Sarah's POV
"Do you remember how to get to the dining room?" Nadia asked, turning to go.
"Yes, it's not far from here. See you soon."
Clint met Nadia leaving our rooms. He smiled when he saw me all dressed up.
"You look very beautiful, my dear." He pulled me into his arms and kissed me lightly before letting me go. "I'll change and then we can go to dinner. Did you and Nadia have a good time?"
I went into the closet to get out his suit while he stripped, not ready to see him naked. I switched back to Portuguese. "We did - it was nice to have a little girl talk. We were practicing our English, too."
"So I heard. You're getting better at it."
"Did you win at poker?" I asked, handing him his shirt first and then his pants.
He smiled at me as he did up the fasteners. "Some. Hunter is a better player." He quickly dressed and turned to me to tie his necktie. "You didn't miss much, just a lot of bragging by Hunter and our host - mostly Hunter."
"Good to know," I said, smiling at him.
Vidente was certainly trying to show off to us. A large table was covered with a pristine white tablecloth and set for the six of us. All of the men wore suits, which was interesting considering it was at least 100 degrees still.
The men continued drinking their spirits and I hoped Clint and Hunter had hard heads for the amount of liquor they were consuming. There was also wine from a nearby vineyard that Vidente owned for his own private stock. It was a refreshing change for my palate and it went well with the meal. Our glasses were filled often, and I drank a fair amount in an attempt to settle my nerves.
Following the meal, the servants showed in another player. Khan was his codename and it wasn't lost on me that all of the larger players had names that translated to 'ruler' in various languages. The only exception was our host, Vidente, whose name meant Prophet.
Khan was a handsome, Middle Eastern man who was sufficiently westernized to not openly gawk at us in our form fitting evening gowns. He was younger than I expected, closer to my age than Clint's - probably in his early twenties, with dark hair and olive skin; he was well dressed in the manner of a rich man's son, his clothes well tailored.
Khan would bear watching if he was ruthless enough to rise to the head of his region as quickly as he had. Based on his accent, I would have said he came from Riyadh, but I didn't hear anything in his words to confirm that.
While Khan only glanced over both Bobbi and Nadia appreciatively, his eyes focused on me more than I liked to see. I'd have thought he would prefer blondes, but that apparently wasn't the case. Hunter was openly amused, Vidente watched with interest. Clint noticed it as well and his hand twitched like he was going to reach for his concealed pistol more than once. I ignored the princeling and instead focused my attention on Clint, hoping Khan would take a hint and cease watching me in a way that would get him shot sooner rather than later.
Based on the information that Shield had given us, it wasn't difficult to believe that all of these rulers were regional leaders of the Ten Rings; it made sense given the global scope of the organization.
With at least three of them coming to this meeting, I hoped to be able to enable the trackers built into the dummy parts to be able to locate each of their bases. It was going to be difficult to do while under I was observation, and there were cameras everywhere, including the bathrooms.
* *
After we retired to our rooms, I showered and wrapped the towel around me to dig through my suitcase to find some pajamas. Since Natasha had packed, I wasn't sure what they looked like - but I was certain they didn't resemble my comfy tank tops and shorts I wore back home. I made a frustrated noise and gave up, much to Clint's amusement when he came in from Hunter's room.
"Looking for something, 'Ria?" He came up behind me and kissed my shoulder, working up to my neck.
I sighed. "I can't find my nightie. I'm sure I set one out to pack, but since Natalia helped, I can't be certain which one got packed – or if she packed it at all. You know how she can be sometimes." I turned to him, pouting. He nipped my out-thrust lip before giving me a peck.
"Then it's probably silky and went all the way to the bottom of the bag. That's what happens with that kind of fabric in a bag that size. Why don't you take everything out just to be sure."
He walked into the bathroom to take his own shower, leaving me in peace to dig through everything. I upended the bag on our bed, hanging up everything that needed it and putting my bras and underwear in a dresser drawer.
I looked at the remaining items on the bed; there wasn't anything even close to resembling a nightie, only a couple matching sets made up of silky opaque thongs and a halter top. A light bulb went off and I suddenly realized that those were my nighties. I briefly considered knocking on the adjoining door to ask Bobbi if she had one I could borrow, but she'd probably just laugh, so I picked the black set and shoved the rest in the drawer with my underwear.
I put them on, feeling incredibly exposed. I quickly slid under the covers; I wasn't quite ready to display myself to Clint. As I pulled the covers up, I wondered if Steve would like them. They seemed more like they were intended as a male visual stimulus since they really weren't all that comfortable.
I settled into the huge, comfy bed and curled up on my side, closing my eyes and waiting for Clint to finish in the shower. I must have drifted off, because I woke suddenly when the bed dipped, rolling me onto my back. I sat up, startled awake by the movement and heard a masculine chuckle next to me. The room was completely dark, so it took my eyes a moment to adjust before I could see Clint sitting next to me in bed.
"Did I scare you, 'Ria?"
"Surprised me. I must have fallen asleep while you were in the shower. Did you run the base out of hot water?"
"Hah, no." I heard the laughter in his voice and saw a flash of white teeth. "Come here so I can get comfortable." He laid down and pulled me over to him, settling me in his arms.
"So I found something to wear to bed, but Natalia must have been shopping because this isn't what I'd picked out."
"It never is. I'm assuming I'll like it just fine if she picked it out."
I waited for him to lay down and then laid my head on his shoulder. "Probably. She never ceases to surprise me."
"Join the club." He took my hand in his under the covers and tapped Morse code into it.
R u ok with this?
Yes. How did I do?
Good. R u ready 2 act? U need 2 b loud and vocal.
I'm nervous.
Don't think - relax - respond.
The entire conversation didn't take very long and he held me for a little while longer before pulling me up on top of him. I laid my head on his broad chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was a little quicker than normal, but mine was as well. I felt sorry for the other members of our team for being forced to listen to us and mentally cringed at the thought of facing them in the morning.
"I saw the way Khan looked at you tonight, 'Ria?"
"That's not my fault," I whined. "I swear I didn't encourage him, Ronin."
"You better not have been flirting with him. Who do you belong to?"
"You. I belong to you, Ronin."
"Prove it," he ordered as he moved my legs apart to straddle his hips, trapping his hard cock between us. He ran his hands up and down my back, feeling where my clothes ended and my skin began. "Mmm. As much I usually prefer to have you naked, I do like these, babydoll."
"Glad you like them, sir," I said, wriggling as I tried to get comfortable, drawing a groan from Clint.
"Behave," he growled, smacking my ass lightly with his hand. There was a lot of noise for not very much contact. "Or do you need to be disciplined already?"
"I'll be good, sir," I said breathily, playing my part. "I promise."
* *
Following our performance, I let Clint carry me to the bathroom, my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He set me down on my feet to turn on the shower and we got in, soaping up and rinsing off quickly.
Are you okay? Clint signed once the bathroom was steamed up. My eyes widened, realizing I could actually talk to him. That wasn't too much for you?
I'm okay, a little surprised, but okay. We hadn't done anything I felt ashamed of - but I think I was still in shock.
You did good. What do you think of our host?
He's abusive to Nadia. I replied. I think he's looking forward to Cesar and Talib meeting tomorrow. He likes drama.
What about Khan?
He bears watching - so young to have that rank, yes?
Yes.
I would rather you teach him a lesson much like you taught our host. I don't like the way he watches me; makes it harder for me to do my job.
Me either. I'll talk to Tripp to make sure he doesn't bother you.
I nodded and got out first and dried off, looking myself over. My nipples were still incredibly sensitive and the towel was almost too rough for them. Clint had left a couple of marks on my hips from how firmly he'd grasped me, but they'd be gone by morning.
I walked back to the bed and crawled back in, pulling up the covers and rolling on my side. I felt the bed dip as Clint got in and he moved over and put his arm around me, pulling me tight to his chest.