Page 9 of Dangerous Obsession

COLE

He wasn’t a con man. He was out of his element here, and he knew it.

What a fool. He’d thought this would be easy. He would seduce his way into Maxim’s life, his trust. Earn himself freedom of the house. Find his target. Acquire it. Escape.

He hadn’t expected the powerful feelings that had gripped him today. Feelings for Maxim…and for Jade.

As Cole stared out the open guestroom window, smelling the crisp ocean air, he couldn’t help but feel unsettled. He was dangerously close to failure.

It was Jade. Or at least, Jade was the primary reason he felt as if this entire operation was hovering on the edge of disaster. In theory, she shouldn’t matter. She was only a bodyguard, an employee. If Maxim trusted Cole, then Jade would have no choice but to allow Cole to remain here.

The reality was nowhere near that simple.

Cole stared out across the darkened landscape outside the villa, thinking about Jade, how beautiful she’d looked standing there, watching him with those wide eyes. His lips had still been tingling from the kiss with Maxim, but he’d wanted to kiss her so badly.

He’d made a move, and she’d denied him.

But that didn’t mean the game was over.

Not by a long shot.

Besides, he still had a job to do. His client had already wire-transferred half Cole’s fee, and these weren’t the sort of men you cheated. Not if you wanted to keep breathing.

Cole turned away from the windows and looked at the bed. It had been a long, long day. He was tired. At least he didn’t have to wear the wig anymore.

But he couldn’t rest yet. He glanced at the clock, seeing it was long past midnight. The house around him was silent. He’d been listening. Waiting for hours. He had to make some kind of move tonight.

Jade had told him she wanted him gone tomorrow. Kiss or not, he was sure Maxim would give in if she demanded it. The man cared for her too deeply. You couldn’t be around them for more than ten minutes without picking that up. That and all the sexual tension.

So he had no choice. He needed to make a move tonight.

He’d already scoped out the security cameras.

He would recon the ground floor to make sure Jade and Maxim were in bed.

Then he would head upstairs and see if he could locate the office that he might or might not have spotted during his earlier walk outside the house.

He waited another half hour before making his play.

Carefully, he slipped out of the guest bedroom.

He was bare-chested, barefoot, and wearing only boxer shorts.

If he was caught, he would say he was after a drink of water or a midnight snack.

It was a paper-thin excuse, especially since the guest room had a bathroom and a mini-fridge, but it was the best he had.

He quietly closed the door behind him. He had a good idea where Maxim’s rooms were.

He was less certain about Jade. But even an opponent as formidable as Jade needed to sleep sometime.

All Cole needed was to locate the computer and set phase three in motion, if possible.

If not, he was going to have to do some quick thinking on his feet.

The villa’s ground floor open-concept was irritating. It didn’t allow any cover. But the second floor would be better. He paused at the foot of the curved, open staircase. He was listening for any sound that might indicate someone else was awake—namely, Jade. His nemesis.

There was nothing. No noise. No lights. The top floor had lots of skylights. The silver-blue moonlight reflected off the white limestone to illuminate the staircase as though it were dawn instead of night.

The limestone stairs were wide and cool beneath his bare feet as Cole made his way painstakingly up the curving pathway to the second floor. He paused at the top of the curved staircase and peered across into the moonlit silence of the second floor.

He caught a glimpse of a bedroom of sorts. It was a second-floor suite perched atop the villa like a guard tower. Could that be where Maxim was hiding the program?

“Lost, are you?”

The husky words came a millisecond before Jade attacked. Her lithe body slammed into his, catching him off-balance. She used leverage instead of raw strength to send him tumbling toward the floor.

This time, he reacted reflexively. He grabbed her and reversed their positions. By the time they hit the floor, she was beneath him.

He grinned down at her and opened his mouth to say something smart about his dominant position.

She didn’t let him. Almost instantly, she had looped her leg around his neck in a position designed as a reversal.

He only had a millisecond to marvel at her incredible flexibility before she tightened her legs around his throat and pulled him over backward.

Damn, she was good. He struggled against her, but she had leveraged a position with both legs scissored around his upper body that forced him to reconsider how the hell he was going to get out of this.

Cole allowed her to pull him down to the floor until she was essentially straddling him. He was planning a reversal of his own when something hit him with the stunning power of a kick to the head.

It wasn’t a blow. No, he simply noticed what Jade was wearing. Or not wearing.

Except for her panties, she was naked. No more boy shorts. No more athletic top. Her breasts were bare in the moonlight, her long hair a curtain slipping over her shoulder to tickle his chest.

She was absolutely breathtaking. And he knew he was in trouble.

JADE

Jade froze when she realized she’d allowed herself to be maneuvered into a dangerously intimate position with Cole.

She’d been undressing for the night, getting ready for bed, when her instincts had shot off like fireworks.

She hadn’t heard or seen anything specific, no suspicious noises or movement, but she’d been certain someone was sneaking around downstairs.

She’d waited patiently, ignoring the fast thump of her heart as she listened.

Then she’d finally heard something. Steps. The nearly silent steps had come sneaking up the stairs.

Her heart had been pounding even harder in her chest, but she hadn’t wanted to make the extra noise of scrambling to get her clothing back on. She didn’t want to tip off her prey that she was alerted to him.

Now she had him between her thighs, half-naked, and grappling with him in the moonlight. She should’ve brought the pistol. Then again, he seemed to be unarmed since both his big hands were on her body. They felt very warm, almost hot, against her bare skin.

She glared down at him. “What the hell are you doing up here?” She squeezed her thighs tighter, crushing down on him. “Better hurry up and answer me. What are you after?”

“You.”

The answer was so immediate and so blunt that Jade lost her focus for a second. He took advantage of it, breaking her hold, forcing her legs open so he could escape. She shifted, meaning to go for an armbar. That would keep him still.

But he grabbed her before she could pull it off.

She gasped out a breath as he pinned her atop his body with her pussy pressing against the ridge of what she now realized was his impressive erection.

She was only separated from him by two thin layers of cotton.

The power of the desire and sudden pulse of sensation had her momentarily frozen, unable to pull off her counter move.

She had no idea how this stranger from a health spa had managed to grapple with her so effectively.

It did nothing to stop the alarm bells going off in her head.

But he didn’t press his advantage. He gripped her wrists tightly, but he wasn’t hurting her.

She was still straddling him, both of them breathing hard.

He was strong. That was very clear. She could break the wrist holds, but she held back, waiting for the right moment to regain the initiative.

“That’s a lie,” she said, keeping her voice low because she didn’t want to wake Maxim and have him find the two of them like this. “You weren’t looking for me.”

He stayed still. He didn’t attack her. He didn’t even pump his hips, grinding his hard cock against her pussy lips. That kind of restraint when he was that aroused was a little amazing.

His cocky, lopsided grin appeared on his face. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wondered if I’d turned you on enough to send you to Maxim’s bed.”

“You bastard,” she snarled.

“I want to kiss you,” he said, unconcerned by her names or the fact that they’d been fighting only seconds ago.

His words hummed through her, vibrating in her core. She had to force herself not to move her hips, seeking friction to ease some of the aching desire building inside her.

She knew she could refuse him. Strangely, she knew that would be the end of it too.

He had yielded earlier when she’d told him no.

He respected her will. That turned her on because Max had always been that way.

Commanding her when she wanted it, always respecting her needs, sometimes even before she could voice them.

This man below her was up to something; she was sure of it. But then again…maybe he really was just a hapless guest turned on by all the sexual tension sizzling in the house. Maybe he only wanted to get laid, like everyone else in the human race…

When she didn’t punch him or curse him out or even say no, Cole slowly moved.

His arms flexed, and she was amazed at how strong he was.

He spread her wrists apart, taking her arms and yet holding her steady as he forced her to lower the top half of her body toward his naked chest. He moved her closer for that kiss he wanted.

Oh, God. Her nipples were tightening into hard little points that threatened to brush the smooth surface of his chest. Her pussy was getting wet, and his hard length was still wedged against her slit.

She had to bite back a wanton moan. She wasn’t supposed to be enjoying this.

She was fighting. Fighting for something…

He drew her to him and captured her lips with his, letting go of her wrists to run his hands up the outsides of her thighs to her waist.

His lips were every bit as firm and full as they looked.

She imagined that she could taste Max on his lips after their earlier kiss, and her desire bloomed out of control.

She spread her knees and ground herself against him.

The friction was almost enough to make her wild with the overwhelming desperation of her need.

He cupped the back of her head with his hand and took their kiss from desperate to carnal in the blink of an eye. Jade surrendered completely. She began rocking against him. The wetness of her slick folds soaked the front of his boxers.

Maxim. His handsome face invaded her mind. Cole kissed differently but with no less passion. Still, she clung to the thought of Maxim like a woman gripping a life preserver. It helped her focus, helped her regain control. She was responsible for this…this escalation. She needed to stop it.

But his kiss only deepened, almost blanking her mind with pleasure. His tongue rubbed against hers, the two of them engaging in a gentle tug of war that seemed to linger until time ceased to matter. She never wanted to stop. And yet this only whetted her appetite for more. For Max. To share—

She drew back quickly. Before Cole could grab her or kiss her again, she planted her hands on his broad chest and half vaulted, half stood until she was on her feet and safely away from him.

He was too good at kissing. The only other man who could rock her world like that was Max. She wasn’t at all pleased that Cole had somehow used her own barely restrained need against her.

She should’ve refused that kiss. It had stirred something inside her. Something she was afraid could never be put back in the bottle.

He looked her over, his hot stare lingering over her body, promising things, showing how much he wanted her. It was the same way he had looked at Maxim.

She didn’t move, didn’t bother covering up. Let him look. She wasn’t ashamed. Besides, he was the one standing there with that great big erection tenting his boxers. So she stood there boldly, getting herself under control, remembering her purpose.

Protecting Maxim.

He smiled, but there was regret in his eyes. “Cruel to leave a man with blue balls after stirring his blood like that.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” she shot back. “There’s hand lotion in the bathroom if you need it.”

He laughed, his eyes flooding with warmth and humor. He gave her a little salute.

“Goodnight, beautiful,” he said. He turned and descended the curved stairway again.

She stood guard there, naked, arousal still thrumming in her veins, aching in her core, and she didn’t call him back.

She didn’t go to Maxim.

Jade went to her own bed. The sheets were cold. She had a hard time falling asleep.