Part 5 (2/2)

One stroke had her moaning, two had her arching up, her legs squeezing tight against his wrist and locking his hand in place. He continued the gentle a.s.sault, stroking and pressing, wanting nothing more than to lay Sasha down and make love to her.

For now, he'd settle for having her come apart in his arms. He eased past her flimsy panties, stroking deeper, faster, harder.

”Larem! Please, I can't-”

He wanted to give this to her. ”Yes, you can. I've got you. Just let go.”

Then she shuddered, her head falling against his shoulder as the storm broke within her. He held her close as they rode it out together. When he finally remembered how to breathe, he tugged her skirt back down, struggling to find the words to describe what the moment had meant to him.

But then he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They ended abruptly with an embarra.s.sed, ”Whoops! Excuse us!”

They both froze until the intruders retreated. Sasha suspected she was blus.h.i.+ng big-time, but then Larem laughed quietly and pressed one more kiss on the top of her head.

”Whoops, indeed,” he said with a chuckle.

She reluctantly joined in the laughter. What had she been thinking, to let things get so far out of control? Not that she could bring herself to really regret it.

”I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten caught making out like that since I was a teenager.”

”It's been a while for me, too,” he agreed. ”But they're still good memories.”

Then he set her back on her feet and stood up. After picking up his pack, he said, ”I guess we should be moving on.”

He kissed her again before they headed back toward the main path. She laced her fingers with his as they made their way to the exit, where she called for a cab. As they waited, Larem's cell phone rang. His expression went from happy to grim in the s.p.a.ce of a heartbeat as he listened to the person on the other end of the line.

”Don't worry about me. Just go.”

He listened another few seconds, holding the phone in a white-knuckled grip. ”No, I'm sure. And, Lonzo, watch your back. I don't want to break in a new roommate. I've barely got you trained.” He hung up and loosed a deep breath.

”What's wrong?” she asked. A knot of pure fear settled in her chest.

”That was Lonzo. He's been called out again. The barrier near St. Helens is still down. They're sending in a second wave to support the guys who've been fighting since noon. It sounds pretty bad.”

He stared up at the sky the whole time he was talking, the vein on the side of his neck visibly pulsing. Clearly knowing his friend was headed into combat was. .h.i.tting Larem hard.

”Are you being sent in, too?” she asked, mentally crossing her fingers that he wasn't.

He simply shook his head, offering no explanation. She didn't miss the fact that he was flexing his sword hand as he stood there. Obviously he wished he were being ordered into the fray.

Suddenly images of David's memorial came rus.h.i.+ng back to Sasha, only this time it was Larem's picture being displayed, surrounded by flowers. Even if it didn't happen tonight, it would someday. A crippling pain lanced her heart. There was no way she could endure that again.

What had she been thinking, getting involved with another Paladin?

Luckily, her cab pulled up, forestalling the need to say anything more. The ride back to her hotel was blessedly short. Larem's thoughts were obviously elsewhere, which left her alone with her own. Despite how much she'd enjoyed the evening-especially the part after the concert-Lonzo's phone call had been a splash of ice-cold water, forcing her to face the risk she was taking.

Larem slid out of the backseat and offered his hand to help her out. After he paid the cabdriver, she led the way over to the shadows at the side of the entrance.

She couldn't even begin to smile. ”Larem, listen, I have something to say. I hope you'll understand that it's nothing personal.”

But it was. It had everything to do with what he was and what he did for a living. He knew it, too.

”I had a wonderful time tonight. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself more, but . . .” She paused, finding it nearly impossible to talk around the lump in her throat. David was her secret, and she didn't know Larem well enough to share. She settled for the easy lie.

”But as the new administrator, I have too much on my plate right now to get involved with anyone, especially a Paladin who technically works for me. I'm truly sorry, but I hope you can understand.”

His reaction struck her as odd. Rather than getting angry, he actually laughed, although it had nothing to do with humor. She wasn't sure how to respond.

”What's so funny?”

Once again, he ran a strand of her hair through his fingers. ”No, it's not funny. I believe the correct word is 'ironic,' but I do understand all too well. Good-bye, Sasha.”

He brushed his lips across hers one last time and walked away, disappearing into the night.

Chapter 5.

Sasha had spent the days since her date with Larem wading through paperwork until she thought her eyes would bleed. Anything was better than second-guessing her decision not to see him again. Still, trying to clean up the mess left by her predecessor hadn't helped her mood at all, leaving her wanting to take a baseball bat to the man. Kincade, not Larem.

She had to give him credit, though. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d had done a bang-up job hiding his tracks. Finally, she'd borrowed D. J. Clayborne's services from Devlin to work on the computer files. She'd left him back in her office to do his magic on Kincade's personal computer. Hopefully, he'd have better luck.

But right now, she had a date with adventure.

The last time she'd spoken to Devlin, he'd reluctantly agreed to give her a brief tour of the tunnels under the Paladin headquarters. She was excited about the prospect of finally seeing the barrier for herself. Then, in his last e-mail, Devlin told her that he'd been called away because Mount St. Helens was once again causing problems. Luckily, he'd arranged for Lonzo Jones to meet her at the elevator at two thirty that afternoon.

She'd almost canceled, not sure she wanted to spend time with Larem's roommate, but decided that was silly. The man could hardly hold it against her that her last date with his friend hadn't ended well. That is, if Larem had even told Lonzo about it.

Either way, she was about to find out. The shortest route to their meeting place led her past Devlin's office and the cl.u.s.ter of desks that surrounded it. The entire area was empty and silent. The hallway leading to the elevator was equally deserted.

”Lonzo, I hope you didn't forget about me. I was really looking forward to this,” she whispered to herself, looking at her watch.

Maybe he was simply running late. Just in case, she needed to call her a.s.sistant to clear her calendar for the remainder of the day. When she tried her cell, though, she had no reception, probably because she was right over the barrier.

She did an abrupt about-face and went back to use one of the landlines. For good measure, she'd leave Devlin a message, too, thanking him again for arranging the tour. If Lonzo came while she was gone, surely he'd wait a few minutes.

He watched the big boss disappear back down the hall, hating the way the b.i.t.c.h strolled through the place like she owned it. It was bad enough the Regents had sided with the Paladins against the one man who'd ever backed the guards over those prima donnas. But instead of someone to kick a.s.s and take names, they'd sent that woman, all because her daddy was a Regent. Did she really think she was capable of handling all the s.h.i.+t that went on around here?

Well, maybe a little scare was in order. The barrier readings down below had been stable for several days. Perhaps getting trapped below ground would be enough to send her running home to papa. It was worth a shot.

It sounded like the Paladin a.s.signed to escort her had been delayed for some reason, too. With luck, the guy wouldn't show up until she was already in the elevator and on her way down to the tunnels. After scribbling a few words on a sticky note, he stuck it on the elevator door and took off down the hall.

Sasha spotted a note on the elevator and sighed. She'd missed Lonzo by a matter of minutes. Hopefully he hadn't bailed on her.

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