SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) by Gennita Low Page B

It was much easier to just follow orders and sight a target through the crosshairs of a weapon, but Lily had somehow slipped under his skin and made herself more than that.
    So cool. So confident, treating him as if she knew exactly how people like him behaved. He wanted to push her, show her the passion that he knew was there. And thanks to GEM training, he knew exactly how. He knew her weaknesses because they were in her CIA files, so he had used them against her to see whether she still had the same core beliefs.
    He was a bit surprised at himself, actually. He was enjoying this charade more than he’d thought he would. Be careful, Joker, emotions blind people.
    “Isn’t there any way I can convince you?” she asked, pulling him closer.
    The heat of her anger was very real. The passion in her eyes, the dangerous edge to her voice, the spontaneous way she’d struck out at him. He let her slide her hands inside his jacket, molding her hands down his chest, curious to see how far she would go. At the same time, he felt like a bastard because he didn’t like manipulating her. But he had to know.
    There was total silence from his listening partners. He realized that they were observing him as well as Lily, gauging his actions and reactions. Hawk had told him that their organization’s idea of teamwork was a far cry from the SEALs’. They would let him do anything and everything he wanted, as long as they achieved their objective. He understood now that meant they wouldn’t interfere with him unless he asked them to.
    Her hands urged him to come closer. He didn’t resist her.
    “Let me find a way,” she murmured softly, her breath brushing his lips.
    She kissed him tentatively, almost as if she was afraid of the act itself, then, when he didn’t respond, she deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth.
    He was very conscious of his silent eavesdroppers. They were all women and didn’t need to see to know what was happening. He pulled away a little. Lily slid her hands lower. He went still. He hadn’t thought she would…
    But there was no time for thought as he felt her tugging at his shirt. Her tongue tangled with his, becoming bolder. She tasted sweet, with a hint of wine. In spite of himself, he wanted more, his tongue taking the initiative, chasing hers as he found more sweetness in her mouth. He felt her hand going lower still, pausing at his belt for a second before bypassing it for the zipper.
    His body responded like lit dynamite. Her tongue was too insistent, her hands too damn clever.
    This time Reed resisted the urge to continue. He moved his hands from the wall and placed them on her shoulders, forcing her back as he broke away from her kiss.
    Her eyes were so dark that he couldn’t see the pupils. “What’s the matter?” she asked. “Don’t you like this?”
    Too damn much. “Your hands are in my pants, lady,” he told her. “I think you can tell I like it. But I can also tell you’re just manipulating me, and that I don’t like. If you really want to convince me, I prefer to do this sort of business somewhere quiet, with less distraction, and with me calling the shots.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “I could hurt you right now.”
    “Then you won’t get my passports.”
    Their eyes locked for a few seconds. “I haven’t traded cash for my passports yet. Johnny’s holding onto them till I come back with yours,” she told him. Her hands moved leisurely, and she smiled at his response. “You wouldn’t be saying no if your underwear hadn’t been in my way.”
    He had a feeling she was right on that point. He had been warned that because of her past, Lily was a woman who wanted total control of every situation, including sex. He had been prepared, yet he hadn’t expected his own attraction to her to be so deep.
    He gently dislodged her hands, wondering whether he could zip up his pants sitting down. “Somehow I think you always get your way with men,” he said.
    Her smile