Someone was following me.
I glanced in the rearview mirror again, just to make sure. The beat of my heart slowed. Sheryl Crow singing about Steve McQueen faded into an indistinct murmur as a rush of hyper-awareness hit. I switched lanes again, and tracked the car behind me. In case I was just being paranoid.
I wasn't.
The light blue Honda still trailed a few cars behind me. License plate AX3725.
And he was definitely following.
He wasn't with Uncle Sam because no country-respecting G-man would be driving an import.
I revved the engine of my Lexus SC300, listened to the engine purr when the RPMs pushed 500 and cut across two lanes of the Beltway to speed down the exit ramp.
I wasn't running away. I hoped he'd follow.
He sped past me. I breathed an uneasy sigh. Something was spooking me. Pun intended. I ran through what I knew of the guy who I just assumed was following me and catalogued the information already filed away in my brain.
Car was driven by a man. Hard to identify age, hair color, or distinguishing marks. But, he had solid hands, aviator sunglasses, square jaw, lean face, either dark blond or light brown hair. He wore some sort of leather jacket. Based on the glasses, I could probably extrapolate, bomber.
He hadn't looked familiar.
He also hadn't used anything to disguise his appearance. No padding puffed out his cheeks or marred the clean lines of his jaw. That bothered me. Why not?
The obvious answer was he didn't care if I recognized him. Arrogant S.O.B.
And as I curved around the clover leaf, the blue Honda got off the exit going the other way. The chances of him moseying along seemed slim. My guess was he'd pull a U-turn and go back to tailing me.
I glanced at the clock.
"Damn." My meeting with Carson would have to wait. After my briefing on this latest assignment, I was on edge and ready to challenge anyone who looked at me funny.
I pulled into an anonymous strip mall. One with plenty of traffic. I wanted this confrontation public and quick. Scanning the variety of shops, I settled on the liquor store at the corner. I made a quick call to my boss, Carson, on my secure cell phone. "I'm going to have to reschedule."
"Problems?"
"Nothing I can't handle. Looks like it's started."
"Keep me informed."
I signed off with Carson. Then I got out of the car, leaned against the warm hood of my Lexus, and waited.
To my surprise, he pulled up right next to me.
I shifted, easing my hand closer to my weapon as he got out of his car. He stripped off the leather jacket and held his arms to out to the sides. Showing me his intentions. Look at me I'm harmless. But I knew he wasn't. He may have been tailing me but it had taken me two days to pinpoint him specifically. Which meant, he'd finally let me see him today. Which meant...he was good. Very good.
In a sinuous movement, he reclined against the hood of his own car. The smell of warm leather and potent male reached my nose about the same time his words penetrated. "You made me."
I held back a snort.
"I'm usually very good."
Was it my imagination or was that a bit of a come on?
I couldn't see his eyes, the windows to the soul, betraying intentions. None of that mattered. I wanted to know what color they were.
"Glasses off, on the hood."
He eased them off and placed them gently on top of his jacket, then motioned for me to do the same. Grey. His eyes were grey. And tired looking. As if he'd lost a lot of sleep lately. My heart clenched. Jesus, what was I, Oprah? I could care less why he was tired.
This wasn't going at all how I'd figured. As I took off my sunglasses, I finally asked. "Why are you following me?"
"I wanted to ask you a question."
His directness intrigued me. Could he be related to my current assignment? It didn't feel right but I wouldn't know until I learned more.
"Fire away."
"I'd feel better if you took your hand away from your weapon and didn't use the word fire." A half smile quirked his lips drawing my attention someplace it really shouldn't go and distracting me--momentarily.
"You get your hands away from that SIG and I'll consider it," I countered.
"Point taken." After he lifted his hands up in a half surrender, he shifted off his Honda and sauntered over to my perch on the Lexus. He grinned as he eyed the holster at my waist. "Big gun."
"I can handle it." It takes a lot of upper body strength to hold and fire that kind of weapon. Which clearly he knew. He had some nice upper body strength himself. I tried not to notice but dammit. The guy had unbelievably defined forearms, even through his white button down, I could see his chest was thick and muscled.
His smoky grey gaze trailed over my body. Heat poured through me. And my nipples tightened in response. He stared at my breasts for another long moment then raised his gaze back to my face. "I'll bet."
I tilted my head to the side and considered. "Most men are intimidated by the fact that my gun is bigger than their dick."
"I'm not most men."
Blood pooled low in my body as I analyzed that sentence. Either he wasn't intimidated or his 'weapon' was bigger than my gun. Either choice was extremely appealing. And my attention drifted to his sculpted body and the innate confidence in his stance.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"You've been following me--"
"Give the lady a gold star."
"--and you don't know my name?" If he wanted to pretend, who was I to argue with him?
"Humor me."
"Staci Grant." The cover name rolled off my tongue. The tongue I was very carefully trying to stop from hanging out of my mouth and drooling. This guy was hot.
I thought, for a moment, there was a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. Why, I couldn't imagine. And now it was time for some answers of my own. Did I care why he was following me? I needed to gather intelligence. That was my freaking job. Not wondering what he'd look like in bed...naked. "What's your name?"
"Lucas Goodman."
"Good man. Give me a break. You made that up."
"That's the name I was born with." Unlike you was implied.
Direct hit and a score. Not that I'd let him know that. But I did wonder why he thought Staci Grant wasn't my real name.
He gave me a steady look.
I looked right back and suddenly heat flushed through my body. "So what do you want with me?"
The crisp fall air circled around us, chilling me, even as heat emanated from his body. I realized the flirty nature of the sentence after it escaped my mouth and could have cursed but instead of capitalizing on my opening, he said briskly. "You have information I'm interested in."
Hmm, so maybe this guy was related to my current assignment. Staci was my cover. And it was rock solid. Of course, it didn't hurt that there actually was a Staci.
He just looked at me again. That smoky stare sent ripples of heat through me.
Damn, it had been a long time since I'd had sex. Almost a year. And while up until now I hadn't really missed it, suddenly the lack was front and center. I studied him for another minute. Usually I did more advanced scouting of prospective partners. I made it strict policy to only sleep with them once. Not only did I get my quarterly Depo shot like clockwork, but I carried a box of condoms with me wherever I went. And right now thinking about that was not a good idea.
"I want to show you a picture." He pulled a photograph of a young man out of the breast pocket of his white button down.
I glanced at the picture. Young kid. Good looking. And I'd never seen him before in my life. "Sorry. Don't know him." I didn't care why he was looking for him and he didn't volunteer the information.
"You're sure?" He asked intently, then waved the picture in my face again. And what the hell, I grabbed his wrist, scanned the kid's photo for a second time.
"Maybe he took a class of yours?"
Staci Grant is an adjunct professor at Georgetown. So Lucas Goodman knew what Staci did for a living too. Was this how they lured the agents in to be kidnapped? Pretend to be looking for a kid? Except that every kidnapped agent had a different area of expertise, and worked for a different agency. So that didn't fly.
I really needed more information. More intel. "Why don't we discuss this...over a drink?" I flirted lightly. But damn, whether he was involved in my current assignment or not, I wanted to have a drink with him. Possibly more.
His gaze flickered to the restaurant and bar across the street, conveniently attached to a roadside motel.
All my hormones stood up and shouted, Yes! Here I am, warm female body just begging for some hot male attention.
The more sane part of my brain sent up a caution alert: Don't go there.
But the dangerous, hormonal part wanted him.
"Okay," he answered warily.
I grabbed my purse and cell phone. He grabbed his jacket. And together we strode purposefully toward either a great idea or an even bigger mistake.
Just as we got there, a group of drunk businessmen came stumbling out the door of the bar, and pushed me back against the support post. Lucas Goodman, yeah right, curved his body protectively around me.
That moment stood, sharp and clear.
I protect myself. Always. But the gesture was disconcertingly gallant and it threw me.
I looked into his eyes. The heat, the attraction was still there. My gaze was drawn to the thick ridge straining against the zipper of his jeans. If the bulge in his pants was anything to go by, the interest was...it was really still there. And I couldn't help it, I licked my lips.
Then lifted my gaze back to his.
His eyes burned hot, but his movements were cautious. He hadn't forgotten about my weapon. He wasn't an idiot. Something I'd do well to remember.
But all thought rushed south as his lips touched mine.
There was nothing tentative about the kiss. He executed a full body maneuver, his chest pressed against the ache in my breasts and his mouth possessed mine with fierce concentration.
Gone was the smooth, seductive stranger. This was raw, insistent lust.
A wild longing rose up within me. It had been so long.
The door banged shut.
"Get a room," a guy growled from behind me.
I tore my mouth from his. The blue neon from the light in the window cast his eyes in shadow and mystery. "Let=s go," he uttered in a low voice.
He grabbed my hand in a gesture I thought of as sweet rather than possessive.
We checked in to the motel in five minutes. Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Smith paid in cash. The urge to touch him was too strong. I denied myself while we waited for the clerk to finish the reservation. Finally, the clerk slapped the old fashioned key on the counter and I took off for the elevator.
Lucas jerked me to a stop. "Drug store."
"Got it covered."
"I love a prepared woman."
He yanked me into the elevator. I shoved him against the faux-wood paneled wall and slanted my mouth over his, but I still remembered to shade my face from the security cameras.
He jabbed at the floor button and we started moving. Even as his hands slid up my sweater, he licked my collarbone then suckled gently along the curve of my neck. "This is a bad idea," he murmured against my skin.
"Really, really bad." I pulled up his white button down and scraped my fingernails against the smooth plane of his back. After all, I didn't know anything about this guy except he had a really hot body and eyes that smoked with sexual heat.
And he'd been following me. But what the hell. I could take care of myself.
The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. We broke apart and hustled toward the motel room. Common sense returned as I realized that right here is where the ambush would take place, once I walked into that room. If that's what was going on. I really hoped that I was on the line for a healthy bout of sweaty, anonymous sex and not a hellacious fight. I hoped that this encounter wasn't related to my mission to get kidnapped and find out who had the nerve to kidnap people from various espionage backgrounds. But just because I hoped it wasn't so, didn't mean I wasn't realistic about my odds. I just had to be ready for whatever happened next.
#
Lucas Goodman curved his palm around his mark's neck and practically inhaled her. He pressed Staci up against the room door and fumbled with the key. Dammit, he was as clumsy as a kid during his first hotel assignation.
Her sexy, high heel boot slid up the back of his leg and her hands cupped his ass. Remotely he was aware that her right hand was perilously close to his weapon. But he didn't think she would use it against him. At least not right now. She undulated against his stiff cock and then rubbed with an urgency that could be feigned but he really didn't think was.
He shoved the key into the door lock with his left hand, even as his right skated along the back of her thigh, and skimmed toward the heat of her sex. She was freaking burning up even through the sensuous material of her skinny-legged jeans. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her bare skin.
"Fuck. I can't wait to touch you." The lock snicked open and they almost fell into the room.
"God, yes." Her hands slid off his ass and one snaked around his waist. He noted with fractured interest that even as she burrowed one hand beneath his shirt, she kept one hand ready to grab his gun if needed.
Always thinking like an agent.
Shit. This really was a bad idea. It could only end one way. Him, alone. And he needed her knowledge and her contacts. He couldn't forget his endgame was to find Johnny Wishbone. And right now she was his only fucking lead.
But if he blocked her, let on that he was aware of her movements, aware of her body position, she'd clue in to the fact that he wasn't just a simple private investigator.
"You're thinking too hard," she said huskily. Her hot, wet tongue licked along his jaw and curled around his ear lobe. Lust shot down his spine and his cock stiffened until he was harder than the barrel of his weapon. His eyes rolled back in his head as she squeezed his erection through his jeans. He was so turned on his knees got a little weak.
Later. He would worry about that later. Right now he was going to take this intimate gift. The two of them, twined together, as they shared their bodies.
"Just planning my next move." Lucas whirled her around and shoved her up against the foil paper-covered wall. With a push of his foot, he slammed the door closed. Blood rushed to his groin, with a dizzying insistence and he sank to his knees in front of her.
Lucas untied the wrap around cashmere sweater and licked his way along the edge of the silky yarn, marveling at the utter femininity of her soft, sweet skin. A delicate scent wafted from her. She smelled seductive, expensive, and wet. So wet.
Musky arousal rose from the heat of her sex as he buried his face between her breasts and worshipped her body. He unsnapped the front clasp of her black lace bra and took a moment to admire the hard berries of her nipples before devoured her with his tongue, exploring, savoring her taste.
She ripped his shirt up and over his head too impatient to deal with the buttons and then threw it to the floor. But as if that was all she could manage, she leaned languidly against the wall and her hands rested lightly on the bare curve of his shoulders. The pose seemed casual, relaxed, aroused but he knew that with a quick jerk of her wrists, she could have him in a headlock that would be difficult to break.
She was lethal. He might not know exactly who she was but he knew what she was. Highly trained, highly skilled. And in a sick twist, something he hadn't known about himself until this moment, he was equally turned on by both her strength and his vulnerability.
For a second, he hesitated. This really was a bad idea. Shit, he knew it and he was going to do it anyway. He knew her. The only reason she was in this room right now, about to let him go down on her was because she knew she'd never see him again. And he hated that idea. He hated it so much, he got a little pissed. He wanted her to know he had plans for her beyond this moment.
"This is only the beginning," he growled against the skin of her concave belly.
Lucas shoved her jeans and barely there, black lace panties down around her ankles, until she practically lay on the wall.
For a second his gaze snagged on the leather sheath attached to the waistband of her jeans. A short, but in the right hands deadly, knife was stuck in the fancy holder. Lucas dismissed it. If she was going to stab him, she'd have done it earlier.
Her top hung open, breasts shimmering with the evidence of his kisses. Her hip bones, glistening sex, and strong thighs, were bare to him while her fancy jeans puddled around her ankles. She still wore the black, fuck me boots which did amazing things to her calves. In a frantic bid to free her from her clothes, he jerked at the zippers on her shoes and then slid them off and tossed the sexy boots.
Lucas skimmed his gaze up to her face, her eyes were closed but he knew she was preternaturally aware of her surroundings. The vision of her made a confusing dichotomy of wanton abandon and heightened awareness. Her lips were plumped and reddened from their frantic kisses in the elevator.
"You gonna keep talking or are you actually going to--"
He trapped her against the wall, using his elbows to hold her thighs in place as he pressed open mouthed kisses down the soft, tender skin of her belly and arrowed toward the blond curls that protected her sex.
Lucas buried his nose in the nest of hair and inhaled the musky, aroma of aroused woman. She tried to tilt her hips toward his face and with a tender nip, he tugged at her clitoris. Surrender never tasted so sweet, as she opened her legs just a little further and granted him access to the feminine wonder of her body.
Lucas licked and suckled and lapped up her essence but he didn't like the vulnerability of his position. Not for one second could he forget that she was a highly trained weapon and if she changed her mind, if she thought anything was off, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
His heart thundered in his chest as he pressed a final kiss to her sweet sex. Then nipped and licked his way back up her toned, exquisite shape, until they were pressed together in all sorts of interesting ways and the beat of his heart pulsed through his cock, and throbbed against the tender skin of her abdomen.
Lucas held there, savoring the sensual contact of skin against skin. For a moment he was struck by the odd, uncharacteristic wish that she would get naked with him in emotional ways. He didn't want to connect with her on only a physical level, but in every way possible.
A fierce primal wave of possessiveness broke over him.
As if she sensed his thoughts and had no intention of letting him get close, she crashed him back against the opposite wall. To dispel his unusual and impossible thoughts, Lucas curled his arms under her thighs and hoisted her up. "Bed," he growled.
She gripped his waist with exquisitely toned thighs and rubbed her mound against his stomach. "Hell, yes."
She clutched his head in her callused palms and pressed her mouth against his. She dominated the kiss, inhaling him, consuming him, as he strode to the bed. Lucas twisted and fell so that he landed on his back and she was above him on all fours. Her blond streaked hair fell in waves around his face and her breasts spilled in his face.
Before he could move, she was kissing her way down his body. Her hot, wet mouth suctioned against the skin of his stomach while she deftly unzipped his jeans. He knew he needed to concentrate as she pushed his jeans and holster off his hips and down his legs. But he kept getting lost in the way she played his body, her hands constantly feathering over his skin as if she didn't touch very often, as if she were starving for the contact. He smoothed his palms up her sides, and cupped her breasts, and she shuddered at the caress. The pleasure on her face, in her heavy-lidded gaze, and the supple flex of her body as she melted around him was an incredible aphrodisiac.
Her hard hot palm curled around his cock and she pumped once. His hips rose as she worked him with flawless pressure, knowing just how hard to squeeze, and how fast to swipe her thumb over the head of his cock. Shit. He wasn't going to last long.
He moaned.
Lucas caressed her shoulders as she lowered her head toward his cock and he held his breath. He was definitely exposed right this moment. But he fondled her defined shoulders as the sweet scent of arousal wafted from her. She was as hot as he was. She arched into his touch as if she couldn't bear for them to be disconnected.
Lucas wanted to give her everything, wanted to give it all up for her. In one epiphanous moment, when she sucked his cock into her mouth, he realized that she was dangerous. Not to his body, not to his health, but to his very existence.
And it hit him that this moment, this encounter was going to change his life.
#
I was getting way too into this guy, this stranger. I wanted to lose myself in the glory of his touch. He constantly moved his hands over my flesh. He'd pushed my top off onto the bedspread. Every sensual touch of his fingers caused my skin to tingle and my blood to fizz.
His cock was hard and thick as I took him into my mouth. I should have all the power here but I was desperate for him to keep touching me. That thought brought me up short. I was never desperate. I was always in control. And I never ever let anyone get to me.
His erection popped from my mouth. It was time to get this over with and get out of Dodge. I was pretty sure now that he had nothing to do with my mission or the agents getting kidnapped. This was just random, hook up sex.
"Where you going?" he said huskily.
I snagged my purse from the floor and shook a condom from the box. I needed this release but I wanted to get this over with and get away from Mr. Hottie before I had time to examine my feelings more closely.
I held up the little foil packet between my middle and pointer finger. "Protection." I was covered. I'd had my Depo shot, and I also got a monthly dose of meds to protect against STDs but I still always used a condom. Always.
I crawled back up his body and efficiently rolled the condom on his impressive erection. My sex clenched at his girth.
"What's your hurry?" He'd propped himself up on his elbows and the position highlighted the hard six-pack of his abs as he pinned me with a lascivious stare. I felt the inspection like a physical touch and my body responded immediately.
Completely unacceptable. I was the one in charge here.
I positioned my body over him. It was time to get this over with. And get gone.
But before I could impale myself on him, he gripped my biceps in his hard hands, and wrapped his rough hairy thighs around my waist, effectively shifting his body. Then in an athletic twist, he rolled until I was beneath him.
"Not yet." He scraped his hands up the sensitive skin of my forearms and clasped my wrists in one firm grip while his other hand cupped my chin and tilted my head for his kiss.
But it was more than a kiss. It was war. He licked my closed lips as I refused him entrance. I lifted my legs to wrap them around his neck. But he blocked my move and fitted his mouth to mine.
I couldn't help it, a husky laugh escaped. Before I could ask what he thought he was doing, he licked into my mouth as if I was the best thing he'd ever tasted. I forgot to fight for supremacy and let him kiss me as if I were the last woman on earth.
As his body sank toward mine, I twined my legs with his, grasped his fist, and rolled us again. Arousal tore through me as our battle intensified. I didn't ever remember being this turned on, this out of control.
Before he could launch a counter move, I knew had to wrest back the upper hand. I impaled myself on his erection. God it had been so long. The invasion of his cock as he pressed up into me was intense. My body welcomed him in.
I knew I should start moving. Start riding him like the stud he'd proclaimed himself to be earlier in the parking lot. But we both held carefully still, afraid to break the sudden connection that seemed to blossom between us.
I was so fucking lonely.
His gray, intense gaze drew me in like a tractor beam. Suddenly the connection was too intimate, too much.
I curled my fingers around his hands and began to ride. Trying desperately to turn this encounter back into the anonymous fuck that it was supposed to be. Instead for a moment, it felt as if my soul had been laid bare and he was there to soothe me.
I tilted my head back so I was no longer captured by his gaze and fucked him for all I was worth. He surged his hips up into me as if unable to let me take complete control. With every slam of our bodies, we fought until I split apart into a million little pieces, my vision dimming and my body imploding.
Unable to stop myself, I dropped my head. Our gazes locked. His face was a mask of pure male triumph as he pumped into me. With my senses heightened and my body sated, every little detail seemed magnified; the larger coarser feel of his palms against mine, the muscled roughness of his thighs as I straddled him, the slick wetness where our bodies joined, the ripple of his stomach muscles as we rode each other, and the thick hard length of him piercing me with each thrust until he bowed up in ecstasy and I watched his orgasm take him over the edge.
And still he didn't look away from me.
His regard was too much. I slid off his softening erection and headed for the bathroom. "Where you going?" He had rolled leisurely to his side and watched me intently. His body broadcasted sated, pleased. His biceps bunched as he propped his head on his hand and tracked me with his gaze.
"Getting ready for round two." I sauntered into the bathroom and tried to still my pounding heart. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I really needed to get the hell out of here. I was supposed to be shadowing Staci Grant's life and hopefully drawing the attention of whomever was kidnapping agents. Not taking a sex break in a motel with a stranger. Staci definitely wouldn't have done that.
But I figured another hour or so couldn't hurt. So I cleaned up and grabbed another condom on my way back to bed. I stopped as I slipped out the bathroom and assessed.
The cheap comforter hung off the bed and the rough white cotton sheets were twisted and torn from the mattress as if a fight had taken place. Lucas had picked up all of our clothes and tossed them on the chair by the cheap Formica desk against the wall. He'd lined up our shoes beneath the desk and laid our weapons on the top next to my purse. The little spurt of neatness surprised me but I forgot all about it when I looked back at him. He'd propped up against the headboard, his long lean muscular legs spread out before me. He'd crossed his arms crossed over his chest and sported impressive wood since it had literally only been a few minutes since we'd finished.
I crawled onto the bed and between his thighs.
Lucas gave me a wicked smile and hauled me up his body until I lay on top of him, his erection pressing into my stomach and his mouth playing with mine.
He paused for a moment, then in a lightening move, he rolled me underneath his prime muscled body. "This time, I get to be on top."
And he proceeded to show me all the ways why his being on top was a very, very good position. And much later while we both were panting and covered in a light sheen of sweat, I curled into the circle of his arms and waited until his breath evened out.
I lay there, waiting to make sure he really was asleep before I moved. For a moment I wished that this wasn't some random encounter. The longing that swelled over me took me by surprise. I didn't want this to end. Which was nuts and irrational and all sorts of crazy. I wished that he was in my life for real.
With true regret, I shook off the tender wishes. I had no room in my life for entanglements of any kind. I was who I was. And no quickie with a stranger was going to change that.
I carefully extricated from his sweet embrace and crept toward the bathroom. Within a few minutes I'd dressed and retrieved my weapons. I couldn't resist once last glance at my unexpected lover before I slid out the door and left. I knew I'd never see him again. And for the first time ever, I paused. Wished for a different life.
So long, Lucas Goodman.
#
At the click of the lock, Lucas slipped from the bed. He'd known she would leave. He'd felt her subtle tension while he'd lingered in that drowsy, post-satisfaction state. So he'd pretended to sleep and watched through slitted eyes as she resumed her armor and slunk out the door.
He'd see her again. He'd made sure of it.
He took up position at the window. The compulsion to watch her drive away ate at him. He eased the heavy privacy curtain open just in time to see her push out of the motel lobby. The neon lights from the bar cast her body in shadow as she strode across the nearly empty, evening parking lot toward her car. All the shops in the strip mall were closed, only the liquor store remained open.
She aimed her remote at her Lexus and the lights blinked indicating the car had unlocked. But before she could get in, Lucas watched in horror as two men nabbed her. The entire ambush only took seconds.
"Fuck, no." Lucas grabbed his jeans, as he ran for the door. He launched himself down the stairs and sprinted to the parking lot in record time. His heart bulleted in his chest and fear gripped him in a stranglehold as he stood next to her empty car.
She was gone.
THE END OR THE BEGINNING....
***
If you would like to find out what happens next for 'Staci' and Lucas, their story continues in Blowback, the first novel in the Black Cipher Files series.