His green eyes darkened. “The one thing I don’t ever want to do is lie to you, Joss.”
Josslyn shivered again, but this time it was for a very different reason. She traced a finger down his chest. “Then tell me this,” she challenged. “Were you lying this morning when you said you didn’t want me?”
Adam’s arms tightened around her. He was silent for so long she thought he might never answer. “I’ve wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
It took everything she had not to bask in the triumph of his raspy admission. Biting back a grin, she took his hand in hers and wordlessly led him downstairs to the Queen’s Bedroom.
“Boots,” she commanded once he shut and locked the door behind them.
Chuckling softly, he plopped down on the chintz bench in front of the antique canopied bed and tugged at the laces. One by one, his boots dropped to the floor with a thud. He hiked an eyebrow at her as if to ask “What next?”
She stepped between his knees and his breathing stilled. Josslyn tugged her fingers through his hair before reaching down to carefully lift his holster over his head. Adam’s eyes tracked her every move as she walked across the room to place his weapon on the secretary.
He stood abruptly, his smoldering gaze locked with hers. Josslyn’s breath hitched when he reached behind his neck with one hand and yanked his T-shirt over his head.
“I don’t want to be accused of being overdressed again,” he said with a wry grin.
Josslyn gnawed on her lower lip watching him shuck his jeans. Wearing a pair of navy boxer briefs, he sat back down on the bench next to his neatly folded clothes.
“Come here,” he urged.
She closed the gap between their bodies in two strides. Adam’s hands wrapped around her bottom, pulling her toward him so his forehead pressed against her midriff. He inhaled deeply.
“I want to give you so much more than this, Joss,” he whispered. “I want to give you the whole damn fairy tale. But, after tonight, you can understand the things that haunt me. Hell, you know the whole story of my tortured life.” He gulped in a breath. “You called me a coward this morning and I am. But only because I don’t want to hurt you. Ever. You deserve more. So much more.”
Josslyn’s breath froze in her chest at his words. She didn’t need a fairy tale. She just needed him. Right now. Tonight.
And maybe tomorrow.
Climbing up on the bench, she straddled his waist with her thighs before touching her forehead to his. “Silly man,” she whispered. “I don’t need a prince. Just you. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
A groan escaped his chest before his lips slanted against hers. His kiss was reverent and filled with so much promise that Josslyn’s insides clenched with yearning. She raked her fingers against his skull trying to urge him on, but he refused to relinquish control. His mouth left hers to explore the tender spot behind her ear while his hands slipped beneath her sweater.
“Adam.” She panted when his wicked fingers brushed back and forth over her breast.
He murmured something against her skin, but he did nothing to increase his pace. Clearly his plan was to torment her slowly. At this rate, she’d be putty before they got to the good stuff. Josslyn thrust her hips against his.
Adam laughed. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about. You’re the one who’s overdressed this time.”
Josslyn scrambled off his lap to shed her clothing. Adam crossed his ankles and leaned back on his elbows to enjoy the show. Slowly, she shimmied out of her yoga pants, taking pleasure at the wicked intent shining in his eyes when she unclasped her bra and dropped it to the floor.
“Much better,” he declared as he slowly got to his feet and stalked toward her.
This time when he kissed her, he invaded her mouth passionately leaving her no quarter to take charge. Not that Josslyn wanted to any longer. The sensation of being skin to skin with him lulled her into a mind-numbing sensual fog.
Her fingers traced the muscled landscape of his back before sliding beneath his boxer briefs to his ass. Adam’s chest rumbled again at her touch. He deepened the kiss until it was his air that she breathed. She wasn’t sure if her knees gave out, but somehow, she ended up in Adam’s arms. He carried her over to the big bed. After gently depositing her on the mattress, he stepped out of his underwear and quickly covered her with his body. They were a tangle of limbs and sheets within a matter of seconds.
“You’re enough for me,” she whispered when he finally slipped inside of her.
Adam stilled at her words, his eyes shuttered. She squeezed around him eliciting another one of those deep groans. The sound reverberated through her body, spurring her on. She wrapped her legs around his waist.
“You can deny it all you want, but I’m not going to change my mind. You’re enough for me,” she repeated. “This is enough for me.”
He shook his head. Josslyn answered him with a saucy grin. Swearing, he thrust within her, the movement making her sigh. Adam moved, again and again, setting a blinding pace, but she didn’t dare back down. Because there was more than just ecstasy waiting for her at the end. She was sure of it. And she was determined to do all she could to make Adam sure of it, too.
He refused to acknowledge her statement. Instead, with the precision of a trained sharpshooter, Adam tortured her with his talented body. Twice he brought her to the edge only to pull back each time. When release finally slammed into her, her bones were nothing but liquid and her brain dust. Adam remained poised on his outstretched arms breathing hard as he stared down at her. That stoic expression remained fixed on his face.
He was holding back. Still. Damn him. She could see it in the tension gripping his body as he fought to keep his emotions in check. To not let this be about anything other than sex.
Summoning what was left of her strength, Josslyn wrapped her sated arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. He resisted only slightly.
She flicked her tongue against the salty skin of his neck. “At some point, you’re going to have to pull the trigger and hope for the best, Bourne,” she coaxed. “Be a little reckless and let yourself go. I’ll catch you. And I promise you won’t hurt me.”
His breathing fractured and he mumbled something obscene before driving into her once again. Josslyn frantically tried to match his pace when another climax suddenly snuck up on her sending her over the edge with a startled cry. Just as quickly, Adam shook with his own release before finally collapsing down on top of her. Josslyn reveled in the warm weight of him pressing her into the mattress. It was several long heartbeats before they each found their breath.
“See,” she whispered against his ear. “I’m still here.”
She thought he might have chuckled. Or groaned. It was hard to tell. His spent body remained sprawled on top of her as she stroked her fingers along the knots of his spine. Then his lips began to trace a path along her collarbone to her neck while his hands were making little circles at her hips. Josslyn’s skin began to heat again.
“Everybody always leaves me, Joss,” he mumbled against her jaw.
His words cut her to the quick. She grabbed his chin with both hands.
“Look at to me,” she ordered around the lump in her throat.
Adam’s bottle-green eyes were cautious when they met hers. His chin was hard as if he was primed for a knockout punch.
“You can’t live your life that way. Trust me. I know what it’s like to be left, too.” She swallowed roughly. “But I’m not going anywhere, do you hear? Whatever this is between us, I want to see it through.”
He gazed at her with eyes filled with wonder before taking her mouth in a deep, drugging kiss. Adam communicated his agreement with his mouth and his hands. Josslyn didn’t bother complaining. Not when it meant they spent the next several hours worshipping each other.
*
Adam tried several times to slip out of Josslyn’s bed, but each time she had some other erotic trick up her sleeve to keep him be
neath the sheets. She’d cast a spell on him; he did not doubt that because suddenly he saw nights and weeks and months in bed with this woman. Not only that but he imagined spending days with Josslyn by his side, as well. It would not be domestic bliss. Far from it with the She-Devil. But it would be a wild ride. The thought should terrify him.
Except it didn’t.
And that terrified him even more.
“It’s two in the morning,” she complained as he sat on the bed and tugged on his boots. “What’s the point of leaving now? You need to sleep.”
He glanced over his shoulder to where she was sitting in the center of the mattress with a sheet wrapped around her midsection. His junk grew tight at the sight of her. She looked like a porn star with her riotous hair, kiss-swollen lips, and beard burns adorning her skin.
“If I stay, there won’t be any sleeping.”
She had the decency to blush. “Don’t tell me you’re going back to the marina? It’s freezing outside.”
Adam slipped his holster on. “There’s a lounge for agents downstairs in the West Wing. I have a change of clothes there. There’s also a sofa where I can grab some sleep.”
“Good.” She toyed with the medallion she wore around her neck. “At least I’ll know you won’t be far away.”
He prowled back over to the bed. “Mmm. That way you can’t get into too much trouble.”
Josslyn stuck out her tongue at him. One look and Adam suddenly regretted getting dressed so quickly. He tugged at the chain in her hands instead. Her fingers slipped away allowing Adam to inspect the medallion. His thumb brushed over the worn silver.
“It’s Saint Luke. The patron saint of physicians and surgeons,” she said.
“Little known fact, he’s also the patron saint of bachelors.”
She laughed. “Figures you would know that.”
Adam let the medallion drop against her flushed skin. “Which begs the question, why are you wearing it?”
“It was my father’s.” She threaded it through her fingers again. “Daddy gave it to me when my momma died. He said it was so I’d know he was always with me even when he couldn’t be.”
“Well, that sure beats the hell out of the black eye my father gave me after my mother died.”
He instantly regretted saying the words out loud when he saw the pity in her eyes.
She grabbed his hand when he went to turn away. “Adam—”
“Don’t,” he cut her off.
As usual, she ignored him. “You should talk to him. See if there is any peace to be made. Not for his sake, but for yours. Aren’t you interested in some closure?”
No! The only thing Adam wanted was the man out of his life.
“I don’t need closure,” he said. “What I need is to find out why someone went to great lengths to kidnap that little boy tonight. And why someone murdered Shaw. And Mandla.” He lifted her to her knees. “What I need is to figure this out so I can keep you safe.”
The sheet covering her body slipped to the mattress when she looped her arms around his neck. One look at her luscious breasts and the blood left his brain for a one-way journey to his crotch.
“Don’t think I don’t realize how you changed the subject,” she purred.
To save his sanity, Adam stepped out of her embrace and yanked the sheet back around her. “We need to find out what Ngoni knows. He might not even realize he knows anything. That’s what happened to Marin. She unwittingly witnessed something she shouldn’t have. That could be the case here.”
She sank back on her heels. “I know. He was too raw tonight to question. I haven’t even told him about Mandla. Ngoni knew his brother was looking for me.” She shook her head. “It seems strange that he would be excited that Mandla was after me.”
Adam sat next to her on the bed. “Because we don’t think Mandla was after you. We think he was protecting you.”
“What?”
“Ben studied the videos. Both times Mandla showed up, there was also someone dressed in black riding a motorcycle. From the looks of it, Mandla was running interference. He was keeping whoever it was from getting near you.”
“Why?” She put a hand to her throat. “Oh, my gosh, someone killed him. Was that because of me?”
He wound an arm over her shoulder and drew her in next to him. She sighed sadly before resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“Not because of you, no,” he insisted. “Because of whatever is going on among the poachers more likely.”
“There were motorcycles tonight. Do you think they’re related?”
“Absolutely.” He didn’t bother mentioning who the bike belonged to.
“Tseng knows more than he is letting on.”
Adam brushed a kiss over her hair. “We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, I want you to stick to your promise to stay put.”
“About that.” She gnawed on her lower lip. “I forgot about Christian’s demand that I speak at Boo at the Zoo this weekend. As much as I hate kowtowing to him, I can get behind the idea of infrastructure support within the continent. Especially if it provides jobs that prevent the natives from having to poach to survive.”
“Get someone else to do it,” he commanded. The thought of letting Josslyn outside the confines of the Crown before this was all settled made his head pound.
To his amazement, she nodded. “You’re right. It’s too risky right now.”
“Get some sleep. I have mandatory PT in the morning, but I’ll be by right after that.”
As she snuggled back beneath the covers, she shot him a saucy look that made him want to join her. Adam resisted though. He wanted to spare her the gossip that would ensue if he was found in her bed come morning. As it was, he’d be taking a chance with any of the staff that remained awake.
Closing the door to the Queens’ Bedroom behind him, Adam tried to stealthily slip out of the residence. His progress was foiled by a little boy, however—one who didn’t seem to like it one bit that Adam was sneaking out of Josslyn’s bedroom.
“That’s Miss Josslyn’s room,” Ngoni announced, a hint of a British accent tingeing his perfect English. “You shouldn’t be in there.”
The kid had that right. Adam glanced around to see if anyone else was within earshot, but no one else was around, not even whoever was supposed to be watching over Ngoni.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asked.
“I got hungry.”
Just then, one of the ushers appeared from the family kitchen, a bag of store-bought chocolate chip cookies in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.
“I asked you to stay upstairs,” the usher said.
“I was looking for Miss Josslyn.”
“She’s asleep,” Adam and the usher said at the same time.
Adam said a silent prayer of thanks that the boy hadn’t come knocking on Josslyn’s door a few moments earlier.
“I’ve got your snack.” The usher gestured toward the stairs. “Let’s go back up to the solarium and you can eat them up there.”
Cookies were a good incentive for making a kid talk, Adam suddenly realized. If he was going to get any information out of Ngoni, now might be the perfect opportunity.
“You call those cookies? I know where they keep the good stuff. The homemade ones.” He said a silent prayer Marin had done some baking before she left for New Orleans.
Ngoni eyed him shrewdly.
“She uses chunks of candy bars instead of those measly chips.”
Adam knew he had him when the boy’s face lit up at the promise of chocolate. “Come on.” He led the way to the stairs where they went down one flight to the chief usher’s office.
“I got this,” Adam told the usher. “I’ll bring him back here in fifteen minutes.”
They cut through the family dining room to the pantry. Ngoni’s eyes went wide at the number of dishes, glasses, and foodstuff stored there. While the child appeared to have been brought up in comfort by African standards, the sight of such abundance had to be
overwhelming.
“This way.” Adam indicated the spiral staircase leading up to the pastry kitchen located on the mezzanine level between the first and second floors of the residence.
Ngoni cocked his head to get a better view up the stairwell.
“It’s safe,” Adam reassured him. “I promise.”
“You are Miss Josslyn’s friend?”
Something like that.
“My name is Adam. I’m the agent in charge of keeping her safe.”
The boy nodded in apparent approval. “Mandla is keeping her safe, too,” he said as he carefully navigated the curved stairs.
They’d guessed correctly then. Now all Adam needed Ngoni to give up was the name of whomever Mandla was protecting Josslyn from. The boy hesitated on the landing when the low-ceiling pastry kitchen seemed to appear out of nowhere. He stared openmouthed at the glass display cases showcasing many of Marin’s delicate sugar confections.
Adam tapped the boy on the shoulder before sliding past him to the back of the long, narrow room. “That looks better than it tastes. The good stuff is back here.” He dug into a cabinet in the corner and pulled out a plastic container. The aroma of peanut butter filled the room as soon as he unsnapped the lid.
Ngoni grinned.
“Told ya.” Adam handed him two before taking two for himself. “They’re not chocolate chip, but Chef Marin makes the best peanut butter cookies.”
“My grandmother makes homemade peanut butter,” Ngoni said around a mouthful of cookie. “I like it better than American peanut butter.”
“Homemade is always better,” Adam agreed. “My grandma made the best homemade apple butter.”
He poured them each a glass of milk. Ngoni struggled to hold his cookie, his milk, and the backpack he carried. Adam reached over to help and the boy flinched. Ngoni shoved the backpack onto his shoulder.
“I wasn’t trying to take it,” Adam reassured him. “I was just trying to help.”
The boy eyed him with caution as he nibbled on his cookie.
“Do you like basketball?” Adam jutted his chin toward the Golden State backpack.
Shot in the Dark Page 20