Лиза Джонс - Beneath the Secrets

He pulled back and motioned her forward. She glared at him, obviously reading between the lines, but Ignacio, with his men behind him, successfully ended their banter, stopping beside them. Kara stepped onto the boat, where another goon waited for them.

Blake followed Kara on board with Ignacio on his heels and things went downhill from there. “You two go into the cabin below,” Ignacio ordered, stepping to Blake’s side.

“Not a chance,” Blake said, all kinds of alarm bells going off.

Blake could feel movement behind him, more people joining them on the boat. Ignacio crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You won’t be allowed to see your destination, plain and simple.”

Going below deck with Ignacio above was beyond foolish. “We’ll ride on top.”

He flicked a look at Kara. “She’s freezing and topside isn’t an option.”

Blake was all about giving Kara his coat, but it was huge and heavy and he wasn’t so sure he wasn’t going to have her running here in a minute. “I’m claustrophobic,” she offered. “I’d rather be cold and topside.”

“We have a schedule,” Ignacio said, his tone clipped. “Inside the cabin, both of you.”

“Then Kara isn’t going,” Blake said, no compromise in his voice.

Kara opened her mouth to insert what was sure to be an objection, but was silenced by the sound of several guns being cocked from behind them. A gun pressed to the back of Blake’s head. “She stays,” Ignacio said, evil satisfaction in his eyes. “And while I’d hate to have to deliver you to Alvarez bleeding from a leg or shoulder, don’t think I won’t.”

Blake ground his teeth. Beneath the deck, they were blind. They wouldn’t know if they’d traveled a mile up the bay or headed out to sea, and the tracking device in his boot was short range at best.

“I’d like you to make my day special,” Ignacio added. “Stay where you are for another sixty seconds and give me a reason to put a bullet in you.”

Blake accepted the inevitable. He was going into that cabin and, damn it to hell, so was Kara.

Chapter Two

Talk about being locked up with a tiger who considered you prey. That was exactly how Kara felt with Blake on her heels as she headed down the stairs and into the small cabin. Instinctively she scanned the windowless space, taking in the mini kitchen, a couch attached to the wall, and a door to a bathroom before she whirled around to face her wild beast. And Blake was definitely a wild beast.

He stalked down the stairs toward her, anger etched in his handsome face. Unsurprisingly, the door slammed and locked behind him. They were officially caged, prisoners who could very well be headed to their death. Right now, though, Blake was headed for her. He didn’t stop until he stood toe to toe with her, but she didn’t back away. Not that there was anywhere to go.

His hands came down on her shoulders, the touch solid, the impact sending spirals of heat through her body. “You and I are going to have a talk.”

“Oh yes,” she assured him, biting back what she really wanted to say, all too aware they were likely being recorded, maybe even videotaped. “We will.”

“What you’re going to do is exactly what the fuck I tell you to do.” He eased closer, whispering in her ear. “They cannot know you matter to me.” He leaned back and glared at her. “You’re here to do paperwork and fuck me. Nothing more. Understand?”

She knew his crudeness was an act. She knew he was trying to send a message to whoever was listening that he owned her that she wasn’t emotionally important, but she couldn’t completely keep it from cutting. “You know I do,” she bit out.

His gaze pierced hers for several more seconds, his handsome faced etched in anger, strands of dark hair falling loose from the tie at his nape, before he dropped his hands away from her. He turned away and Kara hugged herself, watching him shrug out of his jacket, forcing herself to inhale, trying to catch her breath. Why did this man always steal her breath?

Tossing the jacket onto the couch, he sank down on a cushion and patted the one on his other side. “Come sit. It won’t matter if we’re going a mile up the way or ten, they’ll make this a long ride to keep us disoriented.”

Kara told herself to do as he said, to play her role, but her feet didn’t seem to move. The truth was, she wanted to smack him for talking to her like she was his property. She shouldn’t, though—not when they were undercover—but beneath the facade of his being master and her his damnable puppy dog slave, was true anger. Both his and hers. He’d tried to shut her down tonight, to leave her behind when her sister was in trouble. He was pissed it didn’t work. She was pissed he’d pull such a thing.

“Kara,” he said softly, his tone a low command, a warning telling her to stay professional.

He wanted her to come to him. Fine. She’d be right there. Kara stalked toward him as he had her, and took pleasure in the flash of surprise in his face at her determined approach. She halted in front of him, this time her hands s ettled on his shoulders, and did her best to ignore the instant zip of heat through her body when she did.

Leaning closer, she pressed her lips to his ear, the spicy male scent of him teasing her nostrils and stirring a cluster of butterflies in her stomach. “You’ll survive this night because I won’t let anyone hurt you but me. That’s my privilege.”

His fingers laced into her hair and he gently, but insistently, tugged—forcing her to look at him. “And this is mine,” he declared a moment before his mouth covered hers, his tongue pressing past her lips, hot with demand, and he tasted hunger, passion, and possession. He was claiming her, and it wasn’t for the camera. She could feel the raw need in him, the near desperatation in each lush stroke of his tongue. Kara had no clue if that need was really for her or for an escape from the emotions this trip to meet Alvarez had stirred in him. It didn’t seem to matter. A mix of desire and attachment to this man rushed over her, through her. Whatever he needed, she wanted to give it to him.

Kara sank into the kiss, clinging to him, holding him close, silently telling him she wanted him, she needed him, and in that moment she admitted to herself what that truly meant. Needing him reached beyond this kiss, this trip. In such a short window of time, he’d climbed into her soul and become a part of her. She couldn’t lose him and her sister. She couldn’t lose either of them.

Kara shoved at his chest, tearing her mouth away from his, her chest heaving. “Damn you, Blake.” Again, her lips found his ear, a firestorm of emotions balling in her chest. “You made me feel what I’m feeling right now, and damn it, you aren’t quitting on me. Damn it, you will stay alive. For me. I need you to do it for me.”

“What are you feeling, Kara?” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

“Like I can’t lose you.”

He stiffened, not moving, not responding, and then, suddenly, his arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her neck. “I promise to stay alive on one condition.”

Relief washed over her with his response, at the possibility he might actually try to survive what she knew he saw as a death mission. Moving to look up at him, she searched his face, looking for a sign he needed her, too. “What? What is it?”

Several heavy seconds thick with tension ticked by, his expression unreadable until a slow smile transformed his features. “You have to let me spank you.”

She barely contained a flinch at the unexpected question. She’d been hoping for an emotional connection, and he’d dodged it completely. His warning that he wasn’t the guy for her to count on replayed in her mind. Kara shoved away from him and when he let her, a chill raced down her spine and spread to her heart. He didn’t plan on staying around. She didn’t mean to him what he did to her. Damn it, why had she picked Blake to finally let her guard down with? Why?