by Desiree Holt
“Okay, then. Rest easy.”
Alix stood in the middle of the room, giving it a slow sweep with her eyes. It wasn’t bad, as bedrooms went. When she was younger, starting her climb up the hospitality ladder, she’d stayed in a lot worse.
And I didn’t have Charlie Zero!
She wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep, but she could feel fatigue gripping her. How had her life gotten so turned upside down, anyway?
The dresser drawers held stacks of neatly folded clothes, everything from nightwear to lingerie, all in different sizes and all still bearing the sales tags. She wondered just how often they had house guests that they kept it stocked like this. Probably more than she wanted to know.
She found a sleep shirt in soft cotton, put her the clothes she’d been wearing on the little chair next to the dresser, and slid the shirt over her head. In the bathroom, she found toothbrushes and toothpaste—brand new, of course—and went about brushing her teeth. In one of the vanity drawers, she even found hairbrushes still in their original packaging. Maybe, when this was over, if she lived through it, she could get a job being their personal shopper.
At last, she turned off the lights, crawled into bed, and pulled the quilt over her. The pillows were just the kind she liked, and the linens smelled of fabric softener. All things considered, she should have a good night’s sleep, exhausted as she was.
Which she did.
Until the nightmare woke her.
Charlie Zero sat in one of the chairs at the umbrella table on the back patio, nursing a cold drink and staring up at the black sky punctuated here and there by the twinkling of a star. He thought that might be a metaphor for his life, a black canvas with a little bit of light here and there.
Life had not been as kind to him as it might have, and he tried not to be bitter about it. He had grown up on a small ranch on the other side of Eagle Rock, miniscule compared to what Hank and his family had but still enough to make a modest living. Then, when Charlie was a senior in high school, his father got thrown from a horse, hit his head, and died. His mother, never a strong person, wasted away a year later. What was left of the ranch had been taken by the bank, and Charlie packed a bag and bid goodbye to Eagle Rock, Montana.
Hitching a ride to San Diego, he enlisted in the Navy, something he’d wanted to do even as a kid. His goal was to become one of the vaunted SEALs who he thought ruled the world. He met a girl—of course—and, at first, it was beyond his wildest expectations. But then he tried out for the SEAL teams, made it through BUD/s, and his life changed again.
His responsibilities as a SEAL were heavier, his deployments longer, and the—girl, really—he’d thought was the key to his dream life, told him it was just too hard for her to deal with. Anyway, she’d met someone else, so could he please get his things out of her apartment that afternoon because the other guy was moving in with her. Could his life have been any more of a cliché?
After that, he packed his heart away and attached himself to no one except the guys on his team. His SEAL team became his family, and he threw himself into each mission with everything he had. He’d still be out there, giving his life to it—and maybe for it—if not for the damage to his arm.
Now his life was Brotherhood Protectors. He would always be more than grateful to Hank Patterson for giving him a new home and a new purpose in life. He avoided relationships like the plague, and every woman he spent time with knew that going in. He was scrupulously honest about it. If there were any empty spaces here and there, he ignored them.
Tonight was the first chance he’d had to just sit and air out his brain since the beginning of his last assignment. Providing protection for a politician and his wife while they did a campaign tour through the state hadn’t seemed like such a hard thing to take on. He met the couple and found them to be bright and savvy. Of course, that was before someone who wanted the candidate out of politics forever took a whack at the couple.
Hank sent backup, they worked out a plan, and by the time the tour was over, the couple was safe and the assholes were locked away in a deep, dark place.
Charlie had really looked forward to kicking back for a week, working out, watching some football. Then Alix Bonner happened, and his plans had taken a sharp detour.
He ought to ask her what her last name was for real, since it didn’t appear to be Bonner. What was her story, that she didn’t have a host of friends worried about her, trying to find her? When he checked her cell after she handed it over, he was stunned at the lack of texts, and her recent call list was woefully short. It wasn’t good form to quiz clients about anything that didn’t affect the assignment.
But she was a puzzle to him. How had she met someone like Lee Bonner, and why had she hooked up with him? Charlie was well aware of what smooth operators like Bonner were, but Alix didn’t impress him as the kind of woman who would fall for him.
He shifted in his chair, absently rubbing his bad arm. He’d reached a point where any discomfort was usually mild and he could power through it. Acetaminophen and a salve the physical therapist had recommended seemed to do the trick, although he hated having to deal with it at all. The man kept telling him it could have been a lot worse, and that was no lie.
He decided to take a casual stroll around the property before going back inside and had just pushed himself out of his chair when a scream from the house split the night and raised the hair on his neck. He raced into the house and down the little hall to the bedroom Alix was using, flicking on the lights. She was sitting straight up in bed, her head thrown back and her arms outstretched as if she was pushing something or someone away.
He’d dealt with these kinds of nightmares before. Not only had he been plagued with them but many of the other patients in the hospital had them. Charlie sat down on the edge of the bed and touched Alix’s shoulder with just the pads of his fingers. His solid presence was more important, the assurance that the light touch connected her to safety and security. Gentling her. Chasing away the demons.
“Alix?” He spoke in a soft voice. He’d learned not to shock someone like this awake. “Alix, it’s okay. You’re safe. It’s me, Zero.”
He repeated the words over and over again, stroking and soothing, grateful she didn’t scream again. Suddenly, she dropped her arms and blinked, trying to focus her eyes.
“Charlie?” Blink, blink. “What—? What’s going on? Why are you in my room?” She wrinkled her forehead. “Why are the lights on? What’s the matter?”
He took her hands in his, grateful when she didn’t jerk them away.
“You had a nightmare. It must have been a hellacious one because you about screamed the house down.”
Her eyes widened. “I did? Oh god. I’m so sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. It happens to all of us. And you’ve had a day almost guaranteed to breed one.” He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “Do you remember what it was about? Can you tell me?”
She thought for a minute. “It was about Lee. I was—” She stared at him, her body suddenly rigid again. “Oh god, Charlie. I was standing in the living room, staring at the television set with all that stuff on it. Lee grabbed me from behind, spun me around, and said he couldn’t let me tell anyone. That he had to shut me up. And then he…he…” She swallowed. “He began to choke me. I couldn’t breathe.”
Charlie lifted his gun from the small of his back and set it on the nightstand where he could grab it in an instant. Then pulled her against his chest and stroked her back—small, gentle caresses meant to ease and soothe her.
“We will never let him get to you,” he promised her. “Count on it.”
He had no idea how long they sat there like that, her head on his shoulder, her arms tentatively at his back, his hands stroking her the way he’d gentle a frightened child. At last, she pushed gently at his chest so she was sitting up straight.
“I’m sorry about this. I’ve embarrassed myself and imposed on you.” She moved away from him, sliding back toward the pill
ows.
The bedclothes were askew, and the sleepshirt had rumpled up so it just barely covered her, but she didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she stared at her hands, folded in her lap. With her dark hair mussed and tendrils of it clinging to her cheeks, her long lashes casting shadows on her cheeks as she looked down, and the soft fabric of the sleepshirt leaving nothing to the imagination as it draped over her breasts and outlined her nipples, it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself.
One of the things he prided himself on was his personal discipline, his ability to keep sex separate from his job. He never ever let himself go with a client. But there was something so vulnerable about Alix that his body was telling his discipline to go take a hike. His cock certainly wanted to participate, pressing painfully against the fly of his jeans.
And right now, he wanted Alix more than he could remember ever wanting another woman.
She leaned forward again, pressing her soft body against his, the scent of whatever perfume she wore tickling his nose. Automatically, his arms wrapped around her again, and he pulled her to him, feeling the hard points of her nipples against his chest, and the soft roundness of her breasts. And the faint scent that made his balls ache and his cock beg for attention, tantalizing him.
Oh god! Oh sweet Jesus!
As if someone had put his brain on hold and crept into his body, he cupped her chin, tilting her face up, and, cursing himself for an idiot, pressed his mouth to hers. His lips were so soft and pliable, tasting of toothpaste and woman. If she pushed him away, he’d apologize and make sure it never happened again. Ever.
Instead, she opened her mouth, and her small tongue slipped out and into the heat of his mouth.
And he was lost.
Chapter Five
“I’m sending Jorge’s men to you,” Lee snapped. “We’ve wasted enough time.”
“I can do this,” Frank insisted. “She can’t have gotten very far. She has no car, and she doesn’t know anyone well enough to hide with them. I’m narrowing down the possibilities.”
“Damn it, Frank.” Lee wanted to strangle the man. “We’re about out of time. I need to eliminate her before she can cause me any trouble.”
“Seems to me that ship has sailed.”
“I mean trouble with the feds. Don’t give me a hard time here. Just tell me where you are so they can meet up with you. Then you all can divide up the area and search more efficiently.”
There was a long silence. Lee wondered if Frank had hung up. If so, that would be a first. And he’d never known the man to be so obstinate. Maybe he just didn’t want anyone else mooching in on his authority.
“You there?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Heavy sigh. “Okay, Lee. For you. But if these guys give me any trouble, I’m sending them back to Jorge.”
“Fine. Just get the job done.”
Disconnecting the call, he took a small electronic item from a drawer in his desk, turned it on, and set it the way he’d been shown. The seller had warned him this was brand new and, at the moment, wasn’t the best choice. He’d waved off the man’s negative input, needing something that would pinpoint Alix even if she was naked. Not that he expected to find her in bed with someone else, but, as paranoid as he was, he didn’t trust anyone for anything.
He watched the readout as the little gizmo went through its booting-up process. At last, the green light came on and a map filled the little screen. Excitement surged as a dot blinked, showing him where Alix was. But then, in the next second, the map went blank.
Fuck! Just fuck!
But the seller had told him that if he left it on and tried again in a half hour, it might register accurately. He put it back in the desk drawer, still active. He’d come back in thirty and check again. Then he took a deep breath, pushed away his anger, and headed back out to the patio.
The others were still where he’d left them, the remains of dinner plates pushed aside, cigars lit, and the beer had been replaced by bourbon. He needed to get them out of here before they were so stinking drunk they couldn’t drive. The only reason he hadn’t chased them off by now was that itch to find out if their newer partners had ratted them to the feds.
He liked to think of himself a good judge of people, a student of character. Lately, however, he had to question that. First Alix, who turned out to be more than the refined bimbo he’d set out to find. Then this uncertainty about the new partners. Was he losing his touch? They had a huge shipment of Ecstasy about to hit I-15, a pickup for the next load of females to be auctioned off, and two truckloads of guns going to a gang in Maryland with plenty of money to spend. He could not afford any screwups.
He pasted on a smile as he lowered himself back into his chair.
“Everything okay?” The question came from Gino Virtanen.
“Just some stuff to take care of with my regular trucking business.” He picked up his drink and took a sip. “Now. We’ve discussed territories, new product, and new contacts. Things are going almost too well, I worry the feds will take notice of us. Let me have your thoughts on that.”
When his cell vibrated in his pocket half an hour later, he excused himself and went into his office. Before he called Frank back, he took the little locator from the desk drawer and stared at the screen, a smile curving his lips. The picture and the dot were holding steady.
“Still nothing to report,” Frank told him.
“Did Jorge’s crew meet you yet?”
“Yeah, they did.” Frank’s voice was edged with irritation. “But they aren’t having any better luck than I am. You can call off the dogs.”
“Well, I have information. I have a location on her. You’ll have to scout it out and get her out of there.”
“Out of where? Did that little gizmo you’ve been trying to test finally work?”
“It did.” He rattled off Alix’s location. “All I have is the address. I have no idea what kind of building it is. Take the crew and scope it out, then grab her.”
“What if she’s with people, Lee? What then?”
“Use your judgment but get her out of there and bring her back here.”
Silence hung thick across the connection.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Frank said at last. “I thought the whole idea was to fly under the radar. Promote the trucking entrepreneur with the classy wife. Keep a low profile with everything else.”
“It was except for two things. Alix saw that stuff in the living room, and someone ratted us out to the feds. I have to clean things up and salvage what I can without going to prison. Because that is just not happening. And getting rid of Alix is part of that.”
“Okay.” Frank sighed again. “We’re on it.
*****
Alix wound her arms around Charlie’s neck, licking the inside of his mouth and sliding her tongue back and forth over his in a slow, erotic dance. God, he tasted so good. This was the kind of kissing you never got enough of. When he lowered his mouth to hers, it hadn’t even occurred to her to resist. There was something so utterly masculine about him, so rough-around-the-edges smooth. The kind of man you wanted to rip off your clothes for and yell, “Take me!”
She didn’t even care what he thought of her. Her day had nearly destroyed her and she needed this. Needed him. Only when she ran out of breath did she pull back a little. She lifted her eyes to his, hoping she wouldn’t see regret there. Instead, she saw heat and hunger and need.
“I want you.” His voice was husky, rich with desire. “I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you on the highway. But I have no business doing this. I shouldn’t even—”
Alix pressed two fingers to his mouth. “Please don’t try to apologize to me. I made the first move. This is my idea. I like to think I’m not stupid, despite the idiotic choices I’ve made. And, Charlie? Right now I need this, and I need you.”
She wondered if he’d run out the door if she told him she’d been having erotic thoughts about him, too, from the moment she climbed into his SUV.<
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Then she forgot to think. He slid his hands beneath the sleepshirt and palmed her breasts, the roughness of his hands so erotic she felt the pulse in her core throb with need. Even as he took her mouth again, he tweaked her nipples and tugged on them, tiny streaks of flame going straight to her sex then spreading throughout her body. She couldn’t stifle the little moan that floated up from her throat.
She tugged on his T-shirt, pulling until he broke the kiss and lifted his arms so she could free it. God! He had the most masculine chest she’d ever seen. Hard, ridged with muscle, and dusted with soft curls the same color as the hair on his head. She smoothed her hands over the surface, tugging on the curls and scraping her nails over the flat male nipples. He groaned, the sound vibrating in his chest and against her palms, the distinctly male sound vibrating through her.
For one tiny moment, her brain tried to right itself.
This is crazy. I barely even know this guy.
But her body didn’t care, and it told her brain to shut the hell up. The last time she’d been this instantly aroused, so ready, so electrically attracted to a man was, well, never. Right now, her life was so precarious she wasn’t sure what was going to happen in the next few hours, never mind the next week or month. She was going to enjoy this and hug the memories to her after it was all over.
Pressing her back against the pillows, he knelt between her thighs and let his gaze roam the length of her body. Heat rolled over her skin, and her breathing hitched at the look of utter lust and desire in his eyes. Then, bending to place his mouth on her, he trailed a line of kisses through the valley between her breasts, along her stomach where he paused to swirl his tongue around her navel until he reached the tiny scrap of lace that was her bikini panties. Using his teeth, he grabbed to narrow band of lace trim and tugged it over her mound, so slowly she wanted to scream at him to hurry. She wanted his hands on her, his mouth, his tongue.
