Conceal, Protect - By Carol Ericson Page 0,64
you anywhere near these guys. We’ll figure out something.”
She blinked her long, dark lashes. “A-are you sure?”
“I’m positive, darlin’. We can do this.” His skin prickled as a warm flush stole over his body. It was the adrenaline high he always got before a mission.
If they captured even one of Zendaris’s men it would be the biggest lead they’d had in the four years since they had disrupted his first major arms deal. They needed this win.
Noelle’s fingers tangled in his hair, and she cupped his jaw. “I trust you, J.D. I know you want to bring this guy down.”
“And keep you safe. I want to keep you safe, Noelle.” He turned his head to kiss the inside of her palm.
The phone vibrated, and she swept it from the table.
J.D.’s muscles coiled. “Is it them?”
“No. Just Tara checking up on me.”
She pocketed the phone. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Tell me this is going to be okay.”
“We’ve got this, Noelle.” He pressed his face between her breasts and inhaled her sweet scent.
She hooked her arms around his neck and drew him even closer.
He raised his head and kissed the base of her throat, where her pulse thudded. He didn’t want to rush into anything this time. Fear had driven her into his arms again, and, while he wanted to be here for her, he’d try to contain his desire this time.
Resting her chin on the top of his head, she sighed. “I just want you to hold me. This could be our last night...”
He drew back from her and pinched her chin, pressing his thumb against her bottom lip. “Once we put an end to this threat against you and turn the tables on Zendaris, you and I will have a lot of nights together.”
Her eyes widened, and he felt as if he could drown in their depths. He couldn’t wait to make love with her with all the barriers between them cleared away—but that moment would come later.
“You want to continue this—” one hand fluttered in the air “—what we have between us?”
“Am I out of line?” If she started lining up forks or whatever, he’d spoken too soon.
“N-no. I want a chance to get to know you without the constant drama.”
“Exactly. We’re going to rescue Ted and keep you out of Zendaris’s clutches. I’m even confident we can get that laptop back in our hands.”
“Must be nice to have so much confidence.” She cradled his face in her hands. “It even rubs off on me.”
“Good.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you want me to get a fire going? We can discuss our plan for tomorrow, and maybe that plan will start with stalling Zendaris’s men.”
“And women?” She picked up the two wineglasses that had fallen onto the table and set them on their bases. “Did you catch that? The woman who drugged Ted could’ve been the one at the lodge that night.”
“It wasn’t or she would’ve known Ted instead of Bruce was your brother, so stop thinking you should’ve known the redhead was evil.” He pushed to his feet and checked the wood in the basket by the fireplace.
“You get the fire started, and I’m going to refill our wineglasses. I’m feeling relatively calm, given the circumstances, and I want to remain that way before I start organizing books again.”
“You’re doing great, Noelle, and you do have a measure of control over this situation. You’re going to help me figure out how to stall these guys until the Prospero cavalry arrives.”
He stacked the wood on the grate while she clinked glasses in the kitchen and cleared off the table.
By the time she returned with two full glasses of wine, he’d swung the love seat in front of the fire again and plumped a pillow against the back cushion. He patted the pillow. “Have a seat. I need some of that wine or I’ll never be able to sleep tonight—too much excitement.”
“I could tell the prospect of meeting up with these people face-to-face gave you a buzz.” She placed the wineglasses on the table and sank onto the love seat.
“That obvious, huh? I hope you don’t think I’m happy about it. It’s the nature of the job. These are the moments we train for.”
“I understand.” She handed him a glass and crossed her legs beneath her. “I just want to get Ted back safely. It seems that he’s always suffered because of me.”
“Noelle.” God, he hated it when she started blaming herself