Murder Game (GhostWalkers, #7)(53)

The three men looked from Tansy’s face to Kadan’s. Gator grinned again, this time his drawl teasing. “I take it that’s not an option.”

Kadan slid his hand down the curve of Tansy’s back and then slipped his arm around her waist. “No.”

Simple. Direct. That was Kadan.

Tansy sighed. “I drew a diagram of the house. We do have an escape tunnel, but Fredrickson knows about it.”

With his arm tight around her, Kadan led the way into the dining room, where he spread several papers on the table. “The estate is quite large and probably well guarded. Fortunately, Tansy knows all the camera positions and has pinpointed them for us.”

Kadan stepped back to allow the men to study the diagram of the house and estate, complete with as much information as Tansy could remember on where the guards were usually stationed, where cameras and dogs were located. He ran his hand up and down the curve of her spine, savoring the feel of her feminine outline.

Tansy glanced at him sharply. He wasn’t looking at her, nor did he appear to be paying attention to her at all, several times bending close to the table to point out details to Ryland and Gator, discussing an entry and extraction plan. She tried to listen, finding the way their minds worked intriguing, but his hand was distracting. Several times he slid his palm over her denim-clad bottom, shaping her buttocks, his thumb brushing strokes of fire while his hand caressed her.

Don’t. The other men were too sharp-eyed not to notice. It wasn’t so much that she objected to them seeing him caress her, it was her reaction that was embarrassing. The elevated breathing she couldn’t quite stop. Her nipples hardening. His touch affected her, no matter how featherlight it was.

Don’t ever tell me I can’t touch you. Any time. Any place. It sounded like a command. Low. Firm. A husky, velvet promise of retaliation, sexual in nature, that sent a wave of heat crashing through her body and dampening her panties.

But Tansy was in his mind and his lack of emotion concerned her. He was disconnected. Remote. Ice water once again flowed in his veins. He frightened her that way, so distant he didn’t seem aware of any of the emotions a normal person would have. It was only his hand on her, the shape and texture of her, the scent of her, that kept a trace of feeling running through him. He clung to that small connection, but didn’t seem aware that that was what he was doing.

As if to make certain she understood, his hand moved over her hips and up her rib cage, sliding along the side of her breast, back up to the nape of her neck. His fingers tightened until she turned her head. He leaned over. Casually. In charge. Taking his time. Daring her to defy him and pull away. If she hadn’t felt that small flicker of need in him, she might have kicked him in the shins and told him to go to hell, but instead, she stood there quietly and waited for the touch and taste of him. There was an aura of sexual intensity surrounding him, and the moment they were close, his sheer magnetism overwhelmed her self-preservation and she seemed to just give herself to him, drawn like a moth to flame.

He took her mouth gently, not at all like the threat in his mind. She tasted his hunger and knew his need of her was elemental and deep and beyond even his understanding.

Kiss me back.

She wasn’t certain why he needed her so much. Reassurance? He seemed so completely confident, she could barely believe that he felt in any way threatened by the presence of the other men. That seemed out of character. Her arms slid around his neck and she opened her mouth to his, feeling him inside her, stroking and tasting with that same gentleness that was so disarming.

Are you all right? She touched his cheek.

He lifted his head and smiled at her. No problems.

She wasn’t sure she believed him, but he was already bending over the drawings. To the others he pointed out the gate with the cameras and guards.

“This booth is manned at all times. Cliffs back up to the house and they’d be difficult to climb, but not impossible from the ocean side. Fredrickson is bound to be looking at an entry from that side so he’ll most likely step up the guards there.”

“You don’t think he’ll believe I’ll walk right in and give myself up?” Tansy asked hopefully.

“We have to assume he knows I went looking for you and that you’re with me. You didn’t use the radio to call your parents, you called from an untraceable, secure line. Fredrickson will know that. He’ll be prepared for an assault team.”

“So entry up the cliffs isn’t going to be a good plan.”

“We can wait for Tucker and Ian to report in, but let’s assume not,” Kadan said. His gaze shifted for a brief second to Ryland.

The dark-haired man eased his shoulders a little. “I could use some coffee, Kadan. Do you have any around here?”

“In the kitchen,” Kadan said.

“I’ll get it,” Tansy said, glad for something to do. Planning assaults wasn’t her forte. “Anyone else want some?”

Kadan waited until Tansy had taken their orders and left the room. He kept his voice low. “The package is expected to be hostile. There’s a tie to Whitney. I want to bring them out quietly to a house only we know about and keep them under guard. If they don’t tell us what we need, I’ll have a private talk with them.”

Ryland stirred, his gaze flicking toward the kitchen. “Kadan. Not if she’s your choice. I’ll take care of it.”