Transference (7 page)

Neither needed it.

They'd both been primed and ready since the car's explosion so it wasn't a surprise that their own explosions were so quick to follow. Allison rested her forehead on his shoulder for a long time afterwards. Not knowing what else to do, Brad kept his arms around her and stroked her matted hair down her back.

When the silence became deafening in the night, Brad was the first to speak. "Allison, we aren't supposed to do this here."

"I know."

He sighed in aggravation – both from the fact that now their traveling arrangement from the past three weeks was ruined and also because he was enjoying the way it felt to hold her. "I think this is where you're supposed to tell me you hate me."

Allison's lips grazed his ear. "I know." Her lips traveled to his and moved over them, soft and warm, before pulling back to meet his gaze. "But I don't hate you, Brad."

He hesitated. "I don't hate you either." He tangled his fingers into her hair and kissed her again, the way he would have liked to the night he'd made dinner and dessert for her at her apartment. If he hadn't been doing recon. And if he hadn't been posing as a gay man.

With sudden clarity, Brad realized things just got dangerous.

CHAPTER 9

ALLISON'S MIND WAS still reeling from everything that had happened three hours later when Brad pulled off the road into the inn's parking lot. It was nicer than the places they usually stayed, but it appeared to be the only thing for miles. Normally he might have continued driving until he found something a little less visible; Allison knew that and didn't blame him for wanting to stop before the sun broke on the horizon in hues of purple and mauve. He looked dead tired, the events of every moment since extracting her from the transport van clearly having caught up with him.

"Let me go in to get the room."

Wearily, he handed over her fake ID, credit card and some cash. He really must be tired. He'd been vehement in his refusal to give them to her every other night when she'd asked. Allison spared a moment to take in the appearance of his head leaning back against the seat and his eyes closed. She didn't dare think for a moment that he was asleep.
 

Better than anyone, she knew the man had predatory reflexes.

He looked so peaceful, so utterly at ease that seemingly all of the night's events had never occurred. Allison leaned over to him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, reveling in the surprised intake of breath at the contact. The kiss was forbidden, just as was so much of what they'd done. But then, all of their unspoken rules had already been thrown to the wayside in the last several hours.

She touched his face lightly as she pulled away. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." His voice was fatigued and his eyes slipped closed again. "Get the room for two days. We shouldn't need it, but I don't want to worry about that if we aren't able to cross into Mexico on the first try."

Allison made a hasty exit and strode with purpose into the inn. So this had been the last leg of their road trip. This would be their last time to share a room. Brad had always been very clear on the fact that once they crossed into Mexico, they wouldn't stop until they reached the rendezvous point with Adam and Eli.
 

This was really it.

While a part of her remembered that it was always the plan for this to end, she questioned how much she wanted to join Adam in Costa Rica. The past three weeks had changed a lot for her. Yes, she still loved him, but could she face him, knowing how she'd betrayed him? Could she let him take her into his arms and hear the words of love he'd speak to her?

Could she bear to watch Brad walk out of her life now that she was in love with him?

She didn't know. What she did know was that she was tired of sleeping on hard mattresses with cardboard pillows so she opted for the nicest class of room they had to offer. Allison also knew she needed to get her mind off of her dilemma. Most likely, it wouldn't even matter what she felt or wanted. All she'd ever been to Brad was an assignment and an easy piece of ass. There was no point in trying to imagine giving up a man who would give her no other option but to do so.

"Mrs. Treadstone, that room is currently available with either two double beds or a king bed. Which would you prefer?"

Allison licked her lips and willed her heart to beat slower. "We only need the one bed."

* * *

Brad's body was leaden as he followed Allison into their room. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so exhausted – and that included the time he'd been up for a week straight during a mission. It was just a good thing this would all be over soon. Once they crossed into Mexico, it would be a relatively quick trip to the rendezvous point. He would deliver his cargo, get paid, get out of there, and then get on with his new life's mission of destroying Stafford.

If only it were that simple.

He dropped his bag into a chair and quickly ensured the room was secure. It was a nicer room than what they'd had over the past three weeks so it took him next to no time. Allison's eyes were on him from where she sat at the foot of the only bed when he turned around.

"Thank you."

"Don't do that. I'm just doing my job. Don't make it personal."

Allison rose to her feet and moved across the room to him. "We both know it is, regardless of what we say." She snuggled against his chest and his arms moved to hold her of their own volition. "It's always been personal with us."

What the hell was she doing? For the first time since this had started, she seemed completely in control of her actions. Her arms circled his neck slowly, drawing their lips together. Though he knew this was all wrong, he was too tired to care. This wasn't how it worked. She wasn't supposed to come to him until the lights were out so that she could pretend he was Barrows, if that's what she'd been doing. For all he knew, she was imagining some buff celebrity with airbrushed abs.

"Come to bed with me, Brad."

That was also all wrong. She never called him by name when they were together. They were clearly on the proverbial slippery slope and he couldn't be bothered to stop them this time. "I'm exhausted, Allison. I..."

She cut him off with another brush of her lips and then pulled his shirt over his head. "I know you." Deft fingers moved to dispense with his jeans while he kicked off his shoes. "I want you to come to bed with me to sleep. Just sleep."

"Then why are you undressing me?"

"Because you can't sleep in your clothes." She made a face. "They smell of smoke from the explosion."

"So do yours."

She was already removing her own clothes. "I know." She took his hand and tugged lightly. "Come to bed with me."

He didn't have a clue why it was suddenly so fucking important to her where he slept, but he let her lead him to the bed and slid between the soft sheets while she shut off the lights. She joined him a moment later and curled against him, resting her head against his chest after giving him one last kiss. He wrapped both his arms around her and waited for the moment when she'd remember herself and pull away.
 

When that moment didn't come, Brad let out a sigh of contentment before letting himself slip into the first decent night's rest he'd had in weeks.

CHAPTER 10

HE GOT THE sense he'd slept far longer than he meant before he opened his eyes. Beside him, Allison's breathing had already grown shallow, indicating that she'd soon be awake – if she weren't already. Brad mentally berated himself for not being up sooner. Not once had he still been in bed when Allison first opened her eyes and that had been working well for them.

Of course, so much was different now that this was but the cherry on the sundae.

As stealthily as possible, Brad started to slide away from Allison to the edge of the bed. Before he could push back the sheet, a hand closed over his wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

Brad turned his head and was met by drowsy hazel eyes. "I'm getting out of bed. We have a lot to accomplish today."

Her answer was simple. "No."

"No?"

"No." She smiled at him as though they'd been waking up next to each other for years. "Can't we stay here for another night and skip crossing the border for one day? We've already got the room."

He regarded her with caution. "That's not why we got the room for an extra day."

"Brad...I know." She searched his face. "I'm not ready to leave yet."

Though simple words, the complex implication of what she said hung between them as tangibly as another person in the bed. "I still think we should head out now."

"But we're not."

Brad let out a breath. "No, we're not." He laid back and opened his arms to her. "Come here."

"Thank you." Allison snuggled against him and made a contented noise in her throat. Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, she asked, "Are you the one who killed my father?"

His eyelids jolted open, but before he could answer, she said, "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

Allison was asleep only moments later. Sleep took considerably longer to come for him after that.

Brad was alone in bed the next time he opened his eyes. Two weeks ago, he might have thought she'd skipped out on him, especially given the last question she'd asked. Today, he knew Allison wasn't going anywhere without him.

That in and of itself posed a problem of unknown magnitude.

Brad pushed that thought from his mind. They would be forced to deal with that issue as soon as they crossed the border. For the time being, getting something to eat could be their biggest problem.

Following the sound of running water, Brad knocked on the bathroom door and immediately opened it precisely an inch. Anything more than that would only be inviting the trouble he would spend the day trying to avoid. "Allison, I'm going to go get us something to eat. What do you want?"

"You."

"Excuse me?" He poked his head around the door in case he hadn't heard her correctly over the roar of the water and stared at the shower curtain. "I didn't hear that."

Allison pulled back the curtain and tossed him a wicked smile. "You heard me, Brad. Get in here and wash my back." At the unspoken question in his eyes when he locked on her gaze, she added, "I know what I'm doing."

"Okay." Brad nodded and then joined her in the shower before she could change her mind.

* * *

Allison shut off the hair dryer and joined Brad in bed as he hung up the phone. "It's done." He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled against him. "They know we've been delayed an extra day."

Her back involuntarily stiffened. "You talked to Adam?"

Jealousy flashed through his hot gaze. "I've run everything through Eli since after that first night we..."

Reality washed over her with an avalanche of emotion. "Brad, does Adam...uh, have you..."

"Have I told him how we've been passing the time?" He reached out and stroked her cheek. "That would be a negative. My relationship with Barrows is strained enough without...
that
." He abruptly removed his hand. "You know we have to stop this, Allison."

"I know." She moved her lips to his, not in the usual brutal kiss, but soft. "Just...not yet. Okay?"

Brad's hands framed her face. "Okay." He laid her back on the bed, his eyes never leaving hers. "Tell me what you want."

"I want you, Brad. Make love to me."

His lips met hers in a sweet caress that tugged at Allison's heartstrings until his tongue finally swirled against hers to stoke the embers of her desire for him. They stayed locked in the kiss for what felt like eternity yet was still far too short. Desperately, she tried to convince herself that it was still just about feeding her addiction with him, but she couldn't even complete the thought. It simply wasn't true.
 

Just the thought that this may well be their last time together...

She shoved that thought to the side when he broke the kiss and trailed his lips down her jaw to the hollow of her throat where he lightly grazed her flesh with his teeth. Her fingers played through his shaggy dark hair, tightening when his mouth moved lower still and a skilled tongue flicked across one taut nipple, eliciting a sharp cry from her. "Ohhhh...Brad."

His lips curved into a smile against her skin for an instant before treating her other breast to the same delicious torment. A hand slid down her body, leaving an explosion of sensation in its wake until it reached its final destination. Daring fingers stroked between her thighs, brushing against her core ever so lightly in a fleeting manner that left her breathless, panting for air. If what they were doing was so wrong then why did it feel so perfect?

When Brad added just a hair's breadth of pressure to his stroking fingers, Allison realized she didn't give a damn about whether what they were doing was wrong. A sharp pressure began to build in her lower abdomen, twisting and clawing at her until she could scarcely think, taking control of her to the point that she didn't even realize he was nibbling on her earlobe. She cried out in protest as his fingers left where their touch did the most good, only to cry out in pleasure when they carefully parted her folds and slipped into her slick heat, adding a new dimension to the onslaught of sensation to which she was lost.

"I love how your body responds to my touch." His voice was hoarse with his own need, reminding her that she wasn't alone on this trip through ecstasy, and she reached for him, stroking his straining erection with teasing fingers. His breath caught in his throat. "Allison..." Even as his words trailed off, his fingers increased the urgency of their movements.

"I want to feel you inside me." She tightened her grip on him as he seemed to ignore her fevered demand. "Brad, I want you right now."

"Not yet."

"Don't tease me. I want you."

His hand grew still and he pulled back to gaze into her eyes. "I'm not teasing you. I want to see your face when I make you come."

Allison blinked at him, surprised by both his words and the low tones in his voice. "You want..."