Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 10) (15 page)

Glancing down at the journal, he looked at the new lines she’d penned tonight. “You want to talk about it?” he offered, his lips against her hair.

The journal writing helped them both, a lot. He’d first tried it at her suggestion months ago and had been surprised at how therapeutic it was. It had really helped him to mentally file the ugly memories in the past, where they belonged, allowing him to move forward.

She lifted a shoulder. “Not really. Just…seeing those faces and hearing the voices of some of Qureshi’s fighters again was hard. It brought back a lot of things I’d rather forget.”

He made a low sound and kept stroking her hair, understanding perfectly. The truth was, he’d been struggling somewhat with his PTSD issues again since landing in Amman, and fighting like hell not to let it show. The team had enough to worry about without feeling like they needed to keep an eye on him too.

He wasn’t sure what had triggered it. Something about the climate over here maybe, about being back in a place where the Islamic call to prayer rang out across the city, had put him instantly on edge the moment he’d walked out of the airport.

He’d been working hard to slay his personal demons these past months, journaling and seeing a therapist periodically about the mission from hell when he’d lost a close friend back in Afghanistan.

She lifted her head and looked up at him, the pale scars on the left side of her neck and jaw silvery in the lamplight. Looking at them, he was struck by a wave of gratitude. They both went through hell in Afghanistan, Taya more than him.

But if they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have met and he wouldn’t be holding her right now. So even though he sometimes still had nightmares about losing O’Neil, he didn’t regret all of it.

She put her head back on his shoulder. When she didn’t say anything for a long time, her breathing slow and even, he thought she might be asleep.

But when he glanced down he saw that her eyes were open, staring off into space across the room. Lost in memories he knew she’d never be able to forget.

He could definitely help distract her from them, however, at least right now.

Cupping her jaw in one hand, he brought her gaze to his. “I’m really glad you’re here,” he told her. And the soft weight of her in his lap was having predictable results. It had only been six days since he’d last seen her, been inside her, but it felt like a lot longer. He craved her with a power he’d never known was possible until the day she’d reappeared in his life.

She gave him a smile full of understanding and rubbed her cheek against his palm, the kittenish move making him want to nuzzle and kiss her all over. “Me too. I just wish we could find her.”

“We all do. And we will find her.” Every last person involved with the case was aware that the odds of finding Summer were already slim, and getting slimmer with each passing hour. He seriously didn’t know what the hell they were going to do if she didn’t make it. God, and poor Blackwell would…

He slammed that door in his mind shut before he could finish that thought and focused on Taya. The way she smelled. The way she was nuzzling his chest and how it made his dick throb.

The room was quiet, the air around them suddenly charged with anticipation. Staring into Taya’s eyes he felt that deep, unshakable connection between them snap into place. It centered him, helped banish the ghosts swirling around the edges of his consciousness. He wanted to do the same for her.

Tipping her face up, he bent his head and took her lips in a slow, thorough kiss. She melted into him with a little hum that set his blood on fire, her tongue doing a slow, erotic dance with his. He was already hard.

Gripping her hips, he stood and walked her backward to the closest bed, laying her down on it. When he came down on top of her she surprised him by pushing at his shoulder, trying to roll him over.

He moved onto his back, a hot thrill racing through him when she straddled him, then grabbed the hem of her sleep shirt and pulled it over her head. He reached up to cup the full, round globes of her breasts but she caught his wrists and pressed them back against the sheet.

The intensity in her eyes stole his breath, made his heart pound as he allowed her to pin his hands above his head, surrendering to her. His gorgeous little warrior was making it clear without a word that she needed control tonight, and he wanted to lose himself in her. He was more than happy to let her be in charge right now.

He lay back, lifted his torso as she peeled his T-shirt off, his pulse spiking at the appreciative hum she made, her fingertips tracing the lines of his muscles. When she trailed a hand down his abs he raised his hips so she could get him naked, tugging his pants and underwear off. Her hands and mouth wandered over his naked skin, raising goose bumps and drawing every muscle tight.

Her eyes glowed with desire as she sat upright. By the time she straddled his waist, his heart was tripping all over itself and his mouth was dry.

All the static in his brain was on mute. He couldn’t think at all as he stared up at the luscious mounds of her breasts, the hard nipples begging to be teased.

Lips curved into a knowing smile, she cupped his head between her hands and leaned down to offer him a taut nipple and he was lost. With a groan he took her into his mouth and sucked, his cock twitching at her gasp of enjoyment.

Her hands were in his hair, fingers rubbing against his scalp with an erotic pressure, then she reached back with one hand and wrapped it around his swollen, straining cock. He groaned deep in his throat, fought to keep his hands where they were and not cup the generous flesh he was pleasuring.

She stroked him with skillful fingers, rubbing her slick, open folds over his lower belly, the wet sound of it driving him wild.

Sitting up, she pushed her hair back from her face, her curls tumbling down her back. Her eyes were like molten silver, hot with need, her cheeks flushed. “I want you inside me.”

“Hell yes, ride me.”

He curled his hands into fists and stared up at her, mesmerized by her sheer, feminine power. His breathing was erratic as she stood him up and scooted backward to hover over him, the head of his cock just kissing her slick entrance. Watching him, she sunk her teeth into that full lower lip and eased down slightly, inching him inside her.

Tight, slick heat enveloped him, stealing his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, a shudder rolling through him. And when he opened his eyes to find her stroking her clit while he was buried inside her, he almost lost it. His fingers clenched with the need to take over for her.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he rasped out, squeezing his fingers tighter into his palms to keep from reaching for her, seizing her full hips in his hands and taking control.

A slow, appreciative smile curved her mouth and her eyes went heavy-lidded. She rocked forward, the glide and pressure shooting sparks of pleasure up and down his spine. Her hum of enjoyment turned into a soft, liquid moan as she rode him, slow and sweet and sexy, her breasts swaying with each roll of her hips.

“God, you feel so good inside me,” she gasped out, eyes squeezed shut, the hitch in her breathing and the strain on her face telling him she was already getting close. “You’re just so…hard,” she moaned, rocking faster now, fingers swirling gently across the swollen nub between her thighs.

Nate shuddered again, his building release already a warning tingle at the base of his spine. He couldn’t speak, could only clench his jaw and hold on while she rode his cock in utter abandonment.

A few strokes later she threw her head back and cried out as she broke. Her inner walls squeezed him in a rhythmic caress, pushing him past the point of no return.

Rearing upward, he grabbed hold of her hips and rolled her beneath him. She was still coming as he pounded into her, fast and hard, over and over…then drove deep one last time and held there while he shattered. He groaned like a dying man and let it roll through him, the pleasure wiping out everything.

When it finally faded he relaxed his grip on her hips and bunched his hands in her hair, raising his head to seal their mouths together in a deep, intimate kiss. Then, gently withdrawing from her warmth, he rolled them onto their sides and tucked her into his body, pulling the covers over them both.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her forehead.

A sleepy smile curved her mouth and she didn’t open her eyes. “Love you too.”

She was half-asleep when he came back from cleaning up and washed between her legs with a washcloth.

Knowing how lucky he was to have her here, to have her in his life at all, let alone her heart, he cradled her against him and held her tight.

Adam jerked awake from a nightmare with his heart hammering and his skin slick with sweat. He sat upright in the bed, the fear still gripping him as he struggled to get his bearings in the darkness.

It took a few moments for his sleep-deprived brain to process everything. The hotel. Tuck was asleep in the other bed.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he drew a shuddering breath and got out of bed. Fragments of the nightmare kept assaulting him, the images vivid, horrifying.

Summer, staked out on the ground as her captors assaulted and tortured her. Her screaming his name, begging for help while she endured the unthinkable.

The muscles in his jaw tightened, saliva pooling in his mouth. As his stomach lurched he stumbled for the bathroom.

“You okay?” Tuck said groggily from his bed.

Adam didn’t answer, too busy holding back the little bit of food he’d forced down before going to bed a couple hours before. He threw the bathroom door shut and flipped the toilet seat up just as his stomach heaved. He dropped to his knees and threw up until his abs burned and his throat felt raw.

Afterward he dropped his head into his hand and sat on the cold tile floor, covered in clammy sweat. He felt broken inside. Lost.

He scrubbed a hand over his damp face, forced his wobbly legs to unfold and push him to his feet. After rinsing out his mouth and brushing his teeth he hit the shower. As the scalding hot water pounded down on his bent head and neck he stood there with his hands planted against the slick fiberglass walls and fought to clear his head.

But all he could think of was Summer.

That night at the drive-in he’d wanted so badly to take her upstairs to her apartment and finish what they’d started. But he hadn’t. Back then he’d thought they’d have plenty of time to get around to that; that the buildup and anticipation would pay off for them in the long run.

Now it just seemed like a huge fucking wasted opportunity. Maybe his last, to make love to the woman who meant everything to him.

Aside from the stillbirth, everything that had pulled them apart seemed like bullshit now. He would trade places with her in an instant, give his life for her if it would set her free. Did she know in her heart that he was searching for her? That he wouldn’t give up?

He wouldn’t leave Jordan without her. He was taking her home, no matter what.

He just prayed it wouldn’t be in a body bag.

Tuck was waiting for him when he finally emerged from the bathroom. That deep brown gaze swept over him critically.

“Don’t say it,” Adam warned. “I’m still fully operational.”

Tuck didn’t respond for a long moment.

If they were reunited again, Adam vowed then and there that he’d make sure Summer would never doubt his love for her ever again.

A cell went off.

Adam’s gaze shot to the nightstand where he’d put his, but realized it was Tuck’s ringing. At this hour, the call had to be important.

Tuck leaned over and grabbed it. “Tucker.” His eyes met Adam’s as he listened. “Yeah, he’s right here.”

Adam’s heart beat faster.

“We gotta get down to the command center. A tip just came from a reliable source about a possible location on the cell, up near the Syrian border.”

The news hit him like he’d been mainlining shots of espresso for the past hour. Instantly all the fatigue was gone, his brain clear and alert, his body primed for action. Without waiting for Tuck, Adam grabbed his gear and rushed for the door, yanking his shirt over his head.

He was going to get his wife back.

****

Something big was about to happen. She could feel it. And Hadad was growing restless.

For about the past half hour Summer had watched him rushing back and forth, coming in and out of view as he disappeared out of and back into the building. He was barking orders, overseeing what his men were doing, and she only caught bits and pieces of what he said.

She could see it all clearly because they hadn’t put the hood back on her. Something that only made the churning in her stomach worse. If they didn’t care if she saw what was going on now, then it had to mean her usefulness to them had come to an end.

Her heart thudded hard against her chest wall and clammy sweat gathered beneath her arms, on her hands. What were they going to do to her? She’d seen a video of Hadad beheading a prisoner, and crucifying another. Cruel, agonizing and terrifying ways to die.

She tried to keep from imagining all the horrific ways they could torture and kill her, things she’d seen at work but now that her imagination had gotten rolling, it was impossible to cut off that train of thought.

Trying not to draw any attention to herself, she stayed motionless against the back bars of the cell. They’d put her in it a few minutes after Hadad had looked down at her with those chilling black eyes and told her he was going to take everything from her.

They’d cut her hands and feet free, tossed her dirty socks and a beat up pair of old running shoes before slamming the cell door shut and locking it. Huddled there in the dirt, she was pathetically grateful for the extra warmth. For the first time since she’d been taken, her feet weren’t numb from cold.

Except she had a terrible suspicion she wouldn’t be able to savor that for long.

From her position at the far end of the long, abandoned building they were in, she couldn’t see Jim or Mark but she had a clear view of Hadad’s men as they moved about, setting up some kind of equipment in the center of the room. She’d heard one of them talking about their location earlier, and she was pretty sure she’d overheard the name of the village they were in.