Killer Secrets by Lora Leigh Page B

of guy. She liked that. And his voice
    assured her that he wasn't accepting excuses this time.
    Ian stood at the foot of the bed, one hand gripping the
heavy post beside him as he stared at her with
    banked fury.
    "No."
    The curse that sizzled from his lips told her that wasn't
an answer he wanted to hear.
    He stared around the room then, before pulling a small
electronic box from the pocket of his slacks and
    flipping a switch on it.
    Kira came to her knees in the middle of the bed, excitement
lancing through her body.
    "It's the new model?" She knew the wand Jason had
used, for all its technological advancements, was
    nothing compared to what he held in his hand.
    He flicked her a dubious glare. "Down, girl. You're
not getting it."
    Kira pouted as she placed her hands on her hips and watched
him impatiently.
    "You could at least let me look at it."
    "Not on your life. I'd never get it back." He
left the device on as he set it on the dresser across from the
    bed.
    Kira stared at it, fascinated by the little blinking lights
on the monitor, dying to get her hands on it. She
    was a freak for security electronics, and the so-far
rumor-only Type X electronic detector made her
    salivate. It detected not just analog or digital listening
devices, but also hyperbolic equipment trained in
    the vicinity as well as GPS technology.
    She dragged her gaze from the fascinating little toy and
back to the mesmerizing man.
     
    "I don't need your help." He stood at the foot of
the bed once again, tension humming through his body.
    "There's a price on your head," she informed him.
"It might be for capture only, but that doesn't make
    you safe."
    "I'm aware of the price and the fact that it's rising
daily," he told her softly. "I want you to leave, Kira.
    When this is over, I'll find you . . ."
    "If you're still alive to do so?" She moved from
the bed, pacing to the small table across from her and the
    bottle of wine and glasses set out there. "I'm not
willing to wait."
    "I can have you pulled off this," he told her
then.
    She had known he would play that little ace he thought he
had.
    She poured two glasses of wine before turning and moving to
him. He accepted the glass, still frowning
    at her, his brows lowered broodingly.
    "I have carte blanche, being a contract agent and all."
Kira kept her voice to a mere breath. "You can't
    pull me off anything, Ian."
    Frustration gleamed in his eyes. Kira sipped her wine,
returned to the bed to stretch out on it and lean
    back into the mound of pillows.
    He still held his wine loosely, close to his thigh, staring
at her, working through this new complication, as
    well as the obvious arousal straining his slacks.
    The white cotton shirt he wore outside his pants hung
nearly to his thighs, the ultrasoft material giving him
    a relaxed though sophisticated appearance.
    "Would you like to discuss it?" she finally
asked, bringing her glass back to her lips.
    "Your security is slipping," he informed her
then. "We have the information on your training and your
    SEAL instructors."
    "Of course you do. So do all the bad guys."
Amusement curled through her. "A knowledge of strength is
    the best deterrent when it comes to those believing they
can slip in on me. If you checked my past out at
    all, you'd know I'm heavily into deterring problems."
    And being prepared.
    He brought the wine to his lips, sipped, then turned and
walked back to the sideboard where he placed
    the delicate glass beside the bottle. When he turned back
to her, Kira glimpsed the barely restrained
    dominance eating at him. His control was shaky, as shaky as
her own. Especially when his gaze slid to
    her breasts where her tight, hard nipples pressed into the
thin tank top.
    "Do you get off on fucking traitors?" he asked
her then. "I wonder if your boss knows about that?"
    Kira rolled her eyes. "You're not a traitor,
Ian."
     
    "You can't know that for sure, can you, Kira?"
    She let a knowing smile shape her lips. "If that were
true, you would have