“She and I share a common enemy. I think it will take both our skill sets to defeat him.” Valerie was visible in the passenger side mirror, her beautiful, relaxed face bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, lips parted as if in invitation. He tore his gaze away, watching the passing ocotillo wave their long, prickly arms in the breeze. “I’m not looking for more than that.”
He would absolutely walk away once their names were cleared. Until then he needed to ignore the things she stirred in him.
Valerie straightened and wiped her mouth, stretching her neck side to side and rolling her shoulders, coming awake by degrees. “What are you looking for?” she asked, her voice thick.
Alan met Scott’s gaze in the mirror and an unspoken agreement passed between them. “Bathroom break, maybe a snack.”
“Sounds good to me.” She turned in her seat to look at Scott with a familiar smile that made him want to crawl over the center console and claim her with a hard kiss. “You okay back there? I can switch after we stop, if you want.”
Join me. Scott shook his head. “I’m fine,” he managed to get out between gritted teeth.
They stopped overnight in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Alan got a room at a cheap motel off the freeway that was about a hundred steps up from the crappy place Valerie and Scott had stayed in Zachari…yesterday?
Had it really only been last night?
“I’ll take the couch,” Scott said now, his solemn blue eyes taking in the two double beds in the beige room peppered with red accents.
He’d been even quieter than usual since Alan joined their group, but she appreciated the buffer that her old friend created between them. It was easier to ignore her inconvenient attraction to Scott when he wasn’t the only one in the room.
But Alan’s real help was in making them anonymous. Not only had he provided them with transportation, he could rent hotel rooms and buy food without raising suspicion.
And she’d missed him.
She hadn’t realized just how much until she saw him again. He was like the big brother she’d desperately wanted any one of her cousins to be. She’d missed the way he draped his arm across her shoulders, lightly “punched” her arm when she teased him, covered her hand with his own when she got emotional. She’d missed being touched.
Jesus, she was so pathetic, but she hadn’t realized how starved for a physical connection she was. Not necessarily romantic, just…human.
Maybe that’s what she’d been craving from Scott. Maybe she’d mistaken her need for a hug for desire.
And maybe she was a fifty-pound frog.
“The couch would be more comfortable for me than you,” she said, moving closer to Alan, whose strong aftershave obliterated Scott’s enticing scent. “I’m shorter.”
Scott shook his head, his face maddeningly expressionless. “Take the bed. You need to sleep.”
“And you don’t?” She put her hands on her hips.
Tossing his backpack onto the scarlet cushions, he said, “I can sleep anywhere.”
How about with me?
After his time in the Middle East, he probably could sleep under any conditions, but would he even try here? He and Alan had been cordial, but there was no mistaking the tension between them. She guessed Scott was not happy about giving up control, and had yet to decide if he could trust the other man. Then again, he understood the potential advantages of a third person or he would have left already.
A cool chill swept through her. The last thing she wanted was to push him away.
“Okay, then.” Dropping her bag onto the bed furthest from the door—and closest to the sofa—she said, “Thank you.”
Looking up, she caught Alan watching her, a wary expression on his face. “You two done?”
She ignored his jab and merely nodded.
“I’m going to get a pop,” Scott said, striding toward the door. “You guys want anything?”
Alan shook his head.
“Would you get me a bag of Skittles?” she asked. She needed fuel.
As soon as the door fell shut, Alan said, “What’s up with him?”
She shrugged and removed her toothbrush and toothpaste from her bag.
“And who says ‘pop?’” he asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
Offering up a light laugh, she said, “No idea.”
Alan moved up behind her, quiet as a cat, and toyed with a piece of her hair. “How are you holding up?”
Turning, she settled into his open arms and let out a deep sigh. “Okay, I guess. All things considered.” What choice did she have? “Falling apart isn’t really an option.”
He rubbed her upper back. “You’ll beat this, Valerie. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
She looked up at his handsome face. Why hadn’t some girl scooped him up yet? Or maybe one had. She knew so little about his life now. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Not just for today, for everything. You’ve been the one good thing in my life since my dads… I hated that we had to cut ties.”
“Me too. You and Filiberto were almost like family to me. Better than my own. In real life, I was a skinny math nerd with secondhand clothes who got bullied by the punks on my bus. Other than the one guy who took an interest in me and showed me my first online game, my home was a revolving door of men who treated my mom like shit. But online, I was part of a community. I could be anyone. And then I met your papá and he showed me where the real power was.”
“It’s addictive,” she said. Her dad had sucked her into that world too, and she’d found the anonymity and ability to create any persona far more thrilling than the analog world. “You’re finally with your tribe, and you feel so smart, so superior, like an intellectual gladiator.”
Alan nodded. “But your father got cocky and sloppy. I knew he was in for a fall—though I didn’t expect anything worse than jail time for him—and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Once you went away to college, I figured you were better off without me in your life.” Alan pulled her in tight. “I should have tried harder to keep you out of the hacker world, both when you were still a kid, and after you dropped out of school. I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“I sh—” The lock whirred and the door opened with a loud thunk.
Valerie shot backward out of his arms and looked to her right. Only Scott’s leg was visible as he strode away. The heavy, metal door slammed shut, leaving her alone with Alan again. “What the hell?”
He jerked his head toward the door. “You should go talk to him.” His eyebrows rose meaningfully.
She could feel the heat rising into her cheeks. “There’s nothing… We’re not…”
“Okay, whatever, but you need him. Go,” he said, gently pushing her forward. “I’ll set up a secure connection and start digging around.”
Outside, the few working lights did little to dispel the shadows that clung to the squat two-story motel. At the end of the cracked pavement she caught a glimpse of Scott rounding the corner to the far side of the building that butted up against a deserted industrial complex with roll-up doors.
Afraid of drawing any attention from the rooms along the exposed corridor, she jogged on her toes, following him around the bend without calling out. He was waiting for her, and she had to pull up short to keep from crashing into him.
She stifled a yelp and placed a hand on the cool stucco wall for support. “Where are you going?” Goose bumps raced across her skin. After two weeks on the coast of California, she’d forgotten the rest of the country was experiencing winter.
He studied her, his face half in shadow, expression unreadable, and took a long swig of Dr. Pepper from a can before answering. “Giving you and Alan some privacy.”
“It wasn’t like that,” she said, crossing her arms so she wouldn’t rub them. The sweatshirt Scott had loaned her was no longer enough to keep her warm. Her pulse pounded in her neck, insistent and almost painful, a mismatch to the faint beat of country music that fl
oated from the tiny bar at the front of the motel. “He’s just a friend.”
“Okay.” Scott tipped the can to his lips, his gaze never leaving her face.
“He’s like the big brother I never had,” she said. “There’s nothing romantic between us. I was just thanking him for helping me. And you.”
“Great.” Scott continued to stare, his blue eyes colorless under the yellow parking lot lights, but no less intense.
Heat rushed through her veins, driving away the chill. “Why don’t you believe me?”
His stoic facade cracked, a hairline fracture, but a breakthrough nonetheless. “What do you want from me, Valerie?”
“For once, I’d like to know what you’re really thinking.” The words poured out of her, hot and messy and irresponsible. “I can’t read you at all. I’m sure you like it that way, but it’s so damned maddening.” She barely had the wherewithal to keep her voice from rising. “I can’t tell if you trust me or think every word out of my mouth is a lie. I don’t even know if you actually like me, or if you’re just here because you need my help to clear your name.”
Moving close, he crumpled the can and dropped it, and then raised both arms to cage her against the rough wall. “I like you.” He practically growled the words, his face just inches from hers and hidden in the shadows. “But I don’t do relationships.”
“I’m pretty sure we have a relationship of some kind.”
He let out an impatient breath that caressed her cheek.
“But I understand,” she said, feeling bold and a bit reckless, drugged by his nearness. “You mean we don’t have the kind where I’d do this.” She arched and rubbed her breasts slowly across his chest, creating a delicious friction that made her head spin.
He kissed her hard, scrambling her thoughts, stealing her breath. His mouth was warm and he tasted like syrup. She lapped him up.
And then he was gone, taking his heat and his soft lips with him. When she opened her eyes, he had rolled away next to her with his back against the wall, hands fisted at his sides. “I can’t.”
She frowned as his words slipped past her lustful stupor. “Why not?” Her stomach went into a freefall. “Wait, do you have a girlfriend…or a wife?” Seemed like that would have come up sooner, but who knew?
“No.” Back to Mr. Stoic, despite their recent full body contact, he said, “I told you, I don’t…get involved.”
She couldn’t help herself, she laughed. He was actually the kind of guy who gave that speech and meant it. “You’re seriously overthinking this. We like each other, we’re sticking together for now, and our lives are shit. Where’s the harm in finding a little joy in that scenario?” If she wanted to spin stupid fantasies about happily-ever-afters and sunsets, that was her problem. She’d been disappointed before. She knew how to deal.
“It may have slipped your mind,” he said, his voice pitched low as he watched her, wary, “but I’m a killer, Valerie.”
Something in the way he said it gave her pause. I’m a killer. Was that really how he saw himself?
She swallowed to ease her dry throat. “Technically, maybe, but it’s not like you’re some kind of hired assassin.” She burrowed into his oversized sweatshirt to ward off a chill. “You protect people.”
He scanned their surroundings. “You can pretty it up, but it doesn’t change anything.” His jaw clenched tight and he gave a sharp head shake.
She pushed away from the wall so she could face him. “Look, I’m not getting on my knees to beg for sex or anything, but…”
His body stilled. A classic reaction when trying to hide a response.
Interesting. Was that what he wanted? Her on her knees?
A delicious heat curled through her as she took a step closer, energized by the revelation of her feminine power. “What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing.” He crossed his arms.
Lord only knew where this side of her was coming from. She could do almost anything for a role, but she wasn’t acting this time. Maybe it was that she had nothing to lose. Or, maybe she was tired of reacting to events, tired of feeling like she had no control over what happened next in her life.
She wanted to take charge of something.
She wanted Scott.
Dropping to her knees, she looked up and caught his startled expression.
“Valerie.” He grumbled the dark warning.
But he didn’t move, didn’t leave. He gripped his waistband, but didn’t push her away as she unbuttoned his shorts and lowered the zipper. She tugged his boxers down just enough to free his thick erection.
No, he definitely wasn’t immune to her. She smiled.
“I’m not begging,” she said and stroked his hot skin, curling her fingers around his steely length.
His entire body went taut, and his breathing stopped.
The hard cement made her knees ache, the cold air seeped through her jeans, someone could discover them at any moment… She couldn’t care less. Until now, she had never craved the taste of a man.
A low groan rumbled from deep in his chest when she took him into her mouth, sucking him from base to tip, reveling in the feel of him against her tongue. Triumph raced through her at the urgent plea of his hand on her shoulder, his fingers suddenly tangled in her ponytail.
She caressed his balls through the fabric of his shorts with one hand and kneaded his buttocks with the other. His hips pumped, seeking more, his increasingly harsh breaths mingling with the occasional sounds of a car or truck passing on the freeway.
He never threw back his head or closed his eyes, never completely stopped scanning for potential threats, but he grimaced and bit his lower lip and furrowed his pale brow. She’d never seen him so emotionally laid bare.
Something unfurled inside her, making her heart flutter and sing.
“Val—” His breath caught. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he shoved against her shoulder.
She held tight to his backside and gave her head a small shake, making a noise of protest deep in her throat. She wanted all of him.
He came then, hips jerking as his breath shuddered from his lips in silent surrender.
Chapter Eleven
Las Cruces, NM
Monday, 10:30 p.m.
Scott managed not to make a sound as he came in a glorious burst of light, but it was damned hard. He wasn’t holding back a mere moan, or the need to call out Valerie’s name, he wanted to give a fucking victory cry.
He’d tried to hold on, to hold out, but her wicked mouth had sent him rushing headlong into heaven far too fast.
Then again, the faster the better.
Sure, he’d been flying high from getting sucked off by the gorgeous woman he’d been jonesing for all month. Out under the sky in the open air, no less—like something right out of a fantasy—but that had also left both of them unprotected, totally vulnerable, with no one watching their six. Jesus.
Fucking.
Christ.
He tucked himself into his pants and zipped up, still shaky from the mind-blowing release.
He hadn’t let a woman go down on him since… well, since before he left the Marines. Years. And it had never been like that. Not once.
Part of him wanted to go apeshit on Valerie for pushing herself on him, for keeping after him until he let down his guard. Part of him wanted to haul her back to their room, kick out her “old friend” Alan, and make love to her all night. The first option wasn’t fair to her, the second would only make their situation worse.
If she had looked even a little smug, he might have chewed her ass anyway, just to relieve the frustration and confusion building in his chest. Instead, she sported a nervous smile as she wiped her mouth, dusted off her knees, and stood.
He probably should have reached out for her, held her…done something. What exactly was the appropriate post-blow-job-next-to-a-parking-lot response? He hesitated, and her face fell as she turned away without a word. Scott scooped up his crumpled pop can and followed her back
to the room, his chest hollow.
An hour later, Valerie and Alan navigated their secret online world while she munched on the candy Scott had finally remembered to give her. He knew how to lie on a rocky hill covered in brush for three days straight watching men come and go from a compound. He knew how to spend a night on a rooftop waiting in silence for someone to present as a target. He knew how to wait years for freedom from a tiny cell.
He did not know how to watch others try to save his ass while he did nothing.
Even more dangerous was that without a distraction, Valerie was all he could think about. The determined look on her face when she’d reached for him. The feel of her cool fingers against his hot, needy skin. Her mouth wrapped around him…
He hadn’t been able to think straight since.
Ignoring him now as if nothing had happened between them, she leaned against the headboard of her bed, hunched over her laptop. Before her shower a little while ago, she had twisted her dark blond hair into a messy bun high on her head that revealed the graceful curve of her shoulder and the soft spot beneath her ear where he wanted to press his mouth—
Stifling a groan, he jumped to his feet. A quick look through his backpack netted him a clean shirt and underwear. “I’m going to take a shower.” It had been a couple days, and while he didn’t smell particularly bad, he definitely didn’t smell like roses.
Alan made a distracted noise of acknowledgement, and Valerie waved without looking up from her screen.
Scott understood that level of focus. Admired it. Was pretty much in awe of the intellectual skill required to do what they did. He was an action kind of guy, even if that action meant not moving for days. A doer. But he had nothing to contribute in a world where all the action played out in bits and bytes.
Pushing down the familiar feelings of inadequacy, he paused on his way to the bathroom to peer through the peephole. All appeared quiet in the motel’s back lot. He double-checked that the extra deadbolt was thrown and entered the tiny bathroom.
And came face to face with Valerie’s green T-shirt and a pair of lacy black underwear dripping dry on a cord pulled across the shower stall that had been installed by the motel owner for just such a purpose.
Dangerous To Love Page 218
