Courting Passion (2 page)

“You have got to be kidding me,” he drawled as if they were discussing the latest statistics from his favourite football game. “Victor is my partner and, more importantly, my friend. Surely you know how hard it is to come by a genuine, bona fide friend in our industry. If we killed them off then we’d all be nutters—on a one-track path to the insane asylum. I haven’t a bloody clue where your precious intelligence is. I was searching for it in tandem with Victor before word reached me he’d disappeared. I knew he’d made lunch plans with his daughter and needed to warn her.”

Garth pressed his lips together and Katherine had the feeling he weighed every word before speaking again. She remained silent, one of the oldest tricks in the book. Garth seemed to recognise exactly what she was doing. A light of what she thought might be approval shone in his eyes for an instant before he hid that, too.

He seemed about to start speaking again a few times, drawing his breath in before he changed his mind and stayed silent. Finally his lips opened, then closed silently, until at last he started again.

“If you’ve asked even a few people, you know Victor’s love for his daughter is near legendary. I’ve met the girl a few times, seen them interact together. Despite their evident and very mutual love, their relationship is rocky. Hell, what father-daughter dynamic isn’t? But she loves him and he adores her.”

Once again Garth stared at her. With a sigh he continued, as if he was explaining something very simple and she wasn’t getting the point.

“If I knew Victor was in trouble and I hadn’t tried to protect Skye, he would happily carve my heart from my chest. Aside from that, I’d be a poor friend if I didn’t try to keep her safe, wouldn’t I? If I refused to even try to safeguard his most cherished possession? No, Agent Hitchens, I have no idea where Victor is or where the Rolodex is and I haven’t a clue who is behind this or why your so-called eyewitnesses claim to have seen me.”

Katherine watched Garth’s every nuance with unrelenting attention. She had to admit, either he was the best liar she had ever come across, or he was telling the truth. Irritation surged through her. She couldn’t be wrong, she believed they’d found the mole they’d been searching out for weeks. The recollections of their witnesses—“a tall dark-haired man with a thin, clipped beard”—had all pointed to Garth, especially since he’d been known to be in the vicinity of both sightings.

But a man this arrogant, an agent this sure of himself would be giving out a different vibe had he been guilty. He’d be smug, self-satisfied, cocky. Garth radiated a high level of confidence, but he also seemed genuine, his answers honest and logical. It didn’t jibe with him being the turncoat they sought.

She hoped her growing lust for the man was not clouding her senses or swaying her judgement.

Katherine leaned in closer, her hands flat on the cool table, tilting her face so it almost touched Garth’s. She lowered her voice and murmured in what she hoped sounded like a firm, commanding tone and not the sultry, sexy whisper she longed to use instead.

“We’re going to nail your ass to the wall. Betraying the Crown, directly causing the death of a fellow agent, fraudulent espionage, not to mention thievery and assisting acts of terrorism. Those are the charges I can list off the top of my head. I’m sure, with a bit of creative thinking and time, I can double that list. Make it easy, Spenser. Confess.”

Garth mimicked her posture, pressing his hands onto the table, leaning his face in until mere millimetres separated them. She could feel the warmth of his breath caress her face and smell the spicy scent of his cologne. Need surged through her body. Her belly tightened and her nipples peaked anew, hard against the lace of her bra, which strained against her tight shirt.

“Check with the techs,” Garth whispered back, a wicked light in his gaze. Katherine had the strong impression Garth’s mind was full of very naughty ideas, which had nothing to do with her questioning of him.

The dark light in his eyes and the electric tension between them had her heart pounding. The image of what it would be like to kiss him seared through her brain. She lowered her eyes for a split second to his lips. Would they be soft? Would he tilt her head to access her mouth better? Need slammed into her, electric currents arcing from her tight nipples to her wet and dripping pussy. She had to stop herself from moaning there in front of God and everyone.

“My cell emits a signal that should be easily traced through the satellites. That will clear me. Whoever your witnesses saw in relation to these terrorist activities wasn’t me. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a bloody terrorist.”

Tarek’s phone beeped. Katherine’s heart pounded. Chances were it was the test results—and confirmation from the techs that Garth’s words were true. They’d already set those tracking tests in motion before starting this interview. Tarek pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his messages, distracted for a few brief moments.

Garth’s hand cupped her jaw intimately for a moment. Katherine’s breath caught, her attention reverting back to the darkly sexy man.

“We need to work together on this, not be at each other’s throats,” he whispered. “I know you don’t like my style, but guess what, sweetheart, it gets results. My partner is missing, his daughter is out there, unprepared and undefended. We are on the brink of an international incident the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Now, I’ll admit I want to get into your knickers something fierce. The number of things I want to do to your mouth, your breasts and those luscious long legs you keep so well hidden probably would have you screaming for weeks, but I’m man enough to put that aside and get the job done. So how about it?”

Katherine felt her face flush at the raw sexuality of his words. Heat pooled in her pussy, her lips slick with the need to feel him ramming inside her, filling her to bursting point. It took a second for her brain to catch up with everything he’d said, her mind wanting to linger over the potent, dark sensuality of his words.

“How about what?” she replied in a low tone, wondering what his wicked brain had come up with now.

Garth shot his hand out. He held her chin in a firm but not painful grip and he tugged until their lips pressed together.

Heat and sensual lightning arced through her body. Her clit sang with the desire to be touched, her breasts pressed forward needing the contact of his hands, his chest, anything. His lips were soft but firm, better than she could ever have imagined, even in her most erotic fantasies. Katherine’s blood surged as lust slammed into her, painful with its intensity.

Her body blossomed, her nipples craved stimulation and cried out for the intimacy of his touch. She nearly wept and begged him to take her right there, on the table, on the floor, pressed up against the wall. He could have had her anywhere he chose in that moment, so overwhelming was her need.

In a second it was over. Garth pulled back, his dark eyes flared in lust and surprise, seemingly as taken aback as she was by the potent chemistry that had exploded between them. He gasped, but then managed to get control of himself again.

“Get me the hell out of here!” he insisted.

Katherine gulped and shot a quick, worried glance at her partner. Tarek seemed amused as he waved his mobile at her.

“He’s clear,” Tarek said. Katherine couldn’t decide if she was excited that Garth’s supposed innocence had been proven, or irritated that he’d been right and she was in the wrong. Something told her that nothing was simple when it came to this handsome, devastatingly sexy man.

“Well then,” she spoke, but had to pause to clear her throat. Her voice was low, husky from her need. She lifted a hand to push back an invisible strand of her hair. Getting herself under control, Katherine knew, without a doubt, the next few hours and days would be interesting, if nothing else.

“Let’s discuss where we should begin,” she continued, in what she hoped was a professional manner. Garth grinned wickedly, and Katherine felt heat and moisture once again pool in her knickers.

Ah yes…interesting might be an understatement.

Chapter One

About twenty-four hours later

Garth locked the two goons into the back seat of their car. Tennent had a bullet in his shoulder so, with his wrists cuffed, there appeared to be no fight left in him. Dixon—currently unconscious—was similarly restrained but posed even less trouble. With both men secure, Garth watched as Jack Berwick assisted Victor into the other car.

Victor, his mentor and one of the few people on earth who truly mattered to Garth, paused as the back door opened. Garth caught Victor’s gaze as he looked up at him. Garth nodded at him. Victor acknowledged it and tilted his head in return before making slow, tender progress into the car.

Victor’s face was badly cut and bruised from repeated beatings. One eye was swollen shut. Caked blood stained his face. He cradled one arm, the collarbone having been broken, probably in multiple places from the bruises that were already blossoming.

Garth noticed his mentor also walked stiffly, with a noticeable limp as if he wanted to curl in on himself, but still refused to show even a hint of weakness. Garth had a feeling there were other broken bones and internal damage not easily visible. Regardless of all this, Victor was alive and that was the important thing.

They had exchanged a hard drive with all the sensitive data Katherine had mentioned during Garth’s ‘interrogation’ for Victor’s life. Their enemy had escaped. Superficially, Oscar Jennings resembled what Garth might look like in twenty or thirty years’ time. From the front, in clear light, Garth believed the resemblance between the two men was passing at best.

Despite that, Garth could understand why a few brief glances had the witnesses making statements that pointed fingers his way.

Garth returned his attention to Katherine. Her lower lip trembled as she assisted her partner’s comatose body into the back of the ambulance. Two medics crouched on either side, monitoring Tarek’s vital signs. With the medics in control there was little he or Katherine could do to assist her partner in any way. Garth had moved aside to give her some time and privacy to say her goodbyes before she handed Tarek’s care over.

A ricochet had caught Tarek in the neck during the firefight exchange. They had rushed to stop the bleeding, but it had been touch and go. Tarek clung to life, he needed a hospital’s care.

That’s the way this industry worked, Garth thought, not unsympathetically. One day you’re here, the next you might not be.

Katherine stood and Garth couldn’t help himself, he let his gaze linger over endless curves. Soft hair the colour of spun gold was pulled back into a tight chignon. She knelt beside her partner, her large, expressive brown eyes filled with unshed tears.

Desire hit Garth hard. Katherine’s full, round breasts strained against the buttons of her shirt. His hands itched to cup them, to hold her luscious body close, to press those silky mounds together and thrust his hard prick up through them.

With effort, Garth pulled himself back under control as Katherine clambered to her feet, pressed her fingertips to her lips then transferred the kiss to Tarek’s cheek. She climbed down from the ambulance and waved to the driver that he was clear to go. The siren wailed as they pulled away, the vehicle moving at a fast pace.

Unsteadily, Katherine crossed over to him. Garth rested a hand on her shoulder and guided her away from where the van had stopped. They walked out on to the grass and between the shrubbery that had been planted to separate the green fields from the parking lot.

“Back-up will take at least another ten minutes to get here because of the traffic,” he said. “Let’s sit on the grass. The place is deserted now. Tarek will be fine. He’s in the best possible hands.”

“He can’t go through all of this for nothing,” Katherine insisted. “I won’t let this be a waste. He’s my partner.”

Garth smiled, though it wasn’t a humorous gesture. He understood all too well the mixture of fear, anger and overwhelming duty Katherine grappled with.

“Ready to throw out the rule book?” he teased.

She nodded. “Absolutely. It hasn’t helped a damn bit on this bloody case. Why not toss it aside?”

Garth’s heart twinged for her. He wanted her badly, yes, but more than that—she touched him. Her fierceness, her warrior’s courage. She could match him, blow for blow and keep up with him stride for stride. Without conscious thought, he palmed Katherine’s jaw, turned her mouth to his and kissed her passionately.

Fire exploded between them, hot and potent. Need slammed into Garth’s body and his cock hardened painfully. He had meant it to be a brief thing, a touch of lips and show of solidarity. That thought flew right out of the window the moment their flesh fused together.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her curvy body up against his. Her mouth opened on a low moan. He snaked his tongue inside, tasting her as they tangled together. They parried, vying for dominance in a battle as sensual and old as time.

Appearing to surrender to the passion flaring between them, Katherine arched her luscious body into his, her large breasts pressing into the thin material of his shirt. He didn’t know if it was his imagination or not, but he thought he could feel the hard peaks of her nipples against his chest. Garth stroked his thumb over the tender skin of her jaw, caressing her and tilting her further so he could plunder her mouth and claim her with his tongue.

Their lips pressed against one another, lust making his movements languid. Garth moved his hand slowly down the long column of her neck, his grip firm. He loved the feel of her as he caressed down her slender throat, her skin silky beneath his rough hand. Her pulse beat wildly at the tender juncture where neck met shoulder.

He flicked his thumb out, stroking over the flutter as if he could soothe it. Her blood pounded more furiously. They broke apart, each gasping for air, her dark eyes wide and rich with passion. Her pale cheeks were flushed, her pupils dilated with pleasure. She looked wanton, drunk, and utterly ravishable. Garth couldn’t contain his need for her. He didn’t know how he could possibly wait to be inside her.