Mission Made For Two (6 page)

He
raised his head a few inches, his gaze searching her face.  She needed to try to push him off her again. 
To take control of things.

Screw it.
  She reached up and pulled his head back down.  When their lips met, her tongue slipped inside his
mouth. 
He tasted
warm and spicy, wholly intoxicating. 
More so than the beer.
 

He allowed her to lead the kiss.  Their tongues sparred, matching each other stroke for stroke.  His hands roamed beneath her tee shirt.  His calloused palm completely covered her
bare
breast.

Sierra moaned when his fingers brushed her erect nipple.
Such a simple touch to provoke such a powerful reaction inside her body.

Her anger, her fear, her caution drifted away on a haze of longing. 
Longing to feel Jake’s body moving against hers.
 
To feel him inside her.

Jake broke the kiss, his warm p
alm still resting on her breast
.  “We have to stop,” he said, his voice as rough as the mountain terrain.

She had to bite her lip to keep from groaning. 
Sierra knew he was right
, not that her body was very happy about it
.  She relaxed her neck and let her head rest against the ground.
He pulled his hand free. 

Jake wanted her.  His erection pressed solidly against her stomach.  That knowledge was almost as satisfying as
sex with him.  At least she wasn’t the only one suffering here. 

Especially when he’d started things.
 

She gazed into his face.  The setting sun left shadows over
hi
s eyes.  “Is that human enough for you?” she asked.

He smiled.  “You’re a complicated woman, Sierra
Thayer
.  I suspect a person could take years trying to figure out what goes on inside your head.”

She arched a brow. 
“Only years?”

He shook his head and pushed to his feet
.  Cool air washed over her
with the absence of his body heat.  She shivered.

Jake held
out a hand
.  She eyed it,
then
wrapped her fingers around his palm
.  He pulled her to her feet with little effort.

She brushed the dirt from the back of her jeans.  “I’m going to need another shower after rolling in the dirt with you.”

“You’
re the one who put us there,
”
Jake said.
   

“If you weren’t such a bully I wouldn’t have had to.”

“If you weren’t so stubborn I wouldn’t have been a bully.”

She couldn’t keep the grin off her face as she
shook her head. 
“Touché’.
  Well
, I suppose if you don’t want to have
h
ot, sweaty,
sex, then I’m ready for some shut eye.”

Sierra turned, only to have Jake jerk
her back around.  He kissed her
hard and hungry
,
before she
had time to assimilate
the situation.  He released her as quickly.

“
Your
smart mouth is going to get you in trouble one day.”  He touched he
r cheek.  “If you weren’t a fellow
agent
,
and I wasn’t neck deep into what’s going on with Diaz at the moment, I’d
be
all over you.”

Sierra smiled
, realization dawning
.  “I know what you’re afraid of.”

His eyes narrowed. 

She shook her head, leaned in and gently bit his bottom
l
ip, before pulling back to look in
to
his startled blue eyes.  “You’re afraid of losing control.”  She was silent a moment to l
et her words sink
in.  “Good night, Jake.”

S
he turned and headed toward the cabin.  Jake didn’t stop her this time.  She almost whistled out loud.  Jake liked to push buttons, but he didn’t like having his pushed
,
and he didn’t like losing control of any situation.
  He wouldn’t sleep with her because he was afraid of giving up control to her.
 

No doubt, that’s
also
why he didn’t work with a partner.  You never had complete control over someone else’s actions.

Sierra felt like she’d just figured out a very important secret. Now all she had to do was
decide
how to use it to
h
er advantage.

T
hick smoke
choked him.  Jake rubbed his eyes and
tried to see through the haze
. 
Fear clawed
his belly, driving him further into the building. 

“Katherine!”  The heat from the bla
ze
instantly scorched
his throat
.  He
yelled
her name again, the smoke clouding his vision.  She was in here. 
Helpless.
  She couldn’t die
this way
.
  She shouldn’t be here.
It was his fault she was.

Where was she?  If only h
e could see past the wall of gra
y.  If only he could breathe. 

Jake gulped in air
and
sat up
.  Sweat soaked the sheets.  He shoved them aside and slid from the bed.  After pulling on a pair of jeans, he headed for the kitchen.  Sierra’s door was tightly closed.  Darkness still enveloped the cabin.

He glanced at his wa
tch.  Six
a.m. 
Time to rise anyway.
  He started a pot of coffee,
disengaged the alarm,
then
walked out onto the front porch, hoping to shake off the affects of the nightmare.  Strange that he hadn’t had the dream in a while.  Sierra’s presence was the reason.  She
made
him nuts. 

He leaned on the porch rail and listened to the quiet
chirp of the crickets. 
Last night’s events played over in his head
. 
The feel of
Sierra
’s supple body
beneath him.
The kiss.
  The hot
hungry look in her brown eyes. 
 

Cool air washed over his damp body, yet it did nothing to
chill him.  Her parting comment had wormed its way beneath his skin more than he cared to admit. 

He shouldn’t have pushed her to
acknowledge
her fear.  Yet
,
the thought of her having such a common female phobia of snakes, when she put on such a tough act, had startled him. 

The knowledge also brought home the fact she hid her emotions pretty well. 

Just like him. 

Just like Katherine had. 
And Katherine had been so independent. He’d known that from the beginning, but she’d expected him to just compartmentalize their relationship.  He’d tried, but in the end, he instinct to protect someone
h
e cared about had backfired. 

Maybe he was a chauvinist.  He couldn’t deny that he
did
like to be in control, but not so much over the mission but over his feelings.  Hell, he knew Sierra was tough and capable and maybe if she was a man, he wouldn’t worry about her so much.  Or maybe if he didn’t have this absurd attraction to her, he wouldn’t worry so much. 

And it was absurd. They hardly knew each other.  Yet, the moment she’d touched him on that grimy floor in South America, he’d known he was in trouble. 

He had been unsettled when Trent had told him that she and Daniel were posing as buyers.  Couldn’t he have sent anyone else but her?  But Trent had said Sierra was the best female agent he had. 

He closed his eyes. If he’d been just another few minutes later yesterday, Sierra would be dead right now. All that vitality and spunk would be wiped out.  

The door behind him squeaked.  The smell of coffee and Sierra drifted across the air.

“Hope you like your coffee black.”  Her voice was still rusty from sleep.  He was almost afraid to turn and look at her if she looked
as soft and sexy as
he
r voice sounded.

She stuck the cup beneath his nose
, the steam dampening his skin
.  He accepted
the coffee
and took a sip.  Sierra settled
on the top step of the porch and leaned against the rail to face him, cradling her cup in her hands.

Her long hair was only slightly tousled
, its weight pulling it straight
.  She wore a gr
a
y tee shirt and a black pair of loose shorts, her feet were bare.  Sitting on his front steps, her dark eyes still sleepy
,
she looked vulnerable.  He knew better than most that looks could be deceiving.

“Sleep okay?” he asked.

“Like a baby.”

He wondered if she told the truth.  He sure hadn’t slept like a baby. He’d lain awake for hours trying to
forget about the kiss and decide how to handle her
.  Then the nightmare had destroyed what was left of his night. 

He nodded and took another sip of coffee.  “I’ve been thinking about the best place for you to lay low.”

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “I’m not hiding, Jake.”   All the sleep left her voice.  “You can either accept my help or not.  If you don’t, then I’ll go after Diaz on my own.”

Jake set his coffee mug on the rail.  “If you go after Diaz alone, you’ll be signing your death certificate.”

He had to make her understand.

A harsh laugh escaped her throat and she shrugged.  “As long as I take him down with me
,
I don’t care.
  But if you care
, then you should let me go with you.  Then I won’t be alone and neither will you.
”

“Why must you be so blasted stubborn?” 

“Why must you
be
so
damn male?”

Jake
’s jaw clenched
and
he
met her gaze square on.  “If I have to, Sierra, I’ll call in some favors and have you detained. 
Taken into protective custody.”

Her eyes widened.  She grabbed the rail and pulled herself up.  “You don’t have that kind of power.”

“I
was a Marine Special Forces and then I
worked for the FBI before I came to work for Trent.  You’d be surprised at the con
tacts I have.” 
He was half afraid she was going to sling her coffee mug at him.

Her mouth thinned into a tight line. 
“Fine.
  It’s clear I can’t win.  I don’t have the right
equipment
to play in your world.”  She took a step onto the porch toward the door.

Jake grabbed her wrist and turned her to
face him.  “You may not understand this, Sierra, but it’s for your own good.”

She took a step so close
to him
her breasts brushed against his chest.  “Let’s get something straight, Harding.”  Her coffee warmed breath fanned his cheek. 

Jake stood perfectly still, willing his body not to respond to her closeness or her anger.

She continued.  “I’m not some little girl who you can pat on the head and say
‘
good job or run along and play now, I’ve got things to do
’
.  I don’t know what your hang up is, but I’m more than
capable of taking care of things
.”
      

J
ake hated to be a bastard
, but he had no choice.  “Like Daniel?”

Sierra’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits an
d the muscle in her jaw ticked
.
She stepped back, tossed what was left of her coffee over the porch rail and walked inside.

Jake let out a
breath as the door
snicked
shut.
  Damn it.  She just didn’t get it. 
Jake new she was
as good as any
m
an, but Diaz was dangerous.  And yes, Jake
already cared too much about
what happened to her.
  A leopard couldn’t change his spots and Jake couldn’t either.  He wouldn’t willingly put her in harm’s way.  He just couldn’t.
   

He looked at the closed door. 
He’d be lucky if she didn’t sneak into his room tonight and slit his throat.