Crash and Burn (19 page)

“I thought you wanted me to tell you?”

“Mmm…go ahead,” he said as he nuzzled her clitoris with his nose, inhaling deeply before swiping across her folds with his clever tongue.

“Daniel…” There was no breath left in her lungs.

“Yes?”

“I want…”

His wet and warm tongue continued its journey, he kissed and licked her skin down one leg to a sensitive patch behind her knee. “Yes…?”

She forced herself to breathe, amazed that she remembered how. “I want you!”

He lifted his head and met her eyes as she opened her lids. He smiled. “Not so fast, my love. All in good time.”

“Any more good time and I’ll explode.” She sat up and reached for him, searching for his mouth. “I’m sorry, Daniel, but I can’t wait.” She kissed him passionately.

Fire ignited as their mouths touched. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip, teasing her and inviting her to open for him. Invading her sweet warmth, he explored every crevice before thrusting in and out, simulating the dance she was burning for.

They lay back on the bed as the kiss continued. Daniel moved his hands upward to her breasts and squeezed gently. He skimmed his palms over her nipples, setting off a deep moan as she marveled at the sensations he created. He answered her with a primitive growl and he raised his body above hers. His cock gently rubbed against her entrance and slipped inside her, filling her completely.

He started moving slowly in…and…out, each time filling her more as her muscles clenched around his shaft, keeping him buried deep within her for just a second more each time. The tempo increased, and she could have sworn they were both floating above the bed. Her cries of ecstasy came loud and fast as she came apart in his arms. Wave after wave of sensation poured through her as he followed her to the final thrust. They collapsed together and he wrapped her in his arms, where she fell into a dreamless sleep for the first time since she’d woken up after the train crash.

* * * *

Daniel woke Beth a couple of hours later after packing up their gear and scouting the Yellow Pages for possible alternative locations. He hadn’t been able to sleep, but he hadn’t the heart to wake her before this. She slept so peacefully, with a damn sexy smile playing on her lips. It took all his control not to throw her on her back and screw her brains out again and again, but he’d already gone too far. He needed to switch the emotion chip off for now and keeping his hands to himself played a big part in the success of that operation.
Fuck
. It was bloody difficult, especially when she made those cute sighing noises when she stretched her long arms above her body.
Shit.
He shook his head.
Fucking impossible
.

Luckily Beth flew through her shower routine quickly, and they started on their way without further delay. They ended up leaving later than he’d planned originally, but time enough for him to get some sleep before the action started.

* * * *

The traffic across the Harbour Bridge was busy as usual, with the wire mesh fence obscuring the view of Circular Quay and The Rocks on the left and the coat hanger blocking the sight of the Opera House on the right. The mad scramble across lanes on the north side was no different to any other trip. But this trip wasn’t ordinary. The silence between them was a living thing. It grew more intense, thickening the atmosphere the longer they were in the car, with neither of them meeting each other’s eyes as the traffic whizzed by. Daniel tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the radio. It was late morning now and they had several hours to fill until he searched the offices tonight. He could think of lots of ways to fill in time, but unfortunately he needed rest more. If he couldn’t focus, he would be no good to either of them. Beth fidgeted in her seat and tilted her head upward, inspecting the roof of the car.

“Okay, so where are we going? I hope it’s not my place, because it’s a mess.”

Daniel suppressed a smile and kept his eyes on the road while he picked a brochure out of his pocket and threw it in her general direction. It was for a motel in Chatswood—one aimed at businessmen, offering Internet connections and a business center.

“All right. Another motel. So the plan for the rest of the day is?”

“Sleep.”

“Sleep? I can see you need some, but the Conference is only days away. Maybe I can do some snooping around?”

“I’m not convinced this is about the Conference. I think it’s more about you and what you saw on the train. Your father’s death is connected somehow. I don’t know how, but my gut feeling is that the Conference is just a distraction to throw us off track from the real issue.”

“Which is?”

“You saw someone on that train, someone who didn’t want to be seen. I just haven’t worked out how it ties into your father and his friend, but I will.”

“You’re betting a lot on gut feeling. Are you sure about this? I can’t believe Uncle Jack or my father have anything to do with what’s happening.”

Daniel turned off the highway as they approached Chatswood and its myriad of office blocks. “I want to talk to you more about your father and your Uncle Jack. But I’ve been running on adrenaline for the last few days, and I need some sleep. It may not tell us anything, but we’ve got to get farther than we are now.”

“I’ll tell you everything I know if it will help. And I can help tonight, too.”

Daniel smiled at her then. “I know you can, Beth, but we’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s get some rest.”

Daniel steered into the car park of the motel. It was a two story building with access via an internal staircase. The crisp, clean façade indicated a recent renovation. The design was a throwback to the seventies, with terracotta and semi-circular arches everywhere, but it would do for their purposes. He parked the car behind the main building and opened his door. “I’ll just be a minute. I phoned ahead and booked, so I just need to sign the registration and pick up the key.” He handed her the mobile phone. “Call me if you see anything strange. The keys are still in the ignition. Drive away as fast as you can if anyone suspicious approaches you.”

Beth clutched the phone in her hand, her fingers squeezing hard. “Do you think we were followed?”

“I didn’t see anyone, but we can’t afford to let down our guard.”

She tightened her grip even further, her knuckles now white. Daniel smiled at her again and winked. “I’m sure we’ll be okay here. I’m just being cautious. Don’t worry, Beth. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but hurry back.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I’ll be here.”

* * * *

What could she say about the room, other than it was a palace compared to last night’s dumpy surroundings. She sank onto the soft bed and lay back on the quilted spread. She inhaled the scent of clean sheets and smiled. Yes, this was much better. Funny how she’d taken the creature comforts for granted. These past few days she’d seen a few, but she’d done without them as well, and she knew which way she preferred it.
No, ma’am, no more
camping
and no more sleazy hotels in the Cross
. Thinking about the Cross reminded her that it hadn’t been all bad. They’d really burned up the sheets, but that was more to do with the heat of the moment than the ambience of the surroundings. She smiled wistfully. She wasn’t counting on it happening again in the near future. Daniel had barely spoken to her all morning, and even though on the surface he seemed the same, she sensed that he’d pulled back from her somehow. He was as considerate and as caring as usual, but it wasn’t the passionate man of last night who was in the bathroom next door washing up. This man was cool as a cucumber. All business. What did she expect? She’d warned herself that he was just doing a job and not to care too much. Lucky she hadn’t gone the whole hog and fallen in love with him—yet.

Daniel walked out of the bathroom dressed in only a pair of silky boxers. His chest was magnificent and Beth couldn’t help but ogle. He was drying his hair with a towel when he sat down next to her on the bed. He smelled of spice and pine, and man, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She grabbed the edges of the quilt beneath her hands and squeezed hard. He wasn’t making this easy.

He dropped his arms and tilted his face toward her, folding the towel as he spoke. “I want you to promise me you won’t leave the room while I’m asleep.”

“But…”

“No buts, Beth…promise me. If you leave this hotel, you put yourself in danger, and you know that. So what’s it to be?”

“You can’t expect me to stay cooped up here all day while you sleep.”

“It won’t be all day, just a few hours. Be reasonable, Beth.”

“What if I want to go see a movie? I’ll put on my disguise…”

“No way are you putting that outfit on again.”

She shivered as she remembered the one he was referring to. “Not
that
disguise. I can fix up another one.”

“You can’t leave the room. I won’t have you out of my sight.”

“You won’t? How are you going to stop me?”

“If I have to, I’ll tie you up.”

“You wouldn’t!” She blushed at the possibilities that scenario evoked.

“You’d be surprised what I might do.”

“Why don’t you want me out of your sight? You know I’ll be careful.”

“You’re my responsibility and I need to make sure you’ll be okay.”

“There’s more, isn’t there? You’re being overprotective for a reason. What is it?” A memory of a conversation she’d had with Kevin came back to her. She moved around to his side of the bed and faced him. “Is this anything to do with why you gave up fieldwork?”

His head popped up and his face flushed red. “Who told you that?” He shook his head. “Fucking Kevin. He had no right!”

Beth flinched, shuffling to the end of the bed, her back to Daniel. “Kevin mentioned there was an incident that was the catalyst for you taking the desk job. He said you would tell me if you wanted me to know. Obviously you don’t want to tell me. I’m sorry I brought it up. I was just trying to understand your motives here. I won’t mention it again.”

“Aw shit!” He stood beside her and touched her arm. “It’s not you. I don’t talk about this with anyone. I’m not trying to shut you out. It’s a painful time in my life and I’d just as soon forget it.”

His eyes were bloodshot and his eyelids drooped slightly from lack of sleep. She covered his hand with hers. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. We hardly know each other anyway.”

He turned her hand over and gently squeezed it. “I think we know each other pretty well, actually.”

Beth felt herself flush from head to toe. “Mmm…well, yeah, we
know
each other…in the biblical sense…”

“That’s not what I meant, Beth. You mean a lot to me. I care about you.”

“But you don’t trust me yet, and at the moment, we both really need to trust each other. Our lives depend on that.” She pulled her hand away and started walking

“Damn it, Beth, you know I care about you.”

She saw his pain-filled eyes. He blew out a breath and covered his face with his hands.

“Someone got killed because I didn’t do my job properly. Someone I cared about.”

She stepped toward him, itching to embrace him and take some of his pain, but he held himself stiffly, forming an invisible barrier that stopped her in her tracks. “Oh God, Daniel. I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t. I didn’t tell you. I don’t tell anyone.”

“What happened?”

“Her name was Lisa. I was assigned to protect her. She was going to testify against her former boss. He was involved in organized crime. We became close. I was distracted and they got to her. End of story.”

That explains a lot.
Poor Daniel
. Her heart ached as she thought about the guilt he must be living with, but he shouldn’t blame himself. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, hoping he could feel how much it meant to her that he’d finally shared with her. “You know it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have predicted that would happen.”

“I’m not so sure about that. If I hadn’t been so wrapped up in her, I might have been able to save her.”

“That’s not the Daniel Wyatt I’ve seen. You’re focused, and you’re efficient…but you still care. You can’t make me believe it was your fault, but I know you don’t want to talk about it now. I’m glad you told me. It makes it clearer why you want us to stay together. I’ll try to do what you ask of me until this is over, but I can’t promise I’ll always agree.”

He held her tightly, leaving a featherlight kiss on the top of her head. “At least promise me you’ll stay in the room while I sleep. It’s important, Beth.”

She thought about it for a few seconds then answered him. “Okay, I promise. But I want to have access to the laptop so I can at least do some research.”

He smiled as he released her and pulled down the covers. “Fine. But no hacking.”

She straightened up. “I know what I’m doing. You’ve seen my work.”

“I know you’re good, but I don’t want to take the chance. Look what happened in Canberra.”

“I outwitted the bad guys and we escaped?”

“I’m serious, Beth. We don’t know for sure if it was the phone call or the computer that led them to us, and until we do, I don’t want to take any chances.”

“I remember your back door. I thought I’d have another gander at Peter’s appointment diary. I promise I won’t go into the NCA files.”

Daniel raised his eyes to the ceiling and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he lay down on his side and dragged the covers up over his shoulders. “I know I’m going to regret this, but okay. Check out his Outlook appointments, but nothing more, all right?”

She squealed in delight and threw herself over him and hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Daniel. Your trust means more than you know.”

He laughed. “Hey, I could do with a little air here.”

She stood back “Sorry. Now you go to sleep and don’t worry about a thing.”

“Why am I not comforted by that statement?”

She slapped his ass through the bed covers. “Ha! You’ll keep.”