A Darker Shade of Dead

by Bianca D’Arc

  “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. If anyone is sorry, it’s me for putting you in this situation to begin with. That jerk came for me, not you. So I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’m so sorry.”

  “Let’s call it even,” Mari said. “What happened to him? The bad guy, I mean?”

  “Matt zip-tied him to the radiator and I gave him a sedative. He’ll be out until morning at least.”

  “I know. I know.” Sandra held up her hands in surrender when Mari seemed upset. “But I checked his responses thoroughly before I did it. He seemed fine. Matt said some things that made a lot of sense to me at the time.” Her conscience was getting the better of her until she remembered why that scumball had been in her lab to begin with. “In fact, they still make sense. That guy would have killed either one of us and never blinked an eye.”

  “You said something about him leaving zombie Jennings here last night. You really think he did that?”

  “It makes sense. The guy seems to be able to come and go as he pleases on base. He’s threatened me twice before.” Sandra tried to shrug off the memories of violence that surrounded the man who now lay trussed up in her laboratory. She had to focus on Mariana and make sure the other woman didn’t suffer anything more than a bruise from this night’s adventure. “How’s the head? Any vision issues?”

  Sandra spent the next half hour giving Mariana a thorough checkup. Thankfully, neither Mariana nor her baby seemed to be any worse for wear, although Mari would have a little bruise on her head for a day or two.

  “You think the commander would let us continue working?” Mariana asked a little while later. “I really would like to finish isolating the protein sequence I was working on. The sample won’t last much longer and I’d hate to have to start over.”

  “We can ask.” Sandra wanted something to do as well. Sitting around doing nothing wasn’t exactly her favorite pastime.

  “You go ask him while I freshen up.” Mariana headed for the attached bathroom, leaving Sandra no choice but to face Matt alone. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see him after the way she’d pretty much lost control the last time they’d been alone.

  There was nothing for it. She had to face him at some point. Gathering her courage and putting on her best poker face, Sandra entered the lab, looking for Matt. She finally caught sight of him in the shadows by the door. He had a clear line of sight on the prisoner, who was still unconscious. He also had a good defensible position by the only entrance to the room.

  The reinforced steel door was shut tight and locked. It would take a lot of force to get through it. Too bad Sandra and Mariana had been blindsided as they entered. If they’d had time to get into the lab and lock the door behind them, they’d have been relatively safe.

  “Mari and I were wondering if we could do some work,” she said tentatively. Damn. She had to find her backbone.

  “Should be safe enough.” Matt shrugged. “Can you keep away from that side of the lab or should I move our guest?” He gestured toward the unconscious man.

  “You can leave him. We were going to work on the equipment over there against the other wall.”

  Matt nodded, silently observing her. She felt like a bug under a microscope and she didn’t like it. Sandra straightened her lab coat and turned on her heel. The man was unnerving when he looked at her like that.

  Sandra did her best to ignore him for the next few hours while she and Mariana worked. From time to time she’d look up to find him watching her. At other times he seemed to be concentrating on the earpiece through which he kept tabs on the team in the field.

  She hadn’t meant to spend the entire night in the lab, but after the renewed attack it was clear they weren’t going anywhere before sunrise. Mari gave Sandra first dibs on the cot in the back room so she could grab a couple hours of sleep, then they traded off. Matt positioned himself on a stool by the door to the lab and didn’t budge. She thought maybe he napped sitting there from time to time, but he was definitely on watch. If anything or anyone tried to get through that door, she had no doubt he’d be awake and sharp within seconds.

  She’d heard of the training many soldiers—especially those involved in special operations—underwent. Part of that was the ability to take combat naps whenever and wherever possible in order to keep themselves going for long periods on very little sleep. But Sandra was still worried about him. He’d been through a major physical ordeal the night before. She hadn’t seen him all day. She hoped he’d found some time to sleep, but he certainly didn’t look much worse for wear.

  Keeping her worries about him to herself was hard, but she managed it until just before dawn. Mariana had retreated to the back room again and the prisoner was still unconscious, so it was just Sandra and Matt.

  “How are things going?” she ventured.

  “The combat team is starting to get a handle on the situation in the woods. Things should be quieting down anyway once the sun starts to rise.”

  He sounded alert but she still worried.

  “That’s good. How are you feeling?” She decided to just come out and ask. “Did you get enough rest?”

  “I left work early yesterday afternoon and caught a couple hours of deep sleep, which I’ve supplemented a bit.” He shrugged off his skillful use of napping. “I’m good. How are you and Mariana holding up?”

  “She’s fine. I’m a little tired, but it’s not a big deal. I’ve pulled all-nighters in the lab before.”

  He eyed her strangely for a moment, but she had no idea how to read his expression. He was closed to her when before he’d always been open. Her deception had done that and she didn’t like it at all. She’d give anything to go back to the easy relationship they’d shared before.

  “I’d like to have you both out of here shortly after dawn. Simon will come for Mariana as long as you’re sure she doesn’t need further monitoring.”

  “She’s good to go,” Sandra reassured him.

  “Get your stuff together. I want everything ready to go when Simon and the others get here.”

  She didn’t like his ominous tone but didn’t have time to question him as Mari came out of the back room, yawning. She moved to the lab bench to check the end stages of the protein incubation they’d been working on most of the night and Sandra joined her.

  Dawn broke, though they couldn’t see it, below ground as they were. A few minutes later Simon and two others from the combat team showed up. She recognized Sam Archer and the younger man she hadn’t interacted as much with. His name was Kauffman, she recalled. Matt intercepted Archer and Kauffman and held a low-voiced conversation with them as he led them to the prisoner.

  The two soldiers picked the still unconscious man up by the shoulders and feet and took him out of the room quicker than she could blink. She assumed they’d take care of him until he woke and Matt was ready to question him.

  Meanwhile, Simon looked as if he’d been running hard all night as he came closer. He folded Mariana in his arms after being certain she was all right. Sandra had to turn away from the raw emotion on the man’s face. It was clear he desperately loved his fiancée. The short glimpse she’d gotten of his expression was enough to make her heart break.

  He could have lost her last night, and it would have been Sandra’s fault. Yet another layer of guilt to pile on her back. At some point Sandra imagined herself collapsing under the weight of the guilt she carried, but she couldn’t let that happen yet. Not until she’d righted at least some of the wrongs she’d committed.

  When she looked back again, Mari and Simon were on their way out the door without a backward glance. They were too wrapped up in each other. Sandra envied them that.

  “Are you ready?” Matt was at her side. He’d snuck up on her.

  “Yeah.” She switched off the last of the surge suppressors that supplied power to some of the equipment they’d been using. “Let me just take off my lab coat.” She did so and hung it on a peg near the door.

  “Get your jacket.”
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  “My jacket?” She turned to face him, confused. “It’s upstairs in my room.”

  “All right.” He opened the door, checking the hall before he let her step through. She locked the lab door behind her and moved into the corridor. “We’ll stop upstairs for a minute so you can get some of your things.” He ushered her into the main stairwell after another quick check to make certain it was safe.

  “Why? Where am I going?”

  “You’re coming with me. In fact, you’re staying with me until further notice.”

  The finality and conviction in his deep voice sent a shiver down her spine. A delicious shiver. It was ridiculous. When she should be quaking in fear, instead she was trembling with desire. Here he was going all caveman on her, and she was actually turned on by it. She amazed herself with her own response to Matt. Then again, she knew if any other man on earth had tried something like this, she would’ve had quite the opposite reaction.

  “Where? Do you live on base?”

  “I’m renting a small place just outside the west gate. It’s defensible and set back from the road. Since I’ve been here, I’ve secured the property with some other bells and whistles that will come in handy now to help keep you safe.”

  “There’s not much outside the west gate. Isn’t it mostly woods in that direction?”

  They’d arrived at the door to her quarters and he took the key from her, checking the place quickly before he’d let her inside.

  “Now that we’re both immune, I’m not overly concerned about what might be lurking in the woods. In fact, we might be of some help to the combat team logistically.” He motioned toward one of her smaller suitcases. “Pack the essentials for tonight. We can come back for more of your stuff later if necessary.”

  “You know, I’m not really sure about this.”

  He turned to her, stepping into her personal space. “I am. You’re with me for the duration, Sandy. For better or worse.”

  “That sounds serious.”

  “I’m dead serious.” His voice dipped low as his arms came around her. “Get used to it.”

  “Uh…Matt…”

  “You confound me, Sandra. I don’t want to want you like this. I don’t want to need you…but I do.”

  His words stabbed her through the heart, but she understood what he meant. For her own reasons, she didn’t want this need, this insatiable desire. Yet she was powerless against it.

  She didn’t know what she would have said. Matt didn’t give her a chance to speak. His mouth claimed hers in a brutal taking that inspired a primitive need of her own. She clawed at his shoulders not to push him away, but to draw him closer. The dark T-shirt under her hands only got in her way. She wanted it gone.

  Pulling upward on the stretchy fabric, she got it free of his waistband, but the tactical vest he wore was a problem. He seemed to realize it about the same time she did. The vest, which he’d opened at some point, slid off his shoulders and then the T-shirt was ripped out of her hands and over his head in record time.

  His lips recaptured hers before she could even blink. And then his hands went to the buttons on her shirt. Thick male fingers were amazingly agile as they worked their way down her chest, releasing little buttons with expert flicks. The shirt was swept down her shoulders in one slick move that trapped her arms behind her back as he pulled her against him.

  The thin barrier of her lacy white bra was too much. She wanted that gone, too, but he seemed to enjoy the sensation of the lace rasping against his bare chest. He pressed against her, rubbing and igniting a fire in her that wouldn’t be quenched easily. All the while, he kissed her. The desperate need of the first moments had gentled into a seduction of the senses that threatened to overwhelm her.

  She wanted to touch him, but her arms were loosely imprisoned in the sleeves of her cotton shirt. She was at his mercy, and she liked the feeling, much to her surprise.

  His big hands pushed the straps of her bra down her shoulders with slow, agonizing intent. Then his fingers went to the rear catch of the garment, unhooking it with deft skill. A moment later, cool air wafted across her sensitive skin as the bra fell away, tangling in the mess of fabric to drape across her abdomen. She barely noticed the way he’d trussed her up, unable to move her hands but naked to his gaze from the waist up.

  Damn. She hadn’t known she would like being tied up. If anyone had ever propositioned her with such a thing she would have laughed in their face, but here she was, bound and at the mercy of a dangerous man. It was delicious in a forbidden way that set her senses on fire.

  Matt broke the kiss but didn’t give her time to do more than gasp for air as his lips swept down her neck, placing biting, nibbling kisses over her skin. Pleasurable shivers raced down her spine as he worked his way downward.

  When his mouth closed over one nipple she moaned. There was no hesitation in him, no uncertainty. This man knew what he wanted and didn’t let anything stand in his way. He was confident in his ability to please her as he pleased himself. Sandra didn’t think there was anything sexier than a man who knew what he wanted, and that his partner wanted it, too. He didn’t have to ask. He didn’t have to test her response with tentative touches. He knew just what she wanted and gave it to her.

  His mouth tortured and teased, leaving her wanting more as he drew away, but it was only a tease. He latched on to her other breast, nibbling gently and making her moan as his fingers toyed with the nipple he’d left wet and wanting.

  She squirmed in his arms, needing to touch him.

  “Matt,” she panted his name as he sucked in rhythm.

  The sound seemed to stir him to action as he walked her backward toward the small bed on the far side of the room. The backs of her legs hit the bed a moment before she felt the world spin out from under her as Matt lifted her right off her feet and swung her onto the mattress. He came down over her, barely giving her a chance to recover.

  “My arms,” she whispered, wanting to touch him.

  He didn’t reply, but rolled her onto her side and freed her of the cloth that bound her loosely.

  Finally. She could touch him. She reached out for him, but was denied as his fingers interlaced with hers and pressed her hands to either side of her head, backs against the mattress. She moaned and wiggled under his weight while his lips captured hers once more and his bare chest rubbed tantalizingly against her excited nipples. He was driving her crazy.

  His lips left hers for another exploration of her neck, shoulders, and finally, her breasts. This time he moved more slowly, taking his time and lingering over sensitive places.

  She gasped as he licked her skin, driving her into a frenzy of need. He let go of her hands and unfastened the button and zipper on her pants, pushing them downward as she wriggled to help. Her hands were free but she barely noticed, so intense were the feelings he drew from her body.

  Her white lace panties followed, and Matt wasted no time pushing her thighs apart, settling between them. One big hand covered her mound, insinuating his long fingers between and into her folds. She sighed and squirmed as he did as he pleased—and pleased her at the same time.

  When had he learned exactly how to touch her? How did he know what she needed even before she did?

  His fingers moved, sliding inward, and she gasped in shocked pleasure. There was nothing hesitant about him, which made her even hotter. No man she’d been with before had been so commanding or sure of himself.

  “Matt.” She panted as he began a thrusting rhythm with his fingers. “Please.”

  “Oh, I like the sound of that.” His amused tone made her eyes snap open.

  Sure enough he was smiling at her, and that grin held all kinds of male satisfaction. She couldn’t hold it against him. Not when he was making her body hum so very nicely.

  He stroked her into a frenzy, holding her gaze as his fingers pleasured her body.

  “You’re mine, Sandra.” The possessive look in his eyes made her blood boil with passion.

  “No.�
�� She didn’t know why she was arguing. He was clearly in control and she really didn’t mind. Her head twisted from side to side as pleasure rose like an unstoppable tide, overwhelming her.

  “Yes,” he answered calmly, daring her to argue further. All the while, his fingers continued to torment her body, stroking deep and touching that magic spot within that begged for more even as it sent her spinning higher. “Do you want to come, Sandra?”

  “Yes!” The answer was torn from her lips as he began a new, harsher rhythm. She loved everything he did and wanted more.

  “That’s the word I like to hear.” He bent low over her body, whispering in her ear as he covered her body with his. “Come, sweetheart. Come for me right now.”

  She needed no further urging. It was as if she’d only waited for his permission to go off like a rocket, spasming in his arms as his fingers played her body like a fine instrument.

  The pleasure was intense, the moment intimate and nearly infinite as passion tore through her straining body. Matt held her through it all, coaxing every last ounce of response out of her with his skilled hands. Her breath came in heaving gasps and her muscles strained against the tension of the moment. She could feel Matt’s eyes on her through it all, but she couldn’t focus on much other than the power of her climax.

  She shook in his arms until the storm passed. Only then did she notice he’d stilled. Her eyes opened and he stared down at her, his expression unreadable. A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes narrowed as if he wanted to say something, but the moment passed.

  He removed his hands and lifted away from her.

  “We have to go. We’ve already stayed here too long as it is.” He got off the bed and retrieved her clothes, dropping them beside her.

  “But what about you?” Her mind spun. Was he really going to just end it there? He was nearly trembling with his own unfulfilled need.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get mine later.” He sent her a tight, sexy grin that promised even more pleasure. “I’ve got to go to the office today. Before that, I want to get you settled in my place. You need to sleep late. You’re going on night duty tonight. Consider yourself on the graveyard shift from now on. During the day I want you sequestered at my house. If I’m not with you, you don’t go out. Understand?”