by Unknown
She flushed and shielded her eyes from the sun as they turned around to retake the same steps back to the cabin. “No problem, Agent Murphy. No problem at all.”
His lips twitched. Damn, I did it again.
Back at the cabin Carla went straight to her bedroom. He heard the silent close of the door which meant he wouldn’t see much of her for the rest of the night. He’d offended her again by not shaking her hand. He cursed himself as he walked to the bathroom. Turning on the faucet to fill the tub, he undressed. He braced his arms on the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He’d blown the chance to put her at ease and make her feel comfortable with him. He should’ve shaken her hand and not worried about passing any germs.
Zach got in the tub resting his back against the curve. Every bone in his body ached. His job was physical. He didn’t have the privilege of wearing a suit and tie to work to sit behind a desk on a computer. He was the type of agent that hunted, stalked and trapped his targets. He’d been shot, stabbed and in more fistfights than he cared to admit or could count. He’d even slept with the enemy to get what he needed from them. He blamed that too on why he felt no emotions or a need to be connected to anyone.
He could not think of one woman that would want a steady relationship with him knowing he would drop his pants to sleep with a woman if it meant getting what he needed. It was another part of his job that he had to do. He didn’t use sex often, but he has and more than once with the results leading to the suspects arrest. He also felt the sting from the slaps across his face and received death threats from the women he’d used. If he allowed his heart to play a part in any of it, he’d have to believe they’d follow through with those death threats. Since he kept his feelings out of it, he was able to shrug it off and move on to the next assignment.
Zach rubbed the bar soap between his hands working up a lather before scrubbing his hair. Dipping below the water he rinsed his hair and repeated the process once more. He lathered his body, running his hands across his chest and the ring that pierced his nipple. The tattoos that spread across his chest and down his arms had not faded through the years. The piercing and tattoos were done as part of a motorcycle gang initiation. Zach infiltrated the gang able to remain under their radar for over a year before the FBI made the bust. The piercing hurt like hell but to prove he was a trusted member of the gang, and not blow his undercover status, he did it. These days, he kept the piercing as a souvenir.
He got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. He cleaned the bathroom and gathered his clothes before going to his room to dress. Carla’s door was still closed. This is crazy. He pulled a pair of shorts from the drawer and put them on and left the bedroom.
He knocked on the door and asked. “Carla, can I talk to you for a second?”
“I think we’ve talked enough for one day, Agent Murphy.”
Her answer through the closed door angered him and that she was calling him by his title instead of by his name. He wasn’t used to being denied access to what he wanted. He opened the door; their eyes met briefly before his roamed over her.
She scrambled to pull the thin bedspread over her naked body. Zach felt the heat rise on his cheeks but couldn’t make himself move. “Get out!” she yelled.
He hurried and closed the door and went to his room. Sitting on the bed he let his brain adjust to what his eyes had just seen. Carla Parker may be tiny, but she was definitely a woman. He had to pace the bedroom to get the images to go away.
Shit.
The door to his room swung open. Blazing brown eyes burned into him as she went off. “What gives you the right to burst into my room like a mad man! I do have a right to privacy even if I am being held against my will.”
He heard nothing she was yelling at him. His mind was engrossed on the oversized shirt that covered what he’d seen. Nothing would erase that image from his head. He needed a drink. Tequila, no rum, a double shot of 151 would hit the spot. He would take shots until he passed out forbidding him to dream. To block the memory of those chocolate-tipped plump nipples that instantly made his mouth water.
He snapped. “Alight already! Stop yelling at me, damn! I’m sorry I barged in on you while you were doing…”
Her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at him. “Doing what? What do you think I was doing, Agent Murphy?”
Her hands were jutted against her narrow hips as she screamed at him. He caught his tongue before spilling what he thought she was doing. “I don’t know what you were doing, but I’m sorry I saw you that way. I should have waited for you to tell me to come in.”
“I told you I didn’t want to talk. That should have been enough or at least a hint for you to walk away…not open the dang door!” She planted her weight on one foot. “And to clear the record, I’m hot!”
Yes you are he thought to himself.
She continued to fuss at him. “I was attempting to get a little relief from the heat until you were done with your bath so I could take one. I was not doing what your dirty mind is thinking.”
Zach threw up his hands and blatantly lied to her face, something he had gotten good at since working with the FBI as an undercover agent. “I’m not thinking anything, I swear. But the bathroom is all yours. I even cleaned the tub.”
“What I want is to get as far away from you as possible. I want to be with my friends who like me. I want my life back.”
He stood up and flexed his chest muscles making his pecs jump. “Sorry, sweetcheeks, you’re stuck with me. I’m going to the store. Do you desire anything special for our evening together?”
Her lips curled up creating an unpleasant frown. “I hate you.”
He laughed as she walked away. He changed clothes and left for the store.
Zach selected a few items from the general store and headed to the register. The long-bearded man spoke in broken sentences. “That it for you?”
Zach nodded. “Where do you keep your liquor?”
“Wha’cha lookin’ to get?”
“Bacardi 151 or whatever rum you might have on hand as long as it’s strong.”
“I got wha’cha want.”
“Give me two bottles and a bag of ice and then ring me up.” The man eyed his items and looked at him. Zach tilted his head and asked. “What?”
“Nothin’. A lot of different people done visited these parts. The locals ain’t use to you city people and the odd stuff you’re into.”
“I’m not strange, I have a lady friend with me,” he said pulling money from his wallet.
“That explains your stuff. I had a foreign fella in here the other day asking questions but didn’t buy anything. Said he lost his camper friends. Fella wasn’t dress for campin’ if you ask me.”
Zach’s heartbeat increased but he kept his cool. “What did you tell him?”
“I ain’t tell him nothin’ because I didn’t know what camp site he was talkin’ about. We don’t have no luxury lodges up here. He said he’d find it himself and left. He got in a fancy car and drove off going north. He ain’t gon’ find no people up there.”
The hair on the back of Zach’s neck stood up. “Did this happen yesterday?”
The man gave him his change and bagged his purchase. “Yup. I ain’t seen him no more since then. Maybe he found his party by himself.”
Zach took his packages and left the store. He got in the Ford Explorer that he commandeered from a local car dealer and called his commander. “Lowes, I think I’ve been tracked down.”
“Are you sure, Murphy?”
“I’m pretty sure. A local shop owner says a foreign man came in yesterday asking questions. I left Carla at the cabin, Lowes. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Get to the cabin now, Murphy. I’ll get you back up as soon as I can.”
*****
Carla came from the bedroom and noticed the back door slightly open. She walked slowly through the kitchen. Maybe Agent Jackass is outside unloading the car she said to herself. She peeked
out the door and saw the old car but not Zach. Her throat tightened. He wouldn’t leave the door open; he too thorough for that.
“Zach?” It came out as a whisper. The crickets singing came from the darkness of the woods. Dammit! She hurried and closed the door leaning against it. “Please come home. Please…please…please come back before it’s too late,” she prayed into folded hands.
She moved from the door long enough to grab a kitchen knife from the drawer. She stood behind the door gripping the handle tightly and chewing on her bottom lip. She positioned her body to a fight stance. Anything coming through that door would regret messing with her.
The door swung open knocking the knife on the floor. Carla flattened herself again the wall when she saw the barrel of the gun. Adrenaline surged through her veins. She wasn’t dying tonight. She slammed the door into the man’s arm, causing him to drop his gun. She jumped into action like a wild woman. When his body was half-way inside the cabin, she aimed her elbow for his jaw and swung hard. Pain shot through her arm when it connected with his face.
A howl came from him as they scuffled in the kitchen. They fell against the sink knocking dishes to the floor. Carla jumped on his back and rode him, beating him as hard as she could with her fists. A large arm latched around her waist, twisting her around his body and flung her to the floor. Her head hit the floor with a hard thud as she landed on her back, causing her to see stars. That didn’t stop her from fighting as she kicked wildly hoping to connect with his genitals. He grabbed her legs and a smothering weight crushed her to the floor. She felt her arms lift over her head and be pinned together at the wrists.
“Carla, stop fighting, it’s me. Look at me, dammit!”
Her chest heaved as she opened her eyes at the sound of the familiar voice. She burst into tears. “Thank God it’s you—thank God it’s you.”
Zach released her arms and she immediately placed them around his neck drawing him close to her. “I’m here, Carla. You don’t have to be afraid,” he said in a soft voice.
“Why did you leave the door open? You never leave the door open.”
“I was outside checking on something. You just didn’t see me,” he said attempting to get up.
She tightened her grip around his neck. “Don’t move, please. I have to stop shaking before you move.”
“I’m squashing you.”
He was crushing her but felt she would fall apart if he moved. “I don’t care; just give me a minute.”
Zach pried her arms from around his neck and got off her. “You’re fine, Carla.” He stood up and rubbed the side of his face. “I’m impressed how you handled yourself. You can fight to be a girl.”
Carla accepted his hand as he pulled her from the floor. “Thank you. When I was younger I hung around with my male relatives and we wrestled a lot.” She rubbed her lower back. “You didn’t show me any slack. You tossed me around like a rag doll. I’ll have a nasty bruise on my backside in the morning.”
“Sorry about that. It’s my training.” He fetched the bags from outside. “Here, I thought you could use these.”
She caught the bag with both hands. “What is it?”
He took two glasses from the cabinet and set them on the table. Picking up an overturned chair he said, “Open it and find out. Do you want a drink?” he asked twisting the cap off the bottle of rum and pouring a stiff drink.
“You’re allowed to drink on the job?” she asked digging through the bag and finding a bottle of scented shower gel, a tube of lotion and women’s clothing that were almost her size.
“Technically, I’m off the clock but can’t go home. So, do you want one or not?”
“Yeah, pour me a small one.” Carla held up the white shapeless nightgown and frowned. “You got me a lovely nightgown? It’s sort of cute, in an Amish kind of way.” The basic sleeveless nightgown was made of cotton and knee-length and nowhere near sexy. It probably was the same type of garment the farmer’s wife wore to bed on a warm summer night. She expected to find a matching bonnet with white lace trim attached to it.
Zach wiped his mouth with the back of his hand after taking a sip of the strong rum. “Out here, that’s as sexy as you’re gonna get.” He handed her a small shot of rum and held up his glass. “Cheers.”
She tapped his glass with hers, and tossed down the hard liquor in one gulp and winced. It burned a path down her throat straight to her stomach. She tried not to gag from the reflex of the horrid taste and the fact it was burning a hole in the lining of her stomach. Swallowing fire would not be as painful. She bucked her eyes. “Wow,” she said smacking her lips, “That rum sure is strong. I better not have any more,” she giggled.
He chuckled. “You really are a fluff.”
“Excuse me? I am not a fluff. I just prefer wine or beer rather than hard liquor. Geez, you need to hang around women and learn a little about our likes and dislikes.”
“I know enough about women. You all are a pain in the ass when you don’t get your way.”
“Seriously, you think all women are that way? How do you feel about your mother?”
He took another drink. “Mothers don’t count. Since you’re an expert on relationships, what happened between you and nature boy?”
Carla sat at the table and poured a tiny bit more rum in her glass. After the burning in her throat subsided, she felt herself loosen and attributed it to the liquor. “We were in different places.”
“Like how? Did you badger him the way you do me and he bolted?”
She sighed and stood up from the table. “We can’t do this, Agent Murphy.” Carla heard the hard breath leave his lungs when she called him by his title. She knew it angered him and that got her motor running.”
“Not this shit again,” he mumbled.
She hunched her shoulders. “In your eyes, I am a mean-spirited person that has nothing but coldness filling my heart. If you haven’t notice, the only compliment you’ve given me had to do with my ability to fight. I’m sorry if I don’t come across as feminine to you. Maybe if I did, you’d see I am a woman. Agent Murphy, I have a big heart. One day the right man will come along and give me the respect and shower me with the love I deserve even if you don’t think I deserve it.”
“Come on, Carla. I-I...”
“Don’t explain yourself,” she said putting the glass in the sink. She turned to walk away.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“To take a bath, if that’s okay with you.” She returned to the kitchen to get the bath products she’d left on the table. “I’ll need these.”
chapter seven
Zach poured another drink and rubbed the ache in his jaw where she’d hit him. “Damn, she’s got a lethal elbow.” He took his glass and the bottle of rum and went to his bedroom. He heard humming coming from the bathroom and smirked. She’s trying hard to establish a connection and you’re rejecting her. He sat on the bed. His manhood flexed as he thought about the position they were in on the kitchen floor, then the flashback of seeing her naked. Get that shit out of your mind, Murphy.
He went back to the kitchen to get the item he forgot. Unloading the radio he set it on the nightstand and scanned for a station playing music other than blue grass. He wasn’t a country-western type of guy and preferred rock and roll or R&B. Jazz was his least favorite of the three genres but would take it over country music any day. He found a smooth jazz station that came in loud and clear.
Ditching his clothes, he changed into a pair of shorts and waited for Carla to finish in the bathroom so he could shave. The hair on his face was becoming an annoyance and had to go. The humming turned to singing. Her voice had a soulful mellow tone to it and he recognized the Whitney Houston song she sang. For her to sing without music and stay on key meant she had talent.
He grinned. Zach had to admit she was growing on him. As much as they argued, he liked that she didn’t back down from him. She had guts and that was something the women he bedded didn’t have. The last woman he slept wit
h was too compliant and didn’t demand equality in the bedroom. She took whatever he offered and when he was done he rolled over and went to sleep or went home. He had no idea if she was satisfied or not and since she didn’t complain and he didn’t care to ask.
Zach bet Carla wasn’t that way. He suspected she demanded and got equality in the bedroom. That was most likely was the real reason nature boy was no longer around. The woman was a firecracker and quiet-natured men couldn’t deal with that type. Carla Parker intrigued him and that was a first for him.
The music or alcohol wasn’t helping him to relax. Tension knotted at the base of Zach’s neck and spread evenly over his shoulders. With the adrenaline from the day’s events still pumping through his veins, he found himself thinking about Carla. Her lips were full and plump just like her nipples. She might not be the double-D size cups he preferred, but he could work with what she had. And what she had were plump nipples that called for them to be suckled between his lips.
He worked that thought from his mind. Any sex between Carla and him was crazy. It was his lack of sexual activity making him have stupid thoughts. They would be parting company never to see each other again. He was sticking to his plan to fuck the first faceless blonde bombshell he found. And then he would walk away from her with no emotion and no drama.
Carla came out of the bathroom and stopped in the hallway to pick up something she had dropped on the floor. Zach leveled his gaze on her. The flimsy cotton gown was not much of an improvement over the men’s shirts she used to sleep in. The material was thin and the outline of her body underneath gave him an instant hard-on when she bent over.
Zach knew alcohol played a part in fueling his horniness and he wouldn’t dare have sex with her. Carla wasn’t his type and if he could recall, she was the first black woman he’d ever been this close to. Black women never approached him to start any type of conversation and he didn’t go out of his way to talk to them. However, he did once receive a second glance from a black woman while he was worked out shirtless at a gym some years ago. They were the only two left in the gym that was open after hours.