“We’d better get going. It’s a long drive back.”
“We’re going back to Norfolk?”
“We need to talk to Ian and Sarah, and see what federal help we can get once we hear back from Jennie. This is big, and we’re going to need some big help.”
CHARLOTTE LAY in the tub, up to her chin in bubbles, and sighed in perfect contentment. She set her problems aside for the moment to enjoy a bath. They’d driven all the way back to Norfolk, and met in a room where several policemen had questioned her. EJ had left to speak with his partners and a bunch of scary-looking federal agents to come up with a plan, she imagined.
She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d slept, and time seemed irrelevant in some way. Everything was topsy-turvy, changing from one moment to the next.
She was tired, scared and worried to death about Ronny—no one seemed to think they needed to rush in to save her brother, and tears stung behind her eyes as she realized why. They figured either he was dead, or he was just a criminal. Expendable.
And here she was, safely ensconced in a nice hotel room with EJ, safe for the night with an armed policeman, Officer Thomas, at the door. She wished she could think of something to do, some way to make them move faster, but she was exhausted and had to trust they knew what they were doing.
EJ knew what Ronny meant to her. He wouldn’t let him die if he could help it.
As she let the hot water soothe her tense muscles, she was thankful for the fresh clothes Grace had lent her. But that thought made her think of the ruined evening dress. Her beautiful, ruined, shredded dress. It was the least of her problems, but it stood out in her mind as an emblem of everything that had gone wrong. Unrepairable. She’d make it up to Phoebe somehow, she swore to herself. Hopefully the clerk hadn’t already lost her job.
As guilt and all the worry about her messed-up life and her brother started to swallow her again, she pushed it back, and made herself relax. For the moment, she was okay. She couldn’t help Ronny if she was a mess, so she had to hold it together. She was going to rest, and think of a plan. She would get her life back together, and make it even better than before, for both of them.
EJ had become very noncommittal since they left the police station. Something was up, but she was reluctant to push. She didn’t even know what to push for. She didn’t know if they had a relationship, or what was between them except sex and danger.
Too exhausted to think one more thought, Charlotte rested her head on the small pillow she’d made out of a folded towel, and scrunched down in the water, blanking her mind of everything except the private mantra she’d been given by a yogi she’d met a few years before.
The next thing she knew, she was dreaming of the softest, most tender kiss she could ever imagine, and smiled into it, resisting her dawning consciousness, wanting to stay wherever it was in her imagination that EJ was kissing her like that—but when she heard his voice, she knew it wasn’t in her imagination that the kiss was happening.
“Charlotte, wake up, darlin’. The water’s getting cold.”
She opened her eyes slowly to see him crouching by the side of the tub, smiling at her. He was so handsome. So amazingly gorgeous inside and out. She had no idea what was in his head, or what exactly his feelings were, and she didn’t want to ask for specifics. She just wanted to enjoy what she had with him right now, letting the future take care of itself.
“I fell asleep.”
He laughed softly. “Yes, you did. But you’re going to get cold soon. Dinner is waiting.”
His eyes moved over her hungrily—most of the bubbles had faded, leaving her exposed to his gaze. She didn’t mind, and even did a little, sexy stretch for his enjoyment. And when she opened her eyes again and met his hot look, she knew how much he had enjoyed it.
“Let me help you out so you don’t slip.”
She smiled, letting him take her hand though she had been managing to get out of tubs alone just fine for years. As she rose from the water, she did feel a chill, goose bumps traveling the course of her skin, and her nipples puckered—though that might not have been due to the chill.
“What did you get for dinner?” She tried to sound casual and light, though the way he was looking at her made her feel like dinner.
“Uh, just some cheeseburgers and fries, soda—I know you don’t eat too much meat, but I thought we needed something with some substance to it. Protein.”
“Burgers are fine. Thank you. I’m starving.”
She lifted her leg to step over the edge of the tub, and he caught it, fitting his hand into the wet crook behind her knee and sliding it up to cup her bottom. She lowered her foot back to the porcelain, her cool skin burning where he touched.
“Why don’t you join me for a quick, hot shower? I’m feeling a little chilled,” she said.
He took his hands away from her long enough to quickly undress, grab a condom from the vanity case, and then stepped into the tub with her, sliding the plastic door shut.
“Can’t have you getting cold,” he teased.
“What about dinner?” she asked.
“I’ll go back and get more, later.”
As she turned the shower on full, steam filled the stall in seconds, and EJ’s hands slid around her waist and planted themselves on the cheeks of her backside, kneading her while he stroked her tongue with his. He nudged the rock-hard evidence of his excitement against her belly, letting her know he was more than ready. Amazingly, so was she, but this all felt so good, she wanted to make it last. She wanted him at her mercy. Seducing him on the sofa had only been the start of the creative loving she hoped to explore with this man.
“Still cold?”
She loved how his voice changed when he was really turned on, how his accent thickened into a heavy drawl and his naturally smooth tone turned rough. “No, baby, I’m heating up quite nicely, thank you.”
It was the first time she’d used that kind of endearment with a man, and it thrilled her to her toes. She slid her hands down and stroked him, rubbing her thumb over the slick head of his cock and gloried in the shudder that racked him.
“Charlotte, I want your hands on me, your legs around me…”
He kissed his way down to her shoulder, then slid his hands forward, massaging her breasts as his tongue made a long, slow journey down her torso and nestled in between her legs. She used one hand to part herself for him, and another to steady herself as he plundered, bringing her to the edge too many times to count, but never letting her cross over the threshold. She was shaking when he stood, pressing up close and taking her mouth in a hot kiss all the hotter because of her taste on his lips.
“Wrap your legs around me, Charlotte.”
She stopped cold. She was standing up—what was he asking?
“Huh?” Okay, not the sexiest of replies, but she was truly confused.
“I want to lift you up and get inside you. I need you to wrap your legs around and hold on.”
“EJ,” she started sputtering, losing the mood. “I…I can’t. I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
She could feel the heat in her face that had nothing to do with the shower.
“I’m not exactly a waif, if you haven’t noticed. You can’t hold my weight for that long.”
Damn him—here she was feeling as embarrassed as she’d ever felt and he…laughed. She drew back in indignation, but he stepped forward with a gleam in his eye that told her he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Charlotte, you are not heavy, you are perfect. Full and sensual and with curves that make men sweat just looking at you. Believe me, this won’t be a problem.”
“I don’t think…”
“Yes, good, don’t think.”
The next thing she knew he had backed her against the shower wall, and it was a good thing, she thought, that it was a sturdy wall, because he’d slipped his hands down to her hips and lifted her in one, deft movement. Reflexively, she reached around and held on with arms a
nd legs, feeling him fill her at the very same moment.
Oh, my God. She was having sex, standing up, with a man holding her against a shower stall wall. She’d always been too afraid to fantasize about this particular position, thinking no guy would want to risk damaging his lumbar muscles, but now that she was doing it, and EJ seemed to be having no particular problems keeping her there, she relaxed.
“That’s it, darlin’, see how good this is?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She experimented, not holding on so much for dear life with her arms, but loosening them to touch him, and following his sensual guidance so that he could move as he needed to, entering her so deeply and touching every part of her so completely that she cried out in surprise as her body wrenched in pleasure, bucking against him as she came.
“Charlotte…”
EJ couldn’t say more than her name as he gave in to his own explosion of pleasure, chanting her name, and sinking his fingers into her flesh as he pressed her into the wall, holding her up and pursuing his orgasm with such power that it triggered another lingering one for her.
When they were done, she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry, or just thank the heavens.
“EJ.”
His face was buried in her neck, his chest heaving, and he didn’t respond.
“Uh, EJ?”
“What, darlin’?”
“You can let me down now if you want. The water’s getting cold again.”
“So it is.” He stepped back, holding her as she loosened her legs and tested if her knees still worked. Thinking of how amazing she felt, watching his powerful body flex and bend as he turned to shut off the water, how his lean form and sculpted muscles moved, she found herself becoming choked up.
“Charlotte?” EJ pulled the plastic door back, and reached for a towel, looking back at her. “What’s wrong? Did something hurt? Damn, I’m sorry, I wanted that to be good for you….”
Then she laughed, because if he thought that wasn’t good for her, he had to be unconscious.
“EJ, I’m fine. I’m better than fine. It’s just that you…what we did…how we are….”
Oh, crap, she thought. She was going to burst into tears. She’d heard of that happening sometimes when the sex was powerful, but this didn’t have to do with orgasms—it was completely emotional.
“What? Darlin’, what?” He helped her out of the shower, wrapping a huge white towel around her, and drawing her into his arms.
“It’s just that, I know this sounds stupid but—”
“Just say it, Charlotte. Nothing sounds stupid. You can tell me anything, okay?”
He tipped her head back and she felt calmed, looking so deeply into his concerned eyes.
“You make me feel so…good. You look at me and I feel like my insides turn to melted butter, and what you did just now, I…I’ve never felt like that. Never had anyone make me feel so desired. So pretty, and well,” she laughed, hiccupping and making him smile though she felt silly saying it out loud, “so light.”
He drew her into a tight hug, chuckling softly. “Charlotte, you are all that and more. I can’t get enough of you.”
“Me, either. Of you, I mean.”
“Thank God, darlin’, because come what may, I don’t plan on leaving you anytime soon.”
THEY ATE COLD CHEESEBURGERS and fries like it was the nectar of the gods, talked about nothing in particular, and then EJ faced the inevitable and filled her in on the plan. Charlotte snuggled up against him, wrapped in a sheet and nothing else, testing his concentration.
“Will you go with me? To this safe house?”
EJ wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as physical space allowed.
“I have to be in on the raid—I want to see with my own eyes that he’s caught and unable to get at you. But you’ll be in the best of hands, completely under heavy guard. We think we have a decent idea of where Maloso is—Jennie made some contacts and has run some new maps.” He looked at his watch. “They are supposed to send copies over here soon.”
EJ inhaled the freshly washed scent of her hair, the well-loved muskiness of her naked body next to his, and swore on his own grave that he wouldn’t let anyone lay one finger on her, ever.
“I can’t bear the thought of you getting hurt, EJ. I can’t stand to even think of it.”
“Same back atcha. Which is why the best place for you is the safe house, until we have Maloso behind bars.”
She turned her face upwards to his, lifting her hand to his cheek.
“I mean it. I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt protecting me.”
“It’s my job, sweetheart. But I don’t plan on getting hurt. With any luck, we can put this to bed with a minimum of bloodshed.”
She burrowed against him. He said reassuringly, “We’re going to get through this, Charlotte. Things are going to be okay, and you have to believe that.”
“I do, EJ.”
She yawned, nestling against him, and feeling his heartbeat steady with his breathing as he fell asleep. She heard a strange noise, and perked up, realizing it was EJ’s laptop. Sliding softly out of bed, she walked to the machine, and watched the bar across the center measuring the progress of the files being sent—this had to be the maps from Jennie.
She turned, opening her mouth to wake him, and then changed her mind, staring at the computer until it was finished. Her plan was not so much a plan as a spontaneous reaction, but this was her only chance to do things her way, and try to help her brother.
Reaching for the computer, she opened the downloaded files, and studied them closely—she didn’t know the area, but she wrote down the information, and held her breath, looking back toward where EJ was still sleeping soundly.
Slipping the clothes she’d laid out over her head, she then grabbed her purse. She had to get by the guard. She’d try to claim female problems or something similar, that she needed a trip to the drugstore. Men were typically so uncomfortable with those things, and with any luck Officer Thomas was no exception.
Opening the door, she peered outside and stopped short, gasping but unable to scream as a hand clamped hard over her mouth. Officer Thomas wasn’t a problem—and he wasn’t any help, either. He was unconscious…or dead. Shot, he slumped against the wall at a sick angle, blood covering one side of his chest, and Charlotte started to fight against her captor, biting and kicking to free herself and yell for EJ, who was just yards away, but then something hard hit her and everything became dark.
12
“THE HOUSE IS ABOUT twenty miles outside of the city, in a wooded area next to the Dismal Swamp. He’s probably got her there. And maybe the brother, too,” Ian said.
“If he hurts her, I’ll kill him myself,” EJ swore.
“We’ll get her, EJ.”
Ian drove the point home as EJ sat at the desk, his mind sifting through every detail of the plan for the thousandth time.
“I never would have pinned Thomas as the leak,” Ian said.
“I wish they hadn’t killed him—I would have liked my shot at him.”
“You’ve got to get your head on straight, my friend. You won’t be any help to her like this. How the hell did she end up outside that room anyway?” Ian asked.
EJ shrugged, castigating himself endlessly for falling asleep. He hadn’t heard anything, but had awakened hours later to find the body in the hall and Charlotte gone. If anything happened to her, it would be his fault for letting his guard down.
“I would have heard if someone knocked. They had to have lured her outside somehow,” EJ said.
“Or she was trying to get out—maybe she is on the inside of this thing,” Ian said pointedly.
EJ looked at Ian in surprise, and nearly lost it. “That’s crossing the line, Ian. She’s not in on this. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Well, that’s pretty much exactly what you’re doing—and several other lives as well.”
“If she was trying to get out of that room, it was probably becau
se she wanted to save that brother of hers again. I know she’s been upset that we haven’t been concentrating on that.”
“You think she was going to try to go after him herself?” Ian asked.
“Who the hell knows? It wouldn’t have been the first time.”
Ian slanted him a look. “This is going to be a tough situation, so stay cool.”
“Oh, I’m downright chilly.”
“I was thinking the opposite.” Ian pinned him with a look that saw to the heart of the matter. “You’re in love with her.”
“I don’t know if I would go that far. I care about her.”
Ian laughed, shaking his head. “I seem to recall, not so long ago, our positions were reversed, and you were making me face facts about Sage. We had a few tense moments back then, and that was mostly because I was being an ass. But I’ve been where you are, bud. In a tense situation and not wanting to see the woman you…care about…in danger. It can push you into making bad decisions.”
EJ remembered all too well when their team had just been forming, and Ian and Sage were struggling through their own troubles. Ian had called in EJ and Sarah to help, then changed their well-orchestrated plan to take off on his own.
Ian’s rash decision to take on the situation alone, to spare Sage any more conflict, had ended up putting her in even more danger. Sage had been shot, though thankfully the wound hadn’t been fatal, but Ian hadn’t let himself off the hook for that for a long time. If ever.
EJ simply couldn’t let himself so much as think of anything happening to Charlotte. “I hear you loud and clear, Ian. I’ll stick to the plan. But if I find her hurt, or worse—” he could barely say the word, “—all bets are off.”
“EJ…”
EJ met and held his friend’s eyes, his voice raw. “She might be pregnant, Ian. She might be carrying my baby.”
Nothing he could have said would have shocked his friend more, and what should have been a happy moment between them just raised the sense of urgency.
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