KanesBounty (3 page)

She smiled at him and he had no idea what she was thinking.
Her mind was still sealed as if it was a steel trap.

“I don’t know why I did it. I couldn’t let you die. I’m
breaking about ten different laws taking you out of the country.”

“Do you still plan to turn me in?”

He shrugged. “It’s my job.”

She frowned and turned away from him.

The cabin door closed and announcements were being made as
they started to pull away from the gate. He didn’t know why he wanted to
protect Lena Cruz, but he could not have turned her over to an animal like
Banta. The thought of him touching her made Kane’s skin crawl.

“Get some sleep, Lena. When we’re in the air, we can talk
and you can tell me why everyone is so keen on getting to you.”

Her frown deepened, but she turned toward the window and
closed her eyes.

When she woke up, Lena’s ears pounded from the air pressure
and she had to clear them before she could face opening her eyes. An untouched
glass of water sat on the small tray between their two seats.

“Is that for me?” she croaked.

He turned and smiled. “Yup.”

Her stomach did a flip-flop. Kane was devastatingly
good-looking. She would have thought he’d be a male model rather than a bounty
hunter when she noticed him in the bar back in Savannah. His height and broad
shoulders hadn’t looked so good when she was hanging over his back, but she had
to admit his ass had been outstanding from that vantage point. Then, when she’d
seen those sapphire-blue eyes, her heart had actually jumped in her chest. If
only he hadn’t been the source of her immediate trouble, she wouldn’t have
minded a quick tumble in the hotel room with a man who looked like him.

As it was, he was an enigma. He captured her, but then saved
her, and now she wasn’t sure what he was doing.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

It was distracting having him so close. It had been a long
time since she’d been with a man and even longer since she’d wanted someone.
“As if I’ve been tossed around like a beanbag.”

He laughed, but never took his gaze away from her. “It’s a
strange thing about being a telepath. Some people are harder to read than
others. You have a strong, complicated mind, but still I get a sense of what
you’re thinking. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She could not help wanting him. He was all hard male
lines and warm musky scent. Everything about him screamed sex.

He leaned over the console between their seats. His lips
grazed her earlobe and his breath titillated her every nerve. “If you don’t
change your line of thinking, I’m going to take you right here in this plane
and I would much rather wait until we are in some nice beachside hotel with
crisp white sheets and vodka in the minibar.”

She smiled. Her body hummed with wanting him, but still the
words that came out of her mouth were harsh. It was who she had become over the
past few years. She didn’t like it, but there it was. “Is that why you’re
helping me, Kane? Is it because you want to fuck me?”

His tongue tickled her ear and he gave no reaction to her
words. “I haven’t even decided if I’m going to help you yet, Lena. At the
moment, I’m just protecting my mark.”

He might have lied, but he didn’t. She liked the idea he
would have sex with her, but he wouldn’t pretend it would stop him from turning
her in. She chuckled.

He leaned back in his own seat, but continued to watch her.
“Tell me what it is you took from Thorn and why all these various hunters are
after you.”

“Do you have a last name?” she asked.

His smile nearly had her spilling everything before she knew
if he could be trusted. How was a girl supposed to combat perfectly straight,
white teeth, full lips and a day and a half of dark beard?

“Lakeland.” He didn’t say anything more, just watched and
waited for the answer to his question.

“I didn’t steal anything. I left with only what was mine,”
she said.

He raised his eyebrows.

“But the thing that’s yours is what Thorn wants?”

“Yes.”

“Does Thorn use a sixth sense?”

The question surprised her. “He’s a dowser,” she said before
she could think of a reason to avoid answering.

“So he senses the power in other people.”

“And objects,” she added.

“Do you use a sixth sense, Lena?” He leaned close to her
again. His lips were only a millimeter from hers.

“No, not exactly.”

“But you have an item he desires, yet can’t use.”

“Yes.” The word escaped on a breath.

“If I kiss you now, it’s not because I want information,
Lena. I just can’t help myself.”

His soft declaration sent liquid heat directly to her pussy.
She clenched her thighs together, heightening the sensation. “I know.”

His lips toyed with her bottom one, sucking it in gently and
then releasing it. He did the same to her upper lip and she responded in kind.
The kiss was gentle, lip to lip. He nipped at the corners of her mouth and
trailed kisses along her chin and jaw before returning to her mouth and
plunging his tongue inside. She gasped. He made love to her mouth and she felt
as if she were the only person in his world. The other passengers ceased to
exist. To her horror, if he had asked, she would have allowed him to fuck her
on the plane. Her body responded to him and a soft moan escaped her lips.

He pulled away. His breath was as unsteady as hers.

Her gaze lowered to his lap, where a substantial bulge
pressed against his jeans. Unfortunately, the end of the kiss brought with it
the realization that they were not alone. She longed to touch his cock, caress
it, have him deep inside her.

“Please stop.” His voice sounded pained.

“Sorry.” She’d forgotten he could read her mind. “Can you
actually hear what I’m thinking?”

He shook his head. “No, but I get a pretty good idea when
the thoughts are that intense.”

“Can you turn it off?”

“Yes, but it’s uncomfortable. It’s like holding your nose or
covering your ears.”

“I would think it would be uncomfortable to hear what
everyone is thinking.”

He shrugged. “I’m used to it. I can focus it. Like being in
a crowded restaurant, but only really hearing the person across the table. You
hear the rest of the talking, but it’s background noise.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

He turned toward her again. “What is it you have that Thorn
wants?”

“The Stones of Adeline.”

“What’s that?”

Her instinct told her to tell him, but her training and
experience with Thorn warned her not to say too much.

“I won’t betray you, Lena. Even if I turn you over to the
courts, I’ll never tell anyone what you tell me about the stones.”

He was reading her mind. She shut herself off. She’d learned
that trick in the last two years too. She could seal away her mind from
interlopers. It was something she’d needed to learn while being married to
Oscar. He was always trying to find out how he could use the stones, but get
rid of her. It had become as simple as flipping a switch to her.

As soon as she cut him off, his mouth turned down in a
frown. “That’s very impressive. How did you learn to do it?”

“I’ve had to learn a lot in the last few years.”

His eyes were blue crystals and they were only an inch from
hers. “I meant what I said. I will not betray you.”

“But you will not let me go either.” The bitterness in her
voice reflected the way she felt about all men since marrying Oscar Thorn. He
was gorgeous too. He’d had money and power and he’d wanted her.

“I have a job to do, but I’m willing to listen to your
story, which is more than I’ve ever done for any other mark, Lena. Try to see
it from my side. I’m hired by the courts to apprehend and return a fugitive.
You escaped custody. It’s my job to bring you back.”

Her stomach churned at the memory of her escape. “I had no
choice. Oscar was going to kill me and I couldn’t let him get ahold of the
stones. They are my responsibility and I had already put them in enough danger
by marrying the wrong man. If I was dead, he’d find them.”

Kane’s eyes narrowed. “Did you swallow these stones?”

She smiled. He was worried she was going to drop dead, as if
she was a drug smuggler. “No. I sat on them, in a manner of speaking.”

Understanding dawned on Kane and the heat in his eyes
increased tenfold. “And is that where they still reside?”

She didn’t say anything.

“What are they, Lena?”

“How do I trust you?” she asked.

One side of his mouth quirked up. “It’s a leap of faith,
sweetheart. It always is.”

“I trusted Oscar and now he wants to kill me, and frankly, that’s
not the worst of his crimes against me.”

His frown returned. “I can say you can trust me, Lena, but
ultimately you have to decide. At this point, all I can promise you is I will
keep your secrets and get you safely back to the Boston justice department.”

“And the other?” She let her mind open up so he could feel
her desire.

“That will be entirely up to you.” He leaned so his backside
was to the aisle, took her hand and placed it firmly on his straining fly. “I
think you know what I want.”

Her throat tightened, and she had to swallow hard in order
to draw breath again. “At least we have one thing we can agree on, Kane.”

He groaned and squeezed her hand over his cock.

Through the denim, he felt enormous. She salivated at the
idea of sucking him deep into her throat.

“Please stop,” he begged. “Your hand I can take, but the
things flying through that dirty mind of yours are going to have me
embarrassing myself right here in this fancy, first-class seat.

She giggled and pulled her hand away. She tried to remember
the last time she had flirted with a man or giggled. It was too long ago to
recall.

“Tell me about Oscar Thorn?” Kane asked.

“What do you want to know?”

“How did you meet?”

She sighed. “He showed up in my hometown. I’m from a little
town in New Jersey. He was worldly and beautiful and he swept me off my feet.
He even charmed my grandmother into believing he loved me. As it turned out, he
was only after the stones. He took them as soon as we were married and all his
pretenses ended. Then, when he realized he couldn’t work them without me, he
kept me prisoner.”

She realized she’d said more than she intended. He’d only
asked how they met and she’d told him an abbreviated version of the entire
story.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She didn’t know if he was referring to her life with Oscar
or if he was sorry he’d gotten her to spill her guts so easily. It didn’t
matter. For whatever reason, she trusted this Kane Lakeland. Sexually, she knew
she had to have him, but it was more than that. She hoped she wasn’t just being
a fool.

“The Stones of Adeline have been in my family for hundreds
of years. I was born with the mark, so I was named Adeline, and when my
grandmother felt I was ready, she passed the stones to me. In the hands of the
right user, they will tell the future. Or to be more specific, they will show
the user exactly what they most wish to know. For Oscar, it was always about
money or power.”

“What kind of mark?”

His questions always surprised her. She’d thought he’d ask
about how the stones could tell the future or what deals Oscar had made by
using the stones. Most people would want to know how the stones could benefit
them or just disbelieve the entire thing. Not Kane. He wanted to know about her
birthmark. “It’s just a small birthmark.”

“Where is it?”

His eyes bore into her. God, why did he have to be so
beautiful? She looked around him to the people sitting across the aisle. They
were both asleep. She checked the flight attendants. One read a magazine, and
the other drank a cup of coffee. Her eyes moved back to Kane, who studied her
carefully. When she popped the button on her fly his eyes shot from her face to
her abdomen. She slid the zipper down a bit more slowly than was necessary.
Rolling the right side down to just above her neat patch of hair, she exposed a
small reddish birthmark that resembled a dragonfly.

Before she could protest, his fingers grazed the mark. Her
entire body felt the effects of his caress. She gasped, her nipples tightening.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are making our initial decent into
Los Cabos International. The weather in San Jose del Cabo is…”

The captain’s voice was a sharp reminder they were not
alone. Kane moved his hand away and she quickly did up her jeans just before
the flight attendant came over to ask them to put their seatbacks in the full
and upright position. If the brunette noticed Lena’s blush, she gave no
indication. She was too busy ogling Kane.

He didn’t even spare a glance at the attractive attendant.
He waited until she’d moved to another passenger. “I’ve got a big problem,
Lena.” He ran one finger along her jaw.

Even the gentle touch gave her chills. “Me too. I’m in
Mexico without a bathing suit or a toothbrush.”

He smiled that devastating smile again. “Well, at least I
can solve your problem.”

* * * * *

Kane was as good as his word. He made one phone call when
they arrived in the airport and booked them a room. Before they went to the
hotel, he asked the taxi driver to take them shopping. He not only bought her a
bathing suit, he also purchased her the toiletries she’d need and a change of
clothes more suitable for the tropics. He got a few things for himself too and
paid in hundred-dollar bills.

She couldn’t help herself. “Bounty hunting business pays
pretty good, I guess.”

He didn’t turn, but she could see his grin. “I have special
talents, so I get special pay.”

The taxi drove them to Casa Dorada Hotel and Resort. It was
a beautiful place on the beach, walking distance from the center of Cabo San
Lucas.

At the check-in desk, a lovely woman handed them two glasses
of champagne. Lena downed hers in one swallow. Kane looked over and raised his
eyebrow before handing his glass to her. She took it, but sipped more slowly
now that she saw he and the clerk were watching her.

Lena loved Mexico. Her father had been Spanish, but she had
always loved the Latin feel of Mexico and the warmth of the people.

The clerk was studying her. She smiled back.

“
¿Habla español, Señora?
”

“No. Sorry, I don’t,” she said in her best New Jersey
accent.

The woman just smiled and nodded. Kane looked at her
sharply.

When they were safely ensconced in their room, she downed
the remaining champagne.

“Why did you lie about speaking Spanish?”