His fingers stilled briefly on the dog’s belly. Fergus whimpered, flailing his legs to get Adam to keep worshiping him. The silence stretched between them as Adam gave in to the dog and resumed the petting. Josslyn assumed he would ignore her question until his quiet response shook her to the core.
“He’s getting out.”
Adam continued to pet the dog, but his flat voice and tense shoulders told her everything she needed to know. He was in more than just physical pain tonight. Her feet moved toward him, only to stop suddenly when she heard voices in the Center Hall. Trevor and another man strode toward them. Fergus yapped happily, likely assuming more belly rubbing was in his future.
“Are you okay?” Trevor asked, his good arm snaking around her shoulder and pulling her in close.
Josslyn drew in a pained breath. While she wanted to get to the bottom of the trafficking ring, she resented the interruption from her former lover. Adam’s revelation suddenly seemed more important. She glanced over at him. He’d donned his usual stoic mask while he quietly spoke to the other man she assumed was Ben. The sandy-haired stranger looked as concerned about Adam as she was.
“When was the last time you rested that peewee brain of yours?” he teased.
“I’ve got his Tylenol right here.” Terrie arrived carrying a tray laden with coffee, tea, cookies and the aforementioned pain reliever. She handed a bottle of water to Adam along with two pills from the bottle. “Take these or I’ll rat you out to the director.”
Adam looked as if he might argue before he tossed both pills into this mouth and chased them down with a swallow from the bottle of water.
“Oh, tell me Marin made these snickerdoodles.” Ben grabbed two cookies off the tray. “Try one of these, Trevor. I guarantee they’re better than anything you’ll get down under.”
Trevor made his way over to the cookies while Josslyn stole another glance at Adam. Fergus was circling his legs yapping for attention.
“Let’s go, Fergus,” Terrie said. “It’s time for you to go out one last time before bed.”
At the mention of the word “out,” Fergus began trotting toward the stairs, Terrie following behind him.
“If you two are finished with your bedtime snack, maybe we can get a look at that video,” Adam said.
Ben sheepishly took a seat on one of the sofas. He pulled a laptop out of his backpack and placed it on the coffee table in front of him and powered it up.
“Trevor and I have been in my lab poring over it since last night. Nothing jumps out.” He looked up at Josslyn. His face was full of sexy boyish charm as he patted the sofa beside him. “Why don’t you sit down here, Dr. Benoit. In my experience, a fresh pair of eyes always helps.”
“Please, call me Josslyn,” she said as she sat down beside him.
He winked at her behind the wire-frame glasses he placed on his nose. “Special Agent Bennett Segar at your service. But you just call me Ben.”
“That’s because there’s nothing special about him,” Adam grumbled before dropping down onto the sofa on Ben’s other side.
“The ladies beg to differ, my friend.” Ben tapped out a code on the keyboard and the screen came to life.
An unsettling chill came over Josslyn when the video popped up on the screen. She’d relived the moments in the bush numerous times in her dreams this week. Trevor had, too, she suspected. Reaching behind her to where the Australian stood peering over Ben’s shoulder, she patted his hand.
“Watching this won’t bother you?” she asked.
Ben chuckled beside her. “Don’t worry about him. He’s had ample comfort from the ladies on my team.”
Trevor gave her a cheeky grin when Josslyn snatched her hand back with a chagrined smile of her own. “I’ll just bet.”
“Can you zoom in?” Adam’s tone was all business.
“Not without distorting the image,” Ben replied. “This is as close as it gets. I’m running each individual’s image through artificial intelligence databases, but so far, no hits.”
Despite knowing what was coming, Josslyn jumped when the female elephant stumbled to the ground. She thought she heard a change in Adam’s breathing, but other than that he gave no clue that the video affected him. He was studying the screen intently, likely looking for any of the tattooed men they’d seen over the past few days.
Josslyn was looking for someone else. She leaned in closer to the screen. Despite the warm weather that day, the tribesman wore batik scarves wrapped around their heads. Several were also sporting sunglasses. They were the same scruffy band she remembered, but, at the time, she hadn’t noticed the great lengths they’d taken to avoid being identified. Following her hunch, she analyzed the heights and frames of those pictured. Three were average height, while one towered over the rest. She zeroed in on the shortest of the group.
She pointed to the screen. “Could that one be a woman?”
Trevor leaned in closer over her shoulder. Ben tapped the mouse and the video froze. He zoomed in on the individual she indicated. The image was distorted, but she could clearly make out his or her hand poised with a knife, ready to extract the female’s tusk while the others were gesturing to the baby elephant. Josslyn dragged her sweaty palms along the sofa cushion. Knowing what followed in the video, she jumped to her feet and paced across the room.
Adam was beside her in less than two steps. “The woman with Tseng. You know her.”
This was the tricky part. Josslyn didn’t have any actual evidence to point them toward Christian’s wife. But her gut was telling her not to ignore her being at the concert. Not to mention her make-out session with their chief suspect. Aside from the fact Christian was an annoying little turd, his family went way back with the president’s family. Given that his wife was obviously cheating on him, what harm would it do to throw the woman under the bus?
“Not exactly. But I know her husband. In fact, you met him earlier this evening. She’s married to Christian Sumner.”
Adam blinked twice, seemingly to process the information.
“He was in Zimbabwe when we were there,” she continued. “I never saw his wife, though. But Agent Shaw said one of the financiers of the ring was there that day. It could just as easily be her as anyone else.”
Ben let out a low whistle from behind his computer screen. “According to Google, the woman is loaded. Josslyn’s right, she could just as easily be financing the whole shebang herself.”
“And having diplomatic immunity would give her much greater access to come and go as she pleases,” Trevor added.
Adam was still staring at her intently.
“You saw for yourself she’s involved with Tseng,” she said softly. “It’s not that farfetched a theory.”
“No, it’s not.” He rubbed at his temple. “And if she knows you were in Africa that adds one more person to the potential pool of players who don’t want you digging any deeper into this ring.”
Josslyn wrapped her arms around her midsection trying to suppress a shiver.
“We need to figure out who’s calling the shots here,” he added. “And how the guy at the opera with the blade and other dude with the tattoos fit into all of this. Something tells me that wasn’t just some random fight you stumbled upon.”
“According to Christine, Metro PD took them to lockup at the second district station.” Ben pulled out his phone. “The director sent her over to follow up. Maybe she can fill in the blanks.”
“You don’t seriously think those guys were after me tonight?” Josslyn asked although, deep down, she suspected he was right.
“Until we can confirm otherwise, that’s the scenario we are going with.” Adam took a step closer. “I need you to promise me that you’ll behave.”
Josslyn bristled beneath his arrogant stare. “Behave?”
Trevor laughed behind her. “That’s like asking the sun to stop shining.”
Josslyn didn’t appreciate his words any more than Adam’s. Her glare let both men know it.
&nbs
p; “Christine may have something,” Ben interjected. “I’m headed back to headquarters to see what I can flush out.” He patted Trevor on the back. “I’ll drop you at your hotel on the way over. Adam, I’ll meet you back at home to compare notes.”
*
“Behave?” Josslyn repeated.
Sensing Josslyn’s impending eruption, Ben—better known as the brain of their trio—wisely executed a hasty retreat with the Australian in tow. But Adam couldn’t regret his choice of words because Josslyn was a loose cannon where trouble was concerned. He did regret not taking a large step away from her, though, especially when she looked like she wanted to unman him and hand him his own nuts in a paper bag.
“Yes,” he said, standing his ground. “Behave. As in listen to those of us in charge of keeping you safe. As in not taking any side trips into private offices or remote African watering holes or the fucking hold of a Japanese whaling ship!”
Josslyn’s smokey eyes grew wide at his outburst. Adam’s head pounded and he wondered if he’d finally lost his mind. One thing he never lost was his cool, though. Ever. But this woman seemed to bring out the worst in him. But it was his job to keep her safe, damn it.
Except, somehow, it had become more than that. How and when that had happened, he didn’t know. But he needed to make her understand that her safety meant following the rules. His rules to be specific. Before he could finish reading her the riot act, however, she spun on the heel of her stiletto and marched away from him.
“Just where do you think you’re going?”
“Apparently, the only place I can go without a security detail—to my room.”
He stormed after her. “Doolittle to the Queens’ Bedroom,” he barked into his transmitter.
“Not that I have any real privacy in this place,” she grumbled. “I’m surprised you haven’t attached an ankle bracelet to me.”
“Don’t give me any ideas.”
She charged into her suite. Before she could slam the door in his face, he stupidly followed her inside. He expected her anger—welcomed it, in fact. But it was the hurt reflected in her eyes that caused his lungs to seize up.
“Be sure and tell whoever is watching that the second body in the room is yours,” she choked out. “I don’t want the CAT team barging in here.”
Neither did he. “Doolittle is secure for the night.”
Adam kept his gaze locked with hers as he yanked the embedded transmitter from his ear. He slid the microphone from his shirt pocket and turned the unit off.
The air in the room seemed to crackle around them.
“You should go,” she whispered.
“Yeah, I should.”
Except he didn’t.
Instead, he gently shut the door behind them, securing the lock as he did so. He shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket, draping it over a chair before carefully removing his firearm and holster. After setting them on top of his jacket, he prowled over to where Josslyn stood. His body had been tense since first catching sight of her in the clingy dress slit up to her thigh and the damn “do-me” heels she wore. She sucked in a ragged breath, but she kept her chin up. Her boldness turned him on as much as her sexy body.
Adam closed the distance between them, reaching up to cradle her face with his fingers. “I need you to understand why it’s so important for me to keep you safe.”
“Because it’s your job?” she whispered.
His lips hovered above hers. “Something like that.”
He teased the corner of her mouth with his lips. Josslyn’s hands trailed up along his chest as her hips inched closer to his. Adam touched his lips to the other side of her mouth.
“I don’t want to be a job to you, Adam,” she murmured against his jaw.
That’s all you ever can be. He ought to say the words out loud. He was damaged goods with a black hole where his heart should be. The beautiful, brash woman in his arms deserved so much more. But the part of his body that seemed to be doing all the thinking right now ignored his conscience, instead fusing his mouth with hers.
As it was, every time their lips touched, something ignited inside of Adam. Need. Potent and demanding. If he wasn’t careful, it would consume him. She would consume him. And once she discovered he was really a shell of a man, she would walk away. Leaving him alone. Just like everyone else did.
For now, he’d just savor these stolen moments with her. Taking his time with the kiss, he kept it slow and sensual. His tongue parried with hers while his hands roamed her body. A sigh escaped the back of her throat when his hands skimmed along the soft skin of her back as he lowered the zipper of her dress. Seconds later, the sequins pooled at her feet leaving her standing before him adorned only in a pair of skimpy lace panties and, hell, yeah, a bra that tied up in a damn bow. He might have growled at the sight.
Josslyn chuckled softly while her hands fisted in his shirt, yanking it from the waistband of his pants. Her mouth fused with his at the same time as her fingers slid beneath the fabric of his briefs. He growled again trying to regain his control. Minutes later, Adam tore his lips from hers to blaze a path along her jaw.
“Joss,” he breathed against her ear.
It came out more as a plea. A plea for one of them to regain their sanity. For one of them to tear their hands and mouth off the other and walk away. But this was the She-Devil. It went without saying she was reckless. And Adam . . . well, he was just a fool. His body was on a collision course and his mind was not going to talk him out of it.
As if sensing his inner turmoil, Josslyn captured his mouth again in another searing kiss. Her nails scored the skin along his back, igniting waves of painful pleasure. Suddenly, they were flat on the bed, his body pressing hers into the mattress. She nipped at his lips, demanding he take their kiss deeper. But his mouth had other ideas.
He scraped his teeth along the sleek column of her neck while his hands became familiar with her body. She bucked beneath him when he dragged his fingers over the lace covering her pebbled nipples. Adam tugged at the tantalizing bow between her breasts, lingering a moment to carefully adjust the chain and medallion she wore so it was out of the way. Executing a move rivaling a circus contortionist, she squirmed out of her bra. He grinned when she tossed it aside.
“You’re gonna need help with these,” he murmured against the soft swell of her belly before rubbing his jaw along the edge of her panties. “Lift that smart little ass of yours.”
She did as she was told and Adam dragged the lace down her legs. The musky scent of her made his balls draw up tight. He traced the muscles of her thighs, bypassing the spot he most wanted to delve his tongue into, settling for her belly button instead.
“Adam.” She dug her fingers into his scalp. “You’re overdressed.”
He was. And parts of him were protesting fiercely. But he needed to maintain control. To let her know who was calling the shots here. Adam crawled up her body, seizing her wrists with his fingers and pinning her to the bed. She leveled a challenging stare at him. Ignoring it, he brushed his lips along the slope of her nose before capturing her mouth in a hot, demanding kiss. As he expected, she gave as good as she got, thrusting her tongue and her hips wildly beneath his onslaught. He continued to kiss her senseless until she was pliant and panting beneath him. Releasing her wrists, he slid back down to her breasts. The silver medal she wore was rakishly draped over one. Adam nudged it out of the way before flicking his tongue against her nipple.
Josslyn’s lusty gasp shot to his groin. Ignoring his own wants, he slipped a finger inside of her. She was wet and oh, so tight. He swallowed roughly in an effort to retain control. Her hips pressed against his hand. Adam stroked her once, twice until she was panting again. He inserted another finger matching the rhythm of her rocking hips. Her fingers dug into his scalp again as the tension built within her body. Adam blew on her nipple before taking the nub firmly into his mouth. Seconds later, she shattered around his fingers, moaning his name like a prayer.
Adam’s own bod
y was strung so tightly, he could barely move. But he needed to get out of there before he did something stupid. Mustering up every bit of sheer will he possessed, he managed to untangle himself from her gorgeous body. Her gray eyes snapped open.
“Where are you going?”
To hell, probably. He swung his legs off the bed and stood. She tried to follow but her sated body was still sluggish.
“We’re not done,” she protested.
His body wanted to agree with her, but his brain was back in the driver’s seat. Adam put some distance between them, stopping at the chair where he’d left his sidearm.
“What just happened here?” she demanded. “Was this some sort of tease?”
Adam could feel as well as hear the hurt in her voice. He strapped his holster to his shoulder.
“This was me worshiping you.” Not that she’d understand.
“No,” she argued. “This was you trying to manipulate me. Again.”
He added her ability to quickly size up a situation to the growing list of things about her that he found sexy. “I gave you what you wanted.”
She pounded a fist on the bed. “That’s not what I wanted.”
Adam met her smoldering gaze with a steely one of his own. “I warned you the other night about wanting more than I can give.”
His words stunned her into silence. With a nod, he turned to escape the room while he could. Just as he reached the door, one of her damn stilettos slammed into the wall next to his head. He glanced back at her.
“I’m going to the zoo tomorrow at nine,” she announced. “With or without a detail.”
He would have smiled at her, but given how good her aim was, he figured it was best to concede the point and get out while he could. “I’ll see you at eight fifty, then.”
Slipping back out into the East Sitting Room, he glanced around to ensure that no other agents were wandering about. The last thing he wanted was Josslyn’s reputation being smeared because he’d been an idiot. He’d meant what he’d told her about worshiping her, though. Despite what she thought, pleasuring her had brought him satisfaction. She was a woman who deserved to be worshiped all the time. Too bad he couldn’t be the one doing it.
Shot in the Dark Page 14