SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) (17 page)

A naked, achingly beautiful woman in bed, one whose secrets he needed. He didn’t have the time to nurture any trust, nor was this the place to start something normal. Maybe it was just genetic, he didn’t know. He just knew, innately, that to get what he wanted, to achieve what he hoped for, he needed to bond quickly and intimately.

As a SEAL, Reed had learned not to second-guess himself during times of action. Never, at a crucial moment, wonder whether it was the right thing to do. Sight the target. Pull the trigger.

He just knew he wanted to touch this woman again, that to penetrate her most secretive layers, he would have to go after her when she was least expecting it. He was a man after all; he could feel her attraction and her desire. They seemed to be communicating with their bodies more than with words and so he had followed instinct and made his move.

She shuddered in his arms as she climaxed and he went ruthlessly after her pleasure, prolonging it. A woman giving herself in intimacy was at her most vulnerable and he would deepen this bond the only way a man could, by pleasuring her in the most memorable way.

He loved the way her nipples puckered in his mouth, as she strained against him while another wave of pleasure hit her body. His own body ached to climb on top and sink inside her. He nibbled gently and she groaned.

“Reed…”

“Trust me,” he repeated. She was wet with need. He inserted a finger inside her. Wet and tight. She moaned again as he opened her slick folds, sliding his finger against the hidden nub and gaining an involuntary shiver when he found it.

“Reed, not yet…too sensitive…”

“I’ll make it good,” he promised. He wanted to start her fire again. It was like riding an incredible wave and wanting more. His cock strained inside his shorts, wanting out. “Are you on the pill?”

She shook her head. “No.”

His cock was going to be an unhappy camper. “I don’t have any condoms.”

Her dark eyes smoldered with emotion. “I want you inside me,” she said. Her hands reached down to join his. “You have to stop. I can’t think when you’re teasing me.”

He ignored the growing heat in his own pants, concentrating on the woman instead. She squeezed her thighs together and came violently this time, her limbs thrashing as she sobbed.

A beautiful, delicate flower. With thorns. They were woeful protection from him right now. And for that reason alone, he wouldn’t give in to his own needs. Later.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, lying quiescent in his arms now.

He smoothed the hair from her brow. “I was wondering whether calling down for them to deliver condoms would give the hotel staff more sordid tales to tell. After all, they’re going to have lots to talk about once they clean the bathroom and see those muddy clothes.”

She stared at him for a moment, then laughed, a small, hiccupy chuckle. “You say the funniest things, you know that? I can’t believe this is happening.”

“What is?”

She was quiet for a moment, then she raised a hand and ruffled his hair, as if she wanted to make sure he was real. “No man has ever made me come before sex,” she said quietly. “In fact—”

She was lost in thought for a moment. He remembered Nikki and Amber mentioning that Bradford Sun and Lily had been an item. He wondered whether she was thinking about her ex-lover. That cooled his rampant desire. He didn’t want to make love to her while she had another man on her mind.

He didn’t want her communicating with anyone anyway, but she was making his job of keeping her out of circulation from everything too damn easy.

“Sure,” he said. “Who do you want me to call?”

“Just a girlfriend. I want her to know I’m okay.”

The girls. But why wouldn’t she talk to them? “Why can’t you tell her yourself?” he asked, casually outlining the bone structure of her face with his forefinger.

She moved restlessly. “I don’t feel like telling her the passports are all gone.”

That made sense. She probably didn’t want to worry the girls, wherever they were. He recalled how young some of them had looked when he’d spied on them.

“I see,” he said. He bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. She needed him to do this, so here was his chance to push that emotion home.
Make her need your help
, Nikki had said,
but always make sure it isn’t free, or she’ll get very suspicious very quickly.
“So what do I get in return for this favor?”

Her beautiful eyes narrowed a fraction. “You’re demanding payment for a phone call?”

He had to make her start thinking of ways to get him to help her. “Why not? You came to me to bargain about certain items in my possession. I still have them, you know, and you just told me you don’t want your girlfriend to know about the set that you just lost. I figure that means the value of my passports has gone up since last night.” Leaning over, he placed his hands on each side of her face, effectively trapping her. “I like you naked, Lily, but you already know that.”

“So you’re saying that you’re playing some kind of power game with me?” she asked, her voice turning frosty.

“Hey, would you rather I lie about my intentions? Do you think if I just go about helping you, you won’t be wondering what I’m up to? This way, we’re clear where we stand, right?” He came closer. Feeling her feminine warmth, he could feel himself getting uncomfortably hard again. “I’ll take care of you, sweetheart. I’ll make that call. Maybe even jump off another bridge to save your gorgeous ass. Believe me, I don’t run around diving into freezing water for nothing.”

He almost winced at using half-truths to cover the real truths. He must have learned that from his mother. He didn’t like himself very much for doing it this way, but he had to get Lily to start thinking about how he could help her.

He was breaking many of his own rules, but in Lily’s case, he was—literally—not himself. As far as he was concerned, the original operative plans had gone out the window. This wasn’t going to be a quickie job, not when someone was after Lily and, most probably, the weapon, yet there wasn’t enough time to just wait for her capitulation.

Saving her life had given him a small foothold into Lily’s willingness to trust him. He knew, from her files and after meeting her, it was going to be extremely hard to get her to open up to him. It would be even tougher since she was on the run now. He had to get her to consider him as more than someone with whom she was stuck.

She wanted his passports. He could tempt her by offering more.

“I don’t have any money,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “Not the amount that’d interest you anyway.”

Reed grinned. “Good girl. I knew you wouldn’t think that sex would buy what you want.” He looked down and sighed. “Although I’m really, really tempted.”

That, at least, was the truth. He’d never wanted a woman more, and he’d never been more tempted into forgetting about missions and assignments and just letting his raging hormones take over. But even the devil couldn’t make him break the most important rule—protection or nothing.

Lily’s hands slid up his arms and squeezed his shoulders lightly. “Once upon a time, I’d take that as a challenge, Reed,” she said. “But right now, all I want is to take care of my business and disappear.”

“Which is why this game’s so interesting to me, you see,” Reed told her. “You need me right now. I like that.”

“I don’t need anyone.”

He cocked his head. “Oh yeah, who’s going to get you clothes? Who’s going to make that phone call for you? Who’s going to help you get passports?”

Her eyes lit up. “Are you? Going to help me get passports? How?”

Reed shook his head. The seed had been planted. Let it take root in her thoughts. “I might have an idea or two, but let’s eat first. I’m starving.” He rolled and got off the bed.
You stupid SOB.
He ignored his very angry libido yelling at him. “Coming?”

Pink suffused her face as she slowly sat up. He’d chosen the word deliberately. “I don’t have anything to wear,” she reminded him.

“You can have the T-shirt I brought up,” he told her.

He picked up the phone to call room service, trying not to imagine how he was going to down his food while she sat across from him in a T-shirt and nothing else. His gaze followed Lily as she walked off to the bathroom. Better than her in that damn towel.

“Yes,” he said. “I need some food sent up, please.”

What he really needed was a cold shower.

CHAPTER 10

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer?” Reed asked as he clicked the cell phone shut. “That’s both you and your girlfriend’s favorite television show? Do they even show that here?”

The call itself had been to the point. “Tatiana,” if that was her real name, had sounded as suspicious as a mother whose daughter hadn’t made curfew, except that she’d sounded all of sixteen. Once the password had been confirmed, however, she’d just asked for the message. Strange how she hadn’t seemed concerned enough to demand to speak to Lily.

“Yes, to all your questions,” Lily said, food in mouth.

Reed hadn’t realized how hungry they’d both been until they’d dived into the plates of breakfast food without any conversation. He was used to going without for a long time and eating at odd hours, so his body had learned to ignore the usual hunger pangs until the smell and sight of food came within touching distance. He felt bad. Lily had probably been famished and he’d spent all morning…stop thinking about the damn T-shirt.

Dammit, what the hell was wrong with him? He hadn’t had so much difficulty concentrating before. The woman was tempting him every time she walked past him in that thing. Sitting at the table beside her was worse. His knees kept bumping into her long, bare legs. And, of course, he knew what she had under that scrap of clothing. Not a damn thing.

He drank down his juice in one gulp. “Why did your friend need to ask a secret question anyway? It’s pretty juvenile, if you ask me.”

She looked up from the apple she was peeling. “Who’s asking you? Besides, Tatiana’s a very young girl. She thinks this is a great way to let her know it’s really me.”

“So every time you call her, she asks, ‘What’s our favorite TV show?’ and you answer her?” There was something wrong here, but Reed couldn’t quite put a finger on it yet. “Can’t she recognize your voice?”

He watched Lily as she carefully sliced the apple into sections, as if it were very important to get every cube the same size. A password. Juvenile, but effective. Those girls were young, so maybe something like a password would appeal to them. But what kind of danger did they think they were in that they couldn’t even communicate on the cell phone without a secret code? They were escapees from thugs, not operatives involved in spy games.

“Want some apple?” Lily asked. Without waiting for his answer, she offered him a piece with a fork.

She was trying to distract him. He leaned closer, taking the fruit into his mouth. Their eyes met as he tugged it off the fork. The tart and sweet taste of apple filled his mouth as he continued watching her. She put a piece in her mouth, licking the juice off her lips. Fine, she wanted to tempt him, he’d bite. Time to push her again.

“Now that we’ve reassured your friend you’re okay and will be late going home,” he said, getting up, “let’s hear your other plans.”

She looked around the room, then shrugged again. “It depends on what your plans are.”

He settled onto the sofa by the fireplace. “So you’re placing yourself in my hands?”

“What choice do I have? First, I don’t have any clothes.” She came over to join him. “And don’t give me that look. I can read your mind.”

“That’d be an easy thing to do,” Reed said, amused. “All you have to do is keep reminding me you don’t have any clothes on.”

“You see? That’s so male. I said, ‘I don’t have any clothes.’ You’re the one who tagged ‘on’ at the end of the sentence.” She leaned back, drawing his eyes to her legs again. “Once you get me something to wear, we can go to my hotel to pick up the rest of my clothes.”

“And then?” He wanted to know all her options. His own were simple. Nikki had said they needed time as they gathered information. All he had to do was stall long enough for them to find out the identity of the person who’d shot at them, as well as whether there was a price on Lily’s head. In the meantime, he was to work at finding out what was on Lily’s mind. So far he hadn’t seen any evidence that suggested she was confused or afraid, which meant he had to get even closer to her. Quickly. He tried to distance his emotions by mentally going through what he knew of her. He watched her hands as they smoothed the hem of her T-shirt. Not working.

“Reed, I thought you said you’d help me get more passports. I know you have something in mind. What is it?” She crossed her legs, exposing even more of her thigh. “I don’t have the cash. If you can’t help me, let me know now. I don’t beg.”

“I can only help so much, sweetheart,” Reed said. “Look, I’m a gunrunner. I can make another deal, but if you know the business at all, you know these things take some time. I sold my last batch to get the passports so I can get out of this hellhole. So currently, aside from my own personal stuff, I’m running on empty. All I can do right now is go to Johnny to get some information, find out whether he has a buyer who’s in need of something hot on the market, and maybe cut you into the deal. Maybe.”