“Oh, God,” she said, horror in her voice. She tried to roll away from him, but he stopped her.
“We will finish this, Lila.”
She frowned at him. “You’re a bossy bit of goods.”
He smiled at the old-fashioned saying. “You better believe it.”
He gave her another hard kiss before rolling away from her, then rising from the bed. It was painful, but he did it. “I need a shower. From the tread that is probably Jenner coming to check on you.”
She sat up, and he had to stop just to look at her. Her hair was a tangle of curls, her mouth was red and swollen from his kisses, and her face was still flushed.
Bloody hell, she was gorgeous.
“What?”
He shook his head. “I was just thinking how amazing you are.”
The slow blink told him she wasn’t accustomed to compliments. Of course, she had cut herself off from everyone for over two years. He had a feeling that Judith Eddington wouldn’t be that forthcoming with compliments.
There was a soft knock on the door, and since he didn’t want to be embarrassed by his obvious hard-on, he slipped into the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he waited and heard Jenner come into the room. Everything in him told him to be out there with her. Ian did not like the idea of another man around her. It was stupid and backwards to even think that way. Even if he had a claim to her, which he wasn’t sure he did, Ian didn’t believe in that kind of behavior. Lila seemed to tear down all of his civilized thinking and leave him like a mess of neanderthal idiocy. Even at the moment, knowing that he wasn’t a man who could settle down, he had a hold on the counter edge to keep himself from charging back into his room and beating the hell out of Jenner.
Fuck, he was mess, but for the first time in a long time, he felt he was on the right path. Protecting Lila seemed to reignite the spark he had lost over the last year.
The question was if it was the woman or the situation? He stared at himself in the mirror and realized the answer didn’t matter. Because, in this, he could be honest with himself. All that mattered was the woman. Nothing else.
Ten
“I’m not sure about this plan,” Lila said, as she looked around the private airstrip. She’d had no idea that this existed, which wasn’t like her at all.
Always have an escape route.
Again, her grandmother’s voice echoed through her head. The woman always had a rule for everything, but this one had served Lila well. She had several different options to get off the island, even one that involved a boat, but this one would probably be better. Still, unease slithered through her as they walked toward the plane. She was wearing a ball cap and mirrored glasses, but her skin still crawled. She did her best not to look panicked, because that would definitely tip off anyone who was looking for her.
It didn’t help that she felt as if the entire world was weighing her down. If she said anything, Ian would have freaked. He had been eyeing her like a freaking hawk. Worse, every time he looked at her all she could think of was his mouth pressed to hers. She had wanted to do much more than just the man.
She had already agreed to the flight, so it was stupid to argue now. The non-answer from Ian told her he thought it was stupid too. Oahu would make it easier for her to get away from him. With everything that was happening, she could easily get in and out of one of the many Dillon safe houses. Once she rested one more day, it would be easy to formulate a plan to get away from Ian and his father. She could not bring this danger to their doorstep.
As he strode ahead of her, she watched him. It was odd being this close to him as long as she had been. It had been less than forty-eight hours, but since she had been watching him for years, she felt as if she knew him better than she knew a lot of other people. Still, she didn’t get her reaction to him. Her gaze traveled down his body. The man was built. About six-three, with long, lean muscles like a swimmer, and that ass of his. She rolled her eyes.
It was warm on the tarmac, but she shivered. She had never really been that interested in men. It was hard to trust a man, or anyone for that matter. Intimacy demanded trust. So, while she was on the run for her life, she was getting hot and bothered for a damned spy? She really was screwed up.
The truth was, she knew him better than most other people. She had followed his career, watched as he performed his job, never letting anyone get in his way. She knew that there were several other countries that had wanted to hire him when he’d left MI-6, but he had opted to go into the private sector.
It still didn’t explain why she was attracted to him. Sure, he had those movie star looks, and she had watched as women did double takes when he walked past them. He was so out of her league. Lila wasn’t even sure she had a league.
He led them to a black plane, then he turned to say, “Stay here with El, Jenner and my father.”
Agitated by his tone, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and narrowed her eyes. “I’m not a dog who follows orders.”
He shook his head but said nothing else as he climbed up the few stairs into the plane.
“He’s just checking to make sure everything is on the up and up,” El said.
She turned her head. “I was raised by a spy master, you don’t think I know? I just don’t like standing out here.”
Before he could respond, Ian appeared in the doorway, but he didn’t look happy. Her stomach muscles cramped. What was wrong? She hesitated, then saw how his jaw clenched. She had told him she trusted him, and she did. It was just hard not to second guess everything. He would never tell her to get on the plane if there was someone in there wanting to hurt her.
She climbed up the short stairway, then stepped into luxury. The entire jet was gold and black, with plush leather seats, an area with a conference table, and screens on the walls. Then, her gaze rested on a man. He was tall—not as tall as Ian—with dark hair and dark eyes. He looked vaguely familiar.
