First Strike Read Online Free PDF Page B

late lunch at a restaurant with a fancy Arabic name that served what Laura promised was the best Lebanese food in Dubai City, then went to a theater to catch Iron Man , sharing popcorn but unable even to hold hands. Still, Javier was aware of her beside him, a sensual tension stretching between them that fed his sexual need for her, his mind less on the film and more on what he wanted to do to her sweet body later.
    Were hard-ons in the movie theater illegal, too?
    If so, Javier would be facing twenty to life for sure.
    By the time the film was over, the sun was about to set. They stopped for dinner at a café that was near a large artificial lake, Burj Khalifa rising into the sky across the water like some kind of vertical mirage, only parts of its highest reaches still unfinished. They talked about the film, which they’d both enjoyed.
    “I just wish superheroes truly existed,” Laura said, finishing her salad. “Terrible things happen in this world, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone to stop them.”
    Some of us try, bella.
    He thought the words, but he didn’t say them. “Did you decide to come here yourself, or were you assigned to cover the war?”
    “I had to fight like hell to get this assignment. They wanted to give it to a man because some people worried that audiences wouldn’t take war coverage seriously if it were delivered by a woman. They also thought I was too young.”
    Javier saw his chance. “How old are you?”
    “I’ll tell you, but only if you do the same.”
    “Deal.”
    “I’m twenty-eight.”
    Twenty-eight.
    Well, that wasn’t bad. He was only six years older than she was, not enough to land him in the dirty-old-man category. “I’m thirty-four.”
    A smile lit up her beautiful face. “At last I know something about you.”
    He leaned forward. “All you need to know about me, bella , is that I’m the man who’s going to make you scream.”
    She leaned in until her face was a mere inch from his, a teasing look in her eyes, her calf caressing his lower leg. “Promises, promises.”
    Then a murmur went up from the crowd.
    Laura’s face lit up. “ This is what I wanted us to see. I saw photos of it last week in the Khaleej Times .”
    Javier looked over his shoulder and watched as the fountains in the lake came alive to the strains of what sounded like “Time to Say Goodbye,” dancing jets of water lit from below by colored lights to form swaying circles, serpentine lines, and graceful whirling columns. He’d never seen anything like it.
    “‘ Con te partirò .’ Andrea Bocelli.” Laura began to sing along softly in what sounded like Italian. Was there any language she didn’t speak? “Oh, it’s beautiful!”
    “Yeah.” But Javier’s gaze was on Laura.
     
     
    They took separate cabs back to the hotel, not wanting the staff there to see them together. By the time Laura got back to her room, she couldn’t wait to get her hands on Javier. Not being able to touch him all day had been strangely titillating, his body like forbidden territory, all that man and muscle beyond her reach.
    But not for much longer.
    She ordered a bowl of fruit, a cheese tray, and champagne, knowing they’d both be hungry later.
    “I have to work late tonight,” she told the young woman who delivered it, adding a large tip to the bill and signing.
    Did the girl suspect anything? It was a lot of food for one person. And who drank champagne alone?
    But if she had any suspicions, the girl didn’t let them show, thanking Laura and disappearing down the hall with her cart.
    Laura took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, and smoothed cream onto her skin, her blood already running hot with memories of last night. How Javier had ripped her panties off, lifted her up, and fucked her against the wall. How he’d carried her to the bed and made her come with his mouth. How he’d driven into her, hard and deep, making her come again. He’d been forceful, strong, matching her libido at every turn, and