“Tired?” he asked as he tossed their bags onto the dresser.

“A little.”

“Hungry? I am.”

“Starving.”

“I hope choosing the Chinese food was okay.”

Right now, she liked anything. Her stomach was growling. “Sounds fabulous.”

They sat at the tiny round table near the window and inhaled the food. Lily tried to remember her upbringing and manners as she ate, but frankly she was too damn hungry. She dug into one of the little cardboard cartons with chopsticks as if she hadn’t eaten in a week.

“You were hungry,” Mac said, cocking a brow.

“Clearly.” She grabbed a napkin and wiped sauce from her chin, then took a long swallow of bottled water. Okay, she felt partially human again. As soon as she digested a little, the next order of business would be a shower. She felt icky wearing yesterday’s clothes, her hair was windblown and stringy and she shuddered at how she must look.

“Quit doing that. You look gorgeous.”

She looked at Mac. “Quit doing what?”

“Fiddling with your hair. It’s sexy like that.”

She hadn’t even realized she was combing it with her fingers. “It’s a mess. It’s not sexy.”

“I disagree. It’s wild looking. Like you just got out of bed after spending several hours there with your lover. It’s a very hot look.”

She knew better. It was a tangled bird’s nest. “You’re blind.”

Mac shook his head. “No, I’m not. I know exactly what I’m looking at.”

He’d always been able to do that to her. When his voice dropped low, his meaning all too obvious, the vibration settled right between her legs, making her cl*tquiver. Just like now, when he looked at her with his half-lidded gaze and spoke to her in that deep voice, the implications of both incredibly dangerous to her libido as well as her emotions.

The libido she could handle. Her emotions she’d have to constantly wrestle with. And the sooner she ended the journey, the better. She took a quick glance at the telephone on the bedside table, wondering how she could manage to call her boss without Mac stopping her.

“I’ll wait if you want to take a shower first,” she suggested, trying to appear nonchalant about it. She stared into the carton of food, refusing to look him in the eye.

“Nah, you go ahead.”

Okay, either way that could work to her advantage.

When he was in the shower, she could at least notify her boss what was going on, even filling him in about the virus. And more importantly, that she wasn’t the one who had taken it.

She could tell him she’d lost her cell phone, and that she’d report in when she could. Then he’d at least have something to tell their client. The thought of showing up on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted list because of the stolen artifact wasn’t at all appealing to her.

And then...well, Mac couldn’t very well take the vial into the shower with him, could he? So if she could find the vial, she could hightail it out of here in a hurry, grab a taxi and be on her way.

Lots of options.

She grabbed a change of clothes on the off chance she could make the call, find the vial and get out of there while Mac was in the shower. It was either that or parade around na**d, and that she wasn’t prepared to do. Though that might distract Mac enough, wouldn’t it? She smiled at that thought as she entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, nearly salivating as the steam filled the tiny room. She stripped off her dirty clothes and stepped in, letting the warm water stream over her body.

It felt so good she let out a moan of pure joy. She could stay there for hours, but she had work to do. She grabbed the shampoo and washed her hair, then conditioned it, truly appreciating the feel of cleanliness. She closed her eyes and let the conditioner sit there for a minute or so, leaving her eyes closed as the water ran down her back.

She shrieked in surprise at the rush of cold air when the shower door opened. Her jaw dropped when a na**d Mac stepped in.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Showering.”

She arched a brow, refusing to appear shocked.

“Couldn’t wait until I was finished?”

He grinned. “I could have. Didn’t want to.”

Her body flushed with heat. This was the reason she’d thrown herself at Mac ten years ago, why she hadn’t be able to stay away from him. The lure. The temptation. The bad boy who took what he wanted, damn rules and propriety. His eyes went dark as he scanned her body, the message in them clear.

He’d come in here for her—for sex. He wanted her.

She’d bet he’d come in here to distract her, too. To keep her off balance. Or lull her into some false sense of security or feeling of closeness with him. He wanted to bind her to him, to assure her loyalty.

Well as far as wanting, as far as sex, the feeling was mutual. She wanted him. She could do this and keep her heart intact. She was a big girl now and knew how to guard her emotions. This was a means to an end—gaining Mac’s trust so she could get closer to the vial. Nothing more. She was offering her body to do her job, using whatever means necessary to keep him from making a colossal mistake that might land him in jail for a very long time.

She had a plan, and her plan included this dance with Mac. If she derived pleasure from it—bonus. But she was only going to go so far—she had limits.

“Don’t let me interrupt. Keep doing what you’re doing,” he said, his voice tight with strain.

His c**k was hardening. She wanted her hands, her mouth on him. Last night she’d been denied. Tonight, she wouldn’t be. Instead, it was her turn to distract and overwhelm him. And this time she’d get the satisfaction of knowing she’d given him pleasure. She reached for the soap and held it under the streaming water, rubbing her hands together to work up a thick lather, then spread the soap over her breasts, letting the bubbles drift over her nipples. They rolled over her br**sts and down her belly. Mac watched the trail with riveted interest.

His gaze on her was like a heated caress, urging her on.

She’d never put on a show of touching herself before, but this feeling of boldness shouldn’t surprise her. She’d always been braver with Mac than with anyone else. She cupped her breasts, using her thumbs to roll over her nipples. They were so sensitive she couldn’t hold in the whimper of delight when she touched her own flesh.

“You need to be fucked,” he whispered.

“Yes.” She wanted his c**k inside her desperately, but the strain of hesitation pulled at her. Dammit, why couldn’t she just go for it like she wanted to? Why did the past always interfere?

Take it slow, Lily, see where it goes. Play a little to start. She definitely wanted to play with him.

He reached for her, but she backed away. Not yet. She had more to show him, delights to promise that were just within his reach. And now that she’d started this tease, she couldn’t seem to stop. Her hands became his as she showed him what she wanted, moving from her br**sts to her ribcage, then lower, skirting her abdomen and slipping between her legs. His eyes widened when she found her cl*tand began to rub in slow, wide circles.

The sparks of arousal blew into an inferno of incredible sensation as she massaged her sex, dipping her fingers between the soft folds and sliding inside her pussy.

Mac’s jaw tightened as he clamped his lips shut, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in and out. She felt the tension and it ratcheted hers up another level.

“Oh, God, Mac. I need you.”

He took a step forward but she raised her hand to stop him.

Now who was being tortured? Lily wasn’t sure anymore. She wanted to come, was so close the contractions gripped her fingers in a tight vise. Yet she wouldn’t let him do it for her. Not this time. She wanted the control, wanted to show him she wasn’t the same girl she’d been ten years ago.

She wasn’t so easily manipulated.

A tiny spark of fear still lingered at the thought of giving him everything. The last time she’d given him all she had, he’d left her. She couldn’t risk the heartbreak again. This time, she’d walk out on him.

God, how could she be so cold and calculating and at the same time feel her body burst into flames, her pu**y trembling and so near orgasm? How could she wish he was inside her and know that she was leaving him shortly?

She pushed away the confusion and concentrated only on sensation, on the way he watched her, encouraging her with the heat in his gaze.

With the heel of her palm firmly pressed against her clit, she rubbed and exploded, letting the orgasm inflame her, spreading her legs so Mac could see her finger f**king herself while she rode a wild cl**ax.

Shuddering through the aftereffects, she released her fingers, then brought them to her mouth and licked them clean.

“Christ, Lily.”

She stepped forward and dropped to her knees, looking up at Mac as she reached for his cock.

Still stunned at the show she’d put on for him, Mac jerked in response to the first touch of Lily’s soft palm around his shaft. He braced his hands against the shower wall and thrust his c**k through her hand, pumping slow and easy. She smiled, looking away only to stare at his dick. She stroked it, base to tip, swirling her thumb around the wide crest. Pearly liquid escaped the head and she swiped it with her thumb, all the while watching him, compelling him to focus on her.

As if he wanted to look anywhere else. She was sex incarnate and he’d rather die than turn his gaze away from her hot mouth. When she brought her thumb to her lips and sucked, he swore, wondering again who the hell this sexy woman was.

She’d been so shy about sex before. Willing and eager, definitely, but not bold and confident like the woman before him now.

“Salty,” she whispered, then grasped the base of his c**k and led it to her lips, flicking her tongue out to roll along the head.

His knees buckled and he pushed harder against the wall for support. She took his c**k head between her lips and sucked and if he didn’t have his man-reputation to worry about, he might have passed out. Christ, that mouth of hers… Ten years ago Lily hadn’t known anything about sex.

Shards of jealousy ate away at him at the realization she knew exactly what she was doing now. Then again, what had he expected when he’d dumped her? For her to remain practically untouched on the off chance he might see her again?

She wasn’t a virgin anymore. He’d taken care of that, at her request. But she’d sure as hell mastered a few things in the past ten years without him.

Like how to suck a cock, covering her lips over his shaft, swirling her tongue underneath as she drew him into the dark, hot, wet recess of her mouth. All the way to the back of her throat until she couldn’t take anymore.

Then she swallowed, the action squeezing his c**k head until he felt like he was going to burst down her throat.

“Lily.” He couldn’t take this for much longer without shooting a hot stream of come into her sweet mouth. And he didn’t want to keep thinking about how, where, and with whom she’d gotten her practice, because she was a goddamn expert at c**k sucking.

She was gifted, that was it. When they were together before she’d never sucked him. Maybe she had a natural ability all along, but they’d never taken the time to explore it.

Yeah, right. And he’d been a Boy Scout the past ten years, too.

Her mouth was a volcano, sucking him into a vortex of heat. She rolled her tongue along the seam, backed off to examine it, then rotated her hands around his tortured flesh. He wasn’t going to be able to take much more of this—he wanted to f**k her now. But when he tried to lift her, she resisted.

“No,” she said, tilting her head to look at him. “Let me do this.”

The water raining down over her, steam rising from the floor of the shower, made her look like she was coming up from hell itself, a tantalizing succubus there to steal his soul.

He smiled at the visual that conjured. His very own devilish seductress, tempting him, teasing him with her lush mouth and hot, wet tongue. She licked the throbbing crest, lapping at the slit and capturing the cream that spilled from him. He jerked and pushed into her mouth, grasping her head between his hands.

If she wanted to do this, he’d let her. He pumped between her lips, driving his c**k deep. She took it without complaint, devouring him with hungry abandon. When she reached for his balls and began to lightly massage them, he knew he was going to lose it and soon.

“Baby, if you want to stop this you’d better move away, because I’m about to come in your mouth.”

He waited, his balls pulsing, his c**k jerking with the need to erupt. She leaned back, smiled, then took him all the way in, sucking him hard as she grasped his shaft and squeezed.

The orgasm ripped through him like a barreling freight train at high speed. He jerked against her lips, driving his c**k in deep as his come jettisoned into her warm mouth. She tightened her lips around him, her gaze meeting his. The look on her face was pure heat. Mac could barely breathe. Intense spasms rocketed his body as Lily swallowed, keeping up with the relentless pulsing of his cock.

It would be damned unmanly of him to faint, but his legs were shaking. He sucked huge breaths through his mouth, then dragged Lily to her feet and pulled her in his arms. He planted his mouth over hers and kissed her long and hard. She moaned against him, sliding her fingers into his wet hair.

Goddamn. He was still hard, and nowhere near ready for this to end. He reached for her leg, intending on f**king her right there.

But Lily backed away from his embrace, shaking her head. “Oh, no,” she said, a teasing glint in her eye. “Some things you’ll have to wait for.”

Mac frowned, not understanding what she was saying.