by Jackie Ivie
Correction.
He felt a lot better than just pretty good. Her entire front half was getting a full dose of hard male. Contact with him sent something major. Almost electrical. Her belly constricted. Her thighs tightened. Even her nipples got in on the act. She only hoped he couldn’t feel them through this stupid bra top against his chest.
Kane cleared his throat. The sound echoed through his chest. “It’s all right, LeeAnn. It’s dead.”
“What...were those things?”
“Drones.”
“Someone is trying to kill me!”
“I know. I told you as much.”
She shook her head. Lanky, wet strands of hair slid along her back and arms. “No, Kane! You don’t understand! They’re really trying to kill me!”
Crap. Crying was going to win the emotion battle after all.
“LeeAnn?”
His voice was low-toned. Softer than she’d ever heard it. Her eyes stung. She blinked rapidly, silently cursing tears that threatened. She held back a sniff, but her voice trembled when she answered.
“Y-yes?”
“You’re not going to die. Not on my watch.”
Oh, double crap. She’d sniffed.
“We have to leave. You ready?”
She nodded. And sniffed again.
“Oh. Hell.”
His curse preceded hauling her atop one shoulder, before he started running. She sent a silent prayer of gratitude that she didn’t have to face him! His actions said far more than words. She might be totally turned on by him, but it was obvious the feeling wasn’t mutual.
Not by a long shot.
They reached the house, entered the rotunda/foyer area. A strange buzz was radiating throughout the rooms, all of them unoccupied. And every window had a bank of bars on the outside of it now. Those, she knew hadn’t been there before. LeeAnn hung from his shoulder and tried to be invisible. Weightless. And if she could wish herself anywhere else, she would have.
It wasn’t remotely as comfortable as holding to him, but at least he wouldn’t feel the wayward tear she failed to prevent.
CHAPTER SIX
They reached the equipment room. It was just off the garage, past the kitchens, where a day’s catch could be cleaned and packed. A row of generator-fueled, small blue lights delineated the ceiling. Walls. The door leading to the boat ramp. The lights were the extent of visibility. It was more than Kane needed. He bent forward and eased LeeAnn off his shoulder. Set her on her feet. Held her upper arm with one hand while she wobbled. And tried like hell not to notice how little she looked.
Little. Lost. Afraid.
And – heaven help him – she also looked womanly. Really, dream-worthy feminine. Curvy. Soft. Fascinating.
Damn that Jezzie.
No. Wait. This was his fault. He’d sent for the woman so she could clothe LeeAnn. He’d suspected what would happen. But how could he have known how torturous the reality would be? The bathing suit selected for LeeAnn was useless. Absolutely and completely. Especially when wet and under blue lights. He did not need the image of her form etched onto his eyeballs. Not right now.
What was he thinking?
This view wasn’t ever on his list of needs. He needed to get her into a wetsuit. Covered. Neck-to-ankle.
“You okay?”
He grumbled the phrase. It was the best he could manage. LeeAnn nodded. She was squinting as she looked up at him. He lifted his hand away and stepped back, watching her waver momentarily. He forced another step away from her.
The woman was industrial-grade magnet.
And he was steel.
Kane snarled before whipping around. Grabbed the handle on a suit locker with a bit too much power. It broke in his hand, but the door had opened a slit. He stuck his fingers in and pulled, bending the metal open. She gasped behind him. Good thing she couldn’t see what he did, but the sound was a good indicator. She probably ranked him a step above a Neanderthal. He told himself it didn’t matter and reached inside, shuffled through a pile of suits, and chucked several into the room behind him.
“K-Kane?”
If her voice was any gauge, she was still shaky.
“Yeah, babe?”
Shit.
He really needed to cease calling her that.
“Um. How...can you see?” she asked.
“Don’t need to. I’m familiar with the room.”
The entire house rumbled warningly. The blue lights turned red. Steel doors started slamming into place throughout the home, moving with bone-crunching efficiency. Metallic sounds echoed about them for a moment. Kane’s shoulders sagged slightly.
He was out of time. Covering her with a wetsuit just became a waste of precious seconds. He’d have to ignore the fact that she was so womanly and desirable. And then endure it. What a joke. His body was giving him trouble again. He sucked in his abs. Tightened the rest of his frame. Shuddered for a moment.
“What...was that?”
“Lock down.”
There were two sets of tanks left in place on the bench, his and Leon’s. The tanks were already connected to hoses, and nestled within Integrated Buoyancy Compensator vests. The gear was fitted to his exact specifications. Ready at a moment’s notice.
Like now.
Kane sat and donned flippers with angered motions before sliding his arms through the armholes of his vest. A seam ripped somewhere. He stood, grunting slightly at the weight and bulk. His movements were quick. Effective. And harsh. Calming just slightly as he fitted his crotch straps. He maneuvered them between his legs gingerly, going around both sides of his problem, as if framing the area.
He scowled before standing fully upright. He had to stop and physically force a few seconds to pass before securing his gear. Get his emotion in check. His desire for LeeAnn was misplaced. Misguided. Supremely annoying. It messed with his abilities. Made him look and act slow-witted. And had a real impact on his movements. He needed to calm down. Project a certain demeanor. Experienced. Competent. Capable. Even if the situation was dire, he had a novice diver on his hands. The last thing they needed was panic.
The chest fastener pressed into his abs with each breath. The straps were like a caress to his groin. This wasn’t normal. Everything felt erotic. He groaned softly. He needed to get into the water and hope the chill put a damper on this. Something needed to.
He took off his sunglasses. Secured them in the little pocket sewn into the waist of the jammers. Grabbed a defogger rag and swiped the inside of his facemask before pulling it on. And then he glanced in her direction. He could swear the floor rocked beneath them as he did so. He moved his gaze before something worse happened.
“I can hardly see you. What are you doing?”
“Getting into SCUBA gear.”
“What? Oh, no. You’re not—? We’re not—? You can’t possibly—? No.”
“You still want to live, don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Then quit arguing.”
“Please say you’re joking.”
“There is only one way out of here, LeeAnn.”
“Why can’t we take a vehicle?”
“Because we’ve been flushed.”
“What?”
“Haven’t you ever hunted?”
“No.”
“Well. First you track your prey. And when you find them, you flush them out of hiding. Anything that moves is targeted. We can’t take a vehicle. Or a boat.”
“But, Kane—?”
“Look. Hon.”
Damn his mouth! Another endearment?
He cleared his throat. Spoke at a lower octave. “Uh. The house was already on lock-down. The light change means the perimeter has been breached. Four guesses who it is. And the first three don’t count.”
“The guy after me?”
“Exactly. And he’s good. I’ve got to give him that.”
She moved back from him. What looked like fear stained her expression. He nearly swore aloud.
“I can’t do this, Kane.”
He took a deep breath. Selected a facemask from the spare rack. Swiped it with the defog rag before pocketing it, too. “Sure, you can.”
“No, Kane. Please?”
“LeeAnn. You have somebody with major skills on your ass. He even used a diversionary tactic at the front gate to gain access. The guy is good. I mean, really good. That means I have to be a lot better than I have been. Starting now.”
“But...this is insane! I didn’t do anything. I’m a certified public accountant. I add and subtract numbers! Balance accounts! I live a boring life. In a landlocked state. I’ve never even been near the ocean until now!”
“You may be a paper-pusher, but you’re also really good in a crunch. Calm and focused when you need to be. Extremely level-headed.”
“I am?”
“Don’t tell me nobody noticed before.”
“Um. No.” She shook her head.
“You were surrounded by morons. Come on. We’re out of time. I’ll help you.”
Stupid idea, Kane. Really stupid.
He grabbed a set of tanks and approached her, working the IBC vest open as he neared. He stood above her. Inhaled. Then he looked down, trying not to notice she had some really sweet cleavage. The red-toned wash of light caressed one hell of a bosom. And it was right in his line of sight.
“Here.” He placed the mask into one of her hands. Waited for her fingers to grasp it. “Put this on. I’ll adjust it to your face.”
He watched her hands flutter as she took it from him. “But, Kane! You don’t know me! I am not calm and focused! I’m going to drown! I’ll suck air in the wrong way, and—!”
“You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it. Okay? Now, listen up. The mask covers your nose. The only way to get air is through your mouth. You won’t drown, babe.”
Damn his mouth. He’d called her an endearment again. Failure made him tense. Edgy. And angered again. None of which helped. He was dealing with real desire here. He’d just have to accept that his body craved hers. Massively. And continually.
Then, he’d have to ignore it.
And not fail at that.
She was shaking. Kane sighed before bending down, leaning the tanks against his leg on the floor. He stood back up. Reached and took the mask from her fingers, and jerked away as the contact zapped. Sent sparks. And singed. He wondered if his hair was smoking. He looked up toward the ceiling, pulled in another deep breath, and dropped his vision back to the top of her head. She didn’t balk as he worked the mask over her. Settled it into place. Cinched it tighter. Bent down to check her eyes through the goggles. She was squinting at him.
“Now. Just remember to let the air out completely before pulling another breath in.”
“Do what?”
She sounded really cute with her nose pinched. He couldn’t help smiling, but sobered almost instantly as her eyes widened. She had some really gorgeous light blue eyes. And he really needed to keep his mind clear. He moved his glance to a wall. Cleared his throat again. It didn’t help. Nothing much did.
“We need to focus on the objective here. We’re going underwater. It’s a whole different realm. You’ll need to breathe slowly. Make sure you exhale completely before inhaling again. Your regulator will handle it. I’m putting your tanks on now. You ready?”
“No,” she replied.
He smirked, bent to pick her gear up, and got a very good view of her legs while down there. And damn! The woman had some shapely legs, too.
It figured.
Kane stayed bent over for longer than necessary, his hands gripped about the tanks while he struggled with all kinds of things. He was making way too many mistakes already, starting with letting her would-be assassin get this close in the first place. And here he was wasting what precious time they had. But, everything in his body was working against him! He was up against a red-hot feeling of need he’d never felt before. He hadn’t even known it existed. Ignoring the sensation wasn’t working. Fighting against it was useless. And she was wearing such a tiny, provocative bikini!
The jammers swim trunks weren’t going to hide this.
“Um. Kane?”
Her voice was added torment. He tensed. The tanks clanked together in his hands. She sounded more scared than before. That was probably his fault.
What was he thinking?
It was his fault.
“Yeah?” Now, he sounded like he was talking around a mouthful of pebbles. This couldn’t get much worse. “Just checking the oxygen level.” He fiddled with the knob as though adjusting it.
“Is everything...okay?”
“Yeah,” he lied.
He stood. Stepped behind her and assisted her into the gear. And had to hold her upright as the weight made her sway.
“K-Kane?”
Great.
She sounded scared. He was going to have to do this in the missionary position.
Worse and worse.
He moved around to face her, holding her upright as he did so. He debated trying to get flippers on her, but she’d probably fall over if he let go. He shook his head. Frowned.
“Looks like we’re going to have to do this buddy-style, LeeAnn. You okay with that?”
“How is that?”
Dang! She sounded so cute with her nose pinched! “I’ll swim. You hold my vest. It’s just like sky-diving the first time.”
Her eyes went enormous.
“Don’t tell me you never did that, either. Well. You lived a really adventurous life, didn’t you?”
She straightened. “I read! A lot. Okay?”
He almost smiled. Not only at the words, but how they sounded with her nasally voice. A large bang against steel came from somewhere in the home. Kane sobered instantly.
“Put your regulator on, sweets. It’s time to go!”
“My what?”
He adjusted the hose at her mouth. Waited for her to take a breath. He put his regulator into place. Then he picked her up. She immediately wrapped her legs about his hips, which was perfect for stability and balance, but wreaked hell on concentration. Kane yanked every muscle tight, held her against him with one arm, and started moving, lifting each leg high due to his flippers.
Sunlight bombarded his eyes before they reached the dock. Walked past two speedboats, and a trawler. Nothing with a lot of draft. The big boats were out in deep water. Just out of sight. Within easy underwater swim distance...if he was solo.
He started down the ramp doing his best to ignore the signals firing from his loins. They pulsed down his legs. Through his belly. Into his chest. Down his arms. Existence had become a living hell. Fire. Brimstone. There was too much contact happening. He could swear he felt skin. His every pore was alert. Primed.
And he had to swim this way?
Kane tightened his jaw. Clenched his teeth together. He didn’t look down. He didn’t dare. He was using every muscle he had to keep from lunging against her.
They were waist deep in ocean water before she reached for his vest.
CHAPTER SEVEN
An assassin’s bullet wasn’t going to be the death of her. Embarrassment had first shot. Mortification. LeeAnn tried to keep from looking and acting like they were in a lover’s embrace. She did her absolute damnedest. But her body wasn’t listening. She had her legs hooked about his waist. His groin pressed to hers. They weren’t wearing enough to counteract the sensations as he walked.
And worse.
Or better.
Kane was very well-endowed.
The bright Florida sunshine made her squint. It was exceptionally invasive when coming from a darkened windowless room. Rays caressed and bounced off the span of ocean visible over his shoulder. She kept her gaze glued to that vista. Tried ignoring things. Mentally shifted her focus. Concentrated. Hard.
Harder.
Why...if she was home right now she’d be at the office. Waiting for the coffee to finish brewing another pot. Or, she’d be inputting all kinds of receipts into spreadsh
eets for clients. She might be scanning the physical receipts Mister Peterson had sent via courier. And that, only after he made a photocopy for his records. Martin Peterson wasn’t just set in his ways. He was a dinosaur. He refused to scan anything into a program that would send digitally to her. So, she did it for him, without telling him. She didn’t even charge him extra...
Cool water lapped at her thighs, taking her back to the present. The chill should have altered things. Stopped this predicament. Helped alleviate things. And...damn everything! Her first thought wasn’t of an assassin and the threat of death looming over her.
Oh, no.
That would be too sane.
Sensations engulfed her, every one of them linked to the man carrying her. This embrace. How amazing it felt. Thoughts of numbers and coffee and querulous old clients were outgunned. Instantly obliterated. And there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.
Kane wielded massive doses of stimulation. They fired at her with each step he took. She’d never been up against anything like this. It trumped everything she tried. She already had her thigh muscles so taut, the muscles were starting to burn. And that almost didn’t work. Every impulse was to move against his hard-on. Rub where she needed it most.
And here she’d thought him cold. Curt.
Completely uninterested.
Water closed over her head. Her initial gasp brought a blast of oxygen. Kane’s arm tightened and he moved his head as if to check on her. LeeAnn forced her mind to work again. She wasn’t going to be a problem. She refused. She detested people who needed help all the time. What had the instructions been again? Exhale completely before inhaling?
He went deeper. Sunlight glinted on all kinds of things as it diffused. Her ears popped. The water was incredibly blue. Clear. She caught a flash as yards in the distance something moved. Like a fish.
Oh. Sweet.
She was underwater!
She felt faint for a moment. He must have known, for he’d stopped. Bubbles obscured her vision and her hearing. They didn’t come from her. LeeAnn watched them dissipate before she exhaled, listening to the sound of bubbles gurgling. She made certain to empty her lungs before taking another breath. That sound was a hiss. She watched and listened to his bubbles again as he exhaled. Then she heard all kinds of other sounds. Pings. Clicks. Long, drawn-out notes that were almost musical. All kinds of humming sounds that might be from motorized craft. Or pumps. And the occasional splashing of waves.