Pure Dynamite (30 page)

The man was pure temptation. A dark invitation to sin. Unable to resist, she brought her hand up, toward his penis and let two fingers glide over the tip. The heat surprised her. So too the hardness, the shimmering strength. The beauty.

His reaction was immediate.

With a groan, he captured both her wrists and pulled them up above her head pinning her ungently against the tiled wall. She panicked, expecting to feel him thrust roughly into her. Instead he lowered his head and took her mouth.

Sanity fled as his tongue swept forward. She opened her mouth, accepting him eagerly. His kiss was all heat, all passion. It tempted, promised, soothed, and teased, driving her mad for more. Thought and reason fled beneath the divine onslaught.

She struggled to free her hands, to draw him closer. For he not only controlled the kiss, he controlled the contact of their bodies. And right now only their mouths touched. It wasn't enough. She wanted to stroke, grasp, scratch. To take all he would give.

Her hips strained forward seeking to rub against his groin, seeking ease. But he denied her, continuing to hold her so that only her mouth was ravaged. She fought, whimpered. Begged.

And when she finally grew weak and surrendered totally, he broke the kiss. Her breath came out in long ragged gulps. Like she'd been held underwater, too long without oxygen.

His face was inches from hers. His eyes were dilated, fierce and dark with a stark hunger that scared her even as she recognized it. He found her desirable.
And didn't want to.

"Don't start something you have no intention of finishing." He released her wrists so abruptly she nearly fell as he stepped out of the shower.

God what had she done?

The water was cold now. Trembling, she leaned into it welcoming the coolness, desperately needing time alone. But Adam flung the curtain open and shut off the water. Then he thrust a towel at her. He already had one wrapped low around his hips, the towel dipped V- like toward his groin.

There was no disguising the bulge that tented the front. He was still fully erect.

"If you're that interested, I can drop this." His hand moved to where the edge of the towel was tucked.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Hurry up and get dressed. I'll be right outside."

She noticed that he left the door ajar about four inches, enough for privacy, but not enough to block sound. If she tried to open the window, he'd hear.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her lips were red and puffy, her nipples erect and elongated. Her breasts felt tight, swollen. Needy.

This couldn't be happening. She wouldn't allow it.

She scrambled into the clean clothes he'd left, then looked up to find him leaning casually against the doorframe. He wore no shirt, no shoes, only jeans. A dark line of fine hair arrowed down from his navel drawing her eyes to the bulge at his crotch. He moved closer.

Feeling claustrophobic, she tried to push past him. He stopped her, swinging her into his arms as he carried her to the bedroom. She caught a glimpse of Nevin, watching them. Probably enjoying the show, the bastard!

When Adam closed the bedroom door, she cleared her throat. "I am not sleeping with you again!"

"Did I give you the impression you had a choice?" He strode to the bed and dumped her on the mattress. She scooted toward the end, but he blocked her. "Don't push your luck, Renata."

She could see by the glitter of banked emotion in his eyes that he was a hair's breadth from losing his temper. She backed away. "Can I sleep on the floor? Tie my hands and legs if you must."

Adam shook his head. "Move over."

With a groan that was part indignation, part resignation, Renata rolled onto her side and scooted to the far side of the bed.

For long moments Adam stared at the curving silhouette she presented. Her ribs tapered down to a dip at her waist. Her hips flared up in come-on curves. Did he dare climb into the same bed with her?

His thoughts flew back to their shower. When she'd touched him, he had nearly come on the spot. Her fingers brushing his cock had felt almost painful. He hadn't wanted to stop her. No, he'd wanted to take her hand and encourage her to touch more. To touch harder. To caress, squeeze, explore. And he had wanted to touch her in return.

Kissing her had been a huge mistake. When he thought it would quench his desire, it had fanned it. Had threatened to erode what precious little control remained. He closed his eyes.

He knew he couldn't have her. But that didn't stop him from wanting her. Nor would it stop him from imagining the deed in his dreams.

And if thinking about making love to her was a sin, he'd gladly pay his dues because he knew better than to think he'd stop.

It took Renata hours to fall asleep. Adam lay awake, content with her keeping a slight physical distance between them. But in sleep she had snuggled closer. He abandoned the bed prowled the room. The woman had to go.

A car door slammed outside. Alert, he moved
silently to the living room, found it empty. Nevin wasn't on the couch. Adam lifted a blind on the front window, watched taillights speed away from the cabin. Who had left? Or was it simply a changing of the guard?

A dim light shone from Lyle's room where the television set was still on. He found the younger man agitated as he sat up in bed watching the news. When he saw Adam, he motioned him closer and boosted the volume.

"Customs confirmed that one hundred pounds
of plastic explosives were seized today at a Texas
seaport."

Adam's attention perked as he listened. This had to be the same shipment of C-4 that Stan had mentioned earlier.

The report had clearly hit a nerve with Lyle. "Fucking bastards."

"Who? Customs? Or the fool trying to smuggle it in?"

"Hey! Watch who you call fool."

Lyle's reaction confirmed the shipment had been for his father. And Adam would bet his pension that the kid knew exactly what the McEdwins had had planned for the C-4.

Adam pointed to the television. "It's damn near impossible to bring that stuff in through a port anymore."

"Versus what? Bringing it in on land?"

"That. Or getting it from a domestic source and avoiding borders all together."

"Right. The way they watch that stuff these days?" Lyle snorted. "And who, besides the military, has it in those quantities?" "Does it matter where it comes from?"

"Are you serious?" Lyle shut off the TV. "Damn, now I wish Nevin hadn't taken off so fast."

"He's gone?"

"Yeah. But they left a car for us. Keys are in the kitchen."

"Where to now?"

"Nowhere. We're supposed to wait here. Lay low." Lyle eyed the IV needle in his arm with distaste. "They're treating me like an invalid, you know. But I think I just figured out a way to get the old man's attention."

"How?"

"What you said about acquiring C-4 domestically. Can it really be done?"

Adam feigned indifference. "With the right connections, yes."

"And you still have these connections?"

"That depends. Let's cut the crap. It was obviously your father's stuff they seized. Now I know your family's got grudges, but a hundred pounds? That's a lot of damage."

"Only if used all at once."

Lyle was trying too hard to downplay the potential. Which made Adam wonder what the hell they had planned. He recalled Lyle's prior contention that his father hadn't wanted him out of prison yet—because something was going on. Obviously that
something
required a hundred pounds of explosives. And if the McEdwins were searching for a new source of C-4, Adam damn sure wanted to be involved.

"It won't come cheap. Not in that quantity," Adam said.

"Money's not the problem. Time is. We need it within two weeks."

Adam shook his head. "You know what it would take to pull that off?"

"Name it. And before you say no, just put out a feeler. Check with your partner."

"Who says my partner would have anything to do with it?"

Lyle popped a couple of painkillers in his mouth and swallowed. "My pa's had your background checked. He knows you and your partner were brokering military arms."

"Knows?
There was no proof, kid. No formal charges." Adam watched Lyle's gaze drop to his chest. The six notches. "No proof; no charges there either."

"Look, I saw that high-tech radio jammer. You can't tell me that wasn't military. To be honest, I think my old man's pretty impressed with you. I figure if I can locate another shipment of C-4, he'll be just as impressed with me."

And Lyle's reputation as the family fuck-up could be permanently retired. Adam realized now why the guards hadn't been able to break Lyle. Above all else, the kid wanted his father's approval.

"Let me do a little checking," Adam promised. But Lyle was already drifting off. "We'll talk in the morning."

He checked on Renata before slipping into the bathroom to call Stan. If Willy thought Adam could supply more plastic explosives, their rendezvous would undoubtedly be moved up. Especially if the old man needed it on such short notice.

"You were right," he said when Stan answered. "That C-4 was for Willy."

Stan whistled. "Any idea what they had planned for it?"

"Had? They're searching for a source to replace it,
so whatever they planned, it's still a go." Adam repeated his conversation with Lyle.

"Wow. I bet that's why Nevin took off. To line up a new supply."

"Maybe. But after today's bust, you know it will be even harder to find. All the usual suspects will close shop until the heat dies down. I don't know what kind of background you concocted for my supposed partner, but the McEdwins are salivating."

Stan coughed. "Yeah, well I can't take credit for that one. That's something else we need to discuss one of these days. Long story."

"All that matters is it worked. Lyle's completely convinced that my partner, Montague, and I were dealing military arms. He wants us to help him locate another stash of C-4."

"Sounds like a perfect opportunity to learn what their target is, too. And hook up more quickly with Willy," Stan said.

"I need to go; give Ethan an update and tell him I expect to free the doctor within the next day or two."