He looked down. The Adriatic was completely calm. He dangled his hand over the railing and let go of the cell phone. A second later it disappeared into the sea with a soft plop.

Arkady watched the rings of disturbed water flow outward and then waited until the water was calm again.

With one last look at the starry night sky, he made his way below deck, ready for the long journey.

Parker’s Ridge

November 21

The snow plows had already cleared the roads, so driving back was a snap, certainly compared to the trip over. But even if they hadn’t cleared the roads, Nick could handle it. There was very little he couldn’t handle behind a wheel.

It wasn’t a skill he had ever intended to show Charity, but he’d had to break cover on the way over. It had saved the little old lady’s life, but he just hoped that Charity’s worry allowed her to overlook the fact that it wasn’t normal for a perfectly average, staid stockbroker to know how to drive a car at eighty miles an hour in a snowstorm.

So he made a point of driving back very slowly, even though every cell in his body wanted to get back to her house as fast as possible so that he could get back in her as fast as possible.

“Thanks so much, Nick,” she said quietly. He kept his eyes on the road ahead. Not because of the danger, but because if he looked her way, he’d just keep on looking.

Not even he could drive down icy roads with his head turned to stare at the most desirable woman he’d ever seen. It was bad enough driving with a huge boner so strong the muscles in his abdomen and the long muscles in his thighs were pulled tight. It seemed as if every muscle in his body was centered around his groin. All his blood, too.

They’d end up with the front fender wrapped around a tree, covered in shards of glass, if he stared the way he wanted to. Not how he wanted this evening to end up. Well, not evening, he thought after a lightning fast glance at the dashboard. It was three in the morning and the weekend was officially over.

“You’re welcome.” He kept his voice as quiet as hers.

“I’m so grateful to you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“Yeah?” Nick’s hands tightened on the wheel. “That’s nice to know. Really nice. So, since we’re on that subject…how grateful?”

“I beg your pardon?” Nick could feel the air displacement as she swung her head around to look at him. He kept his eyes resolutely on the road but he had excellent peripheral vision. Her pretty pink mouth was pursed in an O of astonishment.

“You heard me. How grateful are you?”

“Oh. V-very.”

“That’s good. Because we were interrupted at a very important point when your uncle called. You remember what point we were at, don’t you, Charity?”

He could almost feel the heat of her face, glowing in the darkness. “Oh yes,” she said softly.

“That’s good. What point were we at?”

The heat intensified. Great. He was burning up, himself. It’s good that they were in this together.

“We were, um—”

“Yes?”

“We were—you know…”

Her whole body was glowing with heat now. It came off her in waves. Nick didn’t know why he was pushing her. She was wildly uncomfortable with this conversation. Hot as she was in bed, she was also very ladylike. He’d never heard her swear, ever, let alone say fuck. So this wasn’t easy for her.

Tough shit. It wasn’t easy for him, either. Besides being hard as a pike, his skin felt way too tight for his body, his blood felt hot and thick in his veins. It was a pity he knew a lot about hypothermia, because every instinct he had was telling him to pull over, stop the car, pull Charity’s pants down, drag her into the backseat and mount her.

Pick up where they left off.

Oh yeah. A second after entering her, he’d be fucking her like a wild man. Nick was really good at visualizing. All soldiers were. You went through the steps of a mission, one by one, visualizing success like crazy. It was the only way to deal with walking into danger. So he could see in his mind’s eye exactly how it would be. Charity, lying in the backseat, long slender legs wrapped around him and him on top of her, fucking away so hard even the heavy Lexus would rock with his thrusts.

Unfortunately, he could also see how dangerous it would be. Once he was in her, he’d be oblivious to everything else. If another dense snow flurry came and buried the car, he might find it hard to get it going. If they were stuck, he’d have to turn the engine on to keep the heater going. He was a little low on gas and once the gas ran out, they could be stuck in a freezing car, waiting for a break in the storm.

Charity could die.

The thought kept him from pulling over, but it didn’t cool his blood.

He’d been a good boy. He’d let her pull away while they were fucking, he’d come to the rescue and he’d saved the aunt.

It was payback time.

“We were what?” he prodded.

“We were in the middle of…making love.” Her voice was small.

His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. “That’s right. We were right in the middle of making love. We were getting it on just fine, until we were interrupted. And that’s about all I can think about right now. Picking up where we left off. I’d give my right nut to pull over and get back in you, but the weather’s too severe for that. So I’ll have to wait. But the instant we walk through your door, I’m going to be inside you one second later. And I want you ready.”

A little indrawn breath. “Ready how?”

His jaws clenched. “I think you know. But if not, let me spell it out for you. I want you all wet for me. I want that luscious little cunt all soft and warm and wet for me.” His voice was harsh, hoarse. The crude language came naturally, as a direct expression of his deepest desires. Something of his desire had communicated itself to her because he could hear her breathing speed up in the quiet darkness of the car. “I want all that before we arrive. Because I’m sure as hell not going to have time for foreplay once we get there.”

“O-okay,” she breathed.

Nick shifted in his seat, eyes resolutely ahead. On the way over, he’d been in total control of himself and the car. Short of an RPG hitting the Lexus, they wouldn’t have had an accident. Right now, he didn’t feel in control of anything, least of all his cock. An accident was perfectly possible, except it really wasn’t.

Even far gone in the throes of red-hot lust, he was master of the car. He was always master of the car. It was such a deeply inbred skill, it was as if it were in his bones, as if he’d been born with it. He’d once driven from Kandahar to Kabul after catching the tail end of an IED that had blown up the car in front of him. He’d been concussed, had lost his hearing in one ear, and was bleeding like a stuck pig over his left eye from a piece of shrapnel that had sliced across his forehead like a scalpel. The road was pockmarked with big holes left by previous IEDs, they came under fire twice, and through all that he’d driven his team to safety as if they’d been on the German Autobahn.

So, yes, he had a blue steeler and it almost fucking hurt when he moved to shift gears, most of his mind was taken up with the beautiful woman in the seat next to him, but it didn’t make any difference. Even if he had only two neurons left in his head, they were enough to drive with. His muscles could manage alone, without guidance from his head.

“Take your pants off. And then your panties.”

The swish of her hair on her shoulders as her head swivelled toward him was audible. “What?” she breathed.

“You heard me.” Jesus, even his throat muscles were tight. He could barely get the words out. His voice came out harsh and guttural. “I want your pants and panties off. And while we’re at it, take off your bra under your sweater. You can keep the sweater on.” It was a tough concession, but having her pretty white breasts bared might just be too much for him. He had a lot of self-control, it was true. But shit, there was a limit to everything. “Pants, panties off. Bra. Off.”