Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down Read online

  Ace moaned ever so slightly at finally being free. His muscles protested a bit from all the inactivity.

  But he didn’t listen to them while he had Rhea in this bed. Grabbing her, he pulled her to his lips for a kiss.

  Rhea sank into his arms. There was no other word for it. She felt so incredibly safe and warm here. Cocooned by his power.

  She wrapped her body around his, wanting to absorb as much of his strength as she could. He felt wonderful!

  She rubbed herself against all his hardness, wanting to feel every inch of his body against hers.

  “Wait,” Ace said, his voice raged. “Do you have a condom?”

  Did she?

  Rhea panicked as she realized what they had almost done. She wasn’t on the pill, and to be honest she’d been so hot for him that she was glad he had come to his senses.

  Truly she was grateful.

  “I’m not sure.” And she wasn’t. It’d been a long time since she’d been with a man. “Do you?”

  “No,” he groaned. “I don’t make it a habit of traveling with them.”

  That made her feel even better. At least he wasn’t one of those “on the make” guys who kept one in his wallet “just in case.”

  “Hang on, let me go see if I can find one.”

  Ace let her up.

  Rhea raced to the bathroom and started looking through her drawers.

  “Come on,” she said under her breath as she searched. She had to have one somewhere in here.

  Please!

  She felt his presence an instant before she heard his sharp intake of breath.

  “You have the nicest ass I’ve ever seen.”

  Rhea backed up out of her cabinet to look up at him. “Thanks.”

  He knelt down beside her. “Can I help?”

  “Yes. Hopefully there’s one in here someplace.”

  “Good. You’re no more prepared for this than I am.” He gave her a scalding kiss before he pulled back and started searching frantically.

  Rhea was about to give up before she finally found one. “Eureka!” she shouted in triumph.

  The relief on his face was comical. “Oh, thank God.”

  Rhea leapt at him. She hit him so hard, she knocked him off-balance and they both tumbled into the hallway.

  Ace laughed at her enthusiasm. “How long has it been since you had sex?”

  “Let me put it to you this way: it was under the former administration.”

  “Ouch.”

  “You?”

  “Not since Sheila gave me the heave-ho.”

  Sheila had been his last girlfriend, who had left him unexpectedly a little over a year ago. “Why did she leave you anyway?”

  “Honestly?”

  “Yes.”

  “I called her Rhea while we were having sex.”

  His words rang in her ears and she wasn’t quite sure she’d heard them correctly. “What?”

  He reached up and cupped her face in his hands. “You really don’t know how much I’ve been wanting you, do you?”

  No, and all this sounded too good to be real. “Why didn’t you ever ask me out?”

  “I was afraid you’d say no. At least this way, I had the comfort of believing you didn’t find me a complete asshole. If I asked you out and you said no, then I’d know you didn’t like me.”

  That didn’t sound like the Ace she knew so well. “But you’re not afraid of anything.”

  The look in his eyes seared her. She saw his heart. His soul. Most of all, she saw his sincerity. “That’s so not true, Rhea.”

  Her heart soared at his words, but she was still hesitant. She’d been lied to too many times in the past. “Are you feeding me a complete line of bull?”

  “Considering the fact that I let you tie me virtually naked to your bed in front of a complete stranger just so I could be with you, what do you think?”

  “I think I wish you’d asked me out a long time ago.”

  Ace hissed as she bent down and kissed him. This was a dream come true. Deepening his kiss, he reached for the condom and took it from her.

  She immediately took it back. “I’ll do it.”

  His heart racing, he watched as she tore the package open and pulled it out. The plastic was cold against him as she fit it over his cock and slowly unrolled it down the length of him. It was all he could do not to come just from the sensation of her hands on him.

  But he didn’t want this over with anytime soon. He wanted this to last.

  His entire body on fire, he trailed his hand up the inside of her silken thigh until he reached the damp curls between her legs. She met his eyes as he slid his fingers down her cleft, carefully separating her folds and touching her for the very first time.

  She was beautiful and her slick, soft flesh felt incredible to him. He couldn’t wait to take her.

  Biting her lip, she gently rubbed herself against his fingers as he sank one deep inside her body. It was the most incredible moment of his life. Probably because he’d dreamed of touching her more than he’d ever dreamed of any other woman.

  It seemed as if he had waited his entire life for this one moment.

  He ran his fingers over her, letting her wetness coat his fingers as he imagined what was to come. Of sinking himself deep inside her.

  She moved forward. Ace leaned back as she crawled up his body.

  Rhea couldn’t wait to have him inside her. She straddled his waist, then slid herself back until she felt his hard, probing tip pressing against the part of her that was aching and throbbing most for his touch.

  Ace lifted his hips and slid himself in all the way to his hilt.

  She cried out in pleasure at the fullness of him inside her. “Ace,” she choked, rocking herself against him. It felt so good to have him there.

  He gripped her hips as he met her strokes and drove himself even deeper inside her.

  Ace watched her in awe as she took control of their pleasure. His little uptight agent was as wild as any woman he’d ever slept with.

  No, she was better.

  She braced her hands against his chest as she ground herself against him in time to his rapid heartbeat. Leaning his head up, he took her breast into his mouth while he continued to hold her waist.

  He licked and teased the taut peak, letting the roughness of it please his tongue.

  Rhea couldn’t think straight as she felt Ace with every molecule of her body. He was so much more than she had ever thought. He touched her like a man who actually cared for her, and it had been a long, long time since she’d felt that.

  They made love furiously until her body couldn’t take any more. Crying out, she fell forward onto his chest and let her release claim her. All she could hear was his heart pounding while the scent of him filled her senses.

  Ace growled at the sensation of her body grasping his. He quickened his strokes as she continued to climax until he found his own moment of pure bliss.

  His breathing ragged, he held her close to his chest where their hearts pounded together while his body spent itself inside her. In all honesty, he didn’t want this moment to end.

  It was perfect.

  The feeling of her head against his chest. Her body molded to his. Her breath tickling his nipple.

  If he lived an eternity, he would never know anything better than the feeling of Rhea in his arms.

  Rhea closed her eyes as her heart finally slowed to a normal rate. The warmth of his body seeped into hers. In all her days of bantering with Ace, she’d never have guessed he would be like this. So tender and loving after sex.

  He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get up, and the floor couldn’t be all that comfortable for him.

  “So what’s on the menu for tomorrow?” he asked.

  She laughed at that. “I’m not sure. What are you thinking?”

  “I need more condoms.”

  “Ugh!” She pushed herself up to look down at him. “Do you ever have anything else on your mind?”’

  “Foo
d. But that only lasts about as long as it takes me to get a steak.”

  She shook her head at him. “Stop playing on the bad stereotype.”

  “I am a bad stereotype so long as you’re lying naked on me. How on earth am I supposed to think about anything else?”

  As she started to pull away, he stopped her with a fierce, hungry kiss that set every hormone in her body on fire again. This man had a mouth that was pure magic.

  He pulled back, but left his hand buried in her hair. “Thank you, Rhea,” he said sincerely, his gaze burning into hers.

  “You’re very welcome.”

  Reluctantly, she moved off him and headed back into the bathroom for the shower. “Want to join me?”

  He gave her a hot once-over. “Pinocchio. There’s no way I can go in there and not have another round. Since there’s no more condoms…”

  He was right. “Okay, I’ll just be a minute.”

  Turning around, she shut the door and grabbed a towel out of her cabinet.

  Rhea was still amazed that she wasn’t more self-conscious around him. This wasn’t like her and yet she felt so comfortable with him that it was almost terrifying.

  She showered quickly, then opened the curtain to find Ace leaning against her bathroom vanity. He was hard again.

  “Did you know you can see a perfect outline of your body when you’re in there?”

  “No.”

  He moved forward and nuzzled her neck before he gently licked the sensitive flesh right below her ear. “I can’t believe what you do to me,” he breathed in her ear, sending chills over her body.

  He kissed her cheek, gave a light grope to her breast, then released her and entered her shower as she left it.

  Rhea was so aroused that it was all she could do not to rip open the curtain and pin him to her shower wall.

  He was more tempting than any man had a right to be.

  But neither one of them needed her to get pregnant.

  Forcing herself to dress, Rhea went to her bedroom. By the time she was dressed and had remade the bed, Ace joined her.

  “Thinking of new ways to torture me?” he asked as she unfastened the restraints.

  She opened her mouth to respond, but the sight of him wet, wearing nothing but a white towel, made all rational thoughts flee.

  “You have to stop looking at me like that, Rhea.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like I’m a piece of chocolate you’re dying to taste. It gives me a hard-on every time.”

  She could easily see the proof of that statement. “Sorry, but it would help if you didn’t parade yourself around naked in my presence.”

  He indicated his clothes, which were on her dresser, as he crossed the room to stand before her. “It’s not exactly my fault.”

  “Oh, in that case, I better leave you alone while you put your clothes on.”

  “I’d rather you not.”

  She nibbled his chin before she pulled away. “If we don’t stop, we’re going to do something that could get us into serious trouble.”

  “I know,” he whispered. “Okay, time for clothes.”

  Before she could leave the room, his cell phone rang. Ace picked it up and answered it.

  “Hey, Joe.” Ace cast an amused look at her, then winked. “No, obviously I’m not tied up since I answered the phone…. Thanks. So what do you need?”

  Anxious as to why Joe might be calling, she moved forward, hoping to overhear something.

  “Yeah, we’ll be right there.” He hung up.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Joe just got word that Bender’s sent out a call to his clients. Apparently he’s found an abandoned arsenal of old Soviet weapons, including some nuclear. We need to get to the office for a briefing.”

  That succeeded in stifling her renegade passion. “I’ll be waiting by the door.”

  Ace nodded and reached for his pants while she left him alone. Today had been a major mistake. He knew it.

  As agents, they were supposed to stay detached, especially from each other. But after this morning, he wasn’t feeling detached from Rhea.

  Then again, he’d never been detached from her.

  In fact, he was feeling extremely possessive. The thought of a bastard like Bender seeing her in that dominatrix outfit was almost enough to send him over the edge.

  He didn’t want anyone to see her like that. Anyone but him.

  And how could he send her in there with a madman now?

  Oh, this wasn’t good. He’d never felt like this for another woman.

  “Get a grip.” He buttoned his pants, then reached for his shirt.

  The two of them had a mission and he wasn’t about to let one sexual encounter ruin it.

  At least he hoped he didn’t.

  Chapter Four

  “I knew it! Look at them. Did I not tell you that all that sniping was because they were seriously attracted to each other?”

  Joe looked up at Tee’s words to see Rhea and Ace through the two-way mirror of his office. Damn, Tee had been right. They were making goo-goo eyes at each other.

  “Shit,” he said under his breath.

  “What?” Tee asked innocently.

  “Work and play don’t mix.”

  Tee gave him an arched look. “Since when?”

  “Since we have to send her in practically naked to beat information out of an arm’s dealer. Given the way Ace is eyeballing her, I don’t think he’s going to approve.”

  “What has that got to do with anything? Ace is a good enough agent to do what he has to.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Tee gave Joe an angry frown. “You and I are best friends, and how many times have you sent me into danger?”

  “That’s because you’re the Dragon Lady. You’d take the head off anyone dumb enough to cross you.”

  She cocked her head at him and spoke pointedly, “I haven’t killed you yet.”

  “Not from lack of trying on your part, and personally, I’d rather you kill me than make me sit down and talk to your mom. That woman hates my guts with an unfounded reasoning.”

  “You keep talking like that about my mother, Joe Public, and I just might make sure that your automatic car payment gets misrouted.” She looked back at Rhea and Ace. “Trust me. This’ll be fine.”

  Now it was Joe’s turn to scoff. “The last time I trusted you, I got three bullets in my back.”

  “No, you got shot because you trusted me and then you didn’t listen to what I said and did your own stupid thing.”

  He mocked her by screwing up his face and repeating her words back at her.

  “That’s it. I’m emailing my mother to come have lunch here tomorrow.”

  “No!” Joe snapped, immediately contrite. “She makes me crazy. She won’t even speak English when I’m around and I know she speaks it better than I do.”

  “We will finish this later,” Tee snapped before she opened the door to let Ace and Rhea in.

  Ace looked a bit sheepish as he came to stand in front of Joe’s desk, while Rhea took a seat in the black leather chair in front of it.

  “So how was your morning?” Tee asked as she came to lean against the side of the desk. “Did Beullah do her job?”

  Ace nodded. “Oh, yeah. They hog-tied me in a manner to make you proud, Tee.”

  “Good. Pity they let you up.”

  Ignoring her, Ace looked at Joe. “So what’s the new information?”

  Joe shuffled through a couple of folders. “Bender’s on the move. You two are going to have to head out to Germany tonight.”

  Both Ace and Rhea gaped.

  “What?” Ace asked.

  “You heard him,” Tee said. “I already have your flight booked.”

  The news went over Ace like sandpaper. “She can’t go in alone. She hasn’t had time to prepare herself yet. Hell, she barely knows what she’s doing.”

  “Excuse me?” Rhea asked, her tone extremely offended. “I think I should have beat you ha
rder.”

  He glared at her.

  “Don’t worry, Ace.” Tee pulled an envelope off Joe’s desk. “You’re going in as Hermann the towel boy.”

  “Pardon?”

  Joe tossed Ace a passport. “You and Dieter will be right outside the room, listening in case she needs backup. Retter will be on recording detail along with Dagmar. There shouldn’t be any trouble you guys can’t handle. God knows you’ve all had worse.”

  Tee handed the entire file to Ace. “You two are technically on vacation for the next few days while Rhea learns her stuff over in Germany. I’ve ordered some training DVDs for you to study so that you can learn how to beat him black-and-blue. Bender that is, not Ace.”

  Rhea nodded. “Okay.”

  “We don’t know when Bender is going to show up, looking for Ute,” Joe said. “But according to Ute, he always gets feisty right before a big coup, and his latest find definitely qualifies. I figure you guys have three days to a week before he shows himself. What do you think, Ace? You know him better than anyone.”

  “You’re right,” he said. “He usually books time with Ute the night before he pulls off his shit. We need to get over there and be ready.”

  “Then you two go ahead. Retter is already in Germany and waiting for your orders. The rest of us will follow you over there on a later flight.”

  Ace handed Rhea her passport and printout for her plane ticket, then led the way out of Joe’s office.

  “You don’t think they suspect anything, do you?” Rhea asked in a hushed tone as soon as they were out of hearing range.

  On the way over here, they had decided that it would be business as usual for them so that no one else in the office would know what had happened.

  God help them if any of the losers here ever learned they’d had sex. They would tease them to the point they’d have to kill someone.

  Ace glanced back over his shoulder. “Joe’s pretty dense. Tee…I don’t know. I swear sometimes that woman can read minds.”

  “Oh, don’t say that. That makes me nervous.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “So how do we handle the next few days?”

  “Well, normally we’d do deep, intrinsic training…”

  Ace couldn’t stop the grin that took over his face. “I was hoping you’d say that.”