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She exhaled, even a hint of him thinking her incompetent almost sent her into a tailspin. But she refrained from pointing out it was him who screwed up her op. She would have figured out how to handle Tat Woman and Sergei without his interference. The woman really posed minimal threat to her. Karasu already had a throwing knife ready to take her out before she could get a shot off. These people always had one fatal flaw. They wanted toaskquestions instead ofusetheir weapons. It always gave Karasu an advantage, and when it came to throwing knives, she rarely missed.
“You’re completely right.” He exhaled his exasperated breath against the damp skin of her neck, and she shivered. “Are you cold?” he asked, his big hand running up and down her arm. Damn, he was so warm. When he touched her, she closed her eyes as a wave of desire washed over her, puckering her nipples into hard knots of aching pleasure.
“No. If anyone should be cold. It’s you,” she muttered. He was half-naked and must be freezing, but he showed no signs of it.SEALs…
He nodded, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice. “They wouldn’t think to look for us in the trunk of their car. It’s beyond their mindset to think we would conceal ourselves right under their noses. What about the guy you had down? Does he know you?”
“No.” That wasn’t completely true. He would have recognized her…most likely from when he was a flunky for Ja back when she’d been held against her will. But that wasn’t a given. It was years later. She wasn’t sure Sergei was all that sharp. “I had my hood on. He didn’t see my face.”
She could feel he was dying to ask her about who these people were and why she was here. “I can’t say. Don’t ask.”
“Fair enough. There were no cameras.”
“Of course not. They were trafficking women and children. They wouldn’t want that kind of evidence. It was a low-profile location for them. A waystation.”
Through the slit in the trunk, she saw the two officers come out of the building. Luckily, they weren’t transporting any suspects. They must have called the wagon for that. She closed the lid until it clicked to keep the trunk warning light from showing. It would only take her seconds to open it. She knew this model of sedan that the Bosnians drove and how to escape the trunk. For that matter, she knew how to get out of any vehicle, handcuffs, and a lot of cells.
The driver and passenger side doors opened and closed, the vehicle shaking a bit. It started up and then they were moving.
She didn’t want to wait until they got to their respective precinct. Too many cameras. The ride was tense, Preacher plastered against her with that damn hard on, making every inch of her ache.
It had been her intention to never see him again, to avoid contact, but the universe had a way of throwing them together, the unforgiving bitch.
She was so aware of him as a man, and so aware of the growing heaviness low in her body, she could barely think straight. She drew a deep, stabilizing breath, somehow keeping her cool, her control.
She didn’t want him to be celibate. She didn't want to want him like this. It was counterproductive to her job and her damaged heart. She had to be free to move, free to be secretive, just free. That meant technically alone. She had Volk, but he didn’t intrude into her personal space like Preacher.
She was poised on the brink of doing something incredibly foolish if she didn’t get away from him…like seduce him against his will. She knew she had the power, but it made her feel both turned on and ashamed.
But she had her own ghosts to fight. With her own life in such a mess, how could she even think about wanting to do battle with his?
4
It wasutter torture to keep his hands off her, especially when they were packed into the trunk like sardines. Every movement of the vehicle, every bump, swerve, turn, only made his dick harder, the sensual pressure of her shapely ass tucked into the curve of his groin nothing short of excruciating.
It was times like this that he began to rethink his celibate state. What the hell good was it doing him anyway? He’d just had his heart crushed by the sight of Striker living on the edge like that. His gut clenched when he thought about losing his spot on this team, or even worse, getting kicked out of the Navy.
He’d bought so deeply into Striker’s decision to save his brother, a fellow SEAL. He knew he was compromising himself, endangering his career when he entered that tat shop, but he couldn’t hang Karasu out to dry, especially when he realized that Volk wasn’t around. Curiosity was eating him up along with his desire to fuck Luna’s brains out. But it was clear to him now with her cool reception that something had changed between them—another thing that was bugging the crap out of him. He wanted answers from her and couldn’t get them while stuck in this trunk.
She turned her exotic face toward him. “Why were you on that street?” Her voice was low.
He so wanted to tell her it was classified and part of the op, but he couldn’t. He hadn’t brought up losing Striker to anyone, not even Iceman. First, it had been too raw, then it had felt so heavy and emotional. “It’s a long story, but it’s personal.”
“Oh, I see. Maybe one day you can tell me,” she whispered solemnly.
“Maybe.” He had no idea how that would work with their jobs. It both infuriated him and made him feel deep regret. Even if he and Karasu could overcome whatever it was that was bothering her, there were still barriers to the long haul. He was in the Navy for life, no doubt in his mind. He was aware he wouldn’t be able to operate forever, but he was going to do it as long as he could, maybe even have his own team one day.
“It wasn’t a total loss,” he murmured.
“Did you find something out?” She turned her upper body to see him better, her voice tight with emotion. “This is so important to me. I know I can be a bitch, but I’m a truth and justice bitch.”
He chuckled softly at that. “I got the license plate number of the sedan.”
“I could kiss you,” she breathed, then gave him a rare smile. “What is it?”
The anticipation on her face, and that slight smile, eased the haunted, hollow look in her eyes just a little. Preacher stared at her, feeling as if he had the keys to a treasure vault.
The vehicle went over a bump and Karasu’s ass slid up, then down on his dick. He grunted, his jaw clenched, his body instantly responding as pleasure shot like electricity through every pore, his blood humming. She turned her head to look at him again, her soft cheek against his, her mouth so close, but unreachable.
