Page 42 of Covert Vengeance

Jesse concealed his unease, because even with all Amber’s skills, the thought of her knowingly placing herself in Stanislav’s sights to draw the bastard out made him go cold all over. She could handle herself, that wasn’t the issue. They’d just have to plan this out carefully, then have the team back Amber up with everything they had. Because the thought of losing her now—or being unable to keep her from dying—was unthinkable.

“All right. I’ll call Rycroft and update you when I’ve got more.” Trinity rose and walked out of the room, leaving them alone.

Jesse took the chair again and began typing in a few commands to sign out of the forum. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked without looking at her.

“Like Trinity said, you got a better idea?”

“No.” He wished he did. Something that didn’t put her at such a critical level of risk. Not that he’d say it to her face. He liked his teeth and balls right where they were.

“Well then, I guess I’m about to be bait.”

She masked it well enough, yet he could tell she was still annoyed with him because of last night, when he’d left her hanging. But he’d been left hanging too. And right now, with her standing less than a foot to his right, looking and smelling so good he could barely concentrate, he had to wonder if he’d lost his damn mind for stopping.

Needing closer contact, he shot a hand out, snagged her arm and tugged her down to sit sideways across his lap.

She went rigid and shoved against his shoulder with her free hand. Hard enough to get her point across: this was a warning. Keep pushing, and she wouldn’t be responsible for what happened next. “Let go.”

He liked living dangerously. Almost as much as he loved that fire and promise in her eyes. “Not yet.”

Her jaw set and her eyes narrowed in silent warning. The tension between them suddenly magnified tenfold. She was perfectly capable of breaking his hold to get up if she wanted—and she could hurt him pretty bad in the process if she chose. So her staying put for the moment was a small victory.

“I thought of you last night,” he told her softly, still grasping her wrists. She liked it when he talked to her in this low, intimate tone. Her eyes darkened and her cheeks flushed. “And again this morning when I first woke up.”

And in the shower a while later, when he’d stroked himself off while imagining her hand wrapped around him instead, her green eyes heavy-lidded with desire as they pleasured one another.

Her stare was cool. “That’s nice. I didn’t think about you at all.”

Liar. He was getting to her too. But if he wanted a chance for more than just a few days with her, he had to keep chipping away at her defenses. “You’re under my skin,belleza.” He wasn’t even sure how it had happened, couldn’t pinpoint exactly when. “How did you get there so fast?”

A frown formed between her eyebrows. “Stop with the games. I’m not interested in playing.”

“Not a game, sweetheart. Trust me.” Not even close. He wanted under her skin too, and was willing to do whatever it took to get there. He would never find anyone else like her.

She opened her mouth to argue but he slid his free hand into the back of her hair and covered her lips with his.

Amber jerked back, eyes shooting sparks at him. “You—”

He kissed her again, angling his head this time to deepen it, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. “Want you,” he muttered against her lips. “Want you so damn bad I can’t think straight. But I want more than just a good time.”

His words seemed to stun her, so he kissed her again. She stilled for an instant, then began to respond, returning the kiss rather than just enduring it. She was all firm curves and silken softness, wrapped in a deadly package.

She was his kryptonite.

Jesse groaned and slid his tongue across her lower lip, tugged it between his teeth before delving inside to taste her. He couldn’t get enough of touching her, kissing her. Arousing and sparring with her.

Her teeth nipped at his lower lip. She caught it there and opened her eyes, staring into his.

Raw lust punched through him, so strong his muscles corded with the need to rip her clothes off, sit her up on the desk and bury his face between her thighs just to find out what sounds she’d make. How much it would take to make her come.

With a low growl he nipped at her top lip and pulled his mouth away. She searched his eyes, confusion on her face. “What do you want from me?”

“More than you’re ready to give, I think,” he mused.

She scoffed, eyes snapping with annoyance and arousal. “What does that mean? Like you could give more than sex? You’re a hitman.”

He wouldn’t apologize for what he was, though he didn’t think she was judging him for it. But she’d opened up something inside him that he couldn’t shut off.

“Just…shhh,” he murmured, and drew her head down to tuck her face into the side of his neck. He didn’t want to rile her up to the point that she retreated. He wanted to rile her up enough that she couldn’t breathe without wanting him the way he wanted her.

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