by Jaci Burton
* * * * *
Nevada was in absolute heaven. The sun heated her skin as she floated on the water, naked as a jaybird and feeling freer than she had in years. She was probably going to be burned and blistered, but didn’t care.
Reluctantly, she realized she’d spent enough time in the water and should sneak out before Tyler came back. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself in front of him again.
She did a few backstrokes and then dug her feet into the sandy bottom. After a huge inhale, she scrunched down under the water and mentally counted the seconds. She’d always been good at holding her breath—she wondered how long she could do it now?
Popping her head above the surface, she blew out the water she’d swallowed and swept her hair away from her face. Just one more minute and she’d get out. She smiled as she recalled thinking the same thing about ten minutes ago. But the water was so heavenly and what was she going to do in the house anyway? Count cracker crumbs?
But she’d better quit floating around before—
“Hey there, princess.”
She screamed and quickly crouched down in the water, hiding as much of her nudity as she could. A man stood at the end of the dock. He was tall and dark, but definitely not Tyler. His build was a little different. She couldn’t see his face because the sun was to his back.
“How’s it going, Velvet?”
Who was he? And how did he know her code name? His back was to the sun, his face hidden in the shadows. But she knew the voice. Always the voice. “Legend?”
“Very good, darlin’. Nice to see you in the…ah…flesh. And some mighty fine flesh, too.”
She’d have recognized that southern accent anywhere. Though she hadn’t spoken to him as often as Midnight, Legend’s voice was equally as memorable. Her face heated in embarrassment.
“Um, hi, Legend.” Great. How nice to meet you and how fortuitous that you showed up just as I was naked. How was she going to get out of this one?
“Are you going to parade around naked in the lake all day or would you like to get out now?”
She cringed when she saw Tyler step around Legend. Oh God, they were both here. And she was…way more exposed than she wanted to be. “I just took a swim.”
Legend relaxed his posture and crossed his arms. “Go right ahead and swim, honey. I’ll just stand guard.”
“I don’t think so,” Tyler said. “Go check out the perimeter.”
Legend shrugged. “Oh sure, have all the fun yourself.” He saluted her as he turned to leave. “Later, darlin’.”
She watched Legend walk up the dock and turned her attention to Tyler, who tucked his gun into the back of his jeans and crouched at the end of the pier. “You set off the perimeter alarm with your little impromptu skinny-dip.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you did. You should have stayed in the house.”
“You should have told me I was supposed to.” She couldn’t believe they were actually having this conversation. She was naked in the lake, only a few feet away from him!
He glared at her a few minutes, then shrugged. “You’re right. I forgot to mention that. We’ll go through all that today. In the meantime, you should get out of there.”
“I was just about to. Turn around.” She swam around the side near the stairs and waited. He didn’t budge.
“Tyler. Turn around.”
He shook his head, his eyes glued to her every move. “I’m guarding you. I have to watch to make sure you don’t take a stray bullet as you get out of the water.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous. I’m all puckery now and I need to get out.”
“Puckery, huh? I’d like to see that.” He made no move to turn, stand or in any way avert his riveted attention.
“Are you twelve years old? Turn around!”
“Nope.”
He was clearly enjoying this. “Fine, then. If you don’t turn around I’ll just step out of the water naked.”
He stood and crossed his arms. “Don’t let me stop you.”
The water that had once cooled her body boiled around her heated skin. Normally she’d never parade around naked in front of a near stranger, especially a co-worker. But damn if he didn’t just irritate her enough to do just that.
He probably thought she didn’t have the guts to do it.
He was wrong.
She reached for the handle on the ladder and slowly climbed up, feeling his gaze burn every inch of skin she revealed. For some reason, that made her ascend much more slowly than she normally would have.
He turned her on, no doubt about that. She wanted to do the same to him. Judging from the growing bulge in his jeans, she’d succeeded.
Determined to stand her ground, she drew her hand through her hair to wring out the excess water. “How about my shirt?”
His eyes were dark. Dangerous. Filled with a promise she knew damn well he didn’t intend to keep. “This shirt?”
Yes, that one. The one dangling from his fingers like a rabbit-enticing carrot.
“Would it go with these?” He twirled the panties around in his other hand, right before he slipped them in his pocket.
“Yes, those too. Do you mind?”
“Seeing you naked? Hell no, I don’t mind.”
“Well Legend might. Unless you don’t care if I parade down the walk and back to the house this way.”
“Honey, I doubt Legend would mind one bit,” he replied with a smirk. But he handed her the shirt and panties.
She tossed the shirt over her head and left the panties dangling from her fingers. “I’ll go get dressed.”
The shirt covered her ass…barely, but she felt his gaze on her as she walked back up to the house, her body on fire from the heated looks he gave her. His eyes had caressed her body as if he touched her and she felt every single inch of her body go up in flames.
Once she was out of eyesight she scurried into the house.
She had nothing to wear except the clothes she’d arrived in last night. Despite the fact they needed laundering, she slipped them on and raked her fingers through her tangled hair. When she came out, Tyler was alone in the kitchen.
“Where’s Legend?”
“He left. Why?”
“No reason, just wondering.” She reached around him to grab a glass from the cabinet and turned on the tap. “By the way, you have nothing edible in this house and I’m starving. Any chance of buying some real food?”
He leaned against the counter. “Yeah, I can do that. I had a meeting this morning and was going to stop at the store, but the beeper went off and I had to race back here. What kind of food would you like?”
“Why can’t I go with you?”
He shook his head. “Bad idea. We don’t know who’s watching.”
“Surely we’re safe out here.”
“Many dead people thought they were safe.”
He was deliberately trying to frighten her, but she had enough common sense to know the only place she wasn’t safe was her home. “I want to go with you.”
“No.”
“Fine,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Here’s my list. First, I need shampoo and conditioner, but I like the ones with the vanilla scent. Then I need a toothbrush and toothpaste. I don’t like the ones that curve and the bristles have to be extra soft. As far as toothpaste, I like the mint flavored, but in gel, not paste. And get the kind with mouthwash in it. Next are tampons—”
He blanched and his eyes widened. “You can go with me.”
She figured as much.
“I need clothes, too. Unless you’re willing to stop by my apartment and let me pick up a few things.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to whisk me by the mall.”
“You’re joking.”
She suppressed a laugh at the man-horrified-by-shopping look on his face. “I never joke about shopping. But I promise to be quick about it. I need a few days’ worth of things to wear. Surely th
is whole imprisonment thing won’t last too long.”
“It could last a lot longer.”
She pulled out a kitchen chair. “How much longer?”
“Indefinitely.”
That wasn’t what she needed to hear right now. “I need money, Tyler. I have bills to pay. I have to work.”
“You are working. Or you will be. You’re in training right now, remember? So don’t worry about money. You’re still on the payroll. But right now, you can’t go to work, you can’t go home. We’ve been over this once already and until this mess is cleaned up, you need protection.”
She glared at him, insulted that he would think her incompetent. “I don’t need a babysitter. I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, right,” he snorted. “You did a great job of that last night.”
“I think we’ve already established my screw up of last night. Unless you have something new to add, I’d appreciate if we could drop that particular subject.” She was tired of being blamed for this debacle.
Tyler shrugged, pushed away from the counter and stood in front of the table. “Let’s get this shopping ordeal out of the way. After that we’ll worry about the next step.”
Irritated and not really knowing why, she rose and followed him out the door.
Next step. Yes, he controlled everything, didn’t he? She already knew the next step. He was dumping her as soon as he could, training or no training. It was clear he didn’t want her around. And while she knew it was purely a business decision, she took it personally.
Which was stupid. Agents didn’t take things personally. Work was impersonal. Tyler was impersonal.
Besides, it wasn’t like Tyler was her lover and had just informed her he no longer wanted anything to do with her. He was an agent and doing his job. He was her fantasy, not her reality. Reality had nothing to do with getting involved in a relationship with an agent who risked his life on a daily basis, despite how her body reacted to him.
No way. When she found someone to settle down with, it would be a man who had a routine, boring job, someone she could count on to still be alive at the end of the day. Which sure as hell didn’t fit the description of an NCA field agent.
That kind of romance didn’t fit into her carefully controlled life at all. The sooner she got away from Tyler, the better. She’d only loved two people in her life—her parents. They were both dead and she hadn’t been able to do a thing to control that. No, loving a man whose life hung in the balance every day was not in the cards for her. It was just too painful.
So why did the thought of never seeing him again bring back that all-too-familiar feeling of loss?
Some questions were better left unanswered. Questioning her feelings for Tyler Call was one of them.
Chapter Four
Nevada felt much better now that the pantry and refrigerator were stocked with food and she had something else to wear besides her work clothes and Tyler’s T-shirt. In fact, considering she didn’t have a dime to her name at the moment, he had been very generous.
Outfitted in a pair of turquoise surf shorts and a plain white tank top, Nevada was finally comfortable. Now she wasn’t overdressed or underdressed, the latter having made her the most nervous, especially with the way Tyler looked at her.
After the clothing trip, they’d stopped at a grocery store and bought enough food to last a week. Nevada resisted the urge to tear into the fresh fruit while they pushed the cart up the aisles, but she was nearly starving. By the time they reached the house, she literally pushed Tyler out of the way so she could get to the food.
Having polished off the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich she’d ever had, washed down with a huge glass of milk, she was finally satiated.
Tyler had unpacked the groceries while she ate, giving her a chance to look at him without having to do it out of the corner of her eye.
He was magnificent. It was sinful the way a pair of blue jeans fit him. They were dark, tight but not too tight and wrapped around a finely sculpted ass that had her itching to reach out and touch him. His biceps hardened as he lifted the bags of groceries onto the counter. He must work out. Beautifully shaped muscles like that didn’t occur without a little effort.
She sighed, whether from the delicious lunch or the specimen of sexy man before her, she wasn’t certain.
Tyler turned to her. “Feeling better?”
“Much. I was hungrier than I thought.”
He smiled and turned her world upside down. His straight, white teeth and perfect mouth made her yearn to have a small slice of Tyler for dessert.
“I was afraid you were going to gnaw through the baloney package before we even reached the checkout line.”
She laughed not embarrassed at all. “It was touch-and-go there for awhile but I resisted.”
“I’m glad you did. I’d hate to make Handi-Mart Grocery’s Ten Most Wanted list. Although it would be a unique experience. I’ve never been on the run with a gorgeous and ravenous brunette.”
Gorgeous? Surely she hadn’t heard right. She brushed it off, certain he’d said something else entirely. “Umm, so what’s next?”
He shrugged. “I need to do some work on the computer. We’ll have dinner later.”
She nodded, already salivating at the thought of dinner. “That sounds fine. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“With what?”
“Your work.”
One brow arched. “No thanks.” He walked out of the room.
She’d seen that look on his face. He thought she was an idiot. That you-couldn’t-possibly-do-my-job kind of smug, condescending look. She could very well do his job and had been promoted to do just that.
So he’d left her in the kitchen to do what? The cooking? Ha! If he thought he could go off and play secret agent while she stayed here and did all the domestic stuff, he was full of shit. This wasn’t the fifties when women stayed home and took care of the house and the men went to work.
Armed with a romance novel she’d picked up at the store, she marched into the living room and plopped on the couch, put her feet up and opened the latest and greatest. A little escapism and fantasy was just what she needed to keep her mind off Mr.-High-and-Mighty-Secret-Agent, Tyler Call.
Fortunately, the book was good and she found herself absorbed completely, until she heard him clear his throat. She peered over the top of the book at him. “Did you want something?”
“I’m kind of hungry,” he said, his face hidden by the computer monitor.
“And?”
“How about dinner?”
“Sounds like a great idea,” she replied, keeping her face firmly planted in her book. He wasn’t seriously suggesting she do the cooking, was he?
“Are you ready to eat?”
“Yep.”
“Let’s go cook, then.”
Okay, he surprised her. He fiddled with something on the computer and then rose, heading into the kitchen. She heard the sound of pots and pans being removed from the cabinet. Maybe she’d just sit there and let him cook her dinner!
“How about a couple steaks, salad and a baked potato?” he hollered from the kitchen.
Her stomach grumbled. Again. “Sounds good.”
She went back to her book, but read the same paragraph over and over again. The sounds of Tyler working in the kitchen broke her concentration.
Maybe she’d just go in there and watch him.
She strolled in with her empty glass, intending to grab a refill of iced tea. He was washing lettuce and slicing tomatoes. The guilt mixed in her stomach along with the hunger. “What can I do to help?”
“You could shred the carrots and slice the mushrooms.” He held out a fat mushroom. “Do you like them in your salad?”
Nodding, she took it from his hands. She washed and sliced the vegetables while he prepared the steak and started the grill.
They worked together in companionable silence. “Amazing. You actually know how to cook,” she stated as they set the tab
le together.
He grinned. “Do you think I eat takeout all the time?”
He had a point there. “I guess not. Most single men I know don’t cook.”
“Their loss. I’m not an out-of-the-box-into-the-microwave kind of eater. I like my food fresh. So, I had to learn to cook.”
The steaks finally ready, they sat at the table and ate.
“Who taught you to cook?” she asked, surprised at the flavor of the steak. He’d done more to it than just toss it on the grill. It had a sharp, tangy flavor that no barbecue sauce could duplicate.
“My mom.”
She ignored the painful pang. “Good for her. Many mothers think only daughters should learn.”
“Not my mother. Dad disagreed, of course; he’s pretty old-fashioned about those kinds of things. But Mom said she wasn’t going to send her son out in the world unprepared.”
She laughed and immediately liked Tyler’s mother. “She didn’t want to let loose another helpless man that a woman would have to take care of?”
“I guess not.” He poured wine for them both and sipped his, watching her over the rim of his glass. “And you? What about your parents?”
The easy smile on her face faded. “They’re both dead.”
His eyebrows rose. “I’m sorry. What happened?”
She pushed the plate away, no longer hungry. “My mother died of cancer when I was sixteen.”
“Again, I’m sorry. And your father?”
“After my mom died he started drinking. Hard and every day. He lost his job because he couldn’t get up and go to work, and a year later it finally killed him.” And she couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him. He hadn’t wanted to live for her.
She looked up, realizing she’d just told Tyler what she’d never told anyone else. He stared at her and didn’t speak. Shit, what was she thinking? She never shared her feelings like that. Not even with Ellen.
Embarrassed, she looked down, her eyes riveted on her plate until she felt his hand slide over the top of hers.
“I’m sorry, Nevada. That must have been very hard for you.”
She pushed back the tears that threatened to spill. She was not going to be weak about this. “It was, but I got over it.”