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Uncertainty gripping her, she paused on the verge of bolting, her insides balling up into a hard lump. There was no acknowledgment from him, and her doubts swarmed in on her. Her fear was so intense, it made her mouth dry. She had allowed her aversion to tough situations to deter her from asking the hard questions or dealing with her own deep, potentially painful feelings. With Max, whom she’d loved, but had been too afraid to deal with that scary emotion, and with Ben who had used her for sex and to advance his own career. Not now. Shark was very important to her, and if she never asked, she would never know.
Gripping the doorjamb, her voice strained, she said, “I thought you were sleeping.”
Shark dropped off the bar, and turned toward her, his surprise registering on his face. Realizing that he hadn’t heard her, and oddly bolstered by that, she came further into the room.
“I can’t sleep when the guys are on an op.” His jaw hardened, and his eyes flashed. He stared at her for a moment then looked down, his expression going inscrutable.
She wished he would look at her. She wished she didn’t feel so damned uncertain, but her days of pretending bravado were behind her. Owning her feelings put her squarely in the present, engaged and open to whatever was going to happen.
She took a breath and collected her courage. “I wanted to apologize for my recklessness in the palace, yet I’m still convinced I did the right thing. I wouldn’t ever put you at a disadvantage if I could help it.”
His profile taut with strain, Shark picked up a set of hand weights and started pumping them, something almost defensive in the set of his shoulders. Her pulse frantic in her throat, Maddy hugged herself, waiting for him to say something. When the silence stretched on, realization finally filtered through. There wasn’t going to be a response. Rejection in words would have been bad enough, but rejection by silence was even worse, and she turned, feeling like a fool.
But before she had time to reach the doorway, a strong, calloused hand gripped her wrist. She tried to pull free, but he held her fast, his voice gruff, and unsteady when he whispered, “Don’t, Maddy. Don’t.”
A single dismayed sound broke from her, and he pulled her around, gathering her up in an embrace so strong, so tight, that Maddy felt almost lost in it. His hand rough against her face, he tucked her body against his. Maddy shivered, so many sensations breaking loose inside her that she could barely handle them all. But what finally unhinged her was the way he tucked back her hair and pressed his face against hers. It was such a tender touch, doing unbearable things to her heart, and Maddy abruptly turned her face into the curve of his neck, sliding her arms around him.
“Ah, Maddy,” he whispered hoarsely against her hair. “What am I going to do with you?” He smoothed back her hair with his thumb, then brushed his mouth against her temple. And that one single, gentle caress devastated her, and she caught him by the back of his neck and turned her face against his. There was an instant, just an instant when he went so still. Then he inhaled sharply and lifted her face, covering her mouth in a hot, starving kiss.
Maddy made a low sound, succumbing to the urgency clamoring in her, her mouth going slack beneath his, desperate for the taste of him. His fingers tangling in her hair, Shark shifted his hold and dragged her up against him. A frenzied weakness pumped through her when she felt him against her thigh. Another low sound was driven from her, and Shark spread his hands wide against the back of her head, increasing the pressure of his mouth as the kiss turned hot and urgent, as though some uncontrollable need had broken loose. Feeling as if she was drowning in the fever he created in her, Maddy clung to him, yielding up everything—everything—the searching, hungry heat of his mouth electrifying her, the feel of his hand against her face destroying her.
He pushed her up against the wall. “Maddy…” he whispered. “You drive me crazy.” His hand delved beneath her flimsy dress, and he made an incoherent sound low in his throat when he found her naked and wet for him. Locking one arm around her hips, he dragged in a hard, ragged breath of air, then lifted her up against him.
With an agonized groan, he found her mouth in a fierce, wild, hot kiss, then he shifted, and she went a little crazy when she felt him free himself. Moving her hips to accommodate him, she ground her mouth against his and lifted her hips to meet his thrust, impaling herself on his hot, rigid erection. He thrust fully in, his mouth hungry and wild. She rode him with a frantic rhythm, his penetration tormenting and so hard and hot inside her. Buried deep inside her, he rocked against her, and Maddy lost all contact with reality as the sensations converged, and she cried out and arched stiffly against him, the explosion rocketing her off into a splintering release. But before the first contraction finished shuddering through her, he clutched at her, a violent tremor coursing through him. His whole body rigid with a shattering tension, he made a rough sound and pushed her harder against the wall, his own release eliciting a deep, aching groan from his chest.
Fierce spasms continued to convulse through her body, and she clung to him, incoherent and shredded with pleasure.
Fighting for breath, she cradled his head against the curve of her neck, a fierce, almost frantic protectiveness welling up in her.
She closed her eyes, fearing that her battle to succumb to love was over. And at that instant, she was sure the only thing that was holding her together was the savage strength of his arms.
It took a few minutes for them to catch their breath, for the storm of emotion to ease, but when she could at last collect her senses, she hugged him and stroked his hair, profoundly moved by the care he had taken with her.
Shark stirred, and she lifted her head and found his mouth, kissing him with infinite gentleness and care. Brushing the hair back from her temple, he released an uneven sigh and kissed her back, his mouth warm and gentle.
He exhaled raggedly, then released her as her feet dropped to the floor. In one smooth move, he pulled up his shorts. Then he kissed her again as she fingered the soft silk of his hair. She kissed his temple, an aching tenderness filling her chest. “I thought you were done with me,” she whispered unevenly against his cheek. “Or you were immune.”
He lifted his head, his touch leaving her breathless as he kissed the corner of her mouth. “Are you kidding? None of the above. I was trying really hard not to come to you tonight. I have three teammates out there, and I was trying to be professional,” he said, his tone husky and intimate. “But there you are in that see-through gossamer garment, so beautiful and so alive. I lost it.”
“Gossamer? You are a poet. My warrior poet.”
He chuckled softly. Brushing her hair back with his knuckles, he lifted her chin and gave her another light kiss, then released his breath in an unsteady sigh. “Come to bed with me, Maddy,” he whispered gruffly.
Fighting against the surge of emotion, knowing that she was allowing herself to put off the talk about whatever kind of future they could have. She wasn’t quite ready to fully let go of her habitual need to immerse herself in all the good stuff. And this was some damn good stuff.
Up in her bedroom, he took a quick shower as she cleaned up. She pulled off her gossamer gown and slid into bed. She started to doze but woke up when he got under the covers and pulled her against him. Sliding his hand up the back of her head, he deepened the kiss, molding her against him with the weight of his body.
“I need to hold you.” Overwhelmed by her emotions, Maddy turned into his embrace. His kiss intensified when her naked breasts grazed his chest. Slipping his hand up her hip and across her back, he separated his legs and settled her between his thighs, and Maddy’s breath caught at the feel of his naked, muscled body molded fully against hers. Raking her hair back, Shark drew back from the kiss, then firmly nestled her head into the curve of his shoulder. “Let’s get some sleep, Maddy,” he whispered gruffly.
Maddy closed her eyes, loving the feel of his arms around her, feeling mostly safe and secure. There was still some…resistance in him. Something was bothering him. She would have to get to the bottom of it before they could move on. But she’d put that off for another time.
* * *
Twister followed Tex and Flash through the dark night. When his LT went to one knee, they ducked down. “We’re approaching the perimeter,” Tex said.
“Copy that,” TOC replied through their earpieces. “Give the word when you’re about thirty seconds out.”
“Copy,” Tex said, then he straightened and headed toward the bright lights of the palace in the distance. Everything showed green through his night vision goggles. Flash shifted the burn bag on his shoulder, but for this op, it was going to be more about thieving than it was about gathering data.
