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  He leaned down and captured her lips. His strong arms circled her and pulled her body against his, her insides quivering. In one movement, he swept her up and moved swiftly to her sleeping quarters. She opened the door and he kicked it shut.

  Laying her gently on the bed he stared down at her. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of this, envisioned this, or wanted this, but I won’t go any further unless it’s what you also want.”

  Harped stared up at him, her mind in a foggy mess. If they did this the consequences could be dire and at the same time amazing. She wanted him and couldn’t begin to deny her desire.

  Rye had always been the man for her. The man in her dreams, in her thoughts, the man in her future. “You know how I feel about you, Rye.”

  He nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off her. “I know there’s an attraction.” He pointed at the bed. “But, this is serious business to me. We sleep together, it won’t end there.” He took her by the arms, leaned down and gazed into her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about, right?”

  She licked lips that had grown dryer than the ground outside in the desert. “Yes,” she whispered her voice unable to go higher.

  “And you’re still willing?” His eyes glistened with desire.

  She began unbuttoning his shirt while his lips pressed her mouth open, so his tongue could slip inside on reconnaissance, then stopped long enough to slip her shirt off and toss it aside. Next he fumbled only briefly with her bra. When it fell to the floor, he captured each breast with an affectionate palm and squeezed gently.

  He leaned down and kissed each mound before pulling a nipple inside his mouth while squeezing the other with his fingers.

  She moaned, then slipped off his shirt and drove her fingers through the hair on his chest, enjoying the privilege of touching him so intimately.

  They kicked their way out of their lower clothing. Pants, underwear, socks and boots flew through the air, landing on the floor.

  He hugged her and pulled them up toward the pillows, but she didn’t care where they were as long as he didn’t stop. His kisses felt like hot syrup as they trailed down her body, across her stomach and between her thighs.

  She sighed and flung back her head.

  Yes, dreams do come true.

  Chapter Eight

  Rye realized moments like this only come along once in a lifetime for a guy like him and he wasn’t about to mess it up. He wanted to pleasure Harper in ways she’d never imagined. Her warm moist skin rubbing his almost made him dizzy with the need to claim her as his and they’d only begun.

  He crawled up her body, cupped her face between his hands and kissed her soundly. If she was a little shy, it didn’t show. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. Maybe in some far-off distant world this was meant to be. He didn’t know, he didn’t care, and he damn sure wasn’t about to question having this beautiful woman in his grasp.

  She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Her lips sweeter than honey. Then she kissed her way down his neck, across his collar bone to the middle of his throat. Then her tongue gently stroked the indention in his throat. Chills covered Rye’s body as he shook with need.

  He was hard. Rock hard and ready. So goddamn ready he feared he might explode. But he knew instinctively Harper needed more than a few kisses and some attention paid to her breasts.

  He reached his hand between them and ran his palm down until he found her mound. With delicate fingers he dipped further until he found her clit. She was wet. So damn wet he could barely breathe. He stroked her gently before spreading her lips to expose the sensitive nub. Clutching his shoulders, she panted, her breath warm against his skin. “Oh, Rye, that feels good,” she said breathlessly. Her hips bucked as he circled her sex against his palm.

  He didn’t want their lovemaking over too soon, but his cock seemed to have a mind of its own and actually throbbed with the urge to ram inside her and seek the long-awaited satisfaction.

  She groaned, when he inserted a finger, then two.

  “Oh my God,” she breathed out slowly. “Oh God that feels so good. So good.”

  He continued gently at first bringing her along as he gradually tightened his hold on her special place. He wanted to lick it, suck it into his mouth, taste it. But for right now he didn’t want to let go so he allowed his fingers to roam at will.

  She squirmed beneath him, and Rye fought for control. While there had been other women, they had been nothing like this. Without any provocation from him, she opened her legs wider and Rye took that opportunity to quickly cover himself before placing his rock hard cock in her opening. He teased her for a few minutes, not wanting her to beg, but wanting it to last.

  He rose up on his elbows and looked down at her flushed face, swollen lips and rosy cheeks. “Harper, I want you to look at me. I want you to know who’s making love to you. I want you to see my face, see how much this means to me. It’s been so long.”

  Her lashes fluttered, then her big blue eyes stared at him with solid devotion. “I’ve wanted you too.” She clutched him tightly. “You know when this is over everything will have changed forever. We can’t go back to the way it was. I don’t want an on again off again love affair. It means so much more to me this time.”

  “Me too.”

  She captured his face between her palms. “Then say you trust me. I have to know you believe I’d never hurt you.”

  Rye stared down into loving, intelligent eyes. “I believe you, Harper. I know you wouldn’t set me up.”

  Their gazes clashing, he slowly, inch by inch entered her. Allowing her to stretch to accommodate him. She moaned. “That feels wonderful, please don’t stop.”

  “You know me better than that, Harper. I’ve never walked away from a job undone. We’re here as long as it takes. So lay back and enjoy the ride.” He dove in hard, and she wrapped her legs around his thighs as he pumped hard, fast, desperately, both of them reaching for that magical place, that place where pleasure overtook them.

  It didn’t take long. The shout of his name, the grind of her against him before they lay in each other’s arms completely limp.

  Rye walked back to his own sleeping quarters and opened the door. Moments ago he’d left Harper’s quarters and managed to get back to his own area hoping to be undetected. As he entered, Rebel raised his head.

  “Just in the head.” Rye replied and those words seemed to satisfy the SEAL. Besides, if he knew differently, Rebel wasn’t the type to gossip.

  The next morning at breakfast he joined Harper and while she kept her eyes on her plate, he studied her closely. “Good morning,” he mumbled. “I trust you slept well.” His voice was low and intentionally suggestive.

  A quick move and their eyes met. “Like a rock.” She picked up her cup. “And you?”

  “Sleep always comes easy to me. I just didn’t get enough last night.” He smiled almost arrogantly.

  She faced him boldly. “Maybe you can catch up tonight.”

  “Oh,” his eyes darkened with desire. “I hope not. I kind of like going without sleep. There are a whole lot of other things to do instead.”

  Before they could continue, Sully joined them and sat beside her, a plate of food in one hand, his coffee in the other. “So, where are we? Your men went out last night. Did you learn anything?”

  “Not much that was reliable.” Rye pointed his fork at Harper. “She thinks it might’ve been a waste of time.”

  Sully looked up at him. “How come?”

  “The locals might be trying to throw us off with rumors of a wedding at a villa.”

  Sully turned to Harper. “You talking about Aziz?”

  “Yes, that’s why I think it’s bogus.”

  Sully shook his head. “Maybe not. He has an unwed son whose mother wants to marry him off.”

  Harper stilled. “What source did you get that from?”

  “Yusifi. He’s refusing to be a part of it.”

  “But, then who will do the wedd
ing?” She looked at Rye, communicating her concern by widening her eyes. “Since when do you contact the Iman, Sully? He’s not a reliable source.”

  “No, usually he isn’t, but I got this from young Yusef. He told me yesterday that Aziz has already contracted another religious leader to perform the ceremony.”

  “So,” Rye said. “There is a wedding planned and it’s at Aziz’s villa?”

  Sully nodded his head. “That’s what my information says.”

  “Why didn’t you share that?” Harper demanded, sitting her cup down a little too hard. “Rye’s men were out scouring the streets for information and you had it all along.”

  “Rye and his men didn’t share with me what their plans were last night. If they had, I would’ve told them not to bother.” He looked at Rye, his eyes serious and belligerent. “I’m not sorry. You don’t tell me what’s going on, I can’t help you.”

  “We didn’t go out to find out about a wedding, we were just doing recon. I thought anything we might come across would be helpful. All we heard about was the wedding and a few whispers about the money in the safe here.”

  Sully laughed. “That goes on all the time. Young men get bored and start making outrageous plans of blowing up the place, getting rich and hiding out in the mountains until we give up looking for them.” Sully shoved his plate aside. “Believe me, it’s just talk and foolishness.”

  “When is the wedding?” Rye asked. “This Saturday?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Is Qamar going to be there with his men?” Harper asked.

  Sully nodded. “I assume so. He and Aziz are friends. It would only be right for Qamar to be at his son’s wedding.” The Navy SEAL picked up his half empty plate and headed toward the kitchen. “Besides, he’s marrying Aziz’s oldest daughter.”

  Rye’s mouth dried up and he picked up the bottle of water beside his plate and took a long swallow. His eyes stayed on Harper. When Sully moved out of ear shot, he took her hand. “Harper, what is this guy doing? He has intel he’s not sharing. He knows I’m here to get Qamar and he hasn’t said a word about him coming to town in two days. How can I prepare my men?”

  “Perhaps he doesn’t think Qamar will create much of an interest. After all, it’s a wedding. Usually those are very benign.”

  “Still, we’re talking about Qamar. He’s my target and Sully knows it.”

  “I know and I’ll talk to Sully. He has a responsibility to tell us what he knows. If he’s not going to do that, we don’t need him here. I’ll send him to Kandahar.”

  Rye shook his head. “I know Sully, and this isn’t like him. He’s a pretty heads up guy.”

  “Let’s be careful not to make more out of this than there is. Sully has been checked out completely. Crash personally saw to the information himself. If there was even a hint of something, Crash would’ve stopped him.”

  “Yeah, I want to believe that, but our recent conversation just blew my mind.”

  “Perhaps you should tell Sully what your plans are. Maybe then there won’t be any confusion. Remember, I was concerned myself when I learned you stepped out of the compound. It’s dangerous.”

  No frigging way.

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. This way we’ll all be on the same page.”

  He felt confident he could trust Harper, and Sully too, but something didn’t make sense here. Qamar is coming to town and Harper didn’t know and Sully didn’t bother to tell him. That tells him they all aren’t on the same page and that’s how people get killed.

  It’d also pissed him off when he learned everyone knew Hussein worked for Qamar, yet they didn’t tell him that. And Qamar just happened to be the man who set up his team and yet everyone ignores the fact the man should’ve been taken out. No one had bothered to do it. Instead they left it up to Sully.

  None of this shit made sense and he intended to find out why. He only had two days to prepare before the wedding. If Qamar showed up, Rye would take him out. The guy has been on the DHS’s list of combatants for years without repercussions or consequences.

  He called Sully, Harper, and his men into a meeting to take place in the Comm Center. Everyone seemed surprised to be there. His men assumed it was to create an op to remove Qamar.

  “I called all of you together because I’m a bit concerned about a few things.” He deliberately glared at Harper and Sully. “My men and I are here to take out a man who you both know the location of, have known for years, and yet have done nothing.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Harper said. ”I think I can explain my part in this.”

  Rye folded his arms, not in the mood for any more bullshit. “Okay, go ahead. Tell me why Qamar is still breathing when you have a dozen Marines at your disposal who could’ve taken him out years ago. Instead you’ve allowed him to live a normal life and profit off the drugs he funnels into the US.” He stepped closer. “Let’s start there, Harper.”

  She cleared her throat. “Killing or abducting Qamar isn’t and has never been our number one objective.”

  “Why not?” Rye asked, wanting to choke someone. “The bastard killed my Team and left me for dead.”

  “We know he had a part in the surprise attack, but as you were recouping in the hospital it came to our attention Qamar wasn’t the main person involved.”

  “Then who?” he demanded, his voice rising.

  “Habib Karzi.”

  That had Rye’s heart beating so fast his head spun. “That’s why my Team and I were here in the first place.”

  “Yes, I know that,” Harper said curtly.

  “Then why in the fuck didn’t you tell me he was involved from the beginning, Harper?” He angrily paced the floor, running his fingers through his hair. “What the hell have you gotten me and my guys into? You send me after Qamar, knowing Karzi has a much bigger force and will wipe us out before we can get five klicks from his position. Goddamn you, Harper. You fucking set us up again.”

  She walked toward him, blinking back tears. “Please let me explain. There was a reason.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “I don’t want another word from you. I don’t know what your angle is, but I have the feeling the whole idea is to make sure I don’t get back home alive.”

  “That’s a lie,” Harper screamed, balling her fists. “I don’t want you hurt. How can you even say that?”

  “Easy, I’m reading between the lines and the lies.”

  “I haven’t lied to you.”

  “No, but you’ve not been honest either.”

  He turned to Sully. “And what’s your game in all this? Huh? You want me taken out, too?”

  “Oh my God, of course not.” Sully looked like Rye had just slapped him in the face. “You forget, I’m a SEAL, same as you. I have my honor and creed just like you.”

  “So, how come you showed up the same day I did and you knew all about the wedding, what’s going on here, and when it’s going to take place? You knew all that after being here less than twenty-four hours.” He pointed a damning finger at the other SEAL. “And having never left this complex.”

  “I get intel. It’s part of my job.”

  “No, Harper gets intel. Anything you hear has to be shared with the CIA. That’s the way it works, Sully. Tell me how you know all that. Who’s your intel? I’m dying to know.”

  “I had information before I arrived. I got it from Crash.”

  “You’re telling me Crash knew about all this, and Karzi? Yet he didn’t bother to tell me? Do you think for one minute I believe that?”

  Roper stepped forward. “This is one big cluster fuck and I don’t trust either one of you,” he accused, scowling at Harper. “She’s been here so damn long she has to know every little detail about this assignment.” Then he nodded to Sully. “I won’t trust you just because you’re a SEAL. We all know an individual has to earn that, and you haven’t done a thing to help us get the man we’re looking for or wrap up this op.”

  Harper moved to the middle of th
e floor, held up her arms and shouted. “Be quiet and listen to me.”

  “Why?” Rye returned, bitterly. “Something else you want to confess to?”

  “Yes,” she said, defiantly. She looked at Rye and the men standing behind him. “Your mission here is to take out Qamar. He is solid as being the man who ambushed your men. He coordinated it and suppled the men and gunpower.”

  “I knew that. Crash told me as much.” He hated the way he felt right now. Hated she couldn’t be trusted, hated maybe what he’d thought about her before had been right on.

  “Okay,” Sully said. “We’ve established that.”

  She continued to stare at Rye. “We’ve also learned more about Karzi. He was your target on the first mission.”

  “But, he never showed because he got tipped off,” Rye insisted.

  “We don’t know where that leak came from, but we’ve since learned Karzi has managed to capture two American hostages.”

  “I didn’t hear about that until Sully told me,” Rye said. “And that would be on the news.”

  “Yes, it would be,” she said. “However, not if they didn’t exist.”

  “Let me guess, they were spying?” Rye asked. A strange sense of righteousness came over him.

  “Exactly, and that’s why we have to get them out alive.” She nodded to Sully. “That’s why he was sent here. There are five Marines due tomorrow. With Sully as lead, they’re going after the hostages.”

  Sully nodded. “That’s what the State Department sent me here to do. I’ve kept it quiet because if the news outlets get this, we’ll all be screwed. According to the agreement we signed six months ago, we promised not to be in Karzi’s area. We could get caught with our pants down.”

  “So, how are you going to get the hostages?”

  “Harper has made a deal with Karzi. I give him the money and I get the hostages out of there and back to the US.”

  “So much for us not negotiating with terrorists.” Rye bit out. “What are those two lives costing us.”

  “Plenty,” Sully said. “But word getting out that we’ve been spying on the Pashtun region will ruin our credibility with the UN.”