by Mina Carter
Just like that, the atmosphere in the room when from tense to downright lethal. Chris spluttered and both he and his companion, Andy, reached for the guns she knew they carried.
A vicious growl ripped through the room and the English guy became a blur of movement. Chris’s hand didn’t get a chance to leave his jacket. The bigger man stepped closer, crowding him against the counter. A large hand closed around Chris’s elbow and within a heartbeat he’d jammed the muzzle of Chris’s own handgun under his chin. Spinning the smaller man around, he used Chris as a shield.
Bobbi blinked. She’d never seen anyone move that fast.
Andy paused, gun wavering in the air, like his single brain cell couldn’t deal with a reality that didn’t include people being scared of them.
“Now, friend,” the English accent was more pronounced, “I’ve been on the road all day. I’m tired and you’re pissing on my happy mood. I suggest you and your bum-chum walk away, or this is going from bad to your worst fucking nightmare real fast. You read me?”
Chris’s mouth opened and closed like a guppy on speed. A strangled sound emerged from his throat.
“Well?” The muzzle of the gun disappeared into Chris’s fleshy neck. A low whimper rolled through the room and he nodded. Rapidly. Like his head was going to come off his body.
English’s lip curled back. With hand bunching Chris’s shirt at the throat, he turned and all but threw him at the door. “Get your mate and get the fuck out.”
Andy, presented with a single target, lifted his gun. Lightning fast, the English guy aimed his weapon at the center of Andy’s forehead. His hand was rock-steady and the expression on his face, cold and unemotional.
Bobbi knew without a doubt he’d drop Andy without batting an eyelid. She’d seen a look like that before. On her brother. If this guy wasn’t military and something special forces, then she was a monkey’s uncle.
“Ticktock, little man. I’m counting to three then giving your skull some ventilation if you’re still here.”
“Bullshit, you don’t have the balls,” Andy argued but his tone was less than confident.
The stranger stepped forward and pressed the muzzle of his gun against Andy’s forehead. His voice was a lethal whisper, the look in his eyes even worse.
“If there weren’t ladies here, you’d already be dead. Now fuck off before I change my mind about that.”
Something in his eyes must have made Andy reconsider the situation. Backpedaling rapidly, he almost fell over Chris as they both scrambled for the door. It banged shut behind them and seconds later a car started up and roared out of the parking lot.
Bobbi closed her eyes for a second. Then she opened them, plastered a smile on her face and turned to their rescuer.
“Thanks for that. I’m Bobbi Bradbury,” she introduced herself as she held out her hand.
He took it, her smaller one disappearing into a palm near the size of a dinner plate. His deep voice hit her low, in all the right places.
“No problem. I’m Connor…Reese Connor.”
Chapter Two
“Number three’s cleaned, so you’re good to go.”
Bobbi had always liked her men big and growly. And they didn’t come any bigger than the guy currently beside her as she opened the door to one of the motel’s unoccupied rooms.
It was small as motel rooms went, but nicely furnished and clean. She insisted on clean, spotlessly clean. Which was easy to ensure considering she cleaned them herself. Banford was a small town, not a lot of through traffic, so the motel didn’t make enough to hire extra staff.
It was a stretch to justify hiring on Louise for the diner, but Bobbi always had been a sucker for the underdog. The girl had enough issues dealing with her good for nothing brother to worry about her job as well. Plus, she was a good worker. One of the best Bobbi ever had.
“It’s nice.” Reese’s voice still had that sexy grumble as he walked in past her. He tossed a large rucksack on the bed. By the way the mattress dipped, she could tell it probably weighed the same as a small car. He strode across the room to flick the curtains aside, checking out the window before crossing to the bathroom door.
“Shower, half bath, vanity, WC…all the amenities.” She offered a small smile, trying to fill the silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence… not exactly…but she had to remind herself that leaping on the guests wasn’t allowed. No matter how hot they were.
His pale gaze cut to her and he smiled. The expression altered his features completely. Rather than menacing, smiling he was absolutely gorgeous. Model gorgeous. Hunky, diamond in the rough kind of gorgeous, but…hell, yeah.
“This is wonderful. I appreciate you putting me up at short notice.”
Oh god, that voice. She managed to restrain her whimper and shrugged. “It’s the least I can do after earlier. Seriously, thank you. You could have been hurt.”
His lips quirked at the corners. “Those two? I doubt it. They were more of a comedy act than a serious threat.”
Uh-huh. Not sure what to say to that, Bobbi just nodded. Especially when he reached for the bottom of his T-shirt, pulling it up a little to reveal a toned stomach as he wiped his face. “Been a long day, it’ll be nice to wash the dirt of the road off.”
Shit. The image of him naked in the shower froze her to the spot for a second. Heat exploded through her, pussy clenching hard at the same time her cheeks burned. “Right. Yes. Shower’s through there,” she pointed out, quite unnecessarily, and backed for the door. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
She managed to get out of the door and shut it behind her. Leaning back against the wall, she stuffed her fingers in her mouth to stop her moan. How much of an idiot could she make of herself?
The shower’s in there…
“For heaven’s sake, Bobbi, you might have well as stripped freaking naked and offered it to him on a freaking plate,” she grumbled to herself as she stomped across the parking lot to the small reception area at the front of her own apartment.
How the hell was she supposed to find a decent man when she lived and breathed work? That was why she was reduced to lusting after guests, not because they were hot, but because she was damn well desperate.
She sighed as she opened up. Okay, she was desperate and he was hot. What chance did she have? As it was, he’d only smiled at her and she was having trouble with the thought of him in the shower. All those lovely muscles and golden skin soaped up—
Her gaze fell on the stack of towels on the chair by the door and she groaned. Shit. All those lovely muscles in the shower…without any towels when he got out.
“Fuckfuckfuck,” she hissed to herself and grabbed the bale, turning to look across at number three. It was the unit on the end, so she could see the light for the bathroom was on, and the extractor pumped steam from the shower into the cooling night air.
Crap. He was already in the shower. In the shower. Which meant he wasn’t in the bedroom. Perhaps she could slip in and put the towels on the bed while he was still rinsing off and get out before he was any the wiser…
She was halfway across the lot before being aware of making a decision. Fishing in her pocket, she dug out her master key and as quietly as she could, let herself into the room. Her heart was in her throat, simultaneously trying to choke and pounding so loudly she was sure it did it on purpose to warn him. Oh god, if he caught her, he was so going to think this was a come on. Desperate, fluffy chick jumps the first hottie to come into town.
Shitshitshitshit. Racing across the room, she dropped the towels on the bed and turned to head to the door when the lights went out and she screamed as something heavy hit her from behind.
***
Bobbi Bradbury was off the scale fucking hot.
Reese ducked his head and let the shower spray cascade over his scalp and neck to wash the stink of the road off. All he could smell was dust and engine oil. Inside, his bear growled in disgruntlement, woken by the unfulfilled possibility of violence and the interest
in Danny’s purple-haired little sister.
That in itself surprised Reese. Normally, the beast didn’t bother much with women, keeping well hidden during sex, but there was something about Bobbi. Something about her that brought the creature close to the surface, to just under the skin. Which was crazy because she was human through and through.
No shift possibility, so she couldn’t be his mate.
That didn’t stop him reacting to her as a man. One look at her voluptuous figure and luscious lips that just begged for a man’s kiss and he’d gone as hard as a fucking rifle barrel.
He looked down his body. And the old man hadn’t gone down since. His cock stood out, proud and rampant, arching up against his toned stomach. Fucking thing had one thing on its mind: getting Bobbi under him or over him. It didn’t care which, as long as he got balls deep inside her at the first opportunity.
He sighed. Not fucking happening. Because at the first opportunity after that, her brother would remove his head from his neck. Danny Bradbury in a good mood was an excellent soldier. In a pissed off mood…he was a lethal force of fucking nature. And he knew if he touched Danny’s sister, Reese was a dead bear walking.
“Hear that?” he addressed his cock. “No action. No way, no how.”
But…fuck…he’d like some. Especially with Bobbi. With a sigh he reached for the shower gel and started to soap up, putting the thought from his mind. Women like Bobbi were not meant for men like him. She needed someone understanding and stable with a good job to provide for her, not a battle-scarred soldier with all the softness scoured out of him and more blood on his hands than the average serial killer.
He’d been a professional soldier. Which meant he’d spent more years than he could remember in the army. Most of it in shitty places so far behind enemy lines he could never drop his guard or relax completely like most men.
Which meant not only was he taking a shower armed, his SIG nestled on the top of the toilet cistern within easy grabbing reach, but when the front door to the room opened, he was instantly aware of it.
All his senses went into high alert. The patter of the water over his body ignored, he concentrated on the room beyond the bathroom. Whoever it was wasn’t very stealthy. Within a minute of being in the room, he’d figured out all the entrances and exits as well as the fact that the light level in the mirror over the sink changed when the outer door was opened.
Easing himself from the shower, he tucked the curtain behind the pole so the water was hitting something other than the tray at the bottom and padded across the floor. His steps were silent and the fact he was naked didn’t bother him at all. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d been in a fight starkers, probably wouldn’t be the last.
The door to the main room was a little ajar and he caught sight of movement through the gap. Good, whoever it was hadn’t left. A small, nasty smile curved his lips. After that little incident in the diner earlier, he’d expected some kind of payback, the reason his bike was parked prominently outside.
On a normal op, he’d have disappeared, watching from a distance until he was ready to strike, but this time, with Danny’s sister involved, things were different. He wanted the assholes to know where he was…and make the mistake of trying to strike back against him.
A strike that might have worked had he been human, but bears were fucking hard to kill.
Gun still in his hand, he launched himself out of the bathroom. Slapping the light switch just inside the door, he plunged the room into darkness and threw himself toward his prey. No gunfire… he didn’t want the intruder dead. Dead men couldn’t talk and he had a few questions to wring out of the guy.
He hit the intruder mid-waist with the force of a spaceship at light speed and dropped him to the floor. He was smaller than Reese had expected, and weaker. There was no resistance, just a girly squeal, as he flipped the guy over and jammed the muzzle of his SIG under his ear.
“Right, who the fuck are you and what do you want?” he snarled, dumping as much of his bear into his voice as he could while still remaining intelligible.
His brain might have been slow getting with the program but his body sure as hell wasn’t. The soft curves pressed up close and personal against him had an instant effect and his cock, deflated by the prospect of a fight, sprang to attention again.
His intruder was a woman? Taking a deep breath, he rolled the scent over his tongue, realization snapping his eyes wider at the same moment she whimpered.
“…pleasedon’thurtmeIbroughttowels.”
“Bobbi?” He snatched the gun away and stretched to snap the bedside lamp on, not moving his body from hers. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. You’re okay, Bobbi. Look at me, you’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you, darling. You’re safe.”
Safe with him. Not safe from him. He was as hard as a fucking rock. About as bad as a gargoyle, like one of his old battle buddies. Ex-FSB, the guy was literally a stone cold killer.
His night vision had kicked in so he could make out her face now. As he smoothed back her hair from her face, she relaxed and eventually opened one eye. When she saw it was him, she opened the other.
“Okay. I’m okay now. I’m good. Promise. You just startled me is all.”
“Uh-huh. You sure I didn’t hurt you?” he kept his beast out of his voice and tried not to think how soft her hair was under his fingers. Like silk. He wanted to wrap himself in it, and feel it stroking along his bare skin.
She shook her head and gave a little laugh. “Nope. Plenty of padding on me.” She shrugged, but he caught the self-conscious note in her voice. “You know what they say, plenty of cushion for the—uhm, yeah. Anyway…”
He hid his smile as she faltered and her cheeks darkened. For a moment he considered dropping his hips and letting her feel just what her curves did to him, but he played nice. For now.
“So, I’m good.” She smiled up at him. “You can get off me now.”
He shook his head. “Can’t.”
Her brow creased. “Why not?”
His lips quirked into a wry smile. “Because I’m stark-bollock naked.”
*
Naked. He was naked.
That heavily-muscled, hot as Hades body was mere inches from hers with absolutely nothing covering it. Open access.
Halleluiah.
It was only extreme control, force of will, and the certainty hot guys like this didn’t go for girls like her that kept her hands by her sides. She looked up at him. At first she’d thought some kind of animal had gotten into the room, but it was just Reese—the hot as hell English white knight who’d sent Cole’s men packing. Now that her eyes had adjusted and she could see, he didn’t look that scary at all.
Okay, maybe a little. She hadn’t expected him to come out of nowhere like that and although she’d seen just about every action movie there was, the feel of a gun pressed under her ear was one she never wanted to experience again.
The light from the gap in the curtains played across his face, highlighting the uber masculine features. Seriously, the guy should be a poster boy for manliness or something. Strong brow, check. Straight nose, check…wait, no. There was a slight bump halfway down that said it had been broken at some point. Strong jaw, check. Full, kissable lips…oh fucking hell, check check check.
“Naked? Is that so?” Closing her eyes, she smiled. “There you go, problem solved. Towels are on the bed now.”
There was movement and the heat of his body moved away. A pang of disappointment hit her, but she kept it and the temptation to peek out under her lashes, in check. The English were prudes…weren’t they? Poor guy was probably embarrassed as hell to have his ass in the wind like that. Not to mention the little fact the motel manager had broken into his room…
“All decent now.”
She opened her eyes to find him over her, a towel wrapped around his trim waist and a hand out to help her up. It swallowed hers, and her heart thrilled when he lifted her to her feet easily.
She wasn’t a small woman, b
lessed with an over-abundance of curves men either loved or hated. Previous boyfriends had joked about doing themselves damage when lifting her, but Reese didn’t say a word. She’d have liked to say his face didn’t change but she wasn’t looking at it.
Her attention was riveted on his abs. Still wet from the shower, a lone drop made its happy way toward the towel looped around his waist.
Not drooling, must not drool, she told herself firmly.
He didn’t have a six-pack; it was at least an eight pack. Even his abs had abs and he had v-thingies at the sides of his hips she ached to trace with her tongue. How the hell did a guy get to be built that way? It just wasn’t fair to womankind.
She looked away before she broke down and started to beg. Her brow furrowed as a small tattoo on the side of his ribcage caught her eye. Lines of text she’d seen before.
“You’re military.”
He nodded. “Ex. British Military Intelligence. Mostly.”
He let go of her hand and stepped away. For such a big man, he didn’t loom like so many did. In fact, despite his obviously violent background and training, she felt safer with him than she had for years.
“Mostly?” She cocked an eyebrow. Her brother was special forces, so special that she didn’t know where the hell he was half the time, and hadn’t since their parents died a couple years ago. So she knew there was more to the story than that. Normal soldiers didn’t get tattoos like that. Danny had one as well, half hidden by the rest of the tattoos he’d covered himself in. She looked at Reese again. Was he like Danny?
His expression didn’t change but she felt the shutters come down. “Mostly, yes.”
O…kay, she wasn’t getting any more out of him on that score then.
“My brother is army,” she babbled, suddenly nervous in the changed atmosphere. “It’s how I recognized that.” She waved at the ink on his side. “Anyway, you must be busy, errr…drying off and all that. I’ll leave you to it.”
