Chapter Five
“Matthews, you and Adams have days, Lowell and Danford can take nights,” Kimberly informed the four men as they were escorted by Jared’s housekeeper to their individual rooms. The men were downstairs, Kimberly was upstairs. Right next door to Jared.
“Will do, Kimberly. ” David Matthews nodded his dark head solemnly, his puppy dog eyes smiling back at her. “Lighten up, we shouldn’t be here long. Raddington doesn’t seem the type to really like company. ”
Kimberly snorted. Jared had stopped just shy of rude when they drove in that morning.
“What the hell an ex-Special Forces soldier needs us for, I have no idea. He didn’t look like he had grown lazy,” Tim Adams grumped as he tossed his suitcase on one of the two double beds that filled the large bedroom.
The agents’ rooms were connected, two to a room, at the back of the house. The rooms were airy and comfortable, but not exactly homely. Jared evidently wasn’t one to encourage overnight guests.
“He’ll get used to it. ” She shrugged as though unconcerned, but it bothered her as well.
Jared was considered one of the best soldiers in the Special Forces when he retired after his father’s death. His record was impeccable, his mission successes rated at ninety-nine percent. He could take out all five of the bodyguards sent to protect him, and likely take on a full assassination team with the advanced notice he had been given.
She focused instead on the four men she had been assigned. She was aware that Jared had approached her father in regards to what he considered suitable for a husband for Kimberly. Senator Madison had been extremely derogatory when he relayed that information to her.
As though I would consider him,he had told her, derision thickening his voice. You need restraint, Kimberly, not a man as deviant as you more than likely are yourself.
Deviant. He had no idea, she thought in smug satisfaction as she wondered if he had any idea how effectively she had sidestepped the Trust’s conditions. Anal sex might not be the most satisfying act, but it eased the fury and the tension that drove her.
But he knew Jared’s interest in her now, and she knew how the Senator worked. One of the men with her was sent, not to guard anything, but to report back to the Senator instead.
“Keep your eyes open and keep me updated,” she told the four as they watched her now. “I’ll get unpacked and meet you back down here for dinner. The housekeeper said it’s five sharp, no later. Let’s try not to disturb his routine too severely. ”
She actually preferred to make certain they didn’t disturb Jared at all; he hadn’t looked pleased with their presence.
Taking a deep breath, she moved down the hall to the back stairs and climbed them quickly to return to her own room. It was on the far side, a small suite with a large queen bed that looked so damned inviting she wanted nothing more than to sink into it. She had spent nearly a week with little sleep and it was making her sluggish. She couldn’t afford not to have her wits about her on this job.
She closed the door behind her, locking it automatically as she moved through the small sitting room and into the much larger bedroom. The deep forest green carpet cushioned her feet as she kicked her sneakers off her feet and moved them to the side of the door.
Her suitcase sat on the large rosewood trunk at the bottom of the bed, opened invitingly, her gown lying on the top of her serviceable clothing. Closing the lid to the case, she stared around the room silently. The dark cherry wood furniture made the room seem warmer, comforting. This room was meant to pleasure, to soothe, and it did that far too well.
“Do you like the room?”
Kimberly jumped in surprise as she turned, facing the door on the opposite side of the room that Jared had managed to open without a sound.
Her breath caught at the swift punch of desire that contracted her womb and sent heat spreading through the vulnerable flesh between her thighs. She could feel the thick, warm juice spilling along the folds there, preparing her for him, making her ache all the more.
He looked good enough to eat. Leaning against the doorframe, his muscular arms crossed over his chest, his gaze somber as he watched her. His gray eyes were stormy, the color flowing and ever-changing as tension thickened the air around them.
“It’s beautiful. ” She cleared her throat, hiding her grimace at the thick huskiness of her voice.
She was so weak. She pushed her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she fought the need to touch him, to taste his kiss again. Her heart was racing out of control, the blood pumping furiously through her veins and echoing in the swollen bud of her clit.
Drawing in a deep breath, she swallowed tightly as she watched his eyelids lower sensually. She could see the sexual tension moving through his body. Darkening his eyes, swelling the front of his jeans.
“You know this won’t work,” he growled the words at her. “You, here, in this house. I couldn’t even keep from putting you in the room beside mine, how much longer do you think it will be before I have you in my bed, Kimber?”
Images too hot to escape flashed through her mind. His hard body bare, perfect, muscles gleaming with sweat as he came over her, his powerful thighs moving between hers…
“I didn’t want this. Not for you, nor me. ” She shook her head fiercely, fighting the temptation. And it was a temptation. The need to go to him, to accept him and to forget the vow she had made so long ago.
She remembered his kiss, dark and intoxicating, the sensations whipping through her system as his lips dominated hers, his tongue forging past hers to take possession of her mouth.
“I know you didn’t. And I know what we’re both risking. ” He straightened from the doorframe. “It’s why I’ve stayed away from you. It’s why I jack off at night instead of kidnapping you and tying you to my bed where I can fuck you at will. It’s why I think this is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done in my entire life. ”