But that didn’t mean squat. Like it or not, these types sometimes changed their patterns, breaking their own molds.
“One thing,” she said finally.
“Yeah?”
“Whatever we decide to do about my suggestion, we have to keep looking at everything else. I don’t want to waste time because I have a feeling.”
“Of course not. We’ll keep on looking for the needle in this huge haystack by every means.” He caught her chin in his hand and urged her to look straight at him. “Whether you agree or not, Gage has the final word.”
“I can take orders,” she answered stiffly, staring into aquamarine eyes in which she could have cheerfully drowned at another time.
He sighed. “Yeah, you can take orders. Like you took the order not to pursue your last investigation in the army. Sure, I’m counting on that.”
His response shook her out of the cloud of doom that had been hovering around her since she woke from the nightmare. She jerked her chin free of his gentle grip and shoved his arm lightly. “Don’t be an ass, Cade. I said Gage had the final word.”
He just shook his head. “I want one promise.”
She hesitated. “If I can.”
“That you won’t try to do something on your own if you don’t agree with Gage or me. At least for the love of heaven, let us know.”
“If time allows.”
“If time allows?” He shook his head almost fiercely. “I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but I swear, DeeJay, you’re going to drive me nuts. Totally bonkers. Rule number one—never keep your partner in the dark. Hear?”
“I hear. And I’m not planning anything crazy. Mainly I want to see if I get approached in some way that doesn’t seem exactly right. I’m not looking to wind up in the spider’s web.”
He closed his eyes. “Famous last words.”
They turned out to be the last words for a while. She had no idea what drove him, but he scooped her up as if she weighed nothing at all and carried her back to the bed.
It was a good thing she didn’t feel like sleeping, because he showed her he could do as much with his tongue as he could with his hands.
Startled, transported by a new experience, she felt worshipped. He started at her feet, first rubbing them gently until she couldn’t help relaxing. Then he bent and ran his tongue along the arch of each foot. He might as well have plugged her into an electric socket. She felt the zap of desire from her feet to her head and arched helplessly.
Then he dragged his tongue up the insides of her legs, pausing at times to just kiss her. By the time he reached the insides of her knees, she knew she had never felt so cherished.
Higher he moved, parting her legs gently, approaching but not quite reaching their apex. The desires he woke in her felt like a spell. She couldn’t have stopped him to save her life, couldn’t have resisted even a little bit.
Just as she thought he would at last kiss her very center, he moved up and began to trail his tongue from her neck down to her breasts. Helplessly, she clutched at his shoulders, torn between a need to have him hurry and a need for him to take forever. She never wanted this to stop.