His kiss was as sweet and gentle as she had ever imagined—and she had imagined a lot. It made her sizzle all over, made her wind her arms around his neck and hold him tight. Something else she had imagined that didn’t hold a candle to the real thing.
He probed her mouth with his tongue, and she parted her lips gladly, sighing as the kiss deepened. His hands slid up her back and down again, settling on her hips. She froze for a second at his touch, as her hips weren’t exactly her favorite body part.
He didn’t shy away or move back up to her waist. Instead, he groaned, his fingers digging into her flesh like he wanted her more.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she breathed between kisses as he nipped her chin, jawline, and earlobe. What she wanted more than anything was to indulge in touching him, exploring his chiseled body, but the memory of those bruises made her hold back.
“You couldn’t,” he whispered before covering her mouth again, thrusting his tongue inside, demanding more. He lifted her, making her squeal in surprise before settling her onto the counter.
He’d just lifted her like she weighed nothing.
She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him closer. She couldn’t possibly be close enough to him. A year of getting to know him, falling for him, and he was finally in her arms.
He trailed kisses down her chin and throat. She let her head fall back, eyes closed, soft sighs and groans filling the room. It was like a dream come true—the best dream she’d ever had.
“So sweet,” he groaned against her skin, raining kisses along her collarbone. She threaded her fingers through his thick hair, holding his head close, tightening her legs around his waist.
What meant more than anything, more than the physical pleasure threatening to undo her, was the deep satisfaction of knowing this was real. Wyatt wanted her.
This incredible man stood head and shoulders above any man she’d ever so much as spoken to. He was so brave, so strong, so fierce and loyal.
He thought she was worth the trouble of looking after for a year.
He thought she was beautiful. He saw her heart and appreciated it.
He saw her.
A knot of need twisted inside as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips back to his. There was nowhere in the world she’d rather be than here with him.
Chapter 8
His years as a Green Beret had taught Wyatt patience and that the most rewarding things in life were almost always products of delayed gratification.
Kissing Nadine was so fucking worth the wait.
A year’s worth of fantasies flowed between them with each nip of their teeth or playful duel of their tongues.
Each groan. Moan. Sigh.
There was nothing he wanted more than to continue until they both forgot their names—which probably wouldn’t take more than a few minutes—but he reeled himself in.
Damn it, he’d been unconscious for more than twenty-four hours. He needed to get this computer drive into the right hands. Lives were at stake.
But Nadine was sitting on the counter, breathless. She was wide-eyed in the dim kitchen light, face flushed, lips swollen and red. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. “You’re beautiful and there’s nothing more I want to do than to drag you back to the bedroom.”
“I don’t think I would argue with that.”
A groan fell from his lips and he slid his forehead against hers. “I need to take care of this situation first. Lives are at stake. I’ve already been out of it for too long.”
She took a breath and nodded. “Tell me more about what you’re facing. How can I help?”
He cupped her cheeks and kissed her gently before helping her down from the counter. There was nothing sexier than a woman who worked the problem.
She walked over and grabbed his half-eaten plate of pasta and popped it back into the microwave.
“I’m not exactly sure who is after me, but they’ve already proven they’re willing to kill to get the information on the computer drive my contact gave me. The only reason I’m still alive is because they want to question me.” And by question, he meant torture until he wished for death. “They don’t know if I’ve hidden it or sent it to someone. Until they have that info, they need me alive.”
She took out the plate and handed it to him. “Eat.” She pointed to the table. “And then we’ll figure out what you need to do. Did you send the drive to someone already?”
He sat and began shoveling food into his mouth. “No. I have it on me.”
“Okay.” She seemed to accept this easily. “Do we need to mail it?”
“It’s too important to take a chance on the mail. I need to hand-deliver it to my friend Kendrick. He has the computer expertise to access the information on it.” He took another small bite. “I texted him when I first woke up.”
“Can they trace your phone? I powered it off because I thought they might be able to track you.”
So brilliant. He smiled at her. “Smart, but that’s not my real phone. I got rid of that a couple of days ago because they were tracking it. This is a burner, a throwaway phone. There is no way to trace it to me.”
“So they don’t know you’re here?”
“They shouldn’t. I was careful to keep you out of this.” He shot her a half smile and shook his head. “They didn’t know you existed until you came in like the cavalry at the hotel.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Lucky for you I did.”
“Sweetheart, you are all sorts of lucky for me. The hotel was only the most recent part of that.”
He loved the little flush that tinged her cheeks. She pointed at his plate. “You’re finished. I’m going to make myself an omelet. Want some protein?”
“I definitely wouldn’t say no.” And the part they both knew was coming. “I was wondering if I could borrow your car. I’ve got to get to Oak Creek.”
“I thought you said they’d be waiting for you there. That they were watching.”
“I’ll have to figure that out when I get there.”
She turned and started cracking eggs for the omelets. “You said they don’t know about me. What if I come with you and deliver the computer drive under the guise of something else?”
“I would say you’re the most amazing person on the planet.”
She laughed, a beautiful pure sound, and shuffled around as she chopped stuff to put into the eggs. He leaned back against the counter across the kitchen and stared, completely entranced. He loved the way her body moved with a rhythm uniquely hers.
He loved damn near every part about her, right down to the scars covering her legs from the thighs down, visible since she had on shorts. He’d known about them, but this was the first time he’d seem them himself.
She turned around to say something and caught him looking. “I should put pants on…”
“No, you shouldn’t. You don’t have to hide. Not from me. Not from anybody.”
She glanced down at herself while plating their eggs. “They’re so ugly.”
He walked over and took a plate from her. “Your scars are proof of your strength. Proof of everything you’ve lived through.”
He pointed to his right shoulder where a puffy scar was visible. “See this? I earned this one in a gunfight with a kidnapper.”
Next, his left ribs. “Under all this bruising is a long, thin scar from a knife. Collapsed my lung. That was a close call.”
He gestured to his left shoulder blade. “And the burn marks you saw are from when I was in that cell. At least those are on my back so I can’t see them.” Not that he’d ever forget it.
“I hate thinking of you going through so much pain.”
“And I would do anything if it meant sparing you the pain you went through.” He kissed her hand before they sat down and dug into their omelets. “You should never be ashamed. Your scars are a badge of honor.”
“I’ve never thought of them that way.”
He winked at her as they ate. “Scars mean you know how to s
urvive.”
It was after midnight, and they should get going soon, even given the late hour. But when she walked by him with her plate, he couldn’t resist pulling her into his lap.
“Another kiss,” he murmured. “We need to go soon, but I want another kiss.”
He wanted so much more than that. He ached for more as their lips met, melded, and heat singed them both. For the first time in his life, he was about to put his own desires above the importance of a mission. And he wasn’t going to apologize for it.
Until the kitchen window burst inward, and a Molotov cocktail landed near the sink.
“Oh, my God!” Nadine’s scream rose over the rush of flame spreading throughout the kitchen.
He set her on her feet, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pushed her toward the bedroom. “Go, go!”
Shit. They’d found him.
A second bottle bomb hurtled through the window where they’d just been sitting at the table and burst on the hard floor, spreading outward.
Damn it, incendiary devices from both sides meant that the house was surrounded. There would be armed men at both the front and rear doors.
Those men were waiting until the house was engulfed. Until Wyatt and Nadine had no choice but to get out or burn to death.
Nadine clung to him as he cut them to the right, backtracking once again toward the bedroom. She had to be suffering flashbacks from the fire that had burned her.
He shielded her, getting her to the bedroom. “Get dressed.” It came out as a bark, but there was no time to be gentle. “Dark colors. Black, if you can.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but I’m going to have to make things worse.”
She pulled on black yoga pants. “What?”
“Do you have liquor in the house?” He shoved his feet into his boots and pulled his shirt on, then his jacket.
“Yes. Why?”
“I’m going to need to set the rest of your house on fire.”
“What? Why would—”
“To confuse them. Either we confuse them by spreading the fire so they don’t know which way we’ll try to escape, or we run straight into them.”
Which would lead to a very painful death.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” But her face was pale as she bent down to tie her shoes. She was struggling, fingers shaking, so he crouched in front of her and tied the other one, then helped her to her feet. “Come on. We’ll go through the spare bedroom window on the other side of the house.”
Her eyes were glazed but she was holding it together. “Hurry.”
He rigged two more bombs using bottles from the small bar. “Go to the spare room,” he ordered. “Leave the lights out and stay away from the window. I’ll meet you in there.”
He went back to her bedroom and couldn’t help but think of what they could’ve been doing. Instead of throwing Nadine onto the bed, he threw a bottle bomb at the wall under the window and let it smash, spreading fire onto the curtains.
The second bottle followed the first, sending a ball of fire out a different window. That would definitely get the attention of the people waiting outside.
Meanwhile, he’d be on the other side of the house, climbing out a window.
Nadine was there, waiting for him, holding her shirt over her mouth and nose. Smoke was starting to spread through the entire single-floor structure.
He grabbed her hand. “Come on. We’ll go through the window, then straight out to the woods.”
The woods and wilderness would be his advantage—SERE training in real life. He kept her along the wall next to the window, out of sight, while he listened for anyone who might be waiting nearby. It sounded like the flames coming from Nadine’s room had drawn everybody’s attention, which was what he’d counted on.
“Let’s go. Stay silent.” He opened the window and climbed out, then helped her to the ground. Hand-in-hand, they ran for the woods.
They hadn’t made it far before someone spotted them. “Hey! They’re out here, around the side!”
Wyatt didn’t slow down at the voice calling out behind them. He sprinted for the cover of the tall, sprawling trees a few hundred yards ahead. Nadine kept up with his pace as best she could without making a sound.
There was a better chance of hiding once they crossed the tree line—but at least three men were hot on their heels. Thank God he had studied this area during his extensive surveillance of Nadine—which was another huge advantage.
They ran hard for long minutes. Nadine was struggling to keep up. She didn’t complain, but he knew she couldn’t keep up at this pace much longer.
There was a ravine up ahead, deep and crisscrossed with the exposed roots of the gnarled trees that lined both banks. Moonlight was all he had to go by as he led Nadine in that direction.
“This way,” he whispered over his shoulder. “We’ll hide down there.”
He helped her down the root-covered slope but hesitated, listening for the men pursuing them. They hadn’t covered as much ground yet since they didn’t have the benefit of being familiar with the area, but they were faster runners.
“Where are they?” She was still trying to catch her breath as he helped her lower. In her black clothes, she blended with their surroundings pretty well, so long as she kept her face down and out of the moonlight.
He listened again, able to tell the general location by the sounds—and lack thereof—in the forest around them.
“I think they spread out a little and they’re not bothering to try to be quiet.” Sure enough, within seconds he heard voices carrying their way.
He held her tight. She was trembling, her heart pounding hard enough for him to feel it under his arm. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered in her ear, staring up at the banks.
“Check in the trees, too,” one of the men called out. “He’s a slick one, or at least, he thinks he is.”
“Guess his girlfriend won’t like that he burned her place down,” a second man replied. The others laughed, a cold, nasty sound.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered to Nadine.
“Not your fault,” she whispered before ducking her head, hiding her face in his neck. This woman trusted him, and he couldn’t let her down. He’d spent the past year making sure she was safe from a distance, now he was going to do it up-close.
The beam of a flashlight broke over the bank. Wyatt lowered his head, staying as still as he could. In the middle of so many roots, many of which rose higher than him and Nadine, it would take an eagle eye to spot them.
“Hudson! What’ve you got?”
The man who spoke up was close enough to make Nadine jump. Wyatt held her tighter, closer, shielding her with his body. If they wanted her, they’d have to go through him.
“Nothing yet, but that’s okay. The longer he makes me look for him, the more fun it’ll be when I catch him and force him to talk. What I gave him at the hotel will just be a warm-up.”
Judging by the nearness of Hudson’s voice, he was the one holding the flashlight whose beam swept back and forth over the banks of the ravine. “And now I’ll get to play with the woman, too… which will make it twice as fun.”
Hudson was trying to scare them, trying to get them to panic and run. Nadine whimpered softly against his neck and he threaded his fingers in her hair, holding her firm against him.
The flashlight beam swept over the roots lining the ravine. Wyatt ducked his head not a second before the beam swept over them. He held Nadine tight enough that he was sure he had to be hurting her, but she didn’t so much as flinch.
“I can hardly wait to get to know her up-close and personal,” Hudson snickered. “I’ll make him watch as I play with her. See if that loosens his tongue any quicker. Getting the hard drive location is the job; slicing up the two of them will be pure pleasure.”
They waited, motionless, as the beam moved farther down the ravine, and the direction of Hudson’s footfalls fo
llowed suit.
Then, they waited some more.
He could feel Nadine tense. Surely, she did not understand why they weren’t moving if Hudson and his friends were gone.
Still, Wyatt waited. They’d called him Scout for a reason in the Special Forces. He was patient, willing to out-wait his prey, or whatever hunted him.
It was long—so very long—and Wyatt began to doubt his own instincts. Nadine, to her credit, silently remained pressed against him the whole time.
“Come on, Hudson, they’re gone for Christ’s sake. Nobody would sit around and wait this long.”
Nadine let out a silent gasp against his neck. He’d been right. Hudson and his men had been waiting for them. If they had moved, they’d have been caught.
“Fuck,” Hudson said. “I was sure they were around here. I guess they cut over the river somewhere else.”
“We need to call in and get some more people out here to help look for them.”
“Yeah.” Frustration and anger dripped from Hudson’s words. “But make sure everyone knows they have to be taken alive and that Highfield is mine. He’s going to regret making me chase him through the fucking wilderness.”
They left for real this time, still talking as they went.
“They’re gone,” he whispered in Nadine’s ear. “Come on. We have to go deeper into the woods.”
Nadine took his hand and he helped her to her feet. He began to climb up the other side of the ravine with Nadine following close behind.
He knew where he was going and where the river split a couple of miles away. Being her stalker and studying the area around her house for so many months was definitely paying off now.
When thunder rumbled in the distance, he smiled. “Perfect. A storm.”
“A storm is perfect? I’m afraid to ask why.”
Once they got on relatively level terrain, they set off at a brisk jog.
“Because it’s going to make everything more miserable.”
Danger and Desire: A Romantic Suspense Anthology Page 49
