“Let go of me.”
“Not until you quit fighting me. Why do you attack me every time you see me?”
“And why do you stab me in the back every time you see me?”
“It’s not what it seems.”
“You keep saying that-right before you screw me again.”
Hunter captured her gaze for a moment before he spoke. “Whatever you think I’ve done, forgive me. I love you-more than anything. I’ve never intentionally done anything to harm you.”
She drew back her leg, preparing to ram her knee into his groin, then she looked into his eyes and wasn’t all so sure. Something about his eyes made her feel that he really did love her. She lowered her leg.
His eyes pled with her as he spoke. “And right now I need you. A lot of people are trying to kill me.”
“And I’m one of them. You know, I was ready to forgive you and help you-that’s when you stole my truck.”
“I was trying to tell you when you wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise. Rubicon has someone on the inside at Black Management. That’s how they got the information about your job sites. I couldn’t take the risk.”
“But you can now?”
“I’m desperate.”
“You know I want to believe you.” She tried not to notice how natural it felt for her body to scrape against his, then she realized he probably had the same feelings about her. She tilted her head and looked up at him, inviting a kiss. He lowered his head toward her and gently touched his lips against hers. She kissed him hard and lost herself briefly. But she wanted to lead him to the edge and make her move there. Whether or not she went ahead with Chronister’s contract, she had to escape from Hunter’s grip. It was a matter of pride. The only problem was that it felt good, too good. Her tongue played with his, luring it into her mouth, but he would only dart inside for a few seconds, so she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, then she bit down hard.
Hunter was experiencing a joy he’d almost forgotten over the past few days, even years. His mind raced to restore everything that had been between them, then a sharp pain jolted him. “What the-” He jerked his head away and accidentally bit down on the loose tooth, ramming it deeper into the tender socket.
The second he realized he’d let up a little, he tightened his hold but the soap made his hands slide. Her naked body rammed against him and he bumped back. He gyrated with each thrust, twisting, turning together, a dance of warriors. Her fingernails dug into his wrist. God, he wanted her. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.” Her elbow smacked him in the ribs. He was starting to think that maybe she really didn’t want him.
“Whatever they’re telling you about me isn’t true. I couldn’t get the evidence, but I know Rubicon is working with the tangos. They think I know something and I wish I knew what the hell it was.”
“Why don’t you run to your CIA friends for help?”
“I’ve been burned, even with my unit. And I’m not OGA. I’m with Force Zulu.”
“My contact told me you were with the Agency-that the Bushmen wouldn’t have you. The Agency helped you fake your death so you could get away from me and marry that Julia bitch.” Stella jabbed her thumb into the tender spot under his arm. It brought tears to his eyes as her thumbnail cut his skin and dug into the tender flesh, but he breathed deeply and resisted the pain. She knew how to do it right.
“What the hell are you talking about? You can’t be serious. The Julia thing is part of the legend Zulu created for me to use when I infiltrated Rubicon.” He hooked his foot around hers as he pivoted away, then swung back suddenly, slamming himself against her. She tripped. He guided her head away from the sink as he forced her down. The floor space in the trailer’s bathroom was barely large enough for her. He straddled her, pinning her on her back. Her breasts looked a little smaller, but rounder and her nipples were now perked out. Maybe she did want him, but then the air conditioning was blasting. “There is no real Julia Lewis from Tacoma. You’ve been in this business long enough to know how things work. She’s part of my cover-that’s all. Whatever Rubicon is telling you is a lie.”
“It didn’t come from Rubicon. It was CIA. I find it hard to believe that my Agency contact is lying.”
“Really? With all the people leaving the profession to go work for Rubicon and outfits like yours, don’t you think it’s possible that someone’s positioning himself for retirement? Or that the Agency’s finally getting it that Force Zulu is a bigger threat to them than the KGB ever was? We’re better at human intel and direct action than they’ve ever been and someday the president is going to realize that and force the Agency to step aside.” She wiggled underneath him, but didn’t try hard to resist. He knew Stella. She was only making it look real while she waited for the right opportunity, so he had to make sure she didn’t find it. Holding her wrists, he stretched out on top of her. Her velvety skin was right there pressing against him, but his clothes were sandpaper, irritating him with each movement. He wanted to rip them off and feel skin. “I want you.”
“Yeah, I can feel that.” She bumped her thighs against his pelvis. “I’d give anything to step back in time and stop you from faking your death and trying to shield me from whatever baggage came along with being a Bushman.”
Stella moved her hips back and forth underneath him, back and forth. Hunter wasn’t sure if it was for real or if she was working on a distraction so she could attack. She knew he couldn’t resist danger, the warrior’s aphrodisiac. His groin moved in rhythm with hers. “I wanted to protect you.”
“More like you chose your career over me.”
“I said I was wrong. I can’t change what I did. Please forgive me. I love you.”
Stella cracked a smile. Hunter could see hints of a deeper emotion radiating from her green eyes. As a soldier, he knew he had to exploit any weakness he found in an enemy. Stella wasn’t exactly an enemy in the traditional sense, but he had learned long ago the difference between war and love made the battlefield the safer endeavor-or at least the less painful one. He had suffered the loss of friends in combat and moved on, but he knew he could never recover from losing Stella. The battle with her was one he had to fight to win.
“I’m the old-fashioned kind of guy who believes there’s only one woman in the world out there for me. Stella, honey, you’re that woman. Look me in the eyes. If you can tell me you don’t have that feeling way down inside that we belong together, I’ll walk away and I’ll never bother you again. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me. Can you do that?”
Stella opened her mouth, then closed it. She blinked several times, but Hunter saw the tears anyway.
“I was hired to kill you,” she said.
“So you’re saying you think we belong together?”
“I’m saying I agreed to kill you.”
“You gonna do it?” He sensed such anger underneath the surface and such a sense of betrayal in her that he really didn’t know the answer and he wasn’t entirely convinced that she’d give him an honest one.
“They didn’t say how they wanted it done.” She raised her head toward his, her mouth open just enough so he could see her sharp little teeth.
Chapter Thirty
Camp Raven, the Green Zone, Baghdad
The leather sofa in the Black Management trailer really wasn’t wide enough for Camille and Hunter, but it was bigger and more comfortable than the bathroom floor, so they made it work. Camille woke up with Hunter spooning her, his muscular arms wrapped around her, keeping her from tumbling off the edge. Her skin was clammy, her hair matted with shampoo and she smelled of sex, but she was happy. She caressed his arm and felt a scar on his left bicep that she didn’t remember. She traced its outline with her finger. Hunter muttered something and shifted his legs.