Athena Force: Deceived Part 18

His finger rubbed against her and it was as if every nerve in her body began and ended where he touched. Her entire body quivered. She moved her hips in a wild rhythm against him as the tension inside her built.

She was on fire, burning in flames of Nick. When she thought she could stand no more, when the tension inside her threatened to overwhelm her, it shattered and crashed through her, sending rivulets of warmth through her veins.

She was breathless and gasping but still not sated. She wanted more. "Nick...please..." She reached down and encircled his hard length with her hand. She liked the feel of him, hard and yet smooth and velvety.

"Lynnette." He groaned her name and at the same time rolled away from her. He reached into the nightstand and pulled out a small foil package.

A condom. Relief flooded through her. She hadn't even thought about safe s.e.x. Thank goodness one of them had their wits about them.

He ripped open the package and rolled the condom on himself and when he hovered over the top of her she opened her legs to welcome him.

For a long moment he gazed down at her, and in his eyes she saw not only desire, not only want, but also a gentleness that spoke of something more.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to see that, knowing that if she saw that he truly cared about her it would only make leaving that much more difficult.

She gripped his hips and pulled him closer, letting him know she was ready. She tensed as he began to enter her. She expected pain, but there was none, just a bit of discomfort that lasted only a moment.

He lay perfectly still against her, not moving a muscle. "Are you all right?" he whispered against her ear. "Am I hurting you?"

"Yes...I mean no, you aren't hurting me."

Then he moved and she gasped as pleasure swept through her.

Her senses were alive with him...his familiar masculine scent, the play of his back muscles beneath her fingertips, the sound of his heartbeat and rapid breathing. He filled her up on all levels.

She'd listened to her friends talk about s.e.x, but nothing they had said had prepared her for the emotional rush. She'd expected physical pleasure, but she hadn't expected the intimacy that transcended the physical act.

She'd wanted him to make love to her, but she hadn't expected her heart to be involved. But it was. Her heart swelled with emotion as she felt him deep inside her.

As he moved his hips against hers and their heartbeats crashed in rhythm, she felt as if he surrounded her, invaded her in body and soul.

It was an invasion she welcomed. She wrapped her legs around his and ran her hands down the smooth warm skin of his back as he sent that crazy, wonderful tension building inside her once again.

He crashed his lips onto hers as their hips thrust together frantically. Tongues battled as they kissed with a hunger that was all consuming.

"Lynnette," he moaned when he tore his lips from hers and instead trailed them down the curve of her jaw.

She loved it that he'd called her by her real name and not the diminutive. n.o.body else in her life called her Lynnette.

That was her last conscious thought as physical sensation swept away everything else. Faster and faster they moved in unison and she was swept higher and higher on a plane of pleasure.

She tumbled over the precipice, moaning his name, and at the same time he stiffened against her, a groan escaping his lips.

For a long moment they remained locked together, waiting for heartbeats to slow, for breath to return. Her hand stroked down his back, loving the feel of his warm skin. Nick. They said you always remember your first lover. She had a feeling she would have remembered him even if he hadn't been her first.

He finally raised himself up and looked down at her, his gaze holding a wealth of tenderness. "You okay?" He gently moved a strand of her hair away from her eyes. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Yes, he'd hurt her when she'd realized he'd used her. He'd hurt her in those moments when she'd seen him at the Markam Convention Center and realized he'd betrayed her. That's what she wanted to tell him, but instead she shook her head to a.s.sure him he had not hurt her. Knowing now what she did about Jonas, she couldn't fault him for what he had done. She couldn't hold on to her bitterness where he was concerned.

He eased away from her. "I'll be right back." He slid from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

Lynn rolled over on her side and stared toward the window where the moonlight filtered in through the sheer curtains. Her body tingled with the warmth of their lovemaking, and she had no regrets about what they had shared. She was glad it had been Nick who had introduced her to the pleasure of lovemaking.

He returned to the bed and gathered her in his arms. She snuggled against him although she knew she should get up and go back to her motel.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper in the darkness as he tightened his arms around her.

"That I'm glad we made love, that I'm glad we had this night together because tomorrow I'm leaving."

"Leaving? What do you mean?" He leaned away and gazed down at her.

"As soon as you and your men arrest Jonas, I'm leaving Miami."

"Why? Lynn, there's no reason you can't build a life here. With your computer skills you could find a job easily."

"I found out I have a sister."

"What? Where?" He reached out and turned on the bedside lamp.

She sat up as she realized she wanted to talk about it. She wanted to tell him some of the secrets that Jonas had wanted her to keep to herself. "In the last twenty-four hours I've discovered some things about my past, about where I came from. There never were eccentric millionaires who were my parents and who were lost at sea. That was just another of Jonas's lies."

He looked at her in surprise. "So how did he get you as a baby?"

Lynn told him about being kidnapped as a baby and that her biological mother was dead. She didn't tell him that Dawn was responsible for her escape from the police station. She certainly didn't want to cause Dawn any problems.

"I guess Jonas wanted a baby he could raise and train to do his dirty work," she said.

His dark eyes were filled with speculation. "Lynn, I know now you pulled off a lot of robberies for Jonas. I also know that the men who tried to catch you said you were like a superhuman phantom, able to accomplish physical feats that were nearly impossible."

"I was well trained," she replied, but she was unable to hold his gaze.

"Well trained," he repeated flatly. "You know, I saw signs of your unusual quickness that night at Sensations when you defended yourself against that drunk. It was more than mere training that I saw. You have amazing abilities. Talk to me. You can tell me. You can trust me, Lynn."

"I do have some unusual abilities," she finally agreed.

He touched her cheek. "And you aren't telling me everything, are you?"

She looked at him once again. "No, I'm not. But I can't, Nick. I don't have all the answers yet." She was suddenly exhausted. She hadn't expected the emotions that flooded through her as she gazed at him, as she thought about leaving both him and Miami behind. "Maybe we should get some sleep," she finally said. "It's late and tomorrow is going to be a difficult day."

He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but instead he turned off the light and once again gathered her in his arms.

As she molded herself against his warmth in the darkness of the room, she realized that by making love to her, he'd not only won back her trust, he'd also won her heart.

But she'd told him she wanted nothing more from him than this night. She'd insisted she needed no promises, no tomorrows, and he hadn't offered any.

Chapter 14.

She awakened just after dawn to find herself alone in the bed. She rolled over on her back and stared up at the ceiling. It was betrayal day.

Today she would betray the man who had raised her, the man who had fed her and clothed her for all her life, the man who had seen to it that she had the best education, the best of everything.

Today she would betray the man who had given her everything but the truth, the man who had kidnapped her and used her to further his own criminal activities.

She was surprised to discover that she felt little regret over what she was going to do. She only hoped when they put Jonas behind bars that Richard Dunst would share the same quarters.

This wasn't just the day she'd betray Jonas, it was also the day she would say goodbye to Miami and follow Dawn to an unknown place to discover the mysteries of the past.

Today was also the day she would say goodbye to Nick.

Nick. Her body still felt the memory of his sensual touch, his demanding kisses. Her heart still felt the wonder and magic of their lovemaking.

It would have been easy to say goodbye to him if she still felt betrayed by him, if she still tasted the acrid flavor of bitterness where he was concerned. But her anger had left, taking with it any bitterness that might linger behind.

The scent of fresh-brewed coffee wafted in the air, and she pulled herself out of bed, grabbed clean clothes from her suitcase and headed for the bathroom and a shower.

As she stood beneath the hot spray of water, she remembered each and every moment of their lovemaking the night before. She would never forget last night.

Nick had made her body sing with his heated caresses and fiery kisses, but he'd also made her heart sing with his tenderness and caring. Saying goodbye to him was going to be more difficult than she'd thought.

Minutes later she entered the kitchen to find him at the table. "Good morning," she said.

He smiled. "Good morning to you. Coffee is ready. I left a cup on the counter for you."

"Thanks." She walked over to the counter and poured herself coffee, then carried the cup to the table and sat down across from him.

"You ready for today?"

She nodded. "As ready as I'm going to get." She took a sip of her coffee, then continued. "I don't have any regrets about setting up Jonas."

"And no regrets about anything else?" His dark eyes held her gaze.

Her cheeks warmed, but she held his gaze. "No, Nick. No regrets at all." She took another sip of her coffee. "Even though I was angry with you, hurt by the fact that I thought you'd used me, I wanted last night with you."

"Are you still angry and hurt?" His expression told her that her answer was important to him.

She hesitated a long moment before answering. "Maybe a little hurt, but you've made me believe that using me was difficult for you, that it was something you had to do. You've made me believe that what I thought we had when we were together was real."

This is what she truly believed, what she desperately wanted to believe, yet she also knew it was possible he was still using her. Until Jonas was in his custody, she was useful to Nick and she couldn't forget that fact.

"It was real, Lynn," he said. "It is very real."

She sat back in her chair. "What's important now is that we get Jonas."

"That's important," he agreed. "But it isn't all that's important. I want you to understand what the last couple of weeks with you have meant to me."

She held up a hand to still whatever more he would say. She didn't want to hear this, not now, not with goodbye so very near.

He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but at that moment a knock tapped at the back door. Nick's team had arrived and the time for personal talk was over.

There was a total of five men who would be responsible for arresting Jonas. They had arrived early to be in place for the meeting between Lynn and her G.o.dfather.

Even though it was a little more than three hours before the ten-o'clock meeting, the men each took a post inside the house to wait. Two were stationed on the outside of the house, hidden on the property next door. The other three took positions in each of the two bedrooms and one in the bathroom.

Nick moved his car down the road so it wouldn't be in the driveway to spook Jonas, then he and Lynn sat at the table, listening to the clock tick by the minutes.

"When he gets here, I'll stay out of sight," Nick said. "As soon as he gets into the living room we'll move in to take him down."

"I want an opportunity to speak with him," Lynn said. She needed to tell him that she knew how he'd used her all her life. She needed to look into his eyes and see if there was any love, any affection at all for her.

"I can't make any promises, Lynn. We'll have to see how things go down. At the very least, once we have him in handcuffs, I don't see why you can't have a word or two with him."

Handcuffs. It was almost impossible for her to imagine Jonas in handcuffs. She remembered the bite of the cuffs around her own wrists, and her heart hardened.

It had been Jonas who had placed her in a position to be arrested and handcuffed. It had been his lies that had prompted her to steal and ultimately be caught. She would weep no tears for his arrest.

As the minutes ticked by, she felt a growing tension inside her. What if he didn't show up? What if he'd already left the country? She tried to tell herself he wouldn't leave without the precious urn he thought she had. More important, he wouldn't leave once he found that the pa.s.swords on his accounts had been changed and he could no longer access any of his money.

"I wonder if he ever loved me," she said aloud.

Nick knew about whom she was talking. "He probably loves you as much as a man like him is capable of loving." He sighed. "My mother used to tell me that my father loved me despite the fact that he beat me about every other day and ignored me the rest of the time." He smiled, a sad, rueful kind of expression. "I used to think it was a good thing he loved me, because if he didn't I wouldn't have survived him at all."

"It's sad, isn't it, how much we as children need to believe that our families love us, how much we need to believe they would never do anything to hurt us."

"Things could be worse, Lynn," he said. "I could have become just like my father and you could have become just like Jonas."

"Never," she replied fervently. "The only way he got me to steal for him was by lying, by telling me we were accomplis.h.i.+ng something good."

She glanced at the clock on the oven. One more hour and everything would be over. She gazed back at Nick. "You know, I felt good when I was stealing those things. I was pleasing Jonas, but I was also pleasing myself. I enjoyed the challenge and I thought I was doing something good."

"Don't beat yourself up, Lynn. You were manipulated by a master."

"I should have known better." She got up from the table and carried her cup to the sink, then turned back to face Nick. "I should have asked more questions, demanded better answers. For the past several months my instincts kept telling me something wasn't right, but I ignored my instincts and instead followed Jonas like a docile lamb."

He got up from the table and walked over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, his gaze intense. "Don't blame yourself. It's done. It's over and you're doing the right thing now. He belongs behind bars, and within the next hour or two that's exactly where he'll be."

He pulled her against his chest and willingly she went. She closed her eyes as his arms encircled her. "You're a good person, Lynn," he whispered against her hair. "Don't let him make you question yourself and the kind of person you are. If you do, then he wins."

She nodded, loving him more at this moment than ever before. She knew he was right, but she also knew it would be a long time before her regrets over what she had done for Jonas finally went away.

For a long moment she remained in his embrace, her face turned into the fresh scent of his s.h.i.+rt. She drew in the smell of him, capturing it in her memory for the nights of loneliness she knew lay ahead. She memorized the feel of his hands on her back, those beautiful hands that could be so gentle.