by Anna Hackett
It didn’t matter that she was experienced and well-trained, he hated the thought of her at risk. He had the irrational urge to protect her.
He walked back toward the house and found Blair in the arched doorway. “Rooms are all assigned. Yours is the top floor master, since you’re the boss.”
“That wasn’t necessary.”
Blair just smiled. “Kitchen’s stocked. Everyone’s going to nap, rest, be ready to move when Brennan’s team does. I’ll leave a tray of food outside your room.”
“Thanks, Blair.”
“We’ve got this,” she said.
“I know.”
“And we won’t let anything happen to your girl.”
“She’s not mine.”
Blair’s smile widened. “Sure.”
Jonah headed up the stairs. It was much cooler inside the house. The entire place was cool and quiet. Rich, red wall hangings decorated the walls. He passed through a living area with padded seats and large urns. He felt almost as though a sultan was going to appear, lounging with his harem around him.
He headed up the wide, stone stairs. At the top floor, he found the ornate doors to his room, and pushed them open.
It was hard to relax when he wanted to act, to achieve the mission objective. He spotted his duffel bag shoved against the wall. A four-poster, metal-framed bed, with gauzy, white mosquito nets hanging from it, dominated the space.
Then he heard a splash of water coming from the attached bathroom. Frowning, he strode in.
His steps faltered; his chest locked.
A large, sunken tub sat in the center of the room, with a naked Evan in it.
Her wet, red hair fell over one shoulder, her alabaster skin glistening. He had the perfect view of one full, high breast.
Her head swiveled, and her gaze met his.
“What are you doing in my room?” she asked.
“Blair told me that it was my room.”
Evan ran her tongue over her teeth, making no move to cover her breasts. “I think your team is matchmaking for you.”
She was breathtaking. Jagged need cut into his gut. He’d never wanted anything quite this much.
She rose, water streaming off her. So sleek, gorgeous.
“See something you like, Director?”
His hands balled into fists. “No games.” He strode to the edge of the tub and lifted her chin.
“No games,” she agreed.
“I want you,” he confessed. “Desperately.”
Her chest hitched. “I want you, too, even though it scares me.”
He pulled her close, uncaring that she was wet. “You pull something from deep inside me.”
Her lips parted, her eyes darkening with desire, need. “This could be a mistake, Jonah. A big one. Getting involved in the middle of a dangerous mission…”
It could be a mistake that neither of them recovered from.
“I don’t care anymore.” A shocking admission. He’d ruthlessly controlled his life for years. Everything careful and planned.
Not this time.
He wrapped his arms around her, lifted her out of the bath, and captured her mouth with his.
“God.” She kissed him back, her damp body wetting his clothes. She vibrated with desire, and it fired his blood.
Jonah deepened the kiss—hard, hot, almost brutal.
Her hands tore at his shirt, pulling it from his trousers. She ripped it open, buttons flying everywhere. Then she pressed her face to his neck, her teeth on his skin.
He carried her two steps, spinning and pressing her against the wall. Need was a roar in his head.
He pressed one hand to her ass, then slid his other between her thighs, stroking her.
She moaned.
“You push me to the edge of my control,” he growled.
“Good.” Her lips brushed his. “We can’t always be in control, even if we’d like it.”
Jonah felt a violent urge to stake his claim. To make sure this woman thought of no one but him.
Felt no one but him.
He kissed her, tongue stroking hers. He lifted her into his arms and strode into the bedroom.
“Jonah—”
“Quiet.” He shoved the netting aside and laid her on the bed.
Beautiful. Like she’d stepped out of a masterpiece. He wanted to be deep inside her. So deep that neither of them would think of anything or anyone else again.
He pressed his palms to the covers, leaning over her.
“You have too many clothes on,” she complained, letting her legs fall apart.
She wasn’t shy. She opened for him, so sensual and tempting. Jonah ran his fingers through her folds. “Are you wet for me, Evan?”
“Yes.” A red flush moved up her chest and into her cheeks.
“Here?” He rolled her clit between his fingers.
She twisted. “Yes, damn you.”
He lowered his head, kissing her knee, her inner thigh. The scent of her arousal was a siren call. Need was a hard rock in his gut.
He nuzzled her, then closed his mouth on her. Her body surged up.
“Jonah.”
“Mine.”
“Yours. All yours.”
He slid his tongue across her clit. As he licked her, he pressed a finger inside her tight warmth. His other hand kneaded her bottom. “You taste so good, Evan.”
Her hands slid in his hair, tugged hard.
He kept working her, and then felt her body tense. She was close. She was making small, husky cries that urged him on.
With another hard suck, she yanked on his hair and cried out. Her body arched, shaking as her orgasm broke free.
Chapter Eleven
Tremors of pleasure still shivered through her. Evan felt hot, sexy, and so damn good.
Jonah was poised over her. All untamed male power. He was a beautiful male creature. His nostrils flared, and she sensed him fighting for control.
Her belly clenched, a flicker of desire growing stronger again. After that orgasm, she should have been satiated, but one look at that lean, bronze chest, and those hard abs, and she was hungry for him again.
Cool, controlled Director Grayson was gone. Hard, hungry Jonah was left behind.
Reaching up, she pushed off his torn shirt. She stroked her nails up his back.
His hands circled her throat, then slid down her body. She bit her lip as he caressed her. The sight of that sexy hand on her pale skin… She shivered.
“What do you want?” she breathed.
“You.” His voice was deep with a sharp edge. “All of you. Will you give it to me?”
“No.”
A fierce scowl crossed his face.
“Take it,” she murmured. “It’s yours.”
He took her hands and slammed them into the bed over her head. Excitement rose in her—dark and edgy.
His mouth captured hers roughly. He ravished, leaving her writhing, pinned beneath him. His mouth swallowed her husky cries.
Then she tore her mouth free. “Jonah. Now. Please.”
That gorgeous body pressed down on hers, the skin of his chest hot against her breasts. The fabric of his trousers rubbed against her thighs, a hard, hot bulge within teasing her.
“Tell me what you want, Evan.”
“You. Inside me.”
He sat up and unfastened his pants, freeing his hard cock.
God. Long and gorgeous. She wrapped her hand around his length. “I want you in me, Jonah.”
His eyes flared. She rocked against him and stroked.
Quickly, he pulled a condom from the pocket of his discarded trousers. He tore the packet open with his teeth, and she watched him roll the latex on. Then he leaned forward and guided his cock to her. The thick head brushed against her, and she moaned.
She slid her hands into his hair, teetering on a burning edge.
He thrust into her with one hard plunge. A sharp cry tore from Evan. She arched, her body stretched and full.
Full of Jonah. Her musc
les stretched around his thick cock.
“Evan—” His voice held a tremor.
“Do it,” she breathed.
He pulled out, plunged back in.
“Yes!” Her muscles clenched, her belly full of heat.
His body slammed in and out of hers and she clutched his back. His mouth took hers—hard and deep. He kissed her like she was necessary, like she was everything. His powerful thrusts rocked her closer and closer to the next release.
“Jonah, God—”
“I want to watch you come, Evan. Feel you clench on my cock.”
She moaned. The next hard thrust catapulted her high. As her climax crashed over her, she clawed his back. Light exploded behind her eyes, pleasure a heady, breath-stealing rush.
Jonah was still moving inside her, his thrusts deeper, less controlled.
She turned her head and bit his shoulder.
With a deep groan, his body locked and ground against hers. He shook as he jetted inside her.
Afterward, he stayed sprawled on her, his cock buried deep inside. Evan could stay right here forever. The rush of pleasure finally drained to a languid, lazy feeling. She was aware of the weight of his hot body, the cooling sweat on their skin, the taste of him on her lips.
And the hungry desire already growing again, like embers under a strong breeze.
Damn. Could you become addicted to someone?
Jonah’s mouth pressed to her neck, and glided upward. She shivered.
He lifted his head—his green eyes unreadable. “Are you okay?”
She tugged on the thick silk of his hair. “If you’re asking if I had a brilliant orgasm and feel fabulous, then yes.”
He smiled. God, the sight speared right into her heart.
He shifted, then rose and swept under the mosquito net. He disappeared into the bathroom.
Evan lay there, feeling like a ravaged princess, or a concubine, or something. She heard Jonah cross the room and open the door.
He returned to the bed, still naked. Yum. She drank him in.
He held a small tray that contained several dishes of food, including dates, olives, cheese, and some bread. There were also two glasses of mint tea.
He set it down on the bed and sat beside her. Then he stretched out, looking like a conquering king. No, that wasn’t quite right. Like the king’s sexy spymaster.
“Eat.” He pressed an olive to her lips.
She chewed. “Why?”
“You didn’t eat much on the plane. You need the energy.”
“For the mission?”
The look he gave her made her chest tighten.
“No. For what I plan to do to you next.”
She felt a rush of wetness between her legs and shifted on the sheets. Crap. She was so easy for Jonah Grayson.
He noticed her reaction and smiled. “We have some time before we have to think about the mission.”
A stolen night before they stepped in front of Brennan to stop his plans.
“I want Brennan gone,” she said. “I want my name cleared.” So her life could get back to normal.
“Me, too.”
Evan stared at the sheets. “I have my mom, but no one else. No one stood by me. Agents I considered friends turned their backs on me in the blink of an eye.”
Jonah took her hand, stroked her fingers. “You’ll get your justice, Evan.”
He was a man who’d dedicated his life to getting justice and protecting his country.
“Thanks for believing in me when no one else would,” she said quietly.
He reached out and stroked her jaw. “You’re a smart, talented woman, Evan. You’re more than just a CIA agent.”
Was she? She’d defined herself by her job for so long. Looking at Jonah, confusing urges for other things she couldn’t name rose up.
Shit, she couldn’t think of this now. They were in the middle of a dangerous mission. She and Jonah were both workaholics who worked in the shadows. They were both scarred by the past.
They were bad bets for a successful relationship. She couldn’t let lust cloud her brain.
“It was just you and your mother growing up,” he said.
Evan nodded. “My father was killed by enemies my mother had made.”
Jonah’s head snapped up. “I’m sorry, Evan.”
“I don’t remember much about him. Just flashes I’m not sure are real or imagined. Him carrying me, making me giggle, hugging me. He was a big man.” She sighed. “My mother never got over it. She threw herself into her work, determined to bring those responsible down. She’s a great mom, even if she taught me spy craft instead of baking cookies.”
“It was just me and my mother as well.”
Evan sipped her tea, watching him carefully. There was a stillness to him that worried her. “She was a single mom?”
Jonah nodded. “Age-old story. Young beautiful teenager seduced by an older man just passing through. He left her pregnant, and then her family kicked her out.”
Evan’s chest tightened. “It must have been hard for her.” Terrifying to be so young, and pregnant and alone.
“If it was, she never once complained. We didn’t have much, but I had a wonderful childhood. She worked a lot, but did everything to show her love.” He plucked at the sheets. “Then she met Harvey.” Jonah’s face twisted. “He was big, a heavy drinker, a man’s man.”
Evan took Jonah’s hand. “I have a dossier on you. You don’t have to continue.”
His gaze met hers. “I do. He was so jealous and she was so beautiful. Accused her of affairs with any man who came within view of her. Harvey beat her to death. I avoided our apartment whenever he was there, and I came home to find her dead. Her beautiful face battered beyond recognition.”
The utter lack of emotion in his tone conveyed the depth of his grief. Evan crawled across the bed and wrapped her arms around him.
For a second, he didn’t move, then his arms clamped on her and he pulled in a ragged breath.
“I went into foster care for two years before I turned eighteen. Then I joined the Army.”
After he’d fought tooth and nail to see Harvey Burrow jailed for life.
“As a teen, I was obsessed with planes and helicopters. I knew I wanted to be a pilot. Lived and breathed it.”
Evan smiled. “Your mom would be damn proud of the things you’ve achieved.”
He fingered Evan’s hair, and tucked it behind her ear. “You think?”
“Well, let’s see. You’re gorgeous, wear a suit very well.”
He pinched her and she laughed.
“You were a hell of a pilot, flying combat missions to protect your country, and now you run a covert team and are still serving your country. Oh, not to mention, you’re rich.”
“I’m comfortable.”
“Right.” She cupped his cheek. “She’d be so proud.”
“Sounds like I’m a catch.” His hand cupped Evan’s bottom and squeezed.
“So arrogant,” she said teasingly.
They finished eating and Jonah set the tray on the bedside table. Then he turned and rolled on top of her. Her pulse went haywire.
“Do you want to talk more about the mission, Director?” she drawled.
“No.” His lips captured hers.
Seconds later, she barely remembered her name, let alone the mission.
There was only Jonah.
When Jonah woke, he knew it was very early. There was only a murky light outside, and a few ambitious birds singing.
He’d slept well—when he hadn’t been gorging himself on Evan’s sleek, sexy body.
She wasn’t in the bed, but he heard her in the bathroom. He suddenly wished they were on vacation, with nothing to do but indulge in each other. They’d stay in bed, naked.
His gut clenched. He hadn’t been on a vacation in years. And amazing sex aside, this definitely wasn’t one.
Today, they’d have to carry out the mission. Brennan wouldn’t wait much longer.
Jonah wo
uld stop him. The asshole wasn’t getting the chance to hurt Evan more than he already had.
But they still had a few hours before they had to get started. Brooks had sent regular messages through the night. Brennan’s team hadn’t moved. Most of his mercs were still sick.
But the Osirion had to be calling Brennan. The man couldn’t resist the lure of power for very long.
Movement caught his gaze through the netting and he saw Evan stride out of the bathroom.
Every single thought flew out of Jonah’s head, and every drop of blood in his body went south.
She’d found a filmy, short robe somewhere. It was white with red, gold, and blue beading on the edges. Her gaze locked with his through the mosquito net.
The way she walked was sensual. He was totally ensnared by her, and he didn’t care.
He moved to the edge of the bed, sliding his legs over the side and sitting up. She stopped in front of him. Only the mosquito net separated them, making it seem like a dream.
“The sun will be up in a few hours,” she murmured.
“Yes.”
They both knew the mission would take priority. They had this moment to themselves before they both ran headlong into danger.
Evan lifted the netting up, then planted a hand to his chest and pushed him back on the bed to lie flat. She made a purring sound, her gaze on his body. The silk of her robe brushed against his legs.
Her gaze was on his swollen cock.
She left the net draped at his neck, so just his body was bared for her.
“You are so damn beautiful, Jonah.” She stroked her hands up his thighs, abs, chest.
At the contact, his cock flexed and he gritted his teeth.
“I’m going to drive you out of your mind.” Her copper-red hair tumbled over her shoulders.
“You already do,” he growled.
She pulled the soft belt of her robe off, then grabbed his hands. He tensed, watching as she tied the silky fabric around his wrists.
“Bring back memories?” A faint smile crept over her lips.
He’d known that day when he’d first met her, and she tied him to his own damn desk, that she’d send shockwaves through his life.
She finished tying the belt and he realized that he could still get loose if he wanted to.