by Arianna Hart
“I thought what you had wasn’t enough to put him away?” Macayla said, a frown of concentration on her face.
“It’s not. That’s the problem, they either have to find someone else, or take what they can get from me. I only know the computer aspect of it. I can tell them what was done, what banks allowed him access into their systems, but I can’t tell them who the actual players were. I am basically a sitting duck unless they find someone else fast, or Connor’s sources come up big.”
“What does Connor have to with it?”
“He still has all kinds of sources, if he can find Hints, and we can get our hands on his computers, we’ll be able to nail him.”
“I didn’t realize Connor was involved. So now we stay here until we find out what is going on with Connor?”
“Yes, and can I say that the shoe is not so comfortable on the other foot,” Jared said, thinking back to when Connor and Samara were hiding out, waiting for Jared to find out who was trying to kill Connor.
“Serves you right. Unfortunately, my vacation time will be up soon, I’ll have to go back to the hospital, then what are you going to do?”
“Go quietly insane. Have you ever seen The Shining?” Jared asked trying not to think about passing long, lonely hours without her here.
“I always knew you were mentally unbalanced,” Macayla said with a grin.
“Let’s just take it one day at a time. When do you have to be back at the hospital?”
“I have another week off, I was told not to enter the office before then. The head of my practice thinks I work too much.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Ha, ha. Actually, I was trying to figure out how I was going to survive three weeks off when you fell into my lap, so to speak. If nothing else, you saved me from being bored to tears,” Macayla said, wiggling on Jared’s lap.
“So that’s all I’ve done? Killed some time for you?” Jared asked.
“Well, you did make me throw up, and drag me to a barn dance, and –“
“And?” Jared asked nibbling at her neck.
“And made me want you so badly that I will forgive you your boorish behavior. Why don’t we take our coffee in bed?”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Jared shut the top on his computer, he couldn’t do anything to find Hints now anyway, making love to Macayla was a much more productive use of his time. Connor would get in touch with him when he found something, and not a moment sooner. His last coherent thought was that there were worse ways to spend his recovery time.
* * *
Jared absently waved good-bye to Macayla as she left for a supply trip to the general store. He was concentrating on some traps he had set up to find the crafty Hints, and he barely noticed she was gone. Macayla smiled to herself as she walked down the drive.
Now that he wasn’t sneaking around trying to hide his activities from her, she had to fight for his time and attention. He really was a computer geek in a gorgeous body. Maybe she should have made him keep his activities secret; he certainly gave her more attention when he couldn’t use his computer.
The space was probably good for her. In another week she’d have to go back to work, if things weren’t cleared up by then she could visit Jared on her days off, but it was a long ride to Maine. She didn’t have many weekends off, and she usually worked six days straight between call hours and office hours. She would need some time to run errands, do laundry, pay bills, and other necessary chores. She couldn’t spend all her time running back and forth to see Jared. It wouldn’t be safe for him either.
Maybe she could work something out with Connor and see about getting him a hideout closer to her house. “Okay Cayla, slow down, we’re taking this one day at a time, remember?” Macayla told herself out loud. She was so busy plotting and planning, she never noticed the shadow she picked up as soon as she entered the general store.
After browsing the offerings, she made her selections, paid for them, and headed back to the cabin. It never occurred to her to check her back; she just assumed she was safe. She had never been in a situation where she had to worry about being followed home, so she went on her merry way back to the cabin, never knowing that someone was very interested in her destination.
* * *
Jared had taken his computer with him to the porch; Macayla checked on him and only received a grunt. Thinking about the night she had planned, she was glad he was otherwise occupied. She quickly dug out the scented candles she paid an exorbitant amount for and put them in the master bedroom. Once they became intimate, the larger bedroom became their room without a discussion.
Macayla had to admit she enjoyed waking up to Jared’s arm around her. She didn’t enjoy his cover stealing, but hey no one is perfect. She set the candles around the bed and made sure she had matches handy. Then she went back to their old room, where her bag was still residing. She wasn’t sure what Samara had packed for her, but knowing Samara it would be something Macayla had never thought of.
Bingo! Samara had packed a negligee for Macayla that would either stop Jared in his tracks, or knock him out cold. Macayla held the gown up to her and marveled that it wasn’t too long. She had a hard time finding nightgowns that didn’t drag on the ground, not that she looked very hard.
This gown was emerald green, and matched her eyes perfectly. It had two slender spaghetti straps holding up a rather plain, low-cut bodice. The waist was nonexistent, as the gown fell straight as an arrow to the floor. There was a slit in the side that started at the curve of her behind, and played peek-a-boo with her leg when she moved it experimentally. The gown was backless, and dipped to a point slightly north of her rear. It was a very plain gown, no frills, no lace, but all the more devastating because of it. Macayla’s curvy body provided all the frills needed to make this gown a showstopper. She was going to have to buy Samara a big box of chocolates for this one.
Carefully hanging up the gown for later, Macayla went back into the kitchen. Jared was still on the porch; she would have thought the damn thing would have lost battery power by now. Oh well, she wanted to get dinner started anyway. No chicken for them tonight.
She purchased the biggest, juiciest steaks the store had to offer. She had to admit they offered quite a bit for a little store, but they probably made their money from forgotten items and barbeque staples. She marinated the steaks and put them in the fridge.
Next she scrubbed some potatoes for twice-baked potatoes, one of her personal favorites. She had deliberated over the vegetable; corn on the cob went well with steak, but she didn’t want to get all slobbery, and it was impossible to eat corn on the cob neatly. She didn’t want any gas inducing vegetable like broccoli, so she went for plain green beans. Not a culinary coup, but adequate in this case. She made a salad, no onions tonight, and set that to chill as well.
The sun was starting to sink in the sky when she finished the potatoes. The setting sun would probably pull Jared out of his computer-coma, but she had better hurry in case he quit sooner than she expected. She pulled her hair up into a knot on top of her head and took a shower. She used the perfumed bath gel left in the master bath, she didn’t recognize the name of the fragrance, but it smelled sexy and exotic, perfect.
Once she got out of the shower she was stumped. She couldn’t wear the nightgown to make the steaks in, if there was a spark from the grill she’d go up in flames. She hadn’t packed with the idea of seducing Jared in mind. She had to think, what did she have that was sexy? Nothing came to mind until she looked at her cut-off shorts hanging out of the drawer. If she wore those, and a tank top, instead of her normal oversized tee shirt that would get Jared thinking about her instead of his stupid computer. She quickly slipped them on, forgoing underwear for the first time in her life. She didn’t know what was getting into her!
She slipped sandals on her feet and headed back to the kitchen; Jared was still on his computer, and the sun was just a glimmer in the sky. She put the potatoes in the oven to warm, set the tab
le, lit the candles, and started the grill. One would think the sound of her lighting the gas grill would pull him out of his stupor, but no such luck. After she waited for the grill to heat up, she slapped the steaks on with a sizzle. Glancing over at Jared she counted the seconds it took him to smell the mouth-watering scent of grilling meat. “One, two, three, four, five-“
“Hey, is that steak?” Jared asked looking up for the first time in hours.
“You betcha. If you hurry, you’ll have time to shower and shave before it’s ready.”
“I guess I am a little scruffy. I like mine rare!” Jared said as he raced for the shower. He hadn’t shaved yet that morning, and he was a little stiff and sweaty from sitting in the sun all day. He glanced at the clock on his way into the shower. Eight hours and he was still no closer to finding Hints.
He had gotten a glimpse or two, but the bastard was just too clever, and time was running out. Jared hoped Connor had better luck finding his physical whereabouts, because he was getting nowhere in cyber space.
Macayla was just putting the steaks on the table when Jared emerged from the bedroom. “This looks fantastic. I haven’t had a good steak in years. When did you do all this?”
“While you were on the porch.”
“I guess I get a little absorbed in my work. Sorry.”
“I understand, I guess if I was trying to find the person out to kill me I’d get absorbed too. But now it’s time to put that away and enjoy the evening.” Macayla had closed the blinds to block the setting sun, lit the candles, put the radio on softly, and turned the other lights off.
Jared held the chair for Macayla, and noticed for the first time the fragrance drifting from her body. She smelled like a walking seduction, and Jared was snared in two breaths.
“You smell sinfully sexy. Did you get that at the general store too?” Jared asked, running a finger along the nape of her neck.
“No, it was something I found in the master bathroom. I liked it, so I thought I would borrow it.”
“Remind me to buy you some of your own. It is perfect for you.”
Macayla smiled but said nothing else. The meal passed quietly, with none of their usual banter. Jared didn’t feel like talking about his frustrating day. After a dessert of sherbet and wafer cookies, Jared helped her do the dishes. He couldn’t help but notice the length of her legs, the curve of her behind, the sway of her hips. There was something different about her this evening, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. Whatever it was, it was making the blood pump in his veins.
“Do you want to have a drink on the porch? If we stick to the screened in area we shouldn’t get eaten alive by mosquitoes,” Jared suggested when they had finished the dishes.
“Maybe, I’ll let you know. Right now I need to use the bathroom, hang on a second.” Macayla gave him a sultry glance over her shoulder as she headed for the bedroom.
Once in she quickly shimmied out of her clothes and into the gown. She sprayed herself one more time with the scent, since it was working so well, and brushed her teeth.
She lit the candles, and then panicked. Did she lie on the bed? Should she stand by the door? How was she going to get him in? She looked around the room for inspiration, and spotted the champagne that Jared had bought when she was sick. She had found it in the fridge and placed it in the room with the two plastic champagne flutes she bought at the store.
“Jared, could you help me in her a minute?” Macayla called from behind the door. She was standing with her back to the door when he came in.
“Sure, what do you need-“ Jared trailed off when he saw her bare back in the candlelit room. The soft shimmer of the candles made her skin glow like a pearl, her hair was held up on her head with wisps of curls teasing her shoulders. Her bare back curved gently to the line of the gown, and when she turned, Jared lost the power of speech.
“I just needed help opening the champagne. I’m not very good with this,” Macayla said, her eyes aglow. She walked slowly towards him, the length of her leg showing with every step. Her unfettered breasts swayed gently beneath the silk of the gown. The act of walking across the room was at once both the biggest turn on to her, and to Jared.
Speechless, Jared popped open the champagne and poured the frothy liquid into the flutes.
“A toast,” Macayla said, looking at Jared over her glass.
“To what?” Jared asked, amazed that he could get that much out of his beleaguered mind.
“To a night we won’t soon forget.” Macayla drained the glass. When Jared had done the same, she took his glass from him and set it on the table next to the bottle.
She reached out and gently grabbed Jared’s hand and started to kiss it. She concentrated on only his hand, nibbling it, licking it, sucking on his fingers, but never moving beyond his hand. His hands had fascinated her forever. The way they could gently hold her face, the speed with which he used them to type, the power in them, and the gentleness that was such a part of him, all of that was encompassed in his hands.
So she worshiped them, all the while, she looked boldly into his eyes, making love with her expression as much as with her mouth. When Jared had to close his eyes or go insane, she took his unresisting hand and slowly moved it over her body, running it over the silk of her gown, over the curve of her breast, the curve of her hip, the hollow between her thighs. When she brought it back up to her shoulder and used his hand to push the slender strap off her shoulder, he could take his passive role no longer.
Picking her up off her feet, he carried her to the bed where he laid her down gently. Macayla bent one knee and lifted herself up onto her elbows while she watched him slowly undress.
When he was completely naked he kneeled on the bed and cupped her face in his large hands.
“You do something to me, touch something in me that no one has ever done or touched. You are everything,” he said as he brought her face to his in a searingly gentle kiss. His lips did more than caress hers they possessed her completely. His tongue dove in for a duel inside her mouth, playing with hers and teasing her unmercifully. The hands that she had devoted so much attention to now returned the favor and worshipped at the altar of her body.
The gown was soon discarded, and the glory of her hair released from its confinement. Jared brought her up and over so many times, she was practically weeping with emotion. When he finally entered her, he stared directly into the twin green fires that shone from her eyes, and watched the flames flare hotter. When moments later she reached her climax and closed her eyes, Jared finally gave in to the passion that he’d been holding in check since the minute he walked through the door.
Chapter Sixteen
Jared admired Macayla’s backside as she walked down the driveway. She had said something about going back to the general store to get some more candles. He hadn’t really been paying attention, he was following the thinnest of threads that might actually lead him to Hints.
He was so close to finding Hints, the pieces of the puzzle were coming together, finally. Connor had sent him an e-mail that said he was closing in too. In a few days this would all be over and he could-
Do what? It wasn’t like Macayla could follow him without giving up her entire life. Did he even want her too?
Now there was a question.
Jared had never thought much beyond the job at hand before. Once he was finished with one, there was always another waiting for him. He had liked hopping from one place to another, but could he ask Macayla to do that?
Man, he’d never thought about the future before, and now he knew why. Was he willing to give up his career so Macayla didn’t have to give up hers? What if he did and she didn’t want him around anymore? The thought drove spikes right through his heart.
Jared pushed the unwelcome thoughts and their connotations out of his head. There’d be plenty of time to work this all out once he caught Hints. He’d make sure he and Macayla had a long conversation about it, later.
A little voice at the back of his hea
d whispered that he of all people should know that there wasn’t always a later, but he pushed that away as well. He went back to chase Hints through the cyber jungle where he was hiding.
His concentration was so complete he didn’t notice he had a visitor until a shadow fell across his screen. Looking up he saw the blonde piranha smiling at him in nothing but a pair of skimpy shorts and a lacy bra.
This was not good.
“Hi ya handsome,” she drawled, moving closer to him.
He quickly shut down the program he was working on and closed the top of his laptop. The smell of her musky perfume hit him in the face like a slap. Where the hell was Macayla when he needed her?
“Hello Laura. Um, what are you doing here? And how did you find our house?” If she could find this place than anyone could. Damn it, now their safety was jeopardized. He had to get rid of her and fast. They were going to have to find some place else to hide until he got the goods on Hints.
“It was easy, when your girlfriend was at the store yesterday I followed her home. Didn’t think I’d seen you around the park before. I remember good looking guys,” she said with a leer.
“Ah, hm, I bet you do. You’ll have to excuse me, but I think Macayla would be rather upset to find you here, you see she’s a little possessive. And has a mean temper, it might be a good idea if you left while you still have the chance.” Where was Macayla anyway? She should be back from the store by now.
“Oh, don’t worry about her, I’ve got something that will keep her busy, I didn’t take any chances this time.”
“What do you mean?” What had this bimbo done to Macayla? Jared felt worry and anger fight for control. Laura was no longer an annoyance, now she was a threat to his woman and he knew how to deal with threats.
“Oh nothing, she is just going to be entertaining a friend of mine for a while so we can get to know each other better.” The anger in his voice must have gotten through to her because she backed away from him, no longer hovering over him.
