HeatedMatch (19 page)

“I will gut anyone who tries to stop us,” Adam replied with
determination etched on his face.

The minute Adam shut the door behind them, the inferno raged
out of control. They tore off pieces of clothing in between open-mouthed
kisses, tongues dueling. He wasted no time unzipping his pants and lowering
them to his knees. Loren reached for him to continue the kiss, but he surprised
her by turning her around and pushing her gently down onto the bed. Her
hardened nipples rubbed against the rough army-issue sheets and she whimpered
at the contact.

“Touch yourself,” Adam said.

What? Touch herself? She was close to orgasm, she’d finish
all by herself if he didn’t get on her soon.

“Get that sexy ass in the air and put a finger in.”

Oh God, she nearly came hearing those words out of his lips.
If any other man tried to order her around like that, she’d be out of there.
But this was Adam. Adam who made her pant, even as he drove her crazy with his silences.
Something deep in her DNA clicked at the command in his voice and she melted,
helpless not to respond.

Her fingers were on autopilot, or seemingly under the
command of a remote control held by Adam. She raised her hips and belly off the
bed and rubbed circles around her clit until she was moaning and begging for
him.

“I’m too close. I need you ready for me. If I touch you,
it’s over.” His gaze burned an imprint on her psyche. “You need to get your
body ready for me.”

“I’m ready, I swear. Please.” She begged like she’d begged
for nothing before in her life. Despite this surrender, who knew where this was
going? They’d made no promises to each other, and this could be her last chance
to hold him in her arms, cradle him deep in her body. “Please.”

Her words broke some restraint in Adam, because before she
could catch her next breath or even remove her finger from her clitoris, he was
on her. He spread her butt cheeks apart and slid himself into her warm,
welcoming sheath. Loren bit her lip as he filled her entirely. She took deep
breaths in time with Adam’s shallow strokes. A sense of completeness, like
nothing she’d ever experienced, filled her. It was much more than the simple
act of her body merging with Adam’s.

“Are you okay? Do you need a second?”

His concern warmed her, but she could hear the desperation
in his tone and feel every muscle in his body pulled taut.

“No, stay. I’m good. Excellent, in fact.” Her sentence ended
on a purr as he pulled back and thrust forward again. His movement sent her clitoris
pushing against the fingers still wedged between her body and the mattress. She
moved her fingers in time with his strokes, loving the strong grip he had on
her hips. Pleasure rocked her and centered on her core. She came with a cry and
a whimper and Adam followed her shortly. He collapsed on top of her, their
sticky bodies glued chest to back.

When he rolled off her and onto his back, Loren rolled onto
her side and settled in the crook of his arm, head on his shoulder. “Mmm,” she
murmured. It was over too soon, like a volcano erupting or a pot boiling.
They’d been simmering for days, and the heat had finally been turned up all the
way.

“I’m sorry.” Adam stared at the ceiling.

Fear gripped Loren’s heart and she rose onto her elbow. Was
he experiencing regrets? “Sorry? Are you going to tell me you didn’t mean to
give me a mind-blowing orgasm and now you’re going to run from me? Again.”

Adam yanked her back down for a searing kiss.

“I’m sorry that I was damn quick. I kind of…lost control.”

“Well, don’t apologize. I hope you lose control like that
more,” she reassured him. “I haven’t come like that, well, ever.” She rubbed
her fingertips along Adam’s chest, admiring his well-formed body and taking
deep breaths to steady her. If Adam was anything like most men, he’d soon be
snoring, and she’d be free to admire his abdominals and penis, which lay still
semi-hard along his thigh.

But he was a whole different animal than any other man she’d
been with. She yelped as he suddenly pressed her back into the pillows and
crawled down her body, a destination clear in his mind.

“Best orgasm ever, huh? I’m not sure I believe you,” he
said, a glint sparking in his eyes. “I think I missed a few spots, and they
definitely need my attention.” He stood and shucked his pants all the way off,
dumping them in a heap on the floor. As if she was a magnet for his body, he
was back on her before she could feel cold.

Yep, they had definitely missed a few steps along the way.
“Lucky for you, I’m very detail-oriented,” she said with a laugh. Her hands
hiked Adam’s t-shirt up over his head and ran up his abs and chest. His skin
warmed her palms as his firm muscles twitched and flexed at her touch. She
grinned as he smiled at her eagerness, but amusement turned to pure,
unadulterated desire as he lowered his head and latched on to her nipple
through her bra. Her t-shirt had been one of the first things to go upon
entering the room.

The seriousness on his face and the concentration he gave to
his oral activities jumpstarted her heart. She let her head fall back as he
licked his way down her belly and bit her hipbone gently. Bliss washed over her
as he buried his head between her legs and let his tongue do some serious
licking. Little tremors hinted that her body was close to orgasm again, and she
wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and tugged him back up her body so
she could kiss him. Soft moans escaped the back of her throat when he took
advantage of her position to rub the damp folds of her vagina. When he inserted
one finger inside her and circled it around, she closed her eyes and buried her
face in the crook of his neck.

Mmm.
His skin glistened and smelled of his arousal
and other more mysterious spices. She’d heard of pheromones and damn if he
wasn’t the best-smelling male in the world. She rubbed her nose against the
rough stubble of his cheeks and neck, almost purring like a cat.

He laid her out on the bed and wasted no time in getting
their bodies glued skin to skin again. Loren opened her thighs and cradled his
hips to welcome him. No lover had ever made her feel more of a woman. Her
strength and intelligence rarely led to an easy, deep connection with other
men. They were always trying to assert dominance or go too far the opposite way
and cater to her every whim. Adam didn’t have to try to do anything. He simply
was, and what he was, was perfect for her.

“Hurry.” Loren took him in hand and guided him to her damp
entrance. Adam groaned when he breached her briefly. She was hotter than fire
and sweeter than a jar of honey. Tasted like it too. Her unique taste lingered
on his tongue. Conflict warred in him over how to pleasure her. He was so
caught up in his decision making, he nearly missed her next words.

“Wait. I think we need to use a condom. With everything
that’s been going on, I’ve missed a dose or two of my pill.” Loren looked up at
him, uncertainty on her face.

He smiled at her but felt a reaction he never ever imagined
he’d have. Disappointment. His DNA screamed for him to plant his seed deep
inside her, and her request to use a condom was a slap in its face. And yet,
panic raced through him. They’d just had sex without a condom. Fuck. The same
old fears about having severely disabled children reared their ugly head. Nope.
No babies, not ever.

Why then, was he tempted to ignore every flashing warning
light going off in his head, flip her over again and bury himself in her for
the next few months until her belly was round from his sperm? Because it was
Loren, his match and the woman who fit him like no other. After all the emotional
events of the day, she was becoming much more to him than a gorgeous body. She
was becoming a friend, one who deserved his consideration. One in four were
terrible odds to put someone he cared about through.

He took a deep breath and reached for the nightstand drawer
next to his bed. It was empty other than a book and his media player. Dammit.
He sat up and looked in the recesses of the drawer. No condoms.

“Hang on.” He stood and his feet ate up the floor in his
haste to get to the bathroom and find condoms in the medicine chest.
Please,
Lord let there be some.
“Hallelujah,” he muttered when he spied the black
Trojan box wedged between the Neosporin and Band-Aids. He grabbed the whole box
and rushed back into the bedroom to see Loren on her back, fondling her
breasts. Her long honey curls fanned out in disarray on the pillow behind her.
He’d never been jealous of another’s hands before, but he wanted to be the one
rubbing and caressing those sweet breasts.

“Optimistic?” Loren asked with an eyebrow raised and a laugh
in her voice.

“Huh?” Adam didn’t catch on, too distracted by the dance of
her hands on her nipples.

“A whole box of condoms. I’m impressed, or…I will be,” she
said.

“Oh.” He looked down at the box in his hand with bemusement
then looked into Loren’s amused face and ripped open the condom box to pull out
a handful of foil packets.

“Prepare to be amazed, lady,” he told her before sheathing
himself and covering her body with his.

Chapter Ten

The next day Loren sat freshly showered and dressed at her
brother’s bedside. Adam had deposited her there while he went to speak with
Gavin about a mission or something. She didn’t know or care, she was too
blissed out from last night. She shifted slightly in her hard, plastic molded
chair, still a bit sore.

Adam had amazed her. She’d never had a lover with as much
stamina, but it was more than that. He’d seemed to know exactly how to touch
her, how much pressure to use, when to back off, and when to go full throttle.
He’d been singularly focused on her pleasure, and she’d never climaxed so
frequently in a lovemaking session. And it was still more than the sublime
pleasure. There’d been a connection. The thing between them was growing,
evolving into more than mere sexual attraction.

At that thought, a sigh escaped her.

“What?” Chase turned his head, finally awake, though she’d
been at his bedside for at least fifteen minutes.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me ‘nothing’, you’ve been moaning and sighing
over there since you arrived. Damn hard to sleep,” Chase complained.

Loren swallowed at his gruffness. In the week she’d known
him, Chase had been all sunshine and smiles. “I’m sorry. If I’m disturbing you,
I can go.” She half rose off her seat before Chase’s cut-up and bruised hand
stayed her in place.

“Don’t go. I don’t really want to be alone right now.”

She sat again, frowning over the despondency she heard in
his voice. “Sure. I’ll stay. Are you up for talking, or do you want quiet?”

“Talk,” he said. “Don’t want to be alone with my thoughts.”

She sifted through some possible topics, but Chase asked
about the Christenson case first. “How are the phone calls going?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Okay. The parents of the other kidnapped
children had nothing but good things to say about First Choice Fertility. They’re
professional, exclusive, get results, yadda yadda. They seemed shocked that
there could be a connection between the clinic and their children going
missing. And I know everyone is worried the longer the baby is missing, the
less likely it is they’ll find him.”

He murmured an agreement. “Is Shep sending someone in my
place back to the fertility clinic?”

“I’m not sure. Yesterday was a bit hectic around here.”

“You’re spot on about the fertility clinic. The connection’s
there. I know it.”

“I know it too.”

“What happened yesterday?”

“Yesterday? Oh. Adam and I brought his brother, Rowan, back
to live on campus.”

Chase sat up then fell against the pillow with a wince and
muffled curse. “Adam has a brother? No shit? How the hell didn’t I know that?”

“He had his reasons for keeping it secret,” she said,
unwilling to share details of Adam’s personal life. She squirmed a little under
Chase’s steady, penetrating gaze, but managed to hold her own.

“You guys are sleeping together again, aren’t you? God damn
it, I’m going to kill that fucker.” Chase tried again to rise off the bed, but
collapsed when Loren pushed him with one hand. His scowl blackened to hurricane
darkness. “As soon as I’m better,” he muttered.

“You will not say a word,” Loren said. “What Adam and I do
together is none of your business.”

“Do you love him?”

“What?” Loren’s voice raised an octave, and her cheeks felt
as if the temperature in the room matched the summer heat outside. She’d deny
it to Chase, but this morning her feelings were a jumble of emotions. What had
started as lust and desire had turned into something more. Much more. Learning
about Adam’s childhood and history had bonded him to her, and she felt
protective of him. If she didn’t love him already, she was well on the road to
it.

She turned to look at Chase’s monitors and the various drip
poles by his bed when she answered. “Love had nothing to do with it. I wanted
him. He wanted me. Period, full stop. And, I believe I mentioned it’s none of
your business.”

“The hell it’s not my business. You’re my sister,” Chase
bellowed from his sick bed. “Loren, you know the way things work around here.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. “The whole genetic matching
thing?” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Fuck yeah, the genetic matching thing. Don’t dismiss it.
They will trap you. Keep you here, use you as a breeder and let your sons go
off to fight. Are you okay with that?” A pile of paperbacks crashed from the
nightstand to the floor, losing in a battle with Chase’s sweeping hand.

Loren bent to pick up the books. Anything to keep her hands
busy and stop her from strangling him with his morphine drip tube. “First of
all, stop cursing at me. Why are you angry? Aren’t you part of the Program? I’d
think you would be happy your sister and friend are a match.”

“I’m pissed because I don’t want you to end up like my
mother,” Chase said with a militant expression. “She got nothing but heartbreak
and death from this place. It’s why I’ll never agree to match and breed.” He
started to say something else, but stopped.

Loren sat back down, some of her anger leaking out of her
like a balloon deflating. The history and memories of the men on this campus
were tragic. It seemed that in the Program’s quest to create physically perfect
male specimens, they forgot about the emotional needs of their soldiers.
“You’ll be thrilled to know we’re using protection. I’m not ready to be a
mother yet either. We’re drawn to each other. I like him, but are we in love?”
She shrugged again. “I don’t know.”

They sat, each looking at a different point in the room. The
only noise was the drip of medicines. Suddenly, the door burst open and Adam’s
big body filled the doorway. Loren met his gaze, burning with an intensity that
hadn’t been there before. She felt like a couture dress at a sample sale full
of fashionistas. It was disconcerting to say the least, but she didn’t look
away.

Three strides had him in the room and sweeping her up in his
arms for a prolonged kiss, as if they’d been separated by wartime for years and
not a thirty-minute span. Loren stiffened against him, aware they had a
seething, furious audience, but Adam was persistent, and soon she melted
against him and tugged his head closer to force the kiss deeper.

“Get out,” Chase called from the bed. “I’m already nauseous
and I don’t want to see your ugly mug kissing my sister.”

They broke apart and looked at Chase. Now that Adam was in
the room, Chase made an effort to be his normal, jovial self. Only a trace of
the bitterness and anger he’d put on display for Loren remained buried beneath
his smile. She could see it in his eyes.

Adam seemed to take Chase’s words at face value and tossed
him an achingly beautiful grin. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.” He sat
down in the only chair and pulled Loren onto his lap.

Loren snuggled in, loving the feel of his muscular arms
wrapped around her waist and wondered about his willingness to be openly
affectionate, but decided not to question it and enjoy it. He was all warmth
and strength wrapped up in one dead-sexy package. Adam stroked her thigh in
lazy circles and chatted with Chase about some new weapon, so Loren let her
mind wander until she noticed silence in the room. Adam and Chase had finished
their conversation and were looking at her, waiting for a response. She raised
an eyebrow and sat up in Adam’s arms.

“Ready to go? I need to talk to you.” Adam gave her a gentle
shove to hoist her off his lap.

Loren stood and leaned down to kiss Chase’s forehead. “Feel
better. I’ll bring your iPad by later so you can watch some movies.”

“Thanks.” Chase leaned back against his pillows, eyes
closed.

Loren took Adam’s hand and they strolled out of the room.

“Where to?” she asked.

“Somewhere private.”

“Is the pool private this time of day? I could use a swim.
This must be the hottest day of the summer.” She’d thought fall beckoned a few
days ago, but the humid heat raged full force today.

Adam checked the time on his cell phone. “No, it’s Sunday.
The pool will be full of sixteen-year-old boys wanting nothing more than to
ogle you in a bikini. And then I’d have to kill them and fill out a lot of
tedious paperwork.”

“Point taken,” Loren said. “Where else?”

Adam’s face lit up and he smiled conspiratorially at her.
“Come on. I thought of the perfect place.” He started walking in the opposite
direction of the infirmary exit. They turned down a few corridors, passing
locked-up labs and private offices.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Trust me.”

“I do,” Loren replied and realized she really meant it. Adam
had gone from complete unknown to trusted lover in a matter of days. This
genetic matching stuff was really something. Normally Loren crossed boyfriends
off her list for minor things like short fingers or bad shoes. Now she realized
she’d been making excuses. No man ever lived up to her ridiculous high standards,
because none of them had been her match. Adam wore the same ratty pants every
day and threw on flip-flops if he wore shoes at all. And it didn’t matter. His
scent, his smile and his deep voice reeled her in at every glance.

Soon he pulled her through double doors, out into the
sunshine and past some large green Dumpsters.

“Ew.” Loren wrinkled her nose. “Where
are
you taking
me?”

He smiled and pushed his way through a gray, metal door and
into a large kitchen. Loren realized he’d taken them a back way into the
cafeteria. No cooks mixed or stirred, getting ready for a lunch rush. The
cafeteria was closed today. Her stomach grumbled and she realized it was nearly
lunchtime and they’d skipped food for breakfast. Instead they’d chosen to
nibble on something altogether more delectable.

“Lunch. Goody.” She clapped her hands, a delighted smile on
her face.

“Not just any lunch. The lunch of gods.” Adam wound his way
past a gigantic stove and grill of polished stainless steel.

Her reflection bounced off nearly every surface. She’d never
seen such a clean kitchen.

Adam reached a freezer-fridge combo the size of Rhode
Island. He opened the doors with a tug and pulled out some Hershey’s Syrup,
milk and vanilla Haagen Dazs from the left side.

Last time she checked, ice cream sundaes were not on the
FDA-approved food list. Mr. Six-Pack was serving up ice cream for lunch?
Awesome.

“I’m in. Make mine a triple-scoop sundae.”

He chuckled. “I’m not making sundaes.”

Oh. “You’re not?” She hoisted herself up onto a countertop
to watch his easy kitchen movements that told her he’d done this a hundred
times before.

He reached into an upper cabinet and his t-shirt lifted,
revealing a tan, taut stomach. Loren suddenly desired everything he was making
and more.

He yanked down a tall glass blender and placed it on the
countertop next to her. When he caught the direction of her eyes on his body,
he leaned in for a kiss. She spread her legs to wrap and reel him against her,
but the annoying man resisted. He pulled away, turned to a drawer and returned
with an old-fashioned metal ice-cream scoop.

Deftly he filled the blender with scoops of ice cream,
squeezed in a healthy amount of syrup and a splash of milk. A minute or two of
the whirring and shaking, and soon Adam was pouring frothy, chocolate
perfection into tall glass mugs.

She reached for hers to take a sip, but he yanked her glass
away before she could have any.

“Wait for the best part,” he said in response to her pout
and whimper of disappointment. Loren swung her heel against the cabinet while
he returned the syrup, ice cream and milk to the fridge then pulled out the
piece-de-resistance.

“Whipped cream,” Loren exclaimed. “Lay it on me.”

Adam’s grin could only come from the devil. “Oh, I
will…later. For now, drink up.”

He topped her mug with a flourish and slid it across the
counter to her. Once he’d topped his own, he swung up on the countertop
caddy-corner to Loren. Their feet hung close enough to brush toes.

She lifted the deliciously frosty mug to her lips and
sipped. Heaven. Only a true connoisseur understood that the perfect chocolate
milkshake came not from chocolate ice cream, but vanilla mixed with chocolate
syrup. All doubts she’d had about her matching compatibility with Adam were now
signed, sealed and delivered to the nearest Dumpster. Any man who made a treat
this yummy was an all-star in her book.

They smiled at each other over their glass rims and
continued drinking in silence. When she could see the bottom of her mug, Adam
spoke. “I have to leave on a mission.”

“What? When?” She lowered her mug.

“Tomorrow. Shep wants me to check into Chase’s attack and
the fertility clinic.”

“Okay. What time do we leave?”

He frowned. “I said
I
was leaving on the mission.
Solo. You stay here.”

A tiny remaining drop of milkshake sloshed onto the counter
as she banged her mug down. “Why are you going alone? We’ve been researching
the fertility clinic together, so I should come too.” She told herself her
anxiety about going stemmed from a desire to write her article, but deep down
she knew the truth. She wasn’t ready to be separated from Adam.

He scowled. “You think I’d bring you into an unknown,
potentially dangerous situation, especially after Chase’s attack?”

“But it’s okay for you to go?”

“I’m trained for this. It’s what I do and I’ll be on my
guard since we know someone is watching our movements.”

She fiddled with the handle of her mug, trying to think of
arguments to have him bring her along, but his point was valid. She didn’t have
combat training, and the last thing she wanted was to be a liability and cause
Adam to get hurt. That thought made fear claw at her gut, and it wasn’t the
sixteen-plus ounces of lactose she’d just inhaled. “I thought you were the
brains of the operations. Doesn’t that mean you stay behind the front lines?”