HeatedMatch Page 17

  “Optimistic?” Loren asked with an eyebrow raised and a laugh in her voice.

  “Huh?” Adam didn’t catch on, too distracted by the dance of her hands on her nipples.

  “A whole box of condoms. I’m impressed, or…I will be,” she said.

  “Oh.” He looked down at the box in his hand with bemusement then looked into Loren’s amused face and ripped open the condom box to pull out a handful of foil packets.

  “Prepare to be amazed, lady,” he told her before sheathing himself and covering her body with his.

  Chapter Ten

  The next day Loren sat freshly showered and dressed at her brother’s bedside. Adam had deposited her there while he went to speak with Gavin about a mission or something. She didn’t know or care, she was too blissed out from last night. She shifted slightly in her hard, plastic molded chair, still a bit sore.

  Adam had amazed her. She’d never had a lover with as much stamina, but it was more than that. He’d seemed to know exactly how to touch her, how much pressure to use, when to back off, and when to go full throttle. He’d been singularly focused on her pleasure, and she’d never climaxed so frequently in a lovemaking session. And it was still more than the sublime pleasure. There’d been a connection. The thing between them was growing, evolving into more than mere sexual attraction.

  At that thought, a sigh escaped her.

  “What?” Chase turned his head, finally awake, though she’d been at his bedside for at least fifteen minutes.

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t give me ‘nothing’, you’ve been moaning and sighing over there since you arrived. Damn hard to sleep,” Chase complained.

  Loren swallowed at his gruffness. In the week she’d known him, Chase had been all sunshine and smiles. “I’m sorry. If I’m disturbing you, I can go.” She half rose off her seat before Chase’s cut-up and bruised hand stayed her in place.

  “Don’t go. I don’t really want to be alone right now.”

  She sat again, frowning over the despondency she heard in his voice. “Sure. I’ll stay. Are you up for talking, or do you want quiet?”

  “Talk,” he said. “Don’t want to be alone with my thoughts.”

  She sifted through some possible topics, but Chase asked about the Christenson case first. “How are the phone calls going?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Okay. The parents of the other kidnapped children had nothing but good things to say about First Choice Fertility. They’re professional, exclusive, get results, yadda yadda. They seemed shocked that there could be a connection between the clinic and their children going missing. And I know everyone is worried the longer the baby is missing, the less likely it is they’ll find him.”

  He murmured an agreement. “Is Shep sending someone in my place back to the fertility clinic?”

  “I’m not sure. Yesterday was a bit hectic around here.”

  “You’re spot on about the fertility clinic. The connection’s there. I know it.”

  “I know it too.”

  “What happened yesterday?”

  “Yesterday? Oh. Adam and I brought his brother, Rowan, back to live on campus.”

  Chase sat up then fell against the pillow with a wince and muffled curse. “Adam has a brother? No shit? How the hell didn’t I know that?”

  “He had his reasons for keeping it secret,” she said, unwilling to share details of Adam’s personal life. She squirmed a little under Chase’s steady, penetrating gaze, but managed to hold her own.

  “You guys are sleeping together again, aren’t you? God damn it, I’m going to kill that fucker.” Chase tried again to rise off the bed, but collapsed when Loren pushed him with one hand. His scowl blackened to hurricane darkness. “As soon as I’m better,” he muttered.

  “You will not say a word,” Loren said. “What Adam and I do together is none of your business.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “What?” Loren’s voice raised an octave, and her cheeks felt as if the temperature in the room matched the summer heat outside. She’d deny it to Chase, but this morning her feelings were a jumble of emotions. What had started as lust and desire had turned into something more. Much more. Learning about Adam’s childhood and history had bonded him to her, and she felt protective of him. If she didn’t love him already, she was well on the road to it.

  She turned to look at Chase’s monitors and the various drip poles by his bed when she answered. “Love had nothing to do with it. I wanted him. He wanted me. Period, full stop. And, I believe I mentioned it’s none of your business.”

  “The hell it’s not my business. You’re my sister,” Chase bellowed from his sick bed. “Loren, you know the way things work around here.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked. “The whole genetic matching thing?” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

  “Fuck yeah, the genetic matching thing. Don’t dismiss it. They will trap you. Keep you here, use you as a breeder and let your sons go off to fight. Are you okay with that?” A pile of paperbacks crashed from the nightstand to the floor, losing in a battle with Chase’s sweeping hand.

  Loren bent to pick up the books. Anything to keep her hands busy and stop her from strangling him with his morphine drip tube. “First of all, stop cursing at me. Why are you angry? Aren’t you part of the Program? I’d think you would be happy your sister and friend are a match.”

  “I’m pissed because I don’t want you to end up like my mother,” Chase said with a militant expression. “She got nothing but heartbreak and death from this place. It’s why I’ll never agree to match and breed.” He started to say something else, but stopped.

  Loren sat back down, some of her anger leaking out of her like a balloon deflating. The history and memories of the men on this campus were tragic. It seemed that in the Program’s quest to create physically perfect male specimens, they forgot about the emotional needs of their soldiers. “You’ll be thrilled to know we’re using protection. I’m not ready to be a mother yet either. We’re drawn to each other. I like him, but are we in love?” She shrugged again. “I don’t know.”

  They sat, each looking at a different point in the room. The only noise was the drip of medicines. Suddenly, the door burst open and Adam’s big body filled the doorway. Loren met his gaze, burning with an intensity that hadn’t been there before. She felt like a couture dress at a sample sale full of fashionistas. It was disconcerting to say the least, but she didn’t look away.

  Three strides had him in the room and sweeping her up in his arms for a prolonged kiss, as if they’d been separated by wartime for years and not a thirty-minute span. Loren stiffened against him, aware they had a seething, furious audience, but Adam was persistent, and soon she melted against him and tugged his head closer to force the kiss deeper.

  “Get out,” Chase called from the bed. “I’m already nauseous and I don’t want to see your ugly mug kissing my sister.”

  They broke apart and looked at Chase. Now that Adam was in the room, Chase made an effort to be his normal, jovial self. Only a trace of the bitterness and anger he’d put on display for Loren remained buried beneath his smile. She could see it in his eyes.

  Adam seemed to take Chase’s words at face value and tossed him an achingly beautiful grin. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.” He sat down in the only chair and pulled Loren onto his lap.

  Loren snuggled in, loving the feel of his muscular arms wrapped around her waist and wondered about his willingness to be openly affectionate, but decided not to question it and enjoy it. He was all warmth and strength wrapped up in one dead-sexy package. Adam stroked her thigh in lazy circles and chatted with Chase about some new weapon, so Loren let her mind wander until she noticed silence in the room. Adam and Chase had finished their conversation and were looking at her, waiting for a response. She raised an eyebrow and sat up in Adam’s arms.

  “Ready to go? I need to talk to you.” Adam gave her a gentle shove to hoist her off his lap.

&nb
sp; Loren stood and leaned down to kiss Chase’s forehead. “Feel better. I’ll bring your iPad by later so you can watch some movies.”

  “Thanks.” Chase leaned back against his pillows, eyes closed.

  Loren took Adam’s hand and they strolled out of the room.

  “Where to?” she asked.

  “Somewhere private.”

  “Is the pool private this time of day? I could use a swim. This must be the hottest day of the summer.” She’d thought fall beckoned a few days ago, but the humid heat raged full force today.

  Adam checked the time on his cell phone. “No, it’s Sunday. The pool will be full of sixteen-year-old boys wanting nothing more than to ogle you in a bikini. And then I’d have to kill them and fill out a lot of tedious paperwork.”

  “Point taken,” Loren said. “Where else?”

  Adam’s face lit up and he smiled conspiratorially at her. “Come on. I thought of the perfect place.” He started walking in the opposite direction of the infirmary exit. They turned down a few corridors, passing locked-up labs and private offices.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see. Trust me.”

  “I do,” Loren replied and realized she really meant it. Adam had gone from complete unknown to trusted lover in a matter of days. This genetic matching stuff was really something. Normally Loren crossed boyfriends off her list for minor things like short fingers or bad shoes. Now she realized she’d been making excuses. No man ever lived up to her ridiculous high standards, because none of them had been her match. Adam wore the same ratty pants every day and threw on flip-flops if he wore shoes at all. And it didn’t matter. His scent, his smile and his deep voice reeled her in at every glance.

  Soon he pulled her through double doors, out into the sunshine and past some large green Dumpsters.

  “Ew.” Loren wrinkled her nose. “Where are you taking me?”

  He smiled and pushed his way through a gray, metal door and into a large kitchen. Loren realized he’d taken them a back way into the cafeteria. No cooks mixed or stirred, getting ready for a lunch rush. The cafeteria was closed today. Her stomach grumbled and she realized it was nearly lunchtime and they’d skipped food for breakfast. Instead they’d chosen to nibble on something altogether more delectable.

  “Lunch. Goody.” She clapped her hands, a delighted smile on her face.

  “Not just any lunch. The lunch of gods.” Adam wound his way past a gigantic stove and grill of polished stainless steel.

  Her reflection bounced off nearly every surface. She’d never seen such a clean kitchen.

  Adam reached a freezer-fridge combo the size of Rhode Island. He opened the doors with a tug and pulled out some Hershey’s Syrup, milk and vanilla Haagen Dazs from the left side.

  Last time she checked, ice cream sundaes were not on the FDA-approved food list. Mr. Six-Pack was serving up ice cream for lunch? Awesome.

  “I’m in. Make mine a triple-scoop sundae.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not making sundaes.”

  Oh. “You’re not?” She hoisted herself up onto a countertop to watch his easy kitchen movements that told her he’d done this a hundred times before.

  He reached into an upper cabinet and his t-shirt lifted, revealing a tan, taut stomach. Loren suddenly desired everything he was making and more.

  He yanked down a tall glass blender and placed it on the countertop next to her. When he caught the direction of her eyes on his body, he leaned in for a kiss. She spread her legs to wrap and reel him against her, but the annoying man resisted. He pulled away, turned to a drawer and returned with an old-fashioned metal ice-cream scoop.

  Deftly he filled the blender with scoops of ice cream, squeezed in a healthy amount of syrup and a splash of milk. A minute or two of the whirring and shaking, and soon Adam was pouring frothy, chocolate perfection into tall glass mugs.

  She reached for hers to take a sip, but he yanked her glass away before she could have any.

  “Wait for the best part,” he said in response to her pout and whimper of disappointment. Loren swung her heel against the cabinet while he returned the syrup, ice cream and milk to the fridge then pulled out the piece-de-resistance.

  “Whipped cream,” Loren exclaimed. “Lay it on me.”

  Adam’s grin could only come from the devil. “Oh, I will…later. For now, drink up.”

  He topped her mug with a flourish and slid it across the counter to her. Once he’d topped his own, he swung up on the countertop caddy-corner to Loren. Their feet hung close enough to brush toes.

  She lifted the deliciously frosty mug to her lips and sipped. Heaven. Only a true connoisseur understood that the perfect chocolate milkshake came not from chocolate ice cream, but vanilla mixed with chocolate syrup. All doubts she’d had about her matching compatibility with Adam were now signed, sealed and delivered to the nearest Dumpster. Any man who made a treat this yummy was an all-star in her book.

  They smiled at each other over their glass rims and continued drinking in silence. When she could see the bottom of her mug, Adam spoke. “I have to leave on a mission.”

  “What? When?” She lowered her mug.

  “Tomorrow. Shep wants me to check into Chase’s attack and the fertility clinic.”

  “Okay. What time do we leave?”

  He frowned. “I said I was leaving on the mission. Solo. You stay here.”

  A tiny remaining drop of milkshake sloshed onto the counter as she banged her mug down. “Why are you going alone? We’ve been researching the fertility clinic together, so I should come too.” She told herself her anxiety about going stemmed from a desire to write her article, but deep down she knew the truth. She wasn’t ready to be separated from Adam.

  He scowled. “You think I’d bring you into an unknown, potentially dangerous situation, especially after Chase’s attack?”

  “But it’s okay for you to go?”

  “I’m trained for this. It’s what I do and I’ll be on my guard since we know someone is watching our movements.”

  She fiddled with the handle of her mug, trying to think of arguments to have him bring her along, but his point was valid. She didn’t have combat training, and the last thing she wanted was to be a liability and cause Adam to get hurt. That thought made fear claw at her gut, and it wasn’t the sixteen-plus ounces of lactose she’d just inhaled. “I thought you were the brains of the operations. Doesn’t that mean you stay behind the front lines?”

  He frowned and lowered his glass. “Often, but not this time. Chase’s attack caught us completely off guard. Shep and Keel think I’m the best person for the job.”

  “Can’t Gavin or Xander take care of it?” She’d met both men, and they seemed more than capable of handling any task.

  He shifted on the countertop and stared at a point behind her when he answered. “Xander is coming along, but my particular analytical ability is needed in this situation. If there is a leak in our organization or a connection between the fertility clinic and the Christenson kidnapping, I’ll be the fastest to see it.”

  She opened her mouth to argue then stopped. What was she doing? She’d lived on her own for years and never begged a man for anything. She was coming dangerously close to it now. “Okay. Fine. See you when you get back.” She hopped off the counter and carried her cup to the sink to rinse it out.

  “Loren, stop. Don’t shut me out. I’m not leaving until tomorrow night.” His voice carried a tone that hinted at what he wanted to do during his twenty-odd hours until he left.

  She smiled with her back to him and continued rinsing out her mug. Her swipes with the sponge became less hurried and more languorous. She felt rather than heard him come up from behind to turn the spigot off. Together, their hands guided the mug to the bottom of the sink basin. His lips nibbled a path from her earlobe down her neck to her exposed shoulder, and his hands came around her front. One palmed her nipples and the other ran a finger around the vee in her crotch.

  “Mmmm.” She arc
hed her butt into his growing erection, which prodded her rear. At that moment, she wanted to take her man standing up in the kitchen. “Will you miss me?” she asked as his hands caressed key parts of her body.

  His hands froze in place and she could feel him pulling away, both physically and emotionally. “Don’t do that, Loren. We had a great night, but nothing’s changed. I can’t be the man you want.”

  She spun to glare at him. “Who is this mythical man you think I want so badly? I don’t want you to father a dozen kids on me. At this moment in time, I want you, your body, your company. That’s it.”

  He scowled and looked as if he were going to argue again, but all at once an image of her parents embracing, and her mom peering out the window as Dad drove away on one of his many overseas trips, entered her memory bank.

  Adam’s job spelled danger. For him, a trip meant intrigue and backstabbing, not boondoggles at fancy restaurants and linen-sheeted hotels. She didn’t want to pick a fight if he were leaving in twenty hours. She stepped closer for a passionate kiss. When she finally pulled back, she whispered, “If you won’t say it, I will. I’ll miss you.” I love you remained locked away for now.

  He didn’t respond and simply nodded then stepped back. “Come on. I have to go pack.” He turned and headed out of the kitchen.

  Loren stared after him. She watched his back for a few more seconds until he turned with a devastatingly warm grin. “I’ll miss you too.”

  *

  “Blacker. Adam Blacker.” Keel glanced around the parking lot, confident no other drivers recognized him. His sunglasses and Orioles hat disguised his features even more.

  “Excellent.” Paulson’s voice oozed pleasure at the news another test subject was coming his way.

  As for him, he was thrilled it was Adam he was handing over to Paulson. Blacker was too damn smart and suspicious of him. After his scare with all three Blacker men, he needed to remove Adam. Once Adam’s mind cleared of his lust for Loren Stanton, he was sure to discover his financial misdeeds toward his family. Then there’d be trouble.