Page 54 of Edge of Danger

He shrugged, unconcerned. “Then we’ll be careful.” After all, how dangerous could Podunksville, Idaho be compared to Khartoum? And it wasn’t like he was an amateur at this stuff.

She nodded, but that shadow was back in her eyes. His internal warning antennae wiggled in response. He silently told his instincts that they were duly noted and to pipe down. In the meantime, he suggested, “You ready to turn in? The next few days could be long ones.”

She looked around the apartment wildly for a second. “Here? You want me to crash here?”

“Someone broke into your place and trashed it. Whoever did that knows where you live and obviously has serious beef against you. I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight, and don’t even try to argue with me.”

“But—“

He cut her off. “You’re just going to have to deal with my Neanderthal tendencies to protect you, like it or not.”

Her gaze snapped to his, and all of a sudden, thick sexual tension vibrated tautly in the air between them. “Ahh, darlin’,” he sighed. “you shouldn’t have looked at me like that.”

He stood up, lifted the empty beer bottle out of her fingers and took her hands, pulling her easily to her feet. He wasn’t used to such conflict raging on the faces of his women, but the sleepy lust hazing over her blue eyes was definitely familiar. That, he knew what to do with.

“I’ve missed you, too,” he murmured as he took a step closer to her lithe body.

She made a tiny sound of protest even as her eyelids got heavier and desire poured off her as thick as molasses. She mumbled, “I’m still mad at you for stealing my evidence.”

His left hand slid up to cup the back of her head under her silky hair, and his right hand slid around her slender waist. He murmured, “I gave you full credit for having collected it. Everyone was very impressed with the information you brought back.”

“And I’m still mad at you for leaving me behind in Africa.”

He slid his hand slid lower to the curve of her rear end, which fit perfectly in his hand. He murmured lower, “You were on a secure American facility, and you’re smart as hell. I knew you wouldn’t have any trouble getting home. And you seemed interested in demonstrating your independence.”

“But…” her breath hitched as his palm tightened on her behind, “…you left me.”

His voice was a bare thread of sound against her temple. “Ahh, sweet Piper. Is that what’s got you so fired up?”

Gently, so as not to spook her, he drew her hips close to his. Let her feel his desire for her. Tilted his head down to let his breath mingle with hers.

Nothing fast. No aggressive moves that would make her more tense than she already was. He even caught himself making soothing noises in the back of his throat as he let his breath wash over her temple. Her cheek. Her ear.

“I’m…very…sorry…I…left…you.” He punctuated each word with a light kiss on her face. Her cheek. Her brow. Her nose. Her chin.

She pulled in a shaky breath and let it out on a gust of surrender as she finally leaned into him, her arms snaking around his neck. Thank God. His restraint was good, but not invincible.

He whispered, “I promise I won’t leave you again.” Her lips tilted up toward his, slightly parted, and he took the invitation, his mouth closing on hers and finding the perfect angle and fit between them. She tasted spicy like pepperoni, and sweet like the mint hard candies that had come with the pizza. That was Piper—hot and cold. Fire and ice. An intriguing mystery he had yet to solve.

Lord, he’d missed her. Missed this with her. Missed the way the long tendons in her throat tensed as she threw her head back. He loved the tiny gasping moans that escaped her, the way her teeth captured her lower lip, the way her entire body pulsed as if she couldn’t get enough of him.

Throw pillows went flying. A lamp crashed to the floor. At this rate, his place was going to be as trashed as hers before theywere done. Not that he gave a flying flip. This woman was sex incarnate.

If he thought their sex in Khartoum had been great, tonight blew all of that away. He wasn’t listening with half an ear for violence outside and completely lost himself in Piper, and she seemed to do the same with him and went all in on enjoying herself.

When he could actually stand, walk, and form coherent thoughts again, he was going to classify that as the best sex he’d ever had. By a mile. And then he was going to do it again. A lot.

“We can’t ever do that again,” Piper panted.

A single thought blasted across his mind, and he gave voice to it incredulously. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

11

Piper huffed, not exactly steady emotionally. She hated having to be strong for both of them when all she wanted to do was curl up in his arms and never, ever emerge.

“C’mon, Ian. You know the rules. We’re going to be on a mission together. Colleagues.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

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