Guilty Pleasure

2

Marty escaped Zach’s home, as well as her fathers’ presence, without the lecture she had been expecting. Actually, she had managed to escape without so much as a fatherly talk. That one surprised her more than she wanted to admit.

Her fathers had never been shy when it came to discussing any aspect of life with her, claiming that they would prefer her to be prepared than to see her regret any actions she might take.

Khalid had already left. She had been disappointed that he wasn’t there when she came back from her shower. Disappointed that the adventure in the kitchen had come to an end so soon.

Her lips quirked in a smile as she drove from Zach’s home and headed to the heart of downtown Alexandria.

Kissing Khalid was more than an adventure, she thought. It had been a headlong flight into such the sensual core of pleasure that she would never have been able to pull herself free if he hadn’t released her.

She licked her lips and remembered the feel of his. At first gentle, exploring and relishing, before becoming hungry, before consuming her with sensations she hadn’t expected.

Damn. She wasn’t going to survive the hunger raging through her. At this rate, she would burn to a crisp.

Making the turn into the downtown area, Marty directed the car to the restaurant and nightclub that she and several friends had agreed on for a nice little girls’ night out.

Alyssa Stanhope had been a friend since childhood. She had always envied the other woman for her naturally streaked, blond hair, and soft, light blue eyes. For years, Marty had thought that Alyssa’s life must be perfect, because of her tall, statuesque good looks. The truth was quite the opposite. Her father was a long-standing member of the U.S. Senate and an acquaintance of the Mathewses that they never socialized with because of Senator Stanhope’s often cruel approach to his daughter.

Courtney Sinclair was Spanish, beautiful, and the wife of the owner of the exclusive, secretive establishment known merely as “the club.” An establishment Marty had tried to investigate once. Her father had put a stop to that faster than she could blink.

She grinned at that thought. Her father and godfather, both of whom she had called Father, or Dad, on any given occasion, were members of that club. Men who shared their lovers or their wives. Men gathered together to protect themselves, their families, and their own reputations. It was an interesting concept, she had to admit. From what little she had learned over the years, the concept was one that had kept many high-standing social, as well as political, members out of the hot seat when it came to their personal and even their business lives.

Alyssa and Courtney had an odd relationship. They argued like enemies but seemed to stick together like sisters. As different as night from day, the two women had still managed to find common ground.

While making her way from the parking lot to the restaurant, Marty glimpsed Khalid’s limo from the corner of her eye. His driver and bodyguard, Abdul, threw his hand up as he cast her a huge grin.

As she moved toward him, she smiled cheekily, knowing he would have something to say about the short skirt, snug top, and high heels she wore. Not to mention the makeup.

And she was right. He was now scowling as she walked toward him, his dark brown gaze filled with amusement and chastisement.

“So much beauty should never be displayed so indiscriminately,” he sighed, as she approached him. “It should be saved for the husband who would better appreciate it.”

“Give it a rest, Abbie.” She laughed, as he flushed from the nickname. “How are you doing?”

She accepted a gentle kiss on her cheek before moving back.

“I am doing well, very well,” he stated, with a sharp nod of his head. “The master, he is rather pissed with the world.” He grinned back at her mockingly. “Have you been following him again?”

“Oh, so it’s my fault he’s in a bad mood?” She gave a light laugh. At least she wasn’t the only one affected by the afternoon’s adventure. “Trust me, Abdul, Khalid and a bad mood go hand in hand.”

Abdul gave a heavy sigh, now staring at her with sad eyes, his weathered face creased into lines of concern. “I worry for him.”

“Well, don’t.” She patted his shoulder as she moved by him. “Trust me, Khalid takes care of himself very well. We both know that one by now.”

He took care of himself so well that he was one of her father’s deepest undercover agents. Khalid managed to get information no one else could access, and infiltrated groups that no other agent could hope to slip into alive.

Striding along the cement walk to the entrance of the nightclub and restaurant, Marty threw an appreciative smile at the large doorman as he opened the door for her with a flourish.

Entering the building, she took the left hall and moved along the rounded wall quickly to the hostess’s station and the smiling blonde standing in attendance.

“Ms. Mathews, it’s so good to see you back.” The hostess gave her a wide, toothy smile. “If you’ll come with me, your party is waiting.”

Her party wasn’t waiting where they had promised they would be, in the restaurant itself. They were sitting instead inside a private balcony that looked out over the dance floor of the nightclub.

Courtney was staring over the balcony rail with a frown, her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder and the dark wood and brass rail, while Alyssa sat along the side of the wall, watching the other woman, also with a frown.

Alyssa tended to sit in corners, to hide, whenever she was in public. There were too many wagging tongues that were too eager to run to her father with the news of where she was and who she was with. And often, they were complete lies.

“Is she drunk yet?” Marty asked the other woman, as Courtney tried to find an angle that would allow her to see better. Though what she was trying to see, Marty couldn’t decide.

“Not yet.” Alyssa sighed, a small attempt at a smile tugging at her lips as she picked up her drink and took a long sip. “Give her time, though. She’s pissed at Ian.”

Courtney flipped around to glare at them. “I am not pissed at Ian. I am simply mildly displeased.”

Marty glanced at Alyssa, then they both looked at the glass of wine as Courtney finished it.

“I give her an hour,” Marty stated, taking her seat before turning and giving the hostess her drink preference.

“I give her less than that, actually,” Alyssa said, as she shook her head, her blue eyes somber, her expression as carefully composed as always. It was rare for Alyssa to show emotion at all. She was the most carefully composed person Marty had ever met.

“I tell you both, tonight, I am not pissed at Ian.” Courtney spun around, her regal stature spoiled by the frown on her face as she looked at Marty. “And you are late.”

“So sorry.” Marty almost rolled her eyes. “I was busy today.”

Courtney narrowed her eyes at her. “I was by your parents’ home today. I saw your car, and Khalid’s, and I have been dying of curiosity. Ian has refused to tell me any gossip he may have heard.” She pouted charmingly. “Tell me there is gossip, Marty.”

It was all Marty could do to keep the flush from her face.

“Khalid was at the house to see Zach.” She shrugged. “No gossip there, sorry, Court.”

Lying to Courtney wasn’t easy. Most people couldn’t manage it. Marty had about a 50 percent success rate. Which wasn’t that good, considering how many questions the woman could ask.

Courtney stared at her for a long moment before smiling beatifically. “You are such a liar, my dear. But I’ll forgive you if you tell me the truth this moment. Otherwise, you will only force me to ask my good friend Khalid.”

Marty arched a brow quizzically. “If you’re such good friends, then he would have already told you any gossip there was to tell,” she pointed out. “Now stop interrogating me. We’re supposed to be having fun tonight.”

Courtney sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over the brilliant scarlet top she wore as she glared, first at Marty, then at Alyssa. “Why do my good friends want to withhold the juicy details from me? It’s not as though I ask for much.”

“Is she becoming more spoiled or what?” Alyssa stared at Marty in mock surprise. “I think Ian’s ruining her.”

“I think she’s the pot calling the kettle black.” Marty turned back to Courtney with a sweet smile. “Tell me what you know and I’ll tell you what I know.”

And, of course, Courtney couldn’t agree to that one. Marty watched as her friend glared at her once again, before huffing and picking up her drink.

“Are you still investigating Mustafa?” Alyssa asked Marty seriously. “You know Courtney won’t give you any information on him.”

“I want other information.” Marty shrugged. “The investigation is over. It’s personal now.”

Courtney perked up. “Personal?” She propped her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her hand. “How personal? Merely friends and concerned or ‘wanting to jump that luscious body’ personal?”

“She’s always wanted to jump his body.” Alyssa spoke low, in a too serious voice, as though afraid someone would hear her. “I believe we were fifteen at the time.” A smile almost tipped her lips.

“Almost sixteen.” Marty frowned back at her. “And that is really beside the point.”

Courtney rubbed her hands together gracefully, her smile wrinkling her pert nose. “Ahh, the downfall of Khalid. I could get into this. I really could.”

Marty simply stared back at her for long moments before leaning closer. “Who is his latest liaison?”

Courtney blinked back at her. “His latest lover? I don’t believe I’ve heard.”

“Who is he playing a third to?” Marty simplified the question.

Courtney narrowed her eyes, as though considering the question, before sighing heavily. “That information is not mine to give if you do not already have it. You know how this works, Marty. The rules are clear, and as a child of this world, I know you understand them well.”

Marty hated the rules. There were times she hated the world she was born into. The club. That damned club that her fathers were part of, that Khalid was part of. They guarded their privacy like America guarded its gold.

No one admitted to being part of the club, no one ever confirmed anyone else’s membership, and no one sure as hell revealed relationships. Especially Courtney, the wife of the too-arrogant, too-secretive owner of the club.

“Look, it’s not as though he’ll get involved with anyone else if he does start a relationship with you, Marty,” Alyssa stated then. “Khalid is very well-known; his reputation as a man who keeps his word is beyond reproach. While you’re with him, he wouldn’t be involved with anyone else.”

“That’s not the point,” Marty told them, as she leaned closer to the table. “To catch him, I first have to make certain I don’t have someone else standing in my way. Why make a fool of myself otherwise?”

The idea of seduction was slowly taking hold in her mind. Could she do it? Khalid was more experienced than she was by far. Other than the lapses today, he had managed to keep a careful distance between them.

“Trust me, there is no relationship.” Courtney waved the thought away. “The path is clear, my dear, and I’m certain we could help you if you were of a mind to truly capture our elusive Khalid. No other woman has managed to snag his heart before. You may be the first.”

She would be the only. Marty was determined in that. If she managed it, her intent was to seduce more than his body. She wanted his heart. To reach the heart, she just might have to take other paths first, though.

“How do you capture a man determined to stay away from you?” She sighed. “More than ten years, Courtney, and I’m still trying.”

“Men are stubborn.” Courtney shook her head in confusion. “They know they want us, want to possess us. They want the heart and the soul of a woman. The more they want it, the harder they run from it. Trust me, if he hasn’t taken you up on the invitations you have thrown at him, there could only be a few reasons why. One of which could be how much he does need you.” She shrugged as though it were the only logical explanation.

Could it be that simple?

Marty concentrated on her drink, the idea rushing through her mind with the force of a tidal wave. She knew he wanted her. He wanted her badly enough that he had nearly taken her in Zach’s kitchen. And his response hadn’t been lukewarm. He had been burning for her.

“Has something happened?” Courtney leaned closer. “Tell me, Marty, has our beautiful Khalid made a move?”

Marty glanced up, smiling. “Maybe.”

A soft, excited scream escaped her friend’s lips as a wide smile finally crossed her lips. “Tell me about it,” Courtney said. “What did he do?”

“Not much.” Marty laughed as Courtney’s expression fell from excited to disappointed.

She wasn’t comfortable giving her friends details. Besides the fact that Marty was aware that Khalid had once played in Courtney’s bed as the third in her relationship with Ian Sinclair before their marriage, there was also the fact that sharing such intimate details wasn’t something Marty could ever do, at least not easily.

“I should interrogate Khalid instead,” Courtney grumbled, her brown eyes filled with amusement. “Perhaps I could get the truth from him.”

“I doubt that one,” Marty retorted. “I don’t think Khalid gives anyone the truth about anything at any time.”

Courtney fell silent, her gaze thoughtful as she stared back at Marty for a long moment.

“Perhaps because no one has demanded the truth from him.” It was Alyssa who broke the silence.

Though she was serene and composed, her regal features somehow were heartbreakingly set into lines of thoughtfulness.

“No one has ever gotten close enough to him to get the answers they demand,” Courtney interjected. “Making him invest himself will be the hard part. That’s not something Khalid does easily.”

There had to be a reason for that, though. As the waiter appeared with menus the subject was dropped, but Marty had to admit the questions the conversation had raised intrigued her.

As Courtney said, Khalid didn’t invest himself in his relationships. The women he slept with weren’t his own; they were the wives or lovers of other men. He was the third in the relationships she had managed to uncover.

Not that it was ever easy to figure out who Khalid was involved with. But over the years she had developed an internal radar where he was concerned. She could sense whenever he was with a woman and if he was sleeping with her.

What would it take to get Khalid to invest himself in her? To steal his heart? God knew she had waited for him long enough, hungered for him with a power that kept other men at arm’s length despite the loneliness that often plagued her.

She wasn’t a one-night stand. And she couldn’t force herself to begin a relationship with another man only to manipulate him into bringing Khalid in as a third. That would never be enough for her. It could never satisfy the need inside her.

“Speak of the devil.” Courtney said, drawing Marty’s attention as the waiter refreshed their ice water. “There is our elusive prey, my dear. Watch how he moves through the crowd, his gaze scanning, searching faces. Perhaps he’s looking for you?”

Marty’s gaze was drawn to the dance floor where, as Courtney pointed out, Khalid was moving through the throng of dancers, his gaze restless, his expression predatory.

Dressed in that white silk shirt and those blue jeans, he looked every inch the dangerous creature he truly was. Silk could never hide the strength in his body or the determination in his eyes.

Marty watched curiously as he paused at the edge of the dance floor, his gaze sweeping around once more before it lifted, and within seconds met hers.

A brutal punch of sensation slammed into her womb as his black eyes captured hers and held them. Heat flushed her body, bringing her nerve endings to life as they sizzled with anticipation and the memory of a touch so filled with pleasure that they ached for more.

Her breasts became swollen, her nipples hard. Her clit swelled instantly and throbbed as she felt her sex begin to heat, to dampen.

Her lips parted as she watched him, her breathing became harder, rougher. The memory of his touch swept through her, weakening her until she wondered whether her knees would hold her up if she actually stood to her feet.

For long, brutally intense seconds he held her gaze, stroking her with his eyes alone before his attention was pulled from her, leaving her shaking and fighting to hide the effect he had on her.

“My God,” Courtney whispered at her side. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that.”

Swallowing tightly, Marty looked at her with an edge of desperation. “What are you talking about?”

“Dearest, he was eating you with his eyes.” A satisfied smile curled Courtney’s lips. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Khalid stare at another woman quite like that.”

“He hasn’t,” Alyssa stated. “Khalid is always cool and composed. It’s his trademark.”

“Tonight, he lost that trademark.” Courtney fanned her face with her hand. “I’ll definitely have to tell Ian about this.”

“Why? According to you, he doesn’t share information with you,” Marty stated in irritation.

“Well, this is true.” Courtney nodded. “But perhaps he just needs a bit of a nudge and a small incentive.” Her gaze twinkled in knowing amusement. “Sometimes a woman simply must use the right bit of bait to lure in the information she needs.”

“Or the man she needs,” Alyssa murmured, her gaze catching Marty’s. “Stop holding back, Marty. You keep waiting for him to come to you, and we all know Khalid has a will of steel. He can control himself with exemplary strength. But he can’t control you. You’re your own ace in the hole.”

“Damn, she’s good.” Courtney sat back and looked at Alyssa in admiration. “Aly, I want to be you when I grow up.”

“You’ll never grow up,” Alyssa shot back, her expression never shifting, as she flicked a look Courtney’s way. “You’re frickin’ Peter Pan.”

“Well, if I ever do.” Courtney shrugged with a laugh. “But I do believe you’ve pinpointed Marty’s problem.”

“Of course I have,” Alyssa responded archly, as she sat back and straightened her dress. “She’s always watching and waiting. Khalid’s always standing back and finding other things to distract him, simply because he’s a man. If she wants him, then she’s going to have to stop worrying about getting hurt and throw herself into the ring.”

Marty turned and found Khalid in the crowd once again. He was at a table with two other men. She knew those men. Sebastian De-Lorents, a Spaniard and one of the newest members of the social set Marty had been raised in.

If she wasn’t mistaken, he used to work for Interpol and was now the new manager of Ian Sinclair’s club and had been a friend of Courtney’s for years. However, it was the man sitting with them who had her gaze narrowing. Shayne Connor was an undercover CIA agent who worked out of the Middle East and often infiltrated terrorist cells known to be moving into the United States.

He was a deep-cover agent, and a very dangerous one. A man that even the FBI was often wary of when working with him. Her question was, what the hell was he doing in Alexandria with Khalid and Sebastian?

“Interesting,” Alyssa murmured at her side. “Now what makes you think those three are not discussing the latest stock reports?”

Marty almost snorted at that one. Each man’s expression was carefully composed as they spoke. They appeared relaxed; they even smiled; but there was something about their eyes, about the tense set of their bodies that told another story.

“Shayne Connor,” Courtney stated, her voice low. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

“You know him?” Marty’s gaze swung to her friend.

Courtney nodded. “He and Bastian partied extensively in Europe and especially in Spain for a while. Shayne’s family disowned him, you know, though a sizable inheritance from his American grandfather allowed him to maintain the lifestyle he had been raised in.”

“Disowned him?” Marty’s brow arched. This was a story she hadn’t yet heard on the ever elusive Shayne. “Why?”

Courtney turned back to her, a hint of worry in her gaze now, before she breathed out roughly. “For his suspected involvement in a bombing in Spain. Bastian never believed he was involved, but his parents are very rigid. They threw him out of their home and publicly disowned him. It destroyed him. Shayne spent several years trying to exonerate himself before he simply disappeared.”

He hadn’t disappeared; he had been recruited, instead. She’d known he was born of a Spanish father and an American mother, and that they were considered wealthy. She’d never heard he’d been disowned, however.

“He and Sebastian are friends, then?” Alyssa asked, her normally quiet gaze glinting with the barest hint of curiosity.

“They were very close as boys, I know.” Courtney shrugged as she and Alyssa sat back, their attention shifting between the three men. “Even as young men they were more like brothers before Shayne was sent away by his parents. I saw him only a few times after that.”

Marty kept the three men in her peripheral vision. Interesting. An undercover FBI asset, a CIA operative, and a former undercover Interpol agent. What did the three have in common besides friendship?

It could be a chance meeting, she thought. Sebastian was friends with Shayne, just as he was with Khalid. This was a very popular establishment. It wouldn’t be a surprise that the three would come together. Unless you knew for a fact that two of them had ties to information and resources that placed them squarely in some very dangerous situations.

Finishing her drink, Marty wiped her lips with her napkin before collecting her purse from beside her plate and smiling at her friends.

“I’m heading home,” she told them. “It’s been a long day for me.”

“Already?” Courtney pouted. “I was hoping we could have a few more drinks before we left.”

“Not tonight.” Marty shook her head. “I’m driving. But next time, I promise.”

“She’s being a spoilsport, Aly.” Courtney turned to Alyssa. “Do something about her.”

Alyssa shook her head as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “She’s not the only one who needs to make an early night of it,” she said. “I need to head home as well. Perhaps next time.”

“You’re both going to give me a bad reputation if I begin arriving home before midnight,” Courtney stated ruefully. “Ian may begin to believe I’m actually settling down.”

“I’m sure you can convince him otherwise.” Rising to her feet, Marty gave the other two women a little wave before moving from the balcony and heading along the wide hall to the stairs. As she left the restaurant she noticed that Khalid was no longer at his table.

She needed to get home to her computer, from which she could pull up the information she needed on the three men. There was a connection among them; there had to be. Despite appearances, those three should not be together, for the simple reason that they all had something to lose if the wrong people saw them together. Someone like Deerfield, or one of his agents.

Shayne Connor might be an agent, but only a few within the FBI knew that. The operation that had brought her in contact with him had necessitated her keeping his true purpose for being there a secret. He was a valuable contact to have, and one she didn’t want to cross.

Making her way from the club Marty strode along the sidewalk to the parking lot, preferring to walk rather than use the valet.

Shadows stretched along the area despite the lights that surrounded it. Customers milled around as they chatted and moved to and from the restaurant. No one appeared interested in anything other than their own concerns. No one paid attention to the lone woman walking through the parking lot until she neared her car.

“You didn’t mention you were going out this evening, love.” Khalid spoke from the shadows of the trees, stepping just close enough to allow her to make out his dim outline as the darkness wrapped around him like a jealous lover.

Leaning against the BMW she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, refusing to tread into the darkness where he watched her like a dark, hungry predator.

“I didn’t know that I should give you my itinerary,” she drawled, watching as he moved closer, the hungry glint in his eyes fueling the adrenaline coursing through her.

“Perhaps you should,” he stated, his voice low, deep, throbbing with a hidden power.

She swore she could feel him under her flesh, the heat of his body sinking inside her as he stopped just before her.

“Perhaps you’re living in a dream world,” she said, challenging him, challenging the command in his expression as he stared down at her, his gaze dark, seductive.

“And perhaps you are trying to involve yourself in matters that do not concern you.”

He didn’t touch her, but the need for it was a hunger she could feel wrapping around her.

“I’m always getting into things I shouldn’t. That is my job description. Remember?” She straightened, bringing her body closer to his, the heat of him nearly flush against her.

“Stop.” His fingers curled around her upper arm as his expression tightened, his gaze narrowing on her.

“Stop what?” Brow lifting, she stared back at him archly. “Remember, Khalid, you sought me out, it wasn’t the other way around.”

“I know you,” his voice was a heavy growl. “You’re about to make a mistake, Marty.”

“A mistake?” Her hand lifted, pressing lightly against his chest. “I’m not the one that made this mistake. I believe that was you.”

She could feel his heart beneath her hand, beating hard and heavy, racing with the same power that she felt in her own.

“Your father warned me to stay the hell away from you.” His fingers tightened on her arm reflexively. “I believe he should have warned you instead.”

A smile tipped her lips. “He knows better.” She moved closer, watching his expression, feeling the power of her own inexperience and the desperate need tearing through her. Seducing him was her goal, but it was going to take more than standing in the dark with him.

“You should know better than this.” Suddenly, as though the power of her own need transmitted to him, he pulled her against his body, one hand pressing tight and hard against her hips to hold her flush against the strength of his erection.

The heavy, erect width of his cock pressed against her lower stomach, the heat of it sinking past his slacks and the silk of her clothes as her breath caught in her throat.

God, she felt like one of those damned stupid fainting misses from the old romances her mother used to read. The ones who swooned seconds before the pirates had their way with them. Yeah, the ones she had laughed at for so many years.

“Why should I know better?” Her hands slid over his chest to his shoulders. “Because you’re meeting with a deep-cover CIA agent known to share his women, just as you do? Or perhaps you and the CIA agent are meeting with a man known to have ties to both of you? Tell me, Khalid, does my godfather know you’re up to fun and games with the CIA and Interpol?”

It had been no more than a suspicion at first. Sebastian De-Lorents was a hell of an actor, but seeing them together, hearing the history Bastian and Shayne had, it had finally clicked.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” The slow tension in his body told her otherwise.

She almost laughed. The sound came out more as a suspicious little snort. “Really, Khalid, you are talking to the woman who knows all your little games and how you play them,” she reminded him. “Tell me what games you’re playing with our local spook and his Spanish cohort, and I might be nice and not tell Daddy on you.” The facetious threat didn’t go over well.

Or perhaps it went over too well.

A heartbeat later he lifted her, pulled her into the dark shelter of the surrounding trees. Before she could think to struggle he had her back against a tree, her body lifted to him, his lips covering hers.

And he wasn’t stopping there.

Sensation raced across her flesh as pleasure began to stream through her nerve endings from her lips to her thighs. His hand pushed beneath her skirt, flattened against the upper roundness of her leg and lifted it until she was crooking her knee over his hip.

His cock wedged against the mound of her pussy then, throwing her senses into overload as his head jerked back, his lips tearing from hers.

Marty stared at him in ecstatic shock as his hips rolled subtly, the heavy erection beneath the material of his slacks pressing, stroking against the swollen bud of her clit.

“You will destroy me,” he snarled, as one hand curved around the nape of her neck to hold her head in place as his head lowered again.

His lips nipped at hers, sipped at them for long moments before he drew back once again.

“How will I destroy you?” The question raged in her mind with each warning he gave her. “Tell me, Khalid, how am I such a threat to you?”

His fingers stroked her neck as the other arm curled around her hips, lifting her higher, holding her against him as her knees clasped his hips now.

The feel of his cock pressing between her thighs was exquisite. The slight movement of his hips against hers sent hard, racking shudders racing through her system as flames of pleasure raced over her flesh.

“Perhaps, love, it is I who am the danger to you.”

There was no chance to argue, to retaliate, as her lips parted, his tongue stroking past them to hers, his lips sealing in the shocking, heated moan that would have torn from her lips.

She was drowning in the pleasure. Her knees gripped his hips tighter as her arms wrapped around his shoulders to bring him closer to her. His hands stroked her back, her hips, bunched the material of her dress between his fingers and dragged it over the curve of her ass before cupping the bare rounded rise of flesh.

He stroked, kneaded. His fingers clenched into the sensitive mounds and parted them, sending shooting arcs of sensation racing along the hidden entrance that the narrow cleft concealed.

She had touched herself there, just to see what it felt like. She had wondered what Khalid’s touch there would do to her senses. Now she knew. His fingers slid deeper into the parted flesh, stroked, pressed.

There was too much pleasure. Sensation upon sensation began to attack her, building and flooding her senses with waves of nearing ecstasy as she fought to hold on to just enough control to memorize every touch, every arc of the hungry flames licking through her now.

“Damn you.” He jerked back from her again, but he didn’t let her go.

As she stared up at him, her body riding high on the pleasure racing through her, his fingers pressed beneath the silk of her panties and found the hot, slick juices.

“Stop pushing for this,” he commanded, but still his fingers slid through the rich essence, gathered it and drew it back to the tight, shy entrance of her ass. “Before you destroy us both.”

Her head fell back again as shock rounded her eyes and pleasure stole her breath. His finger pressed against the snug entrance, then entered just enough to send a pinch of pleasure pain tearing through her before halting.

“Khalid.” His name tore from her lips.

“God help me.” His eyes glittered in the darkness as his thumb pressed into the clenched opening of her pussy. “You’re so fucking tight I ache to be inside you.” His finger and thumb flexed, moved inside her, creating shards of sensation that threatened her sanity.

This wasn’t the place for it, a part of her whispered. The other part, the woman dying for his possession, was screaming for it in silence.

Her knees tightened on his hips, her lashes fluttering at the exquisite sensations overtaking her.

“Then why fight it?” She was almost begging now. “You’re teasing me, Khalid. Teasing us both.”

“I’m drowning in you.” His lips sipped at hers again. “And you’re doing nothing to save either of us.”

“But I don’t want to be saved,” she whispered against his lips as he rubbed his own against hers. “If I wanted to be saved, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be in another man’s bed instead of begging to be in yours.”

And that was what she was doing. Begging. Pleading, in all but words.

“Damn you.” He pulled back again.

His finger slid from the heated, too sensitive grip of her anus as his thumb slid free of her pussy. Feeling him release her nearly destroyed her. Her knees were weak as she took her own weight, her system overloaded with desperation and the ache for release.

“This has to end now,” he ordered, his voice rough. “No more.”

“Coward.” Jerking back from him she nearly stumbled as she pushed away from him and the tree, glaring back at him as she fought to get her breathing, her emotions, under control.

“Be careful, Marty.” His hand jerked out, his fingers curling around her wrist as she tried to turn and head back to her car. “I could take that as a very serious threat.”

“So sue me,” she snapped back, pulling her arm out of his grip and stumbling from the shadows. “Better yet, don’t bother, you’d lose. The evidence is all on my side, sweet cheeks.”

Jerking her key from the small hidden pocket of her dress, she grabbed her purse from the ground where it had fallen and stalked to the door of her car.

Releasing the auto lock she pulled open the door and stared back at him from the dubious shield between them.

“You could never understand,” he said, his tone filled with dark bitterness.

“And you’ll never have the guts to explain,” she accused him. “But I’m at a point where I really don’t give a damn. Seducing you is starting to bore me anyway. I think I’ll go home and see if I can find out why the hell Connor is in my town and what the three of you are up to. I do believe I would find that vastly more entertaining.”

He moved fast. Coming from the shelter of the trees he was nearly upon her before she slid into the car, slammed the door closed, and shoved the key into place.

She didn’t look at him until she was backing out of the parking space, and what she saw then sent more than shock racing through her. There was a thrill of arousal, and a spark of knowledge.

Behind him, Shayne did nothing to hide the fact that he was there. In the second that she caught his expression she saw the hunger, and knew he had been there watching, listening.

It was no more than she had already suspected, but she hadn’t anticipated her own response to it. If she had been wet before, then her panties were soaked now. If she had been aroused before, then lust was flooding her now.

All for nothing.

Reversing quickly she pressed her foot to the gas and shot from the parking lot. It was time she took off the gloves where Khalid was concerned and show him that she may want him until hell froze over, but he sure as hell wasn’t the only damned man in the world.

And quite frankly, she was sick of waiting on a lover who did nothing but deny her. It was time to check out other possibilities. And perhaps to show him exactly what he was going to be missing.