“Your pupils are dilated. You’re breathing hard.” She quivered when he brushed his palm over her breast. Her nipples were hard nubs. He could feel his own body responding. Tightening. His sex growing heavy and uncomfortably full. “You’re trembling.”
“I’m…cold.”
“I don’t think the cold is the problem.”
“Let go of me.”
She started to back away, but he stopped her by grasping her forearms. “Like hell,” he growled and lowered his mouth to hers.
Chapter Seven
Emily knew she shouldn’t let him kiss her. And for God’s sake, she shouldn’t be kissing him back! But the hot rush of desire was melting the last of her resolve to do the right thing.
All the while his mouth worked black magic on hers, putting her under a dark spell that only made her want more. She shifted closer so that her body was flush against his. Her coat was open from when he’d unzipped it. Somehow his had come open, too. She could feel the warmth of his body against hers. The hard ridge of his arousal brushing against her belly, which only intensified the hot pulse of her own arousal.
She was aware of her arms going around his neck. Of Zack growling low in his throat. Of his tongue plunging into her mouth to war with hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind a tiny voice told her she was making a mistake.
Abruptly he released her.
She stumbled back, dazed and troubled and damningly aroused. “Don’t ever do that again,” she said.
“Then don’t look at me like you want me to.”
They stared at each other for a full minute, their breathing labored and hearts pounding out of control.
Zack then turned away from her and looked out into the vast darkness of the valley below. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…done that. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
“If we’re going to work together and try to figure out what’s going on, this can’t happen again.”
“It won’t.”
“I have to be able to trust you, Zack.”
His eyes glittered as he regarded her, making her feel as if he could look at her and see all the things she didn’t want him to see.
“If you’re smart, you won’t,” he said.
The exchange should have cleared the air, but Emily felt more confused than ever. She hated herself for it because her attraction to Zack reminded her too much of the mistakes her father had made.
“We’ve got about four hours before dawn.” Zipping his coat up, he stepped into the darkness. “Let’s make some time.”
Taking a deep breath, Emily zipped her own coat and fell into place behind him.
ZACK DIDN’T KNOW IF HE was feeling edgy because he was apprehensive about going into Signal Research and Development or because he’d liked kiss ing Emily and she’d asked him not to do it again. He’d kissed enough women in his time to know when they were enjoying it, and there was no doubt in his mind that Little Miss Corrections Officer had been enjoying that kiss just fine.
He should know better than to get caught up in raw physical attraction. Especially now. He wanted badly to chalk it up to his being stuck in a jail cell for the last four months. But what he felt for Emily was a hell of a lot more complicated than simple attraction. Considering the circumstances, his feelings for her were scaring the hell out of him. Hadn’t he learned his lesson with Alisa?
“I see lights.”
Emily’s voice drew him away from thoughts he had no business brooding over in the minutes before a dangerous operation. Turning, he followed her point. Sure enough, he could see the glow of lights in the valley below.
He recalled from the map that Signal Research and Development sat on about sixty wooded acres. Since the facility hadn’t been under suspicion, he’d given it only a cursory look. Now that he needed to get inside, he sorely wished he’d taken the time to study the layout more thoroughly.
“How much do you know about this place?” he asked.
“Very little, unfortunately. The company is low-key. They make pharmaceutical drugs and supplies for veterinarians. They employ quite a few people in the area. I’ve driven by a few times. They have pretty good security, including a chain-link fence with barbed wire and lots of lighting.”
“Swell.”
They were standing behind an outcropping of rock, and Emily was gazing down at the facility below. Zack should have been assessing the compound, but his attention was irresistibly drawn to Emily. Her face was lovely in the dim light filtering down from a crescent moon. Her cheeks were blushed with cold, and she looked excited and scared at once. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who got off on risk.
He forced himself to tear his gaze away from her and study the complex instead. There were three buildings, each a two-story brick with a sloping roof. Windows were sparse. The entrances were well lit.
“Someone is definitely concerned with security,” he said, wishing for a set of blueprints.
“How do we get in?”