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“I can’t tell if you’re joking.”
I raised a brow. “Of course you can, and I’m not. You know what I’m thinking at least half the time.”
“What about you? Do you know what I’m thinking?”
While she was trying to be flirtatious, I did know what she was thinking, and I didn’t like it one bit.
18
VERITY
The silly romantic in me wished Zeppelin and I could return to our chalet in St. Moritz and pretend we were equally crazy about each other. I knew once we returned to the command center where all of Zeppelin’s MI6 cronies were, his infatuation with me, my lips in particular, would quickly fade from memory. For him, anyway.
Me? I’d been sneaking glances at Zeppelin when I was certain no one was looking—especially him—since the day we met. The feelings of longing I had for him would increase exponentially now that I knew how it felt to kiss him, to have him suckle my breast, and press his hardness against me while his hands squeezed the cheeks of my bottom.
He’d joked that the animosity between us was a result of pent-up sexual frustration. He’d nailed it more than he realized, now that I allowed myself to think honestly about my feelings for him. Somewhere deep inside, I knew Zeppelin would never look at me the way he had the last few days again. That same intuitive feeling told me that, once our flight landed at Gatwick, he’d remove the metaphoric rose-colored glasses he viewed methrough now and look at me the way he saw me a few days ago—a woman he couldn’t abide.
My heart wouldn’t be broken, but it would hurt. Each time I gazed at him and he looked right through me would be like a knife in my chest.
Even when I threatened to call Nemesis and tell her the undercover mission and our pretending to be a newly married couple wasn’t working, I didn’t feel the same resolve I did now. I’d miss working with the other members of the coalition, Zeppelin especially, but I had to move on. It was time I reported to my new duty. I was a member of Unit 23. Any missions I participated in from now on needed to be for them.
“Verity?”
I looked into his eyes and realized Zeppelin was studying me. “Yes?”
Rather than speak, he moved his hands to the back of my thighs, lifted me, and took several steps, not stopping until my back was against the wall. With my legs around his waist, I could feel his rigid cock pressed against my pussy. He kept one hand on my arse, cupped my face with the other, then kissed me. More, his mouth made love to mine. An ache throbbed in my chest, thinking about how much I’d miss this. How much I’d miss the man I’d gotten to know the last few days. He was such a good man, so much better than I’d believed him to be.
He broke our kiss, his hand moved to my neck, and he tightened his grip. “Stop thinking about anything but this. Be present with me, Alena. Focus on how well our bodies fit together, as if we were made for each other. He trailed kisses from my cheek and down my neck. “I cannot get the memory of the taste of your skin out of my mind, and I need more. So much more.”
“Zep—”
His mouth returned to mine, and he silenced me by pressing my lips open with his tongue. I’d never been kissed that way in my life, and soon, I never would be again.
“Did you not hear me, Alena? Do you not feel how fucking much I want you?”
“I cannot do this. We cannot,” I cried. The idea that the first time we made love would also be the last had me clinging to him, never wanting to let him go.
“This isn’t the end. I won’t let it be. I’ll respect your wishes that we not share what’s between us with anyone at the command center, but I will not let you go. Let this go. That’s whatIcannot do.”
“Zeppelin—”
“Henry, dammit. Say it. Say my name.”
“Henry,” I cried as tears spilled onto my cheeks.
“Don’t let go of me,” he begged. “Don’t let go of us. I can feel you slipping away from me, and I can’t bear it.”
He kissed me again, as if his mouth on mine would convince me better than his words did.
“Please,” he said against my lips. “Please, Alena. Don’t leave me.”
I turned my face and rested my cheek against his. “It’s you who will leave me.”
He shook his head, grinding his hardness against the throbbing need between my thighs. “This is what you do to me. I’ve never felt desire like I have for you. I need you like I need my next breath. I’ve never begged a woman for anything in my life, but I’m pleading with you now. Let me make love to you, Alena.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “And once you do, the need will go away.”
“Never. My need for you will never diminish.”
