Derek walked back to the bed, sat beside Jenna. “Sorry about that. That’s Javier Corbray, my business partner.”
“I figured.” She let the sheet fall, reached out to rest her hand on his thigh. “Did I get you into trouble?”
“No, I did that myself.” He shouldn’t have answered.
Corbray had looked pissed.
“Please don’t say you’re sorry.” There was a vulnerability on her face that tugged at him. “What we did meant something to me.”
Derek knew he ought to feel guilty. He’d broken Cobra’s rules, not only by having sex on the job but having sex with a client who also happened to be Jimmy’s little sister. But all Derek could feel was a bone-deep sense of contentment.
You are so fucked.
“I’m not sorry.” He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek, knowing he had to be honest now or risk hurting her later. “I enjoyed it, too.”
Enjoy it? Hell, it had been the best first-time sex he’d ever had.
“Jenna, I don’t do relationships. You need to understand that upfront. I don’t want to mislead you or hurt you or make you think there’s a future for us, because there isn’t. I care about you. I always will. You’re smart and beautiful, and you’re incredible in bed. But I can’t promise you—”
“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “I wasn’t about to propose or anything.”
He chuckled. “I need to call Corbray back. I’ll walk you back to your room first.”
He reached for his clothes and dressed, then strapped into his holster. He might look like he was ready to get back to work, but he smelled like Jenna.
She dressed quickly. “Will I see you again tonight?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that this couldn’t happen again, that their having sex had been a one-off, but he didn’t want to. “I’ll be working late. We have a lot to do before the meeting tomorrow morning. I’ll check on you afterward.”
When she had finished dressing, he looked out into the corridor.
“Is the coast clear?”
“Yeah. Come.” He led her to the elevator and down one floor, careful to watch what he said and fighting the urge to kiss her or at least hold her hand.
There were cameras in the elevators.
“Supper is served from eighteen-hundred to nineteen-thirty. If you hurry, you won’t miss it. Do you know the way back to your room from here?”
“Yes.” The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out, an oh-so-sexy smile stealing over her lips. “Thanks for the tour. That was … amazing.”
The doors slid shut, and for a moment Derek stood there like an idiot, forgetting to push the button.
Get it together, man.
He went back upstairs to his suite, splashed his face with cold water to clear away the lingering sex coma, and then logged into the system.
Corbray answered on the first ring. “That better not have been who I think it was, or you and I are going to have difficulties.”
“Drop it.”
“Nah, man, I can’t. Jenna Hamilton is a client, for God’s sake. We do not fuck our clients. That’s in the rule book you helped write. If you break the rules, how can you expect to enforce them?”
“We were discreet.”
“Discreet. Right.” Corbray snorted. “You’re in a compound with a bunch of intel experts and analysts. Do you think they don’t know? You need to keep your head in the game, cabrón. What happens when you toss Ms. Hamilton aside like you always do with women when you’ve had enough? What happens if you break her heart and she runs to her daddy?”
Now Derek was angry.
Is Corbray hitting a little too close to home?
“She would never run to her father.” And Derek didn’t want to hurt her.
She wasn’t like the others. She wasn’t just the best first-time sex he’d ever had. There was something about her, something more than sex…
Are you listening to yourself?
Maybe Corbray was right. He needed to get his head back in the game.
He changed the subject. “If you’ve read the report from our meeting this morning, then you know we believe Kazi is behind this.”
“If that’s true, it’s a big problem for us—and for her.”
They’d built their primary base in Afghanistan in Mazar-e-Sharif because of their relationship with Kazi. They had millions of dollars of vehicles, computers, small arms, and other gear here. If Kazi had turned on them, they were in trouble.
“Our priority is getting Jenna … Ms. Hamilton… out of the province and the country. We’ve got a strategy meeting tomorrow at oh-eight-hundred.”
“I’ve called in some muscle to help. You’re going to need more boots on the ground. And, Tower, make no mistake, if we lose Ms. Hamilton, we lose the company, and we’re out of business for good.”
No way in hell was Derek going to lose Jenna.
Corbray moved on, going through their current operations one by one. “Our security detail has cleared the embassy in Venezuela, so the diplomatic team will be arriving tomorrow.”
The operatives in Jakarta had noticed an uptick in the number of former IS fighters trying to recruit in Indonesia and had reported it to the Pentagon. A U.S.-owned hotel in Kenya had requested security personnel and training in the wake of another terrorist attack in Nairobi.
Then Corbray dropped a bomb. “Holly is pregnant.”
“What?”
“You know what that means, right—baby in the belly, bun in the oven?”
“I know what it means.”
Corbray chuckled. “I was on the phone with Andris when Holly told him. She was in a complete panic, telling him she wanted an epidural. He told her she’d have to wait until she was having the baby for that.”
Derek was happy for them. “No more deployments for her for a while.”
“She’s on light duty stateside, effective immediately. We need to select someone to fill in for her.”
“Yeah. Right.” That was going to be tough. “What else do you have for me?”
* * *
Jenna stood in the elevator on her way down to the mess hall, reliving the past couple of hours in her mind. The tug of Derek’s mouth on her nipples. The rasp of his beard on her skin as he’d kissed his way down her body. The bliss of him going down on her, pounding into her. The rush of having all that man and muscle focused solely on her.
Don’t forget the greatest orgasm ever.
No, she wouldn’t forget that. How could she? Her body was still singing, the wetness between her thighs a sweet reminder of what they’d done.
Jenna was amazed that a man who’d spent his entire adult life at war could be so tender, so thorough, so damned good in bed. He was a fantasy come to life.
Lord, have mercy.
She knew her time with him was going to end sooner rather than later. She’d heard every word he’d said afterward. She knew that Derek wasn’t the kind of guy who planned on settling down, and she had no idea where she’d be tomorrow. Once Cobra got her out of Afghanistan, she would probably never see him again.
That’s a depressing thought.
It was the truth, and she needed to accept it.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
She now knew her way around—mostly—and found her way to the mess hall. It looked like most people had already come and gone, trays stacked neatly on top of trash bins, a few people sitting at the tables.
Jenna got a tray, silverware, and a plate and went through the line, asking for the spaghetti and then visiting the salad bar. She sat by herself near the door and had just spread her paper napkin on her lap when a woman she recognized from this morning’s meeting walked up to her, tray in hand.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
“Please.”
“I’m Elizabeth Shields. I was at the meeting this morning.” Elizabeth didn’t look like Jenna’s idea of a CIA analyst, with her long, strawberry blond hair, pretty face, and blue eyes. Then again, what did Jenna know about the CIA?
“I remember.”
Elizabeth picked up her fork. “So, you’re a midwife. What’s that like?”
Jenna described the work she did from well-woman checkups to prenatal care to STI screenings and contraception to attending births. Elizabeth listened and seemed fascinated by it, asking lots of questions, which Jenna answered as best she could. Before long, it felt like she and Elizabeth had known each other for years.
Then the conversation drifted from Jenna’s work to her brother’s time with the Green Berets and then to Derek. But it wasn’t Jenna’s place to tell Elizabeth how her brother had died saving Derek’s life. That was Derek’s story to tell.
Elizabeth leaned in. “Do you think he’s handsome?”
Jenna stared at her. “Derek?”
“Who else? Come on. You can tell me. It’s just us girls here.”
“I … uh … Sure.”
“Oh, come on. You’ve got a thing for him, and he’s attracted to you, too.”
Heat rushed into Jenna’s cheeks.
Quinn McManus, the tall, redheaded Scotsman, walked up to them on his way to the food line. “Be careful when you’re talkin’ wi’ Lilibet. She’s a human intelligence expert. She’ll have you sharin’ your deepest secrets and thinkin’ it was your idea.”
Elizabeth glared at him. “We’re just enjoying some female bonding time.”
“Are you now?” With that, McManus turned and walked away, a grin on his rugged face. “Wi’ you, it’s hard to tell.”
Jenna looked straight into Elizabeth’s eyes. “Was this all a fishing expedition to get information about Derek?”
Elizabeth popped a cherry tomato into her mouth, chewed. “Oh, honey, we all know you two have a thing for each other. I’ve worked with Derek for a few years now, and I’ve never seen him look at any woman the way he looks at you. As for you, you’re an open book. Every emotion you feel is right there on your face.”
Jenna didn’t like that. She didn’t want to be anyone’s open book, and she sure as hell didn’t want to cause trouble for Derek.
She willed herself to laugh. “I guess your CIA radar is broken. Derek and I are just friends. Talking about my brother brought back a lot of memories for both of us. That’s all it is.”
Elizabeth gave Jenna a contrite smile. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be nosy or make you uncomfortable. It’s none of my business. We’re the only women in this building, and I guess I miss having someone to talk to.”
Jenna could understand that. “A lot of women would envy you. You’re surrounded by tall, ripped guys all day every day.”
Oh, yes, Jenna had noticed. How could she not?
Quinn McManus with his red hair and beard and his Scottish swagger. Malik Jones with his short dark hair, expressive face, and coppery skin. Dylan Cruz with his mixed Afro-Latin features and faint Spanish accent. Connor O’Neal with his dark hair, poet’s face, and blue eyes.
“True—they’re hot.” Elizabeth’s gaze drifted to Quinn. “But I can’t hook up with any of them, not if I want this job. They won’t come near me.”
Was that a rebuke of Derek for having sex with Jenna?
Jenna changed the subject. “How did you get into human intelligence?”
“I studied criminal justice and applied to the agency after graduation. I got accepted and went through aptitude testing. They decided I had the skill set for languages and human intelligence.” Elizabeth glanced at her watch. “Shoot. I’ve got to go. I’ve got a meeting in five minutes. It was fun talking. Maybe we can have lunch tomorrow. I’m usually here right around noon.”
Jenna didn’t have anything else to do. “Sure.”
Elizabeth flashed a bright smile. “See you then.”
* * *
Derek made his way toward Jenna’s room, knowing with every step that he shouldn’t be doing this. Corbray was right. He had no business getting it on with Jenna or any other woman right now. He had a job to do, and it didn’t include doing her. It wasn’t the easiest thing to remember with her scent still on his skin.
You just need to check on her.
Right. That was fair.
There wasn’t much to do here—nothing that might interest Jenna, at any rate. He’d left her alone all evening, working late with his team, analyzing the options and looking for the best way to get Jenna safely out of Afghanistan and back to the U.S. There were so many unknowns.
Why did Kazi want her? How many men and resources was he willing to commit to acquiring her? Did Kazi know where Jenna was at this moment? What was Cobra’s standing with Kazi? And although the intel wonks said there was a ninety-eight percent probability that Qassim had been acting on Kazi’s orders, that still left a two-percent chance that he’d gone rogue or was working for someone else.
All of this had left Derek feeling uneasy—and far more protective of Jenna than he usually was where a client was concerned. This was no longer just another job. It had become personal. He wanted to beat the fuck out of Qassim—and Kazi.
He knocked on her door. “It’s Derek.”
Nothing.
He knocked again. “Jenna?”
“Coming!” She opened the door wearing a white bathrobe, her feet bare. “I just got out of the shower.”
Stay where you are. Don’t go into her room.
“I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I wasn’t around much this evening, and I know there’s not a lot to do here.”
“You’re working on my behalf. I know that.” She ran a hand through her hair, teasing out tangles. “I hung out with Elizabeth. We went to the gym and then watched ‘Afghan Star’—that’s their version of ‘American Idol.’”
Derek knew what it was.
Tell her goodnight. Go.
“Can I come in?”
Way to go, buddy.
“I wish you would.”
Yeah, you’re a fucking idiot.
He stepped inside, shut the door behind him, locked it. “I’ve spent every minute since I left your side reminding myself of all the reasons I shouldn’t come here. I’m working. You’re Jimmy’s little sister. You’re my client. Soon, you’ll be on a plane back to the U.S. I don’t do relationships. I’m always overseas. That’s my life.”
“I know.” She untied her robe, let it fall open. “The way I see it, all we have is right now. We might as well make the most of it.”
The sight of her sent of a ragged bolt of lust shearing through him—those perfect breasts, the curve of her hips, the thatch of dark curls between her thighs. He had tasted all of it, and he wanted more, rules be damned.
He backed her up against the wall and kissed her—hard. She kissed him back, her urgency matching his.
She tugged down his zipper, took his half-hard cock in hand, her touch bringing him to fullness. “Now.”
He jerked her off her feet, wrapped her legs around his waist, and pushed himself inside her, thrusting hard.
It was like coming home.
She arched against the wall, shifting her hips so that his cock rubbed her clit with each thrust. “Oh, yes.”
He buried his face against the side of her throat, inhaling her scent, his hips thrusting hard, her inner muscles gripping his cock like a fist, her sweet whimpers urging him on.
Harder, faster.
Jenna. Jenna.
He wanted her, needed her, needed all of her.
Sharp nails digging into his back. The hot, slick feel of her. Her legs a vice around his waist. Her panting cries.
Oh, she felt so fucking good.
He fought to hold on, to last long enough to please her, but his control had frayed to a single thread, his balls already drawing tight.
She cried out, coming apart in his arms.
He was right behind her, moaning out his pleasure against her soft skin, losing himself inside her.
For a moment, they stayed as they were, both breathing hard, Derek’s heart thrumming in his chest.
He raised his head, looked into her beautiful eyes.
She smiled. “Do you know how delicious it is to be held like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I’m in your arms, I feel feminine, protected.”
So, she liked muscle. Good to know.
“I’d just like to point out that you are feminine, and you’re in a security compound, so you are protected.”
“Doing it up against a wall like this was on my sexual bucket list.”
“I’m happy to help you cross it off.” He withdrew from her and scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed, knowing now that she would like that, too. “Maybe I should take a look at that bucket list—while we have some time.”