended the interview. Jenna heard one of the men let out a grunt of relief. She turned toward him and flashed him a smile. “Could you point me toward a water cooler?”
Her question amused him. He jerked his head toward the hangar. With a quick “thanks” she started toward it.