She stifled a small scream and her teeth scored his shoulder again as she tumbled into another orgasm, her sex wringing every last drop of come from his body.
They were both breathing hard as if they'd just run a marathon. A sex marathon, he thought cheekily. But it was more than that. He had missed her. He had missed how they seemed to connect so thoroughly, and how they were so completely in tune sexually. Before he could reveal that completely ridiculous fact, he covered her mouth with his.
He couldn't spout crazy talk if he were otherwise occupied.
Colin wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her ass in his hands. He rocked against her as he came down slowly from the unbelievable high of having her in his arms again. He scattered random kisses on her mouth and face unable to stop touching her.
Then he pressed a sweet kiss, totally at odds with the their insane lust, against her lush mouth.
As reality returned, thoughts of all the reasons why this was such a bad idea crowded his head. Jess was having similar thoughts. He could tell by her rapidly stiffening shoulders, and the tense curve of her jaw, that reality was returning to her too.
And she didn't know the half of it.
Blimey. He'd promised her brother he'd stay away from her. But as she made small attempts to disengage from their embrace, Colin held her tight. "Not yet," he whispered and pressed a tender kiss to the curve of her shoulder. He didn't want to let her go.
Shite. He was in serious trouble.
Five
12 hours earlier
"You certainly didn't waste any time." Keisha cast a snide glance at Jess.
She could barely even focus on the other woman. Her mind was back in that tent, as she went over every single thing that Colin had said to her. She tried to ignore the other memories that crept in. How familiar his hard body felt against hers. How well she fit in the wrap of his arms. How perfect the press of his lips felt against her ear, her mouth, her breasts.
For a few stolen moments, she been enveloped in a sense of completion and an emotional intimacy that she craved. Yet, the idea was insane. She didn't even know him. That surreal sense of fitting together, not just physically but, mentally, couldn't really be possible. Could it? And if it was, what was she going to do about it?
Jess finally realized Keisha was still fuming as she tucked extra supplies in the nooks and crannies of the back of the truck. "What?"
"Colin." Keisha shoved another box of seed packets into the truck. "Just a word of friendly advice."
There wasn't a bit of friendly in her tone but Jess kept her mouth shut and tried to ignore her. What did she care what Keisha thought? She had bigger problems. However she did have to work with woman. Assuming she stayed at GHR.
"Sure." Even though she had no interest in what Keisha thought.
"At night, with a lantern on, everyone can see everything that happens in that tent."
"I kinda figured."
And I still don't care.
If she chose to have sex with Colin it was no one's business but theirs. And when they were down on the cot, the only way someone could have seen them was if they were specifically watching the shadows.
Keisha's lips tightened. "Just saying you may want to tone down the sexpot skankiness if you want to be taken seriously in this business."
Keisha's criticism didn't necessarily have the desired effect.
In her mind, Jess started to work on expanding her potential cover story, examining angles, filing away information for later, and crafting a fictitious reason that would cover up her real purpose in Port-du-Bois and cover GHR's behind. If people assumed that she was on the island because she was a bed partner for Colin, no one would even think about her in the role of sniper.
At the FBI, she'd been a rarity. A female sniper. One more situation where she didn't quite fit in. But here that could work to GHR's advantage. No one would think Jess, a mere woman and worker grunt, could be a sniper, so if something went wrong and she needed to use her skills against Henri LeRoy, the authorities would likely look for a man.
They would dismiss her presence immediately.
But what about Keisha, was she a straight relief worker or did she have another purpose here? Jesus, Jess had so many questions. She really needed to talk to Jack to get answers, but she couldn't call him. Asking Colin hadn't gone so well. After last night she wasn't about to approach Colin a second time. They'd end up in the sack, having sex again, rather than actually discussing GHR's hidden agenda.
"Thanks." Jess stacked the last crate of seed packets and flipped the truck gate up. She pulled the door shut, and listened for the clunk that indicated the door was secured, so that while they were driving over non-existent roads, the boxes of relief they were set to deliver wouldn't tumble out the back.
Jess swung up into the cab of the truck and set her backpack at her feet. Keisha was already in the driver's seat. The inside of the truck stank of sweaty soldiers and the faint underlying scent of gun oil. She surveyed the interior, cracked vinyl seats, a dashboard that had definitely seen better days, and a GPS system that was useless since most of the roads in the system didn't exist any more. They'd be better off calculating routes based on the position of the sun. But through it all Jess kept her mouth shut.
"You have your pistol?" Keisha pressed in the clutch with her left foot and shifted the stick into first gear.
Jess's stomach churned. "Yes. But shouldn't we be safe?"
Keisha laughed. "In theory, yes. But we've got a trigger happy military and shell-shocked citizens who are desperate for help. These situations are always volatile. And you always need to be prepared."
Keisha was just about to take off when the driver's door swung open. "What the hell?"
"Change of plans," Colin said shortly. "You need to stay here. There's a problem with the special shipment. I'll take the supply run."
Keisha snorted and rolled her eyes. But only Jess saw her expression. "I'll bet."
"We need your expertise," Colin said again. Steadily. Patiently.
Keisha suddenly scrambled to get out of the truck. "Oh. Shit. Okay. Okay. Sorry."
What the heck was that about?
While Keisha scurried off to do whatever thing was keeping her at the relief encampment, Jess shifted in the truck seat. Before she had time to wonder what kind of expertise Keisha had that Colin didn't, or if she really wanted to know, a sharp edge of cracked vinyl scraped her leg and cut her. Jess flinched and tried to ignore the throb in her leg.
She surreptitiously leaned over to look at the cut.
While she was trying to see the damage, Colin leapt into the truck and settled into the driver's seat. Dressed in top of the line hiking boots, tan shorts, and a black fitted t-shirt, his muscled biceps were on display, causing a flutter in her heart. He had wide palms and long fingers with blunt tips. And just remembering his skilled hands as they played over her body sent shivers zipping down her spine. Jess shifted her attention away from his hands. But then her gaze landed on the hairy column of his thighs and she was reminded again of the night they'd spent together in London as she straddled his legs, knees around his slender hips, his fingers tight on her ass as he pounded inside her.
She fanned her face, hoping he wouldn't notice, then prayed if he did, he'd mistake the flush spreading over her skin as a reaction to the heat and not to his proximity.
"What's wrong?"
She should have known he'd pay attention. "Nothing."
"Let me see." Colin leaned toward her. Jess shoved back against the truck door. But it was impossible to avoid his fierce regard. "You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
"Not here it isn't."
Colin flipped open the glove compartment and pulled out a first aid kit. "With your experience you should know that an open wound in the tropics can be a real problem if it isn't treated properly."
Especially with whatever germs lingered on the ancient truck seat. He was right, dammit. Jess sighed. "Okay. Yes, I think I have a cut."
She twisted her torso to try to see the injury on her upper left hamstring. But the placement of the slice was awkward and she couldn't see a thing.
"Face the window," Colin said tersely.
Jess rolled so that her hip was in the air and extended her left leg.
She heard his swift intake of breath. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He pressed a pad with rubbing alcohol on the cut. The sting took her by surprise but she didn't even make a murmur. With gentle strokes, he cleaned the small wound, his movements almost a caress. Then with tender fingers, he smoothed some anti-bacterial Neosporin over the cut.
His actions were oddly arousing. He brushed his fingers lightly against her skin as he attached the bandage. Jess flushed as her body responded to the soft strokes, remembering the last time he'd had his hands on her thighs. Arousal flooded her.
Jess ignored the gust of awareness that blew through her. What the hell? But she noted how gentle he was with his hands. He'd been like this the last time they'd been together too. As if he knew with absolute certainty how much pressure to use, how hard or soft to touch her, how to caress her to evoke whatever sensation he wanted.
Now it was calming, soothing but before it had been arousing. He'd been able to manipulate her reactions with just the press of his fingers against her skin.
"That should do it." He swirled one last caress against her ultra-sensitive thigh and then removed his hands. She was pretty sure she imagined that his fingers lingered on the back of her leg.
"Let's get going." Jess inwardly cringed at the gruffness of her words.
Colin snapped the first aid kit closed and tossed it back to her. "Fine by me."
Jess put the kit back in the glove box.
She was the one acting weird. She knew it and yet she couldn't seem to turn off her awareness of him. She was the one who couldn't seem to forget the memories of them together. He hadn't mentioned it once. He'd been nothing but professional. This was the perfect time to ask him how he came to be heading the relief effort in Port-du-Bois.
But before she could delve into his reasons for working for Jack, he said, "You need to hide the backpack." Colin gestured to the cracked blue plastic dash. "There's a hidden compartment behind the dash."
"Can't I just put under the seat?"
Colin's intuition was going haywire this morning. It was part of the reason that he'd decided to have Keisha stay in camp. There were rumors that the government had doubled the checkpoints. The relief organizations had been grumbling because the extra security added hours of time and delays in getting aid to the people who needed it the most.
"Humor me," Colin said tersely. Something was off. And he didn't want to be caught unawares by a random patrol or security stop. They couldn't afford to have the rifle discovered. Not only would the military take it, there would be uncomfortable questions about why they had one in the first place.
He turned the key smoothly and listened to the engine rumble for a second before he shifted into reverse. Colin propped his arm on the back of the seat, his hand perilously close to her shoulder. The cab of the truck shrunk by about two hundred percent. Suddenly he was hyper-aware of his fingers so close to her bare skin. But Jess held herself stiff and stubbornly refused to relax against the cracked old vinyl.
He gunned the engine and they shot out of the relief compound at the disabled airport and headed toward their destination.
The air conditioner in the old truck had seen better days. Tepid air chugged out of the vents, minimally cooling the interior of the truck. It was still better than the air from outside, stifling with the heat and dust and decay. The scent was nearly unbearable.
Jess breathed through her nose and thought of a delicate way to begin this conversation. They were confined in the truck with no one to overhear. Then she decided, fuck it. He was the new guy. It seemed an odd coincidence that they both started working for a relief organization at the same time. "How did you end up working for GHR?"
"I owed your brother a favor," Colin said shortly.
Wait, so Colin knew her brother? "Jack?"
His mouth tightened. "Yes."
"How?"
He shifted and arched a brow at her. Finally he answered, "The Spec op community is rather small."
About as specific a non-answer as she was liable to get. "So what's the favor you're doing for him?"
Colin's shoulders tensed and his fingers tightened on the hard plastic steering wheel. "We need to talk about the plan."
Suddenly she couldn't stand the tension in the truck. They weren't going to talk about the plan until they'd discussed what happened in his tent. "What was last night about?" she asked.
He gave her a steamy look. "You have to ask?"
"I find it more than a little suspicious that right after I tell you that I don't want to take out the country's leader you happen to have sex with me."
Colin down shifted the gears as he drove over a particularly bumpy spot in the crumbled road. "Seriously?"
It was suspicious. "You have to admit the timing sucks."
His laugh was a harsh bark. "I don't think you've thought this through princess."
"Don't call me princess."
"It's exactly how you're acting. Like a spoiled princess."
In that moment, Jess could hate him. She had
never
been a spoiled princess. Ever. She was more like Ariel, searching for a world where she belonged. "Fuck you."
"Already did." He shot back. "And I'm going to have the bruises to prove it if your brother finds out."
"My brother?" Jess said incredulously. "Besides being our boss...what does my brother have to do with what happened last night?"
Colin shifted the truck into a lower gear to bobble over the worsening road conditions. At first, Jess thought he was just concentrating on driving.
But after five minutes of silence, she realized he wasn't going to answer.
Screw that. "What. Does. My. Brother. Have. To. Do. With. Last. Night?" she ground out through gritted teeth.