The deep, brooding shadows on his face and the primal possessiveness that poured off him clutched her heart, stealing all logic. Like a tango target, she had nowhere to go, and the fallout would be catastrophic.

"Can't wait to have you again." He crawled toward her. "You're in my head, girl. In my blood. I can't stay away."

Interlacing their fingers, Sugar pulled him on top of her. She locked her legs around him, positioning his shaft, which was poised for unimaginable ecstasy.

"You said... don't hold anything back?" Her mouth readied to bare her innermost secrets before her uncertainty had a chance to say, "Shut the hell up." But the uncertain, lucid part of her brain remained mum, conveying an unquestionable belief. Jared won't hurt me.

"Never." He tightened his grasp on her hands, squeezing tight. "Never hold back from me."

"I don't want to just..." No looking back. "I want this to be more. Make love to me. I need all of you. Even if it's just this once. Just tonight. Let me be all yours."

A flash of something crossed his face. A pause. A moment.

Pin, pulled and tossed. The grenade was in his backyard now.

He kissed her gently, nudging her lips open, then he touched his forehead to hers. "For you, Lilly Chase, I'd do anything."

Her heart and her very soul sighed. Relief made her want him all the more. Jared flexed his hips, pressing his erection against her. Sore and needing more, she released a moan. He captured it with a mesmerizing kiss. That kiss didn't seem possible from a man as impenetrable and inflexible as the battle-hardened warrior between her thighs. But for some crazy reason, it made perfect sense for them.

Splitting her from the inside, he thrust. Huge and hot. Pleasurable pain and dangerous desire. Their pace worked to incredible, indelible. He held her, soothing and stroking. Promising the world without a word, he filled her, pushing her to a shattering realization. She'd tied herself to him. His wild, jagged barbs ensnarled her heart.

Arching her back, she absorbed his drive. Cries craving release carried through their kisses. A tornado of tension swirled. Her insides throbbed, building a tempest of intensity. She couldn't breathe or see. She could only feel the deep connection.

"Yes, Lilly. Come for me." His words were a carnal command.

Lilly? He was with her, not the Sugar she presented to the world. She nodded, understanding and needing release, needing to ride the wave that neared crest.

His hips rode into overdrive. Panting and perspiring, Jared owned her. She'd climax because of him, for him- And again. She felt a release unlike any she'd known. Tensing and tightening, throbbing for her master of everything, Sugar combusted. Lights and stars burst in the eye of their hurricane. She tried for a breath, then another, before failing. She found the ability only after staring into the force of his gaze. It steadied her amid their swirling storm.

Torment painted his face. "You're destroying me, baby."

"I'm already ruined," she whispered. At least the devastating truth was out there.

Pounding into her, capturing every sound she offered, Jared surged toward his zenith. Sensation ripped through them, his release rocketing into her as he strained, his muscles tight. His howl of her name sounded primal.

Watching him come, feeling him through the godforsaken condom, ignited her all over again. They struggled wildly. Tight in his embrace, Sugar felt as if she were holding on to a supernova. Her tears threatened to fall.

He collapsed against her, creating a tangled heap of their bodies. Gasps raced one another, alternating like pulses clamoring to a barbaric beat. His mouth was still connected to hers. Not a kiss. Not a lick. Just a hold. From lips to legs, they were flesh on flesh. No space. No secrets. Just Jared and Lilly.

If she'd fallen asleep in his arms, she didn't know. Time stilled. Danger disappeared. They weren't in Abu Dhabi. They weren't anywhere.

He whispered against her ear, ensuring she was awake. "I'm in uncharted territory. And the only goddamn thing I've got in my arsenal is you."

Pulling him impossibly closer, she let her heart escape, along with a sigh. "Jared-"

His cell beeped like an alarm. He reacted immediately, barreling over her, grabbing it as if a man had gone down. "Fuck me."

Maybe one had. Terror struck her, and his tenderness was gone. The hardened bastard was back, and her stomach sank-not because she didn't love his commando routine, but because it meant something had gone wrong. Titan had a casualty? Because of her? She couldn't live with that guilt.

His eyes narrowed, and a knot travelled the length of his throat.

"What's wrong?"

His hands flexed on the cell.

Sugar sat up, pulling the comforter around her to fend off a sudden chill. "Goddamn it. Tell me."

He paused a beat, steeling strength into his features. "Asal's gone."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Jared's gut tensed trigger tight. A missing Asal meant a war-ready Sugar. The anger and apprehension was visceral and tangible. He had to stop her emotional bleed out. However, he had no idea how to pull off a maneuver like. He couldn't Ace-bandage her worry or splint her rage.

"Sugar. Take a breath. It'll be fine." Yeah, they both knew his words were textbook response. He needed a plan.

"Who was that?" Her lips were red and swollen, reminding him of their tangled-sheet blowout. "I need to know everything."

"Rocco. My team's all over the hotel, finishing up GSI." Any plan he could draft involved his number two, Brock, getting everyone in line.

Sugar scowled, pouring venom. "They missed something." She jumped up, taking the covers with her.

"Easy there, baby cakes."

"What did he say?" Her body leaned forward like she was liable to attack if he made the wrong move.

The situation was serious, and no amount of sugarcoating would make it better. "He said-"

"Spit it out, Jared."

"The UN chick's dead. Asal's nowhere to be found."

Sugar gasped. "What the fuck? What if Asal's dead, too? God. I bring her to this fancy hotel when all she's known is rocks and caves. Fucking goats-"

"She's alive. She has to be." His heart pounded. Taking the kid? Asal was strong, a spitfire who'd shimmied across a mountain with his special forces team. She would survive, and he would make sure Sugar knew it. "They wouldn't have left one body if they were going to kill Asal. It's better that she was here then on a devastated mountain. We'll find her. Bring her back."

That kid had etched a place in his heart, and he wouldn't fail her or Sugar.

"To me." Resolve burned in her eyes. It was an order, and he wasn't one to take them from anyone-except her.

Jared nodded. "Yes, to you." His phone rang again. Brock. "Tell me something good."

Sugar wrapped the covers tighter around her body and paced his bedroom.

Snagging his sweatpants off the floor, he pulled them on and matched her paces. This wasn't how the night was supposed to end.

The status update was grim and to the point. Professional hit. Clean sweep. Asal was still missing, and his team was ruthless on its recovery objective.

Sugar cracked her knuckles. "GSI's going to use her to lure me out."

How is this possible? No one knew about Asal. Just Titan and his counterpart who'd arranged for the UN attache. Jared trusted everyone who was in the know. Nothing added up.

"Brock, have someone sweep Sugar's room for bugs. Hell, every room we have, including mine." Even though his was swept daily and monitored constantly.

With a grunt from Brock as a response, Jared ended the call. Brock would issue the orders to the team, and Jared could stay with Sugar, at least until it was time to fix the situation, and keep her from going nuclear. GSI couldn't have gone too far with Asal. They couldn't have...

Bullshit. Why would he lie to himself? GSI had access to just as many planes, trains, and for-hire ex-military forces as Titan did. The problem with GSI was they were dirty. Snatching a kid for bait? Buck Baer would do it in a hot second.

A vein protruded on her temple. Her neck strained. "My room was bugged. This is my fault. I'm gonna-"

"Sugar, stop."

His phone rang. Rocco's name scrolled on the screen. "Yeah, Roc?"

"Swept all the room but yours. They're clean. Brock's headed to you now."

No bugs? Why would GSI remove them? That would be pointless.

"Get dressed." He threw sweatpants and a shirt to Sugar. "Unless this building is bombed and crumbles, there's no safer place than in this room. Brock will stay with you after he sweeps my suite."

She pulled the shirt over her head, then shimmied into the pants. "Where are you going? I'm coming-"

"To have a conversation with GSI. To stick my foot up Buck Baer's ass until he chokes on my fuckin' bootlaces."

She rolled the waist on the pants in choppy, spastic moves. "I'm not going to sit here like some-"

"Yes, you will. You'll do as ordered. I don't care what just happened in this room between me and you."

Her face didn't fall. Thank fuck. What he'd said was habit, but what he felt... that said he should've toned it down.

She nodded. "Got it."

If that reaction didn't make his heart pound a little stronger. "Sugar-"

"I won't sit long," she said through closed teeth. "Do your job, Jared. And when the time comes, I expect you to turn me loose."

He gave his word. Now for showtime. Parker could find Buck anywhere in the world, but chances were, he was sitting on his pompous ass in a fancy chair. The prick. The call to Parker rang once before he answered.

"Yo, Boss." Parker was obviously expecting him. His team ran liked a well-oiled machine. Smooth and deadly, each part did what it was supposed to. "Feeding the surveillance video to Rocco now. Brock's already been in touch."

"Get Buck Baer on my television screen. Now."

"Yes, sir. Give me five."

The line disconnected. No pause. No doubt. That was a good employee.

Jared snagged a shirt. Stalking to the living room, he pulled it on. Buck Baer was a piece of shit on the lowest of levels. After that night's disaster, Jared would tear him apart. Piece by piece.

He paced in front of the television, mentally counting down the five minutes he'd promised Parker. The screen flipped on to a gray, static-showered picture. It blinked.

Once.

Then twice.

Finally, Buck Baer appeared.

"Jared Westin. To what do I owe this unceremonious request to chat face-to-face? An emergency, as I understand it?" The ruddy-faced jerk smirked. The audio was clear enough to make Ma Bell proud.

Restraining his inner grizzly, Jared took a breath. "I want the girl."

"To the point. I always liked that about you, Jared. Oh, wait. I meant to say, whatever do you mean?"

"Your team's here. You went after my mark. You took a kid. Very far outside our rules of engagement, Baer."

"I don't play by rules."

"Fuck your games. I don't give a shit what you siphon from the government, foreign nationals, or the damn Taliban. I'm giving you one chance to produce the child. One hour, or I promise you, GSI will collapse. You'll deal with me. A fate far worse than going to Leavenworth."

"Don't know-"

"Fifty-nine minutes." The poise in his voice surprised even him. Jared would take out Baer and GSI anyway, even if Asal showed up bearing Girl Scout cookies. "Clock's ticking. Don't sign your death warrant."

"Goodbye, Jared." And the connection was cut.

What the hell? No ransom? No request for Sugar? His phone rang a split second after the screen turned off. He grabbed it. Parker. "Speak."

"Not good."

"No goddamn commentary. Update me, now."

The mechanical locks on his door began to wind. Very few people had the ability to enter his suite, but he didn't care. Given the three-second window of security enhancements, Jared readied for a kill. He leaned under the couch, removing a stashed 9mm, and leveled it at the door. It cracked. Slowly. Brock.

"Announce yourself next time." Jared stashed the weapon back in place and made a mental note to tag all the guns hidden around his suite once Asal was safely in his custody.

He pointed down the hall. "Sugar's in the back room. Eyes on her at all times." Bringing the phone back to his ear, he paused. "Wait. Knock first."

Brock laughed but kept moving.

"Parker. Intel?"

"Surveillance feeds were scrambled. Working on that. No eyes on GSI, though. Don't know who or how many we're looking for."

Damn it, Parker. "You aren't earning your paycheck."