Chapter 12 #3
He watched hurt flicker across her face. “At me?”
He stopped her hand with his. “No, not you. You scared me, that’s all. I’m angry at your attacker for having the balls to show up here and think he could get his hands on the Vance papers, and then taking a potshot at you because you identified him.”
Her breath caught. She swallowed hard and went back to cleaning the wound. The water rain red in the sink as she rinsed the washcloth. “We foiled his plans now twice.”
“Yes, and now I have his face on video and I put a bullet in his leg. He’s going to regret ever having messed with you.”
Her body softened a bit. She glanced at their hands, then her gaze rose to meet his eyes again. She worried her bottom lip. “That’s the second time you’ve saved my life.”
He closed his eyes briefly because all he could do was stare at her lips otherwise. “Let’s make sure there isn’t a third.”
A small, watery laugh escaped those lips he was trying not to stare at.
The sound pulled something in him tight.
He reached up with his good hand and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her cheek.
He meant to do only that. One simple contact.
One reassurance. But her eyes widened again and the room around them seemed to quiet.
But Katherine was in front of him with his blood on her fingers, and for one breath, nothing else mattered.
“You scared me, too, you know,” she said, wrapping the wound.
“Protecting you is my job.”
She washed off her hands and checked her work. “It isn’t what I hired you for.”
“No, but like I told you before, you’re stuck with me now as your bodyguard. Premium package.”
Katherine smiled. It was a small, fragile thing, but it still lit up her face when she looked up at him. Her smile trembled. “That sounds expensive.”
He leaned forward to hover his lips close to hers. “Worth every penny.”
Her eyes lingered on his mouth. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she brushed her lips against his.
Heat shot through him. He kissed her back, careful at first, but then Katherine made a small noise in her throat, and careful stopped being possible.
He cupped her face with both his hands, ignoring the throbbing of his wound.
She rose onto her toes, hands on his waist as if she needed the anchor.
The kiss deepened, shaped by fear and relief and all the words neither of them knew how to say.
Katherine broke away with a startled laugh. “Well, that was unprofessional of me.”
Jasper rested his forehead against hers, breathing hard. His arm ached, and his heart ached more, but not in a way he wanted fixed. “I like it when you’re unprofessional.”
Katherine drew back enough to look at him, and the warmth in her eyes almost undid him. “Are there rules against this kind of thing for you?”
“You’re defying orders from an Associate Deputy Director at the CIA, and you’re worried about SPS rules?”
She shrugged. “You’re right. Who cares?” And then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.
He lifted her onto the vanity, sliding in between her knees. Careful of his wound, she pulled him closer. He trailed kisses along her jawline and down her neck.
“I think I’ve finally cracked your code,” he said against her soft, warm skin.
“My code?” she breathed.
He inhaled deeply, drawing in her scent, skimming his hands over her shoulders, along her ribs.
“Yeah. I’ve written computer code for hundreds of programs. Designed dozens of software applications.
People have their own kind of code, like DNA, but altered by experience and willpower.
” He nuzzled her neck. “Yours is filled with lines that bring you a sense of control. You follow logic and sequence to establish boundaries. You search for anomalies to weed them out.”
She arched against him. “So you’ve just hacked me,” she said in a teasing tone.
His fingers grazed over her collarbone. He needed to get her out of her blouse. “Not to overwrite anything,” he murmured in her ear. “Just to see what I need to do to make that tight control you have on everything unspool for me.”
She shivered under his touch, her lids heavy as she met his gaze. “Sounds like a challenge.”
He grinned. “Oh, it is.” He slid a hand to the nape of her neck and cradled the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. “So tell me, Katherine. What do I have to do to make you let go and come for me?”
Her breath hitched. She blinked. He thought for a second that she was reaching for her professional demeanor again. That she was about to tell him to take his hands off her so she could flee to her room.
But then the corners of her mouth turned up, and she raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “What kind of challenge would it be if I handed you the owner’s manual? If you like a challenge, Jasper, then take my clothes off, and figure it out on your own.”
He crushed his mouth against hers, stealing her breath and making her cling to him. “Challenge accepted,” he said, and lifted her off the vanity and carried her to his bed.