The Warrior In Me

by Anita Philmar

  Seeing the plane taxi away from the pier, Sebastian managed to grab her around the waist before she made it more than two steps down the walkway. “Now, now, you’ll love it here once you’ve settled in.”

  She wiggled in his arms. The thin fabric of her clothing hid none of the seductive heat of her luscious body. Her ass hit the fly of his jeans, and her unique scent caressed his senses. “Let me go. I’m supposed to be in a warm place with plenty of sunshine and a beautiful ocean view.”

  He squeezed her tighter against his chest. Holding her reminded him how long it’d been since he held a woman, a warm, desirable woman who ignited his lust and completely captured his interest.

  “Two out of three ain’t bad,” he whispered beside her ear.

  She clamped her hands over his wrists. “Why are you doing this? Mark said…”

  She quit struggling, turned, and peered up at him. “He lied to me, didn’t he? You’re another bodyguard, aren’t you? He’s still afraid someone is out to get us.”

  “And he’s right.” Sebastian eased his grip but didn’t allow her to move out of the circle of his arms.

  The anger in her gaze only a moment ago shifted to one of concern. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

  Drowning in the dark depths of her eyes, he fought his body’s response to her nearness and shifted backward. Slowly, he released her, making sure she maintained her footing before he stepped away. “Let me retrieve your suitcase, and then we’ll head inside.”

  She crossed her arms and shook her head. “Seeing as you don’t know me, I’ll give you a little warning. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Also, with my fear of flying, I managed only a quick nap on our flight. I’m tired and in no mood to dance around either of our delicate sensibilities. So just spit out the truth, and we’ll take it from there.”

  “Good plan, but let’s head inside before we start a lengthy conversation.” He left her standing in the middle of the walkway and retrieved her suitcase.

  She didn’t bother to wait for him. Instead, she followed the path to his front door. The gentle sway of her hips captured his attention. A hunger for something he couldn’t have spread through his body, igniting an urge to feed his more basic desires. One his Neanderthal warrior ancestors had passed along. At least his grandfather claimed their strong sexual appetite was from their forefathers.

  Widening his stride, he walked across the front porch and paused after stepping across the threshold. His gaze immediately fell on her shapely form in the middle of the large open area.

  “Wow, this is great. I’ve never been inside a real log house.” She gawked at the walls, the high ceiling, and the loft above. The oak railing of the staircase, which enclosed the area, led to the main floor. A huge stone fireplace stood only a few steps away and drew attention back to the large wooden crossbeams.

  Sebastian smiled. He’d built the house not only for his own comforts, but also as a tribute to the land around his home. Unsure how to proceed, he shut the door and stepped closer. “Do you want me to show you to your room? Or would you like me to show you around first?”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, she scanned the area, her gaze falling on his red, leather sofa, multicolored Indian rug, the metal trunk he used as an end table between two huge recliners, and then beyond to the rest of the house. She walked toward the dining room directly under the loft. The kitchen, partially hidden by the staircase, blocked his view of her when she entered.

  Her rich alto voice echoed through the house. “You have all the same appliances we have back in California. It must have cost you a mint to have them shipped up here.”

  He set down her suitcase and roamed to the bar leading into the kitchen. Resting a hip on a stool, he assessed how she looked in the very heart of his home. She was dressed a little too formal for his taste, but the golden glow of the cabinets caught the light from her hair. The seductive brown shade of her eyes matched the glittering specks in the granite counter tops. Shocked by the strange feeling of her belonging in his kitchen, home, life, he gritted his teeth. They weren’t playing house. This was a job.

  Leading her away from the kitchen, he held out his hand in the direction of his office. “Seeing as you’re not ready to head off to bed, why don’t we discuss why exactly Rex sent you here?”

  She frowned, her gaze narrowing. “I’m not exactly sure who Rex is, but for some reason, Mark believes I’m in danger. Though why, I can’t determine.” She waved a finger at him. “You mentioned outside there was more going on here than I know about. So spit it out. What exactly is going on? Why did he send me to Alaska?”

  Not wanting her hostility to taint the tranquility of his main living space, he crossed the room to the hallway that led to his office. One-step along the path, he noticed the guest bathroom door stood open and turned to the left, effectively avoiding the other closed door to the right that led to the master suite.

  Not pausing to see if she’d followed, he walked around his desk and pointed to a plaid, high-back chair. “Take a seat. I’ll tell you what happened last night.”

  Lily glanced around as if in no hurry to sit down. Her gaze roamed over the bookcase-lined walls and zeroed in on the large picture window to his right. The view revealed the wooden walkway, leading to the dock. “I guess you saw me coming before I ever arrived.”

  “Rex called me at four this morning to tell me you were on your way.” He continued to stand, waiting patiently for her to take her seat. The extended time she used to examine the room gave him time to study her more closely. Trying his best, not to take in her alluring female attributes, he evaluated her stalling techniques as nothing more than nerves. She might run a research lab, but she didn’t exactly enjoy dealing with people. That particular truth became apparent almost immediately in the way she avoided making eye contact with him.

  Or maybe, she felt the same attraction he did.

  He suspected she wouldn’t find him very appealing after he told her Cain was dead and about the possible threat to not only her lab, but to her life.

  She cupped a hand over the back of the chair and shook her head. “Who is this man named Rex you keep mentioning?”

  “He’s my boss, and the one who set up the team to protect you and your lab.”

  “That’s the reason I don’t know him. Mark handles security.” She stepped in front of the chair and sank onto the cushion. Her hands resting on her knees, she leaned slightly forward. A waterfall of blonde hair fell over the curve of her breasts. “So what else did Rex tell you this morning?”

  Chapter Three

  Forcing herself to look the man across from her squarely in the face, Lily noted a slight tick over his left eyebrow. Did he plan to keep her in the dark the same way everyone else did?

  “Have you met Cain Platero?” He folded his hands together and placed them on the desk. His broad shoulders and thick biceps encased in a red flannel shirt, he appeared in line with a farmer. Yet, his stern attitude reminded Lily more of a powerful businessman.

  Trying her best to ignore his intense scrutiny, she narrowed her focus to the few people she’d met recently. Working and conversing with the same group of people day in and day out, she had a tendency to dismiss strangers as not worth her time. After all, if they weren’t involved in her research what importance could they have to her.

  The name sounded familiar.

  Oh, yes, the handsome man Mark had introduced her to when he told her he’d assigned Bruce the task of driving her back and forth to work each day.

  “He works with Bruce. The two of them installed the lab’s new security system.” Lily straightened her arms, leaned against the back of her chair, and folded her hands in her lap. Happy this man couldn’t accuse her of being totally oblivious to the people around her, she smiled.

  “That’s right. He was shot last night in the parking lot of your lab.” His words with their precise even tone took a moment for her to process.

  She blinked.

  He
had to be joking.

  Lifting her hand to her chest, she sputtered, “Excuse me, what did you say?”

  “Cain was murdered outside your lab.” He rephrased the sentence, but her brain registered only one word—murdered.

  She jumped to her feet and planted her hands on his desk. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this before now?” She glanced around for her purse. “I need to call Mark. We have to call the police and find out what the hell happened. Did they break into the lab?”

  Without waiting for his reply, she turned and headed back down the hallway to where he’d left her suitcase. She didn’t see her handbag anywhere near it. Did she leave it in the small, tin-bucket-sized plane? Or had Bruce left it on the dock?

  Desperate for answers to a whole host of questions, she rushed outside. “Damn it, Bruce, how do you expect me to stay in touch with home if you fly off with my purse?”

  She dashed across the front porch, making it almost to the steps before a large hand on her shoulder stopped her progress. She spun around and slapped the man’s chest. “Did you pick up my purse?”

  The giant of a man caught her around the waist and held her against the hard line of his body. “No, but there’s no need running out to the dock to look for it. I didn’t see it when I picked up your luggage. You must have forgotten it on the plane.”

  Shoving against him, she glared at his square jaw, his long, hawk-shaped nose, and into his dark chocolate brown eyes. Something in their depth called to her, a deep sorrow that offered a soothing balm to the overwhelming panic. Her mind slowed, then cleared, and words flowed from her mouth with no conscious consideration on her part. “You knew him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. Cain was my best friend.”

  Pain sliced through her, ripping the scab off the misery she’d endured when her parents had unexpectedly died. She guided her hands around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”

  He tightened his arms around her, drawing her close. Lily rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt and absorbed the heat from his body. She closed her eyes and wrangled with the anguish, threatening to tear her apart and leave her bleeding on the ground. How could this be happening? They’d taken every precaution to safeguard not only the lab but their employees, too.

  It made no sense. The results of their testing had a release date of this Friday. Why kill an innocent man over information that would become public knowledge in less than a week?

  Unless Cain had stopped them before they broke into the lab?

  The sudden anxiety of losing her life’s work sickened her. Her heart raced, pounding persistently in her chest. Gasping for breath, she struggled to draw in air.

  A warm caress ran along her spine, reminding her she stood in the arms of a complete stranger, crying over a man she barely knew. Damn, with the stress of the last few weeks, she’d lost it.

  Using the skills she’d learned years earlier to calm herself, she drew air into her lungs and let it out slowly. After taking a few more deep breathes, she noticed an alluring scent—aroma…pine…maybe mint.

  Shifting back, she focused on his shirt’s buttons and brushed away her tears. “I’m afraid I’m not good at this sort of thing. Please tell me what happened?”

  “No.” He slid his finger under her chin and tilted her head until her gaze met his. “What I’d like to do is kiss you until I forget everything else in the world except the two of us.”

  She blinked and silently envisioned herself falling down a rabbit hole into never, never land. Men didn’t say those types of things to her, not after knowing her less than ten minutes, hell, not even if they’d been acquainted for weeks. Most considered her a freak who didn’t warrant their attention.

  What was wrong with this man? Did he hope to jolt her back to reality by making such a crazy suggestion?

  “I, uh…” She was at a complete loss for a response.

  “You’re still reeling from having arrived in Alaska instead of Cancun, upset about Cain, ticked at Bruce for running off with your purse, and all while running on less than a few hours of sleep last night.” He released her with a smile and slipped an arm around her shoulders. Guiding her to the front door, he stepped inside and shut the door behind them.

  Instead of leading her back to his study, he escorted her over to the couch and drew her down on the cushion next to him. “Why don’t we start over?”

  A thick lock of dark hair fell onto his forehead as he leaned back and captured her hand. “I’m Sebastian Berlin. I live here in Alaska. You…”

  The pause stood like a huge question mark between them. She worked to fill in the silence. “My name is Lily Sinclair Winslow. This week, I planned to relax in a tropical paradise without giving a thought as to what is going on with work, Mark, or the hundred and one other problems I should address. Now, I…”

  Her mind froze, and she struggled to address the problems facing them.

  God, what should she do? Check in with Mark and find out if she should head for home or—

  “If he wanted you to return to California, he’d have contacted Rex. Then he’d have phoned me. There’s not much you can do. The police are still gathering information. Rex assigned another man to the security team. He’s heading to the lab to review the surveillance tapes right now. If he finds anything, he’ll hand the evidence over to the police.”

  He set her hand on his thigh and smiled. “What I should probably do is show you to your room so you can get some rest, but the minute I leave you alone, a thousand questions will suddenly pop into your head.”

  She studied his square face, then the raven curls playing around his head, not tight, frizzy ringlets, instead touchable, wild locks. The coloring of his skin revealed his Native American heritage along with his dark hair and eyes. Most wouldn’t describe him as handsome. Strikingly unique sounded more politically correct, but she found him extremely attractive.

  With him sitting beside her and holding her hand, she became even more confused. “I guess that’s the reason for the change in plans. Mark wanted me to be in a more secure spot after he learned Cain was shot. Why didn’t he tell me before I left?”

  Sebastian shook his head. “He didn’t know. Rex decided to reroute you here and call Mark after you left but couldn’t get a hold of him.”

  “Then I’m stuck here until they decide what they intend to do with me,” Lily grumbled. For years, she’d planned to take a vacation, hoping to see a new world full of people and excitement. Now stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, she had no place to go and nothing to do. Could she handle such serenity?

  “Well, you’re free to lie on the beach and soak in the sunshine. I won’t mind,” he suggested as if she’d seriously consider such an absurd idea.

  “Right, and I’ll catch pneumonia if I step a foot into the frigid water.” She freed her hand and rose. “Why don’t you go ahead and show me to my room? I’m so exhausted at the moment, I can’t even think straight.”

  He rolled to his feet and turned to the staircase. Dark curls played with the collar of his shirt. With the tail tucked into his jeans, she scanned the nice curve of his ass and thick length of his thighs. The man presented a powerhouse body of a linebacker—wait, maybe a guard. Damn, how did men remember all the different positions for each sport out there?

  She shrugged and followed him up the stairs. It didn’t matter. The man was smoking hot. Perhaps even interested in her, if her womanly instincts hadn’t completely gone offline after all the years she’d spent hiding in books. She inspected the male perfection in front of her and noted how merely looking at him made her heart race and her skin tingle.

  Not good. She allowed a few more feet to separate them. I don’t need the heartache when he dumps me.

  ****

  “I hope you will be comfortable in here.” Sebastian cupped a hand over the doorknob and turned the handle. The bedroom sat at the top of the stairs, which some might think wasn’t the best place to put her
. He didn’t see anyone making it onto his island much less into his house. This room also had the least masculine furniture of the four guest bedrooms.

  He checked the room briefly before stepping over the threshold. A full-size, iron bed stood against the far wall. Two nightstands guarded each side. A large picture window on the adjacent wall let in plenty of light. At each end, blackout curtains hung to the floor and offered complete darkness in which to rest.

  “Wow, what a beautiful room.” Lily entered behind him and strolled to the mirrored dresser. She grazed a finger over the granite surface and opened one of the top drawers. “I haven’t seen this type of furniture since my grandparents died.”

  His senses tingled. The lady wasn’t lying. She did appreciate the furnishings. He placed her bag on the cedar chest at the end of the bed. “My mother loves antiques and helped me pick out the items for this room.”

  He eyed the quilt spread over the mattress, trying to determine if she’d be warm enough or if she’d need extra blankets. Images of how he’d enjoy keeping her nice and toasty flashed in his head. He pointed at the chest. “There are several quilts in here if you get cold.”

  “Thanks.” She proceeded to the window and stared out at the rough terrain.

  Unable to stay away from her, he followed, pausing beside her to take in the spectacular landscape. Trees blocked the ocean and only showed the wilderness around them and the mountains in the distance. “If you close the curtains, it will be dark. You should be able to sleep.”

  “Right.” She turned abruptly to him and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “I’m sure you don’t want me here anymore than I want to be here, so I’ll do my best to stay out of your way.”

  His skin prickled, and he immediately understood the lie for what it was. She had been in this position before, placed somewhere she hadn’t felt comfortable being. He smiled and caught her hand, bringing it slowly to his lips. “If you were anyone else, I might be pleased to hear you say that, but I’m having trouble leaving you alone so you can rest.”