Code Name Desire (3 page)

“Good evening,” she said. She clutched her
coat pockets to keep the fabric from traveling as she slid across
butter-soft leather.

“Mr. Jameson,” the driver greeted. “And where
would you like to go, sir?”

“Take us for a leisurely rove, Caster.”

“Certainly, sir.”

The door closed and heat surrounded Jaeda –
heat from the car’s heater, and heat from Teague’s heavy stare.

“You’re quite the most beautiful woman I’ve
met in a long time.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Right. Teague Jameson probably surrounded himself with beautiful
women. She’d likely suffer a complex by walking into his office at
the financial firm. With a great effort, she summoned a demure
simper. “Why, thank you, Teague. I should tell you I find you easy
on the eyes, too.”

“Well, beyond the obvious, I meant more than
your lovely appearance. I speak of your stimulating repartee and
your restraint. I like your calm.”

Did he seek to flatter her?
“
Stimulating
? I like your choice of words.” Unsure of her
ability to pull it off, but using her training to control her
nerves, she relaxed her lids to a droop then ran the tip of her
tongue over her upper lip. His gaze dropped to her mouth and she
sent him a knowing smile.

His features hardened. “Please tell me I
didn’t just pick up a lady of the night.”

Damn it! She pulled that off
too
well.
Allowing real dismay to cross her features, she surrendered her
seductive expression. “I’m not a prostitute. You think I want to
sell my body? I couldn’t sell a puppy to a little boy.” She had to
change tactics and quickly.

His tension reduced, but his expression
didn’t soften. “Caster, hold for a moment if you would.”

“Yes, sir,” said the driver from the front
seat.

Time to pull away. It had worked in the club,
so it would work here. “Teague, there has clearly been a
misunderstanding. I don’t want anything from you other than some
time and a chance to get to know you. I apologize if my flirt made
you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to.” She put fingers on the door
handle, stared at her lap, and whispered, “I’m sorry. We should
call it a night.” She ventured an innocent, wide-eyed glance his
way. “It was a pleasure meeting you and I wish you all the
best.”

She gave the locked door handle a tug, and
the driver scrambled to exit.

“One moment, Caster,” said Jameson with
authority. He softened his tone. “Jaeda, don’t be so hasty. You
caught me by surprise. Nothing more. I am a success in my work for
two reasons. I have an uncanny ability to predict market trends,
and I’m a
very
good judge of character.”

She dropped her hand from the door to her
knee. “Is that so? And how do you judge my character?”
This
ought to prove entertaining.

He cocked his head sideways and raised a
clear partition that separated them from the driver. “You’re an
enigma. I see genuine interest. You’re attracted to me, you’re
smart and you’re funny. I would guess at a wholesome upbringing,
higher education and world travel. You speak two languages besides
English?”

“Five,” she answered honestly. So far, he had
nailed it. The man’s perception could rival the most experienced
agent, and it worried her. He read every look, every word, every
move she made. She went into testing mode to make sure her guard
wouldn’t lower for an instant.

“Indeed. And yet you have this sense of
purpose I find mysterious. And the way you look at me...”

“How do I look at you?”

“Like you’re undecided. As if you can’t
figure out if you want to kiss me or run.”

So much for control and discipline ruling her
features. She had shown too much, and denying it would give her a
semblance of guilt. She couldn’t afford it. She had acquired her
target, and she had three days to
capture his heart
. She
couldn’t do that if they separated.

Jaeda sighed and let real emotion shine from
her face. “You see everything, don’t you? It’s true. I
am
torn. I like you. A lot. But I’ve been hurt.” Not a lie. “I met you
ten minutes ago and already I’m sitting in your car, prepared to go
wherever you take me. What if you’re married? What if you’re
insane? A serial killer? I’m not an impetuous person.”

He visibly relaxed. “You make sense, and I
understand. I owe you an apology for calling you a lady of the
night.”

She laughed, more from relief than amusement.
“Apology accepted. So, are you married, or what?”

He cracked a smile for the first time since
getting in the car. “I’m not married and I have no nefarious
intentions. I work for Finance UK, I chair a number of
international charities, and I’m basically just a guy.”

Just a guy
sounded ridiculous when
spoken in his privileged accent. “Somehow I find it hard to believe
you’re anything less than remarkable, Teague.”

He knocked on the partition, and the driver
pulled into traffic. “The impression is mutual. Jaeda, tell me
about yourself.” He took her hand.

Reclining against the seatback, she gave his
warm fingers a squeeze to let him know she approved the contact. He
could read her, so she could tell him no more lies. On the other
hand, she couldn’t be forthright, either, so she chose her words
with care. “Well, you seem to know a great deal about me without my
saying much.”

He bowed in a single nod.

“Okay, let’s see. What can I tell you that
you haven’t already figured out on your own? I work for the
American government. Computer work, mostly. They send me around the
world, but for the most part, I’m based here in London. I’ve been
here for five years, but I already told you that. I stay at the
Arms Hotel in King’s Cross.”

He groaned. “King’s Cross? That’s atrocious.
Why haven’t you left the dregs of London and rented a flat?”

She shrugged. “If I had known I’d be in
London this long, I would have.”

“You mean they could remove you at any time?”
He frowned.

His pout made her irrationally happy. “Yes. I
go where they tell me.”

“You have that look again.”

“What look?” Uh-oh.

“The one where you can’t decide whether you
want to kiss me or run.”

She grinned. She couldn’t help it, damn
him.

“So what’s it to be? Will you kiss me or
run?”

Chapter Four

Jaeda licked her lips, but this time, she
didn't contrive the movement. If Teague knew her position, he would
understand she had no choice. She had to kiss him. Not that she
minded. Kissing him had consumed her thoughts from the moment she
first set eyes on him.

“I have no plans to run,” she said, her palms
sweating and her heart racing.

His eyelids went to half-mast, and he slid an
arm along the cresting leather at the top of the backrest. When his
fingers went into her hair and cupped the nape of her neck, she
shuddered. She wanted to jump in his lap and throw her arms around
his shoulders, but she had to maintain her façade – a woman of the
world. Sophisticated.
Calm,
as he put it.

He leaned toward her, and she met him
halfway. Ever so tenderly, his lips touched hers. Soft as a
butterfly’s wing, he brushed her mouth with his. She sighed.

She lifted her free hand and wrapped her
fingers around his wrist. Crisp, wiry hairs played at her knuckles.
She adored the way he filled her grasp. No desk-bound business boy
kissed her. No, he was all man.

She pressed into the kiss, and he didn’t pull
away. His lips moved sensually across hers yet didn’t force
contact. Though unspoken, she understood she could end it at any
time. But she didn’t want to.

He released the hand he’d held earlier then
released her neck. Not once did he stop kissing her. With another
sigh, she closed her eyes and allowed the kiss to envelop her. It
overran her senses and made time stop. The car didn’t move. The
world didn’t spin. Her assignment didn’t exist. In that moment, her
entire world consisted of him and his heavenly kiss.

His hand returned to her neck, and she hooked
her fingers over his forearm. Her fingertips skimmed silk-smooth
cotton covering rock-hard, corded strength.
Oh, my
. He’d
removed his jacket and she hadn’t noticed.

Without breaking the contact of their lips,
he pushed her coat from her shoulders. She didn’t want to let go of
his arm, but she complied, wanting closer to him. As he leaned
further to send her coat down her back, he deepened the kiss.

His breath puffed along her check and stirred
her hair. He smelled so good. The scent of sandalwood swirled
around her head and filled her nostrils. Whatever he used on his
skin held a hint of vanilla and made her want to lick him. Mmm.
Everything about this man was delicious.

With her coat on the seat behind her, she
rested a palm on his surprisingly muscular shoulder. His arm had
been sinewy, but his shoulder sported sheer bulk. Behind her closed
lids, she imagined him without his shirt, and she trembled.

He wrapped an arm around her middle and
pulled her closer.

Yes, closer.
She couldn’t get near
enough. Sending fingers into the hair at the back of his head, she
pressed harder against his mouth.
More, more.
She whimpered
and it startled her.

He groaned then broke contact. “My God, you
taste good.” He licked his lips.

She couldn’t take her gaze from his tongue.
She wanted it. She wanted him.

As if reading her mind, he bent to capture
her mouth. They met with open lips. Hungry. Impatient.
Delightful.

His tongue dipped inside, and she caressed it
with her own. He tasted of mint, a suggestion of dry gin, and
something manly and distinctively him. Exploring her, he sent his
tongue along the inside of her teeth, glided along the roof of her
mouth, and met her tongue in a sensual dance.

Moisture seeped from between her thighs and
wet her satin panties. Gripping his shoulder, she clung to him with
desperate longing. She hadn’t realized how lonely these past five
years had made her until this moment. The assignment held first
priority, and she would do everything in her power to do as the
agency instructed. But for the moment, this moment, she wanted
nothing more than his arms around her and his kiss to last
forever.

He seemed to want the same. Gently, he eased
her backward, his lips working magic on her mouth, and drew her
legs across his thighs. He ran his fingertips from ankle to knee,
then higher to the edge of her thigh-high. Her skin tingled where
he touched her with nothing between them.

His lips grew urgent, and his tongue sought
the soft place of her palate.

Yes. More.
She couldn’t get enough of
him. No man had ever affected her like Teague. The way he looked.
The way he smelled and tasted. The way he felt, pressed against
her.

She found it increasingly difficult to hold
any thought in her head other than how much she wanted him. Needed
him. Sending her hands in an exploration of her own, she stroked
his back and learned the shape of him through the fine fabric of
his shirt. She rounded his shoulders and sent fingertips over the
taut muscles of his throat. Short bristles of evening shadow along
his jaw stimulated the nerve endings in her palms, and his hair
felt thick and soft.

He tilted his head and forced her mouth open
wider.

Please
, she begged silently, not sure
for what. More. More of him. More of his touch. More of whatever he
had to give.

She moved her hands down to the front of his
shirt and loosened his tie. Dipping her fingertips under his
collar, she raked her nails along his collarbone. He moaned into
her mouth. It was the sexiest moment she’d ever experienced. She
loved that she could give him pleasure.

Sneaking a peek, she found his eyes closed
and his brows drawn together in a wrinkle above the bridge of his
nose. He appeared as lost in her as she was in him. Releasing a
long breath through her nostrils, she closed her lids and flicked
her fingers under the chest hairs curling over his collarbone. They
felt soft against her skin. She began to resent the clothing
between them. She wanted his shirt off. Her dress off. Heck,
everything off!

Teague ended the kiss with a groan, and Jaeda
bit her lip to keep from crying out in disappointment. Had she done
something wrong? Based on the expression in his eyes, she had to
guess the answer was a resounding no. He looked like a starving man
placed before a feast. She had never considered herself a sexy
woman, but the appreciation on his face left her in no doubt that
he
did.

“Don’t stop,” she said, pouting when he took
his hand from her thigh. She liked that he made her pant. She liked
even more that she made
him
pant.

His chest heaving and his hands fisted and
pressing into the seat’s leather, he shook his head. “If I don’t
stop now, I won’t be able to.” His voice sounded thick and
strained.

His words gave her pause. She glanced toward
the front and caught the driver’s furtive, guilty eyes in the
rearview mirror. Okay, Teague made a good argument. She hardly
wanted an audience. Besides, she had to win his heart. A tawdry
romp in the back of a car was for high school sweethearts, not
world-wise adults. It wouldn’t help her get the job done.

“Of course,” she said. Sitting straight, she
adjusted her dress and cast him a shy look through her lashes. “You
must think me the loosest of women, but please believe me when I
say this is completely out of character for me.”

He nodded. “And for me. There’s a chemistry
between us I find intriguing and a bit alarming.”

She let go a relieved laugh, glad he thought
the same way she did. “Yes. Alarming is a fitting word, but in a
good way…I think.”