Gabby hauled in the rest of the groceries and enough liquor to stock a restaurant bar. Then she slipped out of her coat. When she looked down, she let out a quiet gasp. She’d never gotten dressed. And she wasn’t wearing a bra. No wonder he’d been staring at her chest like that earlier. She called out from the kitchen, “Be right back.”
“Hold up. I think I deserve one of those beers after you bashed my head in, don’t you? Help yourself to one, if you’d like.”
She still felt so guilty for hitting an innocent man that she’d do anything to try to make it up to him. Every time she glanced at his bruised face, her stomach hurt. “Coming right up.” She opened the fridge, now overflowing with beer, and grabbed two. She could really use a drink, too.
She opened his and then hers. “Can you manage the can?”
“Let’s give it a try. Although it wouldn’t be a hardship to enlist the help of a gorgeous woman.” He swung his feet to the floor and sat up. His gaze zeroed in on her chest again. “By that little noise you made, I’m guessing you just figured out the no-bra thing there, didn’t you?”
Does the man flirt 24–7? And notice everything? She placed the beer between his fingers. “Yes. I plan to rectify that right now.”
“Don’t go to any trouble on my account. Cheers?” He held his can out toward hers and smiled so sweetly it made it hard to refuse. Jake was blond haired, blue eyed, lean but muscled, handsome, and too charming for his own good. She needed to remember that he was also the one who could ruin all her plans.
She still wanted to crawl under a rock about the bra thing, but instead, she’d play it cool like the brave new woman she’d just become and tap his can back. “Here’s to your hard head, Jake.”
“That was a good one, Red.” He smiled as he clumsily managed to raise the can to his lips. When he tilted his head back, only a few drops landed on his shirt. After a very long drink, he said, “Wait! You’re trying to do that Stockholm syndrome thing on me, right? To make me like you. By making me laugh, serving me beer, and prancing around without a bra. The bra thing was a nice touch. My favorite one actually. Or maybe the lack of bra confirms the gigolo theory?”
Mortified, she just shook her head. “I don’t know how to deal with a comment like that, Jake. I’ll be right back.” She stood and headed for the bedroom. She’d rather crawl under the covers in that big, soft bed and pull them over her head. But she had a guest she had to feed and keep an eye on. How had things gone so terribly wrong? Her plans had been so perfect. Then Jake had come strolling through the front door and messed everything up.
He called out from the couch, “What does that mean? Don’t you want to be my friend?”
She yelled back, “No. Not especially.” That was a lie. She could use a nice person in her life right now. And Jake had a pair of the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. If only his smart mouth would stop trying to cover up whatever pain he was hiding.
In her experience, people who acted like him always had baggage. And having her own unfortunate past, she was always drawn to those types. She had a feeling she and Jake were kindred souls in the pain department, although a guy like him would probably never admit it. He reminded her of Brian, the only man she’d ever loved, who’d broken her heart back in college. And her best friend at school, Charlie, who’d grown up rich and unloved. Both had mouths on them like Jake.
She yanked her shirt off and found her bra hanging on the bathroom doorknob where she’d left it the night before. After she’d put it on, she didn’t see any reason to get all the way dressed when they were going to go to sleep again in a few hours anyway, so she slipped her tank back over her head.
He’d already seen her with no makeup and in her pj’s, so who cared? It wasn’t like she needed to impress him. Or make herself more attractive to him, that was for sure. He already seemed attracted enough to her, oddly. Maybe that was part of his shtick, too. He probably flirted with anything female, that one.
She walked back into the living room and sat beside him on the couch as they waited for their dinner to heat up. She hated that she had to keep his hands bound. But he’d surely be able to escape and call the police if she let him wander around freely.
Picking up the remote, she asked, “Do you want to watch some TV?”
He finished off his beer. “I’d rather talk about you.”
“No thanks.” He had cable, so she quickly found the sports channel for him. After enduring scores and news about people she’d never heard of, she said, “I’m going to check my e-mail. Want another beer?”
“Yes, please.” Jake grinned at her. “You’re a pretty accommodating kidnapper. I appreciate it.”
She went to get his beer, and when she returned, she said, “Please don’t call me a kidnapper. You don’t understand.”
“I’m all ears here.” He held out his hands for the can.
“Really? From what I can tell, you’re all mouth.” She placed the cold beer in his hands and walked to the bedroom to retrieve her laptop.
“Ouch! Now I’m not so sure you’re very nice,” he called out from behind her.
She dropped to the side of the bed as a wave of guilt rushed through her again. She wasn’t being very nice at the moment. “Under normal circumstances, I’m a very nice person, Jake. Wi-Fi password, please?”
“If you come back out here and keep me company, I’ll give it to you.”
She grabbed her laptop and huffed out a breath. “Fine.” It was his cabin, after all. She was the one who had broken in and hurt him.
Just as she walked back into the living room, Jake tossed his empty beer can over his shoulder with both hands in an attempt to hit the trash basket. It hit the rim, and then popped out and onto the floor. “Denied!”
It reminded her of how some of the pig guards in her house often behaved, throwing beer cans and leaving them for the housekeeper to clean up. Worse, while doing that, they often sat around bragging about the people they’d killed.
It flipped a very big switch inside her.
“If you think I’m picking up after you, then think again. Just because you’re a hostage is no excuse to forget your manners.” Her clipped tone surprised her. What was she doing? He’d just missed his shot, that’s all. She needed to take a deep breath and regroup. She wasn’t home, where she felt like the prisoner. Jake was the one being held against his will.
She was obviously tired and cranky. She’d had a rough few days. Or maybe it was Jake. It was hard to tell. The man was confusing and sexy at the same time.
“No need to get all testy.” He slowly stood. “You might have been raised in a proper English boarding school, but I went to public, so my manners aren’t as nice as yours.”
“What makes you think I went to school in England?” Fear shot up her spine as she whirled around and faced him. Was he one of her father’s men after all? Just pretending to be the owner of the cabin?
“Just a guess.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “You have the slightest English accent when you panic. Or you’re mad. It’s sort of cute. I’m guessing that had to come from living overseas a long time ago?”
Sort of cute? Who in his right mind flirted with his kidnapper nonstop? Maybe he had a little brain damage after all. “Well, you’re right, I did go to school in England. I’m very big on manners because of it, I suppose.”
“A kidnapper with manners? That’s probably an oxymoron, wouldn’t you say?”
“I’m not a kidnapper, Jake. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Clearly. So, is what they say about redheads true, then? That they all have tempers like snarling bears?”
“That sounds about right to me.” But she wasn’t really a redhead, so she didn’t have any idea if that were true.
The microwave beeped, thankfully, so she went to the kitchen and searched the drawers for hot pads.
Jake bent to pick up the can. After three attempts, he finally grabbed it and threw it away. Then he moved behind her and slipped
his bound hands over her head and laid them on her chest. Just above her now-bra-restrained breasts. His thumbs slowly caressed her collarbone. “The rest of that saying involves something about redheads being wildcats in bed. That sound like you, too?” His mouth was so close that his warm breath tickled her ear. It made her shiver with fear that he could break her neck if he wanted to.
She whispered, “That’s none of your business. Please go sit down at the table.” She used her best stern schoolteacher voice that only worked on her dog. None of the thugs at home ever took her seriously.
“No denial? Must be true, then. The pot holders are in the drawer right beside the oven.” He lifted his hands over her head and backed away. “FYI. The next time you kidnap someone who isn’t me, you should tie their hands behind their back. I could’ve taken you out just now.”
“And yet you didn’t.” She turned around and sent him her cockiest grin while she tried to pull herself together. She needed to keep her guard up better than that. She’d had a ton of self-defense classes. She needed to remember to use what she’d learned.
Jake chuckled but sat at the table after he managed to get them their beers from the coffee table. It was incredible what a man with bound hands could accomplish when there was beer involved. And how would he have known where the hot pads were unless he lived here? It made her shoulders relax again.
After another long drink from his can, he placed it on the table. “Can I ask you a question?”
“If I said no, I doubt that’d stop you from asking.” She dished up two plates of lasagna, one heaping and one regular portioned, and slid the fuller plate in front of him before she sat down. “You talk a lot for a man.”
“I’m the curious sort. That’s all.” He struggled with his fork but finally managed to get a bite to his lips. After he swallowed, he said, “Just wondering about the overall plan here. What’s to stop me from walking out of here tonight after you fall asleep?”
Yeah, what was to stop him?
She took a long drink from her beer to stall for time to figure that out. Then she took a big bite because the answer hadn’t materialized quite yet. By the time she’d swallowed, the answer had come to her. “I’d planned to duct-tape your ankles together tonight. And I took your keys while you were passed out. Along with a gun, and the knife in your boot. Why do you carry a gun and a knife?”
He frowned at her. For the first time, he seemed truly angry. But still not enough to hurt her. “When my head stopped banging some, I noticed you stole those from me.” Then his face softened, and he leaned closer. “You had your hands in my pants, and I wasn’t even awake to enjoy it? You play dirty, Red. But I like that. A lot.”
She shook her head as she scooped up more food. “You flirt even when you’re mad? Or did you do that so you wouldn’t have to answer my question?” She stuffed a bite of some of the best lasagna she’d ever eaten into her mouth. Different from her aunt Suzy’s, but still delicious. The melty cheese and garlicky red sauce nearly made her moan.
Good manners would question the size of that bite, but she hadn’t had a proper meal in days, so she’d give herself a break. She practically inhaled her food.
“You want to know why I carry a gun and a knife?” He shot her a panty-melting grin as he lifted up his foot. “I’m a cowboy. Hence the boots. I sometimes need the knife to free animals caught up in things. And the gun is for the wild animals that sometimes like to creep up behind a guy while out on the range.”
“What kind of wild animals?” She’d read there were bears in New Mexico. It worried her about her long hike to the ruins.
When he shrugged, his whole bite of lasagna dropped from his fork and back to his plate, so he stabbed it again. “Coyotes, bobcats, bears, that kind.”
So, there were bears, darn it.
She studied him as she chewed. Her normally reliable gut told her he was telling the truth about being a cowboy and yet lying at the same time. “Coyotes are dangerous to people?”
“Only when they’re hungry and in packs. Mostly, I just shoot off the gun. That’s usually all it takes for critters to get the hint. Too bad people don’t work that way.” He frowned deeply as he concentrated on getting the food into his mouth.
“Here. Let me help you.” She was full, so she pushed her almost-empty plate away and scooted closer to him.
“I’d appreciate it.” He opened his mouth wide and tilted his head back, like a baby bird waiting for a worm. It made her smile.
After she had shoved in a big bite, she said, “Why’d you get upset after the ‘too bad people don’t work that way’ comment just now?”
Jake’s brows drew together as he chewed. “What makes you think you know what people are thinking and feeling?”
“Ah. You admit I’m right.” She shoved in more food. The man was like a human trash compactor and must’ve been as hungry as she’d been.
He nodded as he chewed. “You’re right, but I don’t want to talk about it.” He opened for another bite. After she had complied, he said, “In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s only one bed in this place. That couch is too short for me, and I have a major headache. I intend to sleep in my own bed, duct-taped or not.”
She fed him another heaping forkful. The look in his eyes as he watched was filled with desire. It was downright sexual. And it probably wasn’t all for the lasagna, even as good as it was. “If that couch is too short for you, then it’ll be too short for me, too.”
“Yeah. But you’re the criminal here, not me. You should take the couch. Or, you’d be welcome to join me. How much trouble could a man with taped-up hands and legs get into?” He waggled his blond brows.
She shoved the last bite into his mouth and then grabbed their dishes from the table. “I doubt a little tape would ever stop a guy like you from getting into a woman’s panties, Jake.”
“Look who’s talking. You’ve already been in mine. Turnabout is fair play. Don’t you think?”
“You are seriously tempting me to use my duct tape on that cocky mouth of yours.” Why hadn’t she met Jake under different circumstances? When she might enjoy all his playful flirting. He had probably talked more women into bed than Casanova himself. And she would have been one of them. Just for a night or two, anyway. That’s all the time she dared spend with a man. They asked too many questions after that. Hard to hide the fact for too long that she had bodyguards and drivers.
Jake suddenly appeared beside her, his face inches from hers. “Don’t ever duct-tape someone’s mouth, Red. I’m serious. People can asphyxiate and accidentally die that way. Comprende?”
“Asphyxiate?” She laughed as she rinsed their plates in the sink. “That’s a pretty big word for a cowboy.”
“Are you saying cowboys are dumb? Couldn’t possibly be as smart as a serious scientist?”
“No. I was just . . .” She turned and stared into his earnest eyes. He was being serious for a change. Had she hurt his feelings?
She whispered, “I’m sorry, Jake. I was just teasing. I’d never actually tape your mouth closed because I don’t mind all of your chatter. I normally live a pretty solitary life, and you’re sort of like my dog. He’s good company without saying anything.”
“Now I’m as dumb as your dog?”
She hadn’t meant it like that. Jeez, what had set him off? Must have something to do with that personal thing he didn’t want to discuss. “For your information, I have a border collie. And his name is Einstein because he’s so smart.”
“Oh well, then that makes all the difference.” He walked to the fridge and grabbed himself another beer while muttering something about damn dogs.
He laid it on the counter and popped the top. “You know what, Red? You act pretty high and mighty for a common criminal.”
“I’m not a common criminal. I’m an archaeologist searching for a statue that belongs in a museum so the whole world can appreciate its beauty. Not some rich collector’s home. Someone who’ll go to great and illegal lengths to
get it. I have to find it before some very bad people find me and make me stop.”
Jake’s right brow lifted. “Then why not call the police?”
“Because I happen to love the bad person trying to stop me.” Crap, crap, crap. She needed to shut up, immediately. “Look, if you can have off-limits stuff, then I can, too. And go easy on the beers. You’ll have a hard time going to the bathroom later with your legs bound.”
“Speaking of that, can you help me with my jeans? Nature’s calling right now.” His lips tilted into a very naughty grin. No one did a naughty grin as well as Jake.
She didn’t want to touch him there. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She sort of did want to touch him there, but it’d be totally inappropriate under the circumstances.
“Fine.” She moved closer and released the top button first. Because that was fairly safe. As she stood and stared, trying to figure out how to lower his zipper without becoming intimately acquainted with him, the situation became worse. Evidently, staring at his crotch aroused him.
He whispered, “Quick might be better.”
She reached for his zipper. Quick was probably better.
Just as her fingers grasped the little tab, a woman’s voice called out, “What’s going on here?”
Gabby hadn’t even heard anyone come through the front door. She was in trouble now.
Gabby moved her hand back to her side as she turned around. A beautiful woman with long, curly light-brown hair and a figure like a twenties pinup girl pointed a twenty-two at them.
Jake called out, “Hey, Dani. Gabby here was just getting into my pants.”
She blew out a long breath. Looked like the jig was up. Gabby Knight was a common criminal and going to jail.
Worse, she’d failed all archaeologists worldwide.
Chapter Three
Jake didn’t need to be rescued by his ex-wife. He’d just flustered Gabby enough by flirting with her incessantly and pressing her buttons to make her confess some useful information. Another hour and he’d have solved the mystery that was Gabby on his own.
Dealing Double (A Heartbreaker Novel Book 2) Page 4
