She nodded. “God, I hope so.”
He closed the distance. The moment their lips touched, he knew he’d made the right decision. So soft. So right.
He didn’t deepen the kiss beyond a few moments of gentle nibbling, but it was enough. Enough to know.
When he pulled back a few inches, still cupping her cheek, she was flushed.
He leaned back farther, mostly because he was going to lose his restraint fast if he didn’t. It wasn’t like she was the first woman he’d ever kissed, but she was the first one who so totally brought him to his knees at the touch of her lips. The scent of her. Her taste. She was a drug.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He was breathing heavily.
“If I wasn’t practically in hiding and my world wasn’t upside down, I’d suggest we go on a date.”
He couldn’t keep from smiling broader. Sweet. Sexy. And funny. “Excuses, excuses.”
She shrugged in a goofy way. “Also if the media wasn’t hunting me and you didn’t have twenty-one other people to reanimate. Or if we both didn’t have parents to reacquaint with.” She shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve heard all those excuses dozens of times from women all over the world.”
He rolled his eyes sarcastically. “You have no idea. It’s impossible to get anyone to say yes to me.”
Her fingers were shaking against his cheek. He affected her. Good or bad, he affected her. “Yes,” she stated, turning to face him again. “Yes. As soon as we knock off at least the top five on the list of impossibles, I’ll say yes.”
He’d never been a churchgoing guy. Never had time. But right then, he knew for certain there was a god. His timing sucked because now was not a convenient time to start a relationship with anyone, but God still seemed to know exactly what he was doing.
Emily was right. They had a pile of issues to deal with. But underneath the mess was a green-eyed, dark-haired, pale-skinned beauty whom he’d only seen in ill-fitting scrubs and a ponytail until today. She didn’t need anything else. Makeup and fancy clothes wouldn’t change how he felt about her.
There was no denying he was falling for her. It was right in his face. His lips had touched hers. And found heaven. The question was, what was he going to do about it?
He slid his free hand up her back until he threaded his fingers in her hair. “Okay then, that’s out of the way. I know both our worlds are upside down and we have no idea what the future will look like for either one of us, but I also know it’s futile to pretend I’m not interested in you.”
“It would be inconvenient if you weren’t,” she joked.
He smiled. “Okay, so we have today. We have tonight. Then I need to get back to Falling Rock in the morning.”
“I need to get back to my family.”
He furrowed his brow. “Promise me you won’t stay if the media starts hounding you or your relatives.”
“I would never do that. I don’t have to promise you. It’s my greatest fear. You know that.”
He suspected there would be trouble. It wasn’t a long shot. After all, even if he ignored his gut, the military was concerned enough to whisk her to this base in Nebraska in the early morning hours for a reason. There were military and government officials alike who suspected trouble was around the corner. He was bright enough to realize dozens of people had done the same research he had. The internet was both a curse and a blessing.
“Ryan, you’re freaking me out.”
He schooled his face and inhaled slowly. “I don’t like the kinds of things I’m reading on social media. Makes me nervous.”
“About me?” She stiffened in his arms.
“Not you specifically yet, but about the mystery woman who was brought back from the dead.”
She patted his chest. “Relax. I’m a big girl. I can handle it. I won’t give anyone the time of day.”
He nodded slightly. “It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s the other guys.”
“How about if I promise not to leave my parents’ home?”
“I can’t expect you to do that. Nor do I want you to feel like a prisoner. I’m just…concerned.”
He hadn’t mentioned the specifics of any particular threat, and she didn’t ask. Instead, she set her forehead on his chest and sighed.
“You must be exhausted.” He rubbed her arms. “Why don’t you lie down? Sleep a while.”
She lifted her face. “You’ll stay?”
“Of course.” He grabbed her waist and pulled her farther onto the bed and then settled on his back next to her.
She immediately curled into his side. Her breathing soon evened out as she rested.
Ryan didn’t even close his eyes. He loved watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful curled on her side against him, her hand resting on his waist, her head in the crook of his arm. He absently stroked the soft skin of her biceps while she breathed easily.
He should be exhausted too. The sum total of his sleep last night had taken place during a short airplane flight. But he didn’t want to miss a moment of their time together. Even watching her sleep was worth every second.
His phone had been vibrating off and on since they headed for the room. It continued to do so while she slept. Every time he glanced at it, he found another incoming text from Temple or one of the members of his team at the bunker.
Two entirely unrelated things were about to send his world into renewed turbulence. He was used to chaos and deadlines and racing against the clock. He’d been under one deadline or another nearly constantly for half his life. But he’d never had a woman he cared about.
This was the first time he’d held her this close for this long. The first time he’d kissed her. He didn’t want it to end. And yet, he could only stretch this brief encounter until the early morning hours. He needed to get back before they started the revival process of his father.
That alone would weigh heavily on his shoulders. The event he’d waited ten years for. Do or die. Just because things went smoothly for Emily didn’t mean his parents wouldn’t experience a catastrophic reanimation. There were no guarantees.
But the majority of the incoming messages filling his phone were about Emily. Word of her existence was spreading fast. It was only a matter of time before the press found out who she was and where she was. The buzz on social media was horrifying.
He was actually glad she didn’t have any social media accounts activated yet. If he was lucky, she would be shielded from many of the death threats for as long as possible. Thousands of horrifying comments about her being an abomination that shouldn’t have occurred.
Some of the posts he’d read had suggested that Emily was now either a zombie or a vampire. It was insane. And it made him nervous.
She stirred against him, blinking her eyes as a smile spread. “You’re watching me.” Her voice was gravelly from sleep. Sexy.
“Best view in the room.”
She glanced around. “Compared with what?”
He laughed. “Good point.” The room was boring. There was no comparison. He kissed her forehead. “We need food.”
“Let’s order something. There must be restaurants nearby.”
His stomach growled. “On it.”
* * *
An hour later they sat on the room’s small couch together, stuffing their faces with delivery from a local Italian restaurant.
Emily was turned, facing him, her back against the arm of the sofa, her feet tangled in his lap. She held a container of manicotti with one hand and shoveled it into her mouth with the other. She moaned around every bite, making him want to toss all the food on the floor and kiss the life out of her, especially with her sweet feet rubbing against him.
Honestly, as hungry as he was, it was hard to swallow a single bite with her sitting there looking good enough to eat instead of his plate of pasta.
She smiled several times, undaunted by the fact that she wasn’t exhibiting a single ladylike quality at the moment. He loved it. Loved that she could
be relaxed with him. Laid-back. Stuffing her face because she was hungry. Licking her lips. Moaning around every other bite.
He wished he had a video of this moment. Emily so free and pure and sexy. So…Emily. Some of the shyness she’d exhibited since he first met her had faded.
When she was finished, she sighed her contentment, setting her container on the floor next to the couch. “That was delicious. Or maybe it was mediocre and I was simply starving.”
He chuckled, taking another bite. “I should have fed you a bit earlier, it would seem.”
She leaned forward, pulling herself up by his forearm until she sat closer to him.
Suddenly his food held no more appeal to him. He set it on the coffee table and spun to face her more fully again. He ran his hands up and down her arms.
He hated that he needed to break this perfect spell they were under, but it had to be done. “We need to talk.”
Her eyes shot wide, and her body stiffened.
“Not that kind of talk.” He kissed her lips briefly and then ran his hands through her hair. “We need to talk about what happens next. There were some developments while you were sleeping.”
She lifted a brow. “How do you know?”
“I got about a dozen incoming messages.”
“Problems with protesters? Or problems at the bunker?”
“Protesters. Although I do have to get back first thing tomorrow to start the revival of my father.”
She winced. “I should be with you.”
He shook his head. “No. You shouldn’t. I’ve thought about it a lot. You need to spend more time with your family. Even though it’s been months since you’ve seen them, they haven’t seen you in over a decade. There’s nothing you could do at the bunker except pace and hope and wring your hands. That’s what I’ll be doing.”
“It’s called moral support, Ryan. It’s what people do when someone they care about is going through something scary.”
“Yeah, they do, when they’ve known each other for a long time and they haven’t just gone through a similar ordeal themselves. I’ll be fine. I need you to be with your family. It would stress me out more if I had to worry about you cutting your reunion short to hold my hand.”
Her eyebrows drew together as she considered his words. “I’ll spend a few more days with them and then come back to Colorado. The process of reanimation takes weeks anyway.”
He smiled. “We’ll talk every day. We don’t have to make any decisions right now.”
She cocked her head to one side. “But the situation with your father isn’t what has you worried,” she pointed out, obviously remembering this conversation had taken a detour.
“No. It isn’t. There’ve been a lot of threats. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to return to Iowa. I think you should meet your family somewhere else and lie low for a while. Under the radar.”
“You’re that concerned?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t spend my life hiding.”
He shook his head. “I’m not suggesting you do. Just for now. Just until this passes. For me. Please do it for me.” The truth was Temple was already working on a few options. Emily wasn’t going to be able to stroll back to her parents’ home tomorrow and carry on as if nothing were happening.
But she was a warrior, his Emily. Not one to let people get in her way. He was banking on the fact that she would take this opportunity because he asked her to.
“For me,” he repeated. “So I don’t have to worry constantly about your safety while I should be focused on my dad.” He leaned forward, kissing her nose. “Please.” Was it fair to play with her emotions like that? He wasn’t lying. He was nervous as hell. But he needed her to take this seriously to ease his concerns.
“Okay.” She shuddered against him.
He wrapped his arm around her and set his chin on her head. They were alone in this hotel room until tomorrow morning. Unless that made her uncomfortable. He needed to broach the subject. Carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was rush their relationship. Somehow he needed to communicate that to her. He wouldn’t take advantage of this arrangement, but he didn’t want to leave her alone. Nor did he relish the idea of being without her either.
She spoke before he could gather his thoughts. “What shall we do this evening? If I spend one more moment thinking about stupid reporters, I’ll lose my mind. Maybe we could watch movies? I bet you could recommend some good ones I’ve missed.” She was grinning when she lifted her face.
“You’re about a decade behind. We could watch fifty of them, and you’d still be missing out.” He hugged her close.
“I bet some actors have aged to the point I won’t recognize them.”
“Except for the ones who don’t appear to age at all. You’ll be surprised.” He reached for the remote, but before turning on the television, he cleared his throat. “You want me to get my own room later?”
She flinched. “No. I mean, unless you want to.”
Yeah. Awkward. “I have no intention of rushing things between us, but I would rather be with you all night if it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”
She smiled huge. “I’d like that.”
He slowly released a long breath as he turned on the TV. He couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than sit here all evening holding Emily against him and watching her expression as she took in several movies she’d missed out on.
Except that wasn’t true. He could think of several things he’d rather do, but it was too soon. So he forced his body to behave and enjoyed every second of his time with Emily.
Chapter 10
Emily was a mess of emotions the following morning as she watched Ryan pull away from the curb in front of her hotel. It was still dark outside. His flight was early. He needed to be back at the bunker as soon as possible.
Another car pulled up as his left. This one would take her to a hotel outside of Des Moines. It was only about a two-hour drive. Her parents would be traveling the same distance from their home to meet her there. They would take some more time off work to spend with her.
She hated disrupting their lives like this, but returning to their home and risking getting caught by the media wasn’t an option. They would be staying at the hotel under a fake name. Hopefully, the arrangement would buy some time until the protesters lost interest.
Emily thanked the two air force cadets standing behind her and slid into the car. “Ma’am,” the driver greeted her as he pulled away from the base.
She had some time to think. Two hours. But her phone pinged in her purse, and she scrambled to extract it, a smile on her face.
Ryan: Stay safe. Be careful.
Emily: You just said that about one minute ago.
Ryan: I know.
Emily: Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Concentrate on your parents.
Ryan: Too late. Impossible not to worry.
She couldn’t stop grinning. It felt so good to care about someone like this. It also scared her to death. He’d been a complete gentleman for the last twenty-four hours. In fact, she wasn’t sure she even wanted him to be quite so polite. After finally having their first kiss, she found her body woke up and wanted more.
It probably wouldn’t have been a good idea, nor did he seem inclined to rush things, but she had been more than aware of her desire from the moment their lips touched. Their day and night together had been sweet and precious, but she had to bite her tongue several times to keep from proposing they take things further.
She had never been that kind of woman. Forward. She also didn’t know if Ryan held back because he thought it was the right thing to do as far as her feelings were concerned, or if he held back because he wasn’t ready to take the next step.
So she didn’t ask.
For one thing, they had hurdles between them that had to be faced. Sleeping with him would add unnecessary stress to what was already crazy.
She still had no idea in the world what she wanted to do next wit
h her life. Her parents had made it clear she was more than welcome to move in with them until she got her feet under her. In fact, they’d practically insisted.
When they’d first arrived to pick her up from the bunker, they hadn’t stopped staring at her for over an hour. Even as the days passed, they still did a double take every time they entered a room she was in. It had been difficult for her mother to even leave her alone to sleep in their guest room. She expressed a fear that she would wake up the next day and find it had all been a dream.
Not crazy. Emily worried about the same thing every time she set her head on a pillow.
Even last night. She had changed into a T-shirt and shorts to sleep. Ryan had put on flannel pants and taken off his shirt. When she’d climbed into bed, he’d propped himself on top of the covers and pulled her against his chest without a word.
She didn’t argue, but half of her wished he hadn’t been so chivalrous. She would have at least liked to press her body against his in sleep. But maybe that would have been too much for him.
She flushed at the memory. She hadn’t slept much either. Every time her eyes grew heavy she would reach for him, clasp his wrist or hand or fingers or chest to make sure he was still real.
That she was still real.
And now they had gone their separate ways for a while. It was necessary. It was also painful.
Two hours later, she was checked into a suite at a nicer hotel on the outskirts of Des Moines. Her parents would arrive after lunch. The plan was to remain inside as much as possible and reacquaint themselves without drawing attention.
When enough time had passed that she figured Ryan would have landed, Emily pulled her phone from her pocket and called him.
He picked up on the first ring. “Hey. Did you make it okay?” His voice was low, sweet, sexy.
“Yes.” She sounded breathy even to herself. She missed him. She needed to snap out of it. “Did you?”
“I’m just pulling up to the bunker now. My flight was smooth.”
Reviving Emily Page 8