Page 70 of Shadow Burn

His smile was smug. “Making you fly apart is the best challenge I’ve ever had.”

She curled into him, still riding the sensations flooding her body. “I think the bar might have been a little low. I made it too easy for you.”

He chuckled. “Then raise the bar, love. I’m happy to meet it.”

She shifted onto her back and opened her knees for him. “I want the full package this time.”

He rose up over her, sliding between her legs and nudging at her entrance. She was slick and ready and took him in inch by inch until he was fully seated.

Over the next few minutes, they built a rhythm that rocked the bed so hard, the headboard crashed into the wall. She didn’t care. As she locked her legs around his waist and dug her nails into her back, it felt like heaven.

When she came this time, his name tore from her throat. “Jasper!”

The sound echoed in the room, her ears ringing and her vision whiting out. Several more strokes and he followed her over the ledge.

They lay together afterward, her body boneless and heavy. He pulled her to his side. “Sleep now. You’ve had a big day. You need rest.”

So even though it was the middle of the afternoon, she did.

She woke sometime later to a sharp rap on the door.

Garrett’s voice called from the other side, hard and urgent. “Jasper. We’ve got a problem.”

Katherine sat straight up, clutching the sheet to her naked breasts. Jasper sighed heavily, rubbed his face and climbed out of bed. He grabbed his jeans and started pulling them on. “One minute.”

On the way to the door, he grabbed a clean shirt. “What is it?” he asked when he cracked the door open.

At this angle, Garrett couldn’t see her. Small mercies.

“CB got a trace on the SUV but then lost it near the old quarry road,” Garrett said.

Katherine slid out of the bed, careful to stay out of view, and began dressing.

Jasper’s grip tightened on the doorknob. “Can Detective Mallory put out a BOLO?”

“That’s not the worst of it,” Garrett said. “Blackridge PD ran the plate number.”

Katherine came to stand beside Jasper, raking her fingers through her tangled hair. “And?” she asked.

If Garrett was surprised to see her, he didn’t let it show. She hoped she didn’t look like she’d just spent the past hour having sex and sleeping.

“The plates are real,” Garrett said. “Federal fleet registration. Active assignment.”

Katherine’s stomach dropped to her knees. The man who’d tried to kill her had come to the gate with real federal plates, official-looking paperwork, and an order to turn over documents that technically belonged to the CIA.

And instead of complying, Jasper had put a bullet in his leg.

Jasper swore under his breath. “So what now?”

“I’m placing the compound on lockdown,” Garrett said. “Vivi’s got Reid working on the legal ramifications. Mallory is in the conference room. He needs statements from both of you.”

“Reid’s an attorney?” Katherine asked.

“A former Navy JAG,” Jasper told her. “He’s a trained investigator who knows the ins and outs of the law as well as he knows tactical recon.”

But if the Agency came after them, lawyers weren’t going to help. “That man tried to kill me,” Katherine said. “Whether or not he’s a legitimate CIA operative or employee doesn’t change that fact.”

“Agreed.” Garrett’s gaze held hers. “You’re absolutely sure he’s the man who broke into your rental?”