Delta Force Desire (8 page)

“Swift,” he corrected Griffin, narrowing his eyes. “Who are you?”

“Her boyfriend who is tired of waiting. If you want to tell him about the job at the law firm, tell him. Then come on.” He swiveled his hips into her, and a ripple of anticipation ripped through her. “I have things I want to do before you rush off to another seminar.”

Griffin was warning her off from telling Swift about the reason for her approach and giving her a simple exit. Dashing off for sex was a great way to end the conversation. She didn't have to pretend she was into the idea. Sex with Griffin would be an explosive, mind-altering way to spend an hour.

The cherry on top of that fantasy was, of course, Swift believing she had moved on and had a hot, attentive boyfriend with whom she had wild sex.

“Never mind. It's not work that interests him,” Kit said.

Swift held up his hand. “Wait, I didn't say I wasn't interested.”

It was exactly what he'd said.

Griffin's thumb rubbed her hip. “I'm not crazy about you working with a man, anyway. If you work exclusively with me, we can work naked. Much more fun.”

Swift looked between them. “You two are a couple? How? Are you using her for her computer skills?”

Griffin laughed. “I love her computer skills. But I don't choose my lovers based on their ability to type on a machine. I have a more strenuous and detailed selection process.”

Swift folded his arms over his chest. “Dude, do you realize she prefers cybersex to sex?”

Griffin gave Swift a thin smile and then kissed Kit on the cheek. “I haven't found that to be the case. She is fantastic and smart and beautiful.”

Swift sent Kit an appraising look.

Griffin steered her away. “Later, Swiss.”

Chapter 7

T
hey left Swift standing slack jawed. Kit was struck by gratitude, lust and excitement. For her ex to believe she was hot in bed, and hot in bed with a man like Griffin, was the best revenge. As they walked away, Griffin's hand moved to her rear end. “He's still watching us,” he said as if she required an explanation.

“Why did you say that to him?” Kit asked.

“He's a smug little prick, and he was taking joy in talking down to you. I would have hit him, but it seemed wiser if I assumed the role of satisfied and hungry lover as opposed to jealous psycho.”

“Why lovers at all?” Kit asked.

“Because a man and woman traveling together and staying in the same hotel room are likely lovers and that supports our cover. The other reason is far more petty. I wanted him to know he had lost you, and I wanted him to be insanely covetous.”

“Why did you kiss me?” she asked, touching her lips.

“I wanted to infuriate him to the point that he took a swing at me so I could swing back, but no luck.”

“He wouldn't hit you. He'd be crazy,” Kit said. Standing side by side, Griffin had at least five inches on Swift and a few dozen pounds of lean muscle mass. He was almost twice as wide, shoulder to shoulder.

Griffin's kiss had been unexpected. She was still reeling. Her libido was running rampant, devising a plan to coerce him to do it again. She was assigning a lot of meaning to it because it had been significant to her. “That was my first kiss.”

He faced her, and he seemed confused. “With me? I know.”

“With anyone.” It had bothered her for a long time to lag behind her peers in sexual experiences, but after a while, she rationalized that someone had to be on the bell curve to the far, far left in the completely inexperienced zone. She shared the space with nuns and eunuchs.

“It was a great kiss,” he said.

Griffin had taken possession of her mouth, and she had loved every second of it. “I want you to kiss me again.” Bold, hungry words. Would he comply?

“He's not watching us,” Griffin said.

They were a distance from the sales displays, standing near lines of empty tables, likely set up for an event later in the day.

She didn't want this kiss to be about Swift. It was about Griffin. “I don't care about him.”

Griffin drew her close. “I can't kiss you again. Sex in the field is a great release, but it's a mistake.”

“One brief moment won't change anything,” Kit said, rubbing her body against his. She increased the pressure. If she moved just right, could she seduce him? Being this turned on without an outlet had to damage her brain. She couldn't think about anything except Griffin and his hands and lips on her.

Griffin ran his hand down her cheek. “It can't lead anywhere, and that's where the trouble starts. My role in your life is to protect you, and I don't know how temporary that role is.”

She set her hands on his hips, not wanting him to turn away or change his mind. “You are protecting me. If you don't kiss me, I'll kiss you.”

“This is still rapture talking,” Griffin said.

“It isn't. You kissed me and you touched me and you started something.”

Capitulation in his eyes. Her heart lit up, knowing he wanted to kiss her. A man like Griffin didn't do anything without wanting to.

Griffin kissed her again, softly this time, as if she were something to be cherished. Kit closed her eyes and let the sensations of his lips on hers arouse every nerve in her body. She didn't fight it. Diving deep into the kiss, she heard a moan. It took her a moment to realize it was she making the noise.

Griffin broke the kiss. “Kit, if you keep doing that, you will not like where this leads.”

Doing what? She opened her eyes. “We were kissing.”

“Yes, but you were moaning. Loudly. Which I was enjoying too much. We need boundaries. Someone might see us.”

“We're undercover as lovers. Let's go deep undercover. So deep that we live the lie.” Kit touched the side of his face, because she had wanted to for so long and didn't know if she would have another chance. She had imagined what her first kiss would be like. The second was more what she'd pictured.

With Griffin, a kiss could escalate into sex in a split second. They could have skipped a hundred incremental touches in between and she would have gone over the summit with him. “Thank you for what you did with Swift. Thank you for kissing me like that.”

Griffin's shoulders lowered a few centimeters. “You don't have to thank me. I enjoyed it.”

Had he? Which part? Putting Swift in his place or the kiss? Kit was too nervous to ask.

* * *

“According to Kate West, Lawrence is clean. His service record and his security file indicate no problems. No sanctions against him, and he has never been accused of crimes against the United States. He has no known associations with any hackers except for his fiancée, Zoya,” Griffin said. “Zoya has a few gray areas on her record. She worked for a technology terrorist group when she was in her twenties. She built viruses and sold them to the highest bidder through an underground hacker auction site.”

Kit had known about Zoya's ties to a hacker group that operated within the United States. Zoya's father had been a founding member, and Kit had the impression Zoya hadn't been totally on board with the family pastime. She had been cleared to work on the Locker, having passed the security, psychological and intellectual tests. One bad decision didn't mean she should be blacklisted.

“Did you want Shade to find something bad about Lawrence?” Kit asked.

“No.”

He wasn't telling her something. “You sound annoyed.”

“He's a security risk,” Griffin said.

Griffin's constant concern. “Lawrence and Zoya are safe.”

“How would you describe your relationship with them?” Griffin asked.

“We are friendly.” She added the -
ly
because she wouldn't call them friends. They weren't close. They didn't trade texts and emails. After going their separate ways at the end of the Locker project, they had followed their debriefing instructions and hadn't located or contacted each other.

“Lawrence asked you to dinner. That implies a friendship,” Griffin said.

Kit wasn't sure how to respond. “We have a rocky past.”

“A dangerous past?”

Kit shook her head. “I misinterpreted something.”

“What does that mean?”

She didn't want to tell this embarrassing story, but if she didn't, Griffin wouldn't relent and allow the dinner. “I thought Lawrence and I were friends, maybe more, but he made it clear he did not think of me in those terms.” It wasn't the first time and it likely wouldn't be the last time a man rejected her.

“You must hang out with half-wits,” he said.

Kit jolted. “Are you making fun of me?”

“I'm making fun of the men in your life who don't see who you are. They see the computer expertise and not the package it comes in.”

Except for keeping her safe so she could help with the Locker project, Griffin didn't seem to care about what she knew about cybersecurity.

Griffin glanced at the clock on the table and frowned. “Let's go now.”

“It's too early.”

“We set the timeline. If anyone overheard our plans, they could be waiting for you. If someone hacked Lawrence's calendar and knows you're arriving, we'll be ambushed.”

“Lawrence knows how to handle security.”

Griffin stood and nodded toward the door. “We'll go now. I let you make the calls about computer security. You let me make the calls about physical security.”

Kit and Griffin took the elevator to Lawrence's room, stopping a few floors above and taking the stairs the rest of the way. Lawrence and Zoya were staying on the floor comprised of executive suites. Lawrence liked fine things, good wine, luxury travel and great clothes. Kit had admired his good taste, until he'd told her of his plans to use his vacation time to travel to an all-inclusive resort with a civilian he had been dating. Kit had thought he was interested in her. She had misread him completely.

His casual conversation about his plans had stung more because she hadn't been allowed to take a vacation. She had been confined to the base for the duration of the Locker project.

The hall was quiet. Conference attendees were socializing or eating in one of the hotel's eight restaurants.

Griffin gestured for her to stand to the side of the door. Griffin tapped on the door once.

The door opened, and Lawrence swung a gun into his face.

* * *

Griffin was trained to react to a threat. He grabbed the gun, pushing it up and away from him and Kit. Griffin tore the gun from Lawrence's hands and leveled it at him.

Lawrence held up his hands and backed away. “Just being careful.”

“It isn't a good idea to point a gun in my face.” Griffin put the safety on and set the gun on the dresser. Lawrence was lucky. Griffin was trained to kill people who threatened him. The gun was a threat. He had neutralized Lawrence too easily. Maybe the other man had let go of the gun once he saw it was Griffin, or maybe Lawrence had lost his edge.

Griffin had a bad feeling about this gathering. It was off to a shaky start. “Kit, it's clear.” Griffin didn't want her lingering in the hall.

Kit slipped into the room. The expression on her face when she saw Lawrence ignited a bolt of jealousy. What was the big deal about this guy? Griffin didn't see it.

A red-haired woman stepped in from the other room. She was tall and wore a gray sweatshirt and black athletic pants, which accented her lean build.

“Lotus,” the woman said.

Kit didn't smile. “Zoya.”

Lawrence stepped between them and slid his arm around Zoya's waist. “We've had our differences in the past, but we need to work together now. We're all in danger.”

Zoya put her hand on Lawrence's chest. Kit looked from Zoya's hand and then to the floor.

“We've been staking out the conference, looking for members of the team,” Lawrence said. “Anyone who worked on the Locker could be drawn to this place. Probably using a different name, but we might recognize them.”

“We're here for the same reason,” Kit said.

Zoya's eyebrows lifted. “You travel with a personal bodyguard now?”

Kit ignored the question. “What's the plan?”

“To counter Incognito. They have pieces of the Locker and they have probably made copies,” Lawrence said. “I want to destroy the copies. I have a lead on where they might be, but I'd need your help to break in.”

Kit looked between the two of them. “Okay.”

Lawrence inclined his head. “That's it? Okay?”

“Give me a few hours to make some plans and get the equipment I need. Then we'll go on the offensive against Incognito.”

* * *

Kit was in a bad mood. Seeing Zoya and Lawrence together left her feeling small and unwanted, like a rowdy child at a formal dinner party.

She and Griffin were en route to the local Tech Buy to pick up equipment. Shopping for computers and devices normally thrilled her, but she was distracted and irritated. Why did Zoya and Lawrence have to look so in love? Why were they still together? Had Lawrence told Zoya about the time Kit had thrown herself at him? Had they shared a laugh about it at her expense?

“You said our cover was lovers,” Kit said.

“It is,” Griffin said, changing lanes.

“Then let's actually do it.”

He glanced at her. “Do what? Have sex?”

Why did men treat sex with her like the least desirable option on a menu? She was the liverwurst and Brussels sprouts on a menu of Kobe steak and truffles. From what she had read, men liked sex. They liked it even when they weren't crazy about the woman they were sleeping with. “You said if I still wanted it after twenty-four hours, you would.” She was glad they were in the car and she didn't have to look at him directly. The promise he'd made her had been to keep her calm when she was drugged, but the promise should have held water regardless of how it was made.

“You remembered that? I was attempting to prevent you from making a mistake you would regret. You'd have regretted it then and you'll regret it now.”

“You aren't a man of your word?” It was a low blow at his character. But she was probably the only person her age who was a virgin and didn't want to be. Did she want to coerce Griffin into sleeping with her? Of course not. But she wanted some answers. Was she that unappealing?

Griffin rubbed his jaw. “I am a man of my word, but I don't think you want to sleep with me. You want to prove something to Lawrence and Zoya by pretending we have a relationship that rivals theirs.”

His accurate assessment stung. She wished she had something in her personal life to be proud of in the present: a relationship, a house, a family, anything. “Forget I said it.” She wasn't good at getting what she wanted from men. Maybe she could put that on her resume: the antimanipulator.

“Tell me what happened between you three. It might make you feel better.”

Kit sighed and turned up the air conditioning in the car. “We were part of the Locker project. Lawrence worked physical security. He was nice to everyone, and I thought he liked me. He didn't. He was dating one woman, a civilian, and sleeping with Zoya. I didn't know about their relationship, and I asked him to dinner and tried to kiss him. He turned me down flat and I'm sure he told Zoya, because she was different toward me after the incident.”

“If you didn't know, you didn't know. You shouldn't feel bad about it,” Griffin said. He pulled into the parking lot of the Tech Buy and found a free space.

Kit hit the door with her fist. “It's humiliating. Most people have dating stories to tell that are positive, and the rejections are vague memories. All I have are rejections. I say the wrong things, I pick the wrong men, and I make a fool of myself. I don't seamlessly fit into social groups.”