“Woman, don’t encourage them.” He growled the order at Zara and was rewarded when her smile went from small to a little bigger. That smile could stop men in their tracks. Maybe even stop wars. He’d walk through fire for one of those real smiles.
Zara leaned into him, her body melting into his. Her head found his neck and nestled there. Yeah, she was floating and he didn’t care. He’d take whatever he could get. He’d made sure he was the one to see to her every need. He carried her to the bathroom, her slender arms around his neck, her face buried in his neck out of embarrassment, but he’d shut that down with a few harsh commands. Still, he’d done it enough times that she was beginning to joke a little when he took her.
She couldn’t stand on her feet yet, at least not without a lot of pain, and Zeke agreed with him that the tendons were damaged. He didn’t give her underwear because of the whip lacerations. The long skirt hid everything. The blouse should have but didn’t, mostly because he was very aware she wasn’t wearing a bra. He tried to be a gentleman and not notice the shadow of the curves beneath the thin material, but it was difficult when his mind seemed consumed with her. Now, his body was all too aware of her as well.
He kept her close to him not just there on the seat, but in every other situation, on the long plane ride from Shanghai, to the Louisiana airport and now in the car heading for their final destination—the fortresses they were building in and around the swamp.
Drone flying overhead. About two miles out. Looks to be heading your way. I can take it out in about two minutes.
That was Mordichai. He was good with a sniper rifle. Ezekiel had alerted the home team that they were coming in, most likely hot, with the enemy on their heels. They knew they’d be ambushed. It was only a matter of where, not if. Whitney was full of shit, telling the major general that he would leave Zara to them if the GhostWalker team rescued her. He’d make his try before they got home, hoping his supersoldiers could take on a smaller force.
Take it out, Ezekiel ordered. Trap? Cayenne? You spot anyone in the surrounding swamp?
As always, Ezekiel sounded calm, almost serene. He could explode into action in a heartbeat, but never seemed that way until it was too late. He didn’t sound tense, not even confined in a car with a small team and Zara. They liked to be out in the night where they did their work under the cover of darkness—not to say they couldn’t do the same work in daylight hours.
Took out three of Whitney’s supersoldiers, Trap reported. They’re armored. You’ll have to go for the throat to kill them. These men are souped-up. I’m talking really revved, Zeke.
Of course Trap would give the report. Cayenne rarely talked to anyone but her man. Sometimes to the women. Mostly she observed.
Look alive, gentlemen, Ezekiel warned them all. We’re about to enter the party zone.
Drop me, Draden said.
The car slowed. Adam Cox had picked them up at the airport. He had been one of Whitney’s soldiers, but he hadn’t liked what the man was doing to the women. He had come after Bellisia but hadn’t returned to the fold. He stayed to work with the GhostWalkers. The car was back in motion immediately.
Could have eyes on us, Ezekiel warned.
Not for long, Mordichai said.
They didn’t hear the shot, but they saw the drone fall from the sky just ahead of them. The car came to a rolling stop and Draden was out and running into the swamp. The man could run for miles and not get winded.
Gino was better outside the car. They all knew it. Ezekiel looked at him but didn’t order him out, which was a good thing. Gino didn’t know if he would obey the order or not.
“Best chance is me outside, princess. We’re about to be attacked. Whitney’s looking to reacquire you. We knew that would happen and we’re prepared, but I can serve us better outside the car. You okay with that?”
Zara’s long lashes lifted and she looked right into his eyes. He could read fear there. She sat up very slowly. “Just let me out. They’ll come for me.”
Gino shook his head. “He doesn’t get you.”
“I have a virus in me anyway.”
“One I can remove,” Gino pointed out. “You stay. This is our best chance, but I want you on board with the decision. I’m not deserting you, I’m trying to help save you.”
Her gaze searched his for several long moments and then she slowly inclined her head. The movement was barely perceptible. He was very reluctant to leave her, but he glanced at Ezekiel and nodded. At once he could feel the car beginning to lose speed again.
He caught Zara around the nape of the neck and pulled her close to him. “You stay close to Zeke. I’ll come for you in a few minutes.” Before she could say a word, he settled his lips over hers. The moment he did, his heart went crazy. A roaring started in his ears. Loud. Taking away his hearing. Robbing him of all his senses with the exception of feeling.
He felt far too much. He’d kissed a lot of women. It had never been his favorite thing, but he gave them that. Kissing seemed intimate—too intimate to give to one-night stands, but if they expected it, he gave that to them. Kissing Zara was something altogether different. His heart pounded. His stomach somersaulted. Heat exploded through his body, rushed through his veins until he thought he might burn in hell for all time. Maybe one burned in paradise, because kissing Zara was something he could do for a lifetime.
Ezekiel cleared his throat, and Gino instantly lifted his head. He set her on the leather seat, and let her go abruptly because otherwise he was certain he wouldn’t be able to do it. The car slowed to that snail’s pace and the door swung open. Gino dove out, rolled to his feet and slipped into the swamp. The car—with his woman inside—moved ahead without him.
There was a rhythm to the swamp, and over the last few months, Gino had become accustomed to it. He knew the sounds, the way the insects droned, the slight rustle of leaves as mice, shrew and other little rodents scurried along the floor, scavenging for food. He had learned to become part of it, to pass through the swamp without disturbing any of the creatures. He did so now, moving fast, listening as he went, allowing the animal DNA in his body to tell him where the enemy might be hiding in wait.
He came across a dead body. Draden’s work. He kept going, keeping his passing as silent as possible. He felt at home in the swamp. Anywhere outdoors. When he was inside, he felt confined, trapped. Most nights he slept outside, on the roof, on the porch, wherever he couldn’t be easily spotted. How was that going to translate to having a woman? A woman like the one he needed? One that needed taking care of.
He knew most people would say that wasn’t a partnership, but for him, it was. Already, Zara gave him a sense of a purpose. Of home. Of affection. To him, giving attention and care was showing love. It didn’t matter if others thought his particular needs were fucked-up. He was fine in his own skin. He hadn’t thought he’d find the perfect woman, but Zara fit with him. He didn’t know what she’d be like when the threat to her was over, but for now, she fit him.
He wanted—even needed—his woman dependent on him. He wanted her looking forward to his coming home because the things he did for her, no one else would ever do. He wanted to wrap her up in a silken cocoon and give her everything she ever could need or want. He needed her world to be him. He hadn’t thought such a thing was possible until he’d met Cayenne and had seen her with Trap. She didn’t see anyone else. He wanted that for himself. Cayenne was a warrior woman, but still, that aside, Gino wanted his woman looking at him the way Cayenne looked at Trap.