Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy (22 page)

Kas gives her a cocky smile, “But, don’t worry, darlin’, I won’t let you take advantage of me.”

She laughs and playfully smacks him.

“Physically assaulting your superior? That just won’t do, Miss Kapture.”

“So, what exactly are you doing to do about it,
sir
?”

Kas leans back and presses his fingers to his lips as if he is seriously pondering her question, “Oh, there will be severe disciplinary actions when we get home.”

“And what would those disciplinary actions involve?”

He leans forward to where his nose is almost touching hers, “I will be forced to torture you relentlessly with my lips until you beg me for mercy.” He leans in closer, “Or, we can get your punishment over with right now since my blinds are closed, and we are all alone in here.”

The sharp knock on the door startles both of them, sending Raina flying backwards, almost tipping her chair over, but Kas steadies it in time. He laughs, “Easy girl, it’s just the door.”

He slips behind his desk, hiding the evidence that clearly shows what they were really doing before he yells, “Come in.”

Erik walks through the door with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand and gives Raina a pointed look. “I just want you to know that you are the only person that I would come into work for so early on a Saturday morning, especially after a very long and vigorous night with Susanna.” His gaze shifts to Kas. “I’m going to borrow your girl for a while,” he says, grabbing Raina’s hand before turning and telling Kas over his shoulder, “and don’t even try to tell me that she’s not your girl, because you’re not the only one who can read emotions or tell-tale signs of what goes on behind closed doors.”

Kas laughs, and Raina blushes as Erik throws his arm around her shoulder. Kas watches as they walk out of his office, and he takes a deep breath, trying to calm his raging desire. He reopens the file he was reading and gets back to work, thoughts of Raina distracting him every few minutes.

At noon, he gives up and decides he’s going to check on the progress with the computers. Taking the stairs this time, he hopes the physical exertion will work off some of his sexual frustration. As he opens the door to the computer lab, he hears Erik let out a loud curse. He sprints to the back to find Raina feverishly working on a laptop while Erik looks on in an angry panic. “What’s going on?”

Erik turns to Kas, “I’m sorry, man, it looked so legit. I screwed up.”

Kas looks at Erik, confusion frustrating him, “You’re going to have to give me a little more details than that, Erik.”

“I hit a trap, the computer has released a virus against itself, and Raina’s trying to salvage all she can before the data is lost.”

Kas looks over Raina’s shoulder as she is furiously typing, tension hardening her entire body. She doesn’t say anything as she throws her full concentration onto the small machine in front of her. Erik is pacing, a defeated look shadowing his usual upbeat personality.

“Kas, remove the other computers from the main frame, this virus isn’t specific to this PC. Erik, get me a WD, I have to get this off our system or it will take us down with it.”

They both do as Raina commands and watch helplessly as she continues fighting an invisible opponent. The hair on the back of her neck starts to dampen from her arduous concentration. “It’s going,” she informs them in a pained tone.

The screen goes black, and Erik loudly curses again. Raina slaps the table before leaning back in her chair, staring at the laptop with contempt. “Whoever this Ghost is, he’s very, very good.”

Kas looks at Raina expectantly, “Did we lose everything?”

She turns to another computer, “Is this clean?”

Erik nods, his hands locked together tightly on top of his head. Raina accesses and downloads programs neither of them has ever seen before. Erik looks over her shoulder and shakes his head in admiration. Kas gives Erik a questioning look, silently asking him to fill him in.

Raina turns around before Erik has a chance to say anything. “I’m going to be here for a while,” she informs Kas.

Erik rakes his hand through his hair, “I should’ve seen that as a trap.”

She places her hand comfortingly on his arm, “It was very easy to miss. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It is significantly more complex than the set up with the other computers.”

“That makes it even worse, knowing that I probably just destroyed pertinent data,” Erik chastises himself.

“No, your quick thinking probably helped to salvage some of the data that would’ve been destroyed,” she assures him before turning to Kas. “There is something on there that we are not supposed to see, and I’m going to do my best to find out what it is.”

Erik pulls himself together. “I’m here for as long as you are. My specialty here is the recovering process.”

Kas grabs a chair and sits down. “I may not be a geek sheik, but I’m not going anywhere, I’ll help any way I can.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It’s 8:00 p.m. and none of them have had anything since breakfast. Raina stands up and stretches, rubbing her eyes wearily. Kas stands behind her and begins to rub her shoulders.

“You gonna share the love, man?” Erik teases, patting his shoulders.

Kas kicks his chair, and Raina laughs.

“If we don’t get some sustenance in us, we aren’t going to be any use for much longer,” Kas groans as he pulls out his cell, flipping through his contacts, “Pizza, Chinese, Thai, what do you two want?”

Raina laughs, “You keep restaurants that deliver in your contacts?”

“They’re on my speed dial, it’s kind of a necessity that comes with the job.” Kas tilts his head and stares at Raina, his curiosity from earlier returning, “What are those programs you have working, whatever the hell they are working on, over there?”

She shrugs and starts to turn away, but he grabs her arm, knowing that shielded look of hers too well by now. “Huh uh, I asked you a question, now spill.”

Raina looks to Erik for some assistance, but he throws his hands up, “I’m with him on this one.”

“Okay, Thai,” she states simply and sits down, spinning around to the computer to check the progress, but Kas spins her chair back around.

“Cute, but you know that’s not what we meant.”

Raina sighs and gives in, “Fine, I developed those programs.”

Erik points at her excitedly, “I knew it!”

Sitting down, Kas stares at her incredulously, “So these are the programs you told me about when you bought your car?”

“Yes, they share a lot of the same qualities as genetic algorithms.”

“How many programs did you develop, Raina?”

“Just the two.”

“‘Just,’ between that word and ‘fine’, I really think you need to expand your vocabulary.”

Erik laughs at the sheepish expression on Raina’s face, then his stomach loudly growls, “Are you going to order the Thai food or what?”

At
three
in
the morning, they finally walk out to the parking garage, overwhelmed by exhaustion and the information they recovered from the destroyed computer that had belonged to El Diablo.

Kas already contacted Dexter, who immediately contacted Derrick, who has pulled El Diablo out of his not-so-peaceful slumber in his new 6 X 8 home and has him profusely perspiring in interrogation.

Kas’ mind works overtime as he thinks of how this ring of traffickers is much larger than they previously thought and spans several countries. There is a direct link between the Ghost and El Diablo, but they couldn’t recover enough data to track the trail sufficiently. Raina is right, Prizrak’s too freaking good, and it’s beginning to really piss him off.

They found out that there are several sub-groups within this ring, and they have only taken out three of them. Recovered e-mails gave information of another sub-group about four hours away, which is apparently actively recruiting new traffickers to bring in fresh girls. True to their intelligence so far, it looks like they are extensively checking backgrounds before they recruit.

Dexter has already authorized an undercover sting. Monday, Kas’ and Derrick’s teams will join again to plan and scout. Kas’ brow furrows as he considers the reach and intelligence of the ring, he knows they are going to have to be very careful and thorough when putting together a false identity that looks legit. Closing Raina’s door, he rubs his eyes as he slides into the driver’s seat, too exhausted to think anymore tonight. For now, he plans on taking Raina home and curling up next to her hot little body as she sleeps next to him.

The slam of the door awakens Raina, and she groggily looks around, momentarily disoriented. Her door swings open, and the chill of the early morning air causes her to shiver. Kas slips his jacket around her as she slides out of the jeep.

“I’m beyond beat,” Kas yawns as he unlocks the door and shuffles a very tired Raina inside.

“Uh, huh.”

“Do I need to carry you?” he laughs at her half-closed eyes.

She playfully nods, letting out a loud, surprised squeal when he sweeps her off of her feet and into his arms, heading directly towards his bedroom. “Hey, where are you going? I have to brush my teeth.”

He plops her onto the bed before heading back out of his bedroom door, returning a few seconds later with her toothbrush and toothpaste, “You have exactly two minutes to get ready and get back in bed so we can finish what we started earlier.”

All of the fatigue vacates her body as tingles of anticipation run through every part of her, warming her low in her belly. Kas brushes his teeth before grabbing his t-shirt, tossing it to Raina again, and then he turns around and rips his own shirt over his head. Her blood pulses through her veins, chill bumps cover her arms, and a liquid heat warms the lowest part of her belly like hot silk. She watches the sinew ripple of the muscles on his back as his body moves when he pulls off his shirt.

Slipping underneath the covers, she sits up against the headboard of the bed and peeks through her lashes as he unbuttons the top button of his jeans. She knows she should turn away, but she doesn’t care a bit about what she should do at the moment. The heat between her thighs intensifies when he steps out of his jeans, standing magnificently in front of her in only his snug black briefs. She feels as if her heart is going to palpitate straight out of her chest at the sight of his pure masculine frame standing mere feet away from her. She struggles to find her voice as she whispers shyly, “Maybe I should go to my room tonight.”

Kas throws the covers back and climbs onto the bed next to her, causing her body to vigorously react with such force it frightens the wits out of her.

“You can trust me.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about trusting.”

He can’t help but puff up with pride at her confession, and at how her body reacts to his body being so close to hers. He can practically taste the raw need radiating off of her in hot waves. “Then, I will have to behave for the both of us,” he runs a strand of her auburn hair through his fingers. “But not yet,” he teases, his voice low and husky with desire.

Kas slips his hand underneath her hair and rubs his thumb down the back of her neck. His lips curl into a satisfied smile as Raina closes her eyes, tilts her head back, parting her lips slightly as a soft moan escapes. He has to remind himself that nothing more than kissing will happen tonight when he watches her run her tongue slowly across her lips, the wet sheen sending his manhood as erect as a marble statute.

Leaning down, he tastes her mouth, running his tongue softly over her lips. He doesn’t have to wait long before she grants him access, and he deepens the kiss, pulling her closer to him. He does his best to ignore the pulsating throb between his thighs as she runs her hand over his chest and around his shoulder, pulling him even closer.

The sweet sounds of Raina’s soft moans elicit a savage hunger deep inside of Kas, and he uses every last drop of his self-control to keep his hands where they are, not allowing them to roam freely over her needy body. He continues to drive her half out of her mind with his scorching kisses to the point she feels like she is going to combust if he doesn’t touch her. She grabs the sheet in her fist as he lays her down, his body slowly following hers as his mouth delivers sweet torture to her reeling senses.

Raina’s body trembles underneath his, and just when she feels like she is going to come completely undone, he moves his mouth lower, trailing mind-blowing kisses down her neck, causing her to fist the sheet as her body comes off the bed, pulled magnetically to his. She puts her hand on his chest and softly pushes against him, feeling like she can’t possibly take any more of the heady sensations overtaking her senses.

Gently, Kas takes Raina’s hands in his and pulls them over her head, his mouth never leaving her hot skin. He loosely holds her wrists in one hand as he runs his other hand slowly down her arm and side, igniting sparks that fly wildly inside of her. “Tell me to stop, and I will,” he whispers, pulling his lips away from her skin, leaving her body searing from the wet heat of his mouth tasting and teasing her.

She knows she should ask him to stop, beg him to stop, before the point of no return, but she can’t force the words out of her mouth. He takes her silence as his cue to continue to torture her with his hedonistic, talented mouth. Folling the hollow of her neck to the base of her collar bone, he leaves her writhing underneath him. He sends a hot, sensuous trail down the top of her chest, pulling the t-shirt lower, stopping just above the swell of her breasts, knowing if he goes any further, no amount of self-control can stop him from making her his tonight. Another moan escapes from her lips, and he feels her wrists twist against his hand. He loosens his grip even more, letting her know that she can free her hands whenever she wishes.

He moves his mouth back up her neck, finding hers, and conquering it again with his hunger. He feels his body boiling to the point of needing so intensely to be buried deep inside of her that he forces himself to pull away, leaving his heart pounding and his breathing ragged. “I think it’s time to stop now,” he manages to get out between shallow breaths.

Raina nods her head fervently, words still escaping her as her body tremors from the hungered passion. Kas sits back on his knees and drops his head, still trying to rein in the animalistic need in him. Raina lowers her hands, smoothing the t-shirt over her still slightly trembling body.

He reaches up and grabs her hand in his, bringing it to his mouth, softly kissing her knuckles as he finally regains control of himself. “You’re intoxicating, Miss Kapture, you’re killing me over here.”

Raina can’t help but smile slyly when she hears that she is affecting him, too, although her body feels like it’s the one going through withdrawal right now. She is becoming addicted to his touch, needing it more and more, and that sends her to terrifying and exciting heights.