Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (45 page)

“Little ass? Who the hell are you
kidding?”

He gave her a swat on her behind as she
walked away from him.

On his way back up from the basement with a
ten-year-old Beaujolais in his hands, and appreciating the cool
cellar relieving his overheated blood, he heard Tony. “Ahh,
Commander?”

“Holy shit,” Nathan blurted over top of
him.

Nathan was a good Catholic boy, and even
when things got hot, his mouth never did.

“Commander,” Mace cleared his throat. “You
didn’t tell Kayla we were here, did you?”

“No, why?” he asked, placing the bottle on
the kitchen counter.

“Lucky son of a bitch, Cobbs blurted,
“Sorry, Thane, but fuck me.”

“What the hell are you talking abou….” He
looked outside and his hand jerked out, the bottle flying off the
counter and smashing on the floor. “Eyes front, men,” he ordered
running for the door.

“Oh, they’re front, all right,” Mace
groaned. “I’m never letting this image leave my brainpan.”

“Why’s she doing that?” Cobbs asked,
sounding a little breathless.

He lunged through the open door, then
stopped to try and control himself. “Get your eyes off her. She’d
be mortified if she knew you were watching.”

“Hey, you’ve seen my wife, it’s only fair I
see yours,” Cobbs piped back.

“Say what?” Tony and Mace barked at the same
time.

“Never mind,” he growled.

Kayla stood near the end of the deck. The
dress she wore dangled from her fingers, the sheer material only
covering a small line of flesh down her middle. With her arm
wrapped around the pillar, she stared out at the backyard. Her
olive skin glowed in the ebbing light of the day and her hips
swelled with smooth curves to her waist. “She wants this over. I
think she’s trying to drive the Shark crazy, push him to show his
hand.”

“She’s driving me crazy,” Mace quipped. “And
it’s getting mighty uncomfortable lying on my stomach,
Commander.”

He clenched his jaw. “Well then don’t
fucking look, Mace,” he ordered, but he was trapped himself in the
vision he saw in front of him.

Stretching out her arm, she let the violet
cover drop from her fingers and then she lay out on a lounge chair
catching the last brilliant ray settling in the backyard. Her hands
slowly roved across her skin until she reached her breasts and
gently pinched her nipples. No one made a sound, but he was pretty
damn sure all of them were watching. Her legs opened with a sensual
slowness that brought his heart down to a heavy, passionate thump.
A hand caressed her inner leg as she rested her feet on the ground.
One arm draped behind her, burying her fingers in her hair.

She wasn’t going to…

Every set of eyes watched her other hand
slide between her legs. Stroking herself, her hips sensually arched
with the first clutch of passion.

“Oh, my God, Lord help me,” Tony blurted.
“Commander!”

It brought him out of his daze, and he
quickly walked across the patio, standing in front of her to block
the view. When her eyes opened, she pulled her glistening fingers
to her nipple and circled it slowly. He wanted to say something. He
should say something, but…

“Commander, let’s drive him to the end of
his chain,” she whispered, and reached for his hands.

He slowly straddled the lounger, intent on
taking her inside. Moisture glistened on her rose-colored nipple, a
trajectory his lips demanded he follow. “Kayla,” he breathed, and
then swallowed hard. She leaned forward and kissed him, and that’s
all she needed to do to break him. His hands wove themselves under
her ass, sliding her closer. Biting her breast gently sent a
shallow quake through him.

“Extra-hot,” she gasped, and began to
unbutton his shirt.

Lunging forward, his lust pushed at the
barriers he’d tried so hard to put up. They were useless against
her touch. Grasping her hips, his mouth came down on the beautiful
little sensitive peak of flesh between her thighs, drawing it
between his lips and assaulting it with his tongue. The lines
holding him to reality snapped. Both her arms stretched behind her,
hanging onto the top of the chair. Her hips rose in his hands,
rocking her flesh against his mouth. Driving his tongue into her
channel made her body pulse and his heart clench.

“Oh, God, Thane, that feels so good.” She
wove her fingers through his hair. “Please, I want—” but she
stopped herself.

Sucking on her peak gently, he caressed her
sex with his thumb at the same time. He wanted to do so many things
with her, but she’d have to trust him first. “What do you want,
Kayla, tell me?” he prodded, snaking his fingers behind her back
and drawing her against him. “I want to hear you say it.”

Together, in their bed, they could say or do
anything they wanted and leave the shades of evil in their world
behind them. Finally, he understood there was no safer place than
in her arms. Her eyes widened a little and he laid a tender kiss on
her lips. Lead by example wove through his mind and he grinned. “I
want to hear your gorgeous voice tell me you like it when my tongue
runs across your sweet sex,” he said, tempting her. “It sends me
over the edge when I taste you.” He slid two fingers inside her and
her body responded clutching at them. “I want you to tell me you
want me to touch you like this.”

She placed her lips against his ear. “What I
want, Thane, is to feel you inside of me. Take command of me,” she
breathed.

“We’re going inside,” he choked out.

“What? No,” she argued, pulling away.

“Yes.” He wrapped his hands around her ass
and yanked her to his body. “This is about us, Kayla, not about the
Shark.”

A look of uncertainty crossed her features.
“This is about catching him, ending this,” she stated, her forehead
wrinkling.

“No, it’s not.” Her inflamed lips called to
his, and he brushed a kiss across them. The fact he could even walk
surprised him. He passed through the patio door and the smell of
wine assaulted his nose from the broken bottle on the floor.

“Commander—”

She was back to calling him Commander, and
he grinned at the thought. Did she realize she only called him by
his first name when he made love to her? He walked down the
hallway, and she was looking more and more uncertain with every
step. In about five seconds she was going to be back to calling him
Thane, and she was going to be screaming it. He turned and pressed
his back against the door, pushing it open.

“This isn’t doing much unless he’s got your
house wired.”

She sounded too cute when she talked like a
techie. He laid her down on the sheets and his hands went straight
to his pants. The heat in her eyes scorched a trail down his abs as
he leaned over her. She made him feel like a powerful man with just
one heated look. Every muscle in him went taut, his chest flexing
with the thought of loving her.

She began to squirm backward on the bed,
which was fine by him. He needed room to do what he had planned.
Kayla was so small compared to him, and it meant holding back or he
might hurt her. It was something he’d never considered, before her.
“It’s just you and me, sweetheart, no one’s looking, no one’s…” He
reached in his ear turning off the piece and tossing it behind him.
Her eyes darted to see what he’d gotten rid of, then nervously
stared back at him. “This is about
me
making love to
you
.” Running his hands up her legs, he spread her shapely
thighs and bit his way to her glistening fold. “You taste so good.”
As soon as his tongue began a slow, rhythmic movement across the
center of her sex, she moaned and fell back. “That’s it baby,
easy.” His fingers joined in and he gently entered her, feeling her
flesh squeeze him.

“Thane, stop, I’m going to…”

He grinned hearing his name again, but he
kept up the attack until she writhed in his hands. Her whimpers of
pleasure drove him crazy. Rolling over, he brought her with him.
Closing his eyes, he reveled in the soft skin of her thighs
straddling his hips. “I love it when you ride me, Kayla.” Palming
the back of her head, he brought her mouth to his. Her kiss
disarmed him, and his heart swelled. “You belong in my arms,
sweetheart.”

Kayla taunted him, her wet channel dancing
across his pulsing head. His hips rose wanting more, but she backed
away, a grin tightening her lips. She was being playful, and warmth
spread through him, but the fire was close behind, and he wanted
that, too.

“Sweetheart, you’re all I want for my
birthday, every single one I have left.” He clutched her ass and
plunged inside her. “You are so tight and wet it makes me want to
come the second I’m inside you.” Her muscles clenched him with his
words, and it pulled a groan from his throat. “Oh, yeah, do that
again.”

“Oh, God, Thane, that feels so beautiful,”
she murmured, her full hips swaying in a way that sent him
spiraling out of control.

Her sensual cries rippled through him. He’d
never felt so close to a woman before or loved being inside one as
much as he loved being inside her. His body jerked when his gaze
fell to their joining. Her swollen nub—delicious—glided over his
shaft. The overwhelming urge to suck it into his mouth, and thrust
inside her at the same time overcame him. They were too perfect
together. The friction pulled at his desire, she pulled at his
heart. The heat took over, her muscles milked him and she rode him
faster, leaning back on her palms, taking them higher until he
teetered.

“Oh, baby, you’re going to come, I can feel
it. Sweetheart, get off on me,” he groaned as the wave of her
orgasm clutched him and set him off at the same time. It racked his
body and lasted so long he thought he’d lose his mind. His seed
pumped into her with forceful spurts, mixing with her silk, and his
body seized with blinding pleasure. “Kayla.” Her name erupted with
a loud shout from his throat as he shuddered out the last of his
release.

Finally, he opened his eyes, his breath
coming in choppy gusts. How the hell did such a little creature rid
him of every ugly thought? Full breasts brushed against his chest,
and her curls fell across his face when she leaned over to kiss his
cheek, but he turned his head and met her lips.

When she pulled away, she looked
embarrassed. “Next time we have to stay outside,” she stated.

He grinned. There was going to be more than
one next time. “Not a chance.” He gently rolled her over, and
followed the line of her cheek down to her chin with his finger. “I
don’t want an audience when I make love to you.” A shot of fear
streaked through her eyes. “The shower is through those doors,” he
said motioning behind him. “I’m going to finish dinner. I want you
to take a nap. I’ll wake you up when it’s ready.”

“Commander—”

Back to Commander, huh? He’d have to work on
that, too.

“Did you send me those flowers?” Her dainty
jaw tightened with her question as she searched his eyes.

Before he left her warmth, he wanted one
more kiss. For some reason he knew she was going to pull away from
him now. A smile twinged the edge of his lips. “Yes.” But before
she could ask why, and he knew she would, he wanted to brand her
with a kiss he hoped she would never forget, and in that kiss he’d
leave his answer.

* * * *

The timer on the oven beeped, and he pulled
the glass casserole from the oven. He turned to go get Kayla just
as she wandered into the kitchen. Her hands were behind her back
and she looked…he wasn’t quite sure how to describe the expression,
but it kind of worried him. She shimmied onto the stool as he
stepped to the oven. “Did you sleep?” Instead of an answer, a sound
caught his ear as something metal dropped onto the granite
countertop, and he swiveled. His earpiece lay there, and her
fingers began to click on the counter beside it, her brow rising.
“Dinner’s ready,” he said, and turned away.
Shit
.

“Commander,” she growled, and it didn’t
sound friendly.

“Come on, let’s eat,” he prompted, but her
gaze lobbed grenades at him. And for the first time in his life he
knew what the term
chicken shit
meant.

“Who—exactly, is on the other end of
that?”

He leaned his knuckles on the counter and
found he really wasn’t brave enough to look at her. “Ah, well—we
use that to communicate to each other,” he said, and nodded once
then grabbed the casserole dish taking it to the table.

“I know what it is. I asked who is on the
other end of that?” She turned in her seat glaring at him.

Honesty was always the right answer. “Ah,
that would be the squad.” He gave her a tight smile and then
grabbed the new bottle of red he’d gotten from downstairs and
poured two glasses.

“Commander!” she barked.

Pivoting on his heel, he bit down on the top
of his lip.

“Is the team watching your…” Her eyes
squeezed tight with the thought and she clenched her jaw. “Are they
here?” she finished.

Raising his hand, he rubbed the back of his
neck. Guilt was not something he had ever been good at hiding.
“Yup.”

“Oh—my—God,” she spit out, her hands flying
to her face.

He broke out laughing. He couldn’t bloody
help it. She’d gone ten shades redder. “Kayla,” he began, trying to
stop from laughing harder. “Sweetheart, you’re beautiful and…well,
I’m sure they didn’t look.” Now that was the granddaddy of all
lies.

“Ohhhhh,” she groaned as if in pain,
dropping her hands to her sides.

“But, I don’t think Mace is ever going to be
the same again.” He lost it then, and a roar of laughter escaped
him, however she was laughing too, albeit, still blushing deep hues
of red.

“I’ll never be able to look them in the eyes
again.”

* * * *

“What the hell is going on in there?” Tony
broke in.