Amelia Autin - Black Ops Warrior

She wasn’t crazy enough to believe in love at first sight. And she wasn’t having rosy visions of happily-ever-after. But no man had ever, ever made her body meltingly aware of every breath he drew the way Niall Johnson did. And she decided then and there that if he planned to seduce her into his bed, she was totally on board with that idea.

* * *

It’s almost too easy, Niall thought as he stood behind Savannah, protecting her from the crowd while she gazed in rapt wonder at the view from the top of the wall. Like shooting a stationary target.

“Where’s your camera?” he asked abruptly, wanting to distract himself from thoughts that were making him uncomfortable...but shouldn’t. She was his assignment. He needed to remember that.

“Oh.” She glanced up at him over her shoulder. “I wasn’t thinking...” Her right hand fumbled in the pocket of her padded vest and pulled out a camera. He noted the make and model effortlessly—noticing things, logging them into his brain for future reference, was second nature to him. He couldn’t not be aware of everything around him...including the expression on Savannah’s face that she had no idea conveyed how absolutely vulnerable she was to his brand of charm. Charm he had no business using on an innocent victim.

Whoa! Where did that thought come from? he berated himself. Dr. Savannah Whitman could very well be a traitor. And if she was, she deserved every bad thing he might do to her, up to and including taking her out. If absolutely necessary. He couldn’t allow her to reveal what she knew to his country’s enemies. He wouldn’t allow it.

* * *

Savannah gazed out over the rolling hills, then snapped a few photos. “The GPS doesn’t work in China, you know,” she told him, a trace of regret in her voice. “I bought this camera for this trip specifically because of that feature. I wanted a permanent GPS record of every place I visited. But...” She sighed. “I’m not exactly sure why, but it doesn’t work. It worked just fine in the US—I tested it. Do you think the Chinese government is somehow blocking the signal?”

“Could be,” he said cautiously. He knew the answer. But he wasn’t about to reveal to her that he knew or how he knew.

She chuckled suddenly, taking him by surprise. “And you couldn’t care less, one way or the other.” She turned within the frame of his arms, her face alight with humor. “Sorry. I’m babbling. I have a bad habit of blurting out what’s on my mind. Even worse, my mind tends to jump around a lot—that’s the engineer in me. So carrying on a normal conversation with me is a challenge.”

“A challenge?” he murmured. “I love a challenge.”

He would. She didn’t know how she knew that about him, but she did. He wasn’t talking about carrying on a conversation with her, of course. She wasn’t that naive. He was talking sex, plain and simple. She caught her breath, then shook her head. “I won’t be much of a challenge,” she said before she could think about how unwise it was to admit it.

He didn’t move closer, but somehow it felt as if he had. And instead of the choked-up feeling that always overcame her whenever she feared she couldn’t escape, this time her shortness of breath had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with excitement.

“You’re no pushover,” he told her, that tantalizing smile in his eyes matching the one on his lips. “Damned if I know what you are, but I know that much.”

Kiss me and find out.

Savannah was aghast at herself, until she realized she hadn’t actually uttered those words out loud. But then Niall’s head came down, shortening the distance between them, and his lips brushed hers. Just a delicate touch, but she trembled. Made an inarticulate sound deep in her throat. And her hands came up of their own volition to clutch his arms. To hold him right where he was. To keep him kissing her.

Then he deepened the contact, and Savannah lost any grasp she had on reality. Being kissed by Niall, feeling his body rock-hard against the softness of hers as he held her with male intent, sent her into an alternate universe, one where she could only cling to him for safety. She couldn’t escape but she didn’t want to escape. Not from him.

Suddenly, Savannah realized a little sound of arousal and surrender was coming from her throat. She tried to break away, to free herself from his powerful spell...and he let her go.

It was only a slight movement on her part, but he responded immediately. And that impressed the hell out of her. Most men she knew wouldn’t have. Most men would have tried to overcome what they thought was merely token resistance on her part. But not Niall. He had incredible self-control...and a will to match.

“Seen enough?” he asked eventually, after her heartbeat slowed...as if they hadn’t just spent the last few minutes not taking in the magnificent view at all. “We still have to fight our way back down to the gondolas and make it to the tour bus before eleven. And our tour guide warned us to allow forty-five minutes for that, to be on the safe side.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s ten after ten now.”

Savannah couldn’t believe how the time had flown. And Niall must have read her crestfallen expression, because his eyes held understanding as he turned her gently to face outward again. “We have five minutes,” he said in his deep voice. “Make the most of them.”

Gratitude washed through her. Not just that he seemed to get how much this meant to her, that she was actually here on the top of the Great Wall the way she’d dreamed of being since she was a little girl. But also for the fact that he was here with her. Holding her safe. Sheltering her from the crowd.

“It’s amazing,” she managed in wistful tones. “I’ve seen pictures of course. My mom and I used to—” She stopped abruptly, afraid she’d be overcome with emotion if she continued that line of thought. She sighed a little to herself, suppressing the pang, and said instead, “The sheer immensity of it is unbelievable.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Don’t you think so?”

He nodded slowly. “Unbelievable.” But he wasn’t looking at the view. And Savannah knew he was talking about her.

* * *

The steep walk back down passed in a blur. A comfortable blur where she didn’t panic once. The gondola ride, too. Savannah scurried into the slow-moving car when it was her turn, but Niall took so long entering after her no one else managed to crowd in with them. Then he sat down next to her, when he could have had the entire opposite seat to himself, and Savannah knew he’d deliberately maneuvered things this way, something he confirmed with, “I’ll bet you’re glad for a little privacy.”

She wanted to express her thanks, but the words wouldn’t come. She just gazed at him instead. But he seemed to get her message, because one corner of his mouth twitched upward in a half grin. “Yeah. Can’t say as I know what it’s like, being afraid of crowds. But I do enjoy privacy myself. At home—” He broke off suddenly, and Savannah wondered what he’d intended to say. And why he’d stopped himself from saying it.

Savannah and small talk in a social situation didn’t normally peacefully coexist. But she suddenly wanted to know everything she could about Niall, so she asked softly, “Where’s home?”

“Washington, DC.” That alpha male smile was back in full force. “And you?”

“Vail, Arizona. Just east of Tucson.”

“Born and raised?”

She nodded. “I’ve lived there all my life, except for my college years. What about you?”

He shook his head. “Denver. Then four years in the Marine Corps, stationed all over hell and gone.”

“What made you decide to settle down in DC?” The question tumbled out before she could stop herself.