She used his shoulder to brace herself, the other hand going into his soaked, silky hair.

Her hips lifted and undulated in rhythm to his tongue and she sank into the deep, aching way he made her feel.

The world disappeared, the danger receded. He-Dex-was here, and he would keep her safe from harm. He trusted in her, too, and she hadn't let him down. She would try to never let this glorious man down.

Then she was just melting like sugar in the rain, her head falling back. Uncontrollable moans spilled while she spiraled up and up, and finally he shoved her over.

Even before she had a chance to absorb all the aching pleasure, he surged up her body and frantically entered her.

And a deep, heavy heat coiled through Piper's body. This is what she'd wanted. Him pushing into her with power and need. The muscles between her thighs were already warm and pulsing, the awareness of him making her groan softly.

His mouth rolled over hers, drawing her into him, and Piper fell back against the tiles as he kissed her. His next thrust came harder, and the one after that faster, each penetration giving her mind-bending pleasure, stealing her breath.

"Dex, please," she pleaded, wanting his heat, his energy, the life of him pulsing through her. She arched into him, urging, her hands sweeping wildly over the contours of his body, her fingertips molding to curved muscle and man.

Then her touch slid lower. His stomach muscles contracted instantly as she neared his groin and his moan of pleasure thrummed through her when she used her nails on his lower abdomen.

"So good," she whispered in his ear, his big hands on her ribs driving anticipation through her.

"Piper," he growled.

He was an experience-something from the tightly guarded places she'd rarely visited. His kiss alone reverberated in every cell of her body; the guttural sound of his need and satiation echoed in her heart. How could she ever let him go, run in the other direction like the smart voice in her mind told her she should do?

She cupped his face, devouring his mouth, and thrust her hips, meeting his hard, fast, deep strokes. He grunted and cursed, then nudged her thighs wide and lifted her against the tiles. She held herself poised, and a million thoughts ran through her mind, nothing sticking long enough to make sense. She felt unbound, her need beyond passion, beyond control.

Piper stared up at him. She never expected to see this man humbled to anything. Yet he was, in his eyes, his expression as if he was questioning everything he knew, and her throat tightened. For the world, the enemy saw strength and deadly skill. Piper saw need and unguarded man. She guided him, loving the exquisite pressure. His gaze became trapped with hers, and they prolonged it, her hips rising to his. He sank into her again, helpless and trembling.

His breath shuddered, almost gasping. "I don't know even where to go with you. So much I want to do."

"I'll take anything you want to give me," she said, brushing her fingers across his hair, caressing down the side of his face. Gently she laid her mouth over his, licking the line of his lips slowly before sliding her tongue between and making them both crazy.

He gripped her hips, his body nail hard and sliding deeply. Her muscles locked and tightened, and yet she smiled, met him and thrust harder. Her whispers mingled with the mist from the shower, their secrets bared and unspoken drifting between them.

He enfolded her breasts, thumbing her nipples, and the sight of him disappearing into her tormented her. She spared him nothing.

Her body rippled like the ocean breaking, battering him in sleek waves of pleasure, and she quickened, thrusting longer and harder.

"Oh, Dex," she said, drawing his name out. She couldn't breathe, her body beyond her control and his. She came, watching as her surrender broke him. He threw back his head and let go, pumping into her as he cried out.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her to him and she clung to him. In a few hours, they were going to be exposed again, go into battle unsure and in the dark. But she had changed here and he had done something she hadn't thought possible. Shown her a different kind of passion, a deeper intimacy. She bit her lip as the guilt consumed her and she fought against it. There wasn't anything to feel guilty about. Despite the short time that had passed, Dex had changed her, changed her so deeply she hadn't even begun to understand that depth. She was a different person. It also frightened her more than going into battle, more than losing her life. It scared her down to her soul, to the core of her heart where she had loved so unconditionally before she hadn't been able to get over it. Now there was another man, a man that meant as much to her. How could she open herself to that again? How could she take it and feel completely safe that she wouldn't go through the same kind of agony again?

She hungered for what she had found with Dex. But his profession... She couldn't stop that fear again. It was raw and real and scored her insides-and broke her heart.

His chest heaving, he held her so tightly as if he thought she might disappear if he let go. After a few moments, they separated, washed up and shampooed their hair. Rinsing off, he took her hand to support her as she stepped out. He turned and shut off the water.

She grabbed a fluffy white towel and started to pat at his stitches until all the moisture was absorbed and they were dry. Then a feeling of acute tenderness washed over her. She leaned down and kissed his injury from the top of the stitches all the way down to his waist. He buried his hand into her wet, short blond hair and kneaded, his touch saying it all. "How is your wound?"

He grinned to alleviate the thickness in the air. "All better now."

"Dex."

"I barely felt it," he said, leaning down and kissing her softly.

Lieutenant Dexter Kaczewski had unraveled for her and she couldn't get enough.

Big, bad navy SEAL. An officer, no less, and that put him a cut above. The elite's leader. That was so sexy; all that brilliance, combat-ready focus and intensity. He was so hoo-rah ready, such a tough piece of work, tempered steel. It took a lot to make steel melt. She shivered and he buried his face in her neck.

Slowly their bodies relaxed as they breathed together, still locked in each other's arms, him smelling oh-so-good, all overheated male.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. You know how to carry out some orders, Lieutenant." She rubbed her face hard against his jaw and he grinned.

"Yeah, I got that overwhelm-and-conquer thing down."

"Hoo-boy, do you ever."

Piper attended to her hair and it felt so good to be squeaky clean, and what a way to take a shower. She highly recommended it. Back in the bedroom, she could see Dex standing before a mirror, already dressed in the black slacks, white shirt and slim black tie that Blessing had purchased. Hot damn, the man was stone-cold gorgeous.

The garment bag was open on the bed and there were delicate, lacy, navy blue undies, an exquisite matching bra, a white and navy striped short-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of navy linen pants. She'd also included a pair of flat red sandals. "Blessing has quite good taste," Piper said as she fingered the material and gave him another appreciating glance.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes trailing over her shoulders and the white terry cloth wrapped around her. He reached out and gave the towel a tug. As it slipped off her, he smiled. "You better get dressed because, from what I remember, you were quite a good taste."

She reached for the panties and slipped them on. "You cheeky devil. Do not distract me."

"Okay, I'll just watch."

She had the bra half on when she felt his warm fingers on her back, then him hooking the clasps. "I thought you said you were only going to watch."

"I couldn't keep my hands to myself," he murmured, sliding his fingers down her back.

She stepped away and finished dressing. Sitting down next to him, she slipped on the sandals.

"Could you tie my shoes?" he asked. "It hurts to bend over."

"You didn't seem to have a problem in the shower."

"I was crouching in the shower. This is a little different...oh," he said when he saw the gleam in her eyes. "You're teasing me."

"A little." She moved off the bed and in front of him. Taking the shiny black oxfords, she slipped the shoe on one foot and tied it, then the other.

He slid his hands under her arms and dragged her up, kissed her and let her go. "One more thing I need help with." He fished the leather gun harness out of the backpack and she took it out of his hands. He spun around and she fitted the straps up his arms and over his broad shoulders. She moved around him and with unsteady fingers fastened the buckle.

"Thank you," he said as she smoothed her hands over his shirt. She moved behind him and picked up the jacket, setting it so he could easily slip his arms into the sleeves and adjust the collar.

He dumped out the contents of the backpack and picked up the wallet, gun, badge and passport, pocketing everything. The last thing he reached for were the dark shades. He put them on.

Her purse was ruined, but Blessing had provided her with a pretty navy clutch.

She walked over to the tumble of clothes on the floor and fished out the head scarf Afsana had given her. The print was beautiful, the cloth finely woven. She smoothed her hand over it.

"Are those my bars?"

"Yes, I kept them safe. Do you want them...?"

"No, Piper, you keep them for now."

She shook the keffiyeh out and folded it neatly. This had protected her and saved Dex's life. She wanted it.

She tucked it into the small black suitcase, nestling it along with the gorgeous lacy black nightwear, a change of underwear and a pair of gray cotton men's shorts.

"She really is very thoughtful."

He nodded. "A gem."

He threw the now-empty backpack with the discarded Afghani clothes in the waste bin.

Without looking back, they left the room.

They hailed a cab at the curb and Dex said something in Pashto. The cabbie eyed her in the rearview and she kept her eyes straight ahead, putting on her professional face. Her palms still got moist, but she was probably reacting to the fact that someone wanted her dead.

He put the cab in gear and they navigated the congested streets of Kabul. At the checkpoint, Dex flashed his DS badge and they got through. Dex spoke again, and the cabbie took them to the commercial charter area of the airport. Dex grabbed the bag and they exited the vehicle, paying with money that Blessing had provided.

There was some delay in getting Dex approved because he was carrying a firearm, but once they saw his DS badge and her senatorial identification, they boarded with no issue.

Once inside, they settled in the posh, cream leather seats and buckled up.

They were headed back to DC and Piper was even more nervous. At least here she knew her enemy. But now Hatch and Markam were dead, the other men with him also eliminated by Dex's brute force and the skills her brother taught her.

But at home her enemy was unknown, and the city felt just a tad more dangerous than Afghanistan.

Chapter 11.

City Jail, Kabul,

Parwan Province, Afghanistan

"Kai Talbot."

"Boss." The supervisory special agent in charge and Austin's superior might be as gorgeous as a runway model, but her no-nonsense tone told Austin that she was one top-notch agent, which he'd seen firsthand. He had great respect for her.

"What have you got for me, Beck?" she said, and it sounded like she was outside.

"Two suspects and news on Lieutenant Kaczewski and Senator Jones." Their coup in Safid Darreh had netted them a wealth of information and one shocker of a secret.

"Excellent. I'm listening." The muffled sound of her car door opening and closing came through the receiver. Then it was much quieter on the other end of the line.

Austin leaned against the wall in the small room. "They're both alive, as far as we can tell. We tracked them to a village about ten miles from Bagram where they were holed up for three days. Kaczewski had his stitches pulled out and got a fever. The senator walked all the way to Charikar dressed as a man to get him antibiotics."

Kai whistled low. "Wow, the senator's got moxie."

Exactly what Austin thought. She was brave as hell.

"We got two live ones at the village. One of them is the co-owner of Outcast, Ted White. They're up to their eyeballs in trouble. The other guy, Aaron Patrick, works for them off the books, if you know what I mean. And so did Martin Carter."

There was silence on the other end of the line. "Martin Carter, the dead merc the SEALs retrieved from Kaczewski's op. Those marines were used to lure the SEALs into an ambush. The director and SECNAV are going to be pissed." The sounds of her getting out of the car and the closing of elevator doors were audible. "Kaczewski was the target?"

Austin shifted. "No. Tyler Keighley."

"The plot thickens."

"It gets more interesting. No wonder Kaczewski is keeping Senator Jones off the radar. He's not sure who he can trust and, Talbot, neither am I. Someone high up had to have worked the deal."

She huffed out a breath. "Do we have any names?"

"Unfortunately, no. White and Kruger don't know, so they say. They are pointing fingers at Markam. But Kaczewski killed him in Safid Darreh." It frustrated Austin to no end, but there was no way to get any information out of a dead guy. "Markam apparently recruited DS Agent Hatch. Markam, who met Kruger when he was working in Kabul during deployment as a marine, was the one who came to Outcast with five mil. And get this, the client apparently changed the deal to include the senator after they bungled the mission and Tyler survived. They upped it to another five mil for her death. Two targets with one stone."

Austin rubbed his tired eyes. "I don't like unanswered questions." He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept. He stretched his back, watching Derrick through the interrogation window while he grilled Kruger, who kept shaking his head. They had caught and arrested Kruger as he was fleeing his Kabul office. Jesus, Derrick could look scary, deadly when he wanted to...and relentless. They'd been going at these guys for two days. Finally, the flunky, Patrick, had broken, implicating both White and Kruger. After that, it was just a matter of who could talk the fastest.

"Anything else?" She sounded impatient.

Derrick's a dad. But that wasn't the kind of information you spilled on your fellow agent to your boss. It was personal. Obviously. Austin still was processing this information. Whatever Austin thought he'd known about Derrick "007" Gunn, it was deeper and darker than he could have guessed, a huge secret he was harboring. He'd fathered a child with a beautiful Afghani woman who was, uh, married...oh, about eight years ago, when he couldn't have been very wet behind the ears. But as they loaded up the three dead bodies into the back of the Jeep and shoved the revived Patrick into the backseat with White, Derrick gave Austin the type of look that said: If you ask, I will kick your ass and you'll be bruised and sore without me telling you a damn thing because it's none of your damn business.

Austin did not ask.

"I'm getting ready to drive to Charikar and speak to Dr. Blessing Contee. She's the WHO doctor who Afsana Jamal told us stitched up Kaczewski and drove him and the senator to Kabul. Hopefully we can get a location on them."

Kai lowered her voice. "When you do find them, keep that under wraps."

"Yes, ma'am."

"In the meantime, I will start the extradition of Kruger, White and Patrick. Nationalities?"