Ignited (Titanium Security Series) (17 page)

“Ellis did. About thirty seconds before I contacted you on the radio.”

“And they just started…attacking?”

“Pretty much.”

God, the man was so nonchalant about the whole thing. “Were any of you hurt?”

“No. That RPG round made things pretty interesting for a few seconds though.”

Khalia chewed on her bottom lip and folded her arms across her chest. He looked so strong and invincible sitting there, but she knew he was just a man, made of the same vulnerable flesh and blood as she was. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried.” Worried didn’t even begin to cover it, actually.

Surprise flashed in his eyes for a second before they warmed with what almost looked like affection. “No need. We had it covered.”

“And you did it well, thank God. I’ll make sure I tell Tom, because I’m sure you won’t tell him anything more than the operational details.”

He shifted his attention back to his sidearm as though uncomfortable with the idea of her singing his praises to his boss. “That’s not necessary.”

“I think it is.”

This time when he glanced up his eyes strayed from her face down the length of her robe-covered body and suddenly the room felt way too small. Every place his eyes touched, her skin started to tingle, her body coming to life as if waking from a long sleep. Since that could go nowhere, she turned away and pulled the robe over her head, leaving her in her pants and T-shirt. When she continued to feel Hunter’s gaze on her, she told herself she was imagining things.

Gage showed up a few minutes later with some takeout and their bags and left, saying he had things to take care of. Without pause, Hunter grabbed a small kit from his duffel and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Mind if I grab a shower first?”

“No, go ahead.” When he disappeared behind the bathroom door and the sound of the shower started up, she pulled off her head scarf and shoes, dumping them on the floor. After cleaning up at the sink outside the bathroom she pulled back the covers on the bed and sat down. The silence closed in, making her restless and jittery. The time alone gave her too much to think about. She sighed in relief when Hunter came out of the bathroom a few minutes later in a cloud of steam, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, his short dark hair slicked back.

So very hot and so very unattainable, she thought wistfully. Though he’d certainly star in her fantasies for a long time to come.

They ate together without talking until the silence began to feel brittle. Watching him in between bites, she again marveled at his composure. Didn’t anything bother him? Unable to stay quiet any longer, she laid her fork aside and blurted, “How do you do it?”

He looked up at her, white plastic fork poised halfway to his mouth. “Do what?”

“Cope with all…this.” She waved a hand around to convey she meant
everything
. “Compartmentalize terrible things so they don’t affect you.”

Something flickered in his eyes at the last part and he looked back down at his container of rice and veggies. “Training and experience, mostly. I learned real quick that dwelling on things doesn’t do any good because it won’t change any of it.”

The decidedly cryptic edge to his tone made her certain there was a story behind the words. A thousand thoughts flooded her mind, none of them good. By comparison he’d gone through much worse than her today and yet he acted as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“Got any tips?” she prompted with a half smile when it didn’t seem like he was going to elaborate.

He lifted that light brown gaze to hers, and she saw the flash of empathy there. After a second he set his food down and leaned back in his chair, muscles shifting beneath the snug fit of his shirt. “None that would help much. You did good today though.”

She sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead. “I didn’t do anything.” That was the problem. The guilt was clawing at her, eating her alive from the inside. She hadn’t done enough to ensure those girls were safe, or their families. There must have been something else she could have done.

“Yes you did. You stayed calm when you needed to and you helped get those girls to safety. You comforted that little girl when she needed you. That’s what you need to remember about today.”

None of that eased her conscience any. She raked a hand through her messy hair and shot to her feet, needing to pace to relieve some of the anxiety coiling in her stomach. “I feel like I abandoned them, Hunter. Here I am safe in a hotel room with a personal body guard when they’re back in their villages hoping the Taliban won’t come after them for sending their children to our school.”

“You didn’t abandon them,” he argued, his voice calm. “Those parents all knew the risks of sending their daughters to the school—” She shook her head in denial but he kept on going. “—and the Pakistani government is responsible for protecting its citizens. Your foundation built a school to give those girls a chance at a future, which is more than anyone else has done for them in their lifetime. Now it’s up to the local police and military to keep them safe.”

“Who may or may not be Taliban sympathizers,” she pointed out glumly.

He was silent a moment, watching her. “You can’t save the world, Khalia. Believe me, I know.”

She stopped pacing and looked over at him, something in his tone pulling at her. “I’m not trying to save the world. But I damn well feel like I should be doing something other than hiding out here with you.”

He stood so fast she took an instinctive step back. It was on the tip of her tongue to apologize for snapping at him but the absorbed look on his face made her stay silent. He erased the space between them with two strides, until he stood close enough for her to smell the shampoo and soap he’d just used in the shower. His nearness and the heat radiating from him made her dizzy, scrambled her thoughts.

In the midst of all that dark stubble his lips looked incredibly soft. That black shirt was stretched taut across his chest and shoulders, emphasizing the firm planes of muscle. She’d felt them against her on the drive back to Islamabad. Now she wanted to run her hands over them, feel his hard body pressed full length against hers. His size and nearness woke every feminine cell in her body. Staring up at him, she watched his pupils dilate in response to her arousal. An instant wave of heat suffused her.

Though he had to feel the tension simmering between them, Hunter laid both hands on her shoulders and squeezed, the contact setting off tiny shocks in her belly. “You did what you came here to do and you helped get those girls to safety today. You don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”

His words banked the fire building inside her. Oh, but she had a lot of things to feel guilty about. Because right now all she could think about was how scared she’d been today, and how much she wanted him. “You could’ve been killed today because of me.”

His gaze softened and the hint of a smile played at the corner of his mouth. “I could’ve died from a fall in the shower just now, too.”

She shook her head, frustrated that he was making light of it. “I put you in the position to have to fight off those militants.”

He lifted the hand resting on her right shoulder to brush a lock of hair away from her temple. She sucked in a quiet breath as his fingers grazed her skin, sending shocks along her nerve endings. “The job did that, not you. I knew the risks when I signed on. I’ve faced worse things than we did today. And yet here I am, safe and sound.”

The touch was so gentle, almost a caress. She couldn’t help but lean into it. His eyes darkened from caramel to amber. The air between them felt electric, crackling with tantalizing possibility. She wanted to touch him, be held in those strong arms, have him pin her beneath him on the double bed behind her and strip everything away with his hands and mouth until she was naked and his for the taking. She wanted to stop thinking, seize the moment and feel
alive
.

To hell with waiting. She placed her hands on his wide shoulders, reveling in the strength and solidity of him beneath her fingertips. Swaying forward, she rose up on tiptoe to kiss him, unable to fight the unbearable hunger a second longer.

Chapter Ten

Hunter saw the kiss coming in plenty of time to avoid it if he’d wanted to.

He didn’t and it was impossible for him to keep his professional distance any longer.

Still jacked up from the battle, seeing that hungry, hopeful look in Khalia’s eyes sealed the deal. He settled his hands on her waist, his attention narrowing to the way her lashes fluttered closed as she leaned up on tiptoe, the tempting curve of her lips rising to meet his and the arc of raw sexual energy leaping between them. The tentative weight of her hands on his shoulders sent a ripple of heat across his skin and made his cock harden. That she was leaving in the morning made it easier to ignore just how bad an idea this was. But he wanted her too badly to stop it.

Threading his fingers into the curly mass of her hair, he squeezed, bringing her head back before their lips touched and eliciting a tiny gasp that made the sexual fire inside him burn hotter. His way, the grip told her, and he loved the way she stilled and watched him, waiting.

Three heartbeats, four, then he lowered his head and kissed those soft, cool lips. The feel of that tender flesh parting beneath his made him desperate to get inside her, any way she’d let him. Forcing back the need to rush, to take, he allowed her to explore him with tiny brushes of her lips until she surprised him by reaching up to grip his head between her hands and pull him down to deepen the kiss. He took over with a low growl, gripping the curve of her hip with one hand to pull her tight against his suddenly overheated body.

Fisting his other hand in her hair, he angled her head to glide his tongue across her lower lip with the last of his restraint. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat and opened, allowing him in. Hunter took her mouth, licking and caressing, holding her in place while he tasted her. She kissed him back just as wildly, wriggling in closer until every luscious curve was plastered to him. His throbbing cock wedged against her abdomen, making him want to rip away the offending cloth between them and plunge into her to ease the relentless ache. Christ, no woman had ever set him on fire this fast.

Still clutching his head, Khalia rubbed against him in a full length caress and moaned into his mouth. The plaintive sound burned right through him. He dropped both hands to her ass, picked her up and walked her backward to the wall where he pinned her with his weight and fisted both hands in her hair. Her legs immediately came around his waist, squeezing tight, fighting to get closer. He stroked his tongue into her mouth, so slowly she whimpered and bowed up against him.

Hell yeah.

He did it again, and again, absorbing her cries. Those soft, needy sounds drove him crazy as she met each caress of his tongue with a raw hunger that shook him. She was burning in his arms and he was more than happy to put out the flames for her.

Right after he stoked them as high as they’d go.

He kissed the corner of her mouth, over her chin to her jaw and up to her earlobe. Capturing it between his teeth, he nipped gently as he brought one hand up and trailed his fingers down the smooth column of her throat. He could feel her pulse pounding beneath his fingertips, hear the ragged breaths she took as she tipped her head back to give him better access.

Settling his mouth over her pulse point, he licked at it, absorbing the shiver that sped through her, and lowered his face to nuzzle just inside the collar of her shirt where her neck met her shoulder. She hissed in a breath and pressed her breasts harder against him, goose bumps rising across her skin. He loved the response. Holding her against the wall he continued to taste her, nibbling and sucking a path up her neck. Her hands pulled his head in close, her hips pressing against his erection in erotic circles.

Hunter moaned against her smooth skin. More. He wanted more of her, to taste every inch of her and hear her scream his name.

Flicking his tongue against a spot he found that made her shiver, he reached down to cup her right breast where the distended nipple beaded against her shirt. He molded the soft weight of her in his palm before brushing his thumb softly across the hard peak. She whimpered and struggled to get closer, pulling his head up to meet her kiss. The throb between his legs was agonizing. He wanted to take her shirt in his hands and wrench them apart, tear it open to expose the lace he could see through the thin material. Wanted to peel the bra cup aside to feel her naked breast in his hand, pull that tender center into his mouth and suck until he had her begging.