She held his head to her, urged him on. The feelings he roused…they chased away the chill. The deadness inside of her, but not Dani.
No matter what anyone said, Dani was still there.
As Aidan would be even after he was long gone.
And that made her need more of him. She needed it to remember a bit longer what it was like to be loved so much.
She urged him up and kissed him. Deeply, never wavering as she told him with her lips and mouth how much she needed him. Never hesitating as she pulled on his shirt and dragged it over his head. She reached down and undid the zipper on his jeans, freed him.
He groaned when she held him and broke away from her kiss. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, “I want you so badly, but…not so fast.”
“Not fast,” she repeated. “Only, I want you next to me. Making me warm.”
He smiled and cradled her face. “I want it, too.”
With those words and a smile, they both quickly undressed and then slipped beneath the sheets together. Bodies naked, warm, as skin met skin.
“That feels…good,” she said and ran a hand along the muscles of his chest.
“Really good?” he teased and ran his hand along her breasts, rousing her again.
She savored it. The light caress of the back of his hand, hardly touching her.
Easing her thigh between his legs, she shifted so they were closer. At her belly, his erection nestled contentedly, which was perfect. She wanted so much more right now.
She laid her hands on his shoulders and kissed him, made love to him with her mouth. Opening his mouth with her tongue to slip inside, she danced it beside his tongue before withdrawing it to trace the edges of his lips, eager to memorize the shape of them, the feel, so that once he was gone, she could still remember them.
When that memory was imprinted on her brain, she shifted her mouth to his jaw, kissed along the line of it. Moved up to the shell of his ear and his lobe, which she bit gently, sending a shudder through his body.
He moved his hands to her back and pulled her close until their bodies were pressed together. Her breasts against the hardness of chest. His hardness jutting into her belly.
He moved his mouth to her ear and then lower, to the juncture of her neck and shoulder and the spot that was still sensitive from the night before. When he brushed his lips there, it awakened her within and her insides clenched.
She butted her hips against him, but he whispered, “I feel it, too, Lizzy. Touch me.”
She did, reaching between their bodies to wrap her hand around him while she moved her mouth to the side of his neck. There was a purple spot she’d put there. Her love bite. She covered that same spot, sucked gently and he moaned. His erection jumped in her hand.
But she still took it slowly, sucking on his neck while gently caressing him with her hand.
He lowered his head, kissed her breasts over and over before moving one hand downward and parting her. He eased his hand over the center of her, already damp and hot from his caresses. “You feel so warm,” he whispered.
She wanted another part of him to feel it and eased her thigh over his, shifted her hips and guided him with her hand until he was nestled between her thighs. His erection pressed along the length of her.
He groaned, rubbed himself along her while she held him to her with her hand. He was breathing hard, gripping her shoulders to control himself. “I wish I could be inside you. Feel the heat. The wet, but…”
She wanted it, too, but knew they couldn’t do it without the protection that was just a few feet away in the nightstand. “Just feel this for now,” she urged, moving her hips to rub along his shaft. She dampened him with her desire, warmed him with the heat of her.
He was breathing roughly, barely in control when he finally reached for a condom from the nightstand. His hands were shaking so badly, he couldn’t open the foil packet, and so she reached up, did it for him. Took out the condom and gently unrolled it over his erection.
He groaned again as she did so, and then he was between her legs and pressing into her. The width of him stretching her. Slowly, he eased in until she no longer could focus on anything other than the way him being inside rocked her. Hot and so hard.
When he flexed his hips, she brought her hand to the small of his back and stilled his motion.
He met her gaze and seemed to know what she wanted, for he pressed forward just a bit more, causing her breath to leave her sharply. After, he met her lips in a kiss and for the longest time, that was all they did.
Just kiss with him buried inside her.
When that was no longer enough, he bent and sucked her nipples. Teethed the tips until her insides clenched around him. She knew he felt it because he groaned against her breasts.
“Do you like that?” she asked, and he looked up from her breasts.
“Yes,” he said, but then immediately bit the tip of her breast, yanking a mew of pleasure from her. “Like you like this,” he teased and did it again.
She held his head to her and tightened on him. It seemed as though he grew even larger within her, grew hotter, and she continued moving her muscles on him that way while enjoying his mouth on her breasts until it too wasn’t enough.
With the flex of her hips, she rolled him onto his back and straddled him. Drove him even deeper, which she hadn’t thought possible. She stilled for a moment, savoring the sensation. Relishing the warmth of him that was finally beginning to dispel the chill within.
And as temporary a feeling as that was, she strove for it. Shifted her hips and rode him to build the heat until her body was shaking and, beneath her, he was likewise trembling.
She met his gaze, joined her hands with his as the passion built even more as she pumped away on him faster and faster until, finally, her body clenched around him tightly. He pushed up into her to send her over the edge and he called out his own completion.
She dropped down onto him, breathing roughly, her body damp with sweat.
He pulled the sheet up to keep her warm and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled against him and laid her head on his chest. The strong, if somewhat erratic, beat of his heart reminded her they were still alive.
It was that beat and the warmth of him that finally lulled her to sleep.
Chapter 28
Lucia had been kind enough to retrieve some of Elizabeth’s own clothes while she showered. So now she sat, refreshed and clean, waiting for a call from Corbett Lazlo.
Despite that, she jumped when the phone rang.
Someone had run a longer cord so that the phone now sat on the coffee table in front of the couch where she and Aidan were seated. Opposite them, Walker and Lucia waited in matching wing chairs.
It was Lucia who caught her gaze for a moment before reaching over and picking up the phone. “Lucia Cordez,” she answered and a second later, she said, “Yes, of course, Mr. Lazlo.”
She reached over again, this time to engage the speaker. “Can you hear us, Mr. Lazlo?”
“Yes, thank you, Lucia. Ms. Moore, are you there?”
As if she’d be somewhere else, she thought, but didn’t voice. “Yes, I am. Do you have any news for me?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Moore. I spoke to the various authorities, but you must understand—”
“All I understand is that you say my sister is dead, Mr. Lazlo, but you refuse to let me see her,” she interjected, pain and annoyance coloring the tones of her voice.
“That won’t be possible, Ms. Moore. I have the CIA, MI6, even Interpol who all want their time with the bod…with your sister. They all want their experts to gather the evidence they need to close their cases.”
The cold returned full force. She swallowed, her throat tight with emotion. Struggling for control, she nevertheless managed to say, “I don’t want Dani’s body butchered, Mr. Lazlo.”
Aidan reached over then, grabbed hold of her hand to offer support. She latched onto him, needing the stability.
“I assur
e you she’ll be treated with the utmost respect.”
His promise did little to calm her fears. “I want to bury her here. With our parents. When can I…”
She couldn’t finish. Couldn’t picture laying Dani in the ground alongside her Ma and Da. She was too young to be dead. Her presence still too alive with Lizzy for her to believe it possible.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Moore, but that may take some time. You must understand that the Sparrow…Well, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Lazlo blustered uneasily.
It was Aidan who jumped in on her behalf. “She needs closure, Corbett. Let her see Dani and then let the experts do what they need to. It’s the humane thing to do, damn it.”
“Mr. Spaulding. I would have thought that you more than anyone would appreciate how important it is to get the evidence we need. You do want to confirm who killed Agent Lama, don’t you.”
Aidan was about to protest again, but she squeezed his hand. An unlikely defender rose up, however. “I imagine that by now you already have the Sparrow’s fingerprints and DNA. What more could you need?” Walker challenged.
A sigh that was part annoyance, part fatigue came across the speakerphone. “Dr. Shaw, et tu? This discussion is concluded. When the various agencies are done, I promise you, Ms. Moore, that the Lazlo Group will make the finest of arrangements for your sister.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lazlo,” she replied, but had no sooner finished when Lazlo continued.
“As for DNA, it’s time we got to business. Lord Southgate is on his way and I’m afraid we have some rather disturbing news for him.”
Elizabeth shot a look at Aidan to question whether she should leave, but he shook his head and leaned over. “Stay and I’ll walk you back to your cottage.”
She nodded, sat back and prepared herself for the report that was to follow, fearing yet more negative things about Dani.
“Xander, here. We’ve matched the Sparrow’s DNA to that at the scene, but that’s not the news for the day,” he reported in a too-cheerful tone.
“Mr. Forrest. Decorum, please. What news do you have?” Lazlo admonished.
“Lord Southgate provided the fingerprints and DNA retrieved from the vault located by Doctors Shaw and Smith. I got a match on the fingerprints from the Silvershire police archives.”
Lucia inched to the edge of her chair and shifted toward the speaker. “Xander, please make this long story short.”
“The fingerprints belong to Nikolas Donovan and the DNA from the hair links its donor to King Weston. Short enough?” His loud guffaw followed the bluntly worded report.
“Donovan?” Elizabeth said aloud. “As in the same man who hired Dani?”
“And if the prints belong to him, what are the odds that the DNA doesn’t?” Walker added and shook his head.
“Lord Southgate—”
“Isn’t going to like this one bit,” came from the doorway. Everyone jumped to their feet and stood awkwardly, except for Elizabeth. She immediately dipped into a curtsy. “Your Grace.”
Lord Russell Southgate, Duke of Carrington and soon to be king, waved off her display, clearly uncomfortable. “Please, Ms. Moore. Rise, and also accept my sympathies for your recent loss.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she responded and watched as the duke sauntered in and stood before the group.
“Mr. Lazlo, are you there?” he asked the speakerphone.
“I am, Your Grace, and I apologize about the manner in which this information came to you,” Corbett Lazlo replied, obviously annoyed.
“That’s fine, but…Mr. Xander. Are you sure about the results?”
Xander hesitated and in the background, the sound of rustling papers came across the line before the young agent finally responded. “Yes, sir. No doubt about the match on the prints or the DNA. If we find the donor of the hair, you’ve found Weston’s real son.”
“And you believe that would be Nikolas Donovan?” the duke pressed.
“Yes. It’s only logical that since the prints and hair were the only things in the vault, there’s a connection,” Lazlo offered up for his technician.
“And easy enough to confirm if you can get a sample. Some more hair, preferably with the root or some skin. Saliva or some other body fluid,” Xander said calmly.
Elizabeth had been listening intently and almost failed to notice that the duke had now turned his attention to her and Aidan. When he spoke, it was directed to them.
“I understand that the Sparrow identified a man named Donovan as the one who hired her to eliminate Reginald.”
Aidan quickly added, “We also suspect that Donovan was the one who shot the Sparrow.”
Lord Southgate paced back and forth for a second before advising, “Although Nikolas served in the military, I find it hard to believe that he could locate and kill someone that various international agencies have been unsuccessfully chasing for years.”
“He had information the Sparrow wanted. That might have made her vulnerable,” Aidan offered and Elizabeth chimed in with, “Donovan told my sister that he possessed information on who murdered our parents.”
Again Southgate paused to digest that statement. Finally he asked, “And Reginald was somehow connected to their murder?
“Apparently, Reginald was using cocaine he purchased from the men responsible for the murders. I know killing him was wrong, but Reginald and those men should have been punished for what they did,” she urged.
The duke shocked her by agreeing. “Punishment delayed is punishment denied. Nevertheless, Donovan’s reasons for Reginald’s murder would seem to be for personal gain. Highly unlike the Nikolas Donovan I know.”
“I would suggest that we track him down and get not only the sample, but question him about his whereabouts the last few days. We could also do a GSR test to confirm whether he’s fired a weapon recently,” Aidan suggested.
“Sounds like a plan, but…Nikolas and I know each other. Quite well, actually.”
“We can provide backup, Your Grace, if I understand that what you’d like to do is approach him first,” Lazlo offered.
Lord Southgate ratified that was his intent with a regal motion of his head. “That’s exactly what I’d like to do.”
“Lucia and I will go along, Mr. Lazlo. Agent Spaulding needs to keep an eye on Ms. Moore until we ascertain whether she’s still in danger,” Walker indicated and rose from his chair.
After a flurry of goodbyes, only Aidan and Elizabeth remained, standing before each other awkwardly. “I guess I should walk you back to the cottage. Make sure the surveillance and other things are still intact so I can keep an eye on you.”
“You know that’s really not necessary. The watching. Once Lord Southgate talks to Donovan—”
“I understand, Lizzy. I don’t have to be the one watching.” With those words, he stepped away and made a call. He was speaking too low for her to hear. When he returned, however, he said, “I’ve arranged for a detail to watch your grounds. This way you can try and get things back to normal.”
Elizabeth couldn’t imagine things being normal. At least not for awhile. First she had to call family and friends, tell them about Dani’s death. After that, she’d arrange for a memorial until the Lazlo Group released her body and after that…maybe after that…
Who was she kidding? Even after that things wouldn’t be normal. Her sister was dead and Aidan…
Aidan would be gone. “I need to go. I’ve got a lot to handle,” she said.
He walked with her all the way back to her cottage. As they neared her home, the door opened and Nat, Kate and Samantha stepped out.
“I called them earlier,” he said. “Figured you could use the support.”
Tears came to her eyes at this thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”
She faced him and swiped at the tears. “I guess this is…goodbye.”
Aidan stuffed his fingertips into his jeans pockets. A familiar pose. One which dragged a smile to her face despite the sadness of the moment.
He rocked back and forth on his heels for a second and then finally said, “I’ll be around for a little while. If you need me.”
“Right. Take care of yourself, Aidan,” she said and whirled, hurried from him and toward the women anxiously waiting at the door to the cottage.
They circled her and herded her inside, but not before looking his way and shooting him looks that warned him to go away and stay away. He couldn’t blame them in a way. He’d hurt her. Nothing was going to change that.
But in time, she would forget him.
In time, he was certain he would forget her, as well.
It was part of who he was. What he was. What he had done since he was a child and become used to a wandering life.
Nothing was going to change that, especially not a woman like Elizabeth who needed stability and a place to call home.
Those things were not in his game plan. Ever.
Chapter 29
Nikolas Donovan had disappeared.
Lord Southgate had tried every location he knew. Called every friend they had in common. None had any idea where Donovan had gone.
Donovan had run like the guilty man he might be, Aidan thought as he reviewed the report Lazlo had e-mailed that morning about Donovan’s disappearance.
From the looks of it, Donovan had left some time close to when Dani had been shot. Now, days later, the only clue they had was a report that he had been spotted in France.
Which meant that for the moment, Lizzy was safe.
The cell phone on his PDA rang and he pulled it off his belt, answered. “Spaulding here.”
“Mr. Spaulding. Lazlo here.”
As if he wouldn’t recognize his boss’s voice after seven years. “Mr. Lazlo. I was just getting ready to call. It would appear it’s time to give Ms. Moore back her privacy.”
“Do it then, Aidan. Remove the surveillance equipment and the detail guarding her, but after…Lord Southgate has asked us to track down Nikolas Donovan.”
Donovan. He wanted him found and punished almost as much as he had wanted vengeance on the Sparrow. Maybe even more. “What will it entail?”
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