Ultimate Engagement (6 page)

“
I
put
it on just in case,” Sloan said, lowering her zipper further. “Do I need it?”

Adam looked at her, his eyes going dark as she peeled out of the wetsuit. Sloan wasn’t quite brave enough for a full bikini, so she’d selected a more modest tankini. But there was nothing modest about the way Adam looked at her.

“Maybe I just want you to model it for me,” he said.

“Well, you’d have to make that worth my while, but somehow, I don’t suspect that’s the only reason for your question,” Sloan said, somehow managing to come up with a relatively quick response, despite the fact that Adam’s gaze on hers had dried her throat and threatened to make her spontaneously combust.

“I could, you know? Make it worth your while,” he said.

“I have no doubt,” she said, her voice dropping.

“But,” he replied, sobering, “unfortunately, I do have other reasons for asking. I need to get out in the water, and what better cover than a couples’ swim?”

“What are you looking at?”

“There’s a little outcropping of islands with buildings on it. I want to get a closer look,” he said.

“Okay,” Sloan said, stepping out of the wetsuit.

“Going for a swim, Sloan?” Candy called out from across the beach.

Sloan laughed. “Yeah, Adam wants to cool off,” she said.

“Well, you’d better put that wetsuit back on,” she returned.

“See you later, Candy,” Sloan replied, waving.

“Stay out of trouble,” Candy said.

“You hear that, Adam? Candy says to stay out of trouble,” Sloan teased.

“Which would be a hell of a lot easier if she wasn’t screaming at us,” Adam said.

He put his hand on her back, the motion familiar but his fingertips against her skin new, intoxicating, that single point of contact between them radiating out and warming her entire body.

Adam led her into the water. “You a strong swimmer?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m pretty good,” she said.

“Then try to keep up,” Adam said, then he sent a splash of water her way and swam off.

“Hey!” Sloan called to the rapidly departing Adam.

“Can’t hear you,” he said.

Sloan darted after him, swimming hard to reach him where he’d stopped. “Dude, that was—”

She cut off when yet another splash of water hit her face.

“Adam!”

His arms encircled her. “Don’t be mad,” he said.

“I’m not mad”—Sloan splashed water at him—“anymore.”

“Sneaky,” Adam said as he wiped the water that clung to the beginnings of his beard from his face, the smile on his face matching that in his eyes.

They spent the next half an hour in the water frolicking, kicking, splashing and laughing, as they made their way closer to the small island, the beach retreating, the other couples now just dots on the horizon. Out here, it was easy to pretend they were a couple off for a swim together, especially when bare-chested Adam was more than enough to distract her, but she didn’t miss the way his eyes stayed focused on the island.

He kept his arm around her as he watched, and she felt the connection even though he didn’t look at her for a long while. Then, finally, he locked eyes with her. The swaying ocean water brought their bodies together, but instead of pulling away, putting that distance between them again, Adam held her close, his eyes on hers.

What the fuck was he doing?

Adam couldn’t answer that question, couldn’t think of anything but Sloan. Her curvy body in his arms, her leg brushing his as she stayed afloat, made any other thought impossible. Being in Sloan’s presence always left him ready and wanting, but this time, he didn’t try to hide it.

Instead, he brought their bodies even closer, sliding his hand down Sloan’s waist to cup her ass.

The full, bountiful flesh against his hands had him fully erect in seconds and did away with any hint of self-control. He grabbed her thigh with his free hand and lifted, grunting his satisfaction when she locked her legs around him and pulled him closer. When she rocked her hips, bringing him so close to the place he wanted to be, Adam couldn’t hold back.

He captured her lips with his, kissed her, the heat of the sun, the water nothing compared to the woman who threatened to make him combust. She rocked her hips again, and he moaned, unwilling to break the kiss but needing to acknowledge what she was doing to him. Still kissing her, Adam sculpted his hand down her side, over her covered mound, to settle between her thighs.

Through the water, through the swimsuit body, she still burned against his fingers, and the need to touch took over. He stroked her sex through the bottoms, but that soon wasn’t enough.

Adam broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. All he saw there was her desire, desire that deepened as he pushed the swimsuit aside.

She let out a harsh breath at the first touch of his fingers against her. Adam wanted to hear that sound again, so he stroked her slit, then pushed a finger inside her. Her walls clamped down on his finger, squeezing him so tight that he could think of nothing else but having that same feeling as she gripped his cock tight.

“Adam,” Sloan whispered, her face now buried against his shoulder, her breath warm against his skin.

Adam should have thought about the mission, the fact that they were in the ocean, that there might be eyes on them right now.

But Adam didn’t think of any of that. All he thought of was Sloan’s voice whispering his name, the sound a plea to give them both what they wanted. Before he could process the thought, Adam had removed his finger and freed his cock, and in less than a second, he’d lined himself up at her opening. He wasn’t inside her but Adam swore he could feel her pussy flutter.

She moved, settling the first few inches of him inside her. The pleasure of only being partially inside her was enough to make him come. It also made it impossible for Adam not to see this through. He cupped her face with his hand and pushed inside her until he was fully seated. Sloan exhaled a sigh and then went limp against him, her body lax, her cunt gripping him tight.

He wouldn’t last long, so he reached between them, thrumming her clit. She clenched around him, her body stiffening as she cried out. She clamped down harder, and Adam let go, filling her with his cum.

Adam stayed connected with her until he could breathe again. “You good?” he whispered.

She blinked. “Couldn’t be better,” she said.

Adam laughed and then said, “We should probably get back.”

“Yeah,” she said, looking over his shoulder. “Do you see something interesting?”

Adam’s smile was quick. “A thing or two. You make this most amazing face when you come,” he said.

Sloan laughed, blushed prettily. “Not that,” she said.

“Oh, you mean that island?” Adam asked, laughing under his breath.

“Yes,” she replied.

“No, but tonight I’m going to take a closer look,” he said.

“
W
ould
you please pass the potatoes?” Alistair said.

Sloan, on the verge of screaming, instead nodded politely and lifted the heavy platter and passed it to him. She paused long enough to curse whatever person or god was responsible for the current seating situation, and wishing, to her utter disbelief, that Candy and Dirk were here. But they’d been relegated to another table, and had been extremely disappointed by that fact, leaving Sloan and Adam to their own devices.

Alistair sat at the head of the table, but to his immediate left was Sloan, and Adam next to her.

Across from her was one of Alistair’s soldiers, the one who hadn’t taken his eyes off her for what felt like the entire time this dinner had been going on. A dinner that felt like it had been going on forever, but Sloan knew it had only been a little over two hours.

Sloan thought she was going to go nuts. Making polite conversation with the other couples had been fine, and in fact some of them had even been interesting.

But Alistair—

She had met her fair share of pompous asses, but he took the cake. So far today, he’d told her about the time he’d met the queen, the president, and the crown prince, though he hadn’t specified of what countries, and as far as Sloan could tell, he was just getting started.

And there was the not-so-small matter of Adam right at her side, his presence like a warm burning light that she wanted to bathe herself in. This morning replayed in her head, the memory of his touch, almost certain she could still feel the climax shattering through her.

Even though it wasn’t, Adam had brought her damn close more than once tonight. During the course of the night there had been caresses against her bare arm—what had she been thinking, wearing a sleeveless dress?—touches to her shoulder, his hand on her back as he guided her from place to place, countless other touches, more than any of the previous times they had been together, and the intensity was something she was having a hard time grappling with, a fact that was only underscored by her hardened nipples and clenching sex, a feeling only intensified now that she’d had him inside her.

She looked up and met the cold eyes of the soldier who stood across from her and for a moment felt exposed. He gave her a knowing look, one that she resolutely ignored and instead turned to Alistair.

“How did you find yourself in Bali?” she asked.

She couldn’t possibly care less, not possibly, but she asked anyway, and Alistair, as she had known he would, smiled and took off.

“Well, I’ve traveled the world, of course,” he said, looking at her before she nodded. “And during the course of those travels, I fell in love with a number of places…”

As hard as it was, Sloan kept her focus, or at least managed to smile when appropriate, and let the rest of the meal pass in the haze of Alistair’s bragging and Adam’s fingers driving her crazy.

When finally, mercifully, the dinner was over, she stood, but only after Adam had pulled the chair away from the table. She managed to suppress a moment’s laughter, but she vowed to tease him about his manners. Maybe she’d threaten to tell Seth about them.

“Drink?” Alistair asked as everyone stood.

He was looking directly at her and for a moment, Sloan wasn’t sure what to say.

Then Adam, moving stealthily and silently, was standing behind her, his hand heavy on her side.

“Thank you for a lovely meal, but I think it’s time for us to retire,” he said.

He punctuated the last word with a squeeze and then lowered his hand until it rested on her hip. Then he stepped closer, pressed her other side against his and squeezed her again, eyes still locked on Alistair.

He looked at her and then back at Adam and nodded, knowingly, enough to make Sloan blush, which she probably would have if he wasn’t pissing her off.

“Enjoy your evening,” Alistair said.

“Yours as well,” Sloan said, finding her voice from somewhere and managing to keep it polite though she felt anything but. She was almost feral with desire for Adam, which made meaningless chatter that much harder.

Then she and Adam left the large dining room, nodding at a few of the couples they had chatted with when Alistair wasn’t monopolizing their time, and made their way back to their room.

Adam held up a finger and then entered the room, pulled the device out of his pocket, and then walked around.

He was sweeping for bugs, she realized, something he had done when they’d first arrived.

She stood tense, again remembering that no matter how much she was around soldiers, no matter how much time she spent in their world, she wasn’t trained. Adam had done this the first time, but Sloan hadn’t considered the possibility someone could have come into the room while they were at dinner. That realization was one of the only things that had managed to penetrate the bubble that this morning with Adam had created.

She needed to stay on her toes. This place, as opulent and exciting as it seemed, had an undercurrent that included some very dangerous people.

A moment later Adam put the device back in his pocket and then nodded.

“We’re good?” she asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t find anything,” he said.

“Do we have to do that every time?”

He nodded. “It’s smart. At least until we have a better handle on what’s going on here,” he said.

Sloan frowned and Adam moved closer to her. “What is it?”

“Did the security guard make you uncomfortable?” she asked.

“Which one? The asshole who couldn’t take his eyes off you?” he asked.

Sloan shivered, remembering those cold eyes on her. “No, though he was…unpleasant. The one who was glued to Alistair’s side?”

“Ah, the one who only pretended to keep his eyes off you?” Adam said. Sloan glanced at him, trying to interpret the undertone of anger she heard in his voice, or the fact that he had even noticed the guard whose eyes she had met more than once.

Adam had seemed completely oblivious, hadn’t seemed to be paying anyone but her any particular attention, though she realized she shouldn’t have fallen for that. If nothing else, he was always alert, so it should have come as no surprise he’d seen.

“Yeah, him,” she said.

“Why do you ask?” he said.

She shrugged, not exactly sure how to put her thoughts into words. “I don’t know… He seems different,” she said, knowing she was lacking specificity, but Adam still nodded.

“I plan on finding out a little more about him,” Adam said.

“He seems different to you too?” Sloan said.

“All of Alistair’s men are too well-trained to be babysitting tourists, but he’s particularly of note. A little more than what’s on the surface,” he said. Then he lifted one corner of his mouth. “Besides, he was ogling my fiancée. That’s worth a conversation, don’t you think?”

The warm feeling that settled over Sloan at Adam’s display of possessiveness was one she wanted to ignore but couldn’t. His words, the look in his eye felt so real that Sloan could almost believe him. She wouldn’t, though, and instead turned to another issue.

“Are you kidding?” Sloan asked, letting herself smile, a byproduct of that damn nagging happiness Adam’s words had inspired.

“What would I be kidding about, Sloan?” Adam said.

“You’re really going to use me as a front to poke around?” she said, looking at him skeptically.

“What’s ridiculous about that? I’m a man and you’re my woman. Can’t let that stand,” he said.

Sloan scoffed. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. We are at a couples’ retreat, so I’m afraid you’ll have to find another angle.” She shrugged. “And he wouldn’t be interested anyway,” Sloan said.

“What gives you that idea?” Adam asked, frowning down at her from what Sloan realized was less than a foot.

She shrugged again, acutely aware of Adam’s presence now. “Let’s just say I’m not the type of girl to inspire that particular sort of attraction from that particular type of guy. Besides, you were handling me like a sack of potatoes, so I think you pretty well marked your territory,” she said.

She laughed, but Adam didn’t join in, and instead took a few steps closer, steps that again reminded her of how close he already was. Reminded her of how it had felt to have his hands on her, how her pulse had quickened, how her sex had slickened, gotten heavy with her need.

“A sack of potatoes?” he said.

She nodded, words having left her.

“Why do you say that?” His voice had taken on a different tone, one she’d never heard from him, and certainly not directed at her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

Actually, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly how she felt. Her insides, which had been trembling with desire, were again set off, and she could feel the heavy pulsing between her thighs, a need only Adam could fulfill. One that he wouldn’t again, even after that mind-blowing encounter in the ocean.

Sloan tried to laugh it off, waved at him dismissively.

“Say what? How you were marking territory?” she said, looking at him but keeping her gaze centered somewhere around his throat, though that only gave her the opportunity to look at the strong column of his neck, his throat working as he swallowed…

She snapped her eyes up, quickly deciding to keep them somewhere around his lips. No, too easy to think of those lips caressing her skin. She settled on his strong jaw, imagined the stubble scrapping against her breasts… She moved her gaze, looking for somewhere safe, though with Adam, there was no such thing.

“You were saying, Sloan?” Adam said when she finally met his eyes.

Wrong move, but she couldn’t look away, and instead let out a high-pitched laugh that sounded both nervous and breathless, which she was in no small part because of the fiery intensity with which Adam watched her.

“You know how you were touching me, handling the goods, so to speak,” she said, shrugging before she quickly covered the motion, not wanting to give Adam a glimpse of the unsteadiness, the nerve-shattering need this conversation, the thoughts it made her think, inspired.

He chuckled, the sound low, not one of humor but some emotion she didn’t dare try to identify.

“Is that what you call it? Handling you like a sack of potatoes?”

“You call it something else?” she asked, breathless now, her nipples tight, her palms sweaty.

He stepped even closer, and though she wanted to look away from the intensity of his gaze, she had no choice but to keep the connection, stare into his eyes, dark, fathomless, glittering.

Sloan knew she was reading into this, was letting the desire that pulsed in her like an unrelenting heartbeat change her mind, allowing it to see things that weren’t there, but in that moment, she could’ve sworn, would have bet all she valued, that he felt some of the desire she did.

“I do call it something else,” he said, his voice barely whispered.

“What?” she said, her own voice husky, heavy, breathy, and giving away far too much.

Adam noticed. She knew well enough to know that nothing escaped him, but he said nothing and instead kept focused on her. “I call it touching you like a man touches the woman who belongs to him.”

“What?” she said. Belonging didn’t apply here because he sure as hell didn’t belong to her, and he had no interest in having her belong to him. She held on to that truth, though her body desperately wanted to overrule her.

He lifted one corner of his mouth. “I think you heard me,” he said.

“I did. I meant why? Why did you say that?” she said.

She hated her voice, how heavy it was, how desirous, but she needed an answer to the question.

But instead of responding, Adam again lifted his hand and trailed his fingers down her shoulder, over the bare skin of her arm, making her tremble, and then he moved it forward boldly, rested it at the curve of her waist.

“Aren’t we supposed to be engaged, Sloan?”

“Yes. Yes, we are
supposed
to be engaged, Adam,” she said, putting emphasis on the word “supposed,” a reminder to herself as much as it was to Adam.

“So how else would I touch you?”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” she said. If it were how she wanted him to, they’d both be naked right now. If it were the way most likely to ensure her sanity, he’d keep his damned hands to himself.

“You think about it,” he said.

As he spoke he lifted his hand to rest just at the curve of her head, and the intense throbbing between her thighs only got stronger.

“Come up with anything?” he asked.

“Umm…”

“I’ll take that as a no, so let me fill you in,” he whispered. “I’m going to touch you however I’d like, as often as I’d like. I’m going to make sure every man here knows you’re mine.”

“So…” Sloan said, grateful she could finally make words, disregarding the fact it was only one. Adam seemed serious, serious enough to make her question her assumption that this morning had meant nothing to him.

“So…” Adam said, mimicking her, except for the fact that his voice was calm, not twisted with the desire that made her knees weak.

Sloan swallowed, forced her mind and body to calm enough to allow her to form a sentence. “So what will I do?” she asked.

Adam lifted the corner of his mouth, huffed out a little laugh. “What you’ll do is get used to it.”

Sloan felt a phantom tug at her already turgid nipples—the man managed to wring a physical reaction from her without even touching her—and then looked up to meet Adam’s eyes, only realizing after that her own had dropped, gone heavy-lidded with the desire Adam was busily stirring with his words and the caress of his gaze.

“Get used to it?” she asked.

He nodded. “We have to keep up the cover,” he said.

His words had the effect of a bucket of cold water.

Sloan blinked, then looked away, her heart pounding, the warmth in her stomach turning leaden, the weight of her disappointment almost a tangible thing. “Yes. The cover. I understand,” she said quickly. “I’m going to shower, go to bed.”

“Me too. I should get some sleep,” he said.

Sloan nodded but she wasn’t listening, not really, and instead she kept her gaze diverted, focused on the bathroom, only allowed herself to exhale when she was safely behind the bathroom door.