Exposed (14 page)

“Can’t you have someone bring you your files, so you can work from here for a few days? At least until they can figure out if this really was
el Santo
and figure out who he is so they can arrest him?” Which he and his team would happily carry out personally, under cover of darkness, and drag the asshole out of whatever hole he was hiding in.

“What makes you think it might not have been him?”

“How many times do you think he’s warned someone like that?” He gave her a pointed look.

“No idea. What I do know is that he’s trying to intimidate me, hoping to make me back off the case or maybe disrupt it. Not going to happen.”

“I think you should think about this more.” It scared him to death to think of what could have happened tonight. A world without Marisol in it was just unthinkable. And for her to die by violence… No. “Either work from here or take some time off,” he urged, trying to get her to see reason.

He understood her point about not being intimidated, but her job wasn’t worth her life. An ironic thought, since he put his life on the line every day he put on his uniform, but this was Marisol he was talking about.

She visibly bristled. Her spine stiffened. She lifted her chin, her eyes narrowing on him slightly. “Once again,” she began in an edgy tone, “I’m not your responsibility. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself, no matter what you think. And you wouldn’t run from this if
el Santo
threatened you either.”

She had him there, dammit.

Needing to touch her, he reached out and cupped the side of her face with one hand, determined to get through to her. “I know you can, kitt’n. I just want you safe, that’s all.”

Either the pet name or the rest of his words disarmed her. She blinked at him in surprise, lost her defensive edge and relaxed her shoulders. Without pulling away she studied him for a long moment, then she frowned in apparent confusion. “Did you call me that because of the tree incident with Hugo?”

“No.” He slid closer to her, stopping only when his outer thigh pressed against hers. Turning his hand, he trailed a fingertip down her cheek. She was so damn soft. “It’s because you always land on your feet.”

And because I want to stroke you all over until you purr.

He didn’t say it aloud because he knew if he pushed too hard too soon, he risked alienating her for good.

Her pupils dilated slightly as she stared up at him, her gaze trailing down to his lips. “Oh…”

His heart rate kicked up a notch in response. Okay, maybe it wasn’t too soon. All he could think about was kissing her. “Yeah,
oh
.”

Marisol sat up straighter. Their gazes locked.

Then she took him completely off guard by curving her hand around the back of his neck and pulling his mouth to hers.

Marisol felt the instant of shock that froze him the moment their lips touched. He went rigid, his entire body stilling in surprise. But only for a second. A hot thrill shot through her when he slid his hand into the back of her hair and slanted his mouth across hers.

Her fingers tightened on the back of his neck, her free hand blindly reaching out to grip his shoulder. His hard, muscled shoulder that flexed beneath her palm when he shifted his arm.

He held her steady as he teased her lips, brushing tender kisses across them, sucking lightly. Making her wait, driving her insane. Her breasts felt tight and swollen and a steady throb pulsed between her legs. She shifted restlessly on the couch, wanting more, wanting closer, deeper, harder.

Pushing to her knees, she pressed her breasts to his chest. Immediately he locked one steely arm around her back, a soft growl issuing from his throat. His tongue touched the corner of her mouth. She turned her head, parted her lips and flicked her tongue against his.

Pleasure hummed through her, thick and sweet. She’d always known he’d kiss like this. Commanding. Skilled. So erotic her head was already spinning.

She rubbed her breasts against his chest in a sinuous motion that only made her nipples throb more. His tongue delved into her mouth to stroke and tease, stealing her breath, flooding her with heat and need.

Ethan made a low sound and ripped his mouth away, turning his face to press his nose against the side of her neck. Marisol arched and froze, the feel of his stubble and the warmth of his breath across her suddenly violently sensitive skin lighting her on fire. She wanted his hands all over her bare body, right this instant. And she wanted his mouth on her again.

“Whoa,” he breathed against her neck, the tension in his shoulders and his roughened breathing telling her he was just as affected as her. His hands held her locked to him. “Whoa.”

Wait, whoa as in
holy cow that was amazing
? Or whoa as in
stop, why did you just do that
?

An instant of uncertainty hit her. She might not have a lot of experience with men, but she didn’t think she’d misread things that badly.

Ethan pulled in a deep breath, kept his face pressed tight to her neck for another moment as he exhaled. The warm rush of air against her sensitive skin was like adding accelerant to a fire. She shivered, bit her lip.

Raising his head, he searched her eyes, their faces only inches apart. Seizing her chance, Marisol took his face in both hands and leaned in for another kiss, covering his lips with hers. He made a negative sound and started to pull back but she tightened her grip and followed, sucking on the tempting curve of his full lower lip.

A husky chuckle escaped him before he eased his mouth away and stared down at her, his golden brown eyes darker now because his pupils were dilated. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” he murmured. His tone was curious and his arms were still tight around her, giving her hope that she hadn’t made a total fool of herself. Because he’d definitely kissed her back, so she wasn’t sure why he’d stopped.

She didn’t see the point in lying. “Because I’ve wanted to since I was fourteen and I couldn’t hold out anymore.”

Ever since she’d gone to his house with a plate of cookies one night when his parents were out. He’d been nineteen, home on a short leave from the Marine Corps. She’d made it into the foyer before she’d frozen at the soft, sultry female moan floating down from Ethan’s bedroom upstairs.

Ohhh, Ethan, that feels so good…

Marisol could still remember how her stomach had plummeted to her toes, followed a moment later by her heart. She’d seen Alysa with him earlier but hadn’t realized they were together until that instant. She’d stood there for a good ten agonizing seconds, listening to Ethan’s deep murmurs mixing with Alysa’s increasingly urgent cries as he drove her to orgasm before turning and fleeing back to her house.

Worse, Alysa had been friends with Ynez and the next night Marisol had been forced to listen to Alysa regale her unforgettable evening with Ethan. She’d been pea green with envy, had avoided Ethan the rest of his leave because she just couldn’t bear to face him after that.

But now he was here, it was just the two of them, and he wanted her. The rush of exhilaration almost made her dizzy.

A sexy, almost smug smile curved his gorgeous mouth. “I was planning to kiss you, but you beat me to it.”

“You were taking too long.”

He huffed out a laugh and shifted his grip, one hand coming up to play with the hair at her nape, the possessive touch sending tingles down her spine. Then his expression turned serious. “You’ve been through a lot today.”

She immediately shook her head, already knowing where this was going. “My head is totally clear. I kissed you because I wanted to, not because I was trying to avoid thinking about what happened tonight.” Although yeah, forgetting that for a while was a nice side benefit.

He didn’t answer for a moment. “I’ll be leaving Miami as soon as this job is done. We’ll be sent back to Quantico.”

And she had to stay here in Miami. “How long do you have here?”

“A few days more, maybe a week.” He searched her eyes. “So given all that, you need to spell out exactly what it is you want from me.”

He was warning her that he wasn’t offering anything beyond that. And she wasn’t worried about ruining their friendship, if that’s what he meant. They were both adults and they lived a thousand miles apart. By the time they saw each other again either months or years down the road, any awkwardness will have faded.

“I want you to stop talking and kiss me some more,” she said, leaning up to try and steal a kiss.

His lips quirked in a hint of a smile as he evaded her. “Soli, for real. Don’t make me guess.”

Oh, she loved it when he called her by the short form of her name. Although the way he’d said kitt’n earlier in that deep, tender tone had made her belly flutter. She wouldn’t mind him calling her that some more. With effort, she dragged her gaze from his lips, still shiny from her kisses. “What do you want me to say?”

He seemed to weigh his response for a moment. “Carmela mentioned that you might not be very…experienced.”

Carm had told her brother she was a virgin? Marisol felt a blush creeping into her cheeks but refused to be embarrassed. “So?”

His fingers stroked across the back of her scalp, the caress almost drugging. She could only imagine how good it would feel to have his fingers stroking all over her naked body. “Is it true? You’ve never slept with anyone?”

Well, for God’s sake. Talk about blunt. “It’s true. Is that a problem?”

He grinned at the tart edge to her tone. “No, but it makes things more complicated that way.”

“It doesn’t have to.” This was another reason why she hadn’t wanted him to know. In her experience, her being a virgin either freaked guys out or it made them want to be her first just for the power trip of it. Ethan’s reaction was neither of those things, but it was equally annoying.

For once she wanted to stop thinking and just feel, experience all the things she’d been missing. Because she trusted him and because no one would ever measure up to him. If a fling was all she could have with him, well, she could live with that.

“Well, it does.” He eased his upper body farther away from her but left his hands where they were. “Why have you never slept with anyone?” He said it as though he couldn’t fathom how such a thing was possible.

This was not at all how things had played out in her fantasies about Ethan. In her fantasies he’d just completely taken over, driven her to dizzying heights of pleasure. Instead he wanted to talk.

She shrugged. “A lot of different reasons. My Catholic upbringing, for one. Then Ynez getting pregnant in high school, that was a big motivating factor for me to avoid having sex. Then I was busy with school, with work. But mostly, I guess I’m just picky. I wasn’t willing to settle.”

Not for anyone but you
. She didn’t dare say the words aloud because she already felt vulnerable enough.

He gave a slow nod and ran that golden brown gaze down to her mouth before meeting her eyes once again. The latent heat there made her breath catch. “Okay. Then you need to be real clear with me about what you’re looking for here.”

She didn’t know how much more she wanted, she just knew she was still throbbing all over and she’d wanted Ethan forever. Now that he was here and she knew he wanted her in return, it opened up a whole world of possibilities previously closed to her. “I don’t know how far I want to go,” she answered honestly. “I just know I want more.”

He shook his head. “And what if you get so caught up in what we’re doing that we cross a line you weren’t ready to cross?”

She snorted. “I’m a virgin. Not an idiot.”

His low chuckle stroked over her entire body like a lazy caress. The kind her body was begging for. Of all the things she’d envisioned with Ethan, it wasn’t for him to make her all hot and bothered then leave her wanting. “I’m just saying, it—”

His phone buzzed. He dropped his hands, his expression all business as he pulled the phone out and checked the message. “Shit, I gotta go.” He jumped to his feet, paused to look down at her. “I was going to offer to stay the night—here on the couch,” he added hastily, “but I don’t know when I’ll… Shit.” He dragged a hand through his hair, clearly agitated about having to leave her.

She stood and set a hand on his forearm. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

He nodded once, his jaw flexing under that ruggedly sexy stubble he had. “It’ll be a late night. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”

“Sure.” She followed him to the door, suddenly feeling off balance. She’d laid a part of herself bare to him and now he was leaving. For work, and an op she knew was important enough to call him here all the way from Virginia, but still, a strange hollow sensation opened up in her chest.

At the door he paused and cupped the back of her head in one big hand. “I’ll come see you as soon as I can.” Then he covered her lips with his.

The kiss was different than the last one, more possessive, a kind of vow. He was far from done with her, no matter what reservations he’d voiced earlier, and it sent anticipation curling through her veins.

She slipped her hand around the nape of his neck, parted her lips for him. He groaned, slid his tongue inside for a taste that left her a little breathless, then raised his head. “Lock up tight.”

“I will.”

He unlocked the door, stepped outside. On his way to a dangerous op entailing God knew what. A sudden frisson of fear gripped her.

“Ethan.”

He paused there in the semi-darkness broken only by the streetlamp down the sidewalk, looked back at her.

“Be careful.”

A slow, sexy smile curved his mouth. “I will, baby.”

Baby
, she thought with a smile as he climbed into his truck. She liked it when he called her that too.

Chapter Ten

Deep in the shadows of the greenway that ran behind the split-level house he was targeting, Bautista stretched out onto his stomach in the undergrowth and used the binocular feature on his night vision goggles. The house was located at the end of a private street in a pricey, gated community in south Miami. It had the best security money could buy and 24/7 surveillance.