A Spy for Christmas (4 page)

Three games later, they both knew they weren’t concentrating
on the game at all.

“More truth or dare?” he asked. Just the words sent her
temperature soaring.

To ward off her hormones, she said, “Okay, truth. Why don’t
we leave? There could be someone out here. Wouldn’t we be safer back in the
city?”

He dropped his cards on the floor in front of him and
sighed. “Yes, it could seem that way.”

“And? Or? But?” She waved her stack of cards at him.

He held up his hands, asking for a minute.

“Grayson, how can you expect me to trust you with my life?”
With her virtue. A tiny little voice in her head added that odd phrase. Grayson
might be trying to save her life (although that was up for discussion too) but
he definitely was not trying to save her virtue. He was after her. His lazy
sexiness was driving her mad. He just sat there and looked so good.

“Robin?”

She pulled her gaze from his mouth.

“I didn’t see those two men until it was too late.” His eyes
darkened with the admission. “Just imagine if they’d kidnapped you. I messed
up. I didn’t see this coming.”

Because he’d been focused on her.
That made her hot
and itchy all the way through, so much that she could hardly hold still. She
couldn’t take it. She snapped. “So, this is all your fault. And yet, I’m
supposed to trust you and hide out here like a sitting duck. A very nice Merry
Christmas!”

He brushed the cards lying between them aside and moved
closer. “I’m sorry I got you involved.” Grayson’s voice was filled with
honesty.

She trusted him on that point. Still. Frustrated, she ran
her hands back through her hair. “Then work with me here. I want to know what’s
going on.”

“I’ve told you everything I can!” He stiffened now. The room
felt stiff.

“Then tell me what you can’t.”

He let out a pent up breath, bumping the side of his fist on
the floor.

When he didn’t answer, she pushed more. “Is it just you?
Isn’t there anyone else helping us?”

Looking down, he nodded. “There is. I can tell you that, if
it’ll put your mind at ease. In fact, that was another agent sitting beside you
on the plane.”

“The new bride?” she asked, thinking back. The girl had
looked like a teenager. “That
doesn’t
ease my anxieties.”

“She’s deadlier than she looks. There was another agent on
the plane as well. They were both clandestine agents, trying to ensure I wasn’t
followed and that I made it off the plane safely.”

“So there were other agents that didn’t see that attack
coming,” she said. Grayson’s face came up quickly with a dark look. Apparently
he didn’t like her placing blame on others. Maybe they were a close team or
even friends. To move away from that subject, she added, “So there are agents
out here?”

He nodded. “I can promise you I will guard your life with my
own. I also believe, as I said, that we’re merely taking extreme precaution to
ensure this doesn’t cause any more damage.”

While speaking, he’d laid his hands on her knees. In that
instant, she realized they were face to face, inches apart, with an
undercurrent flowing between them about to catch fire.

With the warm light on him, she took in the perfect planes
of his face, the stubble on his strong jaw and the fire in his gold and orange
flecked eyes. As arousing as his looks were, the raging desire in his look
snatched the very breath from her lungs. This beautiful, wild man desperately
wanted her. 

The days were ending early in the Oregon winter, and only
weak light came in the window as the day moved toward evening. Between the lit
lantern on the table and fire crackling, the cabin felt about as secluded and
seductive as any space could feel. Robin slowly stood up, trembling, but she
didn’t want to hide from the moment. Grayson looked up at her, in awe she
thought.

While there was no doubt in her mind that if she had never
met this man, she would not be in fear for her life, but there was no denying
that she trusted him not only with her life but with her desires.

Grayson stood as well, never taking his gaze from her. She
didn’t move. She hardly breathed, only aware of her quickening heartbeat,
looking unflinchingly into his eyes.

            “You eyes are making
promises,” he said, his own eyes gleaming.

Despite an awareness of the danger they faced, both Robin
and Grayson both made a decision. He had broadcast his want for her. She
invited him in with words. The very atmosphere of the room seemed to know it.
There wasn’t anything to hold them back from acting on their feelings. The
steadily building passion held enough energy to destroy anything that dared to
try.

He held out his hand to her. “Come to me, Robin.” 

Like an obedient and trusting child, she took the few steps
into his waiting arms.

Just like the night before, their lips came together in a
passionate slow dance of kisses. This time, however, she wouldn’t run away. She
wanted this. Needed this. Could not go on with it. On some level Robin was
vaguely aware of his fascinating mix of manly strength and gentleness that
weakened her knees; but her raw desire for him took her complete attention.
It’d scared her the night before. Now she felt a thrill of freedom as she gave
herself up to it.

She felt her body responding to his touch as if she’d been
made for this. Robin had never reacted like this to anyone.

 As they stood enjoying the sensuality of the long lingering
kiss, Grayson held on to her in a protective embrace. Even in the inferno of
his lust, he was still fully aware that it was his duty to keep her safe. He
shouldn’t want her this desperately, not after dragging her into this mess, but
she owned his mind and body now. Pleasing her could be an addition or a duty.
He welcomed both.

She murmured something. Grayson tried to respond. The words
themselves didn’t matter, though. Everything was understood. As the intensity
of their desire heightened, they both knew they had reached a point of no
return.

Slowly and gently, he lowered her onto the daybed.  She
didn’t resist as he knelt beside the bed and began peeling off her clothing in
layers, kissing her skin as he found each new spot. She was perfect, every inch
of her. Robin was breathtakingly beautiful, and not just physically. His heart
constricted with care for this spirited, smart, funny and sexy woman.

She reached for his shirt and pulled, flashing a taunting
smile. He didn’t resist her either, and let her pull his clothes off. 

Robin was determined to live every moment of this fantasy to
its fullest. Who knew what tomorrow would bring? Here was a Christmas present
for the taking, no matter if they got the chance to explore a relationship.
This would be perfect.

She held out her arms and pulled him to her on the bed. 

“Did you have any idea when we met?” he mumbled into her
hair, breathing in her scent and holding her close.

“That we would drive each other over the edge?” she finished
for him, running her hands all over his skin, feeling the taut muscles
underneath. “What strong arms you have…”

“The better for carrying you with…and loving you with… and
sweeping you off your feet and into my fancy day bed.”

That made her laugh, the sound getting lost into his neck.
They fit together so wondrously, in so many places. Each time his mouth gently
yet firmly tasted every inch of her body, he wordlessly told her that he would
cherish and respect her with everything in his being. He murmured, “You’re so
beautiful, so perfect,” over and over onto her skin.

When he teased her past reason, he asked, “Do you want me?”

“You naughty boy,” she whispered. “You need me now.”

“Do you trust me?” he whispered, and then he waited,
suspended, his muscles quivering in anticipation and restraint.

She nodded against the pillow under her head. “Yes, I do.”

He slowly slipped down to her. It was pure pleasure. She
gripped his hair, saying his name. Robin silently communicated her trust and
knowledge that she was the queen to his king in their kingdom; where the
language spoken was theirs alone.

Much later, as the fire died down and the wind blew outside,
he kissed her mouth once more, knowing they’d be asleep in seconds. Grayson,
lying beside her with his arm protectively around her, knew that she was the
woman he had looked for his entire adult life. She had certainly satisfied and
thrilled him physically; yet his feelings were just as strong on so many other
levels.

Robin, on the edge of sleep, marinated in the intensity of
the complete pleasure she they’d shared and enjoyed. She was amazed at the
depths of her feelings for Grayson. The intensity of her feelings could be
caused from the danger that surrounded them. Could danger be an aphrodisiac?
She had never felt pleasure so intense; not even with Alex. Whether or not
imminent danger fueled her feelings, she could not, and would not, deny her
feelings for Grayson.

Grayson woke with Robin asleep and completely relaxed in his
arms. He’d turned the lantern off sometime during the night but some daylight
was seeping inside. The fire had burned down to hot coals, and he knew there’d
be a chill outside of the covers. His body burned with new desire, threatening
to overtake his mind, but Grayson fought it this time. It’d been reckless last
night. Reckless but needed. Reckless but undeniable. Now he had to remember he
was here to protect her.

Remarkably, an emotional response outshone the physical. His
heart swelled in such a strange reaction that he couldn’t place it at first. Even
if she walked out of his life soon, this would always rank as the best
Christmas he ever had. They were almost like two normal people in love spending
the holiday together.

Then he looked at the woman that had made him so happy and
kissed her shoulder. She rolled her head his way and smiled without opening her
eyes.

“I was afraid,” he whispered, “that I would wake up to find
it’d been a dream with you. But here you are.”

Her smile grew. “I’m still dreaming.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder, looking at her face,
noticing little details. Her eyelashes matched her hair. She had a tiny freckle
by her temple and a few light ones on her nose. He traced a finger along her
jaw line and down her neck, following her collarbone and then the swell of her
breast.

“Grayson?” she asked, slowly opening her eyes. When she
looked at him, there was a hint of worry there. “Were you close to the girl on
the plane?”

He almost laughed. “Are you jealous?”

“No, not really…I thought you seemed a bit protective when I
said the other two agents missed something too.”

He nodded and looked away, wanting to gather his thoughts.
“That was my sister.”

Her body jerked. “Your sister?”

His throat constricted so that he couldn’t answer. Of course
he was proud of Arianna, but he carried around a weight, knowing his influence
had led to her join the agency.

“Grayson? That wasn’t real on the plane?”

It had bothered him that Robin thought that. Once in a
while, he wanted credit for helping others. His job required secrecy, so it had
felt nice when Robin looked at him in awe at their first meeting.

“That little ploy came from a real incident. I did trade
seats with a young bride once, and it seems to work really well for different
missions.” He looked back to her and returned to her original question. “I
worry about my sister, but she’s an excellent agent. She’s thirty-three, but
you’d never guess from looking at her.”

Robin was quiet for a long time, lost in her thoughts. His
mind wandered as well; he tried to picture what would happen once they received
the okay to leave. She might want to go back to her life as usual and forget
about their time together—it hadn’t been voluntary on her part, after all. Not
liking that scenario, he got up and started breakfast.

After they ate, he went out on the porch to see if he could
call out. It was snowing much heavier so he wasn’t able to get cell phone
reception.  Just as he turned to go inside he saw them. The footprints led away
from the cabin as they had the day before.

Grayson immediately went into high alert. He knew keeping
Robin safe meant more to him than an assignment, but to keep them both safe he
knew they had to leave the cabin. Orders be damned. 

Opening the door, he said calmly but firmly, “We have to get
out of here now.”

“I’m way ahead of you. Let’s roll!” She was pulling her coat
on as she walked, carrying a bag. He grabbed the bag to help her and noted it
had a few supplies in it. Maybe she’d looked out the window and spotted the
footprints just as he had. Grayson looked at her with a mixture of admiration
and desire as they jumped into the SUV.

The SUV roared to life and he expertly drove down the road
to the highway, keeping a careful watch. His immediate focus was to get them
both to safety, but he was also thinking of the future and whether he would be
able to have the normal life he hoped for, including the relationship with
Robin he so badly wanted.

The scenery and his thoughts were whizzing by. Robin looked
less grim as they closed in on the highway. But then the SUV’s engine, suddenly
and with finality, just died. 

“Oh, oh. Don’t tell me we’re out of gas,” she said as he
guided the dead vehicle to a safe stop.

Grayson almost smiled at Robin’s innocent assumption.
Almost. Because he knew, without a doubt, that the SUV had been tampered with. 
Damn! He cursed himself for being so absorbed in his thoughts.  He knew from
his years of experience how a vehicle’s engine ran when the wires had been
rigged. Coming to his senses, he realized the SUV had actually been running
strangely since they started out, yet he had ignored the familiar roughness and
strain of the engine until the vehicle stopped.