Hidden Impact (15 page)

“I didn’t until we were away from it.” His voice had gentled, a note of concern.

“I know.” And she bit her lip. “I’m sorry. It’s like I’m just saying anything crossing my mind right now. Words are just popping out left and right and there’s no stopping them.”

“Not a bad thing.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re experienced with this. Do you ever get used to it all?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer so she kept talking, keeping her voice low even though he’d have told her if he needed her to be silent. “It happened and I saw where I could’ve been sitting. Only I’m not and I am very glad to be walking here.”

“Absorb it all later,” he advised. “Here. Now. You act. Listen to what I tell you to do and trust your gut. You’ve come through this great so far. Keep doing it.”

“Really?” She had an inane moment imagining herself as the first victim to die in a bad horror movie.

“Yes.” He paused. “Don’t get cocky.”

She smiled. And tripped.

His hand around her shoulders kept her from falling flat on her face. She kind of wished she had, so she could hide her burning cheeks.

“All right? You didn’t hurt your ankle, did you?” He didn’t stop but he’d slowed down.

Last thing she wanted to be was dead weight. Ignoring the very minor twinge in her right ankle, she paced him. “No. I’ll try to keep a better eye on where I’m putting my feet.”

“This is far enough anyway.” He pulled her into the shelter of another tree. “We’ll wait for Lizzy to pull up.”

The tree line was closer to the road here, and she could see buildings through the trees all around them. A sound barrier picked up where the trees left off some ways ahead of them.

She took a good look at Gabe then, the tension in his jaw. “You
are
mad.”

“Not at you.”

“What, then?” She tilted her head until it rested against the inside of his shoulder. He’d told her to leave his arms free when they were outside. Even if he had one around her now, she didn’t want to hang on to it in case he needed to let go of her in a hurry. So she wrapped her arms around herself to avoid the temptation of holding on to him.

“I should have checked the car more closely before we got into it.” He scowled. “I didn’t anticipate them finding my car, tampering with it.”

His phone rang.

Chapter Fourteen

“Hello.” Gabe had an idea of who it might be, but since the caller came up as unknown on his phone, he’d wait to see if life would surprise him.

“Still ever so warm and charming when you answer your calls, I see.” Jewel’s voice came across the line.

Nope. Not this time.

“Still doing your dirty work from a distance,” he shot back. Gabe, one. Recent life surprises, zero.

At his side, Maylin stared at him with narrowed eyes. It wouldn’t take her long to figure out who’d called, if she hadn’t already.

“Oh, you enjoy my little present? I had one of my colleagues pop it into the tire for you as a teaser and leave the main gift right where you’d see it.” She laughed. “How far are you from the car at this point?”

Far enough away to have survived the blast, as she obviously knew. No need to give her any more detail, but he scanned the surrounding area for more gifts.

Seeing the damned second detonator hadn’t been a surprise after the initial blowout, but he hadn’t been prepared for the shot of fear that cut through him as he’d glanced up to see Maylin watching him from inside the car. Getting her out had overridden any other thought in his head.

“Did you have your new boy toy tamper with the car door and seat belt, too? Or were those personal touches from him?” It’d be good to know. Gabe planned to hunt the bastard down for this, but it never hurt to know exactly which parts had been the other man’s idea.

Maylin’s lips pressed together in a grim line. She motioned for the phone and mimed her talking into it.

He gave her what he hoped was a quelling look. Her eyes narrowed even further and he wondered just how badly he was going to pay for that later.

“I might have given him some helpful ideas, but the final touches were all his.” Jewel had to be aware of Gabe’s intentions. Still, she’d thrown the other man under the bus, and she might not even warn the guy unless she liked him. It was one of her habits Gabe didn’t miss.

“The detonators are your guilty pleasure.” Gabe wondered what she wanted, following up with the call. Maybe her
colleague
hadn’t managed to tail them close enough to confirm whether they’d been caught in the explosion or not. She did like to confirm just how much damage she’d done with her handiwork. “Never saw a vehicle you didn’t want to explode.”

“This is true. I do like to make things go boom.” He could picture the slow smile spreading across her lips. A long time ago he might’ve grinned at the thought, but now only a slow burn of anger built. He and she had been in solid sync once upon a time. Not anymore. “But I don’t want your little galley cook dead yet. I just want to put a touch of proper fear into her. She was much too confident when I had the pleasure of meeting her.”

He wrapped his arm around Maylin tighter. If Jewel was set on killing her, he’d go under and take Maylin with him. Once they were away, no one would find them.

“Really, Gabe. You are so very serious. It’s why I sent you those presents. Without me around, who would keep you guessing?”

Maylin muttered against his shoulder and lifted her fist to give him a solid thump on the chest.

There were going to be dire consequences for keeping her out of this conversation, and he must be going insane, because he was pretty sure he was looking forward to them. He grinned. “Is that what you’re doing?”

“Hmm.”

“What do you want, Jewel?” Not likely to tell him, but the cat and mouse game had gone on long enough. He was done.

“This was a reminder for you too, in case your short time out made you forget.” Jewel’s voice had become hard, the words concise. “I can take out the older sister at any time. Keep her under control. Have her quit looking for her sister and there won’t be any more problems.”

The last finished on a sweet note. He did not miss these dramatic outbursts from her. A person could deliver a message without the melodrama.

“I think we’re getting too close to knowing more than we should.” He let his own arrogance shine through. She did bring out the asshole in him. “This isn’t about one woman looking for her runaway sister anymore. That’s not news. We’re about to expose something sensitive to your employers. What will you do?”

Silence.

* * *

“While I’m glad I’m not blown to pieces, most of my readily available wardrobe is. The duffel had most of my clothes in it. I’m going to need to go back to my apartment again to get more.”

Maylin ignored Gabe’s scowl in response to her statement and crossed her arms, leaning back against the kitchen counter. The guest cabin at Centurion Corporation was familiar compared to the hotel the previous night, and felt a little like coming home.

She was being perfectly reasonable, but having gotten her safely back to Centurion Corporation grounds, Gabe seemed less than thrilled with the idea of taking her someplace unsecured again anytime soon. Especially a place the enemy already knew about, like her apartment.

He might have a point. Another one of Jewel’s little presents was likely waiting for her. A shudder ran through her. Gabe lived with these kinds of possibilities every day. Would she ever go back to her own way of walking through life, not worrying about intruders and bombs?

Not for a long time.

Still, she wouldn’t live in fear of the possibilities. Practicality had to have a place in there too. “I need clothes and I can’t afford to buy new ones. Plus, there’s really no time to go through all that.”

“You need rest. Real sleep.” He might’ve tried to keep the growl out of his voice. Maybe.

Probably not.

She kept her mouth shut. Obviously he was set to be as stubborn as she was. His dark glower was incredibly sexy, if she wanted to admit it.

“Clothes are a necessity, whatever steps we’re taking next.” Keep the words measured. Go for patience. Bumping heads was one thing, but she didn’t want to pick an actual fight.

Instead of getting more obstinate, he grinned. “Well, I can think of a few activities for the immediate future in which clothes are superfluous.”

“Using a big word or two there. Maybe you’ve gotten practice in your recent conversations.” She clamped her hands over her mouth as soon as she said it. Gah, it sounded obnoxious. She was angry he hadn’t let her have choice words with Jewel. But the level-headed part of her brain acknowledged there would have been little constructive to come out of it.

In a way, Jewel had been baiting her again.

Gabe shrugged, not bothered. “
You
are a good influence on me. To be honest, it’s fun talking with you. It stretches my vocabulary some.”

“Really?” Not what she’d expected. Every person on his team was intelligent. Their level of skill was obvious and their confidence in each other only reinforced the impression.

“On missions, conversational skills tend to be reduced to the shortest sentences required to get a message across. Sometimes we don’t even use words if a motion is enough.” Gabe made a few hand signs. “No one in a combat situation has time for in-depth discussion. It washes over into our day-to-day life, and we get to be frugal about our word counts.”

“I don’t mind.” He had been short with her in the beginning. Concise. Some people might’ve considered him rude. She’d figured it was about expediency. But she liked this, learning more about why he was the way he was. It filled her with warmth.

“Anyway,” he continued, watching her. The heat in his gaze made her breath catch. “It’s worth remembering words are meant for more than decisive action once in a while, for special people.”

She huffed out a laugh. “And what about the majority of the populace?”

He shrugged and stepped toward her, close. “Not worth the syllables.”

Another laugh bubbled up and got lost as she locked gazes with him, and her heart started to pound in her chest. Thoughts scampered away and all she had left was...wow. He was intense, and suddenly a very potent sexual being. “I thought you wanted to hold off on...exploring what’s between us until we’ve rescued An-mei.”

It’d been a struggle to remember what phrase he’d used. Actually, her own vocabulary was quickly evaporating.

“What’s between us is a whole lot more than physical. At least, for me.” His voice had gone darker, roughened with honest emotion. “Not to say it isn’t a significant part of it. And right now I’ve got a serious need to make sure every part of you is safe and sound.”

His hands came up and gripped her upper arms with a light, firm pressure. She placed her own palms on his waist and leaned her forehead against his chest.

“The car.” He paused and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. “When we couldn’t get you out of it. I just about died inside.”

She’d been frightened. Very. But thinking more about what Gabe might’ve seen in the past, she wondered what nightmare possibilities had gone through his head when her seat belt jammed?

“I’m here. I’m okay.” She rubbed her face into his shirt, breathed in the earthy smell of him. He was her safety.

“I just...” His heart rate was picking up, the beat of it a strong rhythm against her ear. “I need to know you’re here.”

She nodded. Not sure she understood.

His hands started to roam, rubbing and massaging up and down her back and arms. Everywhere he touched came alive under his palms. He was checking for injuries, she realized, but this was so much more intimate. Careful.

In a sudden movement, he had her by the waist and boosted her up to sit on the kitchen counter. It surprised a gasp out of her and he stilled, looked into her face. She bit her lip and gave him a small smile.

This was okay. “Caught me by surprise, that’s all. Nothing hurt.”

“Good.” The tightness around his eyes and mouth relaxed a little.

Returning to his inspection, he started with her thighs and worked his way down each leg. His touch still firm, massaging and waking up her senses until her awareness of him was at an all-time high. She swallowed hard when he got to her right ankle.

“Swollen.” He carefully removed her shoe and sock, taking a closer look.

“I twisted it when we walked away from the car. It doesn’t hurt.” In fact, the swelling had to be minimal. “Honestly, I’ve walked off worse just turning wrong in the kitchen. It’s fine.”

He bent and kissed the side of her ankle anyway.

Fire ran up her leg and to her core. Her breath caught. She swallowed hard.

He straightened then and cupped her face in his hand. “That was closer than it should’ve been. I should’ve taken better care of you.”

She leaned into his palms. “You saved my life. Kept me safe.”

The smile he gave her was sad somehow. She wanted to take it away and replace it with a different kind of emotion.

And right now, she wanted nothing more than for him to touch her more. Her skin was hot all over. She’d never felt so alive than with him in the past couple of days, and need had built up inside her until she was wet. Telling him was an option, but she preferred decisive action.

Gripping either side of his waist, she spread her knees and pulled him in until his hips were snug against her. He let her, his dark gaze burning into her and his hands sliding to her neck in a slow caress. She wasn’t alone in her desire—that much was obvious in the hard ridge of his erection inside his jeans.

“Kiss me?” She whispered the request.

Fire sparked in his eyes and he bent, capturing her mouth in a kiss so deep she decided air was a frivolous requirement. He cupped the back of her head with one big hand, encouraging her to tilt for even more access. His other hand swept down her side and back up to cup one of her breasts. She let out a needful groan, squeezing her thighs around his hips and running her hands over the hard planes of his chest.

He shifted his embrace, his arms circling her hips and lifting her. She locked her legs around his waist and grabbed onto his shoulders, still caught up in the hungriest kisses she’d ever experienced. A tiny part of her mind noticed he was carrying her to the bedroom and approved. What they were about to do would’ve broken health codes in a professional kitchen. The newer, wilder part of her mind pointed out that it wasn’t a professional kitchen and wondered if it wouldn’t have been great to stay right where they were.

Any thoughts scattered as he let her down on the bed. He stepped back and peeled off his shirt. Her mouth went dry, then watered as he unbuttoned his pants and set his erection free of both pants and boxer briefs. Oh, she really didn’t mind the change in location.

Getting to her hands and knees, she stalked him across the bed. He stilled and watched her approach. Still bold with the wild streak she’d found, she reached out and wrapped her hand around the length of his cock. He groaned, stepped closer for her.

Stroking the soft skin along his shaft, she parted her lips and took him into her mouth. His hand buried into her hair but didn’t push her, so she took her time swirling her tongue around his tip. The taste of him, the smoothness of his skin. She opened wider, taking as much of his length as she could, and then withdrew, sucking as she did.

He groaned and his fingers tightened in her hair.

Peeking up at him, the storm in his eyes warned her things were going to escalate very soon. Her nipples tightened and wetness grew between her thighs in response. But first, she was going to suck him again. And she did. She took as much of him into her mouth as she could, until his head bumped the back of her throat, and she sucked gently as she backed away. If it was at all possible he got harder, bigger. She licked the length of his shaft and turned her hand to cup his balls, running her fingertips over the superthin soft skin there.

“Maylin.” He was short on breath. “You’re going to make me come.”

“Mmm.” She ran the tip of her tongue along the underside of his shaft. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No.” He let go of her hair and started to pull her shirt up. “But I am damn well going to bring you first.”

She let him pull off her shirt, arching back as he buried his face in her bra. He cupped her breasts in his hands, nibbling at her nipples through the fabric.

“This needs to go.” He reached around and undid the clasp, freeing her of the undergarment.