Vihtori didn’t know, didn’t believe her or didn’t care. He unlocked the lighthouse and showed them to a room. “He will wait here,” he said to Cole. “She and I will go to a phone.”
“Sounds fair,” Paige replied.
Cole was left alone in a small room that had a few chairs, a beat-up little desk, and a black and white television set he would have sworn was just as extinct as a Brontosaurus. Sitting on that chair, listening to nothing other than the breeze and the waves, he felt better than he could have thought possible. He started drifting to sleep and snapped awake again when Paige came back.
“Feeling better?” she asked as he stood up and approached her.
He nodded and reached past her shoulder to shut the door. Remaining in his spot, he pressed his body against hers and looked down into Paige’s deep brown eyes.
“I talked to Jessup,” she said. “He said Cecile was gone but that he could track her. Can he really do that?”
Cole nodded.
“Esteban is still a statue. Randolph is in the wind and probably won’t come back to that place, since a couple tanks and a few gunships arrived to lock it down. Let’s just hope those guys are IRD. I’ve gotta call Adderson, but not until I can get to a safer . . . what are you doing?”
“Touching you,” Cole said as he ran one hand along the side of her face and the other against her hip. “It’s been a while since I was this close to you.”
“Yeah, but maybe this isn’t the best time.”
“I don’t care.”
“What was that?” she asked as her eyebrows perked up and she backed against the door. “Just because your blood’s running hot and you were locked up for a while, you think you can pull the whole macho hero thing on me?”
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
Paige meant to shoot something back at him, but was genuinely surprised when he kissed her. The moment their lips met, she embraced him and kissed him with as much aggression as she’d used to chop Minh or Liam down to size.
“I missed you, Paige.”
“Shut up. You’re spoiling the macho thing.”
Cole tugged at the straps holding the remains of her tactical vest in place and then pulled at the clothing underneath. When his hands finally found the smooth surface of her skin, he felt all his terror, hopelessness, and uncertainty drain away.
She smiled and unbuckled his pants with almost enough force to rip his belt in half. His hands continued to fumble with buttons and zippers before finally pulling her shirt open and working her jeans off her hips. She wriggled out of them and slid one leg up along his thigh. All he had to do from there was reach down to cup her backside in both hands and lift her when she hopped into his grasp. Paige’s legs wrapped around him and her shoulders knocked against the door. Their breaths were short and choppy until he finally entered her. Once he’d buried himself between her legs, both Skinners let out easy, relaxed sighs.
Cole stayed put for a few moments as everything else in his world faded away. It didn’t matter what country they were in, how they’d gotten there, or what remained for them to do. All he cared about was the smooth, familiar touch of her cheek resting against his and the miraculously gentle touch of Paige’s lips drifting along his neck. When he thrust into her, she sucked in a quick breath and held onto him tightly. There were no words to express how good it felt to be inside her again.
None were necessary.
“Pardon me, in there,” Vihtori said while tapping on the other side of the door.
Cole pushed all the way inside her and stopped. Judging by the faraway expression on her face, she wasn’t anywhere close to formulating an answer for their host. “Yeah?” he grunted. “What is it?”
“Someone called back for you. They say they are Meg somebody.”
Keeping her eyes closed, Paige started to laugh. It was barely a chuckle, but tensed her muscles in a way Cole could feel intimately. “Well?” she whispered while grinding her hips against him and digging her nails into his back. “Aren’t you going to answer him?”
“Okay to call them back?” he asked the door.
Judging by its voice, the door wasn’t happy. “They are on the phone now.”
Having laced her fingers behind his neck, Paige stared at him with a hungry, mischievous smile. Once again Cole’s entire world