HOT SEAL Rescue (HOT SEAL Team - Book 3) (5 page)

M
iranda didn’t move
for a long minute after he disappeared through the door. Her heart pounded and her skin prickled with heat—but that was probably just the shower. Except it was cold now that the water was off and the air was wafting over her body.

Whatever.
She was not ashamed if a man saw her naked. Hell, she’d gone topless for the job before. Worn a teeny tiny G-string and danced on a bar—not only when she was eighteen and stripping for cash, but also as an undercover agent. She had no problem showing her body. Never had.

So why the heat of embarrassment now? Lord have mercy, she wanted to clap her hands to her cheeks and see if they were as hot as they felt.

And she knew why she was hot, didn’t she? The way he’d looked at her—and the way she’d responded when he did. The heat. The sizzle in the air. Whoa and damn. If nipples were capable of standing up and saying
Howdy, stranger,
then
hers sure had. Not only that, but she’d felt the slickness of arousal between her legs.

He’d been aroused too. She hadn’t missed that. How could she? My God, he was huge. The outline of his hard cock against his jeans had been impressive. She’d wanted to see more, but thank God she had more sense than that. She was capable of casual sex for sex’s sake—wouldn’t be the first time—but this wasn’t the right time for it. She needed to keep her wits, not lose her mind over a Hollywood-handsome SEAL with a big dick.

She almost laughed. Earlier, she’d thought he probably had a little dick just because that’s the way the world worked. But of course he didn’t. Every inch of him was perfectly appealing.

And she had no business thinking about it.

Miranda toweled off, unclipped her hair from on top of her head—thank God she’d found a hair clip in the drawer—and slipped into the jeans and T-shirt that had been waiting for her in the Dodge. Too bad they hadn’t thought about providing her with pajamas.

She’d searched the drawers and closet in the bedroom and they were empty. Well, except for sheets and blankets. She could have wrapped one of those around her instead of getting dressed again, she supposed.

She stared at herself in the mirror, at her red cheeks and bright eyes. Lord, what was Cody going to think if she walked out there like this?

She turned on the cold water and doused her cheeks. It helped somewhat. She took a deep breath and went out into the small living room. The house was tiny with a galley kitchen, dining nook, and microscopic living room. She hadn’t explored beyond the first bedroom and bath she came to, but she hoped like hell there was another. Because if she had to share with Mister Tall, Dark, and Sinfully Sexy— Well, it didn’t bear thinking about.

Cody looked up from where he sat on the couch, his gaze gliding coolly over her form. She couldn’t help but glance at his jeans for evidence of that hard-on—but it was gone. She didn’t know whether to feel relief or disappointment about that.

“Everything okay?” he asked. As if he hadn’t just seen her naked. As if he hadn’t had wood.

“Fine. You?” She sank onto the chair opposite and pulled her knees up. She should probably go to bed, but she was too keyed up.

“The CIA says you’re a rogue agent.”

And that took all the fight right out of her. Her chest felt as if someone had wrapped a hand around her heart and squeezed. “What?” She barely got the word out.

“That’s what they told my commander.”

Her throat ached and her eyes stung. “It’s not true.”

“Why would they say that, Miranda?”

She had no idea. “I don’t know. I told you the mission was top secret—I was supposed to infiltrate Victor Conti’s operation. I was going in through the porn side.”

His eyes flashed and his jaw tightened. “The porn side? Just what were you planning to do?”

She swallowed. “I wasn’t going to be an actress if that’s what you’re thinking. I was, uh, someone who could get girls for the films. Fresh, new faces.”

He looked fierce in that moment. “A talent scout? How the fuck do you know he wouldn’t have wanted a performance from you just to prove you knew what you were doing?”

Her pulse quickened. “I didn’t know that at all. Maybe he would have.”

“You were prepared to fuck him? Or fuck an actor on camera?”

She pressed her hands to her temples. “I was prepared to make him
think
I’d fuck him—or an actor, yes. It wasn’t going that far though. I wasn’t going to let it.”

“Jesus.” Cody swore long and hard. “Is that what the CIA does these days? Pimp their fucking agents to porn purveyors?”

“I volunteered.” She licked her bottom lip. “It was the only way in. We’ve tried other ways—they didn’t work.”

An understatement considering Mark was dead.

“You must want to see him taken down pretty badly.”

Miranda closed her eyes and bit down on the inside of her cheek. How much could she say to this man? On the other hand, what could she lose? Her own people said she was a rogue agent. She took the burner phone from her pocket and flipped it open. Then she dialed Badger’s number.

“Mandy, thank God.”

“Is it true?” she demanded. Her gaze met Cody’s. He was watching her sympathetically, and that made her breath quicken a fraction.

“Is what true?”

“I’m a rogue agent now? I need to be taken down and handed over before I do any damage?”

“Shit.” She heard him blow out a breath and she knew he was smoking. “I’m trying to fix this, Mandy, I swear.”

“What’s there to fix? Someone betrayed me to Conti. Someone wants me brought in. What do you think the chances are I’ll come out of it alive if I’m taken now?”

“It’s not like that. I swear it’s not. Come in and we’ll work on it together. Show good faith and it’ll all turn out right.”

Her eyes stung. Good faith? “’Bye, Badger. Give my love to Susan.”

She ended the call with his voice fairly screaming through the line. But there was nothing he could say. No way he could convince her. She dropped the phone and put her fingers against the sides of her head, pressing as if she could stop the pain from growing any worse.

“You okay?”

She couldn’t look at him. “No.”

He blew out a breath. And then he was moving. When he sat beside her and dragged her against him, she stiffened for a second. But he didn’t do anything inappropriate. He held her loosely, allowing her room to escape if she desired.

She did not want to escape. Instead, she turned her face into his broad chest and breathed him in. He smelled good. Clean and masculine. It had been so long since she’d let a man hold her. So damn long.

“Why don’t you believe what they’re saying about me?” she asked, her voice muffled against the fabric of his T-shirt. Really, this was completely wrong and so not her—but it felt too good, and she was at such a low point that she wanted someone else to be strong for a moment.

His fingers stroked over her hair. The touch was light, but it went deep into her soul for some crazy reason.

“Maybe I’m wrong, but
rogue
says to me that someone no longer plays by the rules. That they have an agenda beyond the official agenda and they are willing to do anything to get it. Would someone who’d turned against the CIA care whether or not her hostage lived? Or would she kill him as soon as he’d served his purpose?”

She sucked in a breath. “She’d let him live if there was no point in killing him. And there wasn’t. You got me out of the Venetian. That’s all I needed.”

“Yeah, well, you could have forced me into the parking garage and into a vehicle and then dumped me along the way.”

“You took my gun. I couldn’t do any of it.” She sniffed.

He chuckled softly. “True. But let me have my fantasy, okay? So you didn’t shoot me then—and you didn’t take any of the opportunities you’ve had since I returned your clip to leave me for dead.”

She twisted her fingers into the fabric of his T-shirt. It was much too intimate, but she liked it. “I’m biding my time,” she said. “You’re still useful.”

He laughed out loud this time, and a wave of relief washed over her that he’d found it funny. Yeah, she was a smart-ass and sometimes it went too far. Maybe she shouldn’t have said it at all—but he’d been amused, and that was a good thing.

“I live to serve, baby.”

She pushed back enough that she could see his face. He was so close, so damned appealing, and warmth flooded her. Eyes the color of the desert sky stared back at her.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Those lips begged to be kissed. They were firm, smooth, and sensual. She imagined them against hers, imagined how they would feel and taste.

“Miranda.”

She snapped her attention to his eyes again. They were still blue, still clear—but now they gleamed hotly, their depths intense.

“Yes?” She tried to make the word innocent, clueless.

“I just saw you naked. I’m not likely to forget that sight anytime soon. And while I didn’t come over here to be a douche and make a move on you while you’re upset, if you keep looking at me like I’m something you’d like to saddle up and ride, I’m going to oblige your curiosity.”

Her heart was in her throat, fluttering away like a moth’s wings beating against the jar someone had trapped it in. She didn’t know this man at all, and yet a part of her very much wanted to go there with him.

Crazy.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pushing away from him even more.

He took his arm from around her and put his hands together in his lap. “Don’t apologize. I like the way you look at me. But I’m only human, Miranda. And I’m pretty sure this isn’t what you really want right now.”

“I don’t know what I want,” she admitted.

He pushed to his feet and went over to the tiny kitchen where he pulled a beer out of the fridge. “How about one of these?”

“Sure.”

He got another one out, popped the tops, and brought them back. After handing her one, he took the seat opposite her again. And yes, she glanced at his dick to see if it was hard. It was, which only made her wetter.

“I don’t think you’ve gone rogue,” he said, propping a foot on the coffee table. Hiding the evidence of his arousal, sad to say. “But you’re in over your head, that’s for sure.”

“Do you think this is something HOT can sort out?” Because she was done believing in the agency. Done believing that even Badger could do anything for her this time. She was on her own for the first time in years, and she didn’t quite know how she was going to get out of this mess without help.

He took a sip of the beer. “I think it’s possible, yeah.”

She played with her bottle but didn’t drink it. “I hope you’re right. Because I think if you don’t, I’m a dead woman.”

His eyes flashed. “Not on my watch, babe. Promise.”

S
he was quiet again
. Lost in her own thoughts. Cody watched her surreptitiously. He didn’t miss the way she toyed with her beer or the way she frowned as she gazed at seemingly nothing. She was troubled.

And why wouldn’t she be? Someone had betrayed her. Her own agency had turned against her. She was a rogue on the run now, a wild card until and unless HOT could figure out what was going on and who had set her up.

Cody blinked. He’d never really considered that she
was
a rogue, but why not? He didn’t know her, didn’t know what she was capable of. Anyone could snap when given the right incentive. Just look at his mother.

“Do you trust this Badger person?” he asked, and her head came up.

“Yes, of course.”

But was that a hint of uncertainty in her voice? Or just irritation?

“Tell me about the operation, Miranda.”

She nibbled the inside of her lip, and his groin tightened at that tiny maneuver.

“I already told you.”

“No, not really. You told me what it was for. You didn’t tell me the plan.”

She blew out a breath. And then she shook her head. “I honestly don’t think I’m supposed to tell you any more than I already have.”

“I’m pretty much the only one who believes you right now. You sure you want to keep me in the dark?”

She laid her head back against the couch cushion and fixed him with a look. “You’re wrong, you know that?”

“Enlighten me.”

“I
am
a rogue, at least by your definition. You said it was someone who had an agenda beyond the official agenda—and yes, I do. This is personal to me, Cody. I volunteered because I have a personal stake. Hell, I pushed for the op in the first place.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d said his name, but this time the sound of it on her lips made his balls start to ache.

“I’ve been an agent for four years now. I was lucky to get in, quite honestly. I had a mentor—” She swallowed and dropped her gaze for a moment. “A man who saved me from myself when I was eighteen. He found someone to look after me, someone to make sure I got my GED and became a productive citizen. He was my idol in many ways, and I wanted to make him proud.”

She didn’t have to say that man was an agent. It was clear.

“We were lovers,” she said.

Cody didn’t like the stab of feeling in his gut at that news.

“But we weren’t in love or anything. Or Mark wasn’t. I was certain I loved him for a time, but he didn’t return it. He cared for me though. We stopped being lovers a long time ago, but the friendship never went away. He got assigned to infiltrate Conti’s organization. He worked it for months, and he was good at it. I was his contact on the outside. He was so close to breaking their code, to knowing the whole operation—and then his car blew up one morning when he was supposed to be meeting me to pass information.”

“I’m sorry, Miranda.”

“Thank you. I know it’s the nature of what we do, the possibility in every assignment—but it was still a shock.” She sniffed, but she wasn’t crying. “Of course he was killed by someone in Conti’s organization—but it wasn’t Conti. In all the intel afterward, he seemed stunned by it. He never knew Mark was an agent. But someone did, and they not only eliminated him, they also never told their boss.”

“So you weren’t just trying to complete what Mark started, you were also trying to find out who killed him.”

She clasped her hands in her lap. “Yes. It was a long shot, but I had to try.”

“Did anyone else know what you were really after?”

“Badger. They were best friends. Went to college together. He wants Mark’s killer as much as I do.”

“He also wants you to come in.”

“He means well. He thinks he can protect me.”

“But you don’t believe he can.” It wasn’t a question.

She sighed. “In many ways, I don’t know what to believe anymore. But I’m pretty sure that going in would not work out in my favor just yet.” Her golden eyes were sad, troubled. “I’m putting my faith in your group, Cody. You’re all I have right now.”

He didn’t know why he did it, but he reached out and took her hand in his. Squeezed. She didn’t try to remove it. “I’m not quitting, sunshine. None of us are quitting. We’ll clear your name.”

It was a tall order, but goddammit, he wasn’t giving up until they had. Miranda Lockwood might be a lot of things, but a traitor to her country was not one of them.

“Of all the shitty luck I’ve had today, I’m beginning to believe that choosing you in the Venetian was not part of it.”

Cody grinned. “Of course it wasn’t. You’re going to remember this day as the day you met me for the rest of your life. Probably name your first kid after me or something.”

She frowned, but he could see the hint of a smile in it. “You’re insane.”

“Quite possibly.”

She yawned, her jaw cracking. “I need to go to bed.”

He stood and stretched. “Yeah, me too. But sunshine?”

Her eyes looked sleepy. “Yes?”

“There’s only one bedroom.”