Honor Guards Part 10

Paula Stark craned her neck and scanned the enormous structure. Spotlighted against the night sky, the Eiffel Tower looked majestic-and really, really tall. "I read somewhere that there are 1665 steps to the top level."

"That's true," Renee agreed reasonably. "But you can't walk to the top level any longer. Only to the second level and then you take an elevator to the final floor. So there aren't really that many steps."

"Oh, I see. 1625 steps, That's much better." There was an edge of sheer terror in Stark's voice. "If we walk all the way up, I'm going to need an ambulance to take me back to the hotel."

Renee laughed. "Oh, come on. You're a Secret Service agent. Besides, I've seen your body. I know you're in great shape."

Even in the dark, Stark had a feeling Renee could see her blush. "When?"

"When, what?"

"Have you ever seen my body?"

"I've seen you in the gym." Renee edged closer in the line to the admissions booth, letting her thigh rub against Stark's. "And besides that, I've had my hands on you. I know just how well built you are."

Stark's step faltered as her legs turned to jelly. She gulped, audibly, she was certain. "You can't say things like that if you want me to climb up hundreds of stairs."

"We can see all of Paris from up there," Renee whispered. She slipped her hand into Stark's, and their fingers entwined as naturally as if they'd touched a thousand times. "I want to remember two things about tonight-seeing Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and making love with you."

"Oh, jeez," Stark whispered in an agony of arousal and wonder. "I'll climb it twice, if you want."

"I believe you would." Renee swallowed around the lump in her throat. "And that's exactly why I'm crazy about you."

"If you want my legs to work long enough for me to get up to the top of that thing," Stark complained breathlessly, "then you have to stop saying things like that."

Renee laughed and rubbed her cheek against Stark's shoulder. "I can't make you any promises."

Smiling at Renee in the glow of the lights from the monument, Stark swung their joined arms in a slow, easy arc. "That's okay. None are required."

"We can go back to the hotel now," Renee said quietly. "I'm finding it pretty hard to keep my hands off you, and I've made you wait when I'm not even sure why."

"No." Stark realized that there was no hurry, not when every second they spent together-talking, walking, gently touching- was magic. "Let's go to the top and see Paris first. Let's have it all."

"Oh, yes." Renee let caution slip away on the promise in Paula's eyes. "Let's have it all."

2345 16Aug01 The brown-haired, blue-eyed American joined three men and one woman in a third-floor apartment on the outskirts of Paris. The other men, like himself, were dressed casually in open-collared shirts and rumpled trousers. His service weapon was secured at the small of his back beneath his lightweight linen jacket. The thin, sharp-faced blond woman, in dark jeans and a blue work shirt, carried her Vector Mini Uzi automatic pistol in a hip holster on the right side of her wide leather belt. Two Olympic Arms PCR-5 a.s.sault rifles lay on the coffee table in front of a frayed, stained sofa.

The room smelled of stale takeout and too many cigarettes. Through an open door on the right that led into what was meant to be a bedroom, he could see the pale glow of computer monitors and a.s.sorted communication devices. Before speaking, he removed a small black box the size of a deck of cards from his jacket pocket. When he pushed the power b.u.t.ton, a blinking red light appeared.

"We're secure," the woman said impatiently. "Do you think we are amateurs?"

Silently, the American quickly and efficiently swept the room with the surveillance scanner. As he dropped it back into his pocket, he addressed the tail, dark, bearded man who sat on the sofa regarding him impa.s.sively. "There was no choice but to abort the mission this afternoon. The premature press release created an unexpected obstacle due to the number of press vehicles and reporters on-site."

"We could have lost our people," the man said flatly. "Why was the order given so late?"

The question was posed with little inflection but the implied criticism was apparent.

The American flushed, but kept his voice even. "The alteration in the motorcade's route was made by the security chief only minutes before arrival."

"That woman is a problem and should be eliminated," the woman p.r.o.nounced acerbically. "This is the second time she has interfered with our plans."

"No," one of the other men objected. "Any move against her would only alert others of our primary target."

"I agree," the American said, "I recommend--"

The man on the sofa stood abruptly, and the room fell silent. "I have just received orders from Hydra command. The strike is on schedule, and we have been directed to take her at the same time. By executing both plans simultaneously, we will demonstrate our power to the world just as we expose the soft underbelly of the decaying'American pretenders."

"When-"

"You'll receive your orders from our allies in your country when the time is near. You must be prepared to act at any moment, because the wait will not be long. Our people are already in place. It has begun."

The American felt a thrill of excitement. For years he'd been nothing more than a silent player, providing information while others planned and executed missions. At last, he would have the opportunity to act--to take back his country and deliver it into the hands of those who understood its true power and destiny. "I am ready."

G.o.d Bless America.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

" O oh." Blair sighed with a sensual moan. She stretched, naked, rejoicing in the warmth of Cam's body beside her and the cool cotton covering them both. "How can crisp, clean sheets feel so incredibly wonderful?"

"Happy?" Cam leaned up on an elbow, resting her head on her hand as she drew her fingertips along the edge of Blair's jaw. She marveled at the beauty of Blair's face in the moonlight. Being with her like this, alone in the middle of the night, was a rare occurrence, but one that she knew would never cease to thrill her, no matter how many times she experienced it. Blair was so many things she loved-intelligent, strong, vital, and pa.s.sionate. She was also very beautiful. And Cam loved to look at her.

"Mmm." Blair started to shift onto her side to see Cam better, but Cam's hand on her shoulder restrained her.

"No," Cam murmured, drawing her fingertips back and forth in the valley between Blair's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Stay like that. I want to look at you."

The low heavy beat in Cam's voice settled in the pit of Blair's stomach, and her heartbeat quickened. "Just look?"

The corner of her mouth lifted in a grin, and Cam nodded. "For now."

"You've been playing with me quite a lot this evening, Commander," Blair chided just a bit breathlessly. Cam's fingers had shifted onto her breast, although they lay motionless just below her nipple. Even the promise of a touch from those strong, sensitive fingers made her b.r.e.a.s.t.s ache and the nipples tighten into hard knots of desire.

"Not nearly as much as I intend to." Cam brushed the sheet down Blair's abdomen with the edge of her hand until it angled across Blair's hips, white and sharp in the moonlight. Cam traced a finger beneath the edge of the cotton, lingering for an instant over the swell of flesh between Blair's thighs.

Involuntarily, Blair raised her hips, but the tantalizing touch was already gone. "What if I told you I'm too tired?"

Cam dipped her head and brushed her lips over the hollow at the base of Blair's throat. With her mouth against the racing pulse, she murmured, "Are you?"

The heat in the pit of Blair's stomach flared, searing her blood. Fighting to keep her voice even, she replied, "I asked you first."

Chuckling as she kissed a spot between Blair's b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Cam reached down and pushed the sheet away completely. She trailed her fingers back up the length of Blair's thigh and smoothed her hand along the curve of Blair's hipbone. Then she rested her cheek against the firm rise of Blair's breast and watched the muscles flicker in her lover's abdomen as she walked her fingers along the inside of the arched prominence, over her belly, and up to her navel. She flicked at the gold ring piercing the skin there. Then she caught it between thumb and forefinger and tugged.

Blair gasped, her legs twisting restlessly on the bed as she gripped Cam's shoulder hard.

"If you're tired..." Cam tugged again. "Then I'll just have to put you to sleep."

"How?" Blair's throat was tight with urgency. Patience in bed was not her usual fare. She liked Cam to take her hard and fast, especially the first time-or she liked to have Cam the same way. Perhaps it was because they rarely had the luxury of time on their side; more likely it was due to her relentless hunger for Cam, like an ache in her bones. Whenever she touched Cam, the need to be close to her, to be inside her, to take her inside, obliterated all restraint. But tonight, after all that Cam had given her, she wanted Cam to have exactly what she desired. She would let Cam take her, and she would rejoice in the giving. "Tell me how you'll put me to sleep."

Still toying with the gold ring, Cam flicked her tongue over Blair's nipple. "With my mouth."

"G.o.d, I love your mouth on me." Blair couldn't help herself. She was burning from the inside out. Moaning softly, she drove her fingers into Cam's thick hair and pressed her lover's face more firmly to her breast. Still, she went no further, even though she ached for Cam to fill her.

"I know." Cam shifted lower, capturing Blair's leg between her own. She pressed against Blair's firm thigh, knowing that her lover would feel the evidence of her arousal, slick and hot and hard. "And I'm going to kiss you, everywhere, until you come."

"Oh, yes," Blair whispered, pushing up on her elbows to watch Cam suck her nipples, one then the other. Seeing Cam's lips caressing her throbbing flesh and feeling the electric shocks of pleasure at the same time made her shudder and twitch. Watching Cam's hips thrust indolently against her thigh, feeling her lover's pa.s.sion coat her skin, made her stomach convulse. "I need you to touch me so much. Don't make me wait too long."

"I'm going to make us both wait." Cam eased her hips away a fraction, relieving the exquisite pressure against her screaming nerve endings. She was in danger of climaxing just from the thrill of exciting Blair. "I'm going to touch you everywhere." She danced her fingers down Blair's abdomen, brushed tantalizingly over the heat between Blair's legs, then skimmed lower, stroking the soft skin of her inner thighs. "I need to touch you everywhere."

Strength failing, Blair surrendered, falling back against the pillows with a low whimper. "G.o.d, I don't care...do anything... everything. Just don't stop."

The surface of Blair's skin sang. Cam's fingertips painted images of moonlit glades and sun-drenched valleys on the canvas of her mind. Her heart thundered with the joy of loving and being loved. Carried on the inexorable tide of her lover's devotions, she was unaware of the lips caressing her turgid flesh or the mouth that drew her pa.s.sion forth on a sea of desire. All she knew-in her body, in her soul, in the deepest reaches of her heart-was the woman who claimed her, and freed her, with the power of this love. Cam. Cam.

Her o.r.g.a.s.m rose slowly, gathering force from some place far, far beyond her fragile body. Only when the fist of need in her depths opened and pleasure flooded her thighs did she become aware of the relentless joy of Cam's mouth driving her to climax. Panting, she pushed herself up, forced her eyes open, and clenched a hand in Cam's hair. "I want...to watch...you...make me come."

Then the sharp edge of pleasure verged on pain, the muscles shredded from her bones, and her soul soared on the sweet ache of fulfillment. Bent nearly double, she clutched Cam's shoulder as she shuddered and moaned. When the wracking spasms released her, she collapsed onto her side, her fingers still tangled in her lover's hair.

Cam rolled with her, gathering her close and pressing Blair's face to her chest. "I love you. I love you so much."

Blair couldn't speak. She could barely breathe. It wasn't the exquisite o.r.g.a.s.m that had stolen her control but the overwhelming emotion that she was unable to contain when Cam touched her. Not just when she touches me. When she looks at me. When she's anywhere near me.

"Baby," Cam murmured tenderly, her cheek resting gently against the top of Blair's head. "We need to get under the covers. You're going to get chilled."

"In a minute," Blair mumbled, wrapping her arms around Cam's waist and burrowing closer. "I feel so good. You feel so good."

Cam laughed and fumbled the sheet partway over Blair's body. "Yeah. I feel pretty terrific."

Blair's head lolled back on Cam's shoulder and she regarded her through heavy eyelids. "Pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

"Pretty much." Cam kissed Blair's nose lightly. "I've been thinking about doing that all night."

"Really." Blair chuckled weakly. "You have remarkable powers of restraint, Commander."

"Not really." Softly, Cam kissed Blair's mouth, tracing her tongue over the full curve of Blair's lower lip. "I came just now- all it took was feeling you let go."

Blair groaned. "Cameron Roberts, you are the s.e.xiest woman I've ever known. If I weren't completely wasted, I would throw you down this moment and ravish you."

Laughing, Cam eased back against the pillows, drawing Blair with her. As she went, she pulled the covers after them until they were coc.o.o.ned in each other's arms. "There's always the morning."

"Yes," Blair whispered drowsily. Although she knew that wasn't necessarily true, that it might be years before she could go to sleep in her lover's arms and count on awakening with her, she refused to allow anything to dispel her happiness. That, too, was a new sensation-the willingness to accept joy, however fleeting, as the gift it was. "Loving you is the best thing that ever happened to me,"

"Blair," Cam breathed, softly stroking the blond head resting against her shoulder. "You can't know how much that means to me."

"I do know." Blair reached out, found Cam's hand, and entwined their fingers. She drew their joined hands between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, held them against her heart. "I feel it in here. I feel you inside me, loving me. Loving you has made me whole."

"I never intend to stop."

Promise? Blair didn't dare ask.

Cam moved their joined hands to her chest and pressed them to the spot above her heart, unmindful of the scar that marked it. "I promise."

There were two levels at the top of the monument, one inside and one outside, offering a 360-degree panoramic view of Paris and its environs for 80 kilometers in every direction. The night was clear, and although it was summer, at 280 meters above ground level, the air was cool. It was also nearly midnight, and there were very few visitors on the outside observation deck. Below them the city sparkled, lights blazing like fiery jewels. The wind ruffled Stark's hair as she leaned forward to capture as much of the view as possible. She held Renee's hand, grateful for the contact, needing to feel grounded as the diz2ying heights left her disoriented.

"It's really incredible, isn't it?" Stark raised her voice above the wind, her eyes bright with a shimmer of tears. She could write that off to the effects of the wind, but the tightness in her chest wasn't due to the weather or the elevation. All she could think as she stood on the edge of Wonderland were the quiet words of the woman beside her. I want to remember two things about tonight: seeing Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower and making love with you.

Renee wasn't looking at the view. Stark's face glowed with youthful enthusiasm as her dark hair whipped about her face. Her fingers gripped Renee's tightly, and her voice had been husky with emotion. I hope you never learn to hide your feelings.

"Beautiful." Renee moved closer and threaded her arm around Stark's waist beneath her jacket and leaned her head against the st.u.r.dy shoulder. You 're so beautiful Stark slid her arm around Renee. "I'm really glad you let me ride the elevator. If you hadn't, I probably would have had to lie down when we got up here, and then I would have missed the view."

"I'm sure you could have made it," Renee a.s.sured her, "but I really didn't want to tire you out so soon. I have other plans for doing that."

Stark gave a slight jerk, then turned her face from the view and met Renee's eyes. "You know, I'm constantly excited when I'm near you. Actually, I'm constantly excited most of the time just thinking about you. So it would be good if you didn't remind me of it too often, because I think I'm starting to get tissue damage."

Renee cupped her hand behind Stark's head and drew her close. She kissed her, unmindful of the occasional person pa.s.sing by. Part of the reason she had been able to wait as long as she had before dragging Stark into bed was that kissing Paula Stark was an experience in itself. Stark's lips were full and warm and incredibly inquisitive, coursing over Renee's in a continuous wave of soft caresses and tender sucks. Every now and then, she'd feel a tiny pinpoint of pain that was quickly soothed by the gentle stroke of a warm tongue, and she'd realize that she'd been bitten. The surprise, the pleasure, the shifting sensations, first gentle then demanding, settled deep in her core and made her ache with wanting. But the hunger was so enjoyable that she was happy to let it rage unanswered. At least she had been. Now with every pa.s.sing second it was becoming more and more difficult to hold her need at bay. She pulled her head back, gasping. "I want you. G.o.d."

Stark rested both arms gently around Renee's waist, their thighs lightly touching. They were alone again in their small section of the monument, with all of Paris at their feet. She couldn't quite believe that this incredible woman wanted her. If Renee only knew that she hadn't a clue as to how to please her, or even how to begin to show her how much she wanted to be with her. Other than a few less-than-memorable forays into relationships with men, which she had been more than willing to set aside when she entered the training academy, she'd had one night of true pa.s.sion. And that night had been with a woman she did not love and who did not love her. It had been unforgettable-an epiphany, both physical and emotional-and she couldn't honestly say now that she regretted it. It had been an important part of her self-awakening, but the fevered l.u.s.t had been an inferno, leaving nothing in its wake but ashes. And in those few heated hours, she'd done little more than allow herself to be consumed. "There's something I have to tell you."

Hearing something close to self-recrimination in Stark's voice, Renee tilted her head, then shook it slowly. "No, there isn't. Unless there's someone else, right now, there isn't a thing you need to tell me."

"There isn't anyone. That's what I wanted to say. There never has been anyone. A few hours, once, but-"

"Are you trying to tell me that you're inexperienced?"

Mutely, Stark nodded, glad for the darkness to hide her humiliation. "I want.. I want tonight to be everything you hope it will be. And I-"

"Oh G.o.d," Renee murmured. She framed Stark's face in her hands. "Sweetheart, it already is what I hoped for. More, even." In the moonlight, she saw the fleeting look of consternation cross Stark's face. "You don't know, do you?"

Feeling more inept every second, Stark shook her head again.

"When I'm with you," Renee said gently, stroking the bold, strong angle of Stark's jaw, "everything is new. Because of you... because of your kindness and your tenderness and your honesty. Nothing before tonight matters, because tonight-with you-will be the first time it's ever been right for me."

Stark's heart fluttered, and she was glad for the hold she had on the woman in her arms, because, for an instant, she felt as if she could fly. "Would you mind if we left now? I just don't think I'll be good for anything else until I can hold you with nothing between us."

"That sounds just exactly like what I need."

Arms around each other's waists, they cast one last glance at the City of Light, then headed for the elevator and the promise of the night.

CHAPTER TWELVE.