Allegiances. Cynthia Eden
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anticipated. So hard it stole her breath and left her gasping. “I didn’t... I wouldn’t! I’d never—not to you!” How could he have thought, even for a moment, that she’d done that to him? That she’d married him one day then betrayed him the next?
“I was in hell, C. Hell. Barely alive when Mac pulled me out.”
“I know,” she rasped. “I was there. Who do you think drove the getaway jeep?” But he should know that. Mac had said—
“What?” Stunned surprise was in his voice.
“I was there. Don’t act like Mac didn’t tell you. I know he did.” She’d been there, and she’d seen the blood on him, but she hadn’t been given the chance to fully take stock of all his injuries. She’d been too busy driving hell fast to get them to safety. Then the transport chopper had whisked him away and she’d stood below, watching the dust and sand billow around him. There hadn’t been enough room for her and Mac on that chopper. So she’d backed away and let Mac stay with his brother.
And when she’d finally gotten back to him...
It’s over, Celia. She tried to slam the door on that memory before it hurt her even more.
“Mac told me...he said that you used intel to find me...that you helped...but hell, no, he never said you were there.” Sullivan sounded stunned.
“I was there.” And she’d heard his words so clearly as she’d driven that jeep. It was...Celia. Never trust...her. “I didn’t give up on you. I wouldn’t have.” Even if he’d given up on her. She fought to keep her emotions under control. She had to get away from him. Staying had been a definite mistake. But she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “You were a marine, first and foremost. You should have known that you can’t trust your captors. They always try to make you turn on the people you should be trusting.” It was a basic rule of survival. Never trust them.
“They knew so many things about you,” Sullivan said. “About us. Things I’d only told you.”
They were lying. “I need to leave.” This wasn’t working. In fact, she felt as if she were about to splinter apart. “Get out of my way and let me go.”
He didn’t move. “You were running from me, weren’t you? Trying to slip away in the dark? You were going to vanish without saying good-bye.”
Her chin notched up. Could he see that little movement? “No, I wasn’t just going to vanish,” she said flatly. “I was strongly thinking about leaving you a note first.”
And then he was touching her. Sullivan put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back against that door frame once more. His heat scorched her. “A note?” His voice was strangled. “A note?”
“Let me go.” Or he’d find out just how strong she was.
“I can’t. I tried that before, but you came back, and now we’re both in trouble.” Then his head lowered toward hers. She expected a kiss. Hard. Angry. Passionate. She wasn’t going to respond to him. She wasn’t.
But his mouth didn’t crash down onto hers.
Instead, his lips...feathered over her neck. Over the pulse that raced so frantically, for him. He kissed her skin lightly, tenderly, moving in a sensual trail along the column of her neck.
He remembered.
Even after all the time that had passed, he still remembered how much she’d enjoyed it when he kissed her there. How the passion had spiraled inside her from such a tender touch.
A moan built in her throat and slipped free before she could hold it back.
“I love that sound,” he whispered against her. “I missed it.”
Her eyes had squeezed shut. She wondered how the world had gotten so out of control. Once, she’d nearly had everything she wanted. Now...everything had been ripped away. Tears stung her lashes, but she’d never let those tears fall.
She couldn’t.
“Celia, I want you.”
Wanting had never been their problem.
I want him so much right now that I’m shaking.
But taking him wasn’t an option. Was it?
His hands slid down her arms, moving closer to her elbows, and she felt the edge of his fingertips skim over the curve of her breasts. She sucked in a sharp breath. “Sully...”
“Do you know how many times you’ve been in my dreams?”
Her eyes opened. She blinked the moisture away. “You were dreaming about me tonight. I heard you.” His call had stopped her.
“And that’s why you didn’t run away? Why you came to me?”
No, she hadn’t been going to him. She’d just wanted to make sure he was all right. “I thought you were calling out to me.”
“I’ve called out to you a hundred times, but this is the first time you’ve heard me.”
His words didn’t make sense to her. “Sully...”
“I love it when you say my name like that.”
“I can’t.” Can’t be with you. Can’t do this. “Goodbye.” Then, yes, she jerked from his arms and pretty much ran from that room. She—
His phone was ringing. A loud, hard music beat that followed her.
She paused, escape so close but...no calls this late are ever a good sign. She looked back in time to see a light flash on—Sullivan had turned on his lamp.
Sullivan grabbed his phone from the nightstand, yanking it off the charger. “Sullivan.” The light from the lamp spilled around him.
Naked. The man is totally naked.
She’d just had that long talk with a naked man. No wonder he’d grabbed her wrist when she’d been searching for his scars. She’d almost touched something a whole lot bigger than a scar.
“What? In front of our building? Hell, no, that can’t be... Listen, more is going on here. It’s...” His gaze cut toward her. “Celia is with me,” he said. “She was chased tonight. She thinks some bozo followed her from our office. Yeah, yeah...” His hold tightened on the phone. “My gut says there is a connection, too. I’ll be right down there. I want to see the guy.”
She inched closer to him. As soon as he lowered the phone, Celia demanded, “What happened?”
“That was Mac. A man was killed right in front of McGuire Securities, shot in the heart. Mac is down there now because a cop buddy tipped him off.”
Her breath came a little faster. “You don’t buy that the guy’s death is a coincidence, do you?”
“After what went down with you tonight? Hell, no, I don’t. I want you to see the body. I want to see him.”
She shook her head. “I told you already, I didn’t get a look at the guy after me tonight.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know him. It wouldn’t be the first time someone in the agency decided to turn traitor.”
“I heard his voice.” And she hadn’t recognized it.
“And I’ve heard you adopt nearly a dozen accents at will. Voices can be disguised. I want to see this guy. Once we get an up-close look at him, we’ll know more.”
She cleared her throat. “And I’d, um, really appreciate it if you’d cover up.”
He glanced down at himself and swore. Then he grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around his hips. “Happy now?”
“Not really.” She edged a bit closer to him. “But I’m going with you. Have they already transferred the body?”
“Mac