Say It Again (First Wives, #5)(55)

AJ’s laughing smile faded.

Oh, shit.

He closed her in.

Trapped was not a feeling of comfort.

And then . . . he kissed her. His body pressed against her from knees to lips. Like a boxer putting his whole body into the punch, AJ committed.

His lips were open on hers, she responded with complete possession of his mouth. Hands gripped the railing, unwilling to pull him in. Not that she needed to pull anything. His pelvis dug into hers, his excitement already evident. The feel of him, oh, man . . . all man.

One of his hands left the railing beside hers and slid along her waist and to her back. He pressed her closer, her nipples straining against the unfamiliar sweater.

She wanted his touch . . . needed it.

There was a weight to his kiss, one that told her this wasn’t something that came around every day. This man knew her more than any she’d let touch her as intimately as he was now. The texture of his tongue along hers, the way his hand exposed a small portion of her back, and the heat of his bare skin on hers.

She wrapped one leg around his and let loose the railing she was gripping with all her energy.

The heat of him pressed against her stomach.

She moaned, wanted the contact lower. Her hips moved closer in response to her thoughts.

AJ’s teeth grazed her lips.

Her nails bit into his back.

The sound of gravel kicking up a few yards away had Sasha opening her eyes.

Trina had stopped midstride, eyes glued to Sasha’s.

AJ released her lips, looked down at her, and then over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I, ah, was . . .”

AJ dropped his head onto Sasha’s shoulder with a chuckle.

Trina shuffled her feet, turned one way and then another before taking a step back in the direction she’d appeared from. “I’ll just leave you two . . .”

Sasha watched her disappear while her heartbeat returned to normal.

“Is she gone?”

She answered with a single nod and pulled back enough to see AJ’s eyes.

AJ swiped his finger over her bottom lip and then licked it.

The action made her whole body clench.

“Probably best we didn’t do this out here anyway,” he said.

She felt a smile on her lips.

AJ’s lips briefly met the side of her neck. “Do me a favor,” he said.

The neck action distracted her. “Another one?”

The tip of his tongue met her skin. “Don’t unman me if I sneak into your room at night.”

She gripped his hips and moved him far enough away to keep his lips from her body.

Their eyes met.

“The risk of bodily harm makes it more exciting,” she told him.

With that, she stepped around him and back toward the war room.





Chapter Twenty



Feeding time at the zoo was right up there with the table full of hungry men, a few good women, and a baby.

Back in her own comfortable, form-fitting black clothing, Sasha sat across from AJ and next to Claire. On the teenager’s knee, Lilly giggled as her diapered butt kept bouncing with every move Claire made. Wade sat at one end of the table, and Trina at the other, her daughter’s high chair to the side, not that it would be used, considering the fascination Claire had with the kid.

“. . . Mandarin, encrypted at that.” Cooper pointed a fork loaded with tri tip in Claire’s direction. “Claire’s a damn genius.”

They were talking about some of the highlights of the day’s findings. Apparently, Linette had what they’d dubbed The Mandarin File. Every highly skilled benefactor orphan who fit the portfolio that Pohl could possibly recruit from was cloaked in Mandarin.

“Gibberish Mandarin. Until Cooper broke the encryption,” Claire explained.

Cooper shoved the meat in his mouth, talked around it. “We need her on our team, Neil.”

All eyes went to the largest man at the table.

Neil glared at Cooper, glanced at Claire. “She’s a child.”

Sasha saw Claire’s spine stiffen. “Bet she could outrun you,” Claire said, looking Neil in the eye.

The murmurs at the table quieted.

Except for Sasha’s voice. “I’ll put money on that.”

Claire smirked and rubbed noses with Lilly.

“I’d stay away from that mess if I were you, Neil,” Wade said with a wink. “Women ganging up is never a good thing.”

“Amen to that,” AJ chimed in. “Try fleeing Europe with these two. Talk about fish out of water. Every time I turned around, Sasha was in a different disguise. Imagine a blonde housewife with that face.”

All eyes turned to Sasha. Gazes narrowed and disbelief washed over everyone there.

Sasha locked eyes with AJ.

He smirked.

She clenched her jaw tight to keep from offering a single ounce of amusement.

“That’s tough,” Trina said, her head cocked to the side. “Maybe brunette with lots of highlights . . .”

“Barbie blonde. Valley accent. I wish I’d recorded it.” AJ bit into a biscuit he’d smothered in butter.

Sasha lifted a small bite to her lips, hesitated. “I can blend in at a nursing home that only accepts men.”

AJ pursed his lips together, shook his head. “That’s taking the joy right out of fantasy, Stick.”