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TWELVE
Rook held his silenceas Kyele asked Tempest question after question. The disbelief of earlier faded and her answers became more and more brief. Sweat dotted her forehead from the overhead lights and she lost her defiant posture to slump in her chair from weariness.
It was clear she still suffered under the effects of the sedative he’d used. Dehydration and extended fatigue which could take hours to recover from were common signs. Kyele slammed the tip of his knife into the table after a particularly snarky answer and she jumped, blue eyes going wide. The first stirring of true fear glimmered in their depths.
They’d been in here for a while and his Unit Leader showed no signs of letting up. Rook fisted his hands under his arms and fought the urge to get her a drink as she’d requested when she first came around. The more Kyele pressed, the more he had to control the urge to leap across the room and stand in front of her.
His need to protect her was inexplicable but there nonetheless. He choked down the rumbling growl threatening to break from his chest.
To her credit, Tempest’s responses hadn’t changed. No, she didn’t kill the men on the list they’d attained. No, she wasn’t after Jarad Oolun as a slighted ex-lover.Theyobviously had her confused with someone else.
Her gaze suddenly swung toward Rook. Betrayal and...hurt flickered as she snarled, “All I’m guilty of is trusting the wrong man. Is your name even Roarke Callim or is that a fake identity like you’re accusing me of having?”
Outwardly, he controlled his reaction while his breath hitched. She was right. He’d used her. Betrayed her trust. But it was a job. One he’d had to do and would do again.
“This isn’t about Roarke. If you’ll give me a moment, I have a few more questions,” Kyele interrupted, seeking to draw her attention back to him.
Tempest leaned forward, staring at Rook in such disbelief he wanted to jerk his gaze away but didn’t. He held her contemptuous gaze and kept his expression bland.
“Do you even care about the truth? I shared a part of myself that I’ve never revealed to another. I trusted you!” she blasted.
Fuck, who was he fooling? He couldn’t sustain the weight of her glare and shifted his eyes to Kyele who moved his hand in a small signal to hold his silence. Denial rose but he choked down the words he wanted to speak in his defense.
At his lack of a response, Tempest rolled her eyes. “I get it. Just a job, right? You drugged me in my sleep after taking my body for your pleasure and I’m the one being questioned. What are you—military?
“Let me guess—a government agency being paid by Jarad Oolun or his family. Maybe I turned down a sexual overture from him at some point in the past and this is his way of getting back at me. By lying and bribing law enforcement under his control to abduct me.”
He stilled. Because she didn’t look away from him, she missed the furrow forming between Kyele’s brows. Rook could almost read his thoughts. Could their intel be wrong? What if thiswasan elaborate ploy by Oolun or his family?
The knock on the door prevented either of them from responding to her accusation. Kyele rose to open it, but Tempest didn’t release Rook from her penetrating stare. Her lips moved as she mouthed,“I hate you.”
He dropped his hands to his side and took a step toward her. To apologize or what, he wasn’t sure but Kyele caught his attention and signaled him to hold position. “Be back.”
As soon as the door closed, Tempest spoke. “This is how you get women? Abducting them after drugging them?”
“You were wanted for questioning,” he said, eyeing her scornful glare.
“Mission or assignment comes first, huh? That is what this is, right? Some sort of law enforcement mission,” she spat.
When he didn’t answer, she laughed. Not the merry sound that curled in his belly and warmed his blood. A dismissive noise filled with a vicious edge. The bitter sound stung in comparison to the lush notes from before.
The look in her eyes combined with the three words she’d said sent him storming across the room. He grabbed her hair at the back of her neck and jerked. “This isn’t a game.”
Tempest’s lips thinned into a flat line. Blue eyes burned with fury. “Then stop playing with me. You think I don’t see what’s going on? I’m in a military or law enforcement facility of some sort. You tricked me. Lied!”
Ensnared by the growing ire in her gaze, he wasn’t sure what compelled him to do what he did next. He leaned forward and jerked her face close then kissed her. Tempest stiffened. He waited for her teeth to appear, for the bite of pain to bring him back to his senses.
Instead her lips parted and she kissed him back with ruthless determination. Her tongue swiped the inside of his mouth, licked the edges of his teeth and attacked his own tongue with aggressive strokes.
He tightened his hold in her hair, twisted her head up higher on a growl. Lust blasted through his senses. He forgot the reasons she was here, forgot everything but this moment, this woman kissing him with skill and something deeper. He groaned and fought to regain his much lauded control.
It was nowhere in sight. The longer he stood here, the more the insane need inside him grew. He wanted to take her, wrap his fist in the back of her dress, jerk her from the chair and bend her over the table while he pounded his cock into her wet heat.
He’d remind her of their night and force the truth from her. Because Rook knew for damn sure with every word she’d uttered to each question Kyele asked was a lie. He just didn’t know why.
Steps outside thumped near. He ripped his mouth away from hers, panting. She gazed at him with passion swollen lips, slick from their violent kiss, her eyes heavy lidded. Dazed, he backed up, stumbled and reached the wall as the door opened.
Kyele stuck his head inside, his gaze landed on Tempest then swung to the side, catching Rook’s eye. Questions hovered but all he said was, “Rook, you’re needed.”
