Found Missing (Decorah Security Series, Book #14): A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novel (2 page)

“Okay, thanks.” He went into the dressing room, took off his clothes, and put on one of the patient gowns. When he returned, Lily directed him to one of the empty beds that they used for visitors to the VR. Once he had lain down, she expertly attached an IV line to his arm and started the drip. Moments later, he was in a room off the lobby of the Mirador Hotel.

He lay for a moment on the couch in the windowless lounge area, orienting himself. Then he swung his legs to the floor and looked around. The transition was familiar, yet it was always amazing to him that he could flit from the real world to this perfectly designed artificial one so easily—and come back when he wanted to. 

As always when he arrived, he was wearing the standard running suit patients were issued until they changed into something they liked better.

When he stepped out the door, he was struck again by the cunning reality of the place.

In effect, it was like leaping into a beautiful alternate reality. Or maybe like traveling to the other side of the globe without having to take a plane. Every detail of this hotel in Agra, India, was accurate, down to the veins in the marble floor and the vase of red roses on the check-in desk.

The first few times he’d come to the hotel, there had been no one manning the desk. In fact, except for the guests, the place had looked like a ghost hotel. Now an attractive dark-haired woman dressed in an expensive-looking silk sari stood behind the counter. He knew that instead of being “real,” she was part of the setting—programmed into the computer that ran the virtual reality.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a lilting Indian accent.

“I’m here to see Jenny Seville.”

“I’ll just check to make sure your entry is authorized,” she said, bending to a computer screen.

“Fine.” He waited impatiently while she verified his access.

“Have a nice day.”

“I hope so. Is Jenny still at the pool?”

The woman consulted her computer again. “I believe so.”

“Thanks,” he said, thinking it was odd to be having such a normal-sounding exchange with a woman who could be erased from existence by a few keystrokes.

He walked to the lobby shop—another feature that had been added to the original program. Inside he found the men’s wear section, selected a pair of bathing trunks, and brought them with him as he exited onto one of the airy colonnades that led to various outdoor venues around the hotel. He could see Jenny’s shooting gallery in the distance and another building that functioned as a winter resort, using similar technology. It had been provided for Chris Morgan, a ski instructor who was one of the residents.

As Grant hurried toward the pool, his pulse began to pound in his ears, almost blotting out the opera music drifting toward him. And his heart skipped a beat when he saw Jenny, cutting expertly through the water. She looked strong and lithe.

He stepped into one of the cabanas, took off his running suit, and pulled on the trunks. Then he strode to the shallow end of the pool, slipping in quietly and moving to the center so that Jenny almost collided with him as she reached the side.

She blinked when she realized who had interrupted her solitary swim, then stood. A welcoming smile flickered on her lips before she brought her features to neutral and backed a few feet away.

“Hi,” he said, meaning to sound casual, but he heard the thickness of his voice.

“Hi,” she answered, looking like she wished he hadn’t shown up. “What are you doing here?”

“You don’t sound glad to see me.”

“That’s not true,” she contradicted.

“Good. I thought we could talk.”             

“About what?” she asked cautiously.

“I want you to let me help you.”

“You have. All the training I’ve been doing has made me feel . . . a lot more confident.”

After delivering the assurance, she looked down at the water, and he could see her withdrawing into a private space where he couldn’t reach her.

“Jenny?”

oOo

Jenny raised her head, her gaze not quite steady. She and Grant had first met when the VR was under attack by an unknown force, and she’d been afraid to trust him or anyone else. The facility was safe now, and she was no longer the same scared woman who had thought the Mirador Hotel was the perfect bolt-hole.

But even as Grant had helped her boost her self-confidence, she’d kept a barrier between them. It was partly because she didn’t want him to get hurt. And partly because she simply couldn’t let down her guard. But as he stood facing her today in the pool, she knew something had changed between them. Or more accurately she had changed, and she was going to reach for what she had wanted for too long.

She took a step closer, seeing the surprise in his eyes. He said her name again, as she reached for him. When his arms came up to fold her into his embrace, she sighed and closed her eyes, blocking out everything except the man who held her water-slick body against his. When he gathered her closer, she leaned into him, no longer able to deny the needs and emotions that had been building within her.

“Thank God,” he growled, the words barely above a whisper before his lips came down on hers, his large hands stroking up and down her back. When he cupped her bottom she felt herself pulled against the rigid flesh straining at the front of his bathing trunks.

She had lived like a nun the whole time she had been at the Mirador Hotel. No more. And she knew he was tuned to the responses she had struggled to hold in check.

He made a low sound deep in his chest as he played with the straps of her bathing suit, slipping his hands underneath to caress the skin of her shoulders and then the tops of her breasts.

Had she ever felt anything as exquisite as the stroking of his fingers against her wet skin?

The touch was light, but it set her body on fire. She forgot her own warning, forgot everything but his taste—his touch. And her own swelling response.

Her breasts ached. The nipples especially. They had contracted painfully, and the only way she could ease the tight sensation was to press them against his chest.

That was no help. It only made her crave more. And then more.

She felt desperation rising inside her. Not the desperation to escape that had sent her hurtling from the people who were holding her captive back in her old life.

This was a desperation to finally get as close as she could to Grant Bradley.

When the kiss broke, she raised her head, looking around in a daze.

“We’re out in the open,” she managed to say.

“Yeah.”

Under the water, he knitted his fingers with hers, leading her to the wide steps he’d come down. He guided her up to the pool deck, then to one of the cabanas. Glad to let him take the lead, she followed him beyond the curtains to the semidarkness of the interior. There was a chaise inside, this one double width, with the back folded down to make a bed, as though someone had known she and Grant would be coming here.

He turned to her, murmuring her name against her mouth, nibbling with his lips and then his teeth. Her whole body throbbed to the contact. Still, part of her was standing back, watching the two of them together, unable to quite believe that this was really happening. 

“I’ve wanted you for so long. I thought you didn’t want me,” he murmured as he aroused her.

“You were wrong,” she answered, amazed that she could say the words out loud.

“Then why did you keep me at arm’s length?”

“I was trying to keep you safe.”
And myself,
she silently added.

“From what?”

“My ghosts,” she managed to answer. 

To stop the conversation going any farther, she brought her mouth back to his for a heated kiss. To her relief he didn’t try to get more information out of her, probably because he was as overwhelmed as she by this physical contact. She was the one who had reached for him in the pool, but now he was sweeping her along with him to some dark, dangerous place that she hardly recognized. A place where she felt out of control. And reckless. And on the verge of pleasure only he could give her.

She would not be denied this moment, Jenny told herself. No, she wouldn’t deny it to either one of them.

As she clung to Grant, she could feel his erection through the thin fabric of her bathing suit and his trunks. She wanted to move against it, and when she did, he made sounds of approval.

She was wearing a modest two-piece suit. He reached for the lower edge of the top, slipped his hands inside and pulled it up and over her head so that they were suddenly both naked to the waist. Her nipples tightened as his hot gaze traveled over her breasts.

“Lord, you’re gorgeous,” he said, his voice not quite steady as he pulled her close enough to slide her upper body against his, the exquisite sensations making it difficult to breathe.

When he went still, her eyes blinked open, and she caught the intensity of his gaze.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Can’t you tell?”

“I want to hear you say it.”

No more hiding, she told herself as she raised her gaze to his. “I want you—now.”

He clasped more tightly, and they rocked together, hands stroking wet flesh as they exchanged open-mouth kisses.

He slipped his hands inside the top of her shorts, dragging them over her hips and down her legs.

She kicked them away, moving closer as she reached into the sides of his bathing trunks, caressing his hips and his butt, hearing his indrawn breath as she stroked him. She had been raised to be careful about her associations and her behavior. She hadn’t even been allowed to date until late in her teens, and she was very conscious that she was stepping over a line by going this far with a man who hadn’t been vetted by her father.

Yet none of the old rules applied. Her family had let her down in a way that she was still trying to comprehend.

To hell with them. And what was wrong with what she was doing, anyway? This wasn’t even the real world. She was just grateful that she was here—in this place—with Grant Bradley.

Determined to show herself—and him—that there was no going back, she dragged his trunks over his hips, so that he was suddenly as naked as she.

With her head resting on his shoulder, she stroked her hands over his hips and butt again, glorying in the feel of his water-slick skin.

His erection pressed against her stomach. But that wasn’t where she needed to feel him.

He knew it too, because he moved back against the wall of the cabana, splaying his legs to equalize their height and cupping her bottom to bring her hot, swollen sex against his penis. His other hand moved to her breast, tugging and squeezing one nipple, the sensations reinforcing and magnifying each other.

“Oh, God,” she gasped, unable to stop herself from moving against him, faster and faster until a small explosion shuddered through her.

When it subsided, her eyes blinked open, and she found him watching her.

Now her face was flaming. “I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“About coming undone like that,” she managed to whisper.

“I liked watching you,” he answered. “I liked making you so hot that you went up in flames.”

“But you . . .”

“I think we can take care of me,” he answered. “As soon as you’re ready to come again.”

The frank way he said it made her face heat a few degrees more, even when she told herself there was nothing wrong with the two of them being honest with each other—at least as honest as she could be.

He scooped her up in his arms and laid her on the chaise, then came down beside her, gathering her close as he began to explore her body more intimately. He kissed her mouth, then trailed his lips down to the collarbone, tasting her there before moving down to her breast, circling her nipple with his tongue, then sucking it into his mouth.

She gasped with pleasure, then gasped again as his hand slid downward into the slick folds of her sex, dipping into her vagina, circling inside her before sliding up to her clit to circle her again.

And all the time he was watching her, watching her face. She let go of long-ingrained inhibitions as she began to move her hips, increasing the friction of his hand while he stroked her most intimate flesh.

Her breath came in quick gasps, and she knew she was building to another shuddering climax. And he knew it too.

“Open your legs.”

She did as he asked, feeling his body covering hers and his penis pressing against her opening, then pushing into her. Clasping his shoulders, she held on to him.

She was prepared for him to grab his own pleasure now—leaving her wanting. Instead, he moved slowly, centered on her reactions, moving in and out of her in long, slow strokes until the building sensations became her focus.

His care with her was glorious. He shifted their bodies to the side so that he could caress her breasts while he built her arousal. It wasn’t until she felt the first tremors of climax that he quickened his pace, pushing for his own satisfaction as he drove her over the edge, into a world that was all blinding white sensation.

She felt his hot seed spurt into her, heard his shout of completion as he anchored her in his arms, and she dug her fingers into his back, holding him to her, glorying in the wonder of the moment.

The pinnacle of her satisfaction had been astonishing. And afterwards was almost as good. Grant kept her in his arms, and she snuggled against him.

She had wanted to be with him like this forever—since she’d realized he wasn’t being nice to her because he felt obligated.

“If I’d known it was going to be that good, maybe I wouldn’t have resisted for so long,” she whispered.

“Uh huh.”

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Yeah.”

He kept her with him, cradling her naked body against his side, his lips nibbling her cheek, his hands stroking over her heated skin, and she would have been content to stay there forever.

“Thank you,” she murmured. Then a thought occurred to her, and she felt a little shudder go through her.

Grant felt it, too. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m thinking about Lily back in the lab.”

“What about her?”

“She must have seen my . . . I don’t know. Heart rate and breathing spike.”

“Mine too. I guess she knows that whatever we were doing—we were doing it together.”

“Yes.”

“Do you care?”

“I should.”

“Why?”

She heard herself say, “Because I was raised in a very strict environment—where I was expected to maintain high standards of behavior.”

“And your background has something to do with why you’re in trouble?”

“Yes,” she answered again, wishing she hadn’t gotten trapped in this conversation. 

She moved out of his arms, immediately missing the contact and also feeling very naked. Looking around for something to wear, she spotted her wet bathing suit lying on the tile floor.

He saw at once that she was uncomfortable.

“Back in a flash.”

He got up, apparently unconcerned with his nudity and moved to a hanging rack at the side of the cabana where he took down two terry robes. She pulled one on, and he donned the other before lying beside her on the chaise again.

“Better than that wet suit.”

She nodded, but nudity wasn’t the worst of her problems. Struggling for honesty, she said, “I feel like you’ve tricked me into talking about myself.”

She knew the remark had gotten to him by the way hurt flashed across his features. “You think I made love with you to get you to talk?”

“No. I think that making love was something we both wanted for a long time.”

“I did. But I didn’t want to push you. And then in the pool, you reached for me.”

She dragged in a breath and let it out. “But even when we’ve just been intimate, you can’t stop being an investigator.”

He laughed, then sobered again. “I guess that’s right. But even now, you can’t stop yourself from keeping secrets from me. Don’t you trust me?”

“I wouldn’t have gone to bed with you if I didn’t trust you.”

“But only so far.”

His perception was like a quick stab wound.

When he saw the pain on her face, he reached for her and pulled her close again. With a sigh, she settled down beside him, wishing everything were simple. A long time ago, her life had seemed uncomplicated. Too bad that nothing in her recent experience was easy.

And too bad he wasn’t going to stop probing. “You grew up on a big estate, didn’t you?” he asked suddenly.

“How did you know?” she managed to ask.

“I didn’t. Not for sure. But I saw the way you took this luxurious hotel in stride. Not like some of the other residents who were wide-eyed at the opulence.”

“Am I that transparent?”

“No. Like you said, I’m a good . . . observer. But I’m on your side. I’m hoping you can trust me with the secrets you’ve been hiding since you got here,” he pressed.

“I want to,” she answered.

“Then open up with me.”

Not now. Don’t push me now.
Those words churned in her mind. What she said was, “Give me a little time.” As she made the plea, she held her breath, hoping that the answer would satisfy him.

“Okay.”

She had just allowed herself to relax in his arms again when he said, “I talked to Lily about you before I came in.”

On guard again, she asked, “About what?”

“She says that you’re close to waking up. But she thinks you’re keeping yourself from doing it.”

It wasn’t exactly true. She knew she was close to waking up, and she was hoping to choose the time when she climbed out of the special bed she’d been occupying for the past few months. But she wasn’t going to explain that to Grant or admit her motives.

“I’ll be there when you wake up,” he said.

“I know,” she answered, hoping she sounded like she wanted that to be true. Changing the subject completely, she asked, “Do you think that in here we can make love as much as we want? I mean more than people can in . . . reality.”

“Maybe we should find out,” he answered, slipping his hand inside her robe, caressing her breasts.

She knew he wasn’t going to keep questioning her now, and she welcomed her response to him again, silently thanking him for the chance to spend a little more quality time together.