HeatedMatch (8 page)

Her head fell back in the grass and she dug her heels in the
ground, lifting her hips to his face.

“You’re soaking,” he said, sounding awed. “I can smell and
almost see it through your pants.”

“Do something. Please.”

He made quick work of her pants, lowering them to her
ankles, and buried his tongue in her slit. The first touch of his tongue was
salve to a burn. Gently he licked her up and down, pausing to circle her overly
swollen clit.

It was magic. The pain eased into a blinding pleasure,
bringing release almost immediately. Though she was no longer in the agony of
need, Adam’s hunger spoke to her body, keeping her ready for him.

She tugged on his hair, pulling him gently up to see his
face. “Come up here.”

His smile warmed her, as did his large body covering hers.
She could feel his cock against her belly through his thin pants, so she slid a
hand between their bodies and cupped him.

“Can I ease you now?” Without waiting for his answer, she
unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, releasing his erection. In a smooth
movement, she raised her hips and head, meeting his lips for a kiss and his
cock for the most intimate kiss of all. Thanks to her earlier orgasm, he slid
in easily as if he’d never left.

“I missed you,” he said against her lips as his hips started
a slow rhythm.

“It’s only been thirty minutes.”

His breath tickled her ear. “Doesn’t matter. Thirty minutes,
thirty seconds. I crave you.”

Her defenses lowered against his romantic words, but she
couldn’t find a response other than her very physical one. He was correct.
Thirty minutes away from him had stretched endlessly, making her body feel it
was missing a limb. To cover her discomfort from the truth behind that
statement and its vast implications, she captured his mouth in an open, wet
kiss that went on and on as their lower bodies came together in a wave of
ecstasy.

Twenty minutes later, they adjusted their clothes to rights.
She sat up to face him and plucked some blades of grass out of the dirt to
avoid meeting his gaze. “Will it always be like this?”

“Like what?” His arms wrapped around his knees as he studied
her.

“This clawing need. It’s a serious distraction.”

He rested his chin on his forearms and frowned. “The
hormones from the water should be leaving your system soon, but we’re always
going to have a strong pull toward each other.”

“What if we fight it? You said earlier you don’t want a
wife. I’m not really ready to be one. I think we should fight it.”

“I
have
to fight it. What did Shep tell you?”

She turned her head to see his brown eyes looking at her
seriously. “He asked me to stay on the campus for two weeks and get in your
face. In exchange, he’s going to tell me about my father’s role here and
introduce me to my brother.”

Adam nodded. “And will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Get in my face?”

A hint of a beard dotted his masculine jaw. She itched to
rub her fingers over it. “I’ll try not to. You’re the one who came running up
and grabbed me.”

He had the decency to look chagrined. “I couldn’t help it.
I’d been watching the exit of the main office to see if you came onto the
campus or left, and when Gavin put his hand on you. Again…” He shook his head.
“I kind of lost it.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” she admitted softly. “I
don’t feel like myself. It’s like my body’s been taken over by some sex-crazed
maniac.”

He grinned over her embarrassment. “You won’t hear any
complaints from me. I don’t want you to take it personally. If things were
different, I’d carry you off to my room and not let you out until you were fat
with my kid in you.”

Her womb contracted at his words. “Assuming of course that I
wanted to have kids with you.”

He brushed a light finger over her knuckle. “You don’t?”

How to answer that? “I haven’t given a thought to children
before. I thought to find a man first.”

“And now that you’ve found one?” He rose quickly to his
feet. “Forget I said that. It wasn’t fair.”

She stood to face him, arms akimbo on her hips. “No, it
wasn’t. I don’t get you, Adam. You said all night you want nothing to do with
me, but then you say something like that.”

“I’m sor—”

“Just take me to my brother,” she said before he could
apologize for offering things they both may have secretly wanted but couldn’t
admit to.

They strolled down the gravel path toward a three-story
nondescript brick building as Loren asked about her brother. His fast-beating
heart made him want to skip and run all at the same time. She was staying. It
would be tricky to avoid her. The compound was large, but not college-campus
big. He’d see her at meals in the dining room, unless he invited himself to
dine with his matched friends. Yes, that was a good alternative to restaurants
for every meal. Maybe he could get a long-term assignment overseas. Kabul had
nice weather this time of year. He could work on his tan.

The lure of being with Loren was too strong. He’d felt it
the second he’d seen her at that damn ambassador’s party. The temptation to
succumb to her and the Program’s MO was strong, but all he had to do was think
of the box of angst-ridden letters from his mother to his father on his dresser
and his resolve strengthened. He’d never agree to match.

Besides, it wasn’t fair to pursue anything with her. She
lived in the real world and should be headed back there soon enough, and he had
no intention of falling in line with Shep’s plans to breed the next generation
of Program Soldiers. Yeah, he totally needed to ditch her with Chase. Let her
brother babysit her. But if he could hold her hand one last time, that would be
cool.

Hell, who was he kidding? Only Loren flat on her back again
naked, panting, would satisfy him. Or maybe facedown naked. Then he could
recheck that her ass was as perfect as it appeared. Shit, he had to stop or she
was going to notice his inattention and the growing bulge in his shorts. They’d
barely cooled down from the quickie session in the grass, and he was already
ready to go another round.

He ignored his body’s desires and tried to answer her
questions as fast as she fired them. “Your brother’s name is Chase, he’s a few
years older than me, and he’s one of my squad.”

Loren walked alongside him with her hair swinging down her
back every step. He felt a smile threatening to burst out of him and pushed it
back down. Her presence should not be a cause for celebration. Her presence
here was dangerous for his peace of mind, but his body was throwing off
fireworks.

“Adam?”

He glanced at her, sucking in eyefuls of her rich, honey
hair and athletic body. “What?” It came out harsher than intended, courtesy of
his little fantasy porn world starring he and Loren.

“Uh, nothing. Well actually, I was wondering. What’s your
ability?”

“My ability?”

“Your strength,” she clarified. “
The Post
article
mentioned that each soldier here has a specialty like sharpshooting or
hand-to-hand combat. What’s yours?”

“Oh. I’m a tactician. I can outmaneuver nearly anyone. I’m
involved in the planning of nearly all our operations.”

“The news articles didn’t go into that much detail. What
kind of operations do you conduct here? Are they all protection assignments
like I saw at Christenson’s party?”

“Nice try, Woodward. You’re not getting it from me. Most of
that information is highly classified.”

She laughed at his mention of her
Washington Post
colleague and held up her hands. “It was worth a try. And now I’m really
curious for personal reasons, after all, between my brother and father it’s in
the family now.”

His heart flip-flopped at the sound of her laughter. He
vowed to be the stand-up comedian of soldiers if he could hear her genuine
laugh again. But it didn’t escape his notice that she hadn’t denied her
journalist role. Would she write an inside view of the Program or would she
feel loyalty to keep its secrets?

Chase would have to watch her closely to make sure she
didn’t write an expose. ’Cause he was out of here. More time with Loren and
he’d be doing something really stupid like pressing her up against the nearest
tree and taking her again. They’d agreed to keep their hands to themselves, and
he’d live up to the bargain. He had to.

They walked in silence down the path to the residential
section of the compound. He could see some lights on in the small apartment
building where he and most of the other single soldiers lived. Most of the guys
were probably in the cafeteria grabbing some breakfast at this time of the day.

Lights blazed at the tiny cottages where families resided,
and he could hear the shrieks of laughter of young children running. He pushed
the glass double doors, holding one open for her. She brushed by him, her long
hair tickling his upper arm as she passed. His fists clenched to stop himself
from grabbing a handful of her silky curls and stroking.

“Where is my brother? I can’t believe my dad never told me I
had a brother. Why did he separate us? Didn’t they get along?”

“Those are questions better answered by Chase, but I can
tell you he’s your half brother. You have different mothers.”

“Shep mentioned that.”

He chanced a sideways glance at Loren to see her reaction to
the residential quarters. It looked similar to many buildings in the Washington
Metro region with its dark-red brick and white rectangular windows. The sound
of music did not come barreling down the hall to greet them as it usually did,
so he deduced most residents were eating, but decided to knock on Chase’s door
anyway. He pulled Loren along to the stairs and up one flight. Chase lived in
the second apartment on the right. He knocked and heard Chase answer.

“What’s up? Enter if you dare.”

He turned to face Loren. “Your brother’s a bit of a
well…you’ll see.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and pushed her way into Chase’s
apartment.

Chase’s room looked like a freshman college dorm room. That
was the nicest thing she could come up with. Heaps of clothes lay in piles on
the floor, causing the blue carpet to look like it had brightly colored
measles. Posters hung on the walls without frames and depicted half-nude
females of the Playmate variety. Her brother lay on a queen-sized bed with a
gaming remote attached to his hand. Loren glanced at the shoot-em-up game
flashing on the screen. The hardware was far from college dorm. A
nice
Sony TV hung on the wall, its profile thinner than her wrist. A gaming system
and other electronics were stacked under it. Apparently, genetically modified
soldiers were compensated generously. Chase seemed engrossed in his game, but
as soon as she and Adam entered the room, he sat up and focused on her with an
intensity bordering on stalker.

She distantly heard the ping of the game being paused as she
and Chase stared into each other’s eyes. From the expression on his face, it
was clear he’d known all about her even though she’d been clueless about his
existence. Her excellent memory clicked into place and she ID’d Chase as a
guest from last night. Had he been a waiter? No, she recalled he’d posed as a
guest. She took a hasty step back only to crash into Adam’s front. He reached
around and steadied her.

Chase bounded from the bed. “Where the hell have you been?
Shep called. I expected you nearly an hour ago.” His keen gaze took in their
disheveled clothing and an angry flush warmed his face. He glared at Adam. “If
I didn’t know she was your match, I’d kick your ass. Guess you couldn’t help
it, huh?”

Adam’s strong body moved away, leaving her to face her
brother’s scrutiny alone. She lifted her chin and tried not to blush over the
fact she was meeting a brother who knew exactly why she’d been detained. “Sorry
we’re late. I’m Loren, by the way. Your sister.”

Chase ignored her body language and pulled her into a bear
hug. “I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

She gently pushed at his chest. It was hard to breathe
enveloped in six-plus feet of brother, but it was every dream come to life.
Every Christmas she’d run into the living room hoping and wishing to see a
real-live little baby wrapped in blankets under the tree. It was the one wish
Santa never made true.

“And I’ve always wanted a brother. Or any sibling,” she
amended. “How did you know about me? Was it last night at the party?”

He looked discomfited by the question, but before he could
answer, Adam jumped in. “It looks like you two are off to a great family
reunion. I’ll leave you to it. See you around. Chase. Loren.” He nodded to them
both and got the door open.

Loren watched his retreating back, pretending not to be
bereft to see him go. She told herself she wanted him to go so she could gain
her freedom. She certainly didn’t want him to stay and be able to lean in to
him and feel his chest or breathe in his subtle male scent.

“Wait,” Chase called out to Adam. “You’re leaving?”

Adam turned back, his face unreadable. “Yes.” His glance met
hers for a split second. “It’s what we’ve agreed to.”

Chase opened his mouth to say something more, but seeing the
undercurrents of restraint and emotion passing between her and Adam, he closed
it and shrugged. “Okay, your loss, but I don’t know what Shep told her, or
where’s she’s staying, or her restrictions. Who is in charge of her?”

She rolled her eyes. These men needed to change their belief
she needed a keeper pretty damn quick. “No, Adam, you go. I’ll be fine on my
own. Tell me where I’m sleeping tonight and how to find a toothbrush and
shower.
Someone
got me a little dirty.”

Guilt and indecision flashed in his face. Duty versus
desire. Commander Shepard had probably meant for Gavin to stay with her despite
his wishes. Well she could make the choice easier for him. “Go,” she insisted
again. “I’m done with you.” Even she could hear the lie in her voice. Her words
said go, but her body was screaming for him to stay.