And that would have to be sufficient.There was nothing else she could do.
Nikki quickly slipped the computer and dongle under the mattress—the same hiding place as her ancient iPad—then stood and took him by the hand, leading him into the bathroom without a word.Her eyes told him all he needed to know.The shower might’ve been a ploy to go back to her room, but she was going to make sure they both enjoyed their ablutions.
They celebrated their victory by stripping each other naked and exploring each other’s bodies under the hot spray.Now he could kiss her however and wherever he desired, and he did exactly that.Using his lips to tell her how much he cared.How much he wanted her.A want like none he’d ever experienced before.No other woman had quite this effect on him.Desperate desire mixed with something painfully pure and yet intangible.
Lathering up the soap, he used his slick palm to wander over her curves and long limbs, flat stomach and then down to the V between her legs.He gloried in all that soft, creamy skin, learning the lines of her body, the rhythm of her beating heart as he teased with his fingers, then his mouth.She arched her back when his hands found her breasts, her eyes going dark with desire.Nails dug into his shoulders, the light scrape sending an erotic pulse through to his cock.Her mouth was wet and hot, demanding on his.He took her up against the wall, covering her mouth to stop her crying out as he plunged into her over and over, then watched her face as her orgasm pushed her soaring over the edge to oblivion.Only then did he allow himself to follow, the force of his own climax leaving him shuddering and weak at the knees, so that he had to grab hold of the showerhead to prevent them both tumbling to the tiled floor.
Afterward, once they dried off and snuggled beneath the blankets of her bed to keep warm, he nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear, telling her how beautiful she was.That she was a lioness, so courageous and fierce, standing up to Linstead and his cronies.She smiled and stroked his face as they lay facing each other, and he knew a moment of such pure joy that he was almost speechless.
But soon, reality overtook them.She had a job to do, as did he.His job was to protect her as she wrote up her testimony, not let anyone discover what they were up to.And to come up with a plan so that she could fulfill her wish to appear via video link at that court case.That was still a week away, but whatever they did to escape this house, it’d have to be foolproof.The FBI weren’t dummies, and Jacob wasn’t stupid enough to believe this was going to be easy.But he’d do everything in his power to make it happen.Because of her.Because he believed in her.Because she meant a great deal to him.
Before he could explore that thought any more, Nikki sat up and stretched, revealing those delectable breasts as the sheet fell away.She gave a loud yawn, and announced, “I’m tired, I think I’ll sleep for a while.”
“Good.I’ll make dinner, you just rest,” he suggested loudly, easing himself out of bed and going to the bathroom to salvage his clothes.“I’ll wake you up in a few hours,” he said as he returned and slipped his T-shirt over his head.She merely nodded, watching him with anxious eyes as he retrieved the electronics from their hiding place at the end of the bed and as quietly as possible handed them over to her with a conspiratorial grin.She took a deep breath, then grinned back at him.But as she opened the computer, her smile fell away, and her brow furrowed as she turned all her focus to the task ahead.Jacob watched her for a few moments, the sickly green light from the screen turning her face almost ghostly.
This was the only safe place for Nikki to write to make sure her captors couldn’t see what she was up to.The Wi-Fi dongle allowed her unimpeded access to the internet and also made sure the FBI couldn’t track what she was doing.They’d taken a chance sending the first email to Russell through her home Internet connection because the FBI were likely monitoring her usage.It seemed they had got away with it, however, as there had been no repercussions and no questions asked.Now, she’d have to sit in bed and type quietly, but it was the only way she was going to get anything done.He left her to it, hoping that by making enough noise and mess in the kitchen, he’d divert the attention of anyone who was watching or listening onto his antics, and not what she was up to in the bedroom.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NIKKI STOOD, YAWNED, stretched and ambled over to the kitchen window.On the outside, she needed to act bored and perhaps a tad frustrated.Hiding how she was truly feeling on the inside, which was like a boiling cauldron of oil about to spill over and scorch everything in its path.
Tonight was the night.
She was supposed to appear via video link to a packed courtroom in Oslo.
Everything was in place; they just had to wait for exactly the right moment.Which would be soon.Very soon.
Jacob looked up from the book he’d been reading at the kitchen table and gave a wan smile.She ambled over and draped an arm around his shoulders, pretending to lean down and read from the book he held in his hands.Jacob seemed as relaxed and bored as she did, but when she touched him, the muscles in his back were so tense they felt like they were molded from iron; a dead giveaway as to the true anxiety humming through his body.It was nearly midnight, and the sky was cold and full of snow outside.They’d had a late dinner, and Nikki had made sure to eat all of it, even though her stomach rebelled at the thought, because she’d need all her strength for what was about to come.
It’d been nine days since Russell had smuggled the computer in.And in that time, there’d been no more escape attempts.No more meltdowns.Nikki had behaved like someone who’d been beaten into submission.Someone who’d accepted her fate.Jacob had spent many hours in the few days after they’d received the laptop painstakingly explaining why she could never try that kind of thing again.How she might’ve got herself killed, and how their best chance now was just to play the waiting game.She needed to stop believing that she was going to change the world.That one stupid court case wasn’t enough for them to lose their lives over.And besides, he was sure Linstead was a man of his word and would let them out once the trial was finished, and then they could resume their lives.
It’d all been a show, of course.Jacob played the logical, practical cop, while she played the hysterical damsel in distress who realized the error of her ways, then finally agreed that she would behave.But behind the scenes she’d been madly analyzing and writing and thinking and strategizing.Those first two days after she’d got her hands on the computer, she’d spent a lot of time in bedrecovering.The ordeal had been too much for her and she’d used that excuse to stay in her bedroom, topull herself togetherafter Linstead’s cruel treatment while Jacob talked her down, but in truth she was writing, while he covered the sound of her typing with his unceasing monologue.
She’d sent her notes off to Russell with a few hours to spare before the deadline.The official statement wasn’t up to her normal standards, but all the pertinent points were there, and hopefully the judge would allow her to elaborate on the day so she could push her point across.And her point would be that Diàoyú Aquaculture was openly flaunting Norwegian rules and regulations governing its plastic waste pollution.It was damning evidence, and exactly what the Norwegian government wanted to hear.There would be other expert witnesses, of course, looking at the health of the fish, the quality of the final product for human consumption due to an elevated level of disease, the quality of the water surrounding the farms and effect on wild marine flora and fauna populations because of high fecal loads, that kind of thing.But her testimony could be the final nail in the coffin that ended the Chinese company’s fish farming days forever in Norwegian waters.If it were proven the fish farming company was not adhering to protocol, then it was actively breaking the law.Which was why Diàoyú had been so determined to get rid of Tammy, Antoine, and Nikki.But they’d sorely underestimated her.And Jacob.She and Jacob together were a force to be reckoned with.
This court case might not stop this Chinese company from setting up its farms elsewhere around the world, but Nikki hoped that other countries were watching and learning, and would halt the practice once and for all.Or at the very least make sure these companies were held accountable to mandatory regulations and management from now on.
The past week had been a lesson in self-control.Showing one face to the cameras and listening devices, while keeping their actual conversations secret, only talking freely in the shower.Which’d been highly frustrating.Sometimes she’d forget and open her mouth to ask Jacob about a detail that’d been bugging her and then have to change tack halfway through her sentence when she realized what she’d said.Jacob had a plan, but because they only had snatched moments here and there to talk it through, she was more vague on the details than she’d like.
At least her house was now spotless.She’d taken the hours of boredom and turned them into a cleaning frenzy.She’d even spring-cleaned the kitchen cupboards and her own wardrobe, handing over bags of unwanted items to Miller through a crack in the front door for her to get rid of.Miller had tried to start up conversations with Nikki, but she’d stone-walled the agent, only answering in mono-syllables and only if it were truly necessary.Miller had betrayed her, as had the other FBI agents who were in on this farce of a protection detail, and Nikki would never forgive that.
The one bright spark in the endless week had been Jacob.They made love every night, under the cover of darkness, muffling their cries of ecstasy with a pillow or a hand, but sometimes she was so overcome nothing would stop her.And right then she didn’t care if the world knew that she and Jacob were having sex.Lots of sex.Good sex.Great sex.Phenomenal even.Gosh, he was good at sex.
It was the one thing she didn’t want to end.But today everything was going to change, and she had no idea where they went from here.What did the future hold for the two of them?Her arm tightened around his shoulders, drawing him in, feeling the strength of him.
Raised voices sounded from the front driveway.
They were here.
Jacob looked up from his book, straight into her eyes.And she knew this was it.
Everything was ready.Her backpack was stashed in the back of the wardrobe with the computer and iPad and everything else she might need.
All she had to do was get her shoes and jacket on.
Quick.
But she didn’t want to let go of Jacob, and as he stood, she clung to him.He stared down into her eyes, and she felt a sudden lump form in her throat.So many words unsaid that wanted to erupt from her mouth, but they were out of time.
