Page 79 of Lone Spy

“Embed me.” I shake my head. “Bed being the operative word there,” I mutter. Ash doesn’t respond. “Temperance expected me to continue to help him—to be Omar’s piece of ass and to listen and report.” I repeat the words Temperance used whenever he told me to attend a party or sit next to a specific guest at dinner events.

“Yes,” Ash says, and he turns to watch me. It’s the first time since I started working on his shoulder that he has faced me. I keep my focus on my work, his gaze on my profile setting off sparks. “Omar’s influence would keep you safe—killing you would be much more difficult with his protection. Jordan is a vital ally. Pissing off the royal family would not help Grand’s cause. You’re not worth that to him.” His head shifts back again, Ash’s focus returning to the window in front of him.

Alesana is out there, making sure our location is secure and scouting possible escape routes. We’re still on the Crown’s land. Ash has a helicopter pickup location nearby, but the airspace over the grounds is a no-fly zone. We need to get off this estate to escape.

I lay the last piece of tape on Ash’s bandage but don’t pull back. Instead, I look over at him. His jaw is hard and close. If he turned again our lips would be a breath apart. I don’t need to be this close anymore, but I can’t seem to move away. “Ash.” He swallows. “Look at me.”

His eyes shift, but he doesn’t face me. So I lean in, my eyes closing. And I press my lips to his cheek—rough stubble over hard heat. The electric grid between us shudders.

The muscles of Ash’s shoulder tremble under my fingers. I retreat, opening my eyes. His are closed, squeezed shut. “Ash.” It’s a whispered plea.Don’t pretend this isn’t real. I’m not crazy. Tell me I’m not crazy.

My heart beats in my throat.Ga gung, ga gung, ga gung.I take in a fortifying breath and tense to move away. That’s when he turns to look at me. His cobalt eyes are on fire. His left hand comes up and dives into my hair, pulling me into a searing kiss.

The simmering field between us ignites. My skin flames. His kiss burns. I bite his bottom lip and Ash makes this rough, almost angry sound. As if I’m going to pay for making him so desperate for me. But I’m just as crazed for him. I shift, moving to straddle his lap. His right hand grips my ass, possessive and starving.

Using the hand tangled in my hair he holds me back, meets my eyes. “Angela.” My name is a prayer and plea. I’m panting, my hands on his chest, on those marvelous tattoos.

“Shut up.” I capture his lips again. He groans and meets my passion, sitting up, pressing our chests together, holding me so tight. So perfectly hard.

Ash twists away and I let out a frustrated sound. He’s staring at the door. The cabin is small. We’re in a sitting room with a stone fireplace—that we couldn’t light because of the smoke—bracketed by two windows. The front door is to our left and to our right is a bedroom and a bathroom.

Ash lifts his gun with the hand that moments ago was so twisted in my hair I would have thought he’d never let go. I slide off him as the quick triple knock lets us know it’s Alesana.

I shuffle away, touching my swollen lips, feeling like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. When Alesana enters, I’m cleaning up the first aid kit. I glance up at him but can’t maintain eye contact.

Ash grabs the shirt I laid on him earlier and pulls it over his head. I don’t offer to help. If I touch him again, I might actually combust.

Alesana doesn’t offer to help either. “It’s as we suspected, their perimeter is secure. They don’t have the manpower to come looking for us and keep it that way, but it’s going to be a bitch to get out of here,” he says.

Ash nods and stands, pacing to look out the window. “They will wait until nightfall at least. We need to get out of here before then.”

The first aid kit organized and closed, I turn to the two men. “I’ll call Victoria, she can help.”

Ash scowls. “You trust her?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“We want the same thing…we want…she will help us.”

Omar and Victoriaarrive on horseback. They bring the scent of rain, hay, and earth into the cabin with them. Omar crosses to where I stand, eating up the space between us so fast that I see Ash’s hand come to rest on the butt of his gun, though he doesn’t draw it.

Ash is fully dressed, including laced-up black boots, a gun holster criss-crossing his back, and a utility belt with another holster. Omar ignores him, coming into my space and cupping my face, staring down into my eyes. My hands come to his wrists, warm and solid.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, his accent playing with the words, the deep timbre of his voice dropping to a dangerous rumble.If anyone has hurt you, they will pay.

“I’m okay,” I say, my throat tight, heart thundering. “Really. I’m fine.”

His eyes roam my face then down my body, looking for injury. There are some scratches on my arms, but they’re covered by my clothing. Omar sighs and takes a step back. “Alhamdulillah,” he says in a low voice.

“You rode?” Ash says, addressing Victoria.

“Yes,” she answers. “I thought it best.”

“Does that mean you can’t escort us off the property?” There is no condemnation in his voice, no emotion at all. Iceberg Ash is back.

“I can.” She straightens her shoulders. “But it’s not that simple.”

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