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Turning to the bar, he poured drinks for them all before picking up his and Marty's and moving toward her.
"Let's sit. " Indicating the seating arrangement in the center of the room, Khalid moved past her.
There was no doubt she would follow. She was much too curious for her own good sometimes.
As she took a seat in the chair facing him, rather than on the couch next to him, Khalid had to restrain a smile. There were times when her innocence reminded him a great deal of Lessa, in a faraway time, a faraway country, the young woman who had entranced him and Abram.
Lessa had had that same sense of excitement, bravery, and courage. Marty's was better honed, her sense of caution more developed, and her passion deeper, hotter. But that familiarity was still there.
She terrified him at times with the courage. She was a trained agent, he understood that, but she was also his woman, a woman he had to trust to know her own boundaries and her safety. And he had to ignore that little voice in his head that warned him that there were law enforcement officers with the same training and the same boundaries who died every day.
Sighing, he stared at her. "I'm sorry, little flower," he said, as Shayne took his seat on the matching sofa to the side of Khalid's.
"Why?" She was watching him with that caution now, as though deciding if she'd let him live another day.
"For the protective impulses that will always irritate you," he finally stated. "They are a part of my nature, though I do attempt to rein them in whenever possible. "
Her gray eyes darkened before her lashes lowered for a second, as though to give herself a chance to hide her emotions.
"It would help if he hadn't been trying to find ways to protect you for the past eight years or so," Shayne drawled, drawing Marty's surprised glance. "Khalid doesn't trust fate overly much. "
"I don't need his protection, or yours," she told them both flatly, as she stared back at them.
Frustration ate at her. Khalid could see it in her eyes. She needed to follow her dreams no matter the inherent danger she faced.
"This is insane. " Rising to her feet, she paced several feet from them before turning and glaring at them. "You've been focused on me since I was eighteen years old, and yet you couldn't let me know. You had to wait until I was assigned to investigate you? For God's sake, this is like the night from hell. What other little secrets are you keeping from me?"
He could hear the hurt in her voice. The attraction had been there between them, even when she was younger, but not the maturity she needed to handle his desires.
"You needed to mature," he answered softly. "You were simply too young for what I needed from you, Marty. Too young and too innocent. "
Instantly, as though his words struck fire to a fuse, sexuality flamed through the room. Lust began to beat in his veins as he watched her eyes darken, her face flush. She knew, and she wanted.
"You're dying to share me," she stated, her voice husky, sweetly aroused.
"I want it more than my next breath," he revealed, though a part of him regretted the pain that it might cause her.
"Have I been protesting?" she whispered, her voice filled with arousal now.
"There have been no protests," Khalid assured her then, his voice soft as she stared at him.
Khalid knew that Shayne was convinced that Marty was in love with him. He'd warned Khalid on many occasions of the hazards of breaking her heart.
"None whatsoever," she promised before moving slowly, easily, toward Shayne.
Khalid watched as she moved, the determination that flared in her eyes, the excitement and energy that seemed to flow from her body. She was going to test herself as well as the two of them, he could see it in her face.
"Beware, love," Khalid warned her, watching as Shayne rose from the sofa. "You could tease too far. "
She moved against the other man anyway, brushing her sweet, lithe body against his side.
"Really?" The temptress began to emerge.
Khalid felt his dick harden painfully, his balls tightening in pure white-hot lust.
"Shall we see what your limit is, then?" she asked as she moved back from Shayne, watching them as they watched her, her body moving sinuously to the music echoing through the room.
As he watched, her hands lifted, her fingers moved to the buttons of her blouse, and his mouth went dry. Sweet God have mercy on him. The acceptance suddenly filling her face nearly had him coming in his slacks.
