SLEEPER (Crossfire Series)

by Gennita Low

  Much too late. His tongue drove her crazy as he teased her sensitized ear. She pushed ineffectively against his hard chest as she gurgled out whimpering noises.

  “Reed!” she managed to pant out, desperate for the torture to stop. She felt weak as a baby.

  He finally relented. He released her hair, sliding his fingers caressingly over her warm cheeks. “That’s much better than ‘shit,’ isn’t it?” he asked.

  Lily tried to catch her breath. Her left ear was still tingling. She was horrified at how weak she felt from just one stupid kiss. She’d never felt this way before. Usually in the morning she would be the one taking advantage of the sleepy man with her, not the other way around.

  His head dipped again, and before she could reply, his mouth recaptured hers. This time he wasn’t slow or tender. He kissed her firmly, as if he had a right to her mouth. She couldn’t help herself; she responded equally fiercely.

  He lifted his head. The glow of the morning brightened the room. Through her haze of desire, she noted that his eyes were more gray than blue, a shade that blended in with the shadows.

  “Why do you keep doing that?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound so husky with need.

  “Doing what?”

  “Catching me by surprise.”

  His hand reached for the sheets. “Because then I can see the real you.”

  Her mouth fell open. He couldn’t know…. Again, thoughts disappeared as he took his time untangling the sheets from her body. Do something, Lily. But she could only lie there, watching helplessly. He pulled back the sheets, revealing her body to his eyes. There was plenty of time to resist, but she couldn’t seem to breathe, let alone say a word. Once again she was naked. The silence stretched as his eyes roved over her. He seemed to take pleasure just from the sight of her.

  “You’re fully awake now,” he said. “Not out from the cold, not out from exhaustion. No medication.”

  She bit down on her lower lip when he finally touched her. Maybe she was still feverish. She felt hot all over. His hand moved leisurely from her breast to her rib cage. She sucked in her tummy when his thumb tickled her belly button. Her once-relaxed limbs were taut with anticipation.

  “Open your legs,” he whispered.

  “I don’t even know you,” she said softly. “Just because you saved me doesn’t mean I have to sleep with you.”

  He smiled for the first time and her breath caught in her throat. With the pale morning light behind him catching the gold glints in his hair and with the sensual curve of his mouth so temptingly close, he looked unearthly beautiful, like one of those mythological bad-boy gods paying a visit. And from the look in his eyes, with something very naughty in mind.

  “We already slept together, sweetheart,” he told her, leaning closer. His hand moved over her lower tummy. “Now I want to just wake you up slowly.”

  Her lips parted as his hand delved lower still. She didn’t seem to have any will to stop him at all.

  “Why?” she asked, then closed her eyes as his hand slipped between her thighs. Every one of her senses zeroed in on the knowing glide of his fingers as he turned her into a useless puddle of emotional need.

  His breath was warm. “Tell me you’re awake and willing, and I’ll tell you why.”

  Her legs parted of their own accord. She was pretty sure he could tell she was only too willing.

  “Why?” she asked again as his fingers continued their sensual exploration. She inhaled sharply as the tingling sensation built into a tighter knot.

  “When I first saw you, you were blond and beautiful,” he told her. “Now you’re brunette and beautiful. And it’s your natural color.”

  Startled by his words, she opened her eyes. He was looking at where his hand was causing such havoc. She’d forgotten about her wig. She must have lost it in the river. Right now…she didn’t really care where the hell her wig was….

  “So I wonder who this Lily is who won’t tell me anything about herself,” he continued. “You’re so beautiful outside. What are you like inside? Can I get to know you? Make you tell me all your secrets?”

  All the while his fingers glided against her erotically, his timing slow and perfect. Lily looked down at his hand nestled so intimately between her legs. A fire was slowly consuming her, making it hard to think about anything.

  Secrets? She had plenty of secrets, but sex wouldn’t get any secrets out of her. She moaned softly as a finger invaded her softness. Would it? Her whole being screamed for release, as he seemed to stretch each pleasurable glide to eternity. She pushed her hip up to meet those fingers, a silent urge for him to go faster. He did. Just a bit. A long sensual pull upwards, leaving her aching for more. A heart-stopping pause, causing her lower body to shudder in pleasurable agony.

  Lips swallowed her moans. Tongue invaded her mouth. The intimate caress below restarted. She responded eagerly as she followed his finger gliding down. Faster. Please. Another mind-blowing pause. She almost died. Then it began again.

  Ravished. That was what it felt. When she’d first met him, she’d expected seduction, but this was more than that.

  She could handle seduction. One had to be innocent or untouched in some form to be seduced, and she was far from that. So she had been reasonably sure he’d fail if he had seduction on his mind.

  But she hadn’t counted on fighting her own attraction, too. Not another gunrunner. And she certainly hadn’t expected to be lying here naked, aroused to the point of no return, without even a whimper of a fight.

  His lips trailed down her chest. A hot tongue surrounded her tender nipple.

  Lily whimpered.

  A hand slid under her, arching her back, bringing her breast fully into that hot mouth. It felt like when he’d dipped her, but this time, it was a sexual tango, with his tongue and fingers doing all the dancing.

  Her head rolled back helplessly as he tortured her other nipple. His finger stroked faster. Finally.

  Ravished. Beyond thought. Just an urgent, urgent need, one she’d never felt before. This was…untouched territory.

  “Trust me, Lily.”

  That was all she heard as she hung on to the handsome stranger seducing her. With a last choked cry, she let go.

  * * *

  There’s a devil inside all of us, dude. Sometimes he just makes us do things to get us into more trouble. Where do you think that expression came from?

  Somewhere in heaven, Arch must be laughing his ass off, because Reed had found that devil inside him. On the one hand, he kept warning himself not to get emotionally involved, and then he abruptly turned around and did just that. On the other hand, he wanted to protect Lily from everything, which was, of course, not possible when the woman didn’t trust or know him.

  A naked, achingly beautiful woman in bed, one whose secrets he needed. He didn’t have the time to nurture any trust, nor was this the place to start something normal. Maybe it was just genetic, he didn’t know. He just knew, innately, that to get what he wanted, to achieve what he hoped for, he needed to bond quickly and intimately.

  As a SEAL, Reed had learned not to second-guess himself during times of action. Never, at a crucial moment, wonder whether it was the right thing to do. Sight the target. Pull the trigger.

  He just knew he wanted to touch this woman again, that to penetrate her most secretive layers, he would have to go after her when she was least expecting it. He was a man after all; he could feel her attraction and her desire. They seemed to be communicating with their bodies more than with words and so he had followed instinct and made his move.

  She shuddered in his arms as she climaxed and he went ruthlessly after her pleasure, prolonging it. A woman giving herself in intimacy was at her most vulnerable and he would deepen this bond the only way a man could, by pleasuring her in the most memorable way.

  He loved the way her nipples puckered in his mouth, as she strained against him while another wave of pleasure hit her body. His own body ached to climb on top and sink insid
e her. He nibbled gently and she groaned.

  “Reed…”

  “Trust me,” he repeated. She was wet with need. He inserted a finger inside her. Wet and tight. She moaned again as he opened her slick folds, sliding his finger against the hidden nub and gaining an involuntary shiver when he found it.

  “Reed, not yet…too sensitive…”

  “I’ll make it good,” he promised. He wanted to start her fire again. It was like riding an incredible wave and wanting more. His cock strained inside his shorts, wanting out. “Are you on the pill?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  His cock was going to be an unhappy camper. “I don’t have any condoms.”

  Her dark eyes smoldered with emotion. “I want you inside me,” she said. Her hands reached down to join his. “You have to stop. I can’t think when you’re teasing me.”

  “Don’t you like it?”

  “I…yes, but…”

  “Then enjoy it, Lily.” He liked seeing her this way.

  “What…about you?”

  “Later,” he told her. If his cock could kill, he would be a dead man now. “I’m a very patient guy. Now shut up…where was I?”

  “Reed!”

  He ignored the growing heat in his own pants, concentrating on the woman instead. She squeezed her thighs together and came violently this time, her limbs thrashing as she sobbed.

  A beautiful, delicate flower. With thorns. They were woeful protection from him right now. And for that reason alone, he wouldn’t give in to his own needs. Later.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked, lying quiescent in his arms now.

  He smoothed the hair from her brow. “I was wondering whether calling down for them to deliver condoms would give the hotel staff more sordid tales to tell. After all, they’re going to have lots to talk about once they clean the bathroom and see those muddy clothes.”

  She stared at him for a moment, then laughed, a small, hiccupy chuckle. “You say the funniest things, you know that? I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “What is?”

  She was quiet for a moment, then she raised a hand and ruffled his hair, as if she wanted to make sure he was real. “No man has ever made me come before sex,” she said quietly. “In fact—”

  She was lost in thought for a moment. He remembered Nikki and Amber mentioning that Bradford Sun and Lily had been an item. He wondered whether she was thinking about her ex-lover. That cooled his rampant desire. He didn’t want to make love to her while she had another man on her mind.

  “Let’s eat,” he said. She frowned at his change of subject. “What do you want for breakfast? I’m starving.”

  “Reed, can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure, what?”

  “Make a call for me.”

  “I got a cell phone for you. You can make the call while I order up some food.”

  “No.” Her voice had turned forceful. She bit her lower lip. “Can you…do it for me?”

  He didn’t want her communicating with anyone anyway, but she was making his job of keeping her out of circulation from everything too damn easy.

  “Sure,” he said. “Who do you want me to call?”

  “Just a girlfriend. I want her to know I’m okay.”

  The girls. But why wouldn’t she talk to them? “Why can’t you tell her yourself?” he asked, casually outlining the bone structure of her face with his forefinger.

  She moved restlessly. “I don’t feel like telling her the passports are all gone.”

  That made sense. She probably didn’t want to worry the girls, wherever they were. He recalled how young some of them had looked when he’d spied on them.

  “I see,” he said. He bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. She needed him to do this, so here was his chance to push that emotion home. Make her need your help, Nikki had said, but always make sure it isn’t free, or she’ll get very suspicious very quickly. “So what do I get in return for this favor?”

  Her beautiful eyes narrowed a fraction. “You’re demanding payment for a phone call?”

  He had to make her start thinking of ways to get him to help her. “Why not? You came to me to bargain about certain items in my possession. I still have them, you know, and you just told me you don’t want your girlfriend to know about the set that you just lost. I figure that means the value of my passports has gone up since last night.” Leaning over, he placed his hands on each side of her face, effectively trapping her. “I like you naked, Lily, but you already know that.”

  “So you’re saying that you’re playing some kind of power game with me?” she asked, her voice turning frosty.

  “Hey, would you rather I lie about my intentions? Do you think if I just go about helping you, you won’t be wondering what I’m up to? This way, we’re clear where we stand, right?” He came closer. Feeling her feminine warmth, he could feel himself getting uncomfortably hard again. “I’ll take care of you, sweetheart. I’ll make that call. Maybe even jump off another bridge to save your gorgeous ass. Believe me, I don’t run around diving into freezing water for nothing.”

  He almost winced at using half-truths to cover the real truths. He must have learned that from his mother. He didn’t like himself very much for doing it this way, but he had to get Lily to start thinking about how he could help her.

  He was breaking many of his own rules, but in Lily’s case, he was—literally—not himself. As far as he was concerned, the original operative plans had gone out the window. This wasn’t going to be a quickie job, not when someone was after Lily and, most probably, the weapon, yet there wasn’t enough time to just wait for her capitulation.

  Saving her life had given him a small foothold into Lily’s willingness to trust him. He knew, from her files and after meeting her, it was going to be extremely hard to get her to open up to him. It would be even tougher since she was on the run now. He had to get her to consider him as more than someone with whom she was stuck.

  She wanted his passports. He could tempt her by offering more.

  “I don’t have any money,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “Not the amount that’d interest you anyway.”

  Reed grinned. “Good girl. I knew you wouldn’t think that sex would buy what you want.” He looked down and sighed. “Although I’m really, really tempted.”

  That, at least, was the truth. He’d never wanted a woman more, and he’d never been more tempted into forgetting about missions and assignments and just letting his raging hormones take over. But even the devil couldn’t make him break the most important rule—protection or nothing.

  Lily’s hands slid up his arms and squeezed his shoulders lightly. “Once upon a time, I’d take that as a challenge, Reed,” she said. “But right now, all I want is to take care of my business and disappear.”

  “Which is why this game’s so interesting to me, you see,” Reed told her. “You need me right now. I like that.”

  “I don’t need anyone.”

  He cocked his head. “Oh yeah, who’s going to get you clothes? Who’s going to make that phone call for you? Who’s going to help you get passports?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Are you? Going to help me get passports? How?”

  Reed shook his head. The seed had been planted. Let it take root in her thoughts. “I might have an idea or two, but let’s eat first. I’m starving.” He rolled and got off the bed. You stupid SOB. He ignored his very angry libido yelling at him. “Coming?”

  Pink suffused her face as she slowly sat up. He’d chosen the word deliberately. “I don’t have anything to wear,” she reminded him.

  “You can have the T-shirt I brought up,” he told her.

  He picked up the phone to call room service, trying not to imagine how he was going to down his food while she sat across from him in a T-shirt and nothing else. His gaze followed Lily as she walked off to the bathroom. Better than her in that damn towel.

  “Yes,” he said. “I need some food sent up, please.”


  What he really needed was a cold shower.

  CHAPTER 10

  “Buffy the Vampire Slayer?” Reed asked as he clicked the cell phone shut. “That’s both you and your girlfriend’s favorite television show? Do they even show that here?”

  The call itself had been to the point. “Tatiana,” if that was her real name, had sounded as suspicious as a mother whose daughter hadn’t made curfew, except that she’d sounded all of sixteen. Once the password had been confirmed, however, she’d just asked for the message. Strange how she hadn’t seemed concerned enough to demand to speak to Lily.

  “Yes, to all your questions,” Lily said, food in mouth.

  Reed hadn’t realized how hungry they’d both been until they’d dived into the plates of breakfast food without any conversation. He was used to going without for a long time and eating at odd hours, so his body had learned to ignore the usual hunger pangs until the smell and sight of food came within touching distance. He felt bad. Lily had probably been famished and he’d spent all morning…stop thinking about the damn T-shirt.

  Dammit, what the hell was wrong with him? He hadn’t had so much difficulty concentrating before. The woman was tempting him every time she walked past him in that thing. Sitting at the table beside her was worse. His knees kept bumping into her long, bare legs. And, of course, he knew what she had under that scrap of clothing. Not a damn thing.

  He drank down his juice in one gulp. “Why did your friend need to ask a secret question anyway? It’s pretty juvenile, if you ask me.”

  She looked up from the apple she was peeling. “Who’s asking you? Besides, Tatiana’s a very young girl. She thinks this is a great way to let her know it’s really me.”