Ultimate Engagement Read online

  “You know how to paddleboard?” Armando asked.

  He didn’t seem in any hurry to let her go, and Adam got a little closer.

  “I’m more than capable of ensuring my fiancée’s safety,” he said.

  Casual enough words if one ignored the undertone in them. But while the words had been calm if a bit surly, all Sloan had heard was, “I’m going to rip your fucking head off if you don’t leave now.”

  Apparently Armando had heard the same, because in the next breath, he had his arms back at his sides, and more importantly, away from Sloan. “I hope that the lady and gentleman enjoy the afternoon. Find me if you have any questions,” he said.

  Then he disappeared, gone to chat with Dirk and Candy, who stood about twenty feet away.

  When they were alone, or as alone as they could be out in the open on the beach, surrounded by nearly a dozen other happy couples, he refocused his glare on her.

  “Well, do you board?” Sloan asked.

  The expression on his face almost made Sloan laugh out loud, but she fortunately suppressed that desire. It probably wasn’t smart to push him, but petulant Adam was amusing, and Sloan just couldn’t help herself.

  “What do you think?” he asked as he came to stand behind her and put his hands exactly where Armando’s had been.

  Sloan’s reaction to Adam’s touch was completely different. Where before she had been focused on movement, keeping her balance, all she felt now was his hands on her, the cage of his body in the warmth of the afternoon sun, his heavily muscled chest just barely grazing her back.

  She wanted to press herself flat against him, lean into his embrace, but he wasn’t her real fiancé, so there could be none of that there. She needed to be a responsible adult and ignore the fact she wanted to mount Adam right here on the middle of the beach.

  “Can I let you in on a little secret, Adam?” she asked, her voice a little lower than she wanted.

  He tightened his grip on her hips. “You can,” he said.

  “I’ve been paddleboarding since I was eight. I could probably teach Armando a thing or two,” she said.

  Not that Armando had paused long enough to even ask. He’d taken one look at curvy Sloan and dived headlong into his basic lesson. Sloan had gone along with the lesson, figuring Adam could use the time to investigate. He’d stayed planted where he’d stood, though, and hadn’t, as far as Sloan could see, looked at anything but them.

  “You won’t be teaching Armando anything,” came his response a moment later.

  Still, he kept his hands on her hips, adjusted her body this way and that, ostensibly continuing with the lesson. She’d gotten used to his touch, welcomed it, despite the fact she knew the desire he so expertly stirred would go tragically unfulfilled. Still, the warmth of Adam’s hands on her was almost enough to make her orgasm.

  A moment later, she turned, looked at him and saw the frown still plastered on his face, though there was a hint of pleasure. It made her hopeful, and that hope made her wary. No one was watching them, not too closely, anyway, so there was no reason for Adam to have his hands on her so intimately.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  His gaze slid over her face and then he glanced around him. “Gathering intel,” he said.

  Then he proceeded to put his hand where it had been before and moved it up to the curve of her waist, the entire time guiding her body.

  Sloan thought she was going to combust from the desire he had kindled.

  Better be some damn good intel.

  ••••

  He was glad he’d gotten some damn good intel.

  During breakfast, he’d spotted an island a little less than a mile away from the beach, and it looked like something worth checking out—Adam’s gut told him it would pay off.

  But what he couldn’t say was whether the payoff would be enough to make the unrelenting hard-on that threatened to bring him to his knees go away.

  Having his hands on Sloan, guiding her body, seeing it in the wetsuit, every curve accentuated, her round ass and small waist perfectly outlined, and then having permission to touch her but not touch her had been trying to say the least.

  Because he was supposed to be gathering intel, but he was also human. Seeing that fucking surfer douche bag touching her like that had only spurred him on. It was reasonable he had, in his role of instructor, but every time Adam thought about it, he only felt more compelled to touch her, to make sure Armando and anyone else who might be looking knew exactly who Sloan belonged to.

  And that was the problem.

  Because Sloan didn’t belong to him.

  He wanted her, wanted her more with each passing moment, but he needed to stay focused on the mission and the work.

  Which meant ignoring his desire for her and the physical manifestations of it, something Adam was finding incredibly difficult. Sloan shifted, giving him a perfect view of her bare cheek and bare neck and shoulders, the sun glinting off her braids, which she’d pulled back in a tight bun. The motion also made her ass brush against his hardness, barely touching but enough to make him bite his lip to hold in a moan.

  “You got a bathing suit on under there?” Adam asked.

  Sloan nodded as she reached for her zipper.

  Strike that. Impossible.

  9

  “I put it on just in case,” Sloan said, lowering her zipper further. “Do I need it?”

  Adam looked at her, his eyes going dark as she peeled out of the wetsuit. Sloan wasn’t quite brave enough for a full bikini, so she’d selected a more modest tankini. But there was nothing modest about the way Adam looked at her.

  “Maybe I just want you to model it for me,” he said.

  “Well, you’d have to make that worth my while, but somehow, I don’t suspect that’s the only reason for your question,” Sloan said, somehow managing to come up with a relatively quick response, despite the fact that Adam’s gaze on hers had dried her throat and threatened to make her spontaneously combust.

  “I could, you know? Make it worth your while,” he said.

  “I have no doubt,” she said, her voice dropping.

  “But,” he replied, sobering, “unfortunately, I do have other reasons for asking. I need to get out in the water, and what better cover than a couples’ swim?”

  “What are you looking at?”

  “There’s a little outcropping of islands with buildings on it. I want to get a closer look,” he said.

  “Okay,” Sloan said, stepping out of the wetsuit.

  “Going for a swim, Sloan?” Candy called out from across the beach.

  Sloan laughed. “Yeah, Adam wants to cool off,” she said.

  “Well, you’d better put that wetsuit back on,” she returned.

  “See you later, Candy,” Sloan replied, waving.

  “Stay out of trouble,” Candy said.

  “You hear that, Adam? Candy says to stay out of trouble,” Sloan teased.

  “Which would be a hell of a lot easier if she wasn’t screaming at us,” Adam said.

  He put his hand on her back, the motion familiar but his fingertips against her skin new, intoxicating, that single point of contact between them radiating out and warming her entire body.

  Adam led her into the water. “You a strong swimmer?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’m pretty good,” she said.

  “Then try to keep up,” Adam said, then he sent a splash of water her way and swam off.

  “Hey!” Sloan called to the rapidly departing Adam.

  “Can’t hear you,” he said.

  Sloan darted after him, swimming hard to reach him where he’d stopped. “Dude, that was—”

  She cut off when yet another splash of water hit her face.

  “Adam!”

  His arms encircled her. “Don’t be mad,” he said.

  “I’m not mad”—Sloan splashed water at him—“anymore.”

  “Sneaky,” Adam said as he wiped the water that clung to the beginnings of his bear
d from his face, the smile on his face matching that in his eyes.

  They spent the next half an hour in the water frolicking, kicking, splashing and laughing, as they made their way closer to the small island, the beach retreating, the other couples now just dots on the horizon. Out here, it was easy to pretend they were a couple off for a swim together, especially when bare-chested Adam was more than enough to distract her, but she didn’t miss the way his eyes stayed focused on the island.

  He kept his arm around her as he watched, and she felt the connection even though he didn’t look at her for a long while. Then, finally, he locked eyes with her. The swaying ocean water brought their bodies together, but instead of pulling away, putting that distance between them again, Adam held her close, his eyes on hers.

  ••••

  What the fuck was he doing?

  Adam couldn’t answer that question, couldn’t think of anything but Sloan. Her curvy body in his arms, her leg brushing his as she stayed afloat, made any other thought impossible. Being in Sloan’s presence always left him ready and wanting, but this time, he didn’t try to hide it.

  Instead, he brought their bodies even closer, sliding his hand down Sloan’s waist to cup her ass.

  The full, bountiful flesh against his hands had him fully erect in seconds and did away with any hint of self-control. He grabbed her thigh with his free hand and lifted, grunting his satisfaction when she locked her legs around him and pulled him closer. When she rocked her hips, bringing him so close to the place he wanted to be, Adam couldn’t hold back.

  He captured her lips with his, kissed her, the heat of the sun, the water nothing compared to the woman who threatened to make him combust. She rocked her hips again, and he moaned, unwilling to break the kiss but needing to acknowledge what she was doing to him. Still kissing her, Adam sculpted his hand down her side, over her covered mound, to settle between her thighs.

  Through the water, through the swimsuit body, she still burned against his fingers, and the need to touch took over. He stroked her sex through the bottoms, but that soon wasn’t enough.

  Adam broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. All he saw there was her desire, desire that deepened as he pushed the swimsuit aside.

  She let out a harsh breath at the first touch of his fingers against her. Adam wanted to hear that sound again, so he stroked her slit, then pushed a finger inside her. Her walls clamped down on his finger, squeezing him so tight that he could think of nothing else but having that same feeling as she gripped his cock tight.

  “Adam,” Sloan whispered, her face now buried against his shoulder, her breath warm against his skin.

  Adam should have thought about the mission, the fact that they were in the ocean, that there might be eyes on them right now.

  But Adam didn’t think of any of that. All he thought of was Sloan’s voice whispering his name, the sound a plea to give them both what they wanted. Before he could process the thought, Adam had removed his finger and freed his cock, and in less than a second, he’d lined himself up at her opening. He wasn’t inside her but Adam swore he could feel her pussy flutter.

  She moved, settling the first few inches of him inside her. The pleasure of only being partially inside her was enough to make him come. It also made it impossible for Adam not to see this through. He cupped her face with his hand and pushed inside her until he was fully seated. Sloan exhaled a sigh and then went limp against him, her body lax, her cunt gripping him tight.

  He wouldn’t last long, so he reached between them, thrumming her clit. She clenched around him, her body stiffening as she cried out. She clamped down harder, and Adam let go, filling her with his cum.

  Adam stayed connected with her until he could breathe again. “You good?” he whispered.

  She blinked. “Couldn’t be better,” she said.

  Adam laughed and then said, “We should probably get back.”

  “Yeah,” she said, looking over his shoulder. “Do you see something interesting?”

  Adam’s smile was quick. “A thing or two. You make this most amazing face when you come,” he said.

  Sloan laughed, blushed prettily. “Not that,” she said.

  “Oh, you mean that island?” Adam asked, laughing under his breath.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “No, but tonight I’m going to take a closer look,” he said.

  10

  “Would you please pass the potatoes?” Alistair said.

  Sloan, on the verge of screaming, instead nodded politely and lifted the heavy platter and passed it to him. She paused long enough to curse whatever person or god was responsible for the current seating situation, and wishing, to her utter disbelief, that Candy and Dirk were here. But they’d been relegated to another table, and had been extremely disappointed by that fact, leaving Sloan and Adam to their own devices.

  Alistair sat at the head of the table, but to his immediate left was Sloan, and Adam next to her.

  Across from her was one of Alistair’s soldiers, the one who hadn’t taken his eyes off her for what felt like the entire time this dinner had been going on. A dinner that felt like it had been going on forever, but Sloan knew it had only been a little over two hours.

  Sloan thought she was going to go nuts. Making polite conversation with the other couples had been fine, and in fact some of them had even been interesting.

  But Alistair—

  She had met her fair share of pompous asses, but he took the cake. So far today, he’d told her about the time he’d met the queen, the president, and the crown prince, though he hadn’t specified of what countries, and as far as Sloan could tell, he was just getting started.

  And there was the not-so-small matter of Adam right at her side, his presence like a warm burning light that she wanted to bathe herself in. This morning replayed in her head, the memory of his touch, almost certain she could still feel the climax shattering through her.

  Even though it wasn’t, Adam had brought her damn close more than once tonight. During the course of the night there had been caresses against her bare arm—what had she been thinking, wearing a sleeveless dress?—touches to her shoulder, his hand on her back as he guided her from place to place, countless other touches, more than any of the previous times they had been together, and the intensity was something she was having a hard time grappling with, a fact that was only underscored by her hardened nipples and clenching sex, a feeling only intensified now that she’d had him inside her.

  She looked up and met the cold eyes of the soldier who stood across from her and for a moment felt exposed. He gave her a knowing look, one that she resolutely ignored and instead turned to Alistair.

  “How did you find yourself in Bali?” she asked.

  She couldn’t possibly care less, not possibly, but she asked anyway, and Alistair, as she had known he would, smiled and took off.

  “Well, I’ve traveled the world, of course,” he said, looking at her before she nodded. “And during the course of those travels, I fell in love with a number of places…”

  As hard as it was, Sloan kept her focus, or at least managed to smile when appropriate, and let the rest of the meal pass in the haze of Alistair’s bragging and Adam’s fingers driving her crazy.

  When finally, mercifully, the dinner was over, she stood, but only after Adam had pulled the chair away from the table. She managed to suppress a moment’s laughter, but she vowed to tease him about his manners. Maybe she’d threaten to tell Seth about them.

  “Drink?” Alistair asked as everyone stood.

  He was looking directly at her and for a moment, Sloan wasn’t sure what to say.

  Then Adam, moving stealthily and silently, was standing behind her, his hand heavy on her side.

  “Thank you for a lovely meal, but I think it’s time for us to retire,” he said.

  He punctuated the last word with a squeeze and then lowered his hand until it rested on her hip. Then he stepped closer, pressed her other side against his and squeeze
d her again, eyes still locked on Alistair.

  He looked at her and then back at Adam and nodded, knowingly, enough to make Sloan blush, which she probably would have if he wasn’t pissing her off.

  “Enjoy your evening,” Alistair said.

  “Yours as well,” Sloan said, finding her voice from somewhere and managing to keep it polite though she felt anything but. She was almost feral with desire for Adam, which made meaningless chatter that much harder.

  Then she and Adam left the large dining room, nodding at a few of the couples they had chatted with when Alistair wasn’t monopolizing their time, and made their way back to their room.

  Adam held up a finger and then entered the room, pulled the device out of his pocket, and then walked around.

  He was sweeping for bugs, she realized, something he had done when they’d first arrived.

  She stood tense, again remembering that no matter how much she was around soldiers, no matter how much time she spent in their world, she wasn’t trained. Adam had done this the first time, but Sloan hadn’t considered the possibility someone could have come into the room while they were at dinner. That realization was one of the only things that had managed to penetrate the bubble that this morning with Adam had created.

  She needed to stay on her toes. This place, as opulent and exciting as it seemed, had an undercurrent that included some very dangerous people.

  A moment later Adam put the device back in his pocket and then nodded.

  “We’re good?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I didn’t find anything,” he said.

  “Do we have to do that every time?”

  He nodded. “It’s smart. At least until we have a better handle on what’s going on here,” he said.

  Sloan frowned and Adam moved closer to her. “What is it?”

  “Did the security guard make you uncomfortable?” she asked.