Was he taking a shower and leaving her here? She glanced up at the ropes. Could she get herself out? Maybe she could break the bed and then she would go after that cowboy and teach him a lesson or two about what constituted play and what she wouldn’t put up with.
“Calm down,” he said, but that playful smile was still on his face. “I was teasing.”
His hands went up to the bindings on her wrists, easily untying her. He caught her wrist in his hand, studying the skin there before bringing it to his mouth where he laid a gentle kiss on her pulse before doing the same to her other hand. Before she knew it, he was hauling her up into his arms.
“You weren’t going to leave me there while you took a shower?” She cuddled close to him, reveling in his masculine strength.
He strode to the small bathroom where the water was already making the place steamy. “It might be the best way to keep track of you, but no. I’m going to trust you to keep your promises to me. You’ll obey me in the field. We’re in the field now, Mia. You’re mine to protect and I intend to do that. If I need to go into the city, I’ll leave you here with Fain and Michael. I need to do some research of my own and I can’t do that if I’m watching both our backs. Don’t disappoint me. If you try to leave I will hunt you down.”
He set her on her feet in the tub, the water warming her. He stepped in behind her and drew the curtain closed.
She started to turn, but he caught her, his arms caging her while he drew her back against his body. She could feel his cock stirring against her backside again as his hands came up to cup her breasts. “Why would I leave?”
He held her tight. “You would have a million excuses. All of them good and right in your head and none of them will work on me. You’ll decide you’ve figured out a way to help me. You’ll think up some crazy scheme and need to track me down to tell me. You’ll do any number of things that will seem to be the right thing to do at the time, but inevitably lead to chaos, more chaos, and my hand smacking your ass silly. So don’t. Don’t leave this room. Obey me so I can concentrate on finding my brother instead of worrying about my woman.”
It was the exact right thing to say. Just hearing him call her his woman practically made her melt at his feet. “All right, Case. I’ll be a good girl.”
He chuckled against her ear. “Oh, you couldn’t be a good girl if you tried. You are my incredible brat, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“And you’re an insanely dominant bastard,” she replied even as he started to move his hand down her torso. “But you’re mine.”
“All yours,” he agreed and proceeded to show her just what that meant.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Four days later, Case stepped out into the harsh light of the afternoon. Heat crashed into him, immediately followed by a breeze from the ocean that washed it away. He could smell the ocean, hear the sounds of the parties going on down the beach.
God, he wished he was here with Mia in different circumstances. He wished he was at one of the stunning beach resorts that dotted this part of Colombia and it was their vacation, one they took to get away from work and worry, one where he could spend the whole time pampering her and pleasuring her. He would be here with his family, his brothers and their wives. He and Theo and Ian and Sean would go fishing while the girls went to the spa. Even Erin liked a long massage. She hadn’t at first. She’d tried to be one of the guys, but Charlotte and Grace had won her over. Mia would fit right in with those amazing women.
But Theo wouldn’t be with them and Erin was alone. This wasn’t a vacation. This was a mission and he had to get his head in the game. He’d spent days in bed with Mia, telling himself that he needed to ensure that there wasn’t any heat on them, that no one was coming their way. He’d known that about twenty-four hours in, but he’d stayed close to her. Now, as they waited for the apparently lazy as crap Tony Santos, he needed to do what he should have done that first day. He needed to investigate.
The trouble was his body didn’t want to leave the woman in his motel room behind. It was early afternoon, but Mia was still napping, still readjusting to that first day when she’d stayed up a full day and a half between the flight and the cleanup. His body wanted to be right there beside her, sleeping with his arms wrapped around her and waking up only to make love to her again.
He didn’t try to fool himself. He’d made love to that woman. His woman. Mia was his and she was going to stay that way.
“Should I take your place?” Fain asked, peeling away from the side of the building where he’d been clinging to the shadows like a wraith.