“You’re absolutely right,” she said tightly. “We’re not involved and I don’t have to explain anything to you. I will definitely have sex with whoever I want.”
He sighed, and she thought he muttered something that sounded like women.
Instead of arguing, he bundled her into his arms, tucked her head beneath his chin and held her—just held her, not saying a word.
There was too much comfort in being held snug against his powerful body, guarded and cherished.
She had never learned how to lean; she wasn’t docile and she didn’t trust lightly. Yet though his face told her nothing, she trusted him, certain that he would protect her with all his strength and skill.
She twisted in his arms, feeling his pulse pound against her chest when she pulled his head down and kissed him. If she was going to die tomorrow she wanted reckless sex to be the last thing she remembered.
He muttered something that sounded like too late, but he didn’t stop what she’d begun. He pinned her to the wall, her wrists spread as he pushed inside her, slow and hot, until Miki forgot her uncertainty in the drum of their joined heartbeats. Shuddering, she drove her hands into his hair, telling him what she wanted.
His jaw hardened as he gave it to her, without questions or reservation.
Everything fell away, her body caught in pleasure so fierce that there were no words left and thought became a dim memory.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THERE WAS SEX—AND THERE was sex, Miki thought.
Miki had never learned to trust easily, yet here she was, putting her life into his strong hands. Hell, she had put her body into those strong hands, and the results had been spectacular, even if she was a little achy from the workout.
It beat being hacked into little pieces by a man with a serrated knife and rattlesnake eyes. She knew clear to her bones that Max would never let that happen to her. He took his promises seriously.
So this was what a hero looked like. A lot of men claimed to be heroes and swaggered through the role, but Max didn’t swagger or bluster, and if he made a promise, he kept it.
Miki frowned at his muscled chest. Promises were dangerous. A keeper meant long-term commitment—and responsibility. She didn’t believe in breathless vows of loyalty or forever. She’d seen her own parents start out happy before they took a sharp slide into armed aggression. One day they were discussing paint samples for their adobe garage, and the next her dad was chasing her mother around the back yard with a pair of gardening shears. After that he’d packed up and vanished.
She was nine years old at the time, and Miki hadn’t heard from him since, but she didn’t miss him in her life. She had written him out of her script the day he threatened her mother.
And men had fulfilled her low expectations ever since.
Until now.
“Something wrong, Blondie?”
“I never liked that name.”
His fingers traced her mouth. “Too bad. It definitely suits you. You’re sharp and funny, full of guts, and you take shit from no one. I’m glad to have you watching my back, Blondie.”
She blinked at him. He thought that about her? He actually thought she was brave? Heat melted into the dark corners of her chest despite her resolve to keep things cold and impersonal for both their sakes. She was smart enough to know that his job was highly classified and extremely important, which meant he wouldn’t hang around and let the dust settle after they found a way out of this place. This time was all they had.
A wave of heat, a spike of insanity and some unforgettable sex.
Miki told herself she could live with that. There was no point in believing there would be more. She’d learned to be tough, guarding her heart behind sharp wit and cool laughter. She’d force herself to do that again to protect herself from Max and to keep him from feeling guilty when he left.
She wiggled a toe and sighed at the tug of unused muscles throughout her sated body. She had to admit, the man was a walking advertisement for hair-curling sex. After that kind of earth-shaking response, how was anyone else going to stack up?
She was curled against his chest as he leaned forward, his hands braced against the wall while he held her up. The jerk wasn’t even breathing hard, while her whole system was nearing cardiac arrest. Miki flushed at the long welts her nails had left on his chest. She had done that during their wild sex? She didn’t remember that at all.
The marks didn’t seem to bother Max. In fact, nothing seemed to bother him. He was always cool, always prepared for any threat or challenge. She wondered if he enjoyed taking risks because it kept life from becoming boring.
She frowned, forcing her mind back on track. She needed him to know that she wouldn’t hold him or try to plan for a future that was impossible. “Now that we’ve finished whatever that insanity was, we should talk.”
He wrapped her gleaming hair around his fist and let it slide over his wrist. “That thing we just had was stupendous sex, honey. There was nothing insane about it. I’d say that was once-in-a-lifetime stuff.”
Miki kept her eyes on his chest. “Whatever.” She wasn’t going to fall apart and turn emotional. Putty wasn’t her style, unless it was a hair product. She cleared her throat, looking away from the lean, naked body that still mesmerized her. “I made something for you.” She pointed to a white shape on top of their fallen clothes. “There was some fiber in your big pack and I figured you could use a second pair of gloves, given your…situation. The sensitivities, I mean. Your black pair is getting a little worn.”
Max’s eyes darkened. “You knitted something for me?” He lifted the half-completed glove and ran it slowly through his fingers. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t look so bowled over. Hasn’t anyone ever made you a gift before?”
His jaw tightened as he touched the rows of neat, even stitches. “No,” he said after a long silence. “You’re the first.”
“Didn’t your family ever do that kind of thing? I mean, bake cookies, build pots, hammer crooked bookshelves that broke the first time you used them?”
“No.” He was staring into the darkness, his eyes hard. “I was adopted. Mostly I spent my time in foster homes, one step ahead of trouble.”
Miki felt a stab of pain at the cool, flat way he spoke about what must have been horrible memories. “Max, I—I’m sorry.”
“For what? I got food and clothes and a roof over my head. I had no reason to complain.”
Miki held his face between her hands. “It takes more than food and a roof to make a child happy.” Her voice was fierce and she couldn’t help hating the parents who had left him to face a world of strangers. “I wish I’d known you then. We could have gotten into trouble together,” she said, smiling gently.
“You and me together at fifteen would have started a forest fire, honey. Just as well that we didn’t meet until we were grown. I doubt that I could have resisted your smile and your body.” He frowned as he stared at his watch on the floor. “I’m having a hell of a time resisting you now. So what was it you wanted to discuss?”
He seemed uneasy talking about himself or his past and Miki didn’t push him. She sensed he had already told her more than he’d intended.
She tried to ignore his body, but he was seducing her again. When she reached for her clothes, she was stopped by his arm draped across her shoulders.
Their eyes met.
“Leave the clothes. We’ve got a little time left.”
Miki took a deep breath and focused. “It’s about those photos in your trunk. They’re thermal images, infrared to be exact, and they were taken with a damn good camera.”
Max didn’t move. He’d been sliding his hand back and forth across the unfinished glove made of mystery yarn, but now he stopped. “What about them?”
“All I know is, the third one in the pile was wrong. I saw it because of the heat outline of the palm tree. I’ve done infrared photography for a few commercial firms so I’m familiar with the color layout. Thi
s one was off.”
“Say that again.” All emotion left his face.
“The third one down was off, I said.”
“Tell me how.”
Miki was still having trouble concentrating after what they’d just done. She looked at him blankly and then frowned. “I tried to tell you before you went to sleep, but you were exhausted and I figured it could wait.”
“You were wrong.” A muscle flashed at Max’s jaw. “We were both wrong.” Bending down, he tossed her underwear in a perfect arc without looking up. “Get dressed. We’ve got work to do.” He was already pulling on his t-shirt and dark pants. “I need you to point out exactly what you saw in those images.”
“They’re important, aren’t they?” Miki slipped on her underwear quickly. “Who are you?”
“Someone you can trust.”
She felt the force of his words slip deep and lock in. “I know that now, but I don’t know anything else—like who you work for.”
“We don’t have time for that now. I need answers.”
She heard the urgency in his voice, but her hands didn’t work the way they should have. All her coordination seemed to be off. Apparently insane lovemaking did that to you.
She felt as if she was watching a movie with a damaged sound track, words and images out of synch. Max had changed in the space of seconds, all emotion put away, and he expected her to do the same.
She couldn’t, but she tried to pretend only her body was involved in the unforgettable sex they had shared. Right now she needed to be cool and distant like Max.
How could she, though, when he had touched her heart with his unspoken pain and his ironclad sense of duty? How could she deny that he had cherished her and made her feel safe, in spite of any threat?
Miki closed her eyes and faced the frightening truth. She had fallen and fallen hard. She had given her heart to a virtual stranger, and there was no going back.
“Miki, are you listening?”
She managed to nod, but her hands were cold with the force of her realization. This is the one, a quiet voice said.
“We have to hurry.”
She swallowed hard and looked at the possibilities, then made the hardest decision of her life. She’d let him go, let her future go, because it was necessary. She refused to create emotions or guilt that might distract him at a crucial moment and get him killed.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing. I’m just a little dizzy, I guess.” She forced a smile. “Show me what you need.”
He studied her face for long seconds. “You’re sure there’s nothing wrong?”
“Absolutely.”
Max pulled her down the corridor toward the bunker’s main room and spread a stack of photos on the floor, fanning them out in a row. “Show me which one.”
Struggling to hide her emotions, Miki pointed to a pair of palm trees on what appeared to be a rocky promontory. “The tree on the right. The heat outline for the roots and lower trunk is wrong.”
“How would you recognize something like that? Have you had professional training with infrared?”
“At first, I experimented on my own. After that, I did some predictive diagnostic work for a commercial real estate company. We checked roof insulation, sub-floor water pipes and electrical fuses for maintenance problems with infrared photographs. You can map temperatures via color chart, so it’s handy for predicting equipment failure. One of our clients put in about a thousand palm trees, and most of them developed problems because of irrigation pipes that were buried in the wrong places. When you look at about a hundred thermal images of a palm tree, you start to recognize what’s normal and what’s not.”
“Give me details. Is it too hot, too cold? Is the temperature stable or erratic?”
“None of those things,” she said quietly. She wanted to touch his face, but she didn’t. There was no room left for emotions. “It’s the shape of the tree. The trunk is wrong, and there’s no significant heat difference between the tree and its roots. That’s impossible for a real palm tree.”
Max nodded slowly. “Okay. I can use that.” His hands tightened as he yanked on his gloves, smoothing the black leather over his fingers.
Back to normal, Miki thought. Everything calm and impersonal.
But not for her. She was changed beyond recognition, unable to find her way back to her old, easy cynicism. Now that she needed those protective walls so badly, they were gone. All she wanted to do was touch him again.
“I asked what you thought.” Max was staring at her. “Are you certain the tree is a fake?”
The edge to his voice told Miki that the question was not to be answered lightly, and she ran her fingers through her hair, taking her time before answering. “I’m not an expert in infrared technology or horticulture, so I can’t be totally certain. But based on what I’ve seen, I’d say yes. That palm tree is probably fake, made of some kind of resin that gives a consistent infrared output from trunk to roots.”
Max turned and packed his vest. “I’ve got to go.”
“But what’s so important about that tree?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
She had expected this answer, but it cut deep just the same. “I know you’re going back out there. If you took me with you, I could pinpoint the problem.”
“Not happening.” Max stared down at the photos, his eyes narrowed. “But you can help me with this.” He pulled a map out of his trunk and spread it out nearby. Truman trotted up, looked over his shoulder and licked Max’s face.
“Gotta get your two cents in, don’t you, champ?” As he scratched the dog’s head, Max held the map open. “Give me any suggestions you have.” He tapped one corner of the map. “I’ll be coming in this way, from the water.” He pointed at what appeared to be a high ridge. “It’s a sheer drop of three hundred feet.”
She sucked in a breath. “You’re going to climb that?”
“No one will expect an intruder coming from the cliffs on that side of the island. It will buy me valuable time beneath the radar.”
Miki turned the map slowly, weighing every word. “Go in just before dawn.”
“Why then?”
“Look at this ridge.” She traced the area he planned to climb. “The other cliff faces east, and you’ll be climbing behind it. When the sun comes up, it will cast this whole slope into shadow.” She tapped the topography lines on the map. “Vance wanted me to do a shoot like this back in Tahiti, and it was a real challenge because the cameras were set in the wrong direction. I can tell you from experience that if you time this right, they won’t even suspect you’re there. Not unless they’re alerted in advance,” she said grimly. “So no singing, please.”
“I never could carry a tune. Any more suggestions?”
“You won’t have much light to climb.” She studied the map, aware that every detail could save his life. “It will be tricky finding handholds on the ascent. Try to be in place on your cliff about half an hour before dawn, just before the light begins to change.”
“I didn’t think about the light falling through those two mountain ridges at dawn. It’s a good tip.” Max pointed to a different corner of the map, placing an infrared photo off to one side. “This is my target point. See the heat disparity between the two sections of terrain?” He tapped the picture of the fake palm tree. “Is there anything else you can tell me? Think hard. This is as important as it gets.”
Her shoulders tensed. “I’ve screwed up a lot of jobs in the last five years, Max. Some people might say that I’m a major failure.” She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. “But photography is what I know, so I’m sure about this.”
“I believe you then.”
“You’re sure I can’t go along to help?”
Max’s voice was tight. “You’re staying here. If I’m worrying about you, it will slow my reaction time and put us both in danger.”
Miki looked away. New rules, she thought. She had to forget about her feelings. “In
that case, I guess there’s something else you should know.” She crossed her arms, looking at him defensively. “There’s…someone else. He travels a lot, but we’re involved. In fact, we’re getting married this fall.”
The map closed with a snap. “Married.” Max looked down at his vest. “Nice of you to mention it.”
“I thought you should know, just in case you were expecting anything…more.” She took a tight breath. “Because it isn’t going to happen. You should forget about me.”
Max tightened the straps on his vest. “Good advice. I’ll try to take it. Any other revelations before I go?” His voice was grim.
Miki saw that her fingers were locked together, and she forced them to relax. “No. It was good, but now it’s over. That’s all I wanted to tell you.” She was surprised at how calm she sounded when her heart was being torn in little pieces.
“Understood. But there’s one thing I need you to do.” His voice was curt, and he didn’t look at her face as he reached into his pocket. “It has to be done right. Can I trust you?”
She swallowed hard. “Of course you can.”
He held out a radio transmitter. “I need you to send a short-burst signal as soon as I leave.” He pressed the unit into her hand. “Hit the black button by your thumb six times with no delays. Count to twenty, then do it again. Can you remember that? It has to be done exactly the way I said.”
Miki fought a chill. She was a klutz. She’d always been a klutz. And he trusted her with a top-secret communication?
She squared her shoulders. “Two short bursts of six, twenty seconds in between. I can do that.”
He nodded as he attached a full canteen to his vest using a carabiner clip. “There are MREs against the wall. You’ve got water and you’ve got a weapon there, too. Stay safe, and don’t be afraid to use the gun if you have to. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” His voice was cool and clipped. “Don’t leave this area. Your life depends on it. If you believe nothing else, believe that.”
Code Name: Bundle! Page 48
