Delta Force Desire (9 page)

“You and me both.”

“Please,” Kit said, trying to imagine Griffin receiving the same looks she did when she spoke to a group. Nope, when women looked at Griffin, their eyes grew wider and they posed as if beckoning him to notice them. “How are you socially awkward? I've seen you in enough groups to know you're good with people.”

He turned off the car's ignition. “I'm too blunt. I'm too aggressive. I can't commit. I've heard it all.”

“At least you've had relationships,” Kit said.

Griffin laughed. “Right. Relationships. One significant one eons ago, and the rest have been a mess. I'm away too long and by the time I return, I've missed too much. I can't connect.”

He didn't elaborate on what “one significant one” meant, and she didn't pry. “I never would have guessed,” Kit said.

“I'm not complaining. This is the life that I chose. You're not the only one who doesn't understand relationships.”

Thirty minutes later, they were leaving Tech Buy with several bags of supplies. She hadn't found the exact brands she preferred. She blamed the local conference for the run on the more cutting-edge equipment. What she had purchased would have to do. She could tinker with the items, maybe speed them up or change them somewhat, but time was limited and hardware wasn't her expertise.

When they arrived back at the hotel and were in their room, Kit unpacked her devices. She would configure them before she met with Lawrence and Zoya again that evening.

Griffin knelt next to her at the coffee table where she was working. “You look absolutely enraged.”

She was focused. Others had commented on her intense look when she worked. “I'm in a bad mood. Ignore it. It will go away.”

“I don't want to ignore you. I want you to be in a good place.”

Her frame of mind wouldn't stop her from doing what she needed to do. “I'll use Zoya's lead and hack Incognito's version of the Locker to find out what they have in their possession.”

“It's not just that I'm concerned about. I'm in charge of your well-being.”

Kit turned the new tablet over in her hand. “I sound like a teenager saying this, but what is wrong with me?”

Griffin touched her cheek. “Nothing is wrong with you.”

Griffin had said he had relationship issues, too, but hers went far deeper. “Don't spare my feelings. I need someone to tell me. What will I tell a boyfriend to explain it?”

“To explain what?”

That she was a twenty-eight-year-old virgin. “I haven't had sex.”

“That was really your first kiss?” he asked, pulling his hand away.

The withdrawal of his hand was like a slap. “Yes.” No point in dancing around it.

“Tell me about having online sex.”

She blinked at him. “Are you making fun of me?” In her current state, more emotional abuse would kill her. She'd need a week with a case of lemon-lime soda and ten pounds of jelly beans to recover.

“I'm trying to understand how your mind works.”

She'd only had cybersex with Swift. Her experience was limited, even if she'd tried to learn everything she could. “We talk about what we'd like to do with each other if we were in the same room. Like I might tell him what I'm wearing.” She looked down at her clothes. “And tell him that I want him to take my clothes off and carry me to the bed. He would cover me with his body.” Her mouth went dry, and instead of rehashing a conversation she'd had with Swift, she was thinking about Griffin and what she wanted from him.

“You're bigger than me, so I'm underneath you and I feel safe. I smell you, the scent of your skin, masculine and clean, and it makes me wish you would hurry. But you want to take your time.” Griffin's eyes were riveted on her. “You kiss me softly, and I run my nails down your back. I want it harder. You're more and more excited. You show me with your mouth what you want to do with your lower body.” She closed her eyes because looking at him when she was speaking was too intense. “I know that you'll be a big man, so I open my thighs wide, wider, splayed open completely so you can push inside me. When you position yourself, I wiggle to encourage you, but you lift your hips, keeping me from what I most want.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “You're looking into my eyes, and the connection is right, and I'm hot and wet and ready.

“Holding yourself over me, you move. It takes several thrusts to fit all the way inside because I'm so tight and excited, but I'm wet, and soon I'm begging for more. You move hard and you're so big it hurts, but it hurts so good. The sensations are too much, and you bend to kiss me again. I'm lost to you. I tremble in your arms and you finish inside me, spurting me with heat.”

Griffin had stood from her work table, and his hips were in her line of sight. Her words had enticed him. She could see the evidence. Turned on by her story, she touched the front of his pants, running her finger down along the hard ridge that pressed against the fabric.

He didn't stop her. Last night, he had forcefully rejected her. Today was different. She wasn't drugged. Earlier in the day, they'd shared two steamy, shockingly rattling kisses.

Feeling bolder, she stood and stroked her hand down the side of his face, brushing his jawline, tracing his lips with her thumb. She had never touched a man this masculine and hard. She slid her hand around the back of his neck and brought his mouth to hers.

She kissed him, slow and deep. His lips were the only soft part of him. Everything else about Griffin was hard and chiseled from the outside in.

It was their first kiss alone in a room with a bed. She recalled kissing him the night before. He'd turned his mouth away. Not now. He was bent over, his hands at her waist, holding her against his length.

She moved up and down, rubbing against him. She wanted a better angle, a different direction. She pushed his shoulders, shoving him into the wooden chair opposite where she'd been sitting. He didn't stop her and he could have. Easily. He was bigger and stronger than she was, but at this moment, she was in charge. He was hers to command.

She sat on his lap, straddling him. Holding his shoulders, she moved her hips. Her body ached for her to move faster, to find some release for the growing tension. The fabric between them was frustrating. Would he allow her to remove their clothes? She reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it to the floor.

Broad shoulders, defined pectorals, rippling abdominals and pumped biceps. His body was meant to please a woman.

“Looking at you turns me on. How are you this sexy?” she asked. She kissed him again and pressed her body against his bare skin. A shiver of fear coursed through her. For so long, sex had been an unattainable goal. She should have sex for the first time with someone she was in love with and who loved her. She'd just met Griffin. Would she sleep with him, knowing it was nothing to him and would mean so much to her?

He broke the kiss. “Tell me what you're thinking.”

“I'm thinking about what's going to happen.”

“Do you want to stop?” he asked.

She shook her head. But she was afraid for this to move forward.

Griffin lifted her and set her on the coffee table. He flipped up her skirt and kissed the inside of her thigh. “I don't want this to be about me. I want to relax you. We'll see how many times I can make you come with just my mouth and my hands.”

She felt his words at her core. If she wasn't ready before, his words sent a rush of heat over her body. Griffin shifted between her legs and she grabbed the back of his hair, stopping him.

He stilled, lifting his eyes. “What's wrong?”

“I'm scared.” She was embarrassed speaking the words, but now that she was standing on the threshold of what she wanted, she felt pressure that it be right and amazing. What if she didn't know what she was doing? What was she supposed to say?

“Tell me why you're scared.”

“You won't like it.”

He glanced between her legs. “Trust me when I tell you I'll like it.”

She swallowed hard. “What if you don't? What if I don't?”

“Then we'll stop. Do you want to stop now?”

She was hot for him. Unreasonably hot, but she found herself nodding. It had moved too fast and while she could have been swept away by Griffin's touch, she wasn't ready.

He helped her off the table. The moment was lost. She had gone so far and then had fled.

“I'll finish this,” she said and pointed to her devices.

“Just give me a minute.” He went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Kit was left alone with her depressing thoughts, wishing she hadn't stopped Griffin and wishing he could give her more.

Chapter 8

W
hen Griffin had studied this assignment, he hadn't considered it would be a test of his control and of his ability not to sleep with his client.

Kit was a smart and sensual woman, her innocence and sexuality two extremes.

He was turned on. Fiercely. He needed to relieve some of it or he would lose his mind. His thoughts were centered on getting Kit into bed, and they needed to be on keeping her safe.

He climbed into the shower and took himself in hand. He thought of sinking into Kit's body, of laying her on the nearest flat surface.

There was a tap on the door and then it opened. He let go of himself and shut off the water, reaching for a towel. “Are you okay?”

She stood by the sink. “I felt bad about what I did.” She glanced at the towel tented across his hips. “Oh, right. I wondered.”

He couldn't take more of this. He had to set boundaries. “Kit, I am fine with us not having sex and I will keep my hands off you, but no more talk of sex. No more kissing. No touching each other.”

“Are you mad?”

Not mad. His blood was pulsing with lust. “No.”

“You sound mad.”

This was where her inexperience with men showed. “Kit, I'm turned on and I'm controlling it. If you sense tension, the tension is my body wanting to finish.”

She licked her lips, her pink tongue drawing his attention. “I want to try again.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“I had an idea of what my first time would be like.”

“I'm not taking your virginity, and that's not under discussion.”

She looked again at the front of his towel. “I can leave you to finish, then.”

The disappointment was so heavy in her voice, he almost relented. But if he slept with her, or kissed her, or engaged in any type of sex with her, it would impact their relationship and the mission. Based on her reaction to him kissing her thigh, she wasn't ready for more with a man. While sex relaxed him, it might upset her.

He wouldn't touch her again. He could get through this mission and focus.

* * *

Griffin carried the repurposed costume box to Lawrence and Zoya's room. It was filled with Kit's computer equipment. She was behind him. Since their almost-sex earlier, she was avoiding eye contact and had returned to her former quiet self.

He didn't like it. He wasn't big on talking about feelings, and she wasn't, either. He wanted to clear the air, but what could he say that wouldn't make this worse?

He set the box on the floor and had her stand next to it, away from the door. Since they'd been greeted with the muzzle of a gun earlier, he wasn't taking chances.

Zoya opened the door wearing a silk robe parted to reveal cleavage. Were they interrupting Lawrence and Zoya? They'd known he and Kit were coming.

She opened the door wide and tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. “Come in.”

Over her shoulder, Lawrence was seated at a long table against the window wearing clothes. No rumpled sheets or the scent of sex and sweat in the air. Maybe Zoya just liked to dress in next-to-nothing and flaunt her body.

Griffin nodded to Kit that it was safe, and she entered the room. Griffin checked under the beds, the bathroom and the closets. All were empty.

Lawrence seemed amused. “FBI?”

Griffin shook his head. Whom he worked for wasn't important. The West Company was notorious, but little was known about them, and that was how the company liked it. Their missions and operations were whispered about as if they were urban legends.

Kit sat on the end of the table and started setting up her equipment. “How did you find Incognito's partial version of the Locker? Do you know how much of it they have?”

Lawrence watched her work. “We've been tracking it. Zoya handled the networking part of the project. We think they have about seventy-five percent of it.”

Kit nodded. “Did you leave a back door to get inside when we were working on the project?”

Zoya shook her head. “I tried to. Someone found it and sealed it off. We're working blind, but I know what I'm looking for. When the Locker is running at full capacity, it creates a fair amount of traffic to and from the major hubs. Unless Incognito hacked it and then changed the code or redirected network activity, I sniff out the location by traffic content. They have the IP changing every three to seventeen minutes, but I know the MAC address of the device hosting the incomplete copy.”

Kit seemed to understand what Zoya was saying. Griffin was lost.

“How long have you been together?” Lawrence asked.

Griffin and Kit hadn't discussed their cover with Lawrence and Zoya. Would Kit tell them the truth? He let her field the question.

“We've been lovers for a few months,” Kit said.

Lawrence appeared surprised, and Zoya narrowed her eyes. “You two are a couple? I thought you were partners. Working partners.”

“We're that, too,” Griffin said.

Kit had her reasons for telling them she and Griffin were together, and he didn't counter her words. Keeping a consistent cover was easier. Less to remember and less likely they'd be caught in a lie.

Kit positioned her tablet on the table. “You're sure about this information?”

Lawrence nodded. “Zoya's the best. We've checked our numbers. We have a location.”

Kit drummed her fingers against the table. “The Locker should be harder to find. It should disguise its traffic.”

“We have the location of the copy. It didn't have the same traffic rerouting algorithms or firewalls,” Zoya said. “Incognito must have tried to rebuild the parts they haven't stolen, but they haven't achieved the same caliber protection methods.”

“I can try to access the copy and destroy whatever parts I can in the time I have,” Kit said. “I'll have about fifteen seconds before I'm detected and tossed out.”

“Fifteen seconds is generous,” Zoya said.

“It's also assuming I don't get caught in the honey pot, they haven't modified the code to sever my connection immediately, and they haven't added levels of authentication.” Kit took a deep breath. “I'll need you to keep my IP moving, okay?”

Zoya sat, gathered her hair in her hand and secured it on top her head with a clip from her robe. “I can do that. You ready?”

Lawrence took a few steps away from the table and stood next to Griffin. “They're incredible.”

“Talented,” Griffin said. Of course they were. Zoya was confident. Kit seemed nervous.

Kit stopped typing, her hands hovering above the keys, and looked at Griffin. “Before we do this, could I talk to you alone?”

He nodded. She gestured to the bathroom, and he followed her in. She shut the door, turned on the fan and ran the water.

“Are you attracted to me or is a woman like Zoya more your speed? Or someone like my sister?”

This wasn't the time or place to have this conversation. “You want to talk about this now?” Griffin asked.

“I'm upset, and that question is rattling around in my brain. When I'm upset I can't think clearly. I can't afford to make mistakes. Fifteen seconds isn't a lot of time to launch an e-missile, direct it into the guts of the code and destroy it.”

“However I answer your question will cause a problem.”

She sighed. “Play it straight with me.”

“You are not the type of woman I usually date.”

Her shoulders sagged, and she looked at the floor.

“But,” he said, lifting her chin to look at him, “I think you are beautiful and smart and charming. I like spending time with you. I wouldn't have accepted this assignment if I didn't enjoy being with you. I'm attracted to you, but you are not ready for us to explore that attraction, and I'm not prepared to risk another distraction.”

She ran her finger down his body. She seemed to enjoy touching him. If she were a more experienced woman under different circumstances, he would have let her take off his clothes and do whatever she wanted to him, as long as he could do the same to her.

“That makes me feel better,” Kit said.

“We can talk about this later,” Griffin said. “Are you ready?” he asked and gestured toward the door.

They exited the bathroom. Zoya smirked. “Needed a quickie for stress release?”

Kit said nothing and took her seat. “I'm ready to go. Tell me when.”

Zoya started typing. “Now. Go now.”

* * *

Fifteen seconds. Kit focused on what she knew about the Locker and not on the doubts that pounded at her or the clock ticking.

She hadn't built the entire system. She'd worked on a small part of the Locker. She could encounter pieces she hadn't been aware of and be unable to circumvent them. If Incognito had possessed the Locker for any period of time, they could have made changes.

It took her eight seconds to breach the firewall and two more to figure out she'd been led into a trap.

“It's not real. It's a honey pot.” She disconnected her computer, but she'd been detected and it was too late.

“Can't be. I'm sure it is the real deal,” Zoya said.

“Did you mask my network traffic?” Kit asked.

Zoya nodded. “Yes. I think so.”

Kit pulled cords from the devices. “Thinking is not enough.” Kit's anxiety twisted her stomach into knots. “We have to get out of this room. Burn these computers and this equipment. They're tainted.”

She tore the electrical cords from the wall and popped out the batteries on the devices.

Griffin was at her side. “How do you know you were caught?”

“No time to explain.” She threw the devices into the box. If anyone else used them, they could be targeted by Incognito. “They're close. They know.”

Griffin didn't question her further. “To the car. Immediately.”

They started for the door, but Lawrence and Zoya stopped to pack.

“There's no time,” Kit said. Incognito had set a trap to target anyone looking for the Locker, including the government. The firewalls Kit had set up to protect her computer weren't impenetrable, and Zoya's network address masking could have been stripped away.

Zoya was shoving items in her suitcase. “You're being a hysteric. No one can figure out where we are and get here that quickly.”

“Unless they are already at the conference,” Kit said, thinking of the drugging at the rave last night. Incognito might already be looking for her, and they might already suspect she was at Gamer Con. They knew her identity and they had stalked her to her sister's birthday party. They were closing in on her.

Lawrence took Zoya's hand. “I will replace anything we lose. I cannot replace your life.”

Zoya let out a grunt of frustration, but she stopped packing.

They ran for the elevators. The lights in the hotel went out, and the elevator doors closed. Turning off the power was one of Incognito's signature moves. It was a show of their strength and abilities. Without the light from the windows at the far ends of the hallway, they would have been surrounded in pitch-blackness.

They had no choice but to use the stairwell. Racing down the stairs, taking them several at a time, they made it to the lobby. It was crowded. Security for the convention was in place around the room, and some guests were complaining about the electricity, but no one seemed panicked. After about thirty minutes when the Nevada sun baked the hotel and the restaurants were unable to cook and serve food, the anger would boil over.

A blackout could be explained by a power surge or a problem at the electric company, but this was Incognito.

No one was running or searching for them. Maybe they'd been lucky and Incognito hadn't tracked her that quickly. Kit had made a colossal mistake trusting that Zoya knew what she was doing. Kit should have validated and reviewed Zoya's intel first. Zoya was good. Incognito was better.

Griffin didn't slow down. Kit stayed close to him. He was armed and carrying the box of equipment under his arm. “Parking garage,” he said.

They raced down the hallway toward the garage. Kit opened the metal door leading out of the hotel and the heat hit her, almost sucking the air from her lungs.

Inside the parking structure, they heard only the occasional car horn, squealing tires and engines. A car drove toward them and Kit's heart seized. The driver ignored them. Not Incognito.

Zoya and Lawrence were arguing in French. Kit wasn't fluent and only understood every few words. Lawrence was blaming Zoya for this and Zoya blamed Kit.

Kit blamed all three of them. Griffin had tried to warn her. She should have listened to him.

They took the stairs to the level where Griffin was parked and ran for his car.

When they reached the car, relief washed over her. They were getting away! They could find another place, a safer place, regroup and try again. Hope built in Kit's chest. They had outmaneuvered Incognito. She felt like she had run a marathon and the finish line was in sight.

Gunfire exploded around them.

Griffin dropped the box and pushed Kit around a concrete pillar next to the car. “Stay here. Stay down.” Griffin withdrew his gun and peered around the pillar, returning fire. “They're using the cars for cover. I can't get a clean shot.”

Incognito could have staked out the entire hotel, knowing they'd appear. Lawrence and Zoya were squatting behind a car. How would they get out of this?

The gunfire stopped.

A voice came from between the cars. “Lawrence, if you hand them over, we won't have trouble.”

Alarm skittered through Kit. Had Lawrence sold them out?

“My wife's been hit. She's bleeding,” Lawrence said.

Panic flared, making Kit's stomach twist. Zoya was hurt. She needed medical care, and they were pinned down in the parking structure.

“If you turn yourself in to us, we'll see she has the medical care she needs,” said the voice from between the cars.