She’d burn in hell for that little slice of her brain that wished he’d stay a tabula rasa.
He glanced up suddenly, and Lola’s cheeks flared with heat.
“You look better. Feeling better?” He nudged out the chair across from him with his foot.
She dropped onto the chair and cupped her chin with one hand as she planted her elbow on the kitchen table. “I’ll live. You find anything on Prospero or the colonel who organized it?”
“No.” He shoved the laptop away from him as if disgusted with its silence. “But then I didn’t figure Prospero would have its own website.”
“If Emilio would wake up, he could tell us where he found you in the first place. That would be a great start.”
“You checked on him this afternoon, right? Is his condition any better?”
“His physical condition improved from yesterday, but he’s still out.” Lola folded her hands on the table and tapped her fingers on her knuckles. “When are you going back to see Lesley?”
“Sooner rather than later.”
Jack quirked an eyebrow at her and she nodded like a bobble-head. Didn’t want him to suspect her deep, dark secret—that she was in no hurry for him to find out he had a wife and five kids.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
He must’ve detected the ambivalence in her eyes. So this time she shook her head so hard it nearly rotated. “Not at all, but it’s by no means a surefire method for extracting memories. It puts you in a highly suggestible state, and it might be dangerous given your headaches.”
“I’m willing to risk any danger, and I’m sure Lesley isn’t interested in implanting any false memories in my brain.” He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “Unless you think she has some nefarious purpose for putting me under.”
It showed her state of mind that Lola had to study Jack’s face for a few seconds to figure out he was kidding. She smiled. “Maybe she wants to suggest you’re her secret lover and the two of you were on the verge of a romantic getaway to a deserted island.”
Lola gritted her teeth behind her parted lips. Idiot. She’d just attributed her own fantasy to Lesley. Like Jack couldn’t see through that one.
“I just might take her up on that suggestion.” His dark eyes smoldered, and Lola squirmed in her seat. “At least the part about the getaway to a deserted island.”
A key scraped in the lock, and Rosa called out while pushing open the front door. “Hola. Are you home?”
“We’re in the kitchen, Rosa.”
Rosa maneuvered the two steps into the great room, clutching two paper bags to her chest. She peered at them over the tops of the bags as she crossed the room. “I brought a little more food. You never said how long you were staying, Miss Lola.”
Lola exchanged a glance with Jack. Too bad they didn’t have that island waiting for them. “I’m not sure. I told you, I’m off this week and I’m helping Jack.”
Rosa tsked. “You could have been in the Bahamas this week.”
Lola pressed her lips together. She hadn’t told Rosa the full story about Gabe. Gabe had always been Rosa’s favorite, and Lola didn’t feel like sending the poor woman into fits. “I—I knew Jack needed my help this week.”
That excuse should placate Rosa, since she believed Lola needed to find herself a man…and Rosa seemed to approve of Jack. Of course, seeing him in the buff had cemented that approval.
Had cemented hers, too.
“Maybe you could help Mr. Jack in the Bahamas.” Rosa chuckled, dipping her hand into one of the bags and pulling out a package of pasta. She shook the bag. “Do you want me to cook some dinner tonight?”
Lola opened her mouth, but Jack cut in. “No thanks, Rosa. I’m taking Lola out to dinner tonight.”
Lola’s pulse tripped and she widened her eyes. Dinner? Just like a real date? “Are you sure you’re up for it?”
He jabbed a finger into his chest and lowered his voice. “Me? You’re the one who had the bad day.”
Rosa interrupted her humming to say, “I think that would be nice. Oh, and I have some mail for you, Miss Lola. I’ll bring it over later.”
“Thanks, Rosa.” Jack probably just wanted to discuss business away from nosy Rosa, but she’d take it…she’d take him any way she could. After that truth serum session, they might not have much time left together.
JACK ADJUSTED THE CUFFS on the black dress shirt he’d borrowed from Gabe’s closet and tugged at the waistband of the slacks. The pants hit a little high on his ankle, but the outfit beat any of the clothes he’d picked up at the Frankfurt Airport or any of the native garb he’d hauled back from Afghanistan.
He’d surprised himself when he’d blurted out his invitation to dinner. But Rosa’s sympathy over Lola’s missing her vacation in the Bahamas had sent a shaft of guilt through his body. Even though he knew Lola had canceled her vacation plans before he came onto the scene, he’d dragged her into a mess.
Or had he?
Was his presence in Miami responsible for the escalating threats against Lola, or would someone be coming after her regardless of his proximity to her? He could find out easily enough by leaving her.
His gut churned at the thought. If the danger to Lola had nothing to do with him, he wanted to be here to protect her. That instinct ran deep and true within him.
A light tap at the door coaxed him out of his reverie. “Yeah, I’m decent.”
More decent than he’d been in the shower, anyway.
Lola pushed open the door and hovered at the threshold. Long, black lashes framed a pair of green eyes, the color amplified by Lola’s emerald-green dress. Leave it to Lola to provide a bold splash of color.
To stop gawking at her legs, Jack held out his arms and turned in a circle. “Is this okay? Your brother’s a little shorter than I am.”
“And a little narrower through the chest and shoulders.” She took two steps into the room, her head tilted to one side.
“Is it ill-fitting?”
“No.” She took another step. “Turn around.”
He obeyed because her perfume so intoxicated him he couldn’t think on his own. If she commanded him to stand on his head, he wouldn’t be able to refuse her. A second later, he felt the palms of her hands smoothing the material of the shirt across his shoulders. He tensed his muscles to freeze the lust pounding through his veins.
“That’s worse.” She nudged his shoulder with the heel of her hand. “I’m trying to smooth down the shirt but it doesn’t help when you go all Incredible Hulk on me.”
He chuckled. “Me? The Incredible Hulk? No, that’s Buzz.”
Lola gasped behind him and dug her nails into his back. “Buzz? You recalled that name yesterday.”
Spinning around, he grabbed her waist as a thrill of excitement zapped his nerves. “That just came to me. You mentioned the Incredible Hulk, and Buzz’s name flowed from my brain to my lips in a seamless progression.”
“And no headache to go with the memory?” She brushed her knuckles against his temples.
Lola’s green eyes darkened, and Jack dropped his gaze from their murky depths to her slightly parted lips. Just one celebratory kiss. He touched her full bottom lip with the tip of his finger and felt the throb of her pulse.
He pressed his mouth against hers with the intent of a friendly kiss, a thank-you, a reassurance. The soft warmth of her lips as they puckered in response sent a jolt of need through his core. His tongue slipped into her mouth in an overly friendly gesture, and the sweet taste of her transformed him from friend to a man drowning in desire.
Her tongue tangled with his, and she dragged her fingers through his hair. Shaping his hands on her hips, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. She sighed into his mouth. It didn’t sound remotely like no.
Her soft breasts crushed against his chest while he slid his hands to her rounded derrière. She dropped her hands to his shoulders and tilted her pelvis to fit against him, to tease his erection. H
e wanted to be inside her. Lola felt natural in his arms, as if she were the only woman he’d ever known intimately.
Jack froze. In his current state Lola would be the only one, but his present life was a lie, or rather a half-truth. There might be another woman out there, a woman waiting for him, worrying about him, anxious for his return.
Lola murmured something against his lips and nestled closer to his body. He broke contact with her delicious mouth and cupped her face with both hands.
“I’m sorry.” He skimmed the pad of his thumb across her moist lips, now red and swollen from his kiss. “This…it’s not a good idea.”
Her dark lashes fluttered as she stumbled backward out of his embrace. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You know, it’s…th-the…everything. Too much danger, too much emotion. It’s unreal. You know…”
Jack put a finger to her lips to stop her nervous babbling. She had nothing to be sorry about. Her warm breath caressed his finger, and he dropped his hand. “It’s okay. We both got carried away. Are you ready to get going? That is, if you’re not too embarrassed to be seen with someone in borrowed clothing.”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as her gaze meandered from his head to his toes. He gave thanks to the loose trousers that hid his potent response as her slow inventory seemed to strip away more than his clothing. He felt more exposed than he had in the shower.
She blinked and drew in a shuddering breath. “You look fine.”
The spell broken, Jack pulled open the closet door and grinned at her over his shoulder as he snatched a stack of bills from his bag. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m essentially taking you out to dinner on your dime.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I already told you. I paid you that money as a retainer and for your expenses. You just don’t get the second million I promised until you bring Gabe home.” Tears brightened her eyes and she rubbed her nose.
“I wish I could do that for you, Lola.”
She smoothed the skirt of her dress over her shapely thighs. “Well, you remembered Buzz tonight. Maybe the rest of it will come back to you.”
“I remembered while we were sharing a joke, so I think we need to go out and enjoy ourselves. You deserve it.”
“No, you deserve it.”
“I’ll wrestle you for it.” The laugh died in his throat as a pink stain washed over Lola’s cheeks, and he knew their thoughts had jumped to the same page.
How the hell was he going to get through the night without ravishing this woman?
LOLA PLUCKED AT JACK’S SLEEVE as the loud music vibrated in her chest. “It’s quieter upstairs in the restaurant. I didn’t realize it would be so crowded on a weeknight. We can go somewhere else if you like.”
Jack shrugged, Gabe’s dress shirt tightening across his shoulders. “As long as the music doesn’t follow us upstairs, it’s okay with me.”
Lola suppressed a shiver as Jack rested his hand on the curve of her back. His slightest touch did strange things to her insides. And his kiss? It had melted her bones.
Maybe that kiss had triggered a memory for him—a memory of another woman. Was that why he had pulled away, leaving her hot and bothered…and frustrated? Very frustrated.
Jack steered her toward the hostess, svelte in a black dress and flirting with the bartender. Jack interrupted their chatter. “Can we get a table for two in the restaurant upstairs?”
The hostess didn’t miss a beat as she shifted her attention from the bartender to Jack, sizing him up with one quick sweep of her lashes. “Oh, I think we can find something for you. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to eat at the bar where all the action is?”
Jack’s lips turned up in a crooked smile, and he pulled Lola flush with the side of his body. “We prefer the restaurant.”
The hostess’s eyes lost their sparkle once she figured out she couldn’t flirt with Jack. She spoke into a small microphone clipped to her dress, “Two for dinner. You can go right up.”
Jack held Lola’s hand as they climbed the stairs, and she exhaled a long breath. She appreciated a man who didn’t flirt with predatory females when he was out with his woman.
Not that she was Jack’s woman. Not at all.
As the padded door of the restaurant swung shut on the music and the noisy bar patrons, only a muffled bass sound hinted at the party atmosphere downstairs. Jack ran a hand across his brow, and Lola realized he’d been uncomfortable in the press of people.
She didn’t know if his feeling sprang from concerns about his amnesia or the fear that they might have been followed. As she’d driven to the restaurant, Jack had been obsessively checking the mirrors and telling her to make random turns along the way. How could they have been followed? Of course, how had that man known she was going to be at the hospital today?
Fun. They were supposed to be having fun.
Another attractive hostess met them at the door and led them to a table in the back of the room next to a large window looking over the street scene and the harbor.
Jack held out her chair and took the one across from her. “Nice view. You come here a lot?”
“I haven’t been here in a while.” She flicked the white linen into her lap. “Like I said, I don’t remember it being such a hip and happening place during the week.”
“Aren’t you hip and happening?”
“God, no.”
“Do you date much? Boyfriends?”
She made a grab for her water glass and almost knocked it over. “Too busy.”
The last guy she’d seriously dated had been more into her father than her. He was hoping for a place in the family business, even though no family business existed. Didn’t stop the guy from trying.
“Touchy subject?” Jack skimmed a knuckle across the back of her hand.
“You don’t want to hear about my checkered dating past.” But she sure wanted to hear about his. Was he a free man? Did she really want to know? Was it considered cheating when the guy couldn’t remember whether or not he was married?
They ordered their food and a bottle of wine. After the waiter had poured two glasses of wine for them, Lola tapped Jack’s glass. “Maybe you don’t need truth serum. Have a few glasses of this and see where it takes you.”
“Or a few shots of tequila?”
She laughed and took a quick sip of the cabernet, the mellow flavor warming her throat. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you? That night called for something heavy duty.”
“Yeah, because I pulled a gun on you in your car.” His jaw tightened and his fingers curled around the stem of his wineglass.
“And you’re never going to let yourself live that down. I understand why you did it, and I’ve moved on.” His protective instincts burned so strongly in his chest, he couldn’t quite forgive himself for pulling a gun on her.
Her fingers danced across the tablecloth and tapped his, still clutching the glass. “Come on, Jack. I’m made of stronger stuff than that.”
His grip on the glass loosened and he entwined his fingers with hers. “I know you are. That’s why I…admire you.”
That word poked a hole in her bubble. Admiration was well and good, but she wanted so much more from this man. The so-much-more started with that kiss, but then he’d put on the brakes.
They chatted about Miami and sports and medicine, and Lola put this one down as the best first date ever. Just her luck to find a terrific guy who was sexy as hell but had no memory. It sounded like the plot of a romantic comedy, only she didn’t feel much like laughing.
The waiter poured out the last of the wine. “Would you like to look at the dessert menu?”
“Do you want to share something?”
“Sure.” Jack handed his empty plate to the waiter and crossed his arms on the table.
As the waiter turned, he almost collided with a man bearing down on their table, a big smile claiming half his face.
“Jack! Jack Coburn!”
Chapter Nine
A muscle twitched in Ja
ck’s jaw and he narrowed his eyes, assessing the tall, powerfully built man closing in on the table. He slipped his left hand into the pocket of the jacket crumpled next to him in the booth and gripped the handle of his gun. The man seemed positive of his identity, no point in denial.
But Jack didn’t have to give him anything else.
Jack nodded once. “Yes?”
Lola sucked in a breath and Jack flicked a quick glance her way. Above her flushed cheeks, her wide eyes glimmered with fear, or maybe just excitement.
The man thrust out his hand, just missing Jack’s water glass. “Lars Olafson. Or maybe you remember me better as Swede.”
Jack gripped the man’s hand, every inch of his body on high alert.
Lars stepped back as if to dodge the air of menace Jack exuded. He cocked his head. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
Jack tensed his muscles, his fingers stiff on his weapon.
Running a hand over his shiny baldness, Lars laughed. “I know it’s been a few years. I was the communications sergeant in the Third SFG, and you were in the Seventh.” He turned toward Lola and winked. “Green Berets—finest fighting unit in the world.”
Jack didn’t plan on putting his fate in this man’s hands by revealing his vulnerable condition, but he wouldn’t deny the inevitable. He released the gun and smacked his forehead. “Yeah, yeah, I remember you. Your company commander was…” He snapped his fingers.
“David Curran.”
“Curran, that’s right.” Jack twisted his lips into a smile, but his muscles remained coiled. It could be a trap.
The waiter excused himself and dropped two dessert menus on the table.
“Try the key lime pie.” Lars tapped the menus. “I can understand how you might not remember. You weren’t with us that long before you got snapped up for that other team. You and those other guys. It was all pretty hush-hush, but I know they picked up a SEAL, a Mountain Ranger and a flyboy for that team.”
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