Page 53 of Zain

Her moans became hoarse little sighs as she melted on his chest. He nuzzled her soft neck and the dark waves over his shoulder. All this time, he’d wanted to lose himself inside Dana... but Jesus, he’d done so much more.

He’d found himself.

***

Zain blinked openhis eyes. Bright, unfiltered sunlight swathed the room in a warm, yellowy glow. He hadn’t even remembered to shut the blinds last night before passing out.

Because he’d been consumed by Dana.

Scrubbing his face with his palm, he brought his other hand to the sleek arch of her spine. She lay snuggled against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder, one knee bent over his thigh and her petite hand curling around his neck.

His heart strings twanged. Her brow had a cute little frown line, as if even in sleep she resisted being woken. Her pink lips were soft and full, making him want to kiss them. Her dark eyelashes rested on her creamy cheeks... Hell, she was incredible.

A few days ago, he wouldn’t have thought himself worthy of such beauty. But they were magic together. He couldn’t deny that now. After a short snooze, they’d made love a second time. This time while he spooned her. Her ass bouncing against his groin was something he intended to relive.

He dragged his fingers over her shoulder ever so gently. Maybe if he woke her up with his mouth between her legs, she’d be ready for round three—

Ring,ring,ring

He lifted his head. His cell phone was blaring in the other room. Carefully, he slid out from under Dana and stepped into his jogging pants. He glanced at the clock: 6:49 a.m. Who the hell wascalling him so early? His call with Maxine and Roger wasn’t until 9:00 a.m.

Padding out of the room, he closed the bedroom door and then picked up his phone from the coffee table. He swiped the screen. “Hello?” he answered, groggy as shit.

“Zain. It’s Maxine. Roger and I need to speak with you right now. It’s urgent.”

“Okay.” His brain was nowhere near ready for this conversation. He hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet, for Christ’s sake. But the uncompromising tone of Maxine’s voice made him swallow any argument.

“I sent you a secure link. Log in and we’ll chat on a video call.”

He disconnected and slipped into the bedroom to grab his shirt. Once he’d closed the bedroom door and the material was over his head, he followed Maxine’s directions.

The screen split into two windows. Maxine took up the left side of his screen and Roger the right. Maxine’s red hair was pulled back into a severe bun. Her face was rigid, and the pale skin around her eyes was like wrinkled tissue paper. Maxine wore the years of a hellish career even though she couldn’t be older than mid-forties.

Compared to Maxine’s strict stature, Roger looked almost relaxed, his shoulders slouched. His military-cut gray hair made his clear-blue eyes stand out. “Zain,” he said. “Niceto finally meet you. Thank you for your service.”

Zain returned the sentiment and then Maxine interjected to grill him with a series of questions about the deaths of Jaysh’s men. Maxine and Roger both listened, expressions stoic, as he described what he’d had to do. Roger’s face twisted with annoyance when Maxine clarified that he’d killed ten men.

“I assumed you didn’t get out clean and easy,” Maxine said, her tone chilly. “But the number of men you killed has thrown our plan completely off target. Jabar’s gone into deep hiding now. Our mission will have to start—”

“That’s enough,” Roger said. “Zain doesn’t have the clearance to hear details regarding CIA operations. All you need to know,” he said, focusing his stern expression on Zain, “is your actions spooked Jabar.”

Zain gave a solemn nod. If they had a better suggestion as to how Dana and him could have gotten out of there alive, he was all fucking ears. Pushing his tongue to the backs of his teeth, he kept the words inside.

“When we spoke yesterday, you told me about the woman, Dana,” Maxine said. “Is she with you now?”

Zain forced his jaw not to lock. He didn’t want to talk about Dana. Hated that he’d had to give them any information at all about her, but there was no help for it. She was a liability. “She is, yes.But she knows nothing about the details of our mission.” He’d already told Maxine that, but he’d make sure Roger knew it too.

“We might like to speak with her to ensure she understands the gravity of the situation.”

“I think she does,” he retorted.

“Maxine, let’s move on,” Roger urged, probably wanting to get to the bones of the mission before Zain got too pissed off and left the meeting.

“Of course.” Maxine straightened. If she got any fucking straighter her head would pop from all the pressure. “You told me that Isaad planned to introduce you to Jabar.”

“Correct.” He relayed the date, time, and what little travel plans he’d been given. Maxine and Roger listened, but their tension was so thick Zain thought his screen might crack.

They talked some more about Isaad and things he’d said prior to his demise. Zain also gave them information he’d obtained from Rakesh’s frequent rambling regarding other Jaysh compounds he’d visited. Maxine hadn’t been aware of one, so at least she’d learned something from him. He talked more about the business dealings Isaad had mentioned.

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