Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 10) (9 page)

“Oh my God, you’re the perfect woman,” he murmured, unable to hide his grin. He was so freaking lucky to have such a sexy, intelligent, driven and caring woman in his life. He hoped he made her even half as happy as she did him.

“Just as long as you realize that,” she teased, and handed him his plate. “Should we eat by the fire?”

The fire? He nodded, took her plate from her and gestured for her to go first. “Ladies first.”

Her lips curved upward. “You just wanna stare at my naked ass.”

“Damn right I do.”

The view on the way to the living room was nothing short of spectacular. He was staring at her bare ass like a sex-starved maniac, nearly crashed into the coffee table because he just couldn’t tear his gaze from the entrancing sight of her sexy cheeks swaying with each step.

When they reached the couch Summer turned to face him and smoothed her apron down the back of her before sitting and crossing one leg over the other with deliberate slowness. The pose itself was unbelievably sexy but with the firelight glowing over her red hair and naked, pale skin, it was all he could do not to throw dinner aside and attack her right then and there.

She accepted her plate with a little smile that told him she knew exactly how insane she was making him and had been hoping for this very reaction. “Adam. The wine.”

Right. Wine.

He rushed into the kitchen, poured them both a glass of red from the decanter she had waiting on the counter, and hurried back.

The dinner melted in his mouth, each bite perfection not just because she was a great cook, but because she’d gone to all this effort for him. To make him happy and show how much she cared. That meant way more than the apron and heels did.

Summer took a sip of wine and gave him a slow smile. “I never believed the saying before, but your mom really wasn’t kidding when she told me the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

“That’s mostly true in my family,” he admitted, his gaze once again sliding over the length of her. From this angle he could just make out the curves of the sides of her breasts. Just enough for a handful, for each mound to fit perfectly in his palms.

Summer set her wine down and re-crossed her legs. Slowly. Giving him just enough time and just enough room to make out the shadowed flesh between her pretty thighs. The sexy, nerve-rich folds he couldn’t wait to bury his mouth against while those heels dug into his back.

She set her glass down in her lap and tilted her head a little, her eyes sparkling in the firelight. “This is way too fun.”

“So fun,” he agreed, taking another bite of steak. He hated to rush through a meal she’d gone to such care in selecting and preparing, but hell. He could barely remember to chew and swallow with her sitting four feet away, mostly naked, teasing him with every breath.

After eating he ordered her to stay put and took the plates into the kitchen. He’d clean up later while she was asleep—tucked into their bed, exhausted from the best sex of her life. But right now he had something more important on his mind.

He needed to claim his woman once and for all. With the combat deployments and their long separations behind them, nothing was holding him back anymore.

She was still curled into the arm of the sofa with her wineglass when he came out, looking like something out of a naughty pin-up calendar.

Adam went onto one knee in front of her, set her wine on the coffee table and reached one hand out to cradle the side of her face. “You have no idea how beautiful you are,” he murmured. “Or how much I love you.”

She gave him an assessing look. “Pretty sure I know that last bit, but I wouldn’t mind a reminder to refresh my memory.” She took hold of his wrist and tugged, trying to bring him to her as she tipped her face up for a kiss.

Adam answered the invitation by fusing their mouths together in a kiss so hot it left them both panting. When he pulled back finally, Summer made a sound of protest and reached for him, one hand lifting to grasp the ties at the back of her neck.

Adam shook his head and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips instead. “Not yet.” He had something more important to do before he gave them both the release they were dying for.

While she watched him curiously he slipped his right hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out the little velvet box he’d picked up at the jeweler this afternoon.

Summer gasped and sat up straight, one hand going to her chest, right over her heart. Holding her other hand in his, Adam flipped the box open with his fingers to reveal the round diamond ring.

She lifted her eyes to his, and he saw pure joy and love shining back at him. He’d never felt so complete, or so certain of anything in his life. She was it for him.

“You’re everything I could ever want and more and I want to spend the rest of our lives together,” he told her softly. “Will you marry me?”

Her answering smile was so bright it almost hurt his eyes. “Yes.
Yes
.” She pulled her hand free of his grip and flung her arms around his neck.

He hugged her tight, closing his eyes to better savor the moment, letting her sweet scent and the feel of her supple body pressed against his fill his senses. Then he slid the ring onto her finger and pushed her back to recline on the leather sofa, all that pretty red hair spilling over the side of it. He stroked a hand over it, drew his fingertips down her face and throat, feeling more possessive than he ever had in his life.

She was going to be his, forever.

“Stay just like that,” he murmured, reaching for the ties at the back of her neck. He undid them, then reached under her to undo the ones at her waist. The apron practically melted away from her skin at his touch, revealing her in all her naked glory.

With a rough sound of need he leaned in to lick the tight pink nipples waiting for his mouth, and took hold of the underside of her knees. “Feet on my shoulders,” he commanded in a low voice, already lifting them into position.

He heard her breathless gasp of anticipation, caught the heady scent of her arousal as she opened for him, the muscles in her thighs quivering slightly. His starving gaze raked over the length of her, open and waiting for him, and settled on the glistening folds between her thighs. He couldn’t hold back a moment longer.

Mine.

With a raw sound that came from his gut he leaned forward and pressed his mouth there, demonstrating his claim in a way that didn’t require words.

Present Day

“Another agent will meet us inside by the check-in counter,” Celida said to Taya as she steered into the multi-level parking garage next to the airport’s international terminal.

“Okay,” Taya replied, fighting the nerves buzzing around in the pit of her stomach.

She hated airports. Had ever since terrorists had targeted her in one, and coupled with the fact that she was about to get on a plane and fly back to an Islamic country bordering a warzone like the one she’d been taken captive in…well. Little wonder she was dreading every second of this.

But Summer Blackwell was in danger, along with two other American intelligence employees, and their lives were at stake. It didn’t matter that Taya and most of the other HRT women had never met her. Summer and Adam were part of the HRT family, period. If Taya could help the investigators crack the case somehow, then she had to go.

“And I know without a doubt Schroder will be waiting for you on the other end with another couple of the guys,” Celida added in a dry tone.

Taya smiled. “Yes.” It helped to know that Nathan would be there waiting when she stepped off the plane in Amman. Unless of course they got a tip about Summer that they needed to act on in the meantime.

“Make sure you say hi to my husband for me,” she added. She and Tuck had just been married last fall.

“I will. I’ll give him a hug from you.”

The side of Celida’s mouth kicked up in the hint of a smile, the action pulling at the thin scar on her right cheek. A scar from a bullet that easily could have killed her. “That sounds weird, but okay. Hug the shit outta my man for me.” She pulled into a parking spot and shut off the engine.

As she approached the terminal Taya’s pulse began to race. An innate response she couldn’t control no matter how hard she tried to calm and center herself with her breathing. Her subconscious refused to let her forget what had happened at the airport the day of the attack, or what she’d gone through the last time she’d set foot in an Islamic country.

Granted, Jordan was a far cry from Afghanistan, where she’d gone to help the Red Cross, but still. This trip was forcing her to face her old fears head on.

She’d traveled a lot over the years but it had been a while and she’d scrambled around like a madwoman prepping for this one, rearranging her schedule as best she could. Nathan always made it look so easy whenever he got called out at a moment’s notice.

Celida stayed right next to her the entire time, alert, her pistol tucked into the holster at the small of her back. That helped too, knowing her friend was armed and vigilant.

Not to mention badass. If anyone tried to attack her now, Celida would drop them before they got within a hundred feet of her.

Taya tried not to let her nerves show as they moved around the lines of people waiting to check in for their flights. She had special paperwork and a first class ticket that allowed her to skip the line, courtesy of the FBI.

Celida escorted her right up to the podium where another woman waited, dressed in cargo pants, a fitted, long-sleeved black T-shirt and light jacket. She had jaw-length cocoa brown hair, a light bronze complexion a shade or two darker than Celida’s, and watchful sea-green eyes that missed nothing.

“Agent Thatcher?” Celida asked.

The woman nodded. “Agent Morales.” Turning her attention to Taya, she offered a polite smile. But there was a definite edge to her. A don’t-mess-with-me edge that was impossible to miss. “You must be Taya.”

“Yes, hi.” She held out her hand.

“I’m Special Agent Maya Thatcher,” she said, and shook hands with her. “I’ll be escorting you to Amman.”

“Great.” Because what else was there to say? It’s not like she had a choice, and she was glad to have an armed agent with her. No doubt Agent Thatcher knew all about her past, had already been briefed on everything.

Agent Thatcher took the paperwork from Celida, glanced at everything and handed the ticket to the man working the podium. In a minute flat Taya was checked in and her suitcase put on the conveyor belt. “Okay,” she said to Taya. “You ready?”

As I’ll ever be.
“Yes.” She faced Celida with a taut smile. “Thanks so much for the ride, I appreciate it.”

Celida waved the thanks away. “Anytime. You’re in good hands, by the way. Before joining the Bureau, SA Thatcher was an Air Force security forces member.”

“Feels like a long time ago now,” Agent Thatcher said with a wry grin.

Celida took a step back as if she was going to leave, but Taya stepped over and wrapped her up in a hug. “You thought you’d get away without a goodbye hug? I don’t think so.”

Laughing, Celida gave her a quick squeeze in return. “You’re as bad as Zoe.”

That made her smile, because not only was Bauer’s wife Tuck’s cousin, she was also Celida’s best friend. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I love her.”

“She’s hard not to love,” Celida agreed. “Now go on, you guys will be boarding soon.”

Taya stayed close to Agent Thatcher as they made their way through security—expedited by more government paperwork—and to their gate for the first leg of the trip. She tended to make friends easily but she was so nervous she was afraid if she opened her mouth she’d just start babbling about nothing and didn’t want to annoy her escort.

It wasn’t until they were onboard and buckled into their seats that Agent Thatcher relaxed her guard. “First class, huh?” Taya mused with a smile, pulling out her phone to text Nathan.

“Oh yeah, they pulled out all the stops for you.”

Just about to push back from the gate
, she told him.

Leaning back in the spacious first class seat, the other woman looked at Taya. “I know this isn’t easy. Going back over there after everything that happened before.”

Taya glanced at her in surprise. The woman had definitely been briefed on Taya’s past, but the way she’d said that made it sound like she was talking from experience.

“They picked me to be your escort for a reason,” she went on, settling her arms across her middle. “Back when I was in the Air Force I was stationed at Bagram during my last tour. I was out in a remote village one day providing security during a medical outreach program when we were attacked. I was taken prisoner, along with my now husband and the Secretary of Defense.”

Shocked, Taya turned fully in her seat to face Maya, her mouth falling open. “That was you?” she asked, incredulous. “I remember seeing that story when it hit the news.” The story had been huge and she’d followed it closely, never realizing she’d face a similar fate a few short years later.

The woman nodded. “The man who orchestrated the attack was named Khalid, but he operated under orders from someone named Rahim.”

Oh yeah, she knew all about that asshole. “The American who defected and became a warlord in Afghanistan. And set off a dirty nuke outside Langley.”

Agent Thatcher inclined her head in acknowledgement. “He had close ties to Qureshi’s network,” she added, those mysterious sea-green eyes studying Taya.

A chill went up her spine as the connection hit home. “Wow, I…didn’t expect this.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet. Anyway, that’s why they sent me. And also, my husband’s a PJ.”

Now Taya’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?” There weren’t that many of them out there, active or retired, so it seemed like an incredible coincidence.

She smiled, showing a hint of white teeth. “Yeah. Our guys probably know each other.”

“It’s a small community, for sure, so I bet they do too.” Taya leaned back against the seat with a smile, suddenly feeling a thousand times more relaxed about everything. “Life is so weird sometimes.”