Donovans 01 - Amber Beach

will never admit it within hearing of my brothers.”
    “But—”
    “Give it up, Ellen,” Jake said from the living room. “It’s the Donovan clan and to hell with the rest of the world.”
    Honor and Mather looked toward the living room. Ellen gave a heartfelt curse before she turned around.
    Jake looked like he had rolled around in a mud puddle.
    “What happened to you?” Honor asked.
    “I like walking in the rain.”
    “Next time take some soap and do your clothes.”
    Smiling, Jake walked between the two agents and stopped in front of Honor. His smile didn’t reach his eyes. He framed her face in cool hands and kissed her. Honor stiffened, but she didn’t draw back. She sensed that he was sending a message to the U.S. government that had nothing to do with sex.
    She was right. And she was also wrong. Jake’s eyes might have been remote, but he was fully aroused beneath his muddy jeans.
    The stark hunger of his body, the tenderness of his kiss, and the watchfulness of his eyes undermined Honor’s certainty that all he wanted from her was a means of getting to Kyle. Off balance, almost disoriented, emotionally and physically exhausted by the past few weeks, she held on to Jake’s forearms to steady herself.
    He kissed her again, less gently, more completely. When he lifted his head, his eyes were as hot and hungry as his body. There were muddy streaks on her face from his hands.
    “You were right,” Mather said to Ellen.
    “Told you, babe,” she said. “That slow, eat-you grin of Jake’s gets them every time.”
    Honor flushed. Jake put his thumb over her mouth in a gesture that was both caress and warning.
    “Sorry I was late,” he said to her, ignoring the agents. “If I’d known you had company, I would have taken a shorter walk.”
    “How long have you been here?” Honor asked.
    Jake looked from her generous mouth to her breasts with their nipples hard against the soft bronze sweater, to her hips leaning toward him . . . and he smiled slowly, all but licking his lips. “Ellen is wrong. There’s nothing ordinary about your body.”
    Honor knew she shouldn’t laugh, shouldn’t feel pleased, shouldn’t do anything but throw all three people out of her life; and she knew she wouldn’t. If she had to trust one of the three, there was no doubt which one it would be.
    Until she found Kyle, she was bound to Jake Mallory as surely as if she had spoken vows.
    And afterward? Honor asked herself silently.
    The answer came immediately and without comfort. She would deal with the afterward mess the same way she was dealing with the Kyle mess. One disaster at a time.
    She drew a shaky breath and ran her fingertip over Jake’s mustache. “You,” she said huskily, “are a very bad dog.”
    “Does that mean you’re going to spank me?”
    His hopeful look dragged a broken laugh from Honor’s throat.
    Despite the laughter, Jake saw the bleakness in her eyes and knew how close to falling off the edge she was. He caught her palm against his mouth, kissed her, and turned to look at the two agents.
    “Any more questions?” Jake asked.
    “Cooperate with us,” Ellen said, “or we’ll take you both out of the game.”
    “If you thought that would do any good, you’d have done it already,” Jake said. “Next threat?”
    “Damn you,” Ellen snarled. “You think you’re God Almighty.”
    “No, you do. That’s why you get pissed off when everyone doesn’t kneel on command.” He looked at Mather. “You have anything else to add?”
    “Just curious. Why won’t you work with us?”
    “What makes you think we won’t?”
    “What?” Ellen and Mather demanded as one.
    “Think about it. And while you’re thinking, check on Petyr Resnikov.”
    Mather looked at Ellen. She was watching Jake like a barefoot hiker would watch a snake rustling through the nearby grass.
    “What about Resnikov?” she asked bluntly.
    “If I show you mine, will you show me yours?” Jake asked.
    Ellen laughed curtly. “Babe, we don’t have anything new to show each other.”
    “As long as we keep our clothes on, we just might.”
    Honor flinched and looked at her feet. She knew it shouldn’t bother her that Ellen and Jake had been lovers, but it did. Ellen was just too damned sexy for any man not to regret losing her. Even more depressing, there was obviously a very agile brain running Ellen’s Playmate-of-the-decade body.
    Brutally Honor told herself it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t have to worry