He was in deep shit.
He didn’t have time to ponder that particular revelation because his sat phone went off.
Goddamn it. Not now. Anytime but now.
Maren stirred and lifted her head with a frown. “What’s that noise?”
He sighed. “I have to take that. Sorry.”
She started to slide off him but he rolled, gently setting her aside before he reached over her to where he’d put the phone on her nightstand.
“This better be goddamn important,” he growled into the phone.
“Steele, it’s Sam. Sorry, I know you’re taking downtime, but I need you for this. Rio and his team already drew a mission.”
Steele’s lips tightened and he glanced sideways to where Maren was lying on her side, head propped in her hand as she silently watched him.
“Give me the rundown,” Steele said.
“How soon can you be here?” Sam asked. “Don’t have time to get into it now. I have more calls to make. Are you going to contact your team or do you want me to call them in?”
“I’ll call them,” Steele said shortly. “I’ll be there in twelve hours.”
He laid the phone aside and then turned to Maren. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Sam needs me.”
She didn’t quite quell her disappointment. Her eyes dimmed even as she nodded her understanding. He wasn’t any happier about the interruption than she was.
He leaned down, tucking one finger underneath her chin and lifting so her lips were even with his. He kissed her lingeringly, savoring the sensation of her soft mouth against his.
“This isn’t finished,” he said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Do you understand?”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Be careful, Steele. I’d rather you not come back because you need medical attention. I want you to come back because I’m irresistible.”
He grinned. “I think that’s a safe bet, although if I end up hurt, I won’t turn down your medical expertise. You can kiss it and make it better.”
“Deal,” she said.
Though he knew he had to get moving if he was going to make it back to Tennessee when he’d said he would, he was reluctant to leave her bed. He hesitated, watching her, tempted to roll her back over and slide deep inside her.
And then he thought, why not? He had no idea how long he’d be gone—and he had every intention of returning so they could address whatever it was between them—and there was always the chance, on any mission, that he wouldn’t make it back.
He leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her and rolling until he was atop her. He made a grab for a condom, only to not find them where he’d left them.
“It’s okay,” she whispered as she smoothed her hands over his face.
Still, he hesitated. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “It’s been a long time for both of us. I’m clean. You’re clean.”
“The idea of being inside you without a condom is right up there in my top three fantasies.”
She laughed softly. “Well, since I’m pretty sure we’ve already knocked out the rest of your top five, you may as well take out the third. You’ll have to think of new fantasies while you’re gone so we can work on those when you get back.”
He slid inside her and groaned as she went wet and silky around his cock. His jaw tightened as he fought off his impending release. Two seconds inside her and he was ready to erupt.
He rested his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling. Then he kissed her softly as he held himself still inside her.
“You make me want to do something I’ve never done before,” he admitted. “I’m tempted to call Sam back and tell him I can’t do it.”
She stroked his jaw and then raised her lips to kiss him. “You’ll be back.”
“Yeah. Count on it, Maren.”
He began to move inside her, slow and leisurely. He wanted to prolong the moment, wanted to savor his last minutes with her before the real world intruded again.
Her legs wrapped around him, trapping him against her, and her arms circled his shoulders, her fingers digging into his back.
He kissed her again, their tongues colliding as he deepened the kiss.
“I’m coming back,” he said in a strained voice. “Believe that, okay? I know I never said I’d be back that first time, but this isn’t over. We’re not finished. As soon as I wrap things up, I’m heading back.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Her eyes flared and her body tightened, suddenly going hot and wet around his cock. Her pussy fluttered and clenched him tighter as her orgasm rolled through her body into his. He thrust deeper, committing to memory just how good she felt without the barrier of latex. And he knew he’d never have her again with a condom. No way in hell he’d go back after experiencing her silky softness against his skin.
He plunged inward again and then began thrusting hard and deep as his release swept over him, colliding with hers. They strained together, moving in rhythm, each reaching and desperate for the same thing.
And then he collapsed on her, covering her completely as he tried to catch his breath.
“Incredible,” he murmured. “I’m so damn sorry we didn’t have more time.”
She kissed his shoulder and smoothed her hands over his back. “We’ll have time later.”
He lifted himself off her and kissed her one last time. “Bet your ass we will. No force on earth is going to keep me from coming back to you.”
CHAPTER 14
MAREN stared at the fax machine as the results of the labs she’d couriered out began to print. She held her breath, nearly paralyzed with nervousness. Steele had departed three days earlier, and she hadn’t heard from him—not that she’d expected to. There was no telling just how long he’d be gone, and the very last thing she’d wanted to do when he was leaving on a mission was to tell him she might be pregnant with his child.
She hadn’t wanted him to leave without knowing, but then she’d thought that he’d still be there when she got the test results back and she could tell him face to face. But telling him that kind of news, and that she didn’t even have confirmation yet, when he needed absolute focus and concentration wasn’t the right thing to do. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate when his mind was occupied with the knowledge that he might be a father? No, she couldn’t drop that kind of bomb on him, and now she was glad she hadn’t told him the minute he’d arrived because the result would have been the same. He would have had to go before she got the official results, and he’d be left wondering.
Or maybe he would have actually told Sam he couldn’t go? It was a possibility, and one she would have never considered. His job was everything. It consumed his life. He’d admitted he was as married to his career as she was to hers.
But now she was faced with the results, and she’d give anything for him to be here right now. It was selfish of her. Steele saved people. It was who he was, and he was important to KGI. But she wanted him here with her to face the news, whatever it was.
The results were finished printing from the fax machine, but still, she stared down at the papers, hesitating as if they were a creepy bug about to bite her.
“Quit being such a coward,” she muttered. “You knowing one way or another doesn’t change what is. If you’re pregnant, you need to know. If you’re not, then you still need to know.”
After having an argument with herself, she snatched up the printouts and walked back to her desk. She placed the papers in front of her and then sat, taking a deep breath.
She rifled through, looking for the name she’d put on her labs. She’d go back and read the other reports later. If she attempted to make sense of them now, she’d just have to do it all over again anyway. Her only focus was on knowing whether she was pregnant.