His gaze drifted over her face possessively. “You aren’t one of those other people. I’m trying to do the right thing here and keep my hands off of you.”
Briony’s heart jumped. Her pulse pounded. His scent had been driving her crazy, like some aphrodisiac she couldn’t resist. She’d tried not to let him know, but she’d needed to touch him, needed to be close to him. She tried to tell herself it was because for the first time in her life she could be in the close confines of a room with another human being and not feel the pain of his thoughts and emotions. She moistened her suddenly dry lips and was instantly aware of his burning gaze following the sweep of her tongue along her bottom lip, turning her gesture into something sexual.
“At least you have the sense to be nervous.”
The sound of a fist against the door made her jump. Jack swept out his arm to block her with his body, gun coming up so smoothly she knew it was an automatic gesture.
“Briony!” Jebediah bellowed. “Open up.”
Jack didn’t know whether to be relieved or to curse. “The man has never been quiet,” he said. “Remember to stand to the side of the door.”
“No, he hasn’t,” Briony agreed as she unlocked the door, doing it the way Jack insisted.
Jebediah handed jeans and a shirt to Jack and a syringe to Briony. “Seth also has antibiotics in his medical kit.” He reached into the hall and dragged a tray in. “I brought food as well, figured you hadn’t eaten in a while.”
Jack nodded to him and took the tray.
“You look like shit, Jack,” Jebediah observed. “The rebels weren’t fooling around with you. If they cut you up any more, you’d be in pieces.”
“They skinned Ken.” There was a hard note in Jack’s voice, one of deadly purpose. “They cut up him up from his feet to his head. They’d just gotten started on me. I was lucky.”
Jebediah swore under his breath, and glanced at Briony and caught her blinking back tears. “You’re too soft, Bri,” he snapped. “You always have been. In the real world, shit happens and you have to be tough.”
Jack raised his head, gray eyes glittering with more than menace, with promise of retaliation. “Leave her the hell alone. She’s fine just the way she is.”
Jebediah bit back a retort as he shrugged. “I can call a few people, Jack, see what we can do to get you out of here; otherwise I’ll think of a way to smuggle you out.”
“I can call for an extraction, but I need to call people I trust.”
Jebediah’s jaw tightened. “You think someone set you up?”
“I know I was set up.” The cold gray eyes never left Jebediah’s face, watching with that same deadly intent. “Nice that you happened to be here.” The comment was casual enough, but nothing Jack Norton said was ever that casual.
“Look, Jack, I’m not in the military anymore. I work my family business and I have nothing to do with anyone. I have no ties to the CIA or any other organization. Whatever is going on here, I had nothing to do with. You should know me better than that. I have no reason to turn against my country or my friends.” Deliberately he reminded Jack of their past together.
“Money is a powerful motivator.”
“Don’t accuse my brother of such a terrible thing. We’re risking our lives to help you,” Briony snapped. She swiped his arm with antiseptic and waved the syringe at him.
Jack caught her wrist. “Are you going to stab me with that thing?” For one moment amusement flared in his eyes, and then receded just as quickly.
“Absolutely. Don’t be such a baby. I’ll bet you were all tough when they were cutting you into pieces.”
They didn’t have big brown eyes and look at me like they’re going to cry for me.
There was an intimacy talking telepathically that she couldn’t deny, and his voice held such a caress it sent a shiver through her body. Briony shook her head and gave him the injection. You certainly have a way with women.
He didn’t reply, merely ran his finger down her arm, a soft, light touch with the pad of his finger. Heat surged through her, br**sts aching, the throbbing between her legs increasing with sudden urgent need. Her response was so intense she couldn’t move for a moment. She just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights, staring down at him, afraid na**d longing would be transparent on her face.
His fingers tangled with hers, as if he was removing the needle from her hand, but he didn’t let go. “I’ll need a way to contact my people, Jebediah. In the meantime, this place isn’t the best defensive position. I don’t have a lot of room to maneuver if they come for me, and they’ll know Briony helped me. I don’t want any trails leading back to you or your family.”
“Bri, take him to the practice arena. It’s about a block from here, Jack. Dressed in my clothes and walking with Bri, you should be fine. I’ll find a way to make the contact.”
“Thank you, Jeb. I appreciate whatever you can do,” Jack acknowledged.
“We’ll get you home safe,” Jebediah promised, raising a hand as he left.
“Eat,” Briony instructed. Jack’s thumb slid back and forth absently over the back of her hand. She wasn’t certain if he was aware of it, but she was. Every feathering caress sent a shiver through her body. She pulled her hand away and backed up a few steps to try to get some breathing room. Every breath she drew into her lungs brought his masculine scent swirling through her veins. “How can you be so broken and yet not even give a single sign you’re in pain?”
His gaze brushed her face, dropped to her mouth, and drifted over her body. He took a bite of toast and chewed thoughtfully. “You perform in front of thousands of people. You’re here, in Kinshasa where people are killed and raped and even tortured. You feel everything they feel. So you tell me, how do you do it?”
“It’s different.” Briony was a little shaken, that he knew-that he could see her life, her sacrifices for her family, so clearly.
“How is it different?”
“I choose to do it for my family. To fit in. To be a part of something.”
“So they’ll love you?”
Her head whipped around, eyes darkening with temper. “Why do you do that? You sound so utterly calm and mild and yet you’re deliberately trying to provoke me.”
“I’m just asking a question.”
“You don’t think my family would love me if I didn’t perform with them?”