Текст книги "Veiled Target"

Автор книги: Robin Bielman

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Chapter Eleven

The setting sun cast the most breathtaking orange streaks across the sky. Tess loved looking up into the blue yonder, through the gaps in the trees, to watch the daylight disappear. She sat on the porch where the only noise came from chirping crickets and the occasional squirrel or other small creature. The peacefulness soothed her mind, relaxed her shoulders. She was content.

Confused.

For the past three nights, she’d sat out here, contemplating her job and her life. Continuing to work side-by-side with Hugh had shed little light on their mission. They weren’t any closer to finding Trey or Dobson, despite their research. She also wasn’t any closer to finding a reason to eliminate him.

Things didn’t add up, and her stomach turned sour every time she thought about the task at hand. Who the hell wanted Hugh eliminated? Never before had it mattered to her who ordered the hit, but this time she had a gut feeling it was important.

Worse, her body continued to betray her by perking up every time he was near. She had to work damn hard to keep her heart rate in check so he wouldn’t know the power he had over her. She couldn’t blame it all on hormones either. Her thoughts, her dreams, all centered around him and what it would be like if the situation were different and he wasn’t her mark.

Which scared the bejeesus out of her.

Because she couldn’t fall for him. Could. Not. He was her mark and she had a job to do.

“Hey, mind if I join you?” His voice broke her train of thought.

“Not at all. Have a seat.” She found it endearing that he asked if he could join her every night, rather than assumed.

The swing swayed as he sat, and she was acutely aware of his closer than normal proximity this evening. Their shoulders touched, his masculine scent made her bare toes curl. She wanted to lean into him, lose herself in his arms.

Usually they talked about Trey and Dobson, motorcycles or the extreme sports she enjoyed. Hugh was no slouch in his adventures either, and had mentioned in passing he could teach her how to fly. She’d shrugged it off, knowing it was a slip of the tongue and nothing else. They wouldn’t be seeing each other for much longer.

“How long have you worked for P.I.E.?” he asked, surprising her with his choice of topic.

He’d been nothing but honest with her so far, so she figured he deserved the same in return. He’d even stopped locking her in her room at night. “Since I was sixteen.”

“Really? That young? What about your family?”

“I didn’t have one.” A vague picture of her parents remained in her mind, but if she really wanted to see them, she needed to look at the few pictures she had. “I bounced around foster care.”

She went on to answer his questions, trying not to let too much emotion seep into her voice. It had been ages since she’d dug as deep as he was asking her to go, especially with regards to her parents. Not even Jason had coaxed this much out of her. The truth was, talking about it with Hugh was cathartic. Finally getting so many turbulent feelings off her chest felt good.

He felt good.

His hand wrapped around hers at the first mention of her parents’ death. With their fingers intertwined, she shared what she remembered about their accident, and how she hadn’t understood the permanence associated with losing them because she was so young. Gradually, she’d accepted it, but when she did, hate and despair had consumed her. She grew indifferent, apathetic. Nothing had held any meaning for her.

A dull ache filled her heart as she shared what she could with Hugh. He barely moved a muscle while she relayed her story.

Even mentioning how P.I.E. had saved her and made her what she was today didn’t get a reaction from him. His grip on her hand simply tightened.

“So there’s my life story in a nutshell.” She kicked her legs out and back until the swing swayed in a steady rhythm. “How do you feel about me now?”

His thumb rubbed over hers in a slow, methodical manner, and hot waves of pleasure tightened her stomach muscles, made her breasts tingle and aroused the juncture between her thighs.

He needs to stop. Stop right this minute. But I don’t want him to stop. I want him to touch—

“I think I want to—”

“Stop! Stop right there. Don’t say it.” She jumped to her feet. “We can’t talk nice to each other anymore. We can’t tell each other what we want to do. We can’t—”

He stood, pulled her into his arms and let his actions speak louder than words. His lips crushed hers. He kissed her with passion. With feverish intensity that sent more jolts of pleasure spiraling through her. And she melted into him. Threw her arms around his neck and sank deeper into the kiss.

Their mouths took to each other fast and furiously, and Tess couldn’t think straight. She’d been aching for this since their first kiss. Falling asleep at night wet between her legs in anticipation of kissing him when he wasn’t fighting for his life.

All the times they’d sat a little too close, or accidentally touched, or caught each other staring, had led to this moment. This seamless joining of their mouths.

His hands roamed her back, her sides, brushed the swells of her breasts and settled on her ass. More pleasure rumbled through her.

And then…then his tongue slipped between her lips and she felt the kiss everywhere. He kissed her more thoroughly, more deeply, more deliciously than she’d thought possible.

Everything vanished for her. Nothing existed anywhere else. It was only the two of them. Lost in a time and place where no one could see them or touch them or harm them. The world as she knew it didn’t matter. Nothing was as real as the two of them in each other’s arms, Hugh kissing her like he might die without her.

And that was when he pulled back.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“Yes, you should have,” she interrupted, the taste of him on her lips. She wanted more. So much more. How dare he stop?

He stepped back. “I needed to kiss you,” he said, his breath ragged. “But the rest is up to you.” His eyes flamed with want before he moved around her and headed back into the house.

What? He was walking away from her? Happy to leave her in charge now?

Didn’t he realize she had no idea what to do?

She stayed glued to her spot. Tried to get her breathing under control. A need stronger than any she’d encountered before filled her, but she had to remember there was an ocean between them, even though it seemed like a puddle the more time they spent together.

While the thought was unbearable, the best thing for her to do was let him go. Forget that she felt him all around her, yet his physical absence swamped her with loneliness and twisted her insides. Forget that he made her wish for things to be different.

Never before had she wanted anything—or anyone—so badly.

Could she take what she wanted and move forward? Could she make love to him and follow through with her assignment? Did she want any more assignments? Her recent failures told her no. Her heart and head told her no.

Sometime during the past week, doubts about her job and obligation to P.I.E. had escalated. Working with Hugh on something that seemed more legitimate in both its mission and cause had made her think. Not all Veilers were the monsters they were painted to be. Hugh had explained the growing tension between Wolf Seekers and the Night Runners. He’d shared the wrongdoings on both sides, and it reminded her that human history was rich with atrocity. Most Veilers lived in the human world without incident. They blended in and contributed to society. Criminals came in all forms, human and Veiler. Innocence couldn’t be measured by one’s heritage. And nothing was black and white. Yet prejudice played a huge part in culpability.

Was she prejudiced? She’d accepted the teachings of P.I.E. Followed through on assignments without serious question.

Until now.

A noise in the distance grabbed her attention and she looked toward the mountainside. A rabbit hopped out of the bush, its nose twitching. It was white and fluffy and Tess found herself wishing she had a carrot to dangle in front of it.

A carrot. To dangle. Hugh had just dangled one in front of her, hadn’t he? She’d be an idiot not to grab it.

She ran into the house and found the door at the end of the hall open. An invitation if she wanted it. She slowed her steps so she could take some deep breaths and quiet the rapid beat of her heart.

The idea of being intimate with him filled her with happiness. The kind of happy she thought she’d never feel again. The kind of joy that if she were honest, she hadn’t felt since her parents were alive. Unfair she knew, to compare Hugh and Jason, but with only one lover in her past, it was inevitable. The time spent with Hugh had made her realize what she had with Jason didn’t go nearly as deep as she’d once thought.

A couple of feet from his bedroom, she stopped and put a hand on the wall to steady herself. The musings over her past as she was about to embark on something new, something that would take away from those memories, gave her second thought.

She’d never reflected so much about anything. Follow your instincts, Tess.

Follow your heart.

She’d never been given that opportunity before.

Her mind had always ruled her actions, not her emotions. Now she felt so mixed-up that making any coherent decision seemed futile.

Time to go with her heart, she reasoned. See where it led her. What did she have to lose?

Everything.

When had that ever stopped her?

She moved to Hugh’s doorway and peered inside his room. He’d just stepped out of the bathroom and was pulling his shirt over his head. Tess stood mesmerized by the well-defined planes of his torso.

He was surprisingly void of hair, given his half-shifter birth. In her dreams, he’d looked just like this, but she’d thought the reality might be different. His chest muscles were definitely larger than her palms, and she wanted to splay her fingers across his skin for confirmation. Sliding her gaze to his rock solid abs—the sort with ridges she’d only seen on male models in magazines—she found she really wanted to touch.

His biceps muscles were exceptional too. Defined like a heavy lifter’s, and she was struck with the notion that he’d let her win their arm-wrestling match. But the sexiest thing about his bareness, aside from the way his jeans hung low on his hips to reveal a sprinkling of hair leading down past his button, was the tattoo.

On the smooth skin over his heart was a tattoo—a symbol with thick, beautiful black strokes like two waves curling around each other. It was about the size of her fist, and she found it more appealing than any artwork she’d ever seen before.

Her breath hitched, and if he hadn’t known she was there, he did now. He threw his shirt to the side and his eyes met hers. He looked at her with so much hunger that she wobbled, catching herself on the edge of the door. With just a look he had her panting, her nipples hardening, and the spot between her legs throbbing.

Seconds passed without a move by either of them, all the while their eyes were fixed on one another. Tess gulped. His gaze was a warm caress she didn’t want to end.

“Tell me what you want,” he said, breaking the silence.

She wanted everything, but couldn’t find the words.

“Tell me what you want,” he repeated, “and I’ll give it to you.”

Pudding, her legs felt like pudding. “I want…”

He inched closer, and the throbbing, the hardening of her nipples, the loss of oxygen, amplified. When he stood within reach, she touched the tattoo, the sculpted muscle. His skin sizzled. Heat, strength, animal magnetism poured off him.

“Tell me, Tess.” His voice, husky and thick with desire, made her heart pound.

His hands remained by his sides. Waiting for her cue. Her permission. Admission. If he didn’t touch her in the next five seconds she’d explode, or implode. Or something like that. Her brain was a little fuzzy.

“I want you to touch me,” she managed to get out with a breathless sound.

“And?” Deep, dark, commanding now.

“And kiss me.” She remembered the taste of him and wanted more. So much more.

“And?”

To hell with all his ands. “I want you to fuck me, devour me, ravage me. And then I want you to do it all again.”

He traced his finger along the base of her neck and slid it down, feather-light, until it reached the top of the scooped neck of her shirt, the top of her cleavage.

“The way I feel, that could take all night.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

His eyes dipped to her breasts. She took a deep breath, positive her nipples poked through the thin cotton of her shirt. Then he looked up, and she stared into blue depths that had captured a piece of her from the very start. Right now she swore she saw a flame flicker in their azure color.

A second later he captured her mouth with his and pressed her hard against the bedroom door, sealing it shut. He wasn’t the tiniest bit gentle, his chest crushing hers, his stance capturing her center between his legs. Energy radiated off him, sending powerful shivers of need through her. With his palms flattened on either side of her head, he kissed her with purpose, his lips spreading hers so he could sweep his tongue inside. She kissed him back with equal vigor, like her next breath could only come from him.

She kept her hands at her sides, flat against the door, enjoying the fierceness of the kiss too much to distract herself with feeling him anywhere else at the moment. He moved his hips an inch to the side and, oh God. His erection hit her just right. The sensation had her so turned on, she needed to get rid of the clothing between them before she came just like this.

Warmth spread from the center of her chest, coils of pleasure pulsed deep in her belly. Hugh knew exactly where to slip his tongue, where to press his lips, how much give and take to allow. When he pulled back to nibble on her bottom lip, she opened her eyes and found him gazing at her.

Two could play this game, so she nibbled back. Creases on the sides of his face told her he enjoyed it. She wanted sex to be playful and fun, and Hugh seemed to agree.

Without taking his eyes off her, he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and yanked it over her head. After tossing it over his shoulder, he took in every inch of her exposed flesh and let out a low, guttural sound.

“You’re unbelievable,” he breathed. “The most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.” His gaze paused at her hip and a devilish smile took hold of his sexy mouth. He’d noticed her own tattoo, peeking out of her jeans.

“You’re not too shabby—”

He cut her off with another fierce, greedy kiss. He made love to her mouth with firm, teasing caresses from his lips and tongue, and her toes curled. Everything inside her tingled times a thousand. He kissed from her lips down to her neck, where he stroked and nuzzled, making her head fall to the side so he had easier access. He put his hands on her waist, moved them up her sides and slid them around to her back to unclasp her bra.

Then very nimble fingers skimmed over her shoulders to lead the straps down her arms. The kisses to her neck never stopped. When the bra hit the floor, he licked his way to her shoulder before pulling back once again to check her out.

Tess never paid much attention to her body. She wasn’t blind to it, but she was so comfortable in her own skin she rarely looked at it. Watching Hugh rake his eyes over her now, she was glad she’d been blessed with what she had because he seemed to be rendered speechless.

To make him drool just a little bit more, she arched her back, pressed her shoulders against the door. Okay, so she wasn’t oblivious to her feminine wiles. The gesture had the desired effect and he swooped in to capture her breast in his mouth. While he suckled one, his hand massaged the other, rubbed her nipple between his fingers, traced her areola.

Her head fell back against the door. The best, most arousing vibrations ever surged through her system and woke up every nerve ending in her body. God, it felt good to have his mouth on her, to have him groping her, fondling her, learning her curves. She moved her hands to the back of his head, ran her fingers through his silky soft hair.

Leisurely, he made his way down her abdomen, dropping kisses along the underside of her breasts, her sides, her belly button. His hands roamed to her backside, cradling her ass before moving to her button fly.

After popping two buttons, he hesitated. Traced the tattoo on her lower abdomen and she guessed he was wondering about it.

“I’ll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours,” she said.

“Later. I don’t want to talk right now.”

“You mean you’re not going to whisper sweet nothings in my ear?”

He resumed the button task. “Anything I might say in the next hour is not going to be sweet.”

Tess shuddered. “Hour?” Holy shit. “That’s the sexiest thing you could say right there.”

He slid a finger along the edge of her panties and she sucked in a breath. His touch dipped lower. Unthinking, she widened her stance. He drew slow, lazy circles over the thin cotton, over the nub swelling with each unbearably good stroke of his finger.

“Please, Hugh. Get me naked.”

“Soon.” He slipped his finger underneath the material and she let out a moan. Pressed her palms against the door.

“Now.” She wanted his fingers inside her, his other hand all over her, his mouth sucking her nipple. And that was just the start.

“Impatient, huh?” he said, voice ragged with eagerness too. He gripped her jeans. She wiggled to help ease them down, but halfway there the phone rang. The sound interrupted his momentum. He paused, listened to the second and third rings before saying, “Fuck.”

“Don’t answer it.” Tess knew—she knew—if he answered the telephone their extracurricular activities would end. And she desperately wanted to continue.

“I have to. It could be important.” He stood, and she almost whimpered at the sight of the erection in his pants. He adjusted himself and went to the nightstand beside the bed.

“What?” he growled, bringing the phone to his ear.

Tess smiled. He didn’t want to stop either. His frustration at being interrupted matched hers.

“You’re sure it’s going down tonight?”

Not what she wanted to hear. She pulled up her jeans, picked up her bra. Her body still thrummed from his ministrations. His taste, smell, handprints, lingering.

“Repeat that location, would you?”

She let out a deep breath. It sounded like they had the lead they’d been waiting for. After being cooped up in the house for a week, this tip-off was what they’d wanted, but the timing sure sucked.

Or maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

“I’ll meet you there.” He hung up and turned his incredible body in her direction. He frowned when he saw she’d dressed.

“Where we going?” She tried to ask the question to his face but couldn’t keep her eyes off his chest.

He grabbed his shirt and covered himself before answering. “I’m going to meet a few Night Runners. It looks like we found where the Wolf Seekers are keeping Trey.”

“By I you mean you and not me?” Bye, bye, residual lust. If he thought he’d leave her here while he went out to fight or do whatever it was he planned on doing, he was sorely mistaken.

Big Bad Night Runner Hugh added his watch to his wrist. “That’s right.”

“And what makes you think I’ll agree to that? I thought you knew me better.” She sure knew him. Knew he’d try and protect her, do things the way he always had. By himself.

“It’s not open for discussion.”

“Exactly. I’m coming with you.”

She stood in front of the door, blocking his exit. Reading his mind wasn’t difficult. His wandering eyes were trying to figure out a way past her without engaging in force. Because if he tried to get by her before agreeing to take her along, she sure as hell would put up a fight. And win.

“Tess.” His voice softened, his disposition mellowed. “I need you to stay here.”

Foolish man. “And what bullshit do you plan to fling my way to convince me of that? Come on. You know I’m not staying here.”

“This isn’t a Banoth we’re up against.” He ran a hand through his mussed hair.

Remembering her fingers in his mane, she tripped over her first attempt to reply. “Oh thank God. That thing stunk.”

“I don’t need your help.” He took a step toward her.

Wasn’t that just the bane of his existence? “I know. You don’t need anybody’s help. I don’t either. So that makes us even. I won’t help you. And you won’t help me. Deal? We’ll just team up as equals only looking out for ourselves. At the very least I can prove to be a distraction, don’t you think?”

“That’s the goddamn problem.” His hand went to his mouth, where the back of his knuckle wiped at his bottom lip.

Oh. “What I meant to say was diversion. I can divert the bad guys.”

He shifted his weight, growing impatient. “And who are the bad guys, Tess?”

She was about to answer Wolf Seekers, but stopped herself. The Wolf Seekers were humans. The Night Runners wolfen. Who did she think the bad guys were? Her goal here was to help him find Trey and in return get his help in finding Dobson. A wolfen. A bad guy. A guy that had killed. If the Wolf Seekers had hurt Trey, what did that make them? The line dividing humans and Veilers continued to blur.

Too many damn questions swirled in her head.

“I told you I’d help find Trey and that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve seen and done a lot of things, Hugh. I know I can offer assistance that no one else can, given my background. It’s to your benefit to take me with you.”

For a long moment, they stared at each other. The kind of stare that made her believe a link between two people was stronger than spoken promises and terms of endearment. She knew looking at him that he believed she could take care of herself. He only had to give up any rights to her. Rights he didn’t have to begin with.

“Stop looking at me like that.” She put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot.

“I don’t have time for this shit.” He finally took his attention elsewhere, looking around the room for something. He found it in the corner on a chair and took haste to retrieve it.

Her purse.

He tossed it, catching her a little off guard. “If you’re coming, you’d better at least have some protection.”

The gesture filled her with appreciation. “Thanks. You never know when I might need some Chapstick.”

“This isn’t a joke,” he growled, leading with his shoulder to knock her off balance and push past her to open the door. “There’s a good chance someone could die tonight.”

She prayed it wasn’t him.