First Response Read online

“Neither am I.”

  Doubt washed over her expression. “Then why did you invite yourself to sit down?”

  “No other seats.”

  She glanced around the sparsely populated bar and then jumped her gaze to him. “Care to try again?”

  He shrugged and grinned. “The truth? I just wanted to get away from my blind date.”

  She sat up straight and darted her attention toward the bar. “Where is she now?”

  “Probably on her way home to deal with her cats.”

  Nodding, she even smiled. “Ah. The cat reference. I take it the date didn’t end well?”

  “It didn’t even start well,” he said with a chuckle. “What are you drinking?”

  “Chardonnay. Warm chardonnay since I can never seem to get through a glass before it turns room temperature.”

  He stood and went to the bar, ordered a drink for himself and a glass of ice, and returned. Once he set his beer down, he pushed the ice toward her. “Now it won’t get warm.”

  “Thanks.” She dumped several ice cubes into her wine. “So tell me, Spencer. What exactly do you do for TREX?”

  “I find things.”

  “How very mysterious. But, then again, everything about you men-in-black screams mystery.” She took a drink of her freshly chilled wine. “I guess that’s why they call it a covert agency.”

  He grinned and said nothing. In his years as an agent with TREX, he’d learned when to talk and when to let the silence speak for itself. When she didn’t say anything else, he decided to change the subject. “How about you? What made you start K-SAR?”

  When her smile grew, a little piece of his heart melted and spread warmth throughout his entire being. How did she do that with nothing but a simple gesture like a smile? He couldn’t pull his attention from the way the corners of her sexy lips curled into an even sexier grin.

  “Without going into too much detail—”

  “Please do,” he interrupted. For some unexplainable reason, he really did want the detail.

  She studied him for several seconds. He didn’t look away. When she nodded and dropped her gaze to the wine in her hands, he still didn’t look away. The way the lighting caught in her hair gave her a glow that mesmerized him.

  “I don’t want to bore you,” she finally said in a quiet voice.

  “Try me.”

  She darted her gaze to his face and then back to her wine. “Okay, fine. I got lost when I was kid and it took them two days to find me because they didn’t have enough resources.” She pinpointed her attention on him as determination flashed in her eyes. “I started K-SAR so no other family ever has to hear a bullshit excuse like that.”

  Holy Jesus. He loved that gritty resolve in her eyes. In an instant his body responded. His nerves grew tighter, as did his pants. What he wouldn’t do to have her look at him like that in a more private setting—say his bedroom. Hell, he’d be happy if she just went home with him. They didn’t have to make it to his bedroom.

  What the fuck was he doing? He didn’t want to come here and only did it to shut Lyons up. His mentor had the perfect life, in his words. A wife. Kids. He even had two dogs and a cat. Shit like that didn’t happen to the TREX agents, so the fact that Lyons had beat the odds and had somehow found happiness despite the ending fate had in store for them spoke mountains.

  Spencer knew better than to think he’d ever find something like that. So why then had he already started making plans for what he’d cook Kathryn for breakfast?

  “How did you get involved with TREX?” he asked after he couldn’t stand the silence between them. Not only did he long to hear her voice again, he didn’t want to continue the mental assault on his sanity.

  “My partner.”

  Shit. He couldn’t hide the disappointment as his shoulders slumped. Of course she’d already be with someone. A woman as beautiful as this one wouldn’t be single. Still, he couldn’t help but ask, “You’re married?”

  “No,” she corrected quickly and laughed as she flipped her hair. Oh, the hair flip. How he loved it. His attention slid to her creamy neck and he licked his lips. “Business partner only. So not the other kind.”

  Did he just pick up on a shudder from her?

  Relief washed through him and untwisted his gut. “And how did this business partner of yours know about TREX?” It was a legitimate question. Despite his interest in her, he was more interested in how she knew about his covert agency.

  “Through Rand.”

  Spencer tensed and covered it up by bringing his beer to his lips. It could be a coincidence. There were other Rands out there. “That’s a different name.”

  “His real name is Walter Randall. He’s my logistics officer.”

  Spencer choked on his beer. Now he knew the connection between K-SAR and TREX. Rand had been with the agency almost as long as Lyons. How interesting TREX would place him with K-SAR. He made a mental note to ask his SAC about it. Weber had the scoop on everything about everyone and probably had a hand in Rand’s placement.

  “Enough about work,” he declared now that she’d satisfied his curiosity. Now he wanted to feed another hunger, one more primal. More carnal. His attention dropped to her lips. “Tell me more about you.”

  She lifted her brow as she laughed. “You know, for someone not looking for company, you sure are asking all the right questions.”

  “Am I?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She laughed again as she shook her head. “I really wish you’d stop.”

  “Why?”

  She slapped him with her gaze. “So I’m not tempted to give you my number, or worse, go home with you.”

  “How is that worse?”

  “Oh, you are bad.”

  Damn, she was fun. He loved the wicked glimmer in her gaze. “How about we ask all the wrong questions, then?”

  After she contemplated that, she nodded. “Okay. I’ll start.” She cleared her throat and took a long pull from her wine. “What’s your full name?”

  “Spencer Robert Allen. I don’t see how that’s a bad question. My turn.” He thought about it, knowing what he really wanted to ask but holding that question for the finale. “Your full name?”

  “Kathryn Louise Davis, and that’s cheating. You can’t ask the same question I did.”

  “Okay,” he agreed with a nod. “Setting some ground rules. I can go with that.”

  “How much do you weigh?”

  “Two thirty and for the record, guys don’t get offended when you ask their weight.”

  “Good thing I asked you and not the other way around,” she replied with a teasing grin. “Go.”

  “Have you ever cheated on anyone?”

  She lost her smile and he stiffened as he waited for the answer that would stop this from going any further. He refused to pursue anything with anyone if he couldn’t trust her. “Once.”

  Ah, hell. “An ex?”

  “My business partner, Travis. He was on vacation with his family and K-SAR got called out on a search. Because he was gone, I pulled Rand in to run the search with me. To this day Travis won’t let me forget that.”

  Sweet Jesus. Here he thought she’d really cheated on someone. He didn’t like the way he relaxed after her explanation. He shouldn’t give a shit. They were only talking. Nothing would come of it. He’d already made peace with the fact that he’d spend his life alone.

  “What do you do for TREX?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “That’s not something I can discuss.”

  “Of course not.” She took another drink of her wine. “Another question then. How much money do you make?”

  “Enough.”

  “Come on. You can’t call those answers.”

  They were the only ones she’d get. “Is that your natural hair color?”

  “Care to find out?”

  His mouth fell open. He shook his head to clear the fog in his brain. “I, uh… Yes. Yes, I would.”

  She studied him for several seconds, eating him up in her
gaze. Sweet Jesus, that was a wicked look. Hot. Seductive. The way she played with the rim of her glass had him wishing she’d do the same to him. She was destructive to any sense of control he had. “My apartment isn’t too far from here.”

  “My house is on the water and has more wine.” Besides, for what he had in mind, they’d need the privacy of a house. Apartment walls were too thin.

  “Water?” She paled and sank back against the bench.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “I hate the water.”

  “So we stay inside.”

  That had a slow, steady smile spreading her beautiful lips and had him as hard as a rock in an instant. “Are you asking me to go home with you, Spencer Allen?”

  “Only if you want to, Kathryn Davis.”

  She grabbed her purse and scooted out of the seat. “What are we waiting for?”

  His thought exactly.

  THREE

  Kat’s heart raced as a fine film of sweat lined her upper lip. What had gotten into her? She’d never agree to go home with a complete stranger, especially from a bar she’d never been in before. Not in a million years. And yet here she was, following his big black SUV that all the TREX men she’d ever seen on her searches drove. They screamed government agency, even though she’d been reminded on several occasions TREX was not sanctioned by the government.

  That didn’t stop them from doing what they want when they wanted.

  She didn’t want to think about that right now. She was about to have the best night of her life, a night of mind-blowing, universe-altering sex that she hoped would have her speaking in tongues. She’d noticed Spencer on the searches. That wavy brown hair worn a little wild. Those steely, stormy gray eyes that always seemed to be on alert. And, oh my God, those sculpted muscles. Just the thought of having those arms around her, his tight abs rubbing against hers, as he did things to her she’d only read about on her Kindle, had her entire body throbbing in anticipation.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered to herself as she navigated the streets of downtown Olympia, trying not to lose him in the traffic. More than once she eyed a turnoff and debated taking it. Who went home with strangers from bars? And TREX strangers at that? Apparently, she did.

  Oh, God. She’d never even contemplated having a one-night stand before. Would that be what this was? They both knew what they were getting into when she agreed to come home with him. Does that make her one of those types of women willing to pick a man up at a bar and take him home for a night of sweaty, sloppy stranger sex?

  He blew through a yellow light and she hesitated, but then punched the gas of her Xterra and ran it as the light turned red. Great. Not only was she about to have sex with a gorgeous stranger, she just broke the law in her eagerness to get to his house.

  Shit. She had to work with him. What about the next search? Would they be able to pretend nothing ever happened between them? Or would they be even better together, now that they got the awkward first sex out of the way?

  Spencer turned his SUV into a driveway and she followed. When the tree line broke, she dropped her jaw as she spotted the house. No, not house. Mansion. How much money did TREX pay their agents? Maybe she should think about a career change.

  He parked and she pulled up behind him. Once she stepped out, she craned her neck to take it all in. The natural wood siding fit perfectly for a giant house on the water. He waited for her to catch up to him before walking to the front door. She chewed on the inside of her lip as she fidgeted behind him, still debating whether she should make a break for it instead of going inside with him.

  He opened the door and entered, stopping in front of a key panel. After punching in some numbers, he then motioned for her to follow him. With a deep breath to keep her nerves in check, she walked inside his house.

  “Do you want to stick with chardonnay? I have a nice pinot grigio in my wine chiller if you want to try something different.”

  “Whatever.” She fought to force the words past the tightness in her throat. He moved through a giant living room, weaving around a light leather couch and two matching chairs, to get to an impressive kitchen separated by a breakfast bar. She approached and sat on one of the stools, running her hands along the cool granite counter.

  He opened his wine chiller, pulled out a bottle, and went about the task of opening it. She propped her head on her hand, her elbow on the counter, and watched him. How did he make something as simple as pouring two glasses of wine looks so arousing? The feeling throbbed through her, attacking her senses. She blew out a breath and dropped her gaze to regroup.

  “Here you are,” he said in a velvety, warm voice and set the wine in front of her. She grabbed it and took a gulp, hoping the alcohol would help get her pulse back to a reasonable rate. He watched her and gave a low chuckle. “Nervous?”

  “Oh, my God. Yes.” She choked on a giggle.

  “Me, too.” His gray eyes gleamed in assessment and she felt the heat. Dear God, how she felt it.

  “So tell me, Spencer. Now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?”

  His expression filled with such lust, with carnal need, that the burning arousal pounding in her veins flamed higher, sending her blood racing. “To be honest, I have no idea. I’ve never really done this kind of thing before.”

  “That makes two of us.” Knowing he didn’t bring women home from bars on a regular basis made her feel a little better. The silence that fell between them rang in her ears. “Do you have any music?”

  He walked over to the other side of the living room, knelt in front of a wide bookcase full of electronics, and soon the room filled with the warm sound of jazz. Very smooth move, turning on the perfect music for seduction.

  “Let’s have a seat out here.” He nodded toward the living room and sank down on his plush couch. Kat grabbed her wine and took a seat next to him, not too close, but definitely not on the other end of the sofa. He leaned his arm along the back and turned toward her. “You’re awfully far away. I’m not going to bite you.” He winked and followed that up with, “Unless you want me to.”

  Oh, sweet Jesus. The way Spencer studied her with that brooding, dark look made her flush with desire. She drew in a breath as she gathered enough courage to scoot closer.

  “Closer.”

  “Closer?” Her voice jumped an octave. Why was she so shocked at his request? She knew exactly what she was getting into when she walked through his front door.

  “Let me help you.” He took her wine and set both glasses on the coffee table in front of them before closing the gap between them. The heat from his thigh seared into hers. When he wrapped the arm around her that he’d had resting on the back of the couch and pulled her to him, she let him.

  He didn’t attack. Instead, he moved slow, deliberate, as he traced his nose along her jawline before nipping at her ear. Chills washed over her skin as she shuddered. His fingers weaved into her hair and he caressed her scalp. She shuddered again.

  “You smell great,” he rasped, his rough cheek brushing against hers. He nipped at her ear again and she nearly came undone. Her heart raced. Her nipples hardened. Her clit throbbed, demanding attention as the folds of her sex tingled. The music pulsated right along with her, vibrating into her senses, pushing her arousal even higher.

  “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

  “Not once.”

  “Then how do you know how to do everything right?”

  His chuckle rumbled in his large chest and she hummed in response. “I love that you just say what’s on your mind.”

  “I’ve been told it’s annoying.” She leaned closer and put her hands on his shoulders.

  “It’s refreshing,” he corrected and nipped at her lobe.

  “Spencer,” she whimpered, unable to make any other noise. She wanted this. Needed this. If he didn’t do more than feast on her ear, she was going to attack him.

  He pulled back and stared into her eyes. Saying noth
ing, he ran his hand up her thigh and around, resting it on her hip. “I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to do, Kathryn.”

  “I want you to do me.” The second she realized what she said, she gasped. His eyes rounded in shock and they sat there, looking at each other. Then he kicked his lips up into a grin and a giggle escaped her. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

  “Neither can I.” He grinned and ran his hand along the back of her neck. “What is it you want me to do?”

  “I thought I just answered that,” she replied and smiled wide, no longer embarrassed. It was already out there and she couldn’t take it back. She wanted him. Judging by that impressive bulge of flesh between his legs, he wanted her, too. They were both adults. Why deny it or play games?

  “As you wish.” No sooner were the words out than he had his lips on hers. Possessive, dominant. He stroked his tongue over her lips, opening her mouth to him. She darted her tongue out, meeting his halfway. His kiss burned her from the top of her head clear down to her curling toes. Dear God, did this man know how to kiss, like a starving man and she his last meal.

  She wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders as he dove for her neck. She mewled, which she didn’t even know she had in her. Pulling him to her, she kissed him more urgently, more demanding. He devoured her with his talented mouth. She scraped her nails against his scalp and he shuddered as he groaned.

  “Kathryn,” he growled, his voice thick with lust as he pulled back. He grabbed her hips and jerked her to him as he rolled them so she was beneath his hard body. Holding himself up with one arm, he removed his shirt with the other. She quickly flicked the buttons on her shirt to pull it open. He dropped his gaze to her breasts, heaving in her need for him. He slid off the couch, kneeling on the floor beside her. A second later, he had her jeans off, tossing them aside and doing the same with his. He narrowed his smoky gaze. “Sweet Jesus, woman. You’re beautiful.”

  She felt beautiful. The way he looked at her, like she was the only woman in the world, had her ready to rip off her panties and jump on top of him. Her nipples ached for his touch, his mouth, the stroke of his tongue. She threw her shirt aside and sat up.