He shrugged, ignoring the twinge in his sore shoulder. “I can’t say. Classified. But mission accomplished. The bastard played a mean game of hide-and-seek. Too bad for him I’m very persistent. And patient.”
She swallowed, and Hunter wondered if she was getting the clue that those behaviors would apply to her as needed. If not, she’d figure it out soon.
“How long will you be Stateside?”
“Another week. You might be able to motivate me to stay longer.” Nothing coy about the sexy grin that broke out across Kata’s face. She stared from beneath thick lashes, her teeth biting into her lush lower lip. He could imagine how she’d look cradling the width of his dick in that very spot.
“I don’t know . . . If you decided to stay, what makes you think I’d be motivated to spend more time with you?”
“Honey, if you aren’t, then I’m doing something wrong, and I expect you to kick me to the curb.”
“Hmm . . .” She shivered and ran her hands up his arms, then clasped her hands together behind his neck. “A pleaser. I like that.”
“I’d love to please you.” He bent and nuzzled her neck, his mouth a whisper from her ear. “If you like that idea, we’ll get along real well.”
Against his chest, Hunter felt her ni**les harden even more, and he’d bet every dime he had in the bank that she was wet. Ready. Still, he waited. Need tightened in his balls, and he forced back his impatience. What he wanted from her would take time and trust. This was too delicious to rush.
He fell back on small talk. “You’re a probation officer, according to Ben.”
“Yep, for the last two years. I love working with the people who have misstepped and genuinely want to change their lives. Some have just made a wrong choice and need the right tools or a little self-confidence. It’s great to make a difference.”
Hunter liked her all the more for wanting to. “I’m sure you’re damn good at it, too. You’ve got a no-nonsense way about you, but I’ll bet you make it go down smooth.”
“Wow, a pleaser and a charmer. This might be my lucky night.” Her kittenish laugh made him sizzle.
Hunter had to bite the inside of his lip to stop himself from kissing her here and now. Her lips, so red and glossy, were only inches away. Pouty. Sweet. He wanted that mouth under his, wrapped around his dick, open as she screamed through the orgasms he gave her.
“I hear you’ve had some work-related trouble lately.”
Kata wrinkled her nose. “Cortez Villarreal is a piss-ass street thug who assumes that, because I’m female, I’ll be easily cowed or bend to his threats. Not gonna happen. I’ve learned how to fend for myself, and there’s no way he’s going to scare me from doing my job just because he tosses out some nasty threats.” She snorted. “The prick.”
“He do anything more than threaten?” He had to suppress the growl from his voice.
“Not yet, but his warrant has only been out for a week. As the police and bounty hunters start closing in, he’ll send some of his lowlifes to do his dirty work. Whatever. In both my purse and my apartment, I’m packing. So I’m ready.”
Though Hunter didn’t like the idea of Kata having to defend herself, the fact she was hell on wheels and didn’t show fear turned him on even more. He hadn’t expected this tough attitude from such a soft, curvy woman, but it made him even more eager to cement something with her. And confirmed his suspicion that there was more to this woman beneath her very pretty surface.
“Someone teach you to shoot?” He curled his hand around her hip, enjoying the hell out of touching her curves.
She rubbed against him, settling closer. “My older brother. He used to be a New Orleans cop before Katrina. He lives in Houston now, doing undercover work. We haven’t heard from him in nearly a year, but last time he blew through town, he made me brush up.”
“What about hand-to-hand?”
She grimaced. “I need to work on that. So far, I’ve relied on knees to the groin and a few pressure points that will take a man down.”
“Remind me never to piss you off.” He palmed his way down her ass and copped a quick feel.
Lush. Perfect. Taking her from behind was going to be a sweet visual treat. Getting deep inside her there would be even sweeter.
“Why would I do that to you?”
Kata circled her hips against him. A rush of tingles spiked down his c**k and spread all through his body. Her stare singed him with sexual challenge. And damn if he wasn’t going to take her up on that ASAP. Christ, he wanted to eat her up. Hunger clawed at him, relentless, so much deeper than anything he’d ever known. This mattered because, already, she mattered.
“Well, I suspect you’re a vixen, and I’m not always the easiest guy to get along with.”
“But if I kneed all that great equipment . . .” She trailed her fingernails right down the line of his spine, and goose bumps broke out over his skin. “Wouldn’t I be cutting off my nose to spite my face?”
He grinned. “I like the way you think.”