LITMIR.BIZ

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What else could he do? This was business, and Dakota viewed his work as the number-one priority in his life. He wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of an assignment, not even the pain shooting from his gut to his heart.

      “It’s good to see you, too,” he responded, clasping her hand as though her touch wouldn’t affect him. It did, of course. Her hand felt small and feminine, her skin soft and warm against his own.

      He invited her in, cursing the memories threatening to surface. Her fragrance drifted to his nostrils like fresh strawberries smothered in cream. Kathy preferred scented lotions to heavy perfumes, aromas that never failed to make Dakota hungry.

      Suddenly he fought the temptation to uncoil her hair, let it fall across her shoulders. He hadn’t forgotten the woman he loved, hadn’t forgotten how she looked soaking in the tub, her fiery tendrils slipping free from the pins that secured them, her long, sleek body creamy and smooth.

      How many times had he watched her slide a washcloth down her arms and over her breasts? And how many times had he carried her, soaking wet, to their bed?

      “Dakota? Are the others here?”

      Kathy’s question jarred him back to reality. Damn it. He stood in the tiled entryway, his hormones battling for control. How in the hell had he let that happen?

      “Yes, they’re here.” He escorted his estranged wife to the living room, hating himself for the moment of weakness.

      Like the Texas gentlemen they were, the other men rose as Kathy entered the room. Aaron Black came forward to hug her. How easily Kathy embraced Aaron, Dakota thought, wondering why a fist of rivalry gripped him hard and quick. Not only was Aaron blissfully married with a baby on the way, he was also a good friend, the American diplomat who had introduced Dakota to Kathy nearly six years before.

      Kathy shook hands with the others, and soon they settled into their seats.

      As Kathy crossed her legs, Dakota poured her a ginger ale from the wet bar. He didn’t stop to ask her preference. He knew what Kathy’s favorite soft drink was, and he still stocked the bar with it.

      She thanked him quietly, the ice in her glass crackling. He poured himself a cola, opting to keep his hands busy. The urge to loosen her hair had returned.

      How different they were, he thought, how opposite. Kathy was renowned for her grace and diplomacy, whereas Dakota was as rough-hewn as his taste in furniture, often solving matters with force.

      Lifting his cola from the bar, Dakota took a swig, wondering if he should have spiked it with rum—something, anything to take the edge off. How could a woman skilled in conversation walk out on her husband without the slightest explanation? How could she ignore what they had meant to each other? The love? The passion?

      Dakota didn’t need to ask Kathy where she had been for the past three years. He already knew. She had gone to Washington, D.C., to serve in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, leasing a spacious apartment in an exclusive suburb and furnishing it with antiques. Prior to that, she had been on an extended leave of absence, debating whether to end her career. For Kathy, living abroad in the Foreign Service had become stressful. She wanted to remain in Texas. Or so she’d said.

      Regardless, locating her in Washington had been easy. Keeping his distance had been the tough part. But Dakota figured Kathy didn’t want to be confronted, didn’t want him standing on her doorstep, demanding to know why she had left. So consequently, Dakota’s pride—his hard-baked masculine ego—had managed to keep him at bay.

      Sheikh Rassad drew Kathy into the meeting, pulling Dakota in as well.

      “Are you familiar with the events leading up to this mission?” Ben asked her. “Are there any details that are not clear?”

      “Aaron briefed me,” she responded. “I know the Lone Star jewels were stolen. And I’m also aware that they’ve been recovered.” She sat with her usual graceful posture, giving the sheikh her undivided attention. “Albert Payune, the Grand Minister of Asterland, masterminded the robbery, intending to use the jewels to fund a revolution. Which is where Dakota and I come in. It’s our job to make sure that revolution doesn’t happen.”

      The sheikh leaned forward. “Aaron informed us that you are well acquainted with the king and queen.”

      “That’s true. I’m very fond of the royal family, and I don’t intend to see them lose their country.” She placed her glass on a coaster, sending the sheikh a reassuring smile. “I’ve already made arrangements for Dakota to accompany me to Asterland for the queen’s birthday ball. And since he will be visiting as my guest, his presence won’t arouse suspicion.”

      Dakota listened, although he had already been briefed by Aaron. The plan had been carefully orchestrated. Dakota’s initial arrival in Asterland must appear to be of a personal nature. And what could be more personal than traveling with his wife? They wouldn’t need to fake their cover, at least not on paper. They would be playing themselves.

      Almost.

      They would have to pretend to be in the midst of a reconciliation, a couple mending their marriage.

      Dakota glanced at Kathy, and she barely returned his gaze. She appeared poised and professional, but he could sense her uneasiness. The same uneasiness that swept through him.

      How were they going to pull this off if they couldn’t look at each other? Couldn’t relax in each other’s presence? Dakota glanced at Kathy again, his chest constricting with a familiar ache. Somehow, someway, they would have to. The future of a country was at stake. And this mission was far too risky for mistakes.

      Kathy exhaled a quiet breath. When Aaron asked Dakota a question, he shifted his attention, giving her the opportunity to study him.

      The years had been good to Dakota Lewis, aging him in a way that made him even more handsome, more rugged. He was half Comanche and half Texan—a tall, solid man with eyes that changed from brown to black, depending on his mood. His profile presented a determined jaw and high, slanted cheekbones. Everything about him boasted masculinity. His midnight hair, although short by most standards, was slightly longer than the military style he had worn while on active duty.

      Active duty? Aside from allowing his hair to grow, retirement hadn’t changed Dakota Lewis. He’d gone from Special Forces assignments to privately funded missions without a hitch in his long, powerful stride. Danger flowed through his veins like liquid; it was his life force, his blood. Kathy considered men like Dakota adrenaline junkies—men who would never give up the fight, the need to save the world.

      Of course, adrenaline junkies didn’t settle down with their wives. Instead they left them behind, left them alone to wait and wonder, praying frantically for their husbands’ safe return.

      How many assignments had he been on since she’d left? Did he miss her the way she had missed him? Or had his work filled the void? Dakota had loved her—that much she knew. Only he hadn’t loved her the way she’d needed. Dakota’s work had always come first. Kathy couldn’t bear being second-best in her husband’s heart.

      And then when she’d lost the baby—

      Her breath hitched. Oh, God. Don’t think about the baby. Not here, not now. She placed a hand over her stomach. When would the pain go away, the ache of losing Dakota’s child? How many years would have to pass? How many years before she stopped wishing every dark-haired toddler she saw was hers?

      Dakota turned toward her, and she removed her hand from her stomach. Kathy had learned long ago how to keep her emotions in check, and she wouldn’t give herself away now. Dakota didn’t know about the baby. He had been in the Middle East tracking gunrunners when she’d miscarried—alone and afraid, missing her husband and crying for the baby they would never hold. A child she had wanted desperately.

      “How well do you know Albert Payune?” Sheikh Rassad asked, catching Kathy off guard.

      She lifted her chin and concentrated on the mission, the reason she had agreed to fly to Asterland with Dakota.

      “I

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