A Question of Honor (16 page)

“Kit…” Noah whispered against her lips, his breath moist, fanning across her cheek. He ran his tongue across her lips, tasting the ocean salt, feeling her quiver. “Yes,” he coaxed thickly. “Yes…”

Kit uttered a small cry, melting against his sun-warmed body, her breath stolen from her as Noah deepened his kiss. His mouth was strong, plundering her ripened senses, evoking one major explosion after another throughout her yearning body. She was wildly aware of the hard muscles tensing across his chest, the wiry hair beneath her palm, the clean male scent of him mixed with the sun and the salt tang of the ocean. His tongue caressed the corners of her lips, inviting her to join him in the exchange that sent a wave of exultation racing through her.

Her breath came in short, shallow gasps as she hungrily returned the questing pressure of his mouth. The world anchored to a halt, the lapping of the waves on the beach heightening the dreamlike cocoon he was weaving around both of them. Noah tasted good. And clean. Her lashes fell softly on the planes of her cheeks, and she slid her arms around him, relinquishing all her disintegrating control to this man who had fanned the fires of her body to life. The experience created a storm of exhilaration, making her crave even more of him.

Noah’s hands moved upward from Kit’s shoulders to frame her face, and his mouth gloried in her returning passion. Time melted into infinity and Kit leaned heavily against him, caressing the inner softness of her mouth, sending a tumult of wavelike sensations that shuddered deliciously throughout her. Slowly Noah lowered her back to the blanket.

His green eyes were dark, searching hers. Fingers trembling as he caressed her cheek, he whispered, “I need you, Kit.”

Wordlessly she nodded. Every nerve in her begged for his continued touch, his fiery onslaught. As his hands moved along the straps of her lavender bathing suit, she sighed deeply, surrendering to him.

Peeling the thin straps from her shoulders, Noah eased the suit off Kit. She was exquisitely perfect—for him. Wanting to worship her, he stood and divested himself of his suit, dropping it to one side.

Kit’s heart mushroomed with a suffused glow. She welcomed Noah into her arms as he slid down beside her, and captured her face in his large hand, cradling her chin, forcing her to look up at him. She read so much in those green eyes flecked with depths of gold fire. Kit shivered at the coiled power she felt building explosively around him. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Noah outlined her lips with small, hungry kisses. He nibbled at the corner of her mouth and then sent his hot, claiming lips down her slender nape. “You’re beautiful,” he rasped. “More than beautiful. Perfect…”

A shiver fled through her as his tongue wove wet patterns in the valley between her taut, aching breasts. A moan rose in her throat as he goaded the already hardened nipples into fiery life. Somewhere in the delicious hazy state of her mind, Kit wanted to return the love he was giving her in equal measure. Her hands moved knowingly, down the expanse of his tightly muscled chest, from the flat of his stomach to the rich, carpeted area below. She heard him groan, then felt him tense beside her.

“God, how I want you,” Noah gasped, smothering her awaiting lips. He cupped one breast, delighting in its proud, crescent curve, and leaned over to tease it. He felt Kit’s nails dig deeply into his shoulders, her body becoming a taut bow against him as he gently tugged on the yielding nipple. Kit tasted good, her perfume and the ocean scent intoxicating to his senses. She felt like firm velvet beneath his exploring hands. His body shrieked for release, but he quelled his own desires in order to bring her pleasure, instead.

Noah rained kisses down the expanse of her stomach, across her slightly rounded abdomen, and gently parted her thighs with his hand. He heard her cry out in fierce need as he tantalized the very core of her being. As he drove her beyond the edge of ecstasy, he realized that she was the most inviting, passionate and willful woman he’d ever met. Her breath was shallow and gasping as he placed his knee between her damp thighs. Her body had a sheen to it and he gently ran his hands upward from her hips and ribs to her beautifully formed breasts and, finally, to her flushed face. Kit’s eyes were wide and dazed with fulfillment. He covered her with his male body, moving in accordance with the woven web of desire throbbing heatedly between them. Leaning over, he caressed her full, eager lips and responded to her hungry urgency, glorying in her uninhibited response.

“Now…please now,” Kit keened softly. “Please…I need you, Noah…”

He was aware of the boiling heat within him, his own primal animal desire clashing savagely with his control. He eased into her warm depths, dragging in a deep, ragged breath of air. Kit tensed, her fingers clutching his shoulders. She felt like life itself—yielding and fertile to his starving body. Urgency thrummed through him, and all his powerful control exploded in a raging thirst. He thrust deeply, and a growl tore from him.

They were one as they must be, for there was no other way with them. With each matching movement of her responsive body, Noah gloried in their shared joy. He felt Kit tense beneath him and heard a small cry bubble upward from her throat. A look of utter rapture crossed her face, and her lashes lay like sooty fans against her cheeks. He reveled in her climax just as he yielded to his own need to send his seed of life deep within her moments later.

Kit lay gasping against him, spent in the aftermath. “I never knew…” she whispered, moving her hand across Noah’s damp chest, giving him a weak embrace.

Noah kissed her temple. “That it could be this good? It can be when it’s right,” he said thickly, gathering Kit up against him. Their hearts thundered in unison against each other. He kissed her eyelids, her nose and, finally, her wet, full lips.

“You’re beautiful, Kitten,” he admitted softly.

Kit raised her lashes. A tender light burned deep in his jade-colored eyes and her heart somersaulted with joy. Words were useless. She could feel the depth of his feelings radiating toward her, and she felt humbled by it, swept upward on a rainbow of ecstasy because of it. Loving Noah was without comparison. He made her feel as if the human body were a vessel rendered sacred through their loving act. Kit caressed his cheek, her eyes wide with the wonder of this new discovery.

“You make me feel beautiful.”

Noah nodded, understanding. The bond he felt with Kit was almost tangible. He was aware of it with every touch of his hand on her. Tenderly he placed his mouth on her lips, drinking deeply of her. “You’ve given me so much,” he told her, stroking her hair.

Kit shook her head, her voice trembling with emotion. “No, Noah. You’ve given me a new and better life.”

He smiled and rested his cheek against hers, inhaling her sweet scent. “Maybe, maybe not. We’ve got a lot of tough days ahead of us.”

Fear niggled through her as she slid her arms across Noah’s shoulders. As she buried her face against his neck, Kit couldn’t ignore that seed of terror.

After taking a shower once they arrived home that evening, Kit sat on her bed, worried. Noah’s lovemaking had left her feeling vulnerable and exquisitely feminine. It was as if he had taken away the last of the old Kit Anderson’s toughness and bravado forever. Wandering over to the dresser mirror, Kit hesitantly lifted her lashes to stare at herself. She wore a sleeveless light blue blouse and a pair of jeans, but that didn’t detract from her as a woman. No, one look into her own eyes and Kit realized how much more had happened. And the future was uncertain. And dangerous. With a sigh Kit opened the door. Regardless of how she felt, dinner had to be made.

In the kitchen she took a checkered apron from one of the drawers and tied it around her waist and began preparing a meal of fried chicken with wild rice. Kit heard a bedroom door open, and then close, and realized Noah was coming.

Turning her head, she saw Noah saunter into the room. He was heartrendingly handsome in the dark blue polo shirt with a pair of khaki shorts, and he gave her a devastating smile of silent welcome. Kit trembled beneath the mesmerizing warmth of his eyes as he walked over to her.

“Can I tell you how happy you look?” Noah whispered as he leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. It was a long, welcoming kiss meant to convey more than the lightness of his words. Not a second had gone by without Kit in his thoughts. He would never forget the power of their lovemaking. His fingers tightened on her shoulder briefly. “And I’ll also make a decidedly male chauvinist comment and tell you how utterly ravishing you look wearing an apron.” He dropped another more coaxing kiss. This time he lingered, his mouth barely grazing her warm lips. “Mmm, I think we ought to have dessert before dinner,” he teased. He brushed his mouth more strongly against her, delighted by her returning pressure.

Kit gave a low laugh, trying to extricate herself gently from his continued charm. “Noah Trayhern, you’re the most enticing man I’ve ever met, but the answer is no,” she murmured, smiling. “Besides, we need to sit down and have a serious talk.”

His brows dipped. “Oh?” He caressed the slope of her cheek. Did Kit know how delicious she appeared to him? Her eyes held a special spark of life for the first time, her cheeks were pink from the heat of the kitchen stove, and that smile… He expelled a heavy sigh and tried to be dramatic. Looking down at the assembled animals sitting expectantly at their feet, he addressed them with a twinkle in his eye.

“Okay, gang, what do you think? Is this ravishing woman going to tell me I have to cook dinner, instead?”

Calico meowed sonorously as she got up to rub against Noah’s leg.

Kit giggled. “You are the most manipulative person I’ve ever met! And yes, we’re going to talk. And no, I don’t mind doing my fair share in the kitchen.”

Noah’s green eyes darkened with a mischievous glint. He grabbed Kit and imprisoned her seductively against his body. “Okay, would you agree to live here forever and ever if I continue to help you with all the kitchen chores?”

Kit eyed him speculatively. The strength and hardness of his male body sent new waves of surging, hungry awareness through her, and she craved his closeness and his wonderful ability to love her. “Let me go, Noah, before I lose my train of thought!”

She was magical, Noah decided, still bound up in the desire of their explosive lovemaking on the beach. But that was another world, a world of dreams, not reality. And looking into Kit’s worried eyes, he felt some of his euphoria begin to evaporate. Releasing her, he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of chilled white wine. “I think this is going to call for a drink,” he murmured, taking down two glasses and setting them on the table.

The mood altered, and Kit lost her smile. “This isn’t going to be easy, Noah.”

He matched her seriousness, pouring wine into one of the glasses, then handing it to Kit. “Okay, honey, what is it?”

Just the tenor of his voice sent a shiver of renewed longing through her. Kit expelled a long breath before beginning.

“This afternoon—”

Noah reached across the table, his hand covering hers. “It was special, Kit. For both of us.”

She moistened her lips, raising her eyes to meet his honest gaze. “Yes. Yes, it was, Noah. And more than anything, I want to be honest with you.” She swallowed hard, removing her hand. “In my job as an undercover agent I lied all the time, Noah. I lied to stay alive. I’ve got five years of lying under my belt. Worst of all, I find it easy to lie to myself more than anyone. When I’m scared on a narc job, I lie to myself and pretend I don’t feel the fear. And when I was at an emotional breaking point I used to stick my head in the sand by working harder, hoping to forget it.” Kit took a fortifying sip of the wine to shore up her raw emotional state. One look at Noah’s open face gave her the courage to go on. “So that brings it around to us.”

“Go on,” Noah said softly.

Kit closed her eyes. “This afternoon was the most beautiful experience in my life, Noah. It was one positive against so much negativity I’ve lived with for five years. But—” She chewed on her lower lip for a second. “This is so hard,” Kit confessed, seeking his silent assurance.

Noah grimaced. “Just say it, Kit. Let your feelings speak. We can handle it.”

Kit shook her head. “You’re always so positive.”

“Do you like the alternative?” Noah probed.

“No. Okay, the bottom line is…until this thing is settled with Garcia, I can’t sleep with you, Noah.”

He sat back, digesting her comment. At that moment Kit was searching and unsure. He offered her a slight smile meant to reinforce her honesty. “You’re right. For both of us. It won’t be a problem.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “No?”

Kit’s tensed shoulders fell and she took a deep breath. “I thought you would be angry, Noah. Hurt, maybe—I don’t know.” She gave him a soulful look of utter relief.

Leaning his elbows on the table, Noah said, “Let’s talk about your decision to stay in your bed and out of my arms.”

Kit was caught off guard by his concern and calm reaction to her ultimatum. She found it easy to respond. “We’re in a terrible predicament with Garcia, complicated by this contract out on my head. We both need to remain clearheaded about our priorities until Operation Storm is over.” She stared down at his hands around the wineglass. They were so strong, so loving. “I haven’t been with a man for two years. And when I met you, I had no intention of—of—well, going to bed with you.”

“It just kind of happened,” Noah admitted quietly. “When I first saw you, I wondered why you dressed in oversize baggy clothes to hide that beautiful, skinny body of yours. Then I realized it was to conceal your obvious femininity. Working in the trenches had made you wary of men in general.”

Kit blushed. “You’re right. After years of protecting myself from the male criminals I had to live with, you walked into my life and made me feel like a woman again.”

Noah’s eyes grew warm as he studied her. “You’ve always been a woman. We just seem to bring out the best in each other.”

“I’ve never before felt the things you’ve brought out in me. And I mean more than just in bed,” Kit hastily added.