by Rita Herron
“Nothing so far,” Black said, “but we did receive fingerprint results on the CEO and that scientist, Hopkins. Apparently they’re who they claim to be.”
“Then neither one of the men are Hughes?”
“It appears that way, unless someone planted fake prints and covered themselves in the database.”
“Is that possible?”
“Anything’s possible with today’s technology, but duplicity to that extent would require an insider’s assistance.”
Damn.
“I’d say we keep looking. Is there anyone else at CIRP who fits Hughes’s profile?”
“I’ll check again,” Eric said. “Maybe I missed someone.” He rubbed his forehead. “How about the fifth man in the photo? Did you ever find him?”
“Records say he’s dead. He was killed in combat.”
Eric sighed. They were no closer to finding the answers than they were when he’d first come there.
And now, he had to worry about Melissa….
“DAMN IT, I THOUGHT you killed the Fagan woman.”
“I tried.” He muttered a string of obscenities. “But that Collier man came to the rescue again. Who the hell is he?”
“He’s working with the damn cops,” the man barked. “His name is not Collier, but Caldwell.”
“Caldwell?”
“Yes, the brother of the man who helped that pediatric nurse disappear with Project Simon.”
“Hell, he was supposed to be dead, too.”
“Someone screwed up. He almost died in that explosion, but now he’s here for physical therapy working undercover. And if we don’t do something, he might expose us all.”
A cold chill skated up his spine. They couldn’t let that happen. Not now, not when they’d just gotten more money for their research. Not when they had their own inside man at the FBI helping to ease the path for their success.
“I’ll take care of both of them.”
“Yeah?” A bark of disbelief followed. “Then do it right this time or I’m replacing you.”
He shuddered. He knew what that meant.
Fail and die.
He wasn’t ready for the end just yet, but Caldwell and Melissa Fagan had better be.
AFTER HIS SESSION, Eric reviewed the employee list at CIRP once again. Another name caught his attention— Wallace Thacker, a chemist who’d recently transferred from the research center in Oakland, Tennessee—the facility that Cole Turner had supposedly transferred from.
Of course, Cole had been Clayton Fox, and the identity a bogus one that had been invented to give Clay a past to fit his new name and face.
Frank Chadburn, the director of that center, had also disappeared after the memory transplant experiment had been revealed.
Where was he now?
And what kind of story could Eric use to meet the chemist?
If you confided in Melissa, she might be able to help you gain access to confidential files.
No. He would not use her, especially after the way she’d dismissed him the day before.
Frustrated, he phoned Devlin to discuss a plan of action, but the agent didn’t answer, so Eric left a message, grabbed his cell phone and cane and decided to take a walk. He’d make sure the guard was still posted at Melissa’s.
Needing fresh air, he took the path along the beach, remembering the last time he’d walked along the shore with Melissa. The wind whistled behind him, the salty spray wetting his face with a fine mist. He felt the sting bite his cheek, then realized the sting hadn’t originated from the wind, but a bullet had just grazed his face. His instincts kicking in, he pivoted to search for the shooter. In the distance on a cliff at the heart of Serpent’s Cove, he spotted a man in dark clothing. The shooter fired again, this bullet zinging an inch from Eric’s chest.
Eric began to run, dodging the gunfire, stumbling across the sand with his weakened legs….
MELISSA WAS WALKING back to her cottage when she spotted Eric scrambling up the embankment from the beach. What was going on? Why wouldn’t he take the level path? And where was his wheelchair?
She launched into a run, forgetting about the guard. “Eric!”
The young rookie, Dothan, grabbed her arm to stop her. “Ma’am, wait.”
“It’s my patient, I have to see what’s wrong.”
Dothan nodded. “Then I’ll go with you.”
He followed her to the edge. Eric was struggling up the hill, his feet slipping in the sand and overgrown sea oats.
When he noticed Melissa, his eyes widened in alarm. “Melissa, get out of here!”
“Why?” She reached for his hand to help him, but he shrugged away her offer. He was only two feet from her, yet he refused to let her help him.
“I said, get out of here. There’s a shooter on the cliff behind me!”
Melissa gasped and spotted a dark dot disappearing into the distance.
She turned to the guard. “Call someone to catch that man!”
Dothan phoned in, while Eric crested the hill. Melissa immediately clutched his arm. “Are you all right?” Blood dotted his cheek. She raised a hand to wipe it away and check his wound.
“It’s only a graze. Come on, let’s go inside.” Eric ushered her toward her cottage, leaning on his cane.
She slid her arm beneath his waist to give him added support, but he backed away. “I can do it,” he growled.
“Just shut up and let’s go,” she said, refusing to let him push her away.
They hurried down the path, the guard behind them, his gun drawn as he canvassed the area for another attacker. Melissa unlocked the door, her heart pounding as they fell inside. Eric’s breathing was erratic, and he favored his good leg, but at least he was alive.
She flung herself at him, checking his face and chest for injuries. “My God, Eric, he almost shot you.”
“I’m fine.”
Tears burned her eyes as she threw her arms around him. “But you could have died.”
He trapped her hands, clutching them between his own. “He didn’t shoot me, Melissa. It’s all right.”
Hysteria bubbled inside her. “But I thought if we weren’t together, you’d be safe. Don’t you see, I thought…” She released his hands, paced across the small living area, running her fingers through her hair, her panic wild. “I wanted to protect you, but he’s after you anyway. Who’s doing this?”
When she paused, Eric was watching her with an intense darkness in his eyes. “Is that the reason you pushed me away? To protect me?”
Melissa realized she’d revealed herself, but the guard knocked, and Eric let him in.
“Did they catch him?” Eric asked.
Dothan shook his head. “Sorry, he escaped.”
Eric nodded. “Thanks.” His gaze shot back to Melissa, then to the rookie. “I’m going to stay awhile, why don’t you take a break. Go for dinner.”
Dothan gestured toward Melissa. “Is that all right with you, ma’am?”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
Dothan excused himself, and Melissa wrapped her arms around her waist. Did she dare admit the truth to Eric and see where things led them?
ERIC HAD BOTTLED any hope that Melissa might have feelings for him, but when she’d hugged him moments ago, she hadn’t acted like a woman who pitied him.
But he didn’t want her guilt, either.
Eric had to know, then he’d move on. “Did you send me away the other night to protect me, or because you don’t want me?”
Her gaze met his, emotions softening her eyes. He had his answer.
“I don’t want your guilt, or pity,” he said to clarify. “And I won’t take advantage of you because you’re frightened.”
“I am scared,” Melissa said in a low voice. “I’m scared of losing you, Eric.”
His breath hitched in his throat. He’d never imagined wanting a woman the way he craved Melissa. And he’d certainly never allowed himself to believe she’d love him back, especially with his scarred body.
&
nbsp; Then she was in his arms, hugging and holding him, and kissing him with all the fervor of a woman who had truly wanted a man for a long time. Eric cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. The flame of hunger was lit, the heat intensifying with each nibble and caress. She met his tongue thrust for thrust, seeking, yearning, silently telling him she liked his touch.
He was glad to oblige.
His soul had been dark and empty for so long that he welcomed the light. She offered it in the sweet moan that escaped her mouth as he threaded his fingers through the silky tresses of her hair. Their lips tangled and met, while her hands clutched at his arms, then skated over his back. His body hardened, the tantalizing feel of her breasts against his chest creating a slow torture inside him that ignited his arousal to a painful peak.
She surprised him by pulling back slightly and extending her hand. His breath rasped out, and he stared at her hand for a moment, then lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “Are you sure?”
A sultry smile played on her lips. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure. I want you, Eric, in my arms, in my bed, beside me.”
A balloon of joy exploded in his chest, and he nodded, then followed her to the bedroom. A lamp lit the room, bathing it in a soft glow, but he flicked it off, letting the moonlight spilling through the window paint the room in a more romantic glow.
She stroked her fingers along his jaw in an erotic game that stirred his senses even more, and he kissed her again, then slowly lowered his hands to cup her breasts. They were full and heavy, hot beneath his hands as he massaged the weight. A throaty groan escaped him as he imagined baring them for his sight.
A shy look passed in her eyes that teased him even more.
“You’re beautiful, Melissa. I…I wanted you the first time I saw you.”
“I wanted you, too,” she admitted. “But I thought it would be wrong.”
“Sometimes breaking the rules is right.” Grateful for the condom he kept in his wallet, he gently lifted her shirt over her head, his heart thumping as her breasts spilled over the lacy edge of a pale pink bra. Would her nipples be that pale or would they be darker, rose-tipped like the lipstick she wore?
He was dying to know, aching to feel her bare skin against his, to plunge inside her and claim her as his.
“I want to kiss you all over.” He lowered his head and tasted the swell of her breasts, then lower to suck her nipples through the bra. She writhed against him, clinging to his arms to keep her balance, and he tugged the fabric down, teasing her body with his tongue and teeth. Hunger flared hotter inside him, his sex swelling and jutting toward her.
She sighed and dug her fingernails in his arms while he stripped her bra, then slipped her loose skirt to the floor. Pale pink bikini panties arched high on her slender thighs taunted him, the wisp of dark hair beneath almost sending him over the edge.
Then she pushed at his shirt, unbuttoning the first, then second button, and he stilled for the first time since he’d entered, his first signs of doubt creeping into his mind.
Melissa realized Eric’s moment of hesitation but refused to allow him to hold back because of his scars. “I don’t see them when I look at you,” she whispered in his ear. “I see a handsome, strong man.” She traced her tongue along his ear. “A man that I love.”
Eric’s hands cupped her face. “I…Melissa…”
“Shh, you don’t have to say it back,” Melissa whispered. “But I had to tell you.”
He looked moved by her words as he claimed her mouth again, this kiss long and slow, tender and passionate all at the same time. Inflamed by his strength, she savored the feel of his arms around her and tugged off his shirt, running her hands over his bare back.
“You feel so wonderful, Eric.”
He dropped a kiss into her hair. “Melissa, do you have any idea how much I want to make love to you?”
She smiled and kissed him. “I feel the same way.”
He chuckled, and gently eased her down on the bed. But she raised herself on her knees and began to kiss his chest, tracing each scar gently with her finger, then her lips. “Tell me if I hurt you.”
He cradled her head in his hands, closing his eyes and letting her heavenly touch erase the pain. “You can’t.” He rasped out a breath when she licked his nipple. “You won’t hurt me.”
Melissa prayed Eric was right. But she couldn’t think of the danger right now, only that Eric might have died earlier, and she might never have had the chance to lie in his arms. She might never have made love to him.
And she desperately wanted that tonight. Wanted him to be her first.
And her last.
But she wouldn’t ask for promises….
“Enough.” His husky voice triggered a flood of yearning in her belly.
With a wicked gleam in his eyes, he pushed her back on the bed and kissed her again, this time hungrily, as if there would be no tomorrow. Another kiss and his hand unclasped her bra. He lowered his head and stared at her bare breasts with an almost reverent expression in his eyes. She shivered, her nipples aching pinpoints begging for his mouth.
Finally, he traced his tongue over each turgid peak and sucked them into his mouth, his greedy gulps of pleasure igniting tingling sensations through her body.
Eric fed her desires with his heady, throaty moans.
She ached to claw his back but remembered his tender skin, and restrained her urges, instead pouring them into the sounds she emitted and a desperate cry for release as sensations built within her. His fingers danced down her belly, followed by his tongue, and when he dipped them inside her panties, skimming them along her heat, she thought she might die.
Ripple after ripple of pleasure soared through her as he gently stroked her inner thighs, then slid down her body and placed his tongue to the sensitive skin between her legs. His breath caressed her heat while his tongue tortured her with teasing delicious strokes. And when he tasted her, she bucked upward, crying out his name in euphoric release.
EMOTIONS WELLED inside Eric like a tidal wave as Melissa’s body convulsed in his arms. She tasted like fire and sweetness, her declaration of love completely stunning him.
No one had ever loved him before except his brother.
Aching for fulfillment, he wrestled the condom from his wallet, pulled it over his length, rose above her and braced his arms by her sides, then teased her legs farther apart with his good leg and slid his erection against her heat. She whimpered and lifted her hips, begging him to enter her, and he thrust inside with a moan.
Her tightness surprised him.
Her virginity shocked him.
“Melissa…” He stilled, but she pressed her hands to his cheeks and dragged his mouth toward hers.
“Please, Eric, I have to have you.”
Heaven sent down a shooting star that obliterated any misgivings. He knew he should mouth loving words back, but he was so humbled by her offering, he could only kiss her, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth as he thrust his sex into her welcoming heat. He hesitated, giving her time to adjust to his size, but she moaned and moved below him, pulling him deeper and deeper inside her until he’d filled her to the core.
Unable to control his fierce longing for another moment, he began to pump inside her, in and out, teasing her to the edge of another orgasm and himself to insanity.
“I do love you, Eric,” she whispered as release swept her into a trembling mass.
He fell into the vortex with her, soaring, soaring, soaring….
ERIC CRADLED MELISSA in his arms, the titillating sensations still rippling through him. He’d never experienced such intensity with a woman, such closeness. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and keep the two of them buried in this warm cocoon of bliss forever.
But they had to talk. He should say something, confess his feelings, only they were so new and foreign to him, his emotions so raw that his voice refused to cooperate. He had been so angry and confused and lost when his mother died, and after the explosion. He’d tho
ught he was meant to protect others, to get revenge. Never had he considered that he might have a normal life, a woman to love him….
He wanted that normal life. He wanted to be with Melissa forever.
She gently traced a finger over his chest and his heart swelled with such longing that he cleared his throat to tell her, but a knock sounded at the door. Damn it, he didn’t want to answer.
But what if the police had found the shooter? What if they had the break in the case and he could put it to rest, lock Hughes away and start looking toward a future?
Melissa sighed as the knocking grew louder. “I should get it, I guess.”
He shook his head. “No, stay here. I’ll go.”
She bit down on her lip, but relented. He stood, dragged on his jeans and shirt, grabbed his cane, then headed to the living area, closing the bedroom door to give her privacy. He hurriedly buttoned his shirt, not ready to share his newfound relationship with the guard.
But Special Agent Devlin stood on the other side, looking harried and in a rush. “We have to talk.”
Eric jammed his hands in his pockets. “What are you doing here?”
“Black filled me in on the shooting. Listen, Eric, we need to move on this investigation.”
“Why?”
“Word is that Hughes has not only resurfaced but that he has scientists working on brainwashing techniques.”
“You knew that all along.”
“Yes, but we think he’s using unsuspecting patients as guinea pigs. And we’re almost certain Hughes is Melissa Fagan’s father.”
Eric’s stomach knotted. “How can you be sure?”
Devlin’s moment of hesitation sparked Eric’s suspicion. “You knew before. That’s why you sent me here, arranged to have me work with Melissa.” Anger tightened his throat. “You set me up, didn’t you?”
Guilt flashed in Devlin’s eyes for a millisecond before he masked it.
“We had no way of being sure you’d actually meet her, but I did some checking when you mentioned you had, and we finally hacked into the old files.” Devlin’s voice was level. “Believe it or not, Hughes was actually listed on the birth certificate of the baby Candace Latone delivered.”
