Lost in Her

by Sandra Owens

  He’d had a moment of indecision when deciding what to wear, then realized he was getting a little too crazy about his date night. “I have a date,” he bragged to Mr. Bunny. The rabbit twitched his nose, and Ryan figured if the fuzzball could talk, he’d say, “About time.” Couldn’t argue with that, Ryan thought, as he eyed the contents of his closet.

  Finally, he settled on a pair of comfortable jeans and a white button-down shirt that he left untucked. He rolled up the sleeves, then picked up his class ring—now on a silver chain he’d bought on his lunch hour—and tucked it in his pocket.

  The doorbell rang and he walked barefoot to the door. Mr. Bunny sat in front of it as if waiting to see who was on the other side. Ryan picked up the rabbit and opened the door. “Look, Mr. Bunny, it’s my girlfriend.” And she looked entirely edible wearing white jeans shorts and a teal T-shirt that said, Save a horse, ride a pilot. Worked for him.

  “Oh my God, you really do have a rabbit,” she said, holding out her arms.

  “That I do.” Ryan handed over his pet, then brushed his lips across hers. “Follow me.” He led her into the kitchen and waved a hand at his small table. In the center was a plate with some fancy cheeses and crackers he’d added to the grocery cart at the last minute.

  “He’s such a cutie,” she said, rubbing noses with the rabbit. “What’s his name?”

  “Mr. Bunny.”

  She gave him a disbelieving look, then burst into laughter. “I heard you say that on the phone, but I just thought you were calling him that, you know, generically. Like, because he’s a rabbit. He is a he, right?”

  “Hell if I know.”

  “No kidding? You haven’t looked?”

  It hadn’t occurred to him to wonder what sex the rabbit was, but if it was a female, it had better not be pregnant. He watched as she flipped Mr. Bunny over in her arms and separated the fur with her fingers. “I dunno. Kind of hard to tell, but I think these are little balls.”

  Ryan bent over the rabbit that had better be a boy and eyed the suspect balls. “Beats me,” he said. “I guess I should take it to the vet, find out. Can you neuter a rabbit?”

  “No, I can’t,” she said and chuckled. “Whether a vet can, I don’t know.”

  “Smart-ass girl.”

  She lifted her face, and their mouths were inches apart. Suddenly, he didn’t care about rabbits and balls. All he cared about was kissing Charlie. He put his hands on the back of the chair, caging her, and lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and warm, and he just kissed her, no tongue, no touching anywhere but their mouths. It was sexy as hell.

  Keeping one hand on the rabbit in her lap, she lifted her other one and flattened her palm against his cheek. It was something Kathleen used to do, and he almost jerked away. “Charlene,” he murmured to ground himself.

  His cell phone buzzed, and he lifted his head. “I’m sorry, I have to answer that. Might be a work call.” Kincaid had never called him at home, but with the way the planned operation was suddenly popping, it was a possibility.

  He stepped back to the counter and picked up the cell. “O’Connor.” As he listened, he glanced at the rabbit nestled in Charlie’s lap and frowned. “What color was it?” He’d forgotten about the posters he had put up around the neighborhood. The relief at the man’s answer surprised him. “No, it’s not him.” After hanging up, he made a mental note to go out and take all the posters down after Charlie left.

  “Someone trying to claim Mr. Bunny?” she asked.

  “Yeah, but he said his was white. I don’t think he ever owned a rabbit because he hesitated when I asked him what color. The posters I printed were in black and white, so I guess Mr. Bunny could’ve looked white in them. Weird. Why would he want a rabbit?”

  “Rabbit stew?”

  “The hell you say.” No one was making a stew out of his rabbit. “Listen, dinner will be ready in about a half hour. I’d planned for us to have a glass of wine,” he waved a hand at the cheese and crackers, “while we snacked a little on those and talked. But I need to take the lost-and-found posters down.” The thought of Mr. Bunny going into a pot was intolerable. He grabbed the wine bottle he had opened earlier and set it on the table. “Have some wine and play with him. It won’t take me long.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  He walked over and gave her a quick kiss. “No, I’m going to run, and your beautiful legs won’t be able to keep up. I’ll be back in fifteen.” After a detour to his bedroom to put on a pair of sneakers, he went back to the kitchen, and kissed Charlie again. “Be here when I get back, cherub.”

  “I’m not going anywhere until I get my ring,” she said, smiling.

  “Then we can have phone sex?”

  “Sheesh, you have a one-track mind, Hot Guy.”

  “What can I say? I’m a man.”

  She gave him a push. “Go. I’m just going to sit here and get drunk with Mr. Bunny.”

  “Don’t you dare get my rabbit drunk. Back soon.”

  Charlie watched him jog toward the door, admiring his very fine butt until it disappeared from sight. She picked up the rabbit and held him in front of her face. “I don’t blame you for refusing to leave. He’s definitely a keeper.”

  Mr. Bunny twitched his adorable nose, and she laughed. Setting him back in her lap, she poured a glass of wine. It had been an interesting evening so far. No man she knew would adopt a stray rabbit and then worry that someone might eat it. There had to be something wrong with him, some flaw she hadn’t seen yet. In her experience, men just weren’t that perfect.

  Curious about him, she picked up her wine and, with Mr. Bunny nestled in one arm, went into the living room. The furniture was minimal, and there were only a few personal items. Some books stacked on a side table caught her attention, and she walked over and scanned the spines. Tom Clancy, Daniel Silva, and Lee Child. “So you like spies and adventure, Hot Guy.” She liked Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, so that would give them something to talk about.

  The left side of the sofa was more indented, and she decided that was where he sat to watch TV. The next time he called her from home, she would be able to imagine him sitting there, and she liked that. There wasn’t much else in the living room that would give her a clue about him, and she eyed the hallway. She wouldn’t snoop, but she was curious about his bedroom and would just take a quick peek from the doorway.

  The bed was made up, and a cozy-looking deep-blue comforter covered it. Would she end up in that bed later? Still believing that he was too much man for her to handle, she wasn’t sure that would be a good idea. Yet, the thought of never seeing him again didn’t sit well either. Just as she turned to head back to the kitchen, a photo on his dresser caught her attention.

  He said he would be back in fifteen minutes, and he’d been gone about five. Unable to resist, she walked to the dresser and stared at Ryan and the beautiful woman in a silver frame. She wore a gorgeous wedding gown, and her smile was one of pure happiness. Her green eyes, so much like his, sparkled with life. In the photo, Ryan was looking not at the camera but at his wife, and there was so much love in his eyes that Charlie felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.

  What was she doing in an apartment with the hottest guy she’d ever known, one who would never look at her with stars in his eyes? Backing away, she spun and carried the rabbit to the kitchen and set him down. Where had she dropped her purse? The front door opened at the same moment she located her purse on the floor in the living room.

  “Got them all,” Ryan said, walking past her with a handful of posters.

  Charlie swiveled and watched him dump the pages into a garbage pail. She didn’t know what to do. What reason could she give him for leaving? Hey, I snooped around while you were gone, and I’ve decided I don’t belong here. I think I’ll just go now and try to forget I ever met you?

  After he had disposed of the offending posters, he glanced at her, then stilled. “Charlie?”

  “What?”

 
His eyes narrowed, and he stalked toward her, stopping so close that she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. “Were you leaving?”

  Yes, that had been her intention, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn away from him and do just that. She also couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. “I think it would be best.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you loved her, and I think you still do,” she blurted, and as the words fell like an unmovable boulder between them, she would have given anything if she could take them back. His eyes glittered, and all she could think was that she had poked a dangerous lion.

  “I told you I was married, so of course I loved my wife. What brought this on, Charlene?”

  The way he said her name told her she had ventured into forbidden territory. “I think I should just go,” she said as she backed up.

  He put an arm over her shoulder and flattened his left hand against the door. “No.”

  Hadn’t she already decided he was a man she couldn’t possibly handle? So why did the totally alpha male breathing fire at her excite her? Well, she had always loved the thrill of living on the edge in her plane, so maybe he gave her the same kind of buzz. “No? You don’t get to say no to me, Ryan.” She was taunting him, and she knew it.

  “Then I’ll just have to change your mind, cherub,” he said right before his mouth covered hers.

  Oh yes, playing with fire was about as good as performing one of her death-defying tricks. His right arm flashed in her eyesight as he put that hand against the door on the other side of her face. She was blocked in, and she loved that he seemed to want her to stay.

  Then he backed away. “That was wrong of me. If you want to leave, I won’t stop you. Just know that . . .” His eyes focused on a spot somewhere over her shoulder. “Know that I want you to stay.”

  “Okay,” she said, apparently willing to jump into the fire feetfirst, or was it headfirst? There had been something in his expression that had tugged at her, like maybe he didn’t just want her to stay, but needed her to. At her agreement, a beautiful smile bloomed on his face, one that took her breath away.

  He grabbed her hand. “Come with me. I’m taking you to Ireland tonight. It’s a land of magic, and who knows, you might even see an enchanted bunny.” At the entrance to the kitchen, he stopped and focused his unique green eyes on her. “But you have to let your imagination soar, Charlene. Can you do that?”

  Charlie was a person who saw things in black and white. Not only that, but they had to be there in the first place for her to see. A part of her nature came from her training as a pilot where facts were crucial to one’s survival. It had begun, though, on the day her beloved father was killed. That was about as black and white as one could get, and his death had stolen any imagination she might have had.

  Yet, the man waiting for an answer made her want that lost imagination back. Not sure how to handle the depth of emotions swirling around inside her, she laughed. “I’ve always heard the Irish were whimsical. Guess it’s true.” She stepped up to him and pressed against his chest, laying her cheek over his heart. “No one has ever invited me to a magical land before.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “Then I’m your man.”

  If only, but she couldn’t get the picture of Ryan and his wife out of her head. It just wasn’t possible for a man to love like that twice in his lifetime. What didn’t make any sense was his claim that she was pregnant and the baby wasn’t his. If he really were her man, Charlie would never look at anyone else.

  Trained to make quick decisions, she made one. It didn’t matter that he would never love her the way he had his wife because love wasn’t up for discussion for either of them. She would view him as a time in her life when she had caught the interest of an honest-to-God hot guy. She would just go with it and have fun. Then in a few days, or maybe a month, he would move on, and she would return to her comfortable existence.

  So close to him, she could smell the spice of his aftershave, she took a deep breath, memorizing his scent. “Take me to Ireland, Ryan.”

  “Aye, cherub, I’d love to.” He led her back to the table. “Sit here and prepare to enjoy my amazing culinary skills.” The plate of untouched cheese and crackers was taken away. “You up for the whole experience? If you ordered our meal in an Irish pub, you’d get laughed out of the place if you drank anything but a good Ireland-brewed beer. I have wine, though, if you’d prefer.”

  “Oh no, I’m not going to get laughed out of here before I get my dinner. Whatever it is, it smells divine.” And it did, so much so that her mouth watered. It seemed her choice of beer to drink pleased him because he grinned. Two frosted mugs were whisked from the freezer, and then the beer was expertly poured into them.

  “To my new girlfriend and magic nights,” he said, standing near her as he raised his mug.

  Charlie tapped her glass against his, while furtively squeezing her thighs together because of the way he looked at her, as if he wanted her for dinner. “I’m good with both of those,” she said, wishing she were cleverer with comebacks. Sometime later, probably around two when she was in her bed and unable to sleep, she would think of the perfect thing she should have said.

  “And I’m definitely good with your being good.” He set down his glass and put his hands on the table, then lowered his mouth to within an inch of hers. “Actually, I’d be even better with us both being bad.” Not giving her a chance to answer, he covered her lips with his just as a buzzer went off. “Damn,” he muttered.

  She sat back and worked on catching her breath when he left her to turn off the timer. He put on oven mitts, then opened the oven door. “What is it?” she asked, when he set a baking dish between their plates, pleased that her voice was only a little shaky.

  “Shepherd’s pie. The real Irish kind.” After dishing a healthy amount onto her plate, he sat back and watched her expectantly.

  “Oh. My. God,” she said after swallowing a forkful. “This is amazing, Ryan.”

  He took a bite. “Mmm, not bad. Not bad at all.”

  “You can make this for me anytime you want.” The pleased smile he gave her sent little flutters through her. As they ate, the conversation centered around the rabbit and how he had showed up one day on Ryan’s doorstep.

  “I have to go out of town in a week, and I’m not sure what to do with him. Maybe I can find a vet I can board him with,” he said.

  “Oh, where you going?” And just like that his face blanked. Weird.

  “I can’t say.” He stood and gathered their empty plates, set them in the sink, and ran water over them. Turning, he leaned back against the counter. “I should have made something up, said I was going home to Boston or something. But I promised I would never lie to you.”

  Although he didn’t owe her any explanation, she appreciated that he hadn’t tried to lie, but he’d certainly sparked her curiosity. “Exactly what do you do?”

  He seemed to consider the question for a few seconds. “I work for K2 Special Services.”

  That told her nothing. “Never heard of them. What do they do?”

  Again, he took his time answering. “Lots of stuff. We work with companies, helping them secure their computers against hackers. We teach drivers for CEOs how to keep their bosses safe when they’re in a car.”

  “Defensive driving?”

  “Defensive and offensive, and how to know which needs to be done when. Ah, let’s see, we help companies through the legalities of doing business overseas.”

  Nothing there that would prevent him from telling her where he was going. That meant the company must do secret stuff.

  “Does K2 also take jobs from the government, say, like the CIA or maybe agencies I’ve never even heard of?” Wow, he was good at blanking his face, but that alone was a tell. She waved a hand in the air. “No, don’t tell me ’cause then you’d have to kill me, right?”

  “And that would be a damn shame, especially since we haven’t had phone sex yet.”


  Charlie burst into laughter. “Sheesh, Hot Guy, I thought you’d forget about that.” He’d kicked off his shoes when he came back from collecting his posters, and standing there barefooted, wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he was just downright sexy.

  “Not gonna forget.”

  She wiggled her fingers. “No ring.”

  “I already told you I had that covered.” He reached into his pocket, and then held out his fisted hand. “Come here, cherub.”

  Was he kidding? The whole ring thing had just been a joke between them, hadn’t it?

  CHAPTER NINE

  The surprise on Charlie’s face delighted Ryan. He raised a brow when she just sat there gaping at him. “You’re going to have to come to me if you want it.” Would she? Although the whole ring thing had begun as a game between them, somehow it had come to mean something to him. What, he wasn’t sure, and why he—a man of twenty-eight—wanted to go steady, he also didn’t know. All he knew was that he liked her, and didn’t want her seeing anyone else.

  Was she seeing someone else? He’d never asked. They really hadn’t known each other long enough to commit to any kind of a relationship, but the idea of sharing her made him want to hurt someone.

  Yes! Barely refraining from making a victory fist, Ryan smiled when she came to him.

  “Hello, girlfriend,” he said when she stopped in front of him. She was a sexy little thing, and he also barely refrained from scooping her up and carrying her to his bedroom, where he would strip off her clothes and do wicked things to her body. Another thing he refrained from doing was blatantly reaching down and adjusting himself in an attempt to find more room in his pants.

  “So this is real then?”

  He trailed his knuckles down a baby-soft cheek. “Do you want it to be?” She chewed on her bottom lip, drawing his attention to them. They were full lips. Kissable lips. That much he already knew.