Authors: Maya Banks
He slid his arms underneath her, gathering her as closely as she held him. Their bodies were meshed so tight that there was no space between them, no point of separation. They moved as one, finding their rhythm as he stroked in and out of her in long, tender thrusts.
At intervals, he paused and kissed her hair, her temple, her cheek, any part of her he could reach with his mouth. Her heart melted a little more because she knew how close he was to his release and yet he waited for her, wanting her to be with him.
And then he’d begin again, driving her mindless, bringing her ever closer to something she wasn’t sure of. But she wanted it. She wanted it more than anything.
She twisted restlessly and then arched her body up, but he quieted her with a hand to her hip.
“We’ve got all night, baby. No hurry. Just us enjoying each other. Let me love you like you deserve to be loved.”
She sighed and relaxed, willing to let him take over.
“That’s it,” he murmured.
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. Long, hot, breathless kisses that left her panting. He ravaged her mouth and then moved down her jaw to her neck, marking her, claiming her. Telling her without words that she was his.
He moved down to kiss her breasts and when he slid from her body, she felt the loss and reached to pull him back, but again he put out a gentle hand to stop her.
“Relax. I’ve waited a long time to be able to see you this way. I’m going to take my time.”
She sighed again and stared down as his dark head lowered to her nipples. He sucked and toyed with each one in turn and then caressed the small mounds, holding them for his eager lips.
He hadn’t lied. He licked and nibbled until she was nearly crazy with desire. And when he finally lifted his head away, she thought he’d finally push back inside her again, but he moved further down her body until he was positioned between her thighs, his shoulders holding her open for him.
Tiny little shivers quaked over her skin when his mouth touched her most intimate flesh. She closed her eyes, helpless against the onslaught of such pleasure. Her fingers curled into tight balls at her sides. Her knees shook. Her legs quivered and went limp as he coaxed her higher and higher.
He kissed and sucked gently. The long swipes of his tongue made her crazy with wanting. She arched, her muscles tightening as her release built. She was so close. So very close. One more… Just one more touch…
His mouth left her and he crawled back up her body, his eyes blazing with a fierceness that made her tremble. He slid back into her in one long thrust. Their hips met and he held himself deep. Then he began to move, his pace more urgent than before. His face was tight with strain—strain she felt in every part of her body.
She wrapped herself around him, molding her body to his, holding on like she’d never let go. His mouth pressed against her ear and his ragged breaths spilled down her neck. Then she closed her eyes and let out a small cry as the world shattered and blurred around her.
He was close behind her. The moment she peaked, he let out a groan of his own and buried his face in her neck. His hips pumped against hers and then he went rigid over her, his muscles bulging underneath her fingertips.
Even as they melted into the covers beneath them, he kept himself deep inside her.
Gradually her body relaxed, the series of quakes lulling, leaving her drained, but still she held on to Manny.
His hand stroked soothingly over her hair. He murmured in her ear. Words of love and approval that she soaked in like someone starving for water.
He rolled to his side, still holding her in his arms.
She burrowed deeper into his embrace, her face nestled in the crook of his neck. For tonight she wouldn’t worry about tomorrow or what she must do. Tonight she lay in the arms of a man who loved her, and whom she loved with everything she possessed.
Chapter Seventeen
Dawn crept through the windows, bathing the living room in pale light. Manuel rubbed his eyes then raised his arm to glance at his watch.
Jules lay next to him, curled trustingly against his chest. Unable to help it, he put his arm back over her and pulled her even closer. She stirred but snuggled further into his embrace and stayed asleep.
A rush of satisfaction more powerful than he’d ever experienced surged through his veins. He bent his head to nuzzle her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. He rubbed his lips over her softness, kissing her gently enough not to awaken her.
He couldn’t remember ever being this happy, not in the last three years, for sure. As soon as the thought hit him, he grimaced. There was nothing to be happy about in their present circumstances.
They couldn’t simply ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. No hope of a picket fence and a normal existence. She was a
terrorist
, and he was in the CIA’s premiere counter-terrorism unit. If his superiors found out about Jules, his ass was cooked and so was hers.
It was enough to make him want to take Jules and run as far as they could, away from the CIA, away from the NFR. But he wasn’t a coward, and there were too many unanswered questions. With Tony’s help, he hoped to get some answers.
He slipped his other arm from beneath Jules and gently eased away from her. He held his breath as she stirred once more, and let it out in relief when she didn’t wake.
He needed coffee, and he needed to call Tony. He pulled on his jeans, leaving his shirt on the floor. A quick check of his pocket found the cell phone still there. A second later, the phone rang.
Manuel looked down to see it was Sanderson. Anxiety churned in his gut. Would it be another ultimatum? He briefly considered letting it ring, but if the CIA was coming after him and Jules, he at least needed to know about it.
“Boss man,” Manuel said into the phone. He tried to sound unaffected, but he wasn’t sure he pulled it off.
He heard a long-suffering sigh. “Manuel, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?”
Fuck. He remained silent, waiting for Sanderson to continue.
“I’d love to know why your fingerprints came across my computer courtesy of the Houston P.D.”
“Just a misunderstanding,” Manuel said.
“Look, it’s obvious to me you’re protecting your girl. Damn it, Manuel, you’ve put me in a hell of a predicament. I’ve got the higher-ups breathing down my neck wanting to know what the fuck is going on with a suspected terrorist on the loose.”
Manuel closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“You be careful, Manuel. You’re officially on your own. I’ll do what I can to keep the heat from you, and I’m sure Tony’s doing the same, damn his computer geek hide, but there’s nothing I can do if you’re apprehended, you got me?”
“Thanks,” Manuel said quietly. “I won’t let you down. I’m just trying to figure this mess out. Things aren’t as they appear.”
Sanderson snorted. “That much is obvious. Watch your back, Manuel. Your girl is bringing down a lot of heat.”
The line went dead. He clenched his fist around the cell phone and squashed the urge to fling it across the room.
He needed coffee in the worst way.
As he padded into the kitchen, he wondered in a brief moment of horror if there was a coffeemaker. Tony wouldn’t do that to him, though. He wouldn’t send him to a place that had no coffee.
After scrounging around the cabinets, he located a coffeemaker and a canister of coffee. He sniffed it cautiously, but it didn’t smell stale. Soon the aroma of the heavenly brew filled the kitchen. God, he needed three cups to make up for the last few days.
He was on his second when Jules shuffled into the kitchen. He smiled when he saw she had pulled his shirt on. It hung to her knees, but on her it looked adorable.
She looked nervously at him. He set his cup down on the counter and moved toward her, enfolding her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” she returned, her voice muffled by his chest.
He pulled her away and stared down into her eyes. “Are you all right? How’s your shoulder?”
“I’m good. Shoulder hurts, but not bad.”
“Sit down.” He gestured toward a nearby barstool. “I’ll rustle up some breakfast for us.”
She pulled the barstool up to the bar that separated the kitchen from the small dining area and sat down. She put her elbows on the hard surface and rested her chin in her palms, studying him as he puttered around the kitchen.
“When do we leave?”
Manuel placed a skillet on the stovetop and turned to look at her. “I hoped to stay here a day or two. Let things calm down before we hit the road again. It’ll give Tony time to sort out this mess on his end. But I’m waiting for him to call. We’ll do what he thinks is best.”
A flare of alarm crossed her face. He narrowed his eyes as he took in her reaction. What was going through her mind now?
“Is that a problem?”
She shook her head. “No, I mean that is, I thought we were in a hurry to get to D.C. I don’t want you out here with me…where you can get killed.”
That wasn’t all she was thinking. He’d bet his life on that much, but damned if he knew what. He sighed. Would he ever get to the bottom of things? Would he ever know what truly happened to her or was it destined to remain a mystery?
He cracked eggs to make an omelet and a few minutes later set a plate in front of Jules. “Eat up. You’re too thin.”
She smiled slightly, but dug into the omelet with her fork. “You didn’t seem to mind how thin I am last night.”
His body stirred to life as he remembered just how much he hadn’t minded. He set his own plate on the opposite side of the bar from her and stared directly into her eyes.
“There’s nothing about you I mind, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you.”
She flushed pink, her pupils flaring for a moment. With desire?
She put her fork down, her fingers still wrapped tightly around it. She didn’t raise her head to look at him, and he had to strain to hear what she said.
“I would have, you know.”
He cocked his head sideways. “Would have what?”
“Married you,” she said in a quiet voice. “I adored you back then. Worshipped the ground you walked on.”
His chest clenched, silent agony squeezing him until he struggled for breath.
“And now, Jules? How do you feel about me now?”
She uncurled her fingers from her fork and put her hand in her lap. She still refused to look at him. When she did raise her eyes to meet his, they were awash in anguish.
“Isn’t it obvious? That you mean more to me than anyone else in the world? It’s why I can’t allow anything to happen to you. I let Mom and Pop down. I won’t let
you
down. I won’t let you get killed because of me.”
In that moment, he knew. He knew without question that she hadn’t joined the NFR of her own volition. Her agony was clearly written on her face. Which meant she had joined because of
him
. And it made him want to puke.
Maybe it was his fault. If he had just come clean before she left that he had joined the CIA, maybe she would have had faith in his ability to help her. And she wouldn’t have spent the last three years in hell. She wouldn’t have thought him some helpless computer geek she had to protect.
He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “We’re in this together. No matter what you may think, no matter that you endured the last three years alone, the point is you will never be alone again.”
Sadness crept into her beautiful blue eyes. She didn’t believe him. That was fine. He would convince her.
His cell phone rang and he yanked it up. “Yeah.”
“Hey, buddy. Look, I’ve got you and Jules on a flight out of the Henry County Airport in two hours.”
Manual blinked in surprise. “We tried flying already. Don’t you think it’s too risky?” The idea of being trapped on an airplane for an indeterminate amount of time didn’t rest easy with him. Not with whoever was chasing him and Jules out there. Sure, they’d gotten rid of the tracking device, but he didn’t think the baddies were going to give up that easily.
“It’s a small strip, mostly used for private planes. You guys need to get here as soon as possible, and this is the best I can come up with. The alternative is for you to be on the highways for the next few days, and that’s too much exposure.”
“You’re right,” Manuel conceded. “We’ll be on it.”
“See you soon, then.”
Manuel looked up at Jules. “We leave in two hours.”
Her expression was indecipherable, but he could swear, her body language was screaming relief. Why was she so gung ho to get to D.C.?
“I’ll get our stuff,” she said as she slid off the barstool.
He wanted to reach out and touch her again. Feel her in his arms. Last night hadn’t been nearly enough. It would never be enough and would never make up for the time they’d lost.
He looked down at his plate and shoved it away. He’d lost his appetite. He didn’t know what would happen when they reached D.C. It wasn’t as if he could introduce her to his coworkers.
Hey, here’s the woman I love, and by the way she’s a member of the terrorist group we’ve been trying to infiltrate for the last few years.
His head throbbed, and he rubbed his palm over his mouth. Tony sure as hell better have some answers by the time they got to D.C. If not, this was going to be one giant cluster fuck.
The brisk morning air rushed through her nostrils as they stepped from the cabin. Jules inhaled deeply, enjoying the coolness on her face. Behind her, Manny locked the door then joined her beside the SUV.
The gravel crunched under her tennis shoes as she walked around to the back so they could stow their bags in the rear of the vehicle. When she tried the door, she found it locked.
She stuck her head around the back and called out to Manny. “You got the keys?”
Instead of tossing them to her outstretched hand, he walked back and inserted the key into the lock. He raised the door then turned to take her bag from her.
As he twisted back around, Jules heard a slight zinging. Then the back seat of the SUV shuddered. Manny emitted a curse of pain. She knew immediately what it was.