Deceptive Treasures: Slye Temp Book 5 (20 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Pentagon, Washington, DC

The General strode down the hallway from his Pentagon office to H.P.’s. When he walked in, he shut the door softly and H.P.’s head popped up from where he’d been typing furiously on his laptop. “Yes?”

Covering the three long steps to H.P.’s desk, The General spread his hands shoulder width apart and slapped them on the desk. He leaned down, gritting his teeth at the pain in his back
. Miserable doctors couldn’t heal him without surgery. That was fine. The pain gave more fire to his words.

“Where are my Koreans?”

“That’s not an easy question to answer.”

The General kept his deep voice at a quiet level of threat
. “You told me we were sending a team to pick them up last night.”

“I did send people, but someone ... got there first.”

“I. Know. In fact, I heard there were
three
Koreans.”

H.P. was genuinely surprised
. “The Slye woman said nothing about a third physicist.”

“I’m not sure who—or what—the third person is, but I just got an intelligence report that a protective squad was seen escorting two Korean males and one Korean woman from a Gulfstream jet at the Los Angeles airport at the time we were being informed the physicists were stateside.”

“I’m on it. I’ll find out more—”

“No, I don’t want to
know
more. I want all three of them brought in before someone here finds out we brought three North Koreans into this country who have knowledge of nuclear weapons design and turned them loose.”  The General pushed off the table. “You have twenty-four hours. Find all three or send out a unit that will make this problem go away. Are we clear?”

H.P. nodded, his face as white as his shirt
.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jin woke slowly, feeling rested for the first time in longer than she could recall. Her nightmares had come as usual, but ended quicker than normal, or at least it seemed that way. She enjoyed waking slowly, wrapped in a firm cocoon of warmth.

Firm
?

Her heart went into overdrive for a second,
then she inhaled and recognized the male scent. The cowboy.

It was a rich, alive smell
. She opened her eyes and blinked as her vision adjusted. Daylight slipped through the hotel curtains, just enough to see the dark hairs on the broad chest she faced.

The memory of last night caressed its way back into focus
. He’d combed her hair. Lulled her into rest.

They had two beds.

So what was she doing here, wrapped up against him?

That’s when she noticed the rise and fall of each breath he took
. He had her tucked up against him, arms bulging with muscles holding her so close and ... safe. She hadn’t felt safe in a long time, not since she was a tiny child. Long before she was handed off to a couple who had never considered her family, only a pawn to train for their own agenda.

She was wrapped up against this big man who should be in his own bed
. But she felt no fear. That was not normal. Something was wrong with her survival instincts. She should move away. Now.

Her mountain mumbled something and she froze for a second
. Was he wearing anything? She took stock of her body. Still in the T-shirt. Nothing felt different, at least physically. She moved her leg and touched cloth. He had on boxers.

Naked other than that.

She started to shift away and her knee brushed one very awake part of his anatomy
. She jerked her leg back, but her crazy body had a completely opposite reaction. Her mouth dried out at the size of him.

All
of her was awake now.

What should she do
? Take her time moving away so she didn’t disturb him?

Does taking your time have anything to do with staying snuggled up against him?

No.
Not at all.

Liar.

The truth was, she’d never felt anything like this before. Never been so close to anyone remotely like him.

One big arm was wrapped all the way around her back and hooked under her arm that rested on his shoulder. The palm of his hand dangled so close to her breast. The power and strength in this mountain of a man made her a little dizzy
. Made her want.

She watched that hand, imagined it in motion
. On her body.

He growled in his sleep and shifted
. When he did, his palm brushed her nipple. Heat shot through her, straight to her womb.

She exhaled an involuntary little moan and moved closer, her body taking over her brain and going after what it wanted
.

His hand curved around her breast as if it had invited his fingers over for a visit. She didn’t have large breasts and had never thought of herself as so sensitive, but she was
breathing hard just waiting, wanting him to do something. His fingers twitched, but nowhere close to where she wanted them.

For so long she’d missed being touched and feeling the comfort of human contact
. But more than that, she’d missed feeling like a woman. She hadn’t had much of that, but being pressed against him, having his hands on her body, made her remember. Yearn.

Without thinking, she kissed his chest.

He groaned and his hand closed on her breast, fingers massaging gently.

She shivered
. His touch was making her wet, making her want things she shouldn’t from this man. Her next breath came out on a sound of bone-deep need, and his fingers stilled along with his breathing.

He didn’t say a word and neither did she for the next thirty seconds.

Should she pretend she’d been asleep?

His hand moved to her hip and stayed there
. She felt a wash of shame that made her face hot. What would he think of her now? That she was the whore Pang had painted her to be?

She should be thankful he hadn’t gone further, but she was fighting not to cry over the loss of his touch.

“Jin?”

“Yes?”

His deep voice was raspy from sleep. “Good morning.”

It had been for a moment
. She murmured something that could be interpreted as good morning with a hefty dose of embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean to touch you.”

“I understand.”  She’d said that in a brittle tone but not because she didn’t believe him. Just the opposite. She’d started it
again
, and even though he was proving to be a gentleman, it didn’t change the pinch of disappointment in her.
Were you trying to seduce him?
No. She hadn’t meant to do that. Last night she’d felt what she thought was real desire in his kiss, and her body wanted to be desired. Her mind wanted it. All of her wanted this man’s desire. But she must have imagined it.

She was a mess
.

She cleared her throat and asked, “So why are you in my bed?”

“You kept having nightmares and I was exhausted. The last time I woke you, it was easier to just stay here.” 

“I see.”  She
had
been the one taking advantage of their situation, not him. Suddenly mortified, she tried to push away, but he held onto her.

“Jin?”

“What?” Now she sounded like a shrew, but she needed to go hide in the bathroom and find some of her pride. “I apologize for bothering you.”

He chuckled and muttered, “You’re definitely bothering me.”

The man had a death wish. He should be careful. She was in an accommodating mood right now.

“Let me move, cowboy, and I will no longer impose on you.”

“Jin?”

She fisted her hand
. “Do not use my name again until you give me one in return.”

“Look at me.”

“No.”  If she did, he’d see the depth of her humiliation at fantasizing over him.

“Please.”

Had he really said please? She wanted to ignore him, but that was the first time he hadn’t ordered her to do something. She had always prided herself on being calm and patient in the face of crisis. Now would be a good time for those qualities to show up.

She took a deep breath for courage,
then she turned and leaned her head back to face him.

That was a mistake
.

He wasn’t attractive
. He was gorgeous. The rumpled hair and heavy-lidded gaze actually upped the sexy factor.

He brushed a hand over her hair
. “You aren’t imposing on me. Well, maybe stompin’ all over my sanity, but right now you’re not imposing. I like you right where you are.”

And there he was, touching her again
. She drank in the feeling of his hand smoothing over her hair the way a flower drank in water. He confused her. She confused herself. “You said you did not want to touch me.”

“No, I said I didn’t
mean
to and should have added, without your permission.”

Leaning forward, he kissed her hair, then nuzzled her neck and kissed her throat
. “Do I have your permission?”

She shivered, hungry all over for his touch
. This was not a wise move. She said, “I thought you did not want to—” 

His lips moved to kiss behind her ear
. “Did not want to what?”

“Uhm, do this.”

He kept kissing his way down her neck to her shoulders.

Her breasts ached, impatient for their turn.

“I love doing
this
,” he whispered against her collarbone. His hand had moved back up her side and he raked a finger across the hard tip of her nipple.

She clinched her legs and shook
. “We should—”

“That sounds like permission. Is it?” he asked and the husky sound shimmered through her
. He kissed her shoulder and his finger kept toying with her nipple.

She couldn’t think when he surrounded her senses and held them captive
. Yes, she wanted to scream yes.

Nothing had ever felt so amazing as his hands skimming beneath the T-shirt that had ridden up to her navel
.

What was that awful noise dinging and dinging?

His wonderful hands stopped their exploration. He let out a frustrated sound that didn’t come close to matching hers. When she opened her eyes, his face was right in front of her.

“I wish I could blame this on you,” he said
. “But this was my fault.”  His phone was vibrating and dancing across the desk. “I’m sorry.”

She was working to slow her breathing
. She was starting to sound like Har. “You’re sorry we did this?”

His eyes filled with a tenderness that surprised her, considering the tent in his boxer shorts—she could feel the evidence poking her—and that stupid phone was having a fit.

“Don’t misunderstand me, darlin’,” he started. “I love touching you and kissing you, but I’m not supposed to be doing this. We haven’t come to any agreement, I still don’t know what your real agenda is, and only a bastard would be touching you right now with no idea how any of this is going to work out. I still have a job to do, and you have plans that you’re not sharing. Even if I find out you’re telling me the truth and we both end up successful, the chances of us ever seeing each other again after this are ridiculously slim.”

What could she say to that? Nothing
. He was right.

He ran his hand over her hair and kissed her forehead
. “Now I feel even more the bastard for not finishing what I started.”  He shook his head in a way that seemed as though he condemned himself. “Regardless, you deserve better than that.” 

Extracting his body from their tangle of limbs and covers, he walked over and picked up his phone
. When he finished reading and thumbing some keys, he turned to her. “I’m going to find us some food. Will you stay here while I’m gone?”

She nodded, afraid her voice might crack at the emotion tumbling through her
.
You deserve better.
No man had ever told her she deserved anything good.

He dressed quickly and started out, turning back to her at the door
. “One more thing, Jin.”

“Yes?”

“My name’s Tanner.”

Then he was gone
. She fell back on the bed and hugged a pillow to her. Tanner. She liked that.

It fit him
. Sounded honorable, like the man.

But right now her body hurt from wanting him and she wished he’d been just a little dishonorable instead of leaving her with this ache
.

Her heart was knocking on her mind with its own concern. One it shouldn’t have. Would this morning—and what had happened between them—make any difference to Tanner, or would he hand her over to someone else once she told him why Pang and Har had been sent here? Would Tanner even have a choice?

Pang considered himself a star among his competition, but he
was
replaceable.

Jin was not.

That was why once she found her sister, Jin would take her and vanish. She could admit that she would have opened herself up to Tanner and enjoyed this short reprieve from her real life, but she knew she could not stay with him.

Unlike Pang, she would be hunted to the corners of the earth and anyone close to her would be killed
.

She did care about this cowboy, far too much to bring about his death.