“Oooh!”
He indulged himself, toying with her breasts and her clit, willing himself to relax, to hold still while she took what she needed from him. “God, you’re hot.”
She came fast and hard, Thor closing his hand over her mouth to still her cry.
When her peak had passed, he flipped her onto her back and drove himself into her, orgasm already uncoiling at the base of his spine. Climax hit him like a blast wave, pleasure shaking him apart, leaving him panting in her arms.
13
Thor was so deeply asleep that it took him a moment to realize that strange sound was his phone’s alarm ringing. He opened his eyes to find Samantha still asleep in his arms, her face nuzzled against his chest. Warmth spread behind his sternum at the sight of her, a wave of tenderness welling up inside him.
Then he remembered.
For helvede. Damn it.
He reached over and turned off the alarm on his phone, trying not to wake Samantha. He’d set it to make sure he was ready for his early meeting with Tower and Shields. If he didn’t haul ass, he’d be late.
“Thor?” She opened her eyes. “Is it time to get up already?”
“Go back to sleep. I’ve got a five A.M. meeting.” He kissed her, climbed out of bed, and dressed. “One of us will walk you to the lab after breakfast. Don’t go anywhere alone with Vasily. He’s former KGB. Don’t forget to arm your security camera and take your radio with you, okay?”
She sat up, her hair tousled, surprise on her face. “He’s KGB?”
“He was. I have to go.”
“Thank you for last night. Thanks for everything.”
“Hey, thank you.” He zipped his jeans, reached for his T-shirt, pulling it over his head before ducking down to kiss her again. “We’re not finished.”
He left her to get a little more sleep and made his way downstairs to his room, where Jones and Segal were waiting for him.
“The mighty Thor falls to earth,” Jones teased. “We knocked on your door, man, and you weren’t there. Keeping Dr. Park company?”
“Shut up.” Thor unlocked his door, grabbed his laptop, and stepped out again.
Segal glared at him. “Am I the only one keeping my dick in my pants?”
Thor locked his door once more. “At least I didn’t keep anyone awake.”
They made their way upstairs to the small conference room, locking the door for privacy. While Segal made coffee, Thor booted up the computer, logged in to the satellite VPN, and found Tower and Shields waiting for him.
Thor took responsibility for their tardiness. “Sorry we’re late. I overslept.”
Segal rolled his eyes, while Jones smirked.
Røvhuller.Assholes.
“I’m glad someone slept.” Shields had dark circles beneath her eyes. “The analyst team—all of us—pulled an all-nighter, going through the notes you sent, reading through transcriptions of your interviews with staff, and finishing background checks on every person there. Based on all of that, we’ve come up with a short list of people for you to question again. I’m emailing it to you now.”
Segal leaned in. “Do we know for certain the murder and the hacked satellite are related? Could Dr. Holcomb’s death have been suicide or an accident?”
Shields spoke in the tone of voice she reserved for idiots. “We assess that the two events are related because of the time they occurred—and because a murder and the satellite hack are both extremely rare events there. Based on what we know about Dr. Holcomb, the probability of suicide is low. She had no history of depression and made it through austral winter last year without any psychological issues. Given that methanol was found in a bottle of commercially produced wine, I doubt it was accidental. Someone had to pour the methanol into that bottle.”
Thor checked his email, opened the file Shields had sent him, and scrolled through the names, his heart giving a kick to see Samantha there. “I got your list.”
It had details for each person and a set of new questions to ask.
“Let’s go through the list one person at a time.” Shields read the first name. “Kazem Hamidi. He certainly has the scientific background and capability to hack a satellite. He’s an Iranian national. The Agency doesn’t show any links between him and the Iranian government or any extremist elements, but that’s not conclusive.”