Jess propped himself up on one elbow to study the delicate perfection of her body. She was very small but she had curves and incredible lines to her figure. He bent his head, needing to taste her skin again, his mouth craving the sweetness. "We were meant to be, Saber. Whitney and his pheromones can go to hell. This was us. You and me loving one another."
Saber turned her head, long lashes lifting to study his features carefully. Jess laced his fingers through hers. "I had no idea it would be like that," she whispered softly, slightly awed.
"I'm sorry I hurt you." His fingers splayed across her stomach because he had to touch her, to see his hand on her skin, to feel how soft she was.
"Only for a second," she assured. "Thank you for being so careful." Nothing was ever going to be the same. She wasn't ever going to be the same.
"I meant what I said, Saber." His fingertips brushed the silky V between her legs, touched a tight curl. "I love you. I want you to stay with me."
Just the feel of his fingers on her caused a ripple of intense pleasure, a rush of dampness. Beside her, his body was stirring to life and he allowed it, bending his head to a taut, inviting nipple. He would have all the time in the world to make love to her; he was not going to take chances on making her any more sore than she was already going to be. The excitement, the freedom to touch her was incredible.
He lifted his head, feeling her shiver again. "Come on, angel face, let's get you into a hot bath. You're going to catch cold lying here." He leaned into her again to kiss the tip of her nose and then the corner of her mouth. "You'll have to get my chair. It's in the other room." He hated saying that. Needing her to get it for him.
She frowned. "But you ran, Jess. I saw you. And you kicked that man in the garage. How could you do that if you need the wheelchair?"
"It's a long story." He was going to have admit to agreeing to the bionic operation--and that so far, it hadn't worked all that well. This had been the first time he had had any degree of success. It gave him a measure of hope, but even now, instead of cramps and spasms and pinpricks, he felt no sensation at all.
She sighed. "One you're going to tell me."
"You won't like it."
"Probably not." She caught his face and kissed him before getting to her feet.
Saber gathered up her clothes a little unsteadily, out of long habit putting her shirt on to cover her back. She left it open, liking the stark hunger in Jess's eyes as his gaze dwelt on her creamy breasts and tight, black curls. He made her feel sexy and beautiful.
When she came back with his chair, Jess wasn't the least embarrassed to pull himself, totally naked, into it. Saber was looking at him with such a sensuous, tender look, it made him feel as if he were the greatest lover of all time.
She followed him into the master bathroom with its huge Jacuzzi. Jess could hardly drag his gaze from her body long enough to fill the tub. He got in first because it was easier to maneuver with more room.
Saber stepped into the hot, steamy water. "Just stand still," Jess directed in a slightly husky voice. Very gently, using a soft cloth, he washed the blood and seed from between her legs. His hands were caressing, seductive, producing a rush of warmth, a curl of excitement.
She slid down into the water beside him, gasping a little as the jets swirled bubbles like a thousand tongues licking erotically at her sensitized body.
Jess pulled her to him, settling her between his legs, her small, rounded bottom pressed tightly against his fierce arousal. Her back fit neatly against his chest, his hands came up to caress her breasts floating half submerged, half above the water line. His thumbs feathered gently over her erect nipples, cupped creamy flesh into his palms, his mouth on the vulnerable side of her neck.
"I've wanted you forever," he admitted, his teeth biting her shoulder teasingly. "From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were the one."
"That was Whitney's pheromones."
He nuzzled the top of her head. "I don't think his pheromones could make me feel this way about you, Saber. No, we were meant to be. Destined."
Saber didn't respond. His hands cupping the weight of her breasts, his thumbs sliding in caresses over her taut nipples were driving her crazy. Whatever it was that had brought them together didn't matter anymore. She had committed her heart to him, and that terrified her.
Raging, he punched the wall over and over until his hands were bloody. Failed. It was easy, damn it. Easy. Kill the cripple and fuck her over really good. What was so hard about that? But no, they got the crap kicked out of them, and now they were in custody. He'd tried to follow so he could kill them before they could give out his description, but whoever had taken the idiots prisoner had lost him.
Now what was he going to do? What? What? What? He slammed his head hard against the wall, spittle flying from his mouth. He couldn't get near the place, not with all the guards. He had to come up with another place, another location--the radio station. He punched the wall again, furious that his plans had to change.
CHAPTER 12
"Okay, now is the time, while I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy toward you, for you to tell me how you ran after me using your own two legs." Saber tilted her head back to look up at him. She couldn't talk about love. Not without feeling like her heart was going to be ripped out.
"It's classified."
"No kidding? What a shocker. You are classified, Jess. I'm classified. Of course whatever you've done to yourself this time is classified as well."
"But technically, you aren't in the military because you don't exist."
"You have my file," she pointed out with a small sniff of disdain. "And so does your lady friend."
"Lily. Lily Whitney-Miller."
Saber turned away from him and stared down into the bubbling water. "The doctor's daughter."
"Don't you start on Lily too. Lily gave the file to me, not the other way around. And she's trying to find the other girls--women--that her father experimented on. She saved my life, Saber. I got to know her and I'm telling you, she isn't in league with him."
"How lucky for you that you're so certain."
His eyebrow shot up. "That was sarcasm."
"You bet it was."
"If it's any consolation, she doesn't trust you much either."
Saber burst out laughing. "Actually, that does make me feel better. If she pretended to accept me immediately, I'd be alarmed." She tipped her head back to rub against his shoulder. "What is she doing to you? Dr. Whitney's daughter and the other one. What are they doing?"
"Dr. Eric Lambert," he supplied. "Eric and Lily saved my life."
"And?" she prompted.
He sighed, but really, if Whitney already knew about his legs, what did it matter? "I'm in an experimental program for bionics."
She whirled around, splashing water in all directions. "You're what? I saw Whitney's..." She trailed off. "Lily Whitney asked you to do this?"
"No, she wasn't involved at all in the beginning. Eric and I were looking at the idea of using the external bionics the army is experimenting with. Eric made a few cracks about a couple of old television shows and how it really was possible to have internal bionics. He said that it had already been tried using a 'smart sleeve' to pick up and register movements of the existing muscles and use that to trigger movement of the appropriate part, but in theory it was possible to regenerate or stimulate existing nerves so the bionics would work completely with my own brain and body. The idea took off from there." He caught her chin when her gaze dropped away from his. "What did you see in Whitney's office? What were you going to tell me?"
She closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head, not wanting him to know, but realizing she had no choice. Not if she was going to keep him safe. She was beginning to realize that loving someone was really difficult. She scooted away from him just in case, because she was going to have to confess to planning a premeditated execution. If Jess condemned her, if he couldn't understand, then there was no hope at all for them. She stared down at the bubbling w
ater.
"Whitney gave me orders to take out a United States senator and his wife. I knew I had to escape. There was no way Whitney would just let me go. Eventually he'd run me down and either kill or reacquire me, so I decided that since I was an assassin and the best way to save my life was to kill Whitney, I would have to do it before I escaped."
She stole a look at his impassive face. Jess waited in silence, giving her no hint of what he was thinking or feeling. She moistened her lips and forced herself to continue. "I knew his schedule at the facility, so I waited for him to come back. He always went into his office late at night to work. The security was unbelievable and he had his own personal guards--enhanced soldiers."
"How many do you think take orders from Whitney personally?"
"Maybe ten enhanced. He has two teams that he keeps with him at all times. They travel with him and answer directly to him for his personal use as well as for his protection. He has others, but they're sent out on assignments for the government. The men who are with him are completely different."
Jess sucked in his breath sharply. "So you're saying aside from Ryland's team and ours, there are others?"