The Midnight Hour (20 page)

Tori couldn't recall when he got up and crossed the room. All she knew was that she blinked and he was there, standing in front of her, and when his mouth found hers she was ready. His tongue immediately captured hers, claiming it, declaring it and her as his, sending intense flames tearing through her body.

A sense of urgency ripped through her as his mouth mated with hers as if he were determined to taste every last bit of her and she reciprocated in kind, returning his kiss, stroking whatever heat that was driving him to the bittersweet end. Fervently, he continued ravishing her mouth in a way that almost brought her to her knees. She would have melted into a heap on the floor had his hand not been securely around her waist. Those same searching hands eased up her T-shirt to touch bare skin.

She knew the exact moment his fingers touched her flesh, the feeling so erotically painful yet at the same time so sensuously mind-boggling. She pressed closer to him, dissolving into his arms while he continued to kiss her into a hectic urgency she couldn't break away from. She felt his hard erection against her stomach where their baby was nestled safe inside and cuddled even closer, wanting her child to know the feel of its father and all his strength.

Frenzied emotions tore through her and when she felt Drake's hands skim the waistband of her bikini panties, those same panties he had picked up off the floor and handed to her a while ago, she knew what he wanted and also knew that she couldn't let him have it, no matter how much she desired otherwise.

With all the force of mind she could muster, she pulled her mouth from his, almost finding it impossible to do so when he followed and began kissing her again. She once again became a willing victim, letting him give her more of heaven and wondered if after this kiss, her life would ever be the same.

Moments later it was Drake who broke the kiss and pulled back, needing to regain control of his mind and his senses. Tori Green had broken through his restraints. She had rocked his world, had left him off-balance but oh, so damn satisfied. For now. Kissing her wasn't enough. He knew it and from the dark, sultry, I want you, too, look in her eyes he knew that she knew it as well.

He wasn't ready to remove his hand from beneath her T-shirt where he was gently cupping her backside, needing the feel of her bottom in his hand, and the front of her so close to his hard erection. He wanted her to know what she was doing to him, at a time when all his concentration should be on other things, like keeping her safe.

"You know what I think?" he asked as he continued to CUP her bottom in both hands. It seemed that touching her this way, in addition to the size of his erection, was limiting "is vocabulary. He couldn't seem to think coherently with a raging hard-on.

"No, what do you think?" she asked, her gaze still connected to his.'

"I think I could get pretty damn used to kissing you."

She wouldn't have a problem with that if the situation were different. In fact she would welcome his kisses, anytime and anyplace. But she had to remember that the situation was different. They had a past but could never have a future. "And do you know what I think?" she asked, feeling her nipples tighten even more with his hands touching her so intimately.

"No, what do you think?"

She took a step back, giving him no choice but to let her go. She watched as he dropped his hands to his sides and immediately felt a sense of loss. His hands on her had filled her with a rush of desire that wasn't going to ease any time soon. And speaking of ease, there was something he wasn't trying to ease or to hide for that matter, she thought as her gaze lowered. And that was the evident swelling in the front of his jeans. He had an erection nearly the size of Mount Rushmore and she knew from past experience that any time Drake Warren got this big and hard, making love with him was as good as it got. She couldn't think of anything better.

She glanced back up and met his gaze. He wanted her. It was there for her to clearly see in his eyes that were filled with such intensity it nearly took her breath away.

"I think you should go on and take your shower. When you're finished we can see what information we can pull up on the computer about ASI. Maybe there's something that will give us a clue as to whether they're backing Cross or if he's working alone in this vendetta."

Drake nodded. "I'm sure you're probably hungry again right about now," he said, moving over to the dresser and pulling out clean clothes. "If you want, go ahead and order

room service. I want the biggest cheeseburger they have, all the way-but have them hold the onions. And I want French fries and lots of ketchup."

"All right." The thought of food eased some of her tension, but not all of it. Without saying anything she watched as Drake went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

"Did you have to scare the poor man to death, Drake?"

Drake glanced up at Tori but didn't stop eating. The intimacy of them sitting at a table together in their hotel room was bad enough, not to mention how the glow of light from a nearby lamp accentuated her features. He could barely eat his meal, his nerves endings were tingling so bad.

"Drake?"

When she said his name again, he decided to respond. "What did I do?" he asked innocently.

Tori frowned knowing he knew exactly what he'd done. When the guy had wheeled the dining cart into the room, Drake had drilled him with a stare that would probably have made even the Terminator tremble. He had stood and watched the man's every move as he uncovered their meal, which included a chilled bottle of wine.

"I gave him a tip," Drake decided to add for good measure.

Evidently she didn't think there was anything good about it. She glared at him. "And he was almost too scared to take it."

Very subtly, the corners of Drake's mouth eased into a smile. "Yeah, I noticed that."

Tori leaned back against her chair frowning. "Do you take pride in putting the fear of God into people?"

He shrugged, seemingly not bothered by her question. "I'd rather put the fear of God in them before they have a chance to put it in me. Besides, something about him made me suspicious."

Tori lifted a brow. "What?"

"The way he was looking at you."

She raised her eyes to the ceiling before tilting her head to look at Drake. She wondered if jealousy and not suspicion had ruled his brain. The thought that he was actually jealous made her spirits soar although she didn't want them to.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." She cleared her throat. After he had returned from taking his shower, it seemed the room had moved from being clouded with sexual tension to sexual frustration. They were beginning to nip at each other's every word and get on each other's nerves, when what they really wanted to do was to get on each other's bodies. The kiss they'd shared earlier hadn't helped matters and sitting across from each other, eating wasn't helping either.

She'd always thought that the way Drake ate his food was a total turn-on. He chewed his food the same way he made love: methodically slow, savoring every taste, enjoying the flavor. Then there was the way he licked his lips and she remembered how those same lips used to lick her. At one time she thought his mouth was lethal and should be ruled illegal. She shifted in her chair to ease the heat that had settled between her legs.

He was watching her and she was getting utterly turned °n by the look in his eyes. Again.

"Want some dessert?"

His question gave her pause. It wasn't what he'd asked; but how he'd asked it. Her breathing suddenly became shallow and she wondered if he could tell. By the darkening of his eyes, she knew that he could.

Tension was building up again and she was helpless to stop it. There was definitely a strong current flowing between them, making her pulse accelerate. "What kind of dessert do you have?" she asked hoarsely, as a delicious pressure continued to rise in her stomach. She wondered if this was way too much excitement for her baby.

He leaned over the table. "Something hot, chocolate with whipped cream on top."

Heat rose in Tori's face when she had visions of that very thing and knew that what she was thinking about was probably totally different from what he was thinking about. Or was it?,she wondered, after seeing the devilish gleam in those dark eyes of his.

"So, could I possibly convince you to try it?"

In a heartbeat, she thought, thinking of one of her darkest fantasies that always involved him. And over the past five years she had piled up quite a few.

Tori was about to answer when her cell phone ring. She quickly crossed the room, checked to identify the number before taking the call. It was Jody.

Drake listened to the conversation between the two women. He knew Jody Barrow and although he had never worked with her, Tori had and felt she was an agent who could be trusted. And for that reason, he would trust Tori's judgment.

He listened and noted she was careful not to mention where they were. In fact she wasn't telling Jody much at all, but stating that she needed to know how to retrieve the Agency's most recent records on the ASI. Evidently the two women had an understanding. Their conversation was short and after jotting down the information, Tori ended the call.

Tori crossed the room back to him, fanning herself with the hotel's notepad before tearing off the top sheet of paper. She held it up. "We should be able to tap into the Agency's file on the ASI using this code."

Drake smiled. All his attempts at getting into the records had failed. "Then let's do it."

A few hours later, Tori was fanning herself again. She and Drake had been sitting close together while checking out information on the ASI on her laptop. At one point she had leaned over him, to look over his shoulder at the screen, and his scent, manly and robust, had infiltrated her mind, started her hormones raging and made her feel intoxicated with need. She let out a breath of air as she gently brushed back the hair that had fallen in her face. "It feels hot in here," she said taking a step back and crossing the room for a drink of cold ice water.

Drake pushed back from the desk and stood. "Well, at least we now know just about everything there is to know about ASI."

Tori nodded after taking a big sip of water. Her body started feeling cooler. However, when she glanced over at Drake, it began getting hot again. She took another sip of water before saying, "It would be great if we had the names of all the CIA agents assigned to them."

Drake shook his head. "That sort of list would be suicidal in the hands of the wrong people."

"Yeah, but it would help us tremendously. Someone knew you were asking questions about me and didn't waste time tipping Cross off. That meant that person was aware of the grudge Cross is holding against you. That only leads me to believe that same person was also in cahoots with Rangel who has a connection to Cross." She met Drake's gaze. "Do you remember the names of anyone you asked about me directly?"

Drake frowned. "It's not like I posted an 'I'm trying to find Tori Green' message on my forehead. I merely asked a couple of people, but word evidently got out since I've never sought out a woman before. The only persons I asked directly were Lucille, Casey, Daniel Horton, and Tom Crowley. The only reason I asked the last two was because I'd heard you had dated them at one time or another and thought perhaps they were still in contact with you."

She frowned. "They weren't."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's what they were quick to tell me." After a few moments he said, "And I also called Hawk."

Tori nodded as she sat down on one of the beds. Of all those he'd named, the only one who'd known her whereabouts was Hawk.

Drake picked the notepad up off the desk and scanned the list they'd made. It was a list of places Cross had last been seen and the men he'd been seen with. It would be easier if they could recognize the enemy. Chances were that now that Rangel had been eliminated, Cross would use other corrupt agents to do his dirty work. There were only a few places on the list, which meant Cross had followed the cartel's orders and kept a low profile.

Drake was about to make a comment about one of the places and glanced over at Tori. She had stretched out across the bed closest to the door and fallen off to sleep. She had put on a robe when the waiter had arrived with their food but had removed it after the man had left. The over-large T-shirt had been sufficient enough in covering most of her… until now. With the way she was lying in bed, too much of her thighs were showing, which equated to way too much temptation.

Crossing the room, he pulled down the covers on the other bed and then picked her up in his arms. She came awake immediately and looked up at him with tired, drowsy eyes. "What are you doing, Drake?"

He smiled as he gazed down at her. "Putting you in bed."

She glared. "I was already in bed."

"Yeah, but the wrong one. I'm the one who's taking the bed closest to the door."

Tori sighed. She knew it would be pointless to argue with him. Besides, she was too tired and sleepy to do so. She hadn't slept in well over twenty hours; more than that if you didn't count the catnaps she'd managed to squeeze in during the time they'd been on the road.

The bed felt wonderful and she curled into her usual sleep position as soon as Drake placed the covers over her. She was too tired to care that he continued to stand next to the bed, staring down at her. The last thing she remembered when she closed her eyes to go to sleep was the feel of his hand as he gently caressed her cheek.

Drake sat at the computer and forced his mind back to what he was doing. He had a map on the screen that showed all the routes they could take to reach Houston, especially back roads. He needed that information in case they needed to get off the interstate at a moment's notice.