“My teeth are all mine,” she glowered.
“Pretty teeth, too.” He leaned down, peering into her mouth. She smelled his breath—sweet and pleasant. “This guy, a bit of an idiot, had no teeth. He wore dentures and each tooth was hollow, and filled with a class A sedative drug. He snapped his teeth together so hard, the dentures shattered and he nearly choked on the lot. Fell asleep for a long time after that.”
Jade clenched her teeth into a gritted sneer and spoke through them. “See,” she mumbled.
“Look after them,” he remarked, before taking a couple of steps back. “Start undressing. You’ll hand me one item at a time so I can check the seams and pockets.” He held out his hand.
She couldn’t move; her mouth now hung in a gape. Every muscle in her body had stiffened. She’d only her pants and tunic to remove, and under those were her panties and low-cut bra. Hardly a great amount to hide anything. If she fought over her clothes, what happened when it came to the cavity search? He’d change his mind, wouldn’t he? Once he examined her clothing, he’d relent and let her off the rest.
She slipped off the tunic and let it drop into his awaiting hand. “There,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find the stitching in good order.”
He smiled as he ran his fingers along the lower hem. “You’d be surprised at how good drug smugglers get at sewing new hems into shirts. I’ve found a quite a few grams of resin stitched into clothes.” He held it up and shook out the shirt. “Clean.”
“Of course it is.” She wrapped her arms over her covered breasts.
“Boots.” He pointed at her footwear and she kicked them off, then watched as he removed the inner soles and rooted around the toe caps. “I’ll scan these later. The heels are thick and might be harboring secret compartments.”
She rolled her eyes in disbelief. “If you ruin them—”
“Pants,” he interrupted.
She slithered out of the pants, keeping her legs as close together as possible.
Another brisk examination ensued as he laid them out on the nearby table and checked the pockets and seams.
“There,” she exclaimed, glaring at him. “I’m clean, so give me them back and I’ll get—”
“Hold it there, sweetheart. It might not be pleasant for you, but it’s going to happen. Your underwear off. Don’t make this any harder than it is. I’m only following regulations.”
“I’m going to be naked,” she whispered, leaning forward as if somebody might hear her.
“Bare, yes,” he agreed. “Which do you want to do first, bra or panties?”
“Turn away!” she demanded.
“Sorry, Jade. That’s a no. While my back is turned, you could shake something out.”
“I’m not a junkie.”
“I don’t think you are, but you are a smuggler and it makes no odds to me what it is you carry, I have to search you. Thoroughly. Let’s go with the bra, shall we?”
She hunted his face for some sign of amusement—a smirk or twitch of his lips. Instead, she saw his features were set in a neutral expression. It only made it harder for her. If he was ghastly and unpleasant, she might find the situation less humiliating, as if his ugliness might offset her embarrassment. Stripping naked in the presence of a cool marshal with a relaxed stance and breathtaking good looks proved almost impossible.
“Go on,” he urged softly.
Did he mean strip or fight back? She couldn’t really tell from the tone of his voice. The long pause of inactivity continued. Her trembling muscles refused to move and her palms had gone clammy.
“I don’t rape, if that’s what is worrying you. You’re going to have to trust me on that.” He stared into her eyes, unblinking. Didn’t liars look away when they fibbed? That’s what she had been told.
She reached behind and unclasped the hook. Draping her arm across her bosom and hiding her nipples, she handed him the bra with her other hand.
“Thank you,” he said without a trace of mock sincerity.
Dammit. She pressed her lips together. Why couldn’t he be rude and obnoxious, something that would rile her into action?
He felt along the strap and under the cups before laying the bra on top of the rest of her clothes.
The waistband of her panties sat below her hipbones. “There’s nothing—”