“Nearby. We may need her for last-minute information.” He braced himself for the argument he knew he’d get, prepared to remind the Omega director that final discretion was always left to the operative in charge in the field.
Several seconds of silence hummed in his ear. “Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
Okay? He hadn’t expected it, and his carefully thought-out argument died in his mouth, leaving him momentarily wordless.
“Look, Donovan…” The reluctance in Evan’s voice brought him back to attention. “I hesitated to call, but I think there’s something you should know. It’s about that possible mole. I’ve been trying to find a connection between any Omega employee and any people or organizations in Egypt. It’s a broad net to cast, but I think I found something significant.”
He didn’t move, but all his muscles tensed. “What is it?”
“One of your team members went to college with a man who now lives in Luxor and works for the museum there. I have no proof they knew each other, but they lived in the same dorm and took several of the same classes.”
It was enough to rouse suspicion. More than enough, if it was who he feared it was. “Who?”
“Mitch.” When he didn’t reply, Evan said, “It could be a coincidence.”
Donovan’s mouth twitched with a repressed snarl. Not likely. And the betrayal hurt more than he’d thought it would. But all he said was, “Thanks, Evan.”
“Right. Call when it’s over.”
“Of course.” He ended the call and stood staring at nothing, waiting for the shock to wear off. He couldn’t change their plans now without arousing Mitch’s suspicions. He didn’t even know if Avery or Kyle would believe him. They were both close to Mitch. He’d just have to go ahead with the plan and be ready to counter the attempted sabotage that was sure to come.
He shook off the gloom that had settled around him and waved at Jess to let her know they could leave. It wasn’t until she joined him that he realized Evan had neglected to ask how he intended to get his million dollars back from Mr. Atallah. A lucky break, since he still had no idea. Right now it seemed like the least of his worries.
They grabbed a quick lunch. Jess longed to dine in one of the hotel’s five-star restaurants and use the beautiful pool, but time was limited and she opted for a different way to spend it—having sex.
It began with a friendly make-out session that inevitably led to their clothes lying on the floor and the freshly made bed torn apart as they peeled back the covers and tumbled onto it. It started out rowdy with laughing and tickling, and Jess thought she’d never been so relaxed and happy with someone in her life.
He pinned her to the bed, but her helpless laughter only increased. “I thought you found me dangerous,” he complained, apparently doing his best to act the part.
He was very good at it. But despite his rough appearance, she knew him too well now, and trusted him implicitly. “You’re a pussy cat,” she said. She licked his nose.
He growled menacingly and fell on her in a fierce kiss that she accepted eagerly. His mouth stirred her all over, his tongue stroking hers in the same way it teased other parts of her, making her squirm beneath him. His arms framed her head, holding her still as he kissed her more insistently, more deeply. She melted beneath him, her laughter forgotten as others parts of her burned for his attention. His hands moved down her body, but his touch was no longer firm and demanding. It was light and coaxing as it explored every part of her. She moaned helplessly into his mouth, unable to resist him. Their casual foreplay became serious stroking that turned into slow, sensual lovemaking and ended with her gasping out his name as he urged her sweat-slicked body through three orgasms, taking obvious delight in each one he gave her.
Afterward, she lay with arms out-flung, breathing hard, and thinking she could stay in Egypt forever if every day was like this. When she felt him sit up beside her, she cracked her eyes open and found him looking at her with a soft smile.
He stroked her hair. “I hate to say it, but we have to get going.”
His mind was already on the job while she’d been wondering how to make this last. She told herself that’s how it should be. He was a professional, and they hadn’t come to Egypt to facilitate her sex life. They had a job to do.
By one thirty she was showered and dressed. Donovan told her to wear comfortable slacks and a short-sleeved top and enough jewelry to look like she had money. She kept her new ankh necklace on but it didn’t show beneath the hijab he told her to wear.
“But why? I don’t look like a Muslim woman in these clothes.”