by Mina Carter
His jaw worked. He was used to being the one in control, the one calling the shots—even over his own body. Especially over his own body. When in the service, he’d never joined in the trips into whatever town they were stationed near to pick up women. He’d always waited for his leave, getting far away from it all and, if necessary, paying for his women. Generally, that hadn’t been necessary. All he had to do was sit in a bar long enough, and he could count on being approached.
He lifted a hand and rubbed the stubble forming over his jaw. He’d been told he was good looking, fit…and that was before he took his shirt off and they copped a load of the scars scattered over his torso.
Chicks seemed to dig scars, and he had a lot. Scars that told a tale of life in the darker areas of military service and beyond, places that didn’t really bear thinking about. Places the government would never admit to sending soldiers to. He snorted. Plausible deniability. It was a wonderful phrase used to cover all sorts of dodgy activities.
The turn for the cabin came into view, and within a few seconds, they were turning off the road. Not a moment too soon for Day. The sky had been gradually getting lighter, and he knew he had to get them off the road and out of sight before dawn broke.
They were almost home free. The thick branches overhead blotted out the paling sky as he entered the wood surrounding the cabin. Situated halfway up the hill and enclosed by dense forest, it was the perfect place to hunker down for a while. As they pulled up, he noted that she hadn’t moved other than a slight raise of her head to see around the bend. Otherwise, she kept her gaze away from him and stayed firmly planted on the other side of the cab. Her silence was a wall that made approaching her seem like a delicate situation.
He’d tied her hands again with a new set of flex cuffs. Normally, after a mark tried to get away, binding and gagging would have been called for. But, aside from some mandatory resistance when he was cuffing her hands, she obliged him all the way. As if she were looking forward to getting the whole thing over with.
Grimly, Day bit down the guilt that surged through him for frightening her. Where the hell had that come from? She was a job, nothing more. He’d done a hell of a lot worse in his time. She was getting the VIP treatment by comparison.
“We’re here,” he grunted, quite unnecessarily as he’d just shut the engine off.
She shrugged but said nothing. Opening the door, she stepped out of the warm enclosure of the truck, shivering slightly as the morning cold hit her full on. That strappy top would have been better left for sleepwear than actual work clothes.
“Come on. Last thing I want is you catching a cold and then I’ll have to look after you for days.” He rounded the truck and looped a hand under her upper arm. As he did, he gazed around them, checking the woods.
“Let’s get inside,” he murmured, urging her forward, his attention still on the forest that surrounded them.
“Yeah, good idea. I’m pretty sure my germs are lethal to single-celled organisms like you,” she retorted, but bit the end off abruptly. Despite the fact that he’d bound her, she was still a handful, and as he led her forward, she shoved her arm back, trying to make him release her, perhaps intending to walk by herself. With his hand where it was, though, she ended up pressing the side of her breast into his knuckles instead. She seemed to shiver at the contact and quickly recoiled away from him. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I can walk by myself, thank you.”
“So I see.” He let go and motioned for her to precede him, then had to hide a smirk as her stiletto heels got mired in the soft earth of the clearing in front of the cabin. Day just shook his head. Bloody women. They’d cut their damn noses off to spite their faces.
She tried to navigate through the soft soil with the impractical shoes, but eventually she sighed in resignation. She was only ruining an expensive-looking pair of boots and risking falling flat on her ass. Already she’d almost lost her balance twice.
Day waited, adopting a bored look as he crossed his arms. “Mind picking it up a little here, toots? I’d like to get inside before sunrise.”
Rollie loved anything with high heels. Growing up in the rough environment she had, she came off tomboyish. Heels gave her a sense of femininity, not to mention wearing them did great things to her posture and made her feel sexy. She wore them so often she was used to doing all sorts of activities in them. However, had she known she would be kidnapped today, she would have opted to wear sneakers, or army boots she could have stashed a knife in. Instead, she was digging herself into soft soil as the heels sank all the way, ruining a fabulous and very expensive pair of Pradas.
She’d rather eat dirt than admit defeat to this Neanderthal, though. He annoyed her—a lot—which was rare since she usually got along so well with everyone. Of course, he was her kidnapper, and she was supposed to hate him, but every time he said something, she ground her teeth. And every time he touched her, she wanted to butt him in the head. She’d take these reactions more seriously if she didn’t also shiver with every touch. Damn it. She hadn’t been around any men for the longest time, especially attractive ones built the way he was, and now she was paying for it. He was sexy in that brooding, bad-boy way, and from the contact earlier, the rock-hard muscles under his clothes weren’t gym-sculpted designer muscles. No, this bad boy had lived rough, and it showed.
If only he didn’t look so good, she might not react like the virginal geek she used to be. She was now a grown woman, and this man wasn’t her friend, he was an enemy. Her captor.
A few steps more and she made it to the rickety front step and clomped up the stairs with a proud bearing.
He followed a step or two behind. Despite being larger than she was, his footfalls were almost noiseless. Rollie shivered. It was another indication that this man wasn’t quite what she expected. He looked like a thug for sure, the sort into loud music and working out with weights in front of a mirror. But it was as if he wore a mask; the expression in his eyes slipped at times and revealed something altogether colder underneath. Even now, he wasn’t looking at her, not properly. Oh, she had no doubt he was tracking her every movement, but his attention was on the woods surrounding them, which allowed her a moment to study him.
Physically, there were no other words to describe him other than hunk and other versions of the same. Despite the fact she didn’t like him right now, she couldn’t deny he was attractive. His face seemed carved from rock, and he had a rugged appeal that made him undeniably masculine. Had he smiled for reasons other than scorning or threatening her, the dimples that appeared every time he did would have made him adorably cute. Coupled with a body like that and the twinkle in his warm, hazel eyes, there was no way he couldn’t know what effect he had on women.
Rollie, who hadn’t had an intimate relationship in like forever, wasn’t faring so well when it came to trying to remember that this man wasn’t a friend but the enemy. She should be afraid of him and thinking of escape instead of wondering how it would have felt if he had kissed her when he had her pinned against the hood. She actually found herself hoping he’d kiss her every time he hovered over her, and was even more shocked at the pang of disappointment when he backed away.
This was pathetic, even for her.
His gaze finished its sweep of the clearing, and he shook his head slightly, as though bothered by something. Then he caught her looking at him. For a spilt second, his expression mirrored surprise, and then the mask slotted into place again as though he’d reminded himself who and what she was. A job. His captive.
“Inside.” He unlocked the door with a quick movement, pushing it open and motioning her through it past him. The gap wasn’t wide, but she didn’t think his intention was to make her squeeze past him so he could get some sort of lecherous thrill out of it. No, his attention was on the surroundings again, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He followed her inside, throwing the bolt and locking it after them. He slipped the key into the pocket of his jeans. “Make yourself comfortable,” he sa
id, motioning toward a tattered sofa against one wall as he strode past her. He flicked on the TV as he passed and headed for the kitchen.
“Not exactly the Ritz Carlton, but then again, this is what they use for the hideouts in those B movie action flicks, don’t they?”
He’d been distracted by the surroundings…was he expecting someone to arrive? Were they being watched? His employer perhaps, or more lackeys?
The thought of more coming made her unsettled. Men who usually went into this line of work weren’t very chivalrous, were they? The man who had kidnapped her had intimated that he wasn’t beneath doing base things to her, but somehow she could tell it wasn’t in his nature to do so.
She couldn’t say the same for his accomplices though. If he had any. The only defense she had right now was her wits, and she had to stay calm and alert. Staying a smartass was risky, but she needed to look tough, otherwise it would be easy for him or his buddies to have their way with her. And being a smartass also made her believe she was tough, which was good. Because right now, her sass was the only thing stopping her from freaking out.
Who would want her “out of the way,” as he had said? Not many people knew that she was the real brains behind Gavilan Tech. He’d mentioned a conference. Did he mean the energy summit in Geneva? Was this about the photon reactor? Who would have known other than someone in her own company…? She grimaced. Did she have a mole in her research team?
“Hey,” she called to him in the kitchen. “Since you got me locked in here, are these still necessary?” She indicated the flex cuffs.
He turned around to lean back against the counter with his hands spread on either side of his hips. “That depends. You going to give me any more trouble?”
“That depends. Are you really going to let me go soon?”
His lips quirked as though he fought a smile. “Sassy little thing, aren’t you? Come here.” He spoke the order softly, but it was an order nonetheless. His gaze was firm and unyielding.
He was being intent, and despite her sass, she didn’t want to defy him, so she did as he said. “Can’t help it. I am usually a pain in the ass, especially if someone kidnaps me then sticks me in a pad that looks like a bear lived in it for a while.” She approached him, extending her bound wrists forward so he could cut the flex cuffs off.
He hooked a finger under the cuffs, drawing her closer slowly. As he watched her, the expression in his eyes warmed up. His grip on the cuffs tightened as she resisted a little.
“You want the cuffs off?” he asked, his voice low. “Well, I want something in return.”
She shivered involuntarily at the look in his eyes. Something had changed, and she knew he was up to something devious. She tugged at his hold on the plastic ties that bound her wrists. “Apart from my credit cards, I only have twenty-six dollars in my wallet, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there, champ. Though, if you take me to town, I guess I can withdraw some cash at the bank.” She knew exactly what he wanted, but she couldn’t help playing a dangerous game with her captor.
In an isolated place. In the mountains. All alone.
He tilted his head slightly, the single finger hold he had on her cuffs easily breakable. “Oh, come on. You’re not that dense. You know I’m not interested in money.” His low voice was like a caress that slid along her spine, stroking the skin with soft fingers. “If I was, I’d have taken the better rate and just killed you.”
Heat had spread through her body the second she saw the change, and him turning up the sexual mega wattage was burning her up. Oh, she knew what he was about, but she was so not going there. If he had been someone else, she’d probably be hitting on him the second she saw him. But she wouldn’t even consider it with the guy who had kidnapped her. A very…sexy…kidnapper.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Well, what was I supposed to think? It can’t be what you’re trying to insinuate, because I don’t think you’re man enough for me, bucko.”
Liar, liar. Pants on fire.
His eyes darkened, one eyebrow arching. “Is that so?” The pressure on her cuffs increased, pulling her a little nearer.
He only had one finger on the plastic ties, his hold easily broken if she pulled her hands away. But it wasn’t the ties that bound her now. It was the way his eyes looked into hers that held her attention. She was finding it hard to draw a deep breath, and her heart pounded so hard she was afraid he could hear it. What was it about this man and her?
“Oh, you think you’re so smooth, don’t you? ‘Is that so?’ You think that makes you sound sexy? With the eyes and everything? Let me tell you, it doesn’t. Not one bit. And I’m not attracted to you.”
He chuckled, but it wasn’t amusement heating his eyes. It was something altogether darker, something that took her breath away. “Prove it then. One kiss, and I’ll free your wrists.”
“Wow, you think I’m so easy, don’t you?” And yet, as she used up the last vestiges of her will to resist, she found her gaze drifting toward his well-shaped mouth and wondering again what would it be like to kiss him. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it. I might get some unknown STD from you and I’ll need to gargle with bleach later, but I’m only doing this to prove to you I’m too hot for you to handle.”
Defiant to the end, she broke the one finger hold he had on her restraints and looped her bound wrists around his neck. Despite the heels, he was tall enough that she had to strain higher on her toes to pull him down by the neck and press her lips to his.
If Rollie thought she was in control of this, then she soon found out differently. As soon as her lips touched his, he took over, his hands sliding around her waist to pull her closer. His lips, warm and firm, slid along hers, seeking and demanding a response.
She knew she was doomed the moment she gave in, the instant her lips touched his. Despite the danger that shrouded him, there was something about him she couldn’t resist. God help her, she liked kissing him. Ardent, demanding, and thorough. He kissed like a dream, and she was no match for him as she gave herself to the kiss completely. Needing to get closer to him, she pressed her body against his and moaned her surrender into his mouth.
His hand slid up her back, cupping the nape of her neck and holding her in place so he could deepen the kiss. His tongue brushed out, flicking the underside of her upper lip as though he were asking permission, wanting access. Although he was a large man, making her feel petite and feminine, and he’d kidnapped her in the first place, in his arms, kissing him, she forgot all about their current situation.
The teasing continued, and she finally let him in, letting him have free access to her mouth as she teased his tongue with hers, inviting him to play. She was dizzy with arousal and didn’t see him as her kidnapper anymore but a captor in another respect. She didn’t think she’d be able to deny anything he requested of her right then. She was a smart woman, but in his arms with him kissing her like this, she didn’t want to rationalize anything. She just wanted to feel.
He groaned, turning them both so she was against the counter, then boosted her up to sit on it. A shiver ran through his big body when she touched his tongue with hers.
This was unbridled lust. An honest reaction. A woman who knew what she wanted and how she wanted it. She moaned as she felt him hard against the softest part of her; the contact sending sparks through her body and exploding through every nerve she had. Greedy for more contact, she ground herself against his hardness and almost fell limp in his arms with the blissful sensation.
He kissed along her jaw, the softest of tugs on her hair pulling her head back and revealing the softness of her throat to him. She whimpered as he found the sensitive spot under her ear, her body nearly melting into a puddle and slithering off the counter. Then he stopped, going still.
Rollie took a few more moments to realize he had stopped abruptly. Dazed with arousal, she needed a second to see he’d been distracted by something on the TV, and she stopped to listen as well.
“…was fatally wounded in a shooting ear
lier today. Gavilan Tech spokesperson Bryan Westwood said to media during a press conference that prior to the shooting, Doctor Gavilan was scheduled to make an appearance at the Geneva Energy Summit next week …”
Then, as she heard more, she quickly disengaged from him and ran to see more of the newscast.
“No,” she cried out as she saw her double, her friend Marie Deline, carried by paramedics to an awaiting ambulance.
“…died a few hours later while undergoing surgery after being shot several times at close range by, as of yet, an unidentified assailant. Authorities have yet to determine the motives for the horrific shooting and are currently looking for witnesses to shed light on the incident. However, given the lack of forensic evidence, police are having difficulty in proceeding with the investigation…”
She was frozen on the spot as she stared at the screen, tears streaming down in earnest. She couldn’t believe that she was seeing this. Hearing this. Marie was dead? It couldn’t be…
Her captor’s arms wrapped around her, holding her tight as she tried to wriggle free, pain and disbelief surging through her.
He pulled the switchblade from his pocket and cut through the plastic of her cuffs like a hot knife through butter. He left the cuffs on the floor where they fell. “We have to leave. Now.”
As soon as her hands were free, she came swinging at him. The arousal she’d felt turned into rage and then fury as she remembered how easily she fell victim to his charms.
“You sonofabitch,” she screamed through her tears as she swung one punch after the other, most missing by a mile. “You already had me. Why did she have to die too?”
“Whoa! Whoa! It wasn’t me.” He put his hands up to defend himself and easily caught her flailing fists. A quick move, and he spun her around, trapping her with her own folded arms, her back to his chest.
