InTooDeep (10 page)

“What do I mean?” She eliminated the gap
between them, snagging a handful of his shirt, which was warm from the heat of
his skin. “You know what I mean. You’re here because even in the thick of this
you can’t stop thinking about me and it’s driving you crazy.” Just as she
couldn’t stop thinking about him.

How she could be thinking about sex at a
time like this she didn’t know…or maybe she did. She needed a distraction,
something to direct her mind away from the rapid reel of memories that had been
playing her head since Hunt had left.

His gaze dropped to her hand before
flicking back up to her face. “You sound very sure of yourself.”

She eased in even closer, wedging her thigh
between his legs. His thickness was a much better reply than his hedge. “So
tell me I shouldn’t be.” She almost prayed he’d take the offer, give in to the
same desperate need to feel anything besides grief.

“It’s not a good idea to…” He stopped,
cleared his throat and tried again. “We shouldn’t…” He pulled his hands out of
his pockets, rested his hands on her shoulders. “You’re not thinking clearly,
Carley. This wouldn’t be right.”

“What are you trying to tell me?” She
relaxed her hand and slid it up alongside his neck. The heat of his skin burned
her palm, making her want to sink into him. “That I’m wrong?” Taking the
initiative, she stood on tiptoe and lightly nibbled at his lower lip. “Or maybe
you’re just saying you’re not interested. Is that it?”

He groaned low in his throat and bumped his
forehead to hers. “I—”

One finger touched his lips. “Because I
have to admit, I never thought I could want a man as much. No, not want.
Need
.”

His hands settled on her hips. “This isn’t
a good idea. Even if you’re sure, I can’t lose focus. My boss could call any
second and—”

Why was he fighting this? She saw the
desire in his eyes, read the hunger on his face. And yet, he wanted to push her
away. She couldn’t let him, not now, not when he was so close, and she could
finally breathe without her lungs aching. “Don’t. Don’t push me away. Not now.
I need this, Hunt. I need you.” She molded her body to his, melted into his
heat. “But if you really want to stop, all you have to do is tell me.” Her
tongue lightly traced the corners of his mouth.

He swallowed audibly. “Yeah, I know.” His
fingers dug into the flesh beneath her jeans.

“So do you really want to try to convince
me we shouldn’t do this?” The thickness of his hair teased her fingers. She
needed to feel something besides the grief, and being with Hunt, losing herself
in the rush—she couldn’t think of a better distraction.

Pushing common sense to the back of his
mind, he surrendered to the call of her body. She was like a siren, luring her
innocent victim into her web, and he was drawn to her song.

Damn if he couldn’t get used to her.
Grasping her chin with his thumb and two fingers, he stared into her eyes
before his gaze flicked to her lips. “No, I don’t.”

Her lips were soft and sweet, moist and
supple beneath his. Her slight gasp opened her mouth enough for his tongue to
slip inside. An explosion ripped through his body, creating a fiery pit in the
center of his stomach as desire collided with wanton need.

He had to have her now. And not just her
body. He wanted all of her. Everywhere he touched her, he wanted to leave a
mark, claim her as his own. She had to be feeling it too…this connection they’d
shared since the moment she’d broken into his house.

Lifting her, he looked down the hallway and
decided against it. The bed was too far away so he lowered her into an
overstuffed chair, feverishly yanking the clothes from her body.

She panted as her hands tore at his shirt,
pushing it from his shoulders and down his arms. The urgency of her moves
spurred him on and he removed the final barriers between their bodies with
frantic rips of material.

They came together like two racecars on a
collision course. Charged. Frantic. Connected. Their fingers united, they held
on until the world that had fallen away righted itself and they could breathe
again.

Purring low in her throat, Carley ran her
hands up and down his arms. “How about we continue this in the bedroom?”

For once in his life he forgot about his
job, duty and the drive to bring down a criminal. His focus centered on the
voluptuous redhead with swollen lips and warm, supple body.

His boss would just have to wait.

He’d gotten so close to her and yet she
knew he wanted to pull away. His career meant so much to him, so much that he
couldn’t allow himself to even contemplate a future with her.

Carley almost laughed aloud. What in the
hell was she doing thinking about a future…with an FBI agent no less? No, it
was impossible. He wouldn’t walk away from his duty and he could never forget her
past.

Her past. The words sounded unnatural. She
lowered her head to Hunt’s chest, listening to the steady thump-thump of his
heart. That was a sound she could get used to, but walking away from her entire
life wouldn’t be easy.

She’d promised herself she’d do it for Dani
but, if she didn’t have her sister, didn’t have anyone, what was the point of
leaving behind the only life she knew? Her fingertips danced across Hunt’s chin
and his answering smile swept away her doubts…at least for the moment.

Maybe she could think about the future
later. She didn’t have to decide anything today.

“Just close your eyes,” Hunt whispered, the
deep timbre of his voice offering further reassurance. “You need to sleep.”

“I need you.” The words slipped out before
she could stop them and she held her breath, certain she wasn’t going to want
to hear his response, but he surprised her with his quiet reply.

“I’m here.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Now sleep.” His hand came up and cupped the back of her head, cradling her
like she was a small child.

Falling into the cocoon of warmth and
security offered in his arms, Carley closed her eyes. “Don’t go anywhere.” She
hoped she didn’t sound too needy.

“I won’t.”

Though she thought she’d detected a slight
trace of hesitation, she didn’t push it. He was here, and that would have to do
for now.

Chapter Ten

He watched her as she slept and every now
and then he allowed himself the luxury of brushing his knuckles down her cheek.
She was even more beautiful now than when he’d first seen her standing in his
bedroom. And just as dangerous.

When had she become more important than his
badge, his duty? He couldn’t pinpoint an exact time but his heart had crossed
the line his mind refused to accept. Walking away from his career was
unthinkable but the thought of letting Carley go caused an ache so deep inside
he couldn’t breathe.

He leaned over to brush a kiss against her
cheek, was surprised to find her eyes wide open and looking at him. “I thought
you were still asleep.”

Her eyes crinkled with her smile. “And do
you always watch people when they’re sleeping?”

“Only the beautiful ones.” He touched a
finger to her nose.

She curled her arms around his neck and
brought his face closer, just hovering there for several moments. “How is it
that you make even the simplest of words sound so sexy?”

Hunt caressed her mouth with his. Soft and
silky, her lips melted beneath his. He could kiss her for hours, just listening
to the breathless little sounds she made, and when she turned in his arms,
bringing her bare breasts in close contact with his chest, his body stirred to
life. How much time would it take to work this woman out of his system? The
question gave him pause. Was it even possible? He guessed the real question
would be did he want to.

Sliding one hand up alongside his jaw, she
rubbed his chin with her thumb. “What’s on your mind?”

He opened his mouth to say something but
the shrill ring of his cell phone redirected his attention. Didn’t even need to
guess who that was calling. No doubt Deputy Director Ryan Baulding had
discovered Hunt’s abrupt break in cover.

Shit
. He
rested his head in the crook of Carley’s neck for a long second. The ringing
stopped but he knew better than to hope it wouldn’t start again. Once Baulding
caught the scent of blood from a wounded victim, he went in for the kill.

“Don’t you think you should have answered
your phone?” Carley smoothed away the frown lines on his forehead. “It might
have been your boss.”

“Exactly why I didn’t answer.” He kissed
her again to prevent further questions, and when he lifted his head her cheeks
were flushed. He ran a thumb over her lower lip and tried to think of a way to
tell her this would be the last time they could be together. Once he answered
that phone he would no longer be a cop. He would shift back into FBI mode, and
his focus would have to be on the case alone.

She nipped at his chin. “You can’t avoid
him.”

Was he that easy to read now? He let loose
a sigh and bumped his forehead to hers. “I know.” One hand slid down her arm.
“But the longer I can put him off—” He broke off, rolled to his side and sat
up, the sheet draping across his lap. “He’ll order me back to Virginia and
someone else will take over this case. Someone who will only see it as a case,
nothing more.”

Carley pushed herself up on her knees and
slid close to him. Nimble hands massaged his neck. “So what are you thinking?”

Things he shouldn’t be thinking. Like
ignoring his boss. Staying in South Carolina with Carley. Or taking her back to
Virginia with him. All impossible things and yet, when the phone rang again, he
still didn’t answer.

He wasn’t ready yet, not when he’d given so
much of his time and energy to this case. Hell, who was he kidding? Carley was
the biggest reason why he wasn’t ready to leave, which was too fucked-up for
any psychiatrist on the planet to figure out.

For most of his adult life he been putting
criminals behind bars and now here he was in bed with one. Defied logic. Made
him crazy.

Breaking into his self-deprecation, Carley
climbed onto his lap, creating havoc with his concentration. “Well if you’re
not going to answer the phone, the least you could do is silence it.” She
squirmed against him.

All thoughts of logic faded into the
background. But his senses went on high alert. He inhaled the unique scent of
her body while the sun filtered in through the blinds, dancing across her face.
Her eyes seemed to glitter, and when her hand slid up his chest wall his
muscles tightened.

He felt her everywhere. Even her slightest
touch ignited him, and he could only pray he’d have the strength to walk away,
to leave all of this behind when the time came.

How much time had passed, and did it really
matter? Carley could have stayed like this forever, her head on Hunt’s chest,
hearing the steady thumping of his heart. Her hand splayed across his abdomen
naturally, like it belonged there, like she belonged with him.

Hunt stirred, pressed a kiss to the top of
her head. “What are you thinking about?”

“Me. You. This.”

“Me too.”

She leaned her head back to see his face,
committing each feature to memory. Those eyes that had first held her captive.
Those lips that could steal her breath. There was nothing about him she would
allow herself to forget. “So what are you thinking?”

“It’s crazy to feel something so powerful
in such a short amount of time.” He brushed her hair away from her face,
sifting his fingers carefully through the strands as if they might be fine
pieces of silk ribbon he didn’t want to tear.

She laid her head back down so she could
feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest with each breath. One hand toyed
with the edge of the sheet that had slipped below his bellybutton. “Life
doesn’t always happen on a timetable. At least that’s what my dad always told
me.”

“Tell me about your dad.” He shifted on her
bed so he could wrap his arm around her waist, pull her closer against him.

“What do you want to know? How he got
started doing what he did? How he got me involved in it?” She gave a little
laugh. “My dad was a thief long before I was born but he preferred to be called
an acquisitions dealer.” Hunt’s chuckle rumbled pleasantly in her ear.

“He always targeted corporations and he
never took unless he already had a buyer in place.” Her father had always said
it was his way of righting the cosmic balance. Carley thought he favored
himself as some sort of modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the mega-rich and
giving to the not-as-rich…only he didn’t exactly give the loot away.

“So I guess you and Dani lived the high
life thanks to your dad’s dealings.”

“If you call moving from place to place
every other month, never knowing where we were going to lay our heads that
night or who was going to be watching us living the high life then, yeah, we
were on top of the world.” She moved her head closer to his heart.

“How did your mother feel about that?”

A quick pain lanced her heart. “My mother
died when I was barely eight so my dad raised us.”

Hunt started stroking her back. “What
happened to her?”

The lump in her throat surprised her. She
didn’t talk about her mother very often. Maybe this was why. Her memories were
fuzzy at best but she did recall the scent of cinnamon and the way her mother
always called her “my sweet”.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad
memories.”

“You didn’t. The ones I have of my mother
are good ones.” She pulled in a breath. “She died in the middle of a heist. She
and Dad were removing a painting from an art museum in Paris when something
happened to her cable. It malfunctioned and she fell sixty feet onto a marble
floor. My dad never forgave himself for that.” And no matter how many times
Carley tried to reassure him, Ben had waved it away, telling her his wife would
be alive if he hadn’t been so careless. Carley didn’t doubt her father went to
his death still believing he was at fault.

Hunt rubbed his cheek against her hair. “He
thought it should have been him, that he should have been the one to die.” When
she looked up at him he traced a tear from the corner of her eye to the middle
of her cheek with his index finger then answered her question before she could
ask. “Guilt and I are old friends.”

She wanted to ask more but his face had
closed, his expression going blank. Maybe he had a couple of painful memories
of his own he was carrying around. She wouldn’t push him. God knows there were
many times she’d shoved away people who’d tried to get too close to her, ask
too many questions.

He cupped her cheek gently and brought her
head back down to his chest. “So you followed your father into the business but
not Dani?”

“No, not Dani. Dad used to say she had all
the grace of a herd of stampeding buffalo. But that was okay. She wasn’t
interested in doing anything illegal. Dani had enough morals for all three of
us combined. She wouldn’t even throw a piece of paper out of a car window.”

Carley smiled. “Once she grew up enough to
realize exactly what it was that Dad did she started her weekly barrage of
lectures. Up until he got sick, she was convinced he would stop and lead a
normal life, a life that didn’t involve theft.”

“Did you want to follow your dad in the life
he’d chosen?” Tension crept into his voice.

Was he asking her if she’d gone into a life
of crime willingly, or if her father had bullied her into taking over the
family business? She tried to move out of his embrace but he held fast. “I
think this conversation has gone about as far as it can go without one or both
of us getting pissed off.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have
asked that. Your reasons are your own.”

She didn’t looked at him, couldn’t look at
him. “But you still want to know.”

“You want me to lie to you?”

“Maybe.” Then she shook her head. “No, I
don’t want you to lie to me.” If the truth were told, it was only fair that he
learn more about her, considering she’d studied his life so well. All he knew
about her was what she’d told him.

Feeling his gaze on her face, she finally
replied. “At first I didn’t think I would follow my father, but then he got
sick and couldn’t complete a job. So I did it for him. After that,” she lifted
her shoulders in a shrug, “I guess it got a little easier.”

Her fingers stroked his chest. “When I was
growing up my father was larger than life. There wasn’t a job he couldn’t do,
and I worshipped him.” This time Hunt let her pull away, maybe realizing she
needed the distance. She rolled to her back and looked up at a stain on the
ceiling, wondered if the hotel knew it had a leak in one of the upper rooms.

“I started training with him when I was
only ten but I never thought I’d actually use what I’d learned. But I guess
it’s true what people say. You learn by watching your parents.” She pushed
herself up on her elbow to see his face. “My father was a thief but he wasn’t a
bad man, Hunt. He loved me and Dani unconditionally. I can’t fault him for the
way he raised us.”

Using two fingers, he turned her face to
his, stroked her cheek. “I think that’s enough talking for now, don’t you?”

She looped her arms around his neck. “I
could be persuaded to participate in some other activity. What did you have in
mind?”

His kiss answered the question for her.

The blast of the explosion brought a smile
to her face. Fortunately for JT, Rena knew more about bombs than most women
knew about hair care. Well it was fortunate in that he didn’t suffer. Didn’t
even know what was happening.

Her cold gaze studied the remnants of the
warehouse. She wasn’t so sure how his wife had fared. The meek little thing had
been so hesitant following JT into the warehouse that it was possible she
didn’t step across the threshold quickly enough to be engulfed in the blast.
Which meant she could have experienced some pain.

Rena realized at that moment she really
didn’t care. That might make her sadistic in the eyes of the everyday person
but in her world, it made sense. She couldn’t allow any feelings to surface
toward any of these women. To her they were chattel, a means to an end.

She waited inside the luxurious interior of
her Mercedes until she heard the sirens of the approaching fire trucks. Then,
with one last look at what had been home base for the past six months, she
turned the key in the ignition, revved the engine and accelerated out of the
deserted parking lot.

After hitting the redial button on her cell
phone, she activated the speakerphone. The line of cars attempting to merge
onto the interstate stretched ahead and brought her to a sudden stop just as
her husband answered.

“I told you not to call me on my cell while
I’m at the office.”

“I know, but it was important.” When
silence was his only response Rena pushed on. “Look, I know you’re still
irritated with me but honestly, don’t you think this little spat has gone on
long enough?”

A chair creaked, providing a mental image.
At that moment her husband was sitting in his chair behind a desk piled with
manila folders and unopened mail. His hair would be mussed, whether from lack
of sleep or too much agitation from his fingers she couldn’t be sure. And his
eyes would be bloodshot, a fitting testament to the latest drama taking up most
of his time.

“Spat?” A sharp click brought his voice
closer to her ear, letting Rena know he’d taken her off speakerphone. “Is that
what you call our separation?”

She tapped her nails on the leather
steering wheel, her brow knitted. God, could the man be any more impossible?
After she finished this last bit of business in Charleston she’d need a place
to lay low for a while. What better place than her old home, safely tucked away
as the wife of a prominent community member? She could return to her former
life for as long as it took for the auctions to end and the merchandise to
reach the winners. That was all the time she needed and like it or not, her
husband was going to give it to her.