Reckoning

“You know we can stop this right here,” he said.

“I don’t want to stop.”

“But you’re worried.”

“I just think too much.” She put her arms over her head and closed her eyes. “Make me stop. Please.”

He couldn’t do anything but stare at her. When he’d first met her in Kosovo, he hadn’t thought that much about her. He hadn’t thought of her as a great beauty, although he’d found her attractive, and she hadn’t been a particularly memorable conversationalist. He’d been shocked when he found out she was a biochemist, and a brilliant one.

As he’d come to know her over the last year, she’d become more and more beautiful to him, so much so that there were times he’d had to turn away. Maybe it was her mixed Asian-American heritage that made her loveliness so subtle, but he doubted it. Back in Kosovo, he just hadn’t been paying attention.

There had been nights when the thought of her face alone had kept him going. When he looked at her now, so trusting, he wanted her so badly he trembled.

“Nate?”

Her eyes had opened and she looked at him expectantly. He still held the condom in his hand. “One sec.” He brought the small packet to his teeth and ripped it open. Oddly, he felt a little embarrassed putting it on. Maybe because he was so goddamned turned on he was afraid he’d blow it any second.

He kept it together long enough to make it safe. Long enough to pull Tam into his arms and kiss her. It wasn’t going to be one of those record-breaking marathons. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to last until she came. So he needed to make sure she came first.

He touched her face as he kissed her, moving in slow motion. His fingers trailed down her jaw, her neck, the tender skin above her breasts.

He kissed her hard and touched her softly, then squeezed her breast as he brushed her lips with his. It was all sensation and heat and the noises she made at the back of her throat. His world became the way her nipple hardened against his palm, the feel of her ribs.

He floated as he pressed his hand flat on her stomach, as he breathed in her soft gasp. Tiny fireworks went off behind his closed eyes and each sensation made him ache that he’d never again feel it for the first time.

He moaned as she touched the nape of his neck, as her long, slim fingers skimmed his shoulder.

When he slipped his own fingers down past her mound and onto her puffy lips, he drew back, wanting to watch her face as he dipped into her, as he found her clit.

Her mouth opened, her eyelids fluttered and her pale cheeks turned pink. So responsive. She arched her back, her hips moved, her legs parted and the sound she’d held back came out—a low moan that made him want to slay dragons.

He moved his finger faster now, needing her to come a lot more quickly than he should. She had to do it soon, or he would never make it. To miss being inside her was too much to ask. He just wasn’t that noble.

Tam pointed her toes as the muscles in her legs tightened. It was the beginning of her climax, and she wasn’t sure how she’d gotten there. She was an expert in getting herself off. Living in an underground lab for a year would do that to a person, but this wasn’t anything like her solo sessions.

It wasn’t just the kissing, but oh, God, the kissing was amazing. She’d thought about Nate’s lips a lot, wondering how they would feel, and if he had some magic moves that had made all his conquests fall at his feet. The answer turned out to be yes. And the moves didn’t stop with his lips.

How was it possible he was better at this than any other man? He knew exactly how to use his fingers. How much pressure, how fast to move, when to ease up. It was wonderful. Just like she’d imagined only much better.

She gripped his shoulder with one hand, the back of his hair with the other as she prepared to come, her eyes closed tightly, she arched as she slammed into gear.

It was always like that for her—one second anticipation, the next, bam, she was gone. She always had to stop, move her hand away from any sensitive spots, and Nate did that, too. Only he didn’t flop on his back and breathe hard, like she was doing. He sat up and grabbed a pillow from the bed. His arm went under her thighs and he lifted her whole bottom half to shove the pillow beneath her butt.

Her eyes had opened during that move, and widened as he settled between her legs. He looked so big staring down at her, and so damn sexy.

Without warning, he thrust himself inside her so hard the whole bed moved. She cried out but not because it hurt or anything. God, no. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. He filled her, lifted her and she would swear that he made her come all over again.

All she could do was go along for the ride. His expression was so intense his teeth had clamped tightly together. She grabbed onto his shoulders, and the muscles she felt made her look. Cords of tendons stood out, his biceps bulged. His nipples were hard and his chest heaved with every thrust. It was all so unreal, and he was so gorgeous, it didn’t even feel like her life.

The only guys she’d ever been with had treated her carefully, as if she’d break or something, but not Nate. The gentleness he’d shown her in the tub and with his kisses had gone, leaving only the warrior.

He grunted as he sat up, as he lifted her legs and put one on each shoulder. Then he leaned over her again, bending her almost in two.

She grabbed on to the sheets as he thrust, as he turned her body into a quivering, trembling mess. It was unbelievable, totally outside anything she’d ever felt in her whole life.

He plowed into her one more time, then froze as he came, his neck long and tight, his forehead beaded with sweat, his growl low and long and thrilling.

Finally, he relaxed. He kissed her, but only for a second, then eased back, letting her legs fall to the bed. He pulled out the pillow, and then he fell heavily on his back next to her.

For long minutes, all they did was breathe hard. She gradually became aware of his hip touching hers, of her foot against his calf.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “You okay?”

“Oh, yes.”

“I didn’t hurt you?”

“No. Not even a little.”

He sighed. “Good.”

She turned to look at him. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes were closed and his hair was wet with sweat. He was the best looking man she’d ever seen.

She had no idea what time it was, or how long they’d been awake. All she knew was that from the moment he’d touched her cheek, she’d forgotten all about last night. The rest of the world and all the horrors it held had disappeared. He’d taken her places she’d never been, and for that, she’d be grateful forever.

She knew it was just sex. She also knew that sometimes just sex was just perfect. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He looked at her. “To say it was my pleasure is an incredible understatement.”

She grinned and felt stupidly proud. “Cool.”

He chuckled and squeezed her hand again.

NATE TOOK A MILITARY shower—get wet, lather up, rinse off, do it again, done in five minutes. He did it alone. Not because he didn’t want to shower with Tam. He did. But they had to get out of here, and be quick about it.

As soon as he’d come out of his sex-induced coma, he’d called Seth, who’d given him a choice piece of his mind for worrying them all so much. The whole team had assembled in that crappy, out-of-the-way motel. Nate told him he and Tam would be there in about six hours. Time to get dressed, leave L.A., get something to eat. Then drive the damn speed limit all the way past Vegas.

He missed speeding. He used to do it all the time, before getting pulled over could have deadly consequences. His name was in every database—one call in from a highway cop could end it all. He missed having a private life too, but today had shown him once again that his first responsibility was to the team. To the mission.

Being with Tam had been fucking unbelievable. He wanted nothing more than to be with her again and again. But that wasn’t going to happen.

He’d freaked Seth out. They’d all been worried sick that he and Tam had been captured or killed. None of them needed that kind of anxiety, especially not from him.

He dried himself off and put on his clothes, hoping Tam would understand. It wasn’t that he regretted his actions, but he should have called Seth and warned him about the delay. The whole episode had confirmed what he’d suspected for months. He liked Tam too much. While he’d been busy distracting her from the nightmare she’d survived, she’d distracted him from his command.

He went back into the main room, where he saw Tam waiting on the bed. She had her clothes on her lap. All the joy had left her face, and she seemed haunted once more.

She needed time, that’s all. Time and a purpose. He’d see to that. But first, he’d get her the hell out of Los Angeles. Not that she wouldn’t be in danger in Nevada. There would be no real rest until they’d won this fight.