Page 18 of Wicked Intention

“I know that.”

“Then act like it.”

The mercenary glowered at her, but there was more than aggravation in his eyes, and the banked heat derailed her self-command. She stared at his lips, remembering what they felt like against hers.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he warned, voice thick, raspy.

“Like what?”

His hands went to her hips and he waited—maybe to see if she’d pull free—before tugging her against him. He shook his head. “I’m supposed to be smarter than this,” he muttered, not answering her question, and lowered his mouth to hers. Slowly. Giving her time to refuse.

She was supposed to be smart, too, but Zo met him halfway.

There was nothing tentative about their kiss. They picked up almost where they left off in the bathroom. He took, she gave and demanded what she wanted in return. She nipped his bottom lip, used her tongue to soothe the sting and to tease him, and when he opened his mouth, Zo didn’t hesitate.

He tasted of mint and coffee. Then he sucked her tongue, and she forgot about everything except what she was feeling. With a soft moan, she wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself more tightly against him.

“I want you naked,” he said between kisses. His voice was guttural, almost incomprehensible. “I want hours with you in my bed.” He nibbled on her upper lip.

“Not long enough. Days. Maybe.”

“Days,” he agreed, then took another kiss.

A sharp crack jerked his head up. Zo held her breath. His muscles were rigid, and as she watched, he homed in on thesound’s location. It came a second time, and an engine rumbled to life. He relaxed.

“It’s okay. A car backfired. It wasn’t a gunshot.”

He bent to kiss her again, but Zo backed away. She held up a hand when he took a step toward her. “No.”

“Why?” he asked, an edge of frustration underneath the neutral tone.

“You’re a death merchant. I never should have forgotten that.” The fire in his eyes almost made her decide she didn’t care—almost—but she shook her head, moved past him, and fled from the garden before her body could overrule her brain.

Chapter Seven

Rio Blanco, Puerto Jardin

Present Day

FINN PASSED through baggage claim and headed directly for customs. Ten minutes tops, and he’d be on his way to San Isidro.

He hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane. The Army had trained him to drop off anywhere, and in Special Forces, he’d rested surrounded by enemy troops. But it hadn’t worked this time. Whenever he closed his eyes, Zo was there. Finn didn’t need to imagine what could happen to her—he knew firsthand.

She was the center of his universe, and if anything happened to her, it would destroy him. So nothing could happen. She had to be okay.Had to be.

The airport was practically deserted, but the PAL flight was the last in before the place shut down for the night. He passed a few armed soldiers patrolling the concourse, and acouple of airline workers headed out for the night, but that was it. Finn reached the double doors into the customs area and pushed one open.

Chaos.Holy shit, there were lines of people everywhere.

Beating down the frustration, he studied the area, looking for whoever was in charge. One thing about Puerto Jardin was that bribery eliminated waiting almost like magic. He just needed to know whose palm to grease.

It didn’t take long to spot him. An instant later, he realized the man was turning down bribes from other fliers who wanted to get out of here.

That almost never happened, and Finn gave the situation more consideration. These weren’t the passengers from his flight—they were waiting for their suitcases—so this bottleneck had been here for a while. Each piece of luggage was being opened and searched, and there were extra soldiers standing guard.

Not common soldiers either, but members wearing the colors of the presidential brigade. Fucking great. This happened every time the government got intel that rebels were smuggling something into the country.

Finn did some estimating. There were at least two hundred people waiting, and the A330 he’d been on held another couple hundred. He picked the line that seemed to be moving the quickest and stood in it. This room was about to get much more crowded. The odds the government would find what they were looking for and let everyone else through without a search were slim.

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