Safe House

by Dez Burke

  “Worried about my skills?” she teased. “If you’re not, you should be. I tried very hard to explain to your brother that I’m not qualified to treat you.”

  Flint grinned. He was such a mix of angel and devil when he flashed that white-hot smile. “I’m not worried, darling,” he replied, letting the endearment slip off his lips as smooth as butter.

  Kendra’s eyebrows shot up and she laughed. Aha! So he thought he could charm her into giving him back his keys. Oh yes. She’d met men like Flint before; the kind of men who women fantasized about when they were all alone. The type of man who merely needed to smile to have a girl reaching around to unhook her bra. Kendra didn’t doubt that Flint could have a woman unzipping her jeans before she even realized she’d fallen underneath his spell. If she wasn’t real careful, it could happen to her too.

  It had been a long time since she’d dated anyone special. Sure there had been a casual date here and there, always ending with a quick kiss goodnight and a pissed-off guy standing on her front porch with a closed door in his face.

  Casual sex wasn’t something she messed around with. To her, it wasn’t worth the time or effort to fall into bed with a man she barely knew or even liked. And if they weren’t willing to take the time to woo her, and they usually weren’t, then so be it. Like her grandmother always said, “there are much worst things than being alone.” After watching some of her girlfriends get cheated on or in miserable marriages, Kendra knew this to be true.

  And after all, she had the animals to keep her company and she was plenty busy enough at the clinic. Most nights she was so tired she hit the bed right after taking a shower. Lonely wasn’t a word in her vocabulary, which meant the sexy man flirting with her wouldn’t get under her skin, no matter how much she might be physically attracted to him.

  “The wound looks good,” she said. “You’re healing nicely and faster than expected. These stitches are a little crooked though.”

  “Does that mean I’m free to go, Doc?” he asked, flexing his arm.

  “Nope,” she replied firmly. “Not yet.”

  “What does your husband think about you staying here with me?”

  Kendra laughed. “Lucky for you, I don’t have a husband. If there was, I don’t think he would be pleased, do you?”

  Flint gave her another rakish grin. “Probably not. If you were my wife, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”

  Kendra rolled her eyes at him. “There you go again. Have you heard from Jesse?”

  “I left him a message. I’m sure he’ll call me back as soon as he can.”

  Kendra taped a new bandage to his arm and started to stand up. Flint grabbed her hand, keeping her on eye level with him.

  “I need to ask you something,” he said, suddenly serious. “Did I kiss you last night or was that an erotic dream?”

  Kendra’s face burned with both shock and humiliation. She couldn’t have been more mortified that Flint remembered their kiss. And even worse, her reaction to him. She had been so sure he wouldn’t remember it. God! This was so embarrassing.

  At first she thought about lying. Then she decided brushing it off would be the best thing to do.

  “Yes, you did,” she answered. “But you were whacked out of your head, so it’s fine.” Kendra waved her hand as if it didn’t mean anything. “No big deal. It’s okay. I’m sure you thought I was someone else.”

  Flint studied her face carefully for a moment then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I wouldn’t have thought you were someone else.”

  “Oh? And why’s that?”

  “Because there is no one else.”

  Before Kendra could reply, Flint’s phone rang in his pocket, effectively cutting off their conversation.

  “Jesse?” Flint answered. “What’s going on? Is everybody okay?”

  Kendra grabbed her overnight bag from the table and headed for the bathroom to give Flint some privacy for his call.

  ****

  Flint waited until Kendra was in the bathroom and out of hearing range. “Jesus Christ, Jesse!” he said tersely into the phone. “What the hell were you thinking bringing Dr. Shaw into this? We don’t even know her!”

  “Calm down, Flint,” Jesse answered. “Look, we didn’t have a choice. You were unconscious and bleeding all over the place. What were we supposed to do? Tom wrapped your arm up the best he could but we didn’t know how to get the bullet out. We’re not a bunch of fucking nurses! What if we had nicked an artery? We couldn’t get the bleeding to stop and calling Dr. Shaw was the best idea we could come up with. You don’t realize how bad it was yesterday. You weren’t even conscious half the time. And don’t forget, you’re the one who insisted on not going to the hospital in the first goddamn place!”

  Flint ran a restless hand through his hair. “I know, alright. I know. You don’t have to remind me. But come on, she’s a well-known veterinarian in town. Bardsville only has two vets, so you can bet everybody in the whole damn county knows her. Besides maybe the mayor, would there have been anybody with a higher profile you could have chosen to involve in our mess? And now that she knows about the safe house, you can bet it’s not safe any longer. ”

  “She’s cool, okay? Trust me. I can read people. After all, she fixed you up and then agreed to stay. How bad could she be?”

  Flint snorted. “She told me how you tricked her. The only thing I don’t get is how you convinced her to stay. I can tell by the way she looks at me that she thinks I’m a lowlife criminal. She might even be afraid of me. I make her very nervous.”

  “Nervous? Really?” Jesse seemed surprised. “She didn’t strike me as the nervous type at all. Just the opposite in fact. What the hell did you do to her?”

  “Me? Nothing!”

  “I can tell you Dr. Shaw wasn’t the least bit intimidated by me and the crew, so you must be doing something weird to freak her out.”

  Flint started to argue and decided to drop it. “So how did you convince her to stay?” he asked again.

  “I offered to donate the proceeds from the charity run in the spring to the wildlife clinic. She wasn’t real keen on hanging around until I made it worth her while. If you take the time to think about it, you’ll see it’s a good deal all the way around. By giving Dr. Shaw the donation this year, we’re basically buying her help and her silence in the future. Understand?”

  Jesse was right. The plan was a smart one. His older brother was president of the motorcycle club for a reason. “Yeah, I get it,” Flint said after a moment “That was a smart move. You want to tell me what I’m supposed to do here all weekend though? I need to get back to town and she hid my damn keys.”

  Jesse burst out laughing. “She’s afraid of you, huh? Sounds like Dr. Shaw has your number, little brother. From what I’ve seen, you should be afraid of her. Seriously, you need to sit your damn ass in a chair and stay put. At least for a couple of days until we can figure all this out. I have enough on my plate right now without worrying about you. At least the Liberators don’t know about the safe house.”

  “Did they do something else? What’s going on?” Flint knew his brother well enough to know he was keeping something from him.

  “They tossed a Molotov cocktail through the tattoo shop window. The good news is they’re idiots and the bottle didn’t break on impact so there wasn’t a firebomb. The bad news is the front window was smashed and the cops were there all last night asking too many questions.”

  “Fuck! Is Sam okay?”

  “Yeah, he was in the back office with a customer when it came through the window. There’s some damage to clean up, but nothing we can’t handle without you. So I’m telling you to stay put. I’m not asking. Not as your brother, but as president of the MC. Do not leave the cabin until I okay it. You hear me?”

  “I hear you,” Flint finally muttered.

  “Good. By the way, how is your arm feeling this morning?”

  “Hurts like a motherfucker. Thanks for asking,” Flint added sarcastically.r />
  “I figured. Don’t fuck this up with Dr. Shaw. We need her on our side, so play nice. I’ll call you soon.”

  “You do that,” Flint answered before hanging up.

  Don’t fuck it up with Dr. Shaw.

  He frowned. The warning had come a little too late.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Kendra dropped her bag on the bathroom floor and dug through it for a fresh change of clothes. Luckily, she always kept a spare set or two in her truck. After years of delivering breeched calves, she’d learned an extra change of clean clothes could come in handy. After being up most of the night checking on Flint, she desperately needed a hot shower to help her unwind and loosen up her tired muscles.

  Minutes later, she stood under the shower spray, letting the hot water run over her body. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the image of Flint’s face lowering to kiss her. Or the feel of his taut muscles under the Steel Infidels tattoo that stretched across his back and shoulders. Kendra closed her eyes as she replayed the kiss they’d shared in the middle of the night.

  Even now, she couldn’t understand her strange reaction to Flint. Had she no pride? How in the world had she given in so easily to Flint’s kiss…his touch? Maybe it was from lack of sleep, she reasoned. Or more likely the fact that she hadn’t been that physically close to a hot, virile male in a very long time. If that was the case, she seriously needed to get out more.

  She had acted spontaneously and completely out of character. It was a mistake she wouldn’t be making again. After all, she was an educated woman and respected in the small community. What would her staff or clients think if they knew she was making out with a stranger in the middle of the night? And not just any stranger but a member of a motorcycle gang for heaven’s sake!

  As long as she kept her cool and didn’t let it happen again, it would go down in her mind as a temporary lack of judgement. It was understandable, she told herself, considering the stressful situation the MC had placed her under. Maybe she was having a touch of Stockholm Syndrome or something. All she needed to do was keep her distance from Flint and not let him get to her. Piece of cake. She could do it.

  Feeling a little bit better about everything and much more in control again, she stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel hanging on the rack.

  Kendra bit back a loud yelp.

  “Flint! What the hell? You ever heard of knocking?”

  Flint stood in the open doorway and appeared to have been there for a while. He was leaning casually against the frame as he regarded her with narrowed eyes.

  How had she not heard him? How long had he been standing there watching her through the sliding shower doors without saying one word? She hastily wrapped the towel around her body and tucked in the ends.

  He broke the silence at last with a mild-toned, “Need help drying off?” He straightened his lithe frame from the door.

  Kendra had no intention of responding and started to walk past him. She jumped back when his arm came up, but it was only to prop it across the doorjamb so that he blocked her exit.

  “Do you mind?” she asked steadily, her eyes fierce as they held his.

  “No, I don’t mind,” he replied, intentionally misunderstanding her request to move his arm. “I’ll spend hours drying you off if you want me to. Not a problem. At all. I have all the time in the world.”

  He smiled suddenly, a devastating smile that melted the hard lines of his jaw and made his eyes light up. Kendra really wished he wouldn’t look at her like that. She didn’t know what to think when those intense green eyes skimmed over her body, missing nothing. It took superhuman effort not to drop the towel right then and wrap her arms around his neck. To run her hands down his chest and over his shoulders. To trace every stroke of the Steel Infidels tattoo on his back with her tongue.

  Good Lord! She refused to even think about much she wanted to be thrown down and taken hard and fast by him on any available surface, including the tile bathroom floor.

  It made no sense. She normally had a whole lot more self-control. He was making her insane. She’d made it to the top of her class in veterinary school and took great pride in being a structured, disciplined person in both work and her personal life. Now Flint was gazing at her and it was like he could tell exactly the effect he was having on her. And that made Kendra want to flee from the room and him as fast as humanly possible.

  Maybe her raw desire showed in her eyes. Or maybe he was used to women falling all over him. It could be that he sensed the tingling shiver that went through her whenever he looked at her.

  “Why do I make you so nervous?” he suddenly asked. “At first I thought you might be afraid of me, but that’s not it, is it? Jesse said you weren’t the least bit intimidated by my crew and they’re much scarier than I am.”

  A moment later, he lifted a hand to smooth a knuckle across her cheek. Kendra’s strangled breath caught in her chest.

  “You’re very beautiful,” he murmured very thoughtfully, those eyes gliding over her face. “Eyes the prettiest dark brown I’ve ever seen.” His words were simply hypnotic. She could only watch, immobilized, as his head slanted low, aiming for her mouth.

  Kendra could not believe this was about to happen. Again. So much for resisting him.

  But God help her, she couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t do more than melt into him as he devoured her lips. His tongue began a slow, sensual assault the moment she let him into her mouth. Kendra moaned and trembled when she felt his hands move under the towel and cup her ass. His touch was possessive, heated, famished. He cupped the curves of her ass and tugged her tighter against his hard, overpowering masculinity.

  Their lips crashed together so hard Kendra knew her lips would feel the bruises later. Her fingers dug into his hair and rifled through the silken strands. But then moments later her senses returned and she gasped, letting go of his hair and straining against him. He pulled away slowly, resting his hands on her hips as Kendra slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were glazed and confused, her sensuous mouth even more swollen and enticing. Kendra was completely losing it. Her gut told her Flint was a man with the potential to lead her deep into forbidden territory, and he was proving her right with every passing second.

  He seemed to see right through her to her fears and worries, and he gently touched her swollen bottom lip as he said in a gentle tone, “It’s all right, doc. Relax. It’s not my style to force myself on women. Never needed to in the past and I’m not going to start now. Which means the next time I touch you or kiss you, you’re not going to want me to stop. When that happens, I’ll start here,” he murmured thickly.

  Kendra looked down and gasped as his fingertips grazed over her now rock-hard nipples through the towel. She’d never felt them get so big and stiff, aching with need. Her own body was betraying her. She arched at his barely-there caress across her breasts.

  She lifted widened eyes to his face and found his gaze fixed on her heaving breasts, heavy now and filled with want that she was sure he could detect even beneath the terrycloth towel. She met his gaze. She felt one thing, but her brain told her another. She couldn’t let this happen. Not now. Not ever. This wasn’t her style and he wasn’t her type of man.

  “I’m sorry,” Kendra said before hurrying out of the room, embarrassed once again for giving in so easily. Whatever was happening between them, it was opening a side to her she’d never known; a submissive part that found it so easy to yield to a man with the will and passion strong enough to control her every response. Flint was that kind of man. She knew it instinctively. The knowledge both scared and thrilled her to the bone.

  ****

  Flint wondered if Kendra had any idea how difficult it was for him to let her go. The luscious feel of her ass in his hands as he’d kissed her had made his brain almost short-circuit. What was it about her?

  He hadn’t meant to be a peeping Tom and spy on her in the shower like a pervert. His intention had only been to ask her something through the door. Bu
t when he found it slightly ajar, he couldn’t help pushing it open. Once he’d caught sight of her naked body behind the shower doors, his feet refused to turn and walk away.

  All he could do was stand there completely mesmerized and watch as she soaped her heavy breasts and between her legs; all the places he would pleasure with his tongue if he ever got the chance. His reaction to her was immediate and overwhelming, his erection so painfully hard he thought he was going to explode.

  He’d wanted her the moment he’d opened his eyes, delirious with pain, and found her leaning over him. He’d already kissed her twice, and who the hell knew what else he was capable of doing if she kept looking at him the way she did? Hell, sex was all he could think about since he’d set eyes on her. When she had stepped out of the shower wrapped in only a towel, it took every bit of control he possessed not to rip it off her body, bend her over the bathroom counter, and take her from behind.

  There was no doubt that this woman brought out his primal streak, and holding back was making him feel like he could implode at any moment. She didn’t have a clue as to her effect on him. He’d meant it when he told her she was beautiful. She really was even though she was different from his usual preference, which leaned toward petite, blonde and thin.

  He loved the way she wore her hair, the wild, long dark mane framing her features. There was a calm intelligence about her that turned him on along with that curvy, full-figured body of hers. Not to mention her heavy breasts and the wide hips that knew how to fill out a tight pair of jeans. She was tall for a woman but only barely reached his shoulder. He loved cupping her large ass. Damn, that was one piece of her he could certainly form an obsession over.

  And Kendra wasn’t like any of the groupie bimbos that hung around the clubhouse. She didn’t mind letting a man know that she possessed a mind of her own. He’d noticed that first thing when she told him about the keys. He would never let her know it, but that single action turned him on as much as it pissed him off. She was most definitely a woman of strong character who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.