Free TRACELESS by Helen Kay Dimon Page A

along her bottom lip then slipped inside. This close, the kiss turned deep and hard, hot and demanding. His lips crossed over hers as his hands roamed all over her head and shoulders.
    Heat flashed around her and her knees buckled. One more pass of his mouth and her stomach tumbled. She lost control right along with her inhibitions. Fingers slid into his soft hair and she clenched him tighter against her. Everywhere their bodies touched his skin singed hers.
    The kiss turned from gentle to consuming before one thought could pass to another. The timing was wrong but his body and mouth felt so right. It took another few seconds for her to step back. She got as far as lifting her head and resting her cheek against his.
    “Well, that was pretty great.” His voice came out as a rasp.
    She rubbed her face against his. “Always.”
    “Any chance you want to do it again? Maybe try it without clothes this time?”
    Just about every minute of every day. But the team was out there somewhere, along with trained killers and the answers to what had their lives turned upside down. They needed to handle all of that before they could tackle their marriage and all the fun parts that went along with it.
    Finding a last pool of inner strength, she broke contact and actually stepped away from him. “Yes, but we need to get back to find satellite access and make sure the rest of the guys are okay.”
    “I hate when you’re reasonable.” He exhaled. “But agreed.”
    His hands kept sliding over her back and igniting a fire in her nerves. She cuddled in closer, enjoying that last second before the intimacy stopped and all their problems came flooding back.
    “And I need a gun.” She almost laughed when his hands stilled against her. “What? You’re the one who insisted I have all that weapons and safety training.”
    “Practice only.”
    She lifted her head and stared up at him. “What exactly was I practicing for?”
    “I hate that you need to use those skills.”
    “Then you married the wrong woman, because I am not about to sit back and let the people I love walk into danger without me. That includes you and the team.”
    He wasn’t the only one in this marriage willing to put a body in front of the person he loved. Maybe some of his rescuing vibes got to her, but whatever the reason she had no intention of letting him get hurt. Being shot was more than enough.
    “Love.”
    Jana rolled her eyes to let him know her patience was wearing thin. “Don’t act like you don’t know I love you.”
    He shrugged. “It’s nice to hear it.”
    They said it every time they talked on the phone, but she could see the relief cross his face now. For a second the lines around his eyes and mouth eased.
    That’s why she felt bad about what she was about to say. “Just so you know, if you pull the hero crap and try to take another bullet for me, I’m going to hit you.”
    He made a face. “Right.”
    “I’m not kidding.”
    “Okay, now I’ve stopped being calm.”
    For some reason that actually soothed the jumpiness inside her. “It’s about time.”

Chapter Six
    It was times like these that Holt wished he carried a badge. You knocked on the door at six in the morning and flashed official ID and people opened up. You stood there dressed in black with a gun strapped to your side while insisting there was a problem and people got agitated.
    This Marcel guy fell into the latter category. Jerky movements, darting glances and all. He stood on the other side of the closed screen door to his one-story house and kept a hand clenched around his cell phone. Holt guessed the man had already typed in 9-1-1.
    Marcel frowned. “What are you talking about?”
    Holt refused to run through the story one more time, so he cut to the highlights. “Someone broke into the charity office and took Jana last night.”
    The frown deepened. “Why?”
    Shane grunted. “Good question.”
    “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” And they’d get to