by Imari Jade
What fool wouldn’t? “Yes, fast food gets old fast. I never learned to cook. I can manage to boil an egg or make cereal, but that’s the best of my culinary skills.”
Nevaeh smirked. “What, the great Hayden Mercier isn’t good in the kitchen?”
“No, but I can perform magic in the bedroom.” It came out of his mouth before he could stop it. That wiped the smirk off her face. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”
Nevaeh stopped eating. “Would you have apologized if I were a man?”
“Probably not. But you’re not a man, and I shouldn’t make off-colored jokes around you.”
“Apology accepted,” she said as she went back to her meal. “But you don’t always have to be on your best behavior around me. I’m not a prude and I can appreciate a good joke, especially if it’s true.”
“I won’t confirm or deny whether that one’s true.” He sampled the potatoes. It tasted of chicken broth and Cajun seasonings. “You’re a damn good cook, and you look good without makeup too. I’ll also give you mad props for washing a back. Is there anything you can’t do?”
Nevaeh continued to chew, and then she swallowed. “I can’t think of anything yet.”
Hayden chuckled, knowing that she only teased.
She hopped out of her seat. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have a pie cooling in the window. I better get it down before it draws bears.”
He knew he smelled pie. He’d thought it was his imagination. “Do you really think there are bears in this area?”
“We’re in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’m sure there’s a bear or two out there.” She walked toward the window, moved the red checkered curtain aside and retrieved the pie. “I hope you like apple.”
“My favorite.”
“I’ll cut you a generous piece after you’ve finished the rest of your dinner.”
Hayden smiled and went back to his food, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and the tiredness. He’d eat his pie first and then follow it up with a morphine chaser.
* * * *
He’s still in pain, Nevaeh noticed as Hayden made his way back to his bedroom. She didn’t know why men were that way, especially when they didn’t have to be. If she’d learned one thing about him it was that he was stubborn. She busied herself cleaning up the dishes and putting away the remainder of the food. Once that was over she planned to check on Hayden and make sure he’d taken his meds.
She found him sound asleep in his bed. Nevaeh entered quietly, trying not to wake him. She walked over to the bed where Hayden slept on his back with one hand thrown behind his head. She looked down, admiring his handsome face and his bare chest. The rhythm of her heart fluttered from slow to fast as she gazed along all those masculine curves that made up his abs and stomach. Hayden moved in his sleep. Nevaeh averted her eyes quickly, ashamed to be ogling her partner like a piece of meat. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip. There was no denying that she found him pleasing to the eyes or that she fantasized what it would be like to make love with him. Of course she knew that would never happen in a million years, since they were partners and there was probably some strict policy at the agency about fraternization.
Hayden moved again in his sleep, but he didn’t wake. She looked down again, noticing the strained look on his face. She approached, touching his forehead gently with her finger. He had a fever. Stupid man. Why didn’t he say something earlier? She walked into his bathroom and wet a towel and then returned and placed it on his forehead. He sighed in his sleep. She reached for the covers and tucked them under his chin. Hayden sighed again. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand. “Nevaeh.”
The way he said her name made her heart skip a beat. “Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Can I have some cold water?”
“Of course.”
He removed her hand from her wrist. “I think I have a fever.”
“You do. I’ll be back in a moment.” She left the room and returned a few minutes later with a glass of cold water and a couple of aspirin.
Hayden sat up, and the covers slipped to his waist.
Nevaeh averted her eyes again.
“What’s wrong?” Hayden asked, accepting the glass and the aspirin. He popped the tablet into his mouth and followed it up with the water.
Nevaeh watched the motion of his throat as he swallowed. “Nothing. Why?” She walked toward the dresser and leaned against it.
“You seem nervous.”
“Don’t be silly. What do I have to be nervous about?”
He put the empty glass on the nightstand. “Are you embarrassed to see me without my shirt on?”
“No, I’ve seen you without a shirt on before, and a lot less a couple of hours ago in the bathroom when I washed your back.”
“Ah, you were nervous about doing that too.”
“Maybe I was. It’s not every day I get this up front and personal with a naked man.”
Hayden smiled at her. “So you consider me a hunk?”
“You’ll do in the event of an emergency.”
His smile brightened, making her really nervous.
“What would you consider an emergency?”
“If you were the last man on earth and I was desperate to get laid.”
“Ouch. Way to stroke a man’s ego, Harris.”
Nevaeh smiled. “You’ll survive. You’re supposed to be relaxing and recuperating and not sexing up the partner.”
Hayden stopped smiling and looked up into her face. “I know, but just to let you know, you’re way up there on the food chain if I was looking for female companionship.” He lay back down. “Right now I can barely lift my own ass, let alone that killer butt of yours.”
Nevaeh moved away from the dresser and headed toward the door. Even in pain he was just too much to handle. “Why? You don’t even like me, and we have absolutely nothing in common.”
“You make one hell of an apple pie and you have nice hands.” He pulled the covers up to his chin and dozed off again.
Nevaeh looked down at her hands. They looked pretty ordinary to her. In fact, she needed a manicure and a pedicure. She hurried out of his room and entered hers for a much needed cold shower.
Chapter Five
Hayden awoke to the sound of thunder and the scent of rain mixing with the oak trees. He glanced over at the window. Night had arrived, and lightning flashed in the window to illuminate the room and cast shadows of the furniture on the white walls.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee pulled him out of the bed. He walked into the bathroom and returned a few minutes later to dress and walk to the kitchen. His arm felt a little better, but not one hundred percent. The bullet burned the hell out his flesh going in. Nothing felt like that.
He entered the kitchen hoping to get another piece of that pie. He found the keeper and put a slice on a paper plate and then helped himself to some coffee, hoping not to disturb Nevaeh. She was probably in her room resting after tending to his needs all day. His plans were to watch a little television since he wasn’t sleepy. He walked around until he found the den. He stopped in his tracks and gazed down. Nevaeh sat in one of the chairs, painting her toenails a deep red color. He gulped. It was the sexiest thing he’d witnessed in years.
Nevaeh looked up. “What are you doing up?”
“Rain woke me.” He found a chair and sat down.
“Are you afraid of the rain?”
He eyed the muscular curve of her legs as her feet rested on the black ottoman. Nevaeh wore the cutest little pair of pink pajama shorts beneath a mid-thigh pink robe. “No. Rain does other things to me.” He put the cup on the end table and began eating the pie. “I smelled the coffee and thought it was a good time to come out of my room for another piece of pie.”
“Good plan. I had a similar idea, but my toes needed tending to first.”
Hayden reached for the remote and tried to ignore what she was doing. He didn’t know he had a foot fetish until now. His body stirred. This definitely was the perfect setting fo
r sex. He was alone in a cabin in the woods with a beautiful Secret Service agent during the rain while she painted her toes. Romance writers couldn’t come up with something this perfect.
“I wonder how long this rain will keep up. It makes me feel too relaxed.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“I’m not here to relax,” she replied.
A big boom of thunder sounded outside the cabin. He didn’t think there would be any flooding, even though it was coming down in sheets.
Nevaeh raised one of her feet and began frantically waving a hand through the air to dry the polish. “Sounds like its pouring.”
Hayden swallowed the mouthful of pie. He could handle being alone with her, but not if she kept that up. He watched her pull the other foot up to admire her work. She had incredibly long legs for a woman and nice shapely calves. He imagined them wrapped around his waist.
“Does the rain make your injury hurt?”
“A little, but I’ve survived worse. I’ll be fine.”
Nevaeh capped up the polish and rose. “I better put this away before I eat my pie.” She stretched, gathered her things and walked out of the room. She returned a few minutes later. “I hope it’s over with by tomorrow. I want to go for a run.”
Hayden liked the visual of her running through the woods in tiny training shorts and braless under a tee-shirt.
Hayden finished up his pie. “You don’t need to exercise. You’re in perfect form. There’s not an ounce of fat on you.”
“That’s because you’re seeing me through pie-filled eyes. This is a high-maintenance body that loves starches. If I don’t exercise it all goes to fat. I need to sweat to get it off.”
He could think of a way to get her to sweat. The lights flickered off for a couple of seconds before coming on again. The television went from cable to static. Hayden reached for the remote and adjusted the channel. He glanced toward the screen. Two people were making love. “Oops.” He pointed the remote at the television.
“Hey, don’t change that. I heard this is a good movie.” She rose again. “I think I’ll make popcorn instead of having pie.”
She was out of her seat before he could stop her, and now he had the opportunity to change the channel. He raised the remote and stopped. He wasn’t one to run from a challenge. If she could sit through an R-rated erotic movie without moving out of her seat, so could he.
* * * *
She’d left Hayden sleeping soundly in the cabin earlier when she decided to go out for a run. The sun beamed in the sky, drying up the leftover residue from the previous night’s rain. Its rays reflected hotly on her skin.
Nevaeh turned and headed for the pond where she fished. The boat she used bobbed in and out of the water, secured to the dock by a rope. Not too far away from it rested another boat...a speedboat. Nevaeh stopped. A visitor. The chief hadn’t told her they were sending someone there to check on them. And why had the person arrived by boat instead of driving up? Alarms went off in her head as she looked down at the footprints heading toward the woods, and her intuition had never failed her yet. “Hayden!” she screamed as she headed back to the cabin. She had left him defenseless and under the influence of pain medication.
Nevaeh started running again through the woods, past the big oak trees and shrubs that scratched her legs. Gunshots rang out in the air. She yelped but did not stop running. Her pulse pounded in her chest and head. She didn’t know what she would do if Hayden was dead. He couldn’t be. Not on her watch.
Another gunshot rang out. Nevaeh bounded out of the woods and ran up the dirt path to the stairs of the cabin. The door opened, and a tall masked man ran out, almost knocking her down as he came down the stairs. He tried to grab her, but her survival instincts woke up and she kicked him squarely in the balls.
The man groaned and grabbed his privates. “You crazy bitch.”
“Crazy, yes,” Nevaeh said, assuming an attack stance. “Bitch, no.” She kicked him again, this time against the head.
The man howled, straightened up and pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants.
Nevaeh never gave him a chance to use it. Another well-aimed kick sent it flying from his hands.
The man went to the ground to retrieve it.
Nevaeh pulled her personal revolver from its holster under her arm and cocked the trigger.
The assailant looked around at the sound.
“Get up slowly or I’ll blow you away.”
Without a second thought he hopped to his feet and ran toward the woods, leaving his weapon behind.
Nevaeh put her gun away and then removed her shirt and used it to pick up the gun carefully so she wouldn’t erase the fingerprints. She moved toward the stairs quickly. “Hayden,” she screamed, entering the house.
He didn’t answer.
“Hayden, are you okay?” She ran toward his bedroom and threw open the door. She found him seated on the side of the bed, holding his injured arm with his right hand. Two gunshot holes decorated the wall just above the bed. She dropped to her knees, ignoring the fact that she was in her sports bra and jogging shorts. “I thought you were dead.” She put the assassin’s gun on the nightstand.
Hayden’s hand stroked her head. “No, and not defenseless either. That guy was a pretty crummy shot. Nothing like you, thankfully.”
“Who the hell was that?” she asked as she clung to his leg. “The chief didn’t tell me you had enemies looking for you.” His touch was calming.
“Sorry, Pocahontas. He wasn’t here for me. He came here to kill you.”
Nevaeh raised her head. “Huh?” She looked up into Hayden’s face. Concern showed in his eyes.
“I think you pissed someone off when you killed those two snipers. That idiot mentioned that you now have a contract on your head.”
Hayden removed his hands as she rose to her feet. “Shit.” She hadn’t figured this would happen. She also hadn’t expected the look on Hayden’s face as he ran his eyes over her half-clothed body. “I have to get you out of here. I can’t have you getting killed because of me.”
Hayden rose and pulled her to him with his good arm. “I’m not leaving you here in a cabin in the woods. I’d rather die first. We’re in this together.”
His shirt rubbed against her stomach, sending a thrill through her body at the most inopportune moment. “This is not your fight.”
He kissed her on her head. “We’re partners.”
“I don’t expect you to die for me.” Emotions overwhelmed her. Nevaeh put her arms around Hayden’s waist and leaned her head against his chest.
“That’s what partners do.” He raised her head and leaned his head down and kissed her gently on the lips.
Nevaeh trembled as his lips and body pressed hotly into hers. Oh God, why now, with so many things going on?
Hayden answered the question by moving her toward the bed.
Her mind said they should be doing other things to protect themselves just in case the killer came back, but her body wasn’t listening. It was going to have this one time with Hayden, because no one promised her a tomorrow.
Hayden reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. “Chief, this is Hayden. Someone found your secluded hideaway and tried to kill Nevaeh.” He listened for a few minutes and then disconnected the call.
“What did he say?” Nevaeh asked as Hayden unsnapped the front-locking bra she wore.
“He told me to take care of you.”
“Are they sending someone to get you?” she asked as he worked the bra from her body.
“No, he’s sending someone to get us tomorrow. He said to hang tight.”
Nevaeh bit her lip as Hayden cupped one of her breasts with his hand. That was easy for the chief to say. Once this was over between her and Hayden and she came to her senses, she was going to lock the cabin up and secure it like Fort Knox.
Chapter Six
Hot damn, she is stacked. Hayden ran his hand across Nevaeh’s b
reasts. Warmth radiated through his palms along with the rapid beat of her heart. She’s nervous. “Relax I won’t hurt you.”
Nevaeh smiled shyly…something he didn’t expect. “I am relaxed. It’s just that...” Her head and her eyes closed as he gently rolled one of her dusky brown nipples between his fingers.
“It’s just what?” The nipple budded and hardened. The other one responded without being touched.
“It’s wrong. We’re partners.”
He lowered his head and captured the nipple between his lips, ignoring her rationale of the situation. He knew it was wrong, but it felt so right. He raised his head slightly. “Not at the moment. We’re just a man and a woman who need comfort.” With that, he gently pushed her onto her back down on the bed and went back to the nipple.
“Oh!” Nevaeh moaned. Her body shivered beneath his touch. “My breasts are so sensitive.”
Hayden lifted his head. “I promise not to hurt you.” The pain in his shoulder throbbed as he tried to balance his weight to the left. Hayden shifted, putting more of it on his right. He ran a finger down her sternum, and she trembled. “Are you cold?”
“No, very warm.”
That was all the information he needed. Hayden slid the pants and panties down her hips but couldn’t remove them without physically moving away from her. He groaned. There was no other way. Hayden moved, hating to leave the comfort of her warmth, and removed the clothes from her body. It was worth the effort.
Nevaeh had a body men fantasized about…narrow waist, wide hips and long legs. He tossed the clothing to the floor and put his attention back on her, running his hand over one of her silky thighs. “Your skin is so soft.”
Nevaeh drew both legs up. “I’d like to see all of you now.”
It was a request he could not refuse. Hayden slid from the bed and began removing the white athletic shirt first, grimacing from the pain in his arm. He whipped it off, hoping the bandage would stay in place.
Nevaeh crawled down to the foot of the bed, stood and ran her hand over his chest. “Magnificent.”
