Chapter Fifteen #4
Okay, so the man had limited honor. For some reason, he’d changed his mind and was now intending to continue with his earlier seduction.
His hands touched her bare skin and she almost screamed at the heat enveloping her.
Hands—Hades touching her—now is not the time to think about Hades’ hands, girl.
It was too late. Heat and desire, all mixed up with the memory of Hades’ hands in her pants, giving her what she needed.
She wanted to take her clothes off. She had to leave before…
The sound of the door opening interrupted her wildly careening thoughts. The light came on. Releasing her lips, Armando lifted his head.
“Ah, I wondered how long it’d take before you decided enough was enough,” he said mildly. Helen peered dazedly around Armando. Jed—Number Nine—stood at the doorway. She put a hand to her back and pulled her shirt down. That man seemed bent on appearing when she wasn’t looking her best.
“What are you doing, Armando?” Jed asked quietly.
Armando’s hands dropped to his sides. “Pretending to be the Prince of Darkness,” he glibly replied. “Showing Agent Roston here a thing or two. Making you appear. I’ve been very busy, as you can tell.”
“Don’t you have somewhere to go, Agent Roston?” Jed asked politely. “I need to talk to Armando privately.”
She would have stayed if she hadn’t felt that any moment now she would lose control of her legs and she would end up in a pile at this man’s feet again. That was all she needed.
“I was just going,” she informed him and disentangled herself from Armando. Limping past, she couldn’t resist bringing up the same subject from their last meeting. “Want to time me to my next destination?”
Jed’s silver gaze stabbed hers. “It’s easy to find you,” he said, looking back at Armando, who had flopped down lazily onto one of the seats, “when you’re so easily distracted.”
Ouch. Hell glanced back. Armando smiled and shrugged.
Had he really been trying to distract her?
From what? She looked back at Jed. Or whom?
At the moment, she was too muddled to try to figure this out.
She had better go before she decided to do what was an inexplicable temptation at the moment.
She wanted to walk over to Jed and mess up that perfectly combed hair and twist that errant lock across his forehead around her finger.
She had to clench her hand to stop herself.
“Still distracted, aren’t you?”
Helen blinked. “About what?”
“How long has it been since you slept, Miss Roston?” Jed asked softly. “Forty-eight, fifty-some hours? Your mind is showing signs of exhaustion and your body is catching up. I suggest you return to your quarters and get Dr. Kirkland to help you to get ready for bed, like a good little girl.”
“Oh, she’s ready to go to bed,” Armando said.
Helen ignored Armando’s chuckle. “The operation is finished and I can do what I like,” she told him. Good little girl? Who did he think he was? Had it really been that long since she had slept?
“Then do it, so the rest of us can finish our jobs.”
She stared defiantly at those silver eyes. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to apprehend both the targets. I’ll help you find the missing man.”
“I don’t need you to do my job. And now, if you’ll excuse us?” He addressed Armando, “You didn’t interrupt Number Eight like you were cued to do.”
“I was…distracted. Can you send me to bed now, too?” Armando asked, amusement in his voice.
Jed turned and looked pointedly at Helen.
Okay, she got the message. This was man-to-man private.
She left the room and closed the door, wondering why she felt so prickly toward this one commando.
After all, he’d shown up at the right time twice already.
Both times, it seemed, she’d delayed his royal highness from some important task.
She shouldn’t have mentioned about having finished her mission.
After all, that gave him the opening to remind her that he still had his to do, and she was partially to blame for that.
Okay, more than partially. If she hadn’t made him lose time going back down the elevator, he could have had both the Cummings in custody by now.
Instead, only the woman was caught and now they had to interrogate her to find out where her husband could be hiding. A whole lot of work lay ahead for other people and it made Helen feel bad that she was to blame.
She had to get these overwhelming sensations under control somehow before she got back to work.
Sleep. She knew she would just be lying in bed if she went to her quarters.
The idea of having Dr. Kirkland and staff touching her right now made her want to puke.
No, she had to tire herself out, get her mind off sex, then head to the CAVE.
Armando said he tricked his mind into believing he was back in balance. She had to find out how he did it.
First…she thought of it a moment, then nodded. Yeah, she would go swimming. A couple of long and slow laps alone would take the edge off. Maybe she would sit in the hot tub for a few minutes and relax. Her injured leg would probably thank her for it.
The silent vibration of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. She checked her message. Dr. Kirkland wanted to know whether she was okay and to make sure she got to bed soon.
Helen smiled. She hadn’t had so many men wanting her in bed in a while.
Her smile disappeared. Wasn’t that the reason for her current dilemma?
According to Armando, her body was overcompensating.
All last year, she’d ignored her emotional and physical needs while in training.
She had a healthy sex drive normally but she hadn’t…
She frowned. When was the last time…? She sighed.
Pathetic. She could just imagine Dr. Kirkland’s face if she text-messaged him: Supersoldier-spy needs sex for food.