“It wasn’t fucking you I regretted,” he assured her. “Why don’t you come over here and let me prove it?”
“I don’t think so.” Oh God, she wanted to. She wanted to sink inside his flesh and feel the heat of him clear to her soul.
He gave a light, mocking chuckle. “Think of it as an educational experience. By the time this is finished, and we’ve either saved the heroine or we’re both dead and beyond regrets, you can walk away without ties, Tehya. It won’t hurt anymore, because you won’t believe you love me anymore.”
Tehya could feel herself freeze inside. Like an animal that’s caught the scent of a predator, every instinct was thrown into survival mode.
He knew. He knew what she had stopped hiding from herself, that she loved him, and still it didn’t matter.
“And what the hell makes you think I’m in love with you?” A woman had to have some pride.
He shook his head, his expression somber, his gaze alive with emotions she couldn’t decipher. “You think you are now. But by the time this is over, you’ll know me for the prick I am. You’ll see all the reasons why I’d make a lousy relationship choice, or God forbid, a husband, Tehya. Trust me, I’ll cure you. You’ll thank me for it.”
She couldn’t believe this. She looked back at him incredulously. She would have been amused under less stressful circumstances. “Is this what you’ve told your other lovers over the years, Jordan? Has it really been a successful line to use to get them into your bed?” Surely his women hadn’t been true airheads?
“You think that’s what this is?” His lips quirked with odd amusement. “No, Tehya, I’ve never used that particular line before. Does that mean you’ll take me up on the offer?”
“I’d end up killing you,” she muttered.
“There’s always that chance,” he agreed as she watched him nervously. “But at least you’ll be free of me.”
There was something in his voice, in his eyes, that halted her arguments. A somber, grieving “something” that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He hadn’t said they would be free of each other. Or that he would be free of her. And Jordan was pretty consistent in saying what he meant.
She had news for him, though. She would never be free of him, and she knew it. Since that night she met him in Aruba, no matter how he played the bastard, no matter how many times she was left feeling as though he never noticed her, still, the need had only grown.
Whatever held her to him had been born that night, eight years ago in Aruba, before she joined the Ops, when he had finally agreed to allow her to be a part of Sorrel’s destruction. When he had promised her she could kill the father who had destroyed her mother, and who had tried to destroy her.
“Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll sleep in the chair tonight. But tomorrow you leave, Jordan. I don’t need you in this fight any more than I want the others here. The best thing you can do for both of us is leave. That way I won’t be distracted.”
She couldn’t afford the distraction if Sorrel’s men were truly after her. She would need to keep her wits about her. She’d learned that a long time ago.
Jordan’s eyes narrowed. “Try to sleep in the chair and I’ll tie you to the bed, Tehya. And tomorrow what I’m going to do is upgrade your security and see if I can’t find a way to figure out who the hell is stalking you, and destroy them. Until that’s accomplished, you can stop protesting, and you can stop arguing. Because you will sleep with me. Whether you like it or not.”
Which meant he was damn serious about tying her to the bed. And she was tired. The last thing she wanted to do was fight ropes or cuffs all night. The one thing she wanted, pride aside, was to lay in his arms, to sleep, just one night, surrounded by him. But she feared that one night would only leave her hungry for more.
“Tomorrow, you leave,” she said, anger and sexual hunger beginning to burn inside her at the thought of sleeping next to him.
He grunted at the order. “Tomorrow, we see about saving that fine ass of yours.” His gaze flicked over her, the somberness easing and being replaced by a wicked glint. “Because I have definite plans for it.”
She couldn’t stop the surge of adrenaline that raced through her at the sensual warning.
“Revise them,” she snapped, suddenly terrified, absolutely certain that facing her enemies wouldn’t be nearly as dangerous as revealing her heart to this man. And if she let him have her tonight there would be no stopping the revelation.
This was the Jordan she had rarely seen, Wicked, amused, playful. The one that sent his agents running more often than not in self-defense when he had that look on his face. He couldn’t, wouldn’t be predictable in this mood.
“Tomorrow, we’ll discuss it,” he offered easily. “Until then.” He patted the bed. “Snuggle in, sweetheart, and I’ll just get my shower. We can iron out the details then.”
He rose, moved to her closet, and as she watched in outrage, he pulled out his clothes before walking past her, and disappearing into the bathroom.
Only then did she think to breathe.
As oxygen hit her system, flames erupted through her body, licking at suddenly sensitive nerve endings and pushing her arousal higher.
Her pussy creamed in excitement, dampening the swollen, sensitive folds as her juices eased around her clit. She inhaled a hard, deep breath and rubbed at her face desperately. Control. All she had to do was rebuild her self-control.
She might as well cut her heart out now and hand it to him on a silver platter, if she didn’t get control of herself now. Because as sure as the sun rose in the east, it wouldn’t survive sleeping with Jordan. Or working with Jordan. She was too weak for his touch, too desperate for it.
She had to find a way to get rid of him. He had to leave and let her fight this battle on her own. It was her past, and her nightmare, Jordan was her heart. She couldn’t fight them both at once.