Secret Agent Sheikh. Linda Conrad

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СКАЧАТЬ Nightclubbing in the Lapa district is always undertaken with a lot of skin showing. Especially during Carnivale. You need to be nearly naked to capture the true beat of the samba.”

      Two hours later, Jass decided she hated a know-it-all. As they entered the nightclub and found a table, she could feel Tarik’s so-called true beat of the samba right through the soles of her shoes. Even with a skintight red dress and dangerously high stilettos, she almost felt overdressed inside Carioca da Lapa, one of the Lapa district’s pioneering samba clubs and Eltsin’s headquarters. People should be naked when experiencing music this sensual.

      Looking around, she discovered many people in the club came close to that description. Some women wore shirts made out of thin metal strips with nothing underneath. While other statuesque mulatas wearing glittery Carnivale garb clung to their partners as if they couldn’t stand on their own. Even by glancing twice, Jass would not have been able to swear to the true gender of every woman she saw on the dance floor.

      As it turned out, however, it was Tarik who looked overdressed with a lightweight linen jacket covering his sleeveless T-shirt. All the other sweaty young men in the joint were clad only in their undershirts. And as the evening progressed some of those T-shirts had come off in time to the beat. Everyone in the place seemed to have begun their drinking well before noon.

      Tarik ordered them the local drink: cachaca, sugarcane alcohol tempered with crushed ice, sugar and lime juice. Then he held out his hand. “Couples come to Carioca da Lapa for only one reason, love. Let’s check out those samba skills of yours.”

      She let him pull her into his arms. “I thought we were here to do recon,” she whispered. He hugged her tightly against his body as they moved onto the crowded dance floor.

      “Oh, but we are. Let’s see if anyone here recognizes Celile and Zohdi.” Tarik pulled her even tighter to him, until she felt completely surrounded by his masculine presence. Hot and spicy and full of rigid male power.

      The samba in this club played in time to a reggae beat. Slow. Sensual. Steamy. Keeping the beat with conga drums, cowbells and primitive sticks that thrummed the music right to her bones. Tarik began to move, swiveling his hips like a pro. He took her by the hands and pushed her an arms’ length away. But his eyes locked onto hers, sending the hypnotic rhythm straight through her veins by the force of his formidable gaze.

      She felt it in every inch of her body. The sexual gaze, the heat, the noise. Her nerve endings came alive in a dull burning flame.

      Jass had been in a lot of tricky situations on those missions when she was acting the part of a girlfriend. But she had never felt so completely wrapped up in the moment as she did right now. Shaking her head, she tried to throw off the spell of Tarik’s personality. This mission should be no different than all the rest—despite her having to work with rogue agent Tarik Kadir. She wouldn’t let it get to her.

      She tried closing her eyes, but that was little better. She could still smell his virile musk and feel his gaze raking over her body, making her sweat in places no one could see.

      He pulled her close again and swung them around. “Your samba act is fine, love,” he murmured in her ear. “But your reactions to your lover aren’t quite up to the mark. Remember to behave like Celile would on the dance floor with the man she loves. Loosen up.”

      He was telling her how to behave undercover? How dare this outwardly charming reprobate tell the best under cover operative in the business how to do her job?

      Straightening her spine, Jass pulled back and smiled, though she let her eyes tell the truth of what she was feeling. “I’ve studied the woman for years. Celile Kocak is never loose, love.”

      She’d gritted out the words so only he could hear. But Tarik’s reactions to what she’d said weren’t what she’d expected.

      He manhandled her back against his chest and plundered her mouth with a kiss that was deep and hard and took her breath away. “I’ll bet she comes undone in bed,” he whispered against her lips. “Wanna go practice?”

      Jass’s first reaction was to jerk away in panic, but Tarik held her fast. “Remember your act, darling.”

      Exasperated, Jass narrowed her eyes at him and spoke in a loud clear voice. “You’ll need to excuse me for a moment, darling. I must use the restroom.”

      Tarik stepped back and opened his arms, holding up his palms. “Of course, my love. But hurry back. I’ll count the minutes.”

      Swearing under her breath, Jass headed through the throng of dancers toward the back of the club. This was mission impossible. But their assignment should’ve been her salvation, making up for the fumble with the Nigerian.

      Instead of her usual feelings of control and being ready for anything, when she moved across the room and looked for a back entry, she felt the solid premonition of doom.

       You’re one intense little cookie, aren’t you? Tough guy. One cool agent. More alpha than most of the men you meet.

      That was Jass O’Reilly. Still, Tarik had clearly felt her response to him while he was holding her in his arms. Jass might believe she was invincible and she put on a harsh front, but underneath everything else she was all woman.

      The sexual tension had shimmered between them, drawing them together like a magnet. Precisely what he didn’t need at this stage in his life. Loyalty to his family called for him to avoid any kind of entanglements during this all important mission.

      Stalking back to their table, he kicked back to watch the crowds. But he couldn’t keep his mind off of Jass.

      She’d flinched when he’d touched her. Flinched like a school girl. And she’d given him a challenging look full of—As he thought about it now, that look in her eyes could’ve been vulnerability.

      That was it, he decided. Jass was tough on the outside to hide a defenseless inside. Like one of those hard-candy-covered chocolates. She was used to taking charge, taking risks alone and getting her orders from only her bosses at the CIA. She wasn’t used to anyone challenging that rigid outer shell.

      Jass was an excellent operative because she was intelligent and perceptive and had nearly total recall of anything she’d ever read. But she wasn’t a team player.

      Then again, he didn’t need a team on this mission. He hadn’t even wanted a partner. But he was willing to bet his life that Jass would step up and do whatever was required to get the job done.

      All he had to do was keep his own mind and hands in the game. Easier said than done.

      A while later, after ordering his second round of drinks, Tarik realized she’d been gone too long. Was she doing a little side reconnaissance on her own? Or had she run into trouble?

      Either way, he’d better quit sitting on his butt daydreaming and find her.

      He got to his feet and asked the waitress to direct him to the ladies’ room. She threw him a skeptical look but pointed him in the right direction with a small laugh.

      Yeah, he would bet she saw a little of everything during Carnivale.

      Tarik thanked her and made his way through the tangle of sweaty, dancing bodies all moving to a bossa nova beat. In a darkened corner of the main floor, he found a staircase to the penthouse above. СКАЧАТЬ