Dare Me (Take Me Series Book 2)

by Calista Fox

  He was similar to Conner in that respect. Both men would risk their own lives to rescue others.

  Nikki’s heart wrenched.

  She realized she was innately drawn to this type of man.

  And that made this situation an even more precarious one for her.

  She didn’t want to be a danger magnet…nor did she want to be attracted to one. Let alone fall for one ever again.

  Yet, balancing on the tip of the sword had always provided an element of excitement, a degree of exhilaration. When she and Conner were hopping from hotspot to hotspot to help people…there’d been no greater rush, no better sense of accomplishment.

  Except, of course, when they were eventually entangled in bed and could breathe in every intricate nuance of each other.

  Those were magical moments she missed. More than she missed the danger, of course. But Nikki suddenly realized that she couldn’t fully escape the fact she was accustomed to living her life on the edge.

  And it just might be where she belonged.

  So she said to the sexy QTango Ops agent, “I’m not forgiving you for the position you’re putting me in. And you will return my laptop to me, fully intact. But I have conditions of my own, Damen Castillo. I want to know everything about what happened in Mexico City and who’s leading this terror—”

  “No,” he murmured. Quietly, yet sternly. Forcefully, even. “Absolutely not. I’m not giving you any more information that might put you in further jeopardy.”

  “I’m not going to be in jeopardy,” she reminded him. “You’ve sworn to protect me.”

  “Consider this part of the protection,” he told her.

  “But if I know what to expect—”

  “Don’t try to analyze the situation, Doc. You and I…? We’re already complicated enough as it is.”

  “By a lot,” she concurred. “Just try to comprehend, Damen, that my brain never really shuts down. I have to dissect everything.”

  “And find a solution to any problem?”

  “That’s sort of the nature of the beast,” she confessed.

  “Then be forewarned… You might not get all your answers this time, Nikki. You’ll have to get over it.”

  Damen had provided the most basic information he could.

  In the safest, sanest way he could.

  Now, the issue he faced was his need to protect Nikki from Agent Garcia, and her network.

  Not to mention, from Damen, himself.

  As the plane touched down and taxied along the runway, he considered the night ahead of him. The remainder of the night. He’d have to let the program he’d launched run for the next several hours.

  The next several hours.

  His jaw clenched. This would likely become the longest night of his life. Certainly, the most tense one. Because Nikki Kane was along for the ride.

  The ding signaled that the airplane door had been opened and the passengers began to file into the aisle and exit to the jet-way. Damen stood and gestured for the two men in the row across from him to step before him. Then he retrieved his bag from the overhead bin and encased Nikki’s laptop inside. He slung the strap over his shoulder and reached for the Louise Vuitton rollaboard he knew, from his research, belonged to Nikki.

  He snapped the handle upright behind him and waited for Nikki to precede him. They disembarked and Damen maneuvered just so, allowing one FBI agent to lead the way and the other to bring up the rear.

  Damen already knew Nikki had no other luggage with her. They bypassed baggage claim and headed straight to ground transportation. A black Escalade rolled to a stop in front of them. The lead FBI agent opened the back door. Damen assisted Nikki inside and they all settled in.

  “I didn’t cancel your reservation at the Plaza,” Damen informed her. “Someone else will check in for you. We’ll pick up the tab.”

  “I’m not staying at the Plaza?” she asked, clearly disappointed. “That’s one of my favorite hotels.”

  “We’ve diverted the tracking signal. If anyone planned to intercept you there this evening, they’ll be in for a surprise.”

  Her gaze narrowed on him. “And yet…something tells me that won’t keep them from homing in on my whereabouts.”

  “No, it will not. It’s just a diversionary tactic. I can’t fully cut off the tracking signal until I’ve disconnected the dongle from the port. It’ll continue to transmit until I’m done. However…if we can send off similar signals throughout the city, it’ll confuse Garcia and her people. Send them in various directions and buy us some time.”

  “And where, exactly, will we be staying?” she queried.

  With a grin, he said, “Not a skeevy motel, I promise.”

  “I’ve tented through the desert, Agent Castillo. I’m not a prima donna.”

  “I didn’t take you for one, Nikki.”

  He didn’t say another word until they eventually arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria. She shot him a saucy look. “Definitely not skeevy.”

  “I told you to trust me from the beginning, right?”

  “Humph.”

  He shook his head while fighting a grin. “You’re a bit much, Dr. Kane.”

  “I prefer to think so.”

  He stepped out of the SUV and, once again, thrust his hand toward her to assist her. She ignored his offering this time and that made him chuckle.

  “Beautiful and independent,” he murmured.

  “Don’t forget it.” She breezed past him, following Agent Number One into the lobby. Actually, it was Agent Cruz, but the agent and Nikki had never been introduced. And in ten minutes, the FBI guys would be replaced with Damen’s own people, so there was no point in exchanging names now.

  The four of them headed to the elevators.

  “Don’t we have to check in?” Nikki asked. “Collect a key? Hear what suite we’re assigned to?”

  “There’s someone waiting for us,” was all Damen said.

  One of his colleagues stepped in front of the panel of buttons and made a selection. He didn’t move away.

  Nikki gasped. “You’re not even going to tell me which floor we’re on?”

  “No,” Damen calmly said. “If I had my druthers, I would have blindfolded you so that you didn’t even know what hotel we were staying at. So you couldn’t text the info to the McMillans. But, that would mean cutting off your visual of the laptop in my bag, soo… I’m going to assume you’ll take this as a good-faith gesture and not impart any information that might help to lead anyone to us—”

  “Fuck,” she murmured.

  “What?” he asked, a thread of consternation ribboning through him.

  Holding up her phone, she said, “I never turned off the location feature. I’m practically GPS’d.”

  9

  “Don’t worry about it,” Damen said. “We’ll take care of it. Just…turn your phone off, please.”

  She slid a paranoid look his way. “You’re not taking this from me, too, are you?”

  He fought a glower. “No. All I want is the data on your computer.”

  They reached their floor and everyone stepped out. Damen led her to the corner unit. “The rest of the floor has been vacated.”

  “Then what are all these people doing here?” She gestured toward the half-dozen or so suits milling about.

  “They’re with me. Security detail.” He accepted an electronic keycard and let Nikki into the suite, along with himself. No one else followed. He shut the door and crossed to the wall of windows that showcased the New York skyline. Pulled the drapes closed. Then he set the laptop bag on the desk in the corner and unloaded the computer. He opened the lid and checked the progress.

  “Please tell me it’s almost done.”

  “I have no idea,” he informed her. “There’s no status bar…and I’m not touching anything.” He gave her a pointed look.

  “I appreciate that,” she contritely said.

  “It’s not just for your benefit. I don’t want to inadvertently corrupt anything.”

&
nbsp; He didn’t bother to mention he wasn’t just talking about the data. He didn’t want anything skewing her files, either.

  While she stood in the middle of the room, apparently trying to make heads or tails of what she was supposed to do next, he went to the wet bar, opened a bottle of scotch and poured two glasses.

  He joined Nikki, handing her one.

  She absently accepted the offering, her gaze still on her computer.

  “I’ve made good on all of my promises thus far,” he reminded her.

  “Yes. It’s just… I need a really relaxing bath right now.”

  “I could use a shower, myself,” he muttered.

  She shot him a sharp glare. “What the hell are we supposed to do about the laptop? I won’t let it out of my sight. You won’t let it out of yours…”

  Damen raked a hand through his hair. “I suppose that means we’re sharing a bathroom.”

  “What?!” She glared harder. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Do you have a better solution?” he challenged her. And around that challenge, he was certain his tone—and the steely expression on his face—further goaded her to accept that they were already lusting after each other. It wasn’t as though either of them could deny the lingering gazes, the heat that arced between them. So what the hell was the big deal about sharing an intimate space? Especially considering he knew the bathroom would be as large as this living room, so…

  She huffed as she whirled around, scotch in one hand, suitcase handle in the other as she snatched it, and marched into the bathroom. Surprisingly not slamming the door behind her.

  Damen groaned. It was entirely possible that cajoling Nikki was to his detriment.

  He collected the computer and followed her. She’d already started running her bath, and had apparently ducked into the water closet. He set the laptop on the counter and stripped off his clothes, wrapping a towel around his waist. She emerged moments later, also with a towel wound around her body. She swept her gorgeous red hair into a loose knot above the nape of her very graceful neck.

  She was a stunning woman from head to toe. Yes, even her goddamn feet were sexy, the nails painted a deep crimson color.

  The tub was situated in one corner; the enormous, enclosed shower in the opposite one, with a loveseat and chair in pristine white separating them. Along with a coffee table and two end tables, both of which held tall floral arrangements. A striking crystal chandelier cast a golden glow throughout the room.

  Nikki added gel to her bath, provided by the hotel’s spa. As it bubbled, Damen went to the shower and cranked on the dual heads as well as the overhead rain feature.

  He waited for the water to heat. Then he yanked on the end of his towel, unraveling it. He tossed the thick material on a chair against the wall and stepped under the spray. Not bothering to spare a glance Nikki’s way, to see if she was stealing a glimpse at him.

  Best not to know.

  He was already fantasizing about what she’d look like when she dropped her own towel and sank into the tub. Wickedly dangerous thoughts to be having.

  He kept his back to her. Not for vanity purposes—oh, hell, no. She could look all she wanted.

  It was more for self-preservation purposes. In the event she really did possess enough restraint to keep from taking a peek at him. And because he wanted, with every fiber of his being, to leave this damn shower and slip into the tub with her.

  His cock throbbed as he shampooed his hair. While attempting to block thoughts—no, images—of Nikki from his mind. In his peripheral vision, he had a lock on the laptop. Not that he expected her to spring from her bath, grab it and bolt.

  She was naked.

  And he had security all over the place.

  And…she was naked.

  He groaned.

  His dilemma would only worsen, he knew, because even when the program completed its upload to her computer, he couldn’t return it to her until he’d downloaded the data onto the special, encrypted external hard drive his information technology people were delivering this evening. He knew that once he removed the dongle, the program and its full contents would be wiped from Nikki’s computer.

  He prayed that was all that would be wiped from her computer.

  Jesus Christ, if he lost her personal files…

  Fuck.

  How could he be so monumentally screwed? Forced into close proximity with the object of his desire—who was currently mere yards away from him with no clothes on—and be in limbo as to what was going to happen next. To them, to her prized possessions, to the intel his op team needed…

  And what about later this evening, if the program was still running and still neither one of them would permit the other to be alone with the laptop?

  Guess we’re sleeping with each other, after all…

  10

  Nikki waited for Damen to step out of the bathroom—knowing it’d be a brief pop-out, likely just to grab his toiletries. She quickly stood, rinsed off with the detachable showerhead and then carefully climbed out of the marble-encased tub. She was just wrapping the plush, hotel-issued robe around her when he returned.

  He scowled.

  “What?” she countered. “Did you really think I was going to wait for you before I covered up?”

  “I’ve already imagined you naked, oh, I don’t know, two dozen times at least, so…” He shrugged an impossibly broad shoulder.

  Without doubt, he was too hot for her own good. And when wearing nothing but a towel, the white material slung low on his hips, showing off cut abs and the defined swells of his pecs… It was a wonder she didn’t incinerate and fall to ash right there at his feet.

  Her skin flushed and her insides blazed. Her gaze temporarily fixated on a drop of water that fell from his damp hair and hit his traps, rolled down to his collarbone…and continued to trickle along his chest, coating his small nipple, then curling under the hard ledge she burned to splay her palms over.

  She wanted to lean into him and glide her tongue over his smooth flesh and lick the droplet from him.

  In fact, it was all she could do to stand her ground. To drag her gaze from his chest. She stared up at him and heat flared in his eyes—because he’d been watching her watch the trickle. And she was certain he knew exactly what she’d been thinking.

  Oh, for the love of God.

  Nikki wasn’t supposed to be getting anymore tangled up in this man than she already was.

  She wasn’t supposed to be getting anymore tangled up in this situation than she already was. Jude was working the legal aspect to extract her and keep her out of a federal prison for treason if Damen’s superiors didn’t consider her a non-threat to homeland or international security. She had a lot on the line.

  So why was she still standing here, half-naked, gazing at this gorgeous half-naked man…and thinking they should do away with the “halfs?”

  He seemed to be thinking something similar, because his rich, intimate tone lowered an octave as he said, “We’re not doing ourselves any favors.”

  He didn’t even have to elaborate. She knew to what he referred.

  “I guess you can’t help who you’re attracted to.”

  She’d been skirting that reality this entire time. Long before Damen had come out of his coma, she’d been captivated by hero “Nico.” She knew better than to get involved with someone like him, someone who couldn’t help risking life and limb to save others.

  That was not the sort of man Nikki wanted in her life again.

  But… No. That was a complete mistruth.

  That was the only kind of man she could invite into her life.

  And yet…all the shattered pieces of her soul told her to avoid his kind.

  Clearly, she was a magnet to that sort of steel.

  What the hell?

  Like she needed more torment eating away at her psyche.

  Her eyelids drifted closed.

  After Conner’s death, Nikki had sworn off men, in general. And, in particular, men wh
o purposely put themselves in dangerous situations. Men who would brave fires, explosions, natural disasters, bullets, whatever, in order to do their job, in order to rescue one person or one-hundred, in order to make a difference.

  She understood that some people were just wired that way, crafted for heroism. They had the innate, deep-seated, natural compulsion to save the day, to utilize their strengths, their cunning, their skills and abilities to help those who might not possess similar traits…who might be weaker or less fortunate. Or who had just found themselves trapped in an inescapable scenario. They wanted to be that person who provided the escape route.

  In a sense, Damen had been doing something similar with her the whole time they’d been together. He searched for viable options and tried to find a solution to the difficulty and complications—the sheer agony—that came with parting with her laptop, her precious memories.

  She knew to stay away from his type.

  However…his was the only type she’d ever responded to, sparked with, longed for…

  As she considered this, she felt the soft wisp of Damen’s fingertips along her temple. His head dipped and his warm breath teased her skin as he murmured, “There are some things you can’t fight.”

  And there are some situations you just can’t escape. No matter what.

  She knew this was one of them.

  Her lids fluttered open. Her gaze landed on his lips, so close to hers.

  It’d been forever since she’d kissed a man.

  Nikki had always loved kissing. She missed it.

  Terribly.

  Desperately.

  Especially when the man standing before her was the only one she’d wanted to kiss since Conner.

  Nikki had spent years recovering from her personal trauma. Had survived it because of her own expertise—and because of her best friend, Kate, who’d proved to be an anchor that helped to keep Nikki on an even keel.

  As Nikki’s gaze remained locked with Damen’s unwavering one, his eyes glowing heatedly, she willed the tension in her chest to loosen. She forced herself to breathe easier. She found her center.