by Jayne Rylon
He aligned the material with the worst of her sores then pressed it into place.
Ellie’s pretty painted toes curled and she groaned.
“Sorry.” He promised, “It’ll be better in a minute.”
Quickly, he finished applying similar patches to the rest of her blisters.
While he worked, she talked. He suspected she was distracting herself, so he kept their conversation going, even when he might otherwise have clammed up.
“You obviously didn’t walk all the way to my house.” It wasn’t a question.
“Nope.” He figured she could tell this was a strain on him too.
“So, I assume your car was on the street in front of my house, unless your superpowers include flying. Won’t they know where we’re going?” She peeked up at him, taking her focus off what he was doing to her.
“My plates are untraceable. Nothing identifying inside either.” He shrugged as though everyone existed that way. Like a ghost.
“Given the night we’ve already had, I really hate to tell you this…” Ellie winced.
“Go ahead. This is by far not the worst situation I’ve ever been in.” He flashed her a wry smile.
“Me either.” Her lips formed a thin line.
Lucas hated seeing her worried. Almost more than he hated how her toughness had prevented her from telling him she’d torn up her feet, which he had finished bandaging, but kept in his lap. “So, what’s up?”
He acted on instinct, reaching out to cup her hand in his.
It surprised the hell out of him when she winged her gaze to his, pretty blue eyes flashing despite the darkness surrounding them. It wasn’t fear he read there this time. More like astonishment and delight, to be honest.
“You know I won a crap ton of money tonight, right?” She winced.
“Yep. The Men in Blue sent me to your place to make sure you were safe overnight. Guess I fucked up that assignment.”
“Are you shitting me?” She stared at him with wide eyes, her fingers clamping on his when he tried to withdraw his hand. “You saved my life. Again.”
“If I’d gotten there sooner…”
“I’m thankful you didn’t get there any later. You showed up exactly when and where I needed you. Thank you.”
He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment. “Anytime.”
“Let’s hope I don’t need this kind of assistance often.” She snorted. And then she recovered, as if she remembered what she’d wanted to say. “Ah crap. Lucas, I left the money at my house. That last douche bag probably stole it anyway. Not that I care about any amount of cash more than my life, but I hate to see scum win. When will the nice guys start coming out on top?”
Lucas wasn’t bothered at all by her admission. Instead, he grinned.
“You have good instincts, E.” His praise seemed to warm her. Good thing since her arms and legs had to be cooling down now that they’d stopped moving. “Don’t doubt your decisions.”
He interrupted himself when he realized she was probably freezing her ass off.
“Want me to take some of your chill away before we get going again?” He held his arms open to her.
Without hesitation, she went into them.
He lifted her into his lap and wrapped her in his heat and admiration. Though he was rarely cold, he could never be frosty with her this near. She fired his internal furnace in more ways than one.
Ellie rested her cheek on his shoulder, cuddling entirely too perfectly into his hold.
Shifting her so that she wouldn’t feel his hardening cock, he nuzzled the top of her head. As he’d expected, she was practically a popsicle. Fine tremors ran through her as he rubbed his hands up and down her back and legs.
In his dreams, he’d pretend it was desire, not necessity, that caused her reaction.
The early morning temperature had dipped far below comfortable. Hell, even at the peak of summer she’d need more than that beaded red scrap to keep warm overnight.
When she could talk without her teeth chattering, she continued their discussion. “Thanks. I thought I was being paranoid when I came up to the house. Something seemed off. I guess I should have listened to my gut.”
“Never a bad thing. But you were smart enough to stash the winnings and grab your safety kit before going in. Even if I hadn’t been there, I’m betting you’d have slipped away. I just don’t want to think about what you might have had to do to distract those fuckers long enough to make your move.” He nearly growled that last part.
“Hey, how do you know I hid the money and stuff?” Her brow rose. “Were you outside?”
Busted.
“Uh. Yeah. I saw you.” Lucas groaned. “I was kind of checking you out.”
Why the hell was she grinning up at him like that?
It only made him a pig, like most every other man she’d dealt with in her life.
“And because of that, I didn’t act fast enough. I didn’t see those guys waiting inside for you.” He stared into her eyes, which were shockingly blue, even in the starlight. “I’m sorry, E.”
She leaned in closer to him. “You’re human too, Lucas. I know you thought you were invincible for so long maybe you’ve forgotten—”
“I’m pretty sure the universe made that clear to me last year.” He glared at his leg, which throbbed from the abuse he’d put it through today.
“Hey, we all have flaws. Make mistakes. Like the fifty-thousand-dollar doozy I made tonight.” She shook her head.
Lucas held her to his chest with one splayed hand on her back. With the other, he tipped his still-open backpack toward her so that she could see the casino bag nestled inside. “I’ve got you covered. I picked this up for you.”
She stiffened then threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. When she peeked up at him, her brilliant smile was a pretty decent reward. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Not nearly as much as you.” His head dropped, bringing his mouth dangerously close to hers.
Ellie’s eyes fluttered closed and her lips parted.
Until he ruined the moment for them both with his thoughts. “When I saw what that bastard was about to do to you, I wished I hadn’t stopped to snag the money, though.”
“I’m glad you did. They don’t deserve to prosper. At least what they did was for nothing.” She blinked rapidly a few times. “I can’t imagine even fifty grand is worth risking a life over. Never mind several.”
Lucas cursed.
“What?” she looked up at him, half as confused as he felt.
Attraction, fear, danger and lust swirled around them in a deadly mix. A storm brewing.
“I think we should get going again if you’re ready, E. Because I can tell you one thing…”
He swung to his feet and pulled her easily to hers, banking on his recently enhanced strength. At least all those gym hours counted for something. When they were upright, he snagged his jeans and drew them into place, securing them at his waist and shrugging into the backpack once more.
“These are bundles of hundreds in here.”
“Yeah, I noticed. Lots of them.”
“That’s exactly my point. A standard bundle of hundreds is worth ten grand.” He waited for that to sink in.
“That can’t be right.” She shook her head. “If it were, there would only be four and a partial. There are at least a dozen in there.”
“Twenty,” he confirmed. “I counted.”
“What the—?”
“I’m pretty sure someone used you as a mule.” Lucas frowned. “Maybe your win was real, maybe not, but the cashier definitely paid out far more than you were due.”
“There’s no way that’s a simple mistake, right?” Ellie groaned.
“No,” he confirmed.
“Fuck my life,” she grumbled, then stuck out h
er hand.
Against his better judgment, he entwined their fingers.
Ellie surprised him when she yanked him toward her. Off-balance on his bad leg, he practically crashed into her soft breasts, flinging his arm around her to keep them both from smashing to the forest floor.
“Thank you for always being there when I need you.” He saw her going to her tiptoes, read the intent in her eyes, and still he didn’t take evasive maneuvers.
How could he, when he wanted to taste her so badly? Fuck, he craved her more than a pile of scallops on top of lobster ravioli—his favorite meal. And he could eat that every day for the rest of his life without ever getting tired of it.
The same might go for her.
Lucas groaned at the first sample of her lips. He savored her sweetness as if he were approving a fine wine from a sommelier at a five-star restaurant. It wasn’t long before he was taking a nibble of her lower lip then fusing their mouths for a bigger portion of her.
It was better than he’d dreamed of, though he couldn’t imagine how that was possible.
She arched into him, swiping her tongue across one corner of his lips then flicking it against his own. They thrust and parried as if they’d practiced this mock duel a million times before.
The rush of finally kissing her went straight to his head, and his groin. He wanted it to keep going forever because when he focused on bringing her pleasure, nothing else mattered. Not his leg, not her past, not the trouble they were smack in the middle of now.
Eventually, he had to breathe.
When they broke apart, both huffing like they’d run up the mountainside, all he could do was stare.
She was even more beautiful when she looked at him with unadulterated lust in her eyes.
“Take me home,” she nearly begged.
He groaned, his cock twitching in his pants at the thought. Insane, he planned to do just that. Ellie Noble in his house! Hell, probably his bed, seeing as he only had one. How would he ever manage to keep his hands off her now that he knew how fucking great it felt to make out with her?
Chapter Five
Ellie had trudged for so long, concentrating only on putting one foot in front of the other, that when the trees began to thin, she hardly noticed. All she could think about was what it would take to bribe Lucas into rubbing her calves when they got to his house. Maybe if she offered the same in return he’d go for it. It’d be like sixty-nine for lame, bedraggled hikers.
His leg had to be killing him. He’d taken a few tumbles, ripping his jeans and skinning his knee along the way. Other than a vicious curse or two, he hadn’t complained. So there was no way she was about to either.
Her dress had suffered too. The skirt had torn along the side seams, putting her thighs entirely on display, right up to her lacy red thong. Most of the beads had snapped off as branches ensnared the delicate strands. They’d also caned the upper swells of her bared breasts and caused welts along the exposed skin.
It was at times like these that she drew on the certainty that she was stronger than she’d ever imagined. This fleeting physical discomfort had nothing on her time held captive and how that had damaged her soul. If she could survive that, she could endure an uncomfortable walk through the woods with the one man—besides her brother, relatives didn’t count—she’d most like to spend time with.
Especially if, as she imagined, Lucas was proving some things to himself about his capabilities tonight along the way.
“We did it, E. Holy shit.” Lucas’s voice penetrated her calcified brain. “My house is right over that hill.”
As soon as he broke the good news, a rush of elation washed over her. She wanted to sprint, just to be there. Warm and safe, inside his home. Another part of her gave out, her limbs going noodly as they realized they’d done their job.
“Hang on, just a little bit farther.” Lucas tightened his arm around her waist.
When had he slung it there? She didn’t care that she’d missed it when he tugged her against his side.
Surprised, she realized she was holding him in the same way, both of them drawing strength and balance from the other. “How do we know for sure no one’s waiting for us?”
Ellie didn’t mean to second-guess him, but he’d told her to trust her instincts and right now she was worried they’d come all this way just to limp into a trap. Why else hadn’t that guy chased them? Unless he’d been tearing her cute little house apart searching for the missing cash he’d been sent to pick up. When she thought about the dead men inside and the damage the lone remaining burglar had likely done, she wasn’t sure she would ever feel comfortable there again.
“I’ve got ways to tell.” Lucas winked at her. “I promise. You’ll be safe here. Come on.”
He steered her toward a small boathouse near a dock that jutted onto the lake. While she would love a tour at some other time, especially since he’d never so much as invited her over for one of the Men in Blue barbecues he’d occasionally held here, right now she only wanted to collapse somewhere soft and horizontal.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, she ducked beneath his arm when he held the door open for her. The slightly musty shack held life vests, a changing room, spare oars and a mountain of fishing equipment that was a hell of a lot less organized than she would have imagined anything of his might be.
When he led her to a freestanding tackle box on one wall, she started thinking of polite ways to let him know she wasn’t in the mood to see his antique-fly collection or catch their breakfast at the moment.
Lucas felt around its side, doing something she couldn’t quite see.
And that was when a palm scanner popped out of the corner of the box.
“Wow.” Sometimes it was hard to remember that this had been his life for so long. He seemed like a normal—mostly—guy. Not too different from the cops she hung around a lot these days. Ellie was starting to realize that he was a next-level crime fighter.
He smiled at her then said, “I may be retired, but I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeves.”
Once he’d verified about ten thousand different passcodes and who knew what else, the lid of the box opened. Enough computer equipment to make JRad come in his pants was stashed inside.
To her it might as well have been books written in Chinese.
The blinking lights, lines, graphs, maps and whatever else seemed to satisfy him, though.
“It’s clean.” He hummed his approval. “I’m going to disable the perimeter until we can get through.”
That sounded like he had bombs planted around his property or something.
Maybe robofish in his pond.
Surreal.
The only other point of reference she had was her friend Shari and the things Jambrea had told her about the woman’s resort, which could pretty much double as a fortress if needed. “Is it true that you used to work with Shari’s brother?”
“Technically, I’m not supposed to confirm that.” He left no doubt it was true.
“I don’t even know what branch of the military you were in.” She inspected him as if she’d missed one of his tattoos that would proudly proclaim him a member of some service.
“One that doesn’t exist on paper.” He cleared his throat. “I will say that John David had a reputation as the best person in our business. I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
Lucas stayed quiet for a few moments, lost in thought, until he shook his head. “I guess none of us gets to stay in the game forever. He made it the longest of anyone I know. I didn’t do too bad myself.”
“Right now, I’m okay with settling for being alive. A comfortable place to pass out would be a bonus.” She barely stifled a yawn now that she felt the tension of being on the run finally melting away from her.
“I’m totally in favor of that plan.” He rubbed his stomach. “With the addition of some snacks
.”
Ellie couldn’t agree more. “I hope you have ice cream.”
“Do you like Rocky Road?” He grimaced. “Although I feel like that might be a little too close to home after the past few hours.”
“I’m not particular.” Ellie grinned.
“Let’s get you inside then.” He drew her to him and kissed her forehead lightly, inspiring an entirely different sort of bone-liquefying sensation to course through her. At least until he seemed to come to his senses and set her away from him once again.
“You too.” She watched in awe as he repacked his monitoring station and hid the access panel then reached to the floor for a handful of dust to cast over the top.
“You go out first,” he instructed. “I’m going to follow behind and step on top of your footprints so it will look like you were never here.”
So many tiny details, and he knew how to manipulate them all.
If he kept up these friendly touches and cozy intimacies, how would she know if he meant them with newfound affection, as it seemed, or if he was simply trying to make her malleable?
Either way, it worked.
Outside again, she ambled by his side. Even after a couple of minutes resting, inertia made both of them stiff and awkward after losing their momentum. That warm bed and food was sounding better by the second.
Extra tongue-tangoing would round out her list of immediate needs, not that she dared tell Lucas that and risk spooking him. The idea that intimacy with her freaked him out after everything he’d seen and done in his life nearly had her giggling. Hysteria threatened. She tamped it down.
Lucas surprised the hell out of her when he led her up three or four steps, across the wraparound porch and through his unlocked front door. She stared at him with bug eyes.
“What?” He shrugged. “Anyone able to make it to the door won’t be deterred by a simple lock.”
“So how do you make sure you don’t blow up the mailman or something?” she asked as she stepped inside his perfectly normal-looking house. Hardwood took center stage, with cobalt-blue accents that made for a rich and masculine space.
