Nikki began to shake her head, but stopped as an idea struck.Her ancient iPad.She hadn’t used it in years.Was there a chance they’d missed it?She refocused her mind on the large bookshelf that covered one wall of her office.It was stuffed full of books, mainly textbooks, but she was also an avid reader, and there were rows and rows of fiction, as well as biographies and even a stack of National Geographic magazines.Someone had searched through the bookshelf because they hadn’t tried to hide the fingerprint marks they’d left in the dust on each shelf—she’d never been great at doing housework, and dusting was very low on her list of priorities.
Unerringly, she ran her finger down the spines of the works of fiction on the second lowest shelf, until she stopped at one that was thinner than most.She held back a shriek of triumph.It was still there; they hadn’t found it because she kept it in a cute little cover that was made to look like a book.With a grin of delight, she withdrew the iPad and waved it over her head in a silent, joyous dance, then tucked it under her arm when she remembered they might have video surveillance in the room.She wanted to shout that those bloody FBI agents weren’t as smart as they thought they were, but she held it in.Just.Jacob grinned from ear to ear when he saw it, and pulled her in for a big, bear hug.
Now they just had to pray that it still worked.
CHAPTER TWELVE
JACOB WATCHED NIKKI press send on the message she’d just composed to her boss, Russell, on the old iPad.They were sitting on the floor with their backs against Nikki’s bed, whispering secretively, like two delinquent children who were about to be caught looking at porn any second.Except this was serious stuff.Life and death stuff.
She glanced over and their eyes locked, expressing her silent hopes without speaking.God, he hoped this worked.If not, he was just about out of options.The only plan B he could come up with consisted of him sneaking out of the house alone, avoiding detection, and he wasn’t about to tell Nikki about that one, because he knew she’d try to stop him.And it was only a plan B if everything else failed; if he was caught escaping, the FBI might remove him completely and not allow him back in, leaving Nikki isolated, without protection.Which wasn’t an option.
Agent Sabitino had rapped on the door a few hours earlier, and called out to see if they needed anything.Nikki had yelled back that if they would not return her computer and her phone, then they could all go to hell.Jacob had twitched the blind in the kitchen window aside and watched as Sabitino and Miller were relieved by two more agents, also dressed in civilian clothes.Jacob had stared at the red brake lights of the town car as it carried the two operatives away, deep in thought.Something about the agents was niggling at him.Was he being stupid, believing in false stereotypes, when he was under the impression that all FBI people wore dark, fitted suits?He’d never met a real FBI officer before, and so he guessed they could wear whatever they liked.But most cops he knew only ever wore plain clothes on the job when they were undercover.Were the agents who were assigned to Nikki’s protection undercover?And if so, why?
Nikki wrote something on a notepad on the floor and slid it over to him.It said,Now we wait and hope.He crossed the fingers on both hands and held them up for her to see.Anything confidential they needed to say to each other was put in writing now.Jacob had surreptitiously checked the house for surveillance and found two video devices over the front and back doors, but in all other rooms he’d detected listening bugs only.It seemed the FBI were only worried about filming them if they tried to escape.He assumed all the entrances and windows were probably electronically alarmed, and although he could disarm one if necessary, he was by no means tech savvy and he might just set them off, which was one more reason plan B wasn’t very good.
Nikki slid the iPad underneath her mattress and raised her shoulders as if to say, now what?It was after ten p.m., and the odds of Russell reading the message were slim.It’d taken them that long to cobble together a couple of cables that would allow them to charge up the ancient piece of tech, which hadn’t been used in years.That it had even booted up was a miracle.Nikki had mainly used it to read eBooks, but it was so old that most of the software was no longer working.She found an app that was compatible with her iPad and that would also allow her to create a fake email address.Then they’d come up with a message using a code they hoped Russell could decipher well enough to know it was from Nikki, but wouldn’t raise any red flags if the FBI were monitoring his email.Now they had to hope and pray he wouldn’t just delete the message as some kind of spam.
Jacob could think of a few things they could do to pass the time.All of them consisted of staying in Nikki’s bedroom.Their lovemaking earlier had been a revelation.When she’d kissed him in the hallway and he’d given in to his wants, his desires, all the reasons he shouldn’t be with her had become irrelevant.His job—which admittedly he might only be hanging onto by the thinnest of threads—the circumstances they were in, the fact she was a civilian witness he was supposed to be protecting, and that he lived in a far away country, all suddenly didn’t matter.The only thing that was important was how she’d felt in his arms.
He leaned toward her, placed his hand on her cheek and turned her head so he could stare into her eyes.She considered him for a few seconds as he stroked her skin.Then she lifted her chin, her gaze never leaving his, and he bent his head to claim her mouth.
He did not know what lay in the future for them both, but for tonight, he wanted to be with this amazing woman one more time.Perhaps they could find sweet oblivion together.
She took him by the hand, pulling him off the floor, and they landed on her unmade bed, rolling in the still-rumpled sheets.Her arms twined around his neck, and he nuzzled her ear, drifting kisses up her jaw to claim her lips once more.He lifted the hem of her sweatshirt and floated a palm over her rib cage until he found her breasts.No bra.God, she was sexy.His cock surged at the thought.He cupped one breast, reveling in her small gasp of pleasure as his thumb stroked softly over her nipple.Raising his head, he watched her face as her eyes fluttered closed and she arched her back into his touch.Dark-blonde eyelashes brushed her perfect cheekbones as her tongue came out to wet her lips, and her long hair fanned out around her on the pillow.
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He’d understood that the very second he’d seen her standing naked in the sauna.It was true; every other woman he’d ever been with paled in comparison to Nikki.It wasn’t just her physical beauty that struck a chord deep within his chest, however.She was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.
It was a ridiculous thought, but he couldn’t banish the idea that perhaps he’d been waiting for Nikki all along.
His thoughts flashed back to the conversation they’d had earlier this evening.They’d been sitting at the kitchen table, celebrating the discovery of the iPad with a second cup of coffee and more toast.Nikki had placed her food on her plate and then said casually, “I should have asked this before we slept together, but we kind of got carried away.”She gave him a little lopsided grin.“Do you have a girlfriend?Or a wife?”Her question had caught him by surprise.“Because if you do… I should probably know about it.”She was right, of course; they should get this out in the open now before things went any further.Even if they weren’t going to go any further, he owed her the truth.
But before he could answer, she held a hand in the air as if she was about to swear on a Bible.“Just so you know, I can solemnly promise you I am single.It’s been a little over six months since I kicked my cheating bastard boyfriend, Bradley, out.And I haven’t slept with anyone or even dated anyone until now.”
Okay.That was good to know.He was a little taken aback at her casual tone, however, and he understood she was hiding a much deeper hurt beneath her flippancy, which needed to be addressed.But there were also a lot of other questions her seemingly simple comment raised.Like where was this bastard now?And would she like him to go over and teach him a lesson on how to treat women?
“But we can delve into my love life later,” she said, lowering her hand.“Right now, I need an answer from you.”She was still using that nonchalant tone, but there was a flash in her eyes of something deeply vulnerable as she stared at him.“Not that I’m asking for a commitment or anything like that.But…”
“Of course not,” he said, his mind racing on how best to phrase his reply.
Women drifted in and out of his life like leaves carried on the wind.He seemed to attract a lot of female attention, which he enjoyed, but he never invited them to stay, and eventually they all left, some of them heartbroken, some just plain pissed at him.Nearly all of them had accused him of having a major fear of commitment, which he’d scoffed at loudly to anyone who would listen.Most recently, Freya had hinted that she wanted more from their liaison, but so far he’d carefully pretended to ignore her signals.It was only a matter of time before Freya dropped him completely, hoping to find someone who offered stability and fidelity instead of irregular booty calls.His girlfriend previous to Freya, a dark-haired beauty called Maria—they’d lasted almost a year together, a record for him—had done more than just hint, claiming he was a cold-hearted bastard when she’d stormed out of his door for the last time, which had stung.Even his sister, Rikka, had told him he treated women as disposable items, never seeing their true worth.She’d blamed their indifferent father and his callous disregard of his own children for how Jacob had turned out, and he hadn’t argued.Because it could’ve been true.But maybe they’d all been wrong.Maybe now he knew why he’d never been able to commit to any of those other women.
Because none of them had been the right one.
“I have been seeing someone,” he admitted, watching as Nikki’s mouth formed into a thin line of dismay.“Her name is Freya.But it’s a casual relationship, neither of us is committed.And the moment I slept with you, it was over.”This was true, even if he hadn’t told Freya yet.For him, it was over.
Jacob knew he owed it to Freya to tell her face to face.He would leave out the bit that their relationship had been over the moment he laid eyes on Nikki; that would just bring her even more hurt, and he didn’t want that.Even though he and Freya had never said they would be monogamous, Jacob wasn’t the type to sleep with more than one woman at a time, and so for him the choice was easy.
“Does Freya know it’s over?”Nikki queried, and he’d grimaced.
“No, not yet.”It was a hard admission to make, but even if he went back to Sweden and never saw Nikki again, he knew it would always be over with Freya; there was no comparison.“But I will tell her, I promise you that.I’m not a cheater.”
Nikki had been quiet for a few moments, pondering his answer, but finally she’d lifted one eyebrow and said, “I believe you’re a man of integrity.Unlike Bradley.”He hated that her cheating ex-boyfriend had hurt her, and he scowled when he realized how easily she could put him in the same basket.“But if I find out you’ve lied to me later on…well, you’d better sleep with one eye open.”She was joking, of course.But she said it with a sharp glint in her eye that made him wonder exactly what she might’ve had in mind if she found out he was indeed a philanderer.He wanted to tell her he would never do that to her.But he guessed his actions would speak louder than words; he just had to prove his worth as a man.
Nikki moved beneath him, pressing herself more firmly into his palm and stifling a groan of pleasure, bringing him back to the present.He was so hard; he felt like he might explode.With his free hand, he undid his zipper and quickly shucked his jeans, then helped Nikki dispose of her sweatpants.No underwear either.The thought of her walking around all evening with nothing on under her clothes sent molten fire surging through his veins.
Then she touched him, and all logical thoughts fled as he shuddered with delight.Nothing mattered except for this erotic moment.He shed his T-shirt in a heartbeat, tugging her sweatshirt off as well, until they lay naked together, skin on skin.
