Her eyes slid closed. Those wicked lips of his moved down her nape, then up to the sensitive spot behind her ear. A shudder rushed through her, one she couldn’t contain. He hummed his approval and moved to the other side.
He’d always been able to do this to her. Drive her wild with just one touch. With one press of his lips. It was another reason she’d walked away from him in Beirut. Because he made her forget about everything else and focus only on him.
“Mm . . .” he whispered against her. “You smell good. I bet you taste even better.” He nibbled on her ear and worked his way down her nape. Finding an extra sensitive spot, he licked, then sucked. His fingers tiptoed down her back to her hips.
Eve bit her lip again. Forced herself to remain perfectly still. Those sultry lips of his pressed against her spine, slinking lower with every kiss. When he reached her lower back, she gripped the watch tightly and held her breath.
She sensed him sink to his knees behind her. One big hand palmed her right cheek. His lips pressed against the other. He eased an inch away. “God, you’ve got a sexy ass, Eve. You work out, don’t you?”
“Um . . .” Her mind wasn’t working. She couldn’t think. “Yeah.”
“Running?”
He kept one hand cupping her right cheek. The other slid over the curve of her behind and under to brush against her sex. She was just about to answer when she felt his fingers slide between her folds. Her body jolted at the intimate touch, and she pushed her forehead against the tiles. Oh God . . .
He kissed the top of her ass and slipped his fingers up and around her clit. “You’re drenched, Evie. I can smell your arousal. Sure you don’t want to just give in and tell me you want me?”
Eve turned her head and pressed her cheek against the cool tiles. Drawing her eyes open, she stared at the watch. Forty more seconds . . .
She swallowed hard and fought back the need raging in her veins. “Piece of cake.”
He chuckled again and slipped his fingers up and over her clit, then down to circle her opening. “You never could back down from a challenge, could you? Spread your legs and arch your back, Evie. I want to kiss you here.”
Oh . . . God . . .
Eve’s heart pounded. Slowly, her legs inched wider apart, and she arched, pushing her hips away from the wall like she knew he wanted.
Twenty seconds . . . Eighteen . . .
His hands gripped her ass cheeks, pulling them open. His warm breath fanned her sex. She gripped the watch tightly in her hand. Stared at the ticking second hand. Come on, come on, come on . . .
Fourteen . . . Twelve . . .
His soft, naughty lips pressed gently against her clit. And all thought rushed out of her mind as electrical sensations shot through every cell in her body.
She groaned. Pressed back against him. He answered by humming and kissing her again and again. Slid his fingers down to circle her opening until she saw stars.
Her eyes slammed shut. Her hands pressed against the tiles. The watch fell from her grip to clatter against the shower floor.
She gasped. “Zane—”
His mouth left her sex. He pressed hot, dangerous kisses across her ass cheeks, moved slowly up her spine. But his fingers were still there. Still stroking her wetness. Still teasing her arousal. Still circling her opening, where she ached to feel him most.
His chest brushed her back. Then his mouth was at her ear, breathing heavily. The hard, rigid length of his cock behind his fly, pressing into her ass. His arm wrapped around her body, and his hand closed over her breast, squeezing tightly. “I think time’s almost up, Evie. Do you want me to stop?”
She arched back into him. No, she didn’t want him to stop. She needed to come. Wanted him to fill her . . .
“Tell me you want me, Evie. I can feel you burning up. I can feel how much you need me.”
Oh God, she did need him. But she couldn’t tell him. Couldn’t give in. Because too much was at stake. Gasping, she shook her head from side to side. “No. Round three.”
“Are you sure?” His fingers slid up and over her clit again, sending another shock wave outward from her hips.
She slammed her eyes shut and nodded.
His hot breath dripped down her neck, and he leaned even closer. “This time I get to use my tongue.”
Oh . . . fuck . . .
“Truth,” she sputtered. “I pick truth.”
His fingers stopped their relentless torture, and he stilled behind her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded quickly. Clawed for control.
He was silent at her back, the only sound his own ragged in-and-out breathing. Opening her eyes, Eve tried not to move. His hand was still resting against her sex, and his cock was still pressing into her ass, and though he was still behind her, she didn’t know what he was thinking. What he was planning.
Very gently he released his hold on her waist and lifted his free hand to brush the damp hair away from her neck. “Truth, Eve,” he said softly. “How many men have you been with since you left me in Beirut?”
Eve’s pulse picked up speed, and sweat broke out all along her skin. Of all the questions he could ask, he wanted to know that?
Lies tumbled through her mind. Anything to keep him from knowing the truth. Be convincing. Be tough. Son of a bitch, you know how to beat a polygraph. You can beat Zane Archer at this stupid game.
“I don’t know,” she said between breaths. “I don’t keep track. Four. Maybe five.”
His arm circled her waist, and he pulled her back tight against him. The hard length of his cock pressed against her ass once more, his lips right at her ear. “Try again, Evie. You were too tight this morning to have been fucking five different guys.”
She gasped. Braced her forearms against the wall. Between her legs he stroked her once, twice. She felt her limbs growing liquid, her body responding to his touch, on the verge of giving in. She pressed back against him. “Zane—”
“The truth, Eve. How many and when? I’m not letting you go until you tell me.”
He stroked her faster. Nipped at her ear. Rocked his hips against her so she could feel his cock pressing against her swollen sex.
Sensations bombarded her from every side. Her skin felt like it was on fire. And with every lick and press and touch it became too much. She needed him to stop. Needed him to make her come. Needed . . . him.
“None, okay?” Oh God, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Her body took over. She arched back against him. “I haven’t been able to be with anyone since you.”
He stepped away from her body. His hand lifted from her sex. Startled, Eve’s eyes popped open. He grabbed her and whipped her around, pressing her back against the cool shower wall, then moved in at her front.
The dark, hungry look in his eyes supercharged her blood. She tensed. Every cell in her body vibrated in anticipation. Strong hands shoved her bound wrists above her head, and then he lowered his mouth to hers.
She opened for him at the first touch. Drew his tongue into her mouth. Groaned at the heavenly taste of him. His hands found her breasts, squeezing and teasing while he plundered her mouth. He pressed his hips against hers so the rigid length of his cock pressed into her lower belly, and she arched up into him, offering anything he wanted, needing all he could give.
He dragged his lips from her mouth, pressed sinful, tantalizing kisses along her jaw and down her throat. Bent his knees so his cock pressed right between her thighs. Water sprayed over their bodies, splashing up to her face. “Tell me you want me, Eve. Tell me, dammit.”
Oh yes. That’s what she wanted. Right there. She rolled her hips forward, desperate for more. “Yes. Yes. Yes, oh God, yes.”
A tiny voice in the back of her head warned he could be playing her. That he could be doing what she’d done to him this morning and plotting a way to get back at her. But she was too far gone to listen. And when she heard the rasp of a zipper and felt his hands leave her breasts so he could push down his jeans, she forced it from her mind.
His hands landed at her ass, palmed the sensitive flesh, and lifted her off the ground. She lowered her bound wrists over his head while he pressed her back into the wall. His gruff voice met her ears when he rasped, “Wrap your legs around me.”
His mouth closed over hers again, and his hot, wet tongue pushed between her lips, stroking her deeply. Between her thighs she felt the wide, blunt head of his cock probing at her entrance.
“Tell me you want me, Evie.” He rocked forward, just a touch. Just until the head of him slid inside her. “Tell me.”
She groaned. Tightened. Bent her elbows and combed her fingers through his wet hair. “Yes, I want you. Please, Zane. Stop torturing me.”
His mouth captured hers. And then he pressed deeply inside her. And they both groaned together as he filled her.
Eve shuddered as she stretched around him. She kissed him, tried to hold on as he drew out and pressed back in even deeper. His fingers dug into her ass where he held her tightly, and he slowly began to fuck into her with longer, harder, deeper strokes.
She dragged her mouth from his and gasped. Water splashed around them, but she barely felt it. All she could feel was the tantalizing drag and glide, the tight friction as he flexed his hips and drove into her again and again.
“Zane—”
“Tell me, Evie. Tell me what you want.”
Oh . . . Tingles raced up and down her spine. Her orgasm barreled close. She clamped down around him and focused on that one spot. On the heat gathering deep inside her.
“I want you,” she gasped. “I only ever want you.”
His mouth claimed hers again, but just before the wave hit, he pulled her away from the wall and slowed his thrusting. One hand tightened under her ass. The other shut off the water, then yanked the shower curtain back. He held her tight as he stepped over the edge of the tub and carried her out into the bedroom.
Cool air sent a shiver down her spine, but the hot man at her front quickly warmed her with his heat, with his tongue chasing hers, with the length of his arousal still so deep inside her. In one swift move he pulled out of her and dropped her on the bed. The mattress bounced, and she looked up to see his face flushed with arousal, his skin slicked with beads of water, and his wet jeans just low enough to free his cock but still bunched around his hips.
Her eyes locked on his beautiful erection, thick, engorged, slick from her own arousal, and her mouth watered. She wanted to taste him there. Wanted to drive him as crazy as he’d driven her. She lifted her torso from the bed.
He shook his head and pushed her back down. “Uh-uh. You do that and I won’t last. Roll over, beautiful. I want to be as deep inside you as possible when you come.”
Eve’s pulse raced, and her body shook with excitement. She rolled to her belly and pressed up on her forearms as he lifted her hips and nudged her knees apart. Slick, wet fingers parted her and rubbed over her clit. She closed her eyes and groaned.
“God, Eve.” The head of his cock pressed against her again. “You wreck me, baby. You always have.”
He filled her quickly, and Eve groaned, lowered her head to the mattress, and closed her eyes. Yes, yes, yes . . . this was what she wanted. The only thing she ever wanted. Him close. Touching her, taking her, making her his.
He rocked in and out, his strokes growing longer, deeper, faster. His fingers continued to drive her insane, circling, sliding, rubbing. She tightened around him and pressed back into each thrust, seeing stars every time he hit that perfect spot. Closing her eyes, she focused on the orgasm she’d almost reached in the shower. Needed it so bad . . .
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her upper body off the bed, back against his chest. She gasped and tried to push herself up, but with her wrists still bound she had to lean into him for support.
His muscles flexed. His mouth closed over her neck, licking, suckling. Sparks of electricity raced down her spine. Between her legs he slid his fingers back over her clit, flicking again and again while he thrust in and out of her body, sending shock waves all through her flesh. Then she felt his lips at her ear. Felt his cock thicken and swell inside her. Felt his need for her reach its peak.
“None for me either, Evie. I tried. God, I tried. But even when I hated you, you were the only woman I wanted. Come with me, beautiful. Don’t hold back from me anymore. Give it to me, Eve.”
He groaned against her neck, his hot breath rushing all along her skin, sending tremors throughout her body. And when she felt his release, when she felt him spill eighteen months of frustration and need and longing inside her, it triggered her own intense orgasm that consumed her body, overrode her mind, and blinded her to everything but him.
She felt herself falling. Couldn’t seem to stop it from happening. Couldn’t make her muscles work just yet. Softness pressed against her belly, her breasts, her face. Dragging in ragged breaths, she turned her head and felt the comforter brush her cheek.
Zane’s arms closed around her, and he pulled her back against him, rolling her to her side. His damp chest brushed her spine, his own ragged breaths echoing in her ears. Against her ass, she felt the rough fabric of his wet jeans.
“Holy hell, Eve. You might just kill me yet, beautiful.”
Slowly, her eyes opened, and she stared across the dimly lit room while she tried to steady her racing heart.
But it was reality, not his words, that sent a shiver down her spine, and not even his tightening arms, pulling her closer against him, helped. Because thanks to her ever-loving weakness, there was no way she’d be able to walk away from him cleanly now. And that meant not only was his life still on the line; her heart now was too.
He pressed his lips to her nape and reached around to unlace the belt from her wrists. She’d forgotten it was still there. When she was free, he dropped the belt over the side of the bed, then reached down and dragged the covers over both of them. His arms tightened around her once more, dragging her back and into him. The heat of his body seeped into hers, slowly warming her from the outside in. “Promise me you won’t run when I fall asleep.”
Chest tight, Eve gripped his forearms. And even though pain lanced her heart, she said, “That wouldn’t be fair. I lost the game, now didn’t I?”
He smiled against her ear. “You didn’t lose, beautiful. We both won. Just like I’ve dreamed more times than I can count. Sleep, baby. We have a big day tomorrow.”
The icy walls she’d built around her heart started to crack. She closed her eyes tight. Pinched her lips together. Tried to breathe through the pain. Because in that moment she knew nothing—not the government chasing her, not even the biggest terrorist cell—could hurt her more than the broken heart she was doomed to have when this was finally over.
And it didn’t even come close to comparing to how much she’d miss him when she ultimately left him for good.
The gritty intro to Nickelback’s “This Means War” roused Zane in the early morning hours. Blinking into the dim light, he rolled to his side and eyed the illuminated cell phone screen sitting on the nightstand.
Fuck. Aegis.
He rubbed at his left eye and pushed up onto his elbow. Muscles in his back and shoulders ached, and for a moment he couldn’t remember why. Then his mind flashed to a steamy shower, to Eve’s wrists bound above her head, to the sexiest sounds he’d ever heard.
The music died off. He whipped around and looked at the empty bed beside him. Heart pounding, he shot a glance toward the open bathroom door, the room beyond dark and quiet.
Double fuck.
“Eve?”
No answer. No sound or movement from anywhere in the small, dark motel room. When “This Means War” fired up his cell phone again, he grabbed it on reflex. “What?”
“Good morning to you too, grouchy.”
Marley. Shit. He should have expected this call. Sitting up, he rubbed a hand over his face and worked for calm when he felt anything but. “Sorry. Long night. Ryder tell you to call?”
“As
a matter of fact, he did. He’s still a little too worked up to talk to you just yet. But he’s worried about you, Zane.”
Zane scoffed and looked around the room. Sometime in the night he’d peeled off those wet jeans, and they now lay in a pile on the floor. Eve’s ripped skirt and filthy blouse were tossed over a chair, but the clothes he’d picked up for her yesterday were nowhere to be found.
Anger simmered under his skin, followed by a nasty shot of stupidity. Dammit, he should have expected she’d turn tail and run, but he’d thought—no, he’d hoped—in some way he’d gotten through to her last night. Apparently, he’d thought wrong, but then, when it came to Eve, he was always wrong.
He slouched back into the pillows and pulled his knees up under the blanket, planting his feet on the mattress. A dull ache started in his thigh, one he knew all too well. “I seriously doubt that.”
“He’s just ticked you went out on your own on this one,” Marley said. “He’d have helped you if you’d asked.”
Zane fought from scoffing again. “No, he wouldn’t have. And he’d have been right to say no.” Shit. He rubbed another hand down his face. He should have listened to Ryder. He never should have gone after Evelyn Wolfe. At least then, instead of being alone and wanted for a major crime, he’d simply be alone. “Listen, Wolfe’s sister is still missing—”
“Miller’s on it. We’ve been in contact. As soon as we have news about Olivia Wolfe, someone will contact you. But that’s not the reason I’m calling. The reason I’m calling is because I need you to talk to Wolfe and find out if she knows about something called Project Thirteen.”
Zane’s brow lowered. “Why?”
“Because somehow, it’s linked to everything that’s happening.” Marley filled him in on her discovery at the State Department, the link to the Guatemala raid, and Humbolt’s connection to ADD Roberts in the counterintelligence division.
Slowly, Zane sat upright. “Are you telling me the Guatemala raid was a cover-up?”
“It could have been. Or it could have been coincidental. Whether Aegis or Humbolt was the target, we may never know. For now, we need to know if Wolfe has any intel on Project Thirteen.”
Extreme Measures Page 19