Lora Leigh - Guilty Pleasure

She could have died. She could have lost so many precious moments in his arms.

As she rose to her feet she drew the pale gray silk of her robe tighter around her body and paced to the wide window that had been heavily shuttered. A dark privacy screen had been drawn over the window, blocking sight from the outside. It also blocked infrared and heat imaging. An amazing little invention created by one of the small companies that Khalid had acquired over the years.

The man didn’t work a day in his life that she could see, but he had fingers in so many pies it was really amazing.

“You’re restless.”

His voice had her swinging around to the open doorway. She hadn’t heard him open the door, hadn’t heard him and Shayne enter, but there they were.

“Restless?” She almost snorted at the description. “That’s an understatement.”

Her gaze flickered between the two men and the hunger on their faces.

Khalid nodded gently, his expression, especially the dark depths of his eyes, filled also with sympathy and concern. But was there love? Was it even possible that they could fill with love?

She was focusing on that emotion when she had promised herself that she wouldn’t take that path. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t ask for anything more than to be his lover. If it was meant to be, then the love would come. If it wasn’t, she would deal with that, too.

Her heart wasn’t following that directive, though. It was aching, demanding that she do more, and, at this point, she had no idea what that more could be.

“Have you managed to find out why I was targeted?” She spoke to Shayne, knowing he would have been on the phone with his contacts by now.

“Nothing conclusive.” He shook his head. “You know how it works, Marty. It takes more than a few hours.”

“Knowing that doesn’t help,” she muttered irritably.

“I can understand your anger.” Khalid moved closer, the sensuality, the sexuality that was so much a part of him seeming to surround her. “Though I feel I must point out, had you not run from me this morning, then this would not have happened, Marty. You would be in my bed now, filled with pleasure rather than facing the knowledge that you’re in danger.”

“Thank you for pointing that out to me,” she said with false sweetness. “How ever have I made it through my life without you there to spread your little gems of wisdom?”

“Never fear, little flower. I’m here now.” His smile was tight, his gaze narrowed on her. “I’ll make certain you don’t forget it.”

Shayne’s chuckle drew a glower from her. She didn’t need his particular brand of amusement at the moment. Glaring back at Khalid, she wondered exactly what it would take to shake loose that smooth persona he insisted on wearing.

“The last I heard, you don’t do straight relationships, Khalid,” she stated. “How was I to know you prefer me to stay rather than sending me on my way, as you do your other women?”

Mockery filled his expression now. “I have never sent a lover on her way, precious, as I’m certain you know. As a third, I’ve usually been sent on my way.”

“Poor guy, he’s been so unloved.” Shayne smirked as he leaned against the dresser and crossed his arms over his chest, watching them curiously.

He was definitely going to begin irritating her soon.

“That’s your own fault,” she informed Khalid as she ignored Shayne, her voice brittle now. “And rather beside the point.”

Turning from him she pushed her fingers through her hair and fought to hold back the emotions trying to tear through her.

“I needed to think,” she finally told him before turning back, his silent patience raking across her nerves. “And I need to work. I want to find out who the hell thought they could take shots at me and get the hell away with it.”

“It’s too late to regret your decision to come to my bed,” he told her with a flash of dominance. “If this is part of why you need to think alone, then you can forget it.”

Unfortunately that dominance did nothing to still the arousal burning inside her.

She arched a brow. “Did I say I regretted it? I believe I’ve made my position fairly clear, Khalid. It’s been my intent for years to get into your bed. You’re the one who was determined to keep me out of it.”

“And now you will stay in my bed.” The growl in his voice surprised her. “I’m no notch in a bedpost, love. You don’t want to attempt to play such a game with me.”

They had an audience, an amused one at that. Not that she was beginning to care. Shayne may as well learn the lesson Khalid was going to get into his thick skull sooner or later. No man dictated to her.

“Then perhaps you should put yourself out to stay in that bed as well,” she snapped back. “I’m no notch, either, Khalid, and I won’t be made to feel like one.”

She felt too delicate, too female next to him. She didn’t feel like a fully trained agent; she felt like a woman begging to be touched. A woman willing to give the man she desired everything he wanted, and she couldn’t decide if she was pissed off or resigned to that.

“Be patient, Marty.” Khalid shook his head at her accusation. “There is much I must deal with now that you’re here. Things I must take care of soon. That will require many hours away from you. And perhaps from our bed.”

“Patience isn’t one of my virtues.” She cast a glare at him before moving away, only to turn back to face him. “What’s going on, Khalid? All the warnings, the dire predictions. I’m sick of waiting for the truth from you. What kind of trouble are you in?”

She was getting closer. The truth was there; at least at this point he was willing to admit that there was much more to what was going on here than whatever work he was doing for her father.

“A woman’s patience is an inspiration, just as is her tenacity.” A small smile tipped his lips as he watched the suspicion flicker in her eyes. He was evading her question, and they both knew it.

Glancing at Shayne, she saw his knowledge of it as well. What the hell was he keeping from her?

“Don’t play word games with me, Khalid. You want too much from me to insult me in that manner.”

She watched his eyes. They flickered with the truth of her statement as well as with an edge of regret.

“I would give my own life to save yours,” he said, his voice harsh. “And soon, I will give you the answers you need. Until I can, I ask only that you stay here, within the house, and allow me to bring to you not just the answers, but also, hopefully, the knowledge of who targeted you and why.”

She wanted to rage at him. The answers were there in his eyes and she knew it; he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“You can’t trust me with your secrets, yet you can ask me to trust you with my body and my heart,” she said, with an edge of anger. “Where’s the fairness in that, Khalid?”

“I did not say there was fairness in it, Marty.” Frustration was beginning to line his voice. “Very soon, the answers will be given to you. That I promise you.”

“You can’t give me those answers now, but you want my body now. You and Shayne. Together.”

She glanced at Shayne, watched his gaze darken, the lust in his expression deepening.

Khalid’s lips tightened. “No, it is not simply your body that I want, but if this is all I can have at this moment, then I’ll gladly take what you will give.”

This answer surprised her.

There was an edge of something in his voice that she couldn’t pinpoint. A hunger, a need she didn’t know how to interpret. Something deeper than she had expected from him.

“What if I just want you?” She pushed him. They both knew better, but the combination of arousal and anger had her pushing him, daring him.