“Not now, Rachel.”
“Back to the OSI?” In all her multiteam collaborative efforts, she’d never worked directly with the OSI, but their reputation was top-notch. She scrambled for something, anything, her brain still half asleep, her body caught somewhere between that erotic dream and the harsh edge of her dangerous reality.
“Definitely not.”
They couldn’t even trust the OSI anymore? Okay, now she was really freaking out.
He drove through the dark and deserted streets. Fog rolled in off the water in a greedy vapor, sucking up the road from sight. It felt as if they were truly alone in the world. Cut off from any source of help.
“What happened back there at the house to tip you off? Why did we have to leave?”
“I would tell you if I could, but you just have to trust me. That’s why you chose to come to me for help, because you trust me.”
True enough. She knew that he would do anything… Anything at all? “Were you given permission to leave?”
He didn’t answer, which was an answer in itself. Their departure wasn’t officially sanctioned and Liam was protecting her by keeping her in the dark on the details.
How would this play out for him at work? Was he risking his career for her? She hadn’t even considered that possibility when coming to him for help. Bile burned her throat along with a hefty dose of self-loathing.
“Let’s call this whole thing off now.” She braced her palms on the dashboard. “I know nothing. You know nothing. Let Disco and me off at the next police station. You go back home and say I snuck away from the house.”
“Not gonna happen,” he said without missing a beat as he drove farther from base and the unconscious agent.
She hadn’t really expected him to go for it. Time for plan B, which probably wouldn’t work either, but she had to try.>And oh God, how her dream felt so erotically real right now. She was in bed. With Liam. His whipcord-lean body over hers. She could feel the heat of his breath on her neck, anticipate the feel of his mouth on her skin.
Her legs thrashed at the covers, tangling in the sheets, her long T-shirt riding up until the canvas texture of his uniform abraded sensually against her bare legs. Want rippled through her until she arched her back to press more firmly against him. What harm was there in indulging herself in a dream?
“Rachel.” His raspy voice stoked her fantasies.
The man could talk her to an orgasm with the husky suggestiveness in the way his tongue caressed her name.
“Liam,” she moaned, and oh God, she really had spoken out in her sleep. The veil between sleep and reality became translucent, the two worlds blending. Fear gripped her that if she woke up, she could lose this chance to have Liam, even if only in a dream realm.
She twisted her fingers in the sheets to hold on to the nighttime delusion a while longer, long enough to assuage the ache between her thighs. Completion hovered so close, until the need to finish clawed through her painfully. It had been so long since she’d wanted someone this much.
Since losing Caden, infrequent sex had merely been about release. This craving for Liam went so much deeper… and just the word deeper made her want more. Now. Fantasies were private and unlimited…
She threaded her fingers through his hair, testing the texture. Damp? From rain? Details intruded on her dream state until—
“Rachel,” he hissed in her ear, his hand clamping over her mouth. “Shhh. Wake up and stay quiet. And for God’s sake, quit moving like that.”
Okay, domination was not her idea of sexy.
Her eyes snapped open. He loomed over her, tall and lean, his tensed body covering her. His leg pressed between her legs, and it was all she could do in her half-awake state not to wriggle against the sweet pressure that should have faded in light of whatever was going on.
A low moan of pleasure slipped from her lips anyway.
His hand stayed clamped over her mouth, gently, but unmistakable in its message. His chest pumped against her with ragged breaths. His head dipped toward her. She swallowed hard, and God help her, if he kissed her right now, she wouldn’t stop him, and to hell with anything else. Her body arched into him before she could think, much less stop herself.
His voice caressed her ear. “Rachel, honey, you’re killing me here.”
The hard length of him pressed into her hip, letting her know he hurt every bit as much as she did from this unconsummated attraction. As much as she wanted to lose herself in the moment, in the answering heat radiating off him, reason began to filter through.
“Liam?” she whispered. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”
“You have to trust me and stay really quiet,” he answered softly. “We need to leave without alerting anyone. Now. Get dressed fast and follow me out.”
Passion turned to a frightening burn. Something was wrong. Very wrong.