Part of her smug look slipped but not all of it. “You really are a jerk.”
Whitney turned and stomped away, heading unknowingly in the right direction. Hicks took a moment to admire the way she filled out her jeans, not for any other reason beyond the fact that he couldn’t take his gaze off of her. He had to jog to catch up when she rounded the corner.
He was an ass, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. She made his nerves raw, like someone had poured acid over them. Every time she was anywhere close to him, his entire body went haywire. And, apparently, so did his mind. “You don’t even know where you’re going.”
“Yes, I do,” she said pointedly and kept walking. “Away from you.”
Her voice was full of anger, but he also detected a tinge of hurt. “I’m sorry, I can’t just take you into the war room.”
He was immediately pissed at himself for apologizing.
Whitney flipped a hand in the air. “Not interested. You don’t have to take me to my sister. I can find her myself. It’s obvious to both of us that you don’t want to be here.”
Without thinking, he grabbed her arm, stopping her from running away. Their skin seemed to spark at the contact. She jerked free of his grasp, her blue eyes flashing bright with fury. “Don’t touch me.”
The logical part of his mind shrunk to nearly invisible and his primal instincts took over. His blood pulsed and pounded in his ears and his veins swelled down his arms. He could feel her answering arousal—and also the fact that it was driving them both nuts. “At least I didn’t play nasty little tricks on you last night.”
She had the audacity to smile. “Toss and turn all night?”
Damn straight he had. He’d woken up on the edge that she was now pushing him over. “No,” he lied, “dishonesty is a turn off. I slept like a baby.”
She didn’t even blink at his response, and he knew she didn’t believe a word of it. The pulsing sound in his ears grew to a dull roar. He could feel the light bulbs overhead scorching his skin, stinging the back of his eyes.
“What’s wrong Hicks? Don’t know how to handle a real woman?” Her dark eyebrows arched with the smug satisfaction.
Before he knew what he was doing, he had her pinned against the wall, her hands trapped in his, his erection straining against her belly. Her eyes grew wide with fear. Good, she needed to be afraid.
Calm the fuck down.
“Aw, did I hurt the big bad bear’s feelings?” she taunted.
Why couldn’t she just be quiet? Every time she spoke, he felt the vibrations of her chest and diaphragm through his body. He needed her, and he almost hated her for it.
“Whitney,” he growled menacingly.
“Do you need—” She was speaking in that same saucy tone, and he couldn’t take it a moment longer. He slammed his mouth over hers, sucking her bottom lip until she opened for him. He thrust his tongue inside, fulfilling the need to dominate.
The roaring in his ears grew so loud he couldn’t hear anything else. All he could do was feel every inch of her skin, every breath.
Back off man, you’re too strong. You could hurt her.
Whitney moaned low in her throat and struggled to break free of his grasp. He let her hands go so he could cover her ass and pull her closer.
Her nails dug into his shoulders, and he braced himself for her to push him away, but she pulled him closer instead. He fought his way through the roaring sensory overload to realize she was kissing him back just as hard. The pounding in his head eased, and a wave of warmth crashed over him. He stepped back from the edge and gentled his kisses. Slowly, he drew her bottom lip between his, feeling its texture and learning every inch of her hot little mouth. When she whimpered, he nearly came in his pants.
Easy. I want to take care of her.
Mindlessly, he peppered kisses along her soft jaw and then down her neck, gathering her close to him when her hair fell around his face. Dear God, he needed her so bad. He was shaking with it.
Then her lips were on his shoulder, his neck. She nipped his earlobe. He groaned and shuddered, using every ounce of strength he had left just to hold himself upright.
This was heaven.
“Ahem.”
If that voice had belonged to anyone other than Whitney’s sister, he would’ve taken the person’s head off at that moment for daring to interrupt him. He stopped kissing her but damned if he could force himself to ease her to the ground. And Whitney didn’t try to shove him away either. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder, and the warmth in his chest bloomed.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt a private conversation?” Whitney said.
Hicks didn’t dare to lift his head, this was a family thing, and he’d leave them to it. Besides, if he moved at all, he would have to break contact with Whitney, and he had no intention of doing that right now.
“He has a bedroom, you know. My research lab isn’t for make out sessions.”
Hicks finally glanced back at Dr. Averton. She was standing there in her lab coat and professional slacks and shirt, arms crossed and tapping her foot, but there wasn’t any real annoyance in her voice.
“I just got a little distracted while we were looking for you.” Whitney’s nail trailed along the length of one of his forearms, and his cock pulsed in reaction. Shit, he couldn’t step away now if he wanted to—not with just his gym shorts on. There would be no hiding his arousal.
“I’m guessing this is a continuation of the little kiss you had in your apartment, Whitney? By all means, I’d hate to stop you now. Come find me when you’re done.” Melissa walked away without another glance in their direction.
Whitney chuckled and squeezed his arms. “She’s gone.”
And he’d nearly ripped off her clothes and taken her right there in the hallway. He’d literally lost it, something that terrified him. He’d never touched a woman in anger before. Never. That thought was enough to keep him from resuming what they’d just started, no matter how much he wanted to carry her up to his room and take her.
Back up man, let her go. This isn’t the place or the time.
He eased her to the ground and stepped back, unable to look her in the eye. He really was a fucking monster, and he apparently couldn’t trust himself around Whitney. No woman deserved to be physically mishandled by any man. There was no excuse. None. “Your sister is down the hall to the right,” he could barely squeeze the words out of his tight throat.
“Hicks?”
He didn’t respond. He did the only honorable thing he could. He turned and walked away.
12
“Dear God, that man is driving me crazy.” Whitney propped herself up on the table next to Melissa’s work station. Well, one of them. There were more computers next to the one she was using, and even more across the room. “Why does one person need so many computers?”
Melissa didn’t look up; she was plugging away at some formula. Something that might as well have been Greek as far as Whitney was concerned. “First off, I’m pretty sure you drive him just as crazy. And secondly, if we ever bring in more researchers, we’ll need them.”
“How do you know I’m driving him crazy?”
“Because the two of us talked about you this morning.” Melissa bit her lip and hunkered down over the keyboard.
Whitney swore sometimes her sister was a robot and not an actual human being. “And? What did he say? Did he tell you why he’s so hot and cold?”
Of course, she knew the answer. At least sort of. But before she could say anything else, Melissa surprised her by posing a question of her own. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“What?” Whitney swung her legs back and forth, needing to work out some of this restless energy Hicks had just so politely given her in the hallway. Dear God, he truly was all male. Her heart had stopped when he’d pushed her against the wall, but not from fear. She’d taunted him on purpose, hoping to push him past his cool façade, and she’d succeeded more than she could’ve ever anticipated.
No man had ever kissed her with such primal lust. Just the thought of his fierceness made her wet.
And then the crazy man had freaking walked away. Had he been embarrassed after getting caught? He was a grown man, she was a grown ass woman, and they had every right to make out whenever and wherever they felt like it. And if her sister hadn’t chosen to interrupt, they might still be doing it right now.
“Why do you think he’s hot and cold?” Melissa studied her with that detached observation that set her teeth on edge.
Whitney swung her legs harder, intentionally bumping her heel into the leg of the table. “I would have found out if you hadn’t interrupted.” No need to get into that.
“If I hadn’t interrupted, you two wouldn’t have stopped.”
“So, what?” What would have been so wrong with that? They wouldn’t have done it in the hallway; they would at least have moved into one of the empty labs nearby.
“So, Hicks came in here to talk to me at the crack of dawn because he’s scared. I don’t want you to take advantage of him.”
“I benefit from him? Are you serious?” She sputtered, unable to comprehend her sister’s betrayal. He’s the one acting crazy. He’s the one who just attacked me in the hallway.”
Melissa’s gaze narrowed at her from under her glasses. “He attacked you?”
Heat immediately rushed to her cheeks. He had kind of attacked her, but she’d knowingly pushed him past his limit. “Fine, he didn’t attack me,” she bit out, hating that her sister was defending him and not her.
Melissa pulled off her glasses and squeezed the bridge of her nose, the same way she’d done last night before confessing everything about her research and Project Mayhem and Hicks’s changes. Remorse hit Whitney instantly. “I’m sorry, it’s just that he really is driving me nuts. I can’t tell if he’s coming or going, and it’s not normal for me. I don’t know how to handle him.”
“Did it ever occur to you that he might be struggling with the same thing? He came in here asking whether it was some weird side effect from Project Mayhem that made him so crazy about you.”
Whitney’s heart stopped. Was it all fake? Something manufactured that he didn’t have control over? His words said he was disgusted by her, but his actions told a different tale. Was he fighting a battle himself? Oh my God, did he hate himself for being attracted to her?
“Is he—” she croaked out, unable to finish the sentence out loud. The thought was too horrific. She’d been playing this game with him only because she knew he was attracted to her, but if he was a victim of his own body… If he was truly disgusted …
Melissa stepped into her line of vision and said, “No. It’s not that. The DNA injections were purposely designed to bind certain areas of the brain and body and enhance others. Arousal was left out on purpose. The project’s goal was to create actual soldiers who could operate with limited emotions and still have the functional capacity to make good decisions.”
Her hands trembled, so she shoved them underneath her legs. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. He wants you on the most basic level a man could want a woman. The serum has absolutely nothing to do with it.”
Whitney expelled the breath she’d been holding. “Then what’s his freaking problem?”
“I suspect you’re more likely to know the answer to that question than I am.” Melissa went back to typing on a computer, probably considering the subject done.
And Whitney did know the answer.
He apparently thought the worst of her, not that she could blame him after the adamant way she’d refused to bring in the cops. Ugh, if only she hadn’t signed an NDA. If her entire future didn’t ride on keeping her mouth shut, she’d tell Melissa and Hicks both, however embarrassing the situation. Maybe her secret was illicit, but at least she wasn’t sleeping with Cory.
And after a couple of months, she could tell them the truth. But Hicks wouldn’t be around by then—he’d be long gone. Melissa would still be here, of course, but her sister wasn’t the person she wanted to sleep with.
Whitney briefly considered coming up with some elaborate lie, but something told her Hicks would know she wasn’t telling the truth.
“Whitney, do you need to tell me something? I won’t tell anyone else, not Hicks or anyone.”
The words hovered in her throat. It was so tempting to tell Melissa everything that Whitney almost opened her mouth and screwed everything up. Almost. She didn’t know how, but she knew Cory’s people would find out if she opened her mouth. “No, I’m just trying to figure out how to go at it with Hicks without getting burned.”
There, that was a partial truth.
And Melissa answered with her own honesty. “Then talk to him. Tell them you want him too.”
If only it were that simple.
He took the Hummer this time. Whitney sat in the passenger seat, looking every bit the professional in her sister’s clothes. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, a short classic strand of pearls encircled her neck, and she wore a light lavender skirt and white blouse. He’d never pictured her this way, and it was seriously screwing with his image of her. It would have been so easy to separate her and her sister into distinct categories. One the noble researcher, the other a wild, illicit temptress.
“Where exactly are we going again?”
“I told you,” she said quietly, “101 South Chester.”
“I still don’t think this is a good idea. You have no business going to work until I’ve had time to investigate the breakin. You saw the message on your mirror. It’s obvious you have a stalker, and that person’s just as likely to hunt you at work.”
Her beautiful lips tightened ever so slightly as she stared straight ahead, avoiding his gaze.
“I can’t miss any more work. I have bills to pay.”
If she’d yelled at him in that snide tone she’d used before; he might have been offended. Instead, he felt ashamed. He’d categorized her as a harlot in his mind, but she kept chipping away at his perception of her. “What do you do?”
She cast him a quizzical look and said, “You really want to know?”
“Yes, I want to know.”
“I’m vice president of logistics at the Earth-4-One nonprofit organization. We help children in need in developing countries. My job is to make sure that they receive every single supply that we can possibly give them. I coordinate with the pharmaceutical companies, the major food organizations and pantries around the United States, and the agricultural industry, along with various other businesses wishing to donate and give back.”
He was speechless. That was the last thing he’d expected her to say.
He’d run into foreign aid workers overseas plenty of times in his line of work. In fact, he’d rescued quite a few of them—people who’d been kidnapped by terrorists who wanted to use them as propaganda tools on TV or the Internet. All of the aid workers he’d met shared a true desire to help others, and they were willing to do some crazy shit to accomplish it. Just like him.
Hicks coughed and looked out his window, giving himself time to regain composure. Something about her just wasn’t adding up. An aid worker with a penthouse apartment and a lingerie closet? Who was Whitney Averton?
“We should be there soon. Drop me off at the corner. I’ll walk the rest of the way,” she said.
“No way, Princess. I’m walking you to your desk, and I’m not leaving this place until you do.” He had no intention of leaving her alone for a second. Someone was lurking out there who wanted to do her harm. If the perpetrator were stupid enough to show his head at her work, Hicks would be waiting.
“You don’t have to do that.” She fiddled with her strand of pearls, probably some unconscious gesture of disquiet.
He reached across the console and grabbed her hand, his only thought to give her comfort. “Yes, I do.”
They pulled into an underground parking garage beneath her high-rise office building in downtown D.C. A security guard greeted them, and Whitney re
turned the greeting personally. Hicks parked the Range Rover, and Whitney led the way to the elevator bank. Once they were inside one of the elevators, the doors closed, she said, “I’ll try to get as much work done as quickly as possible. I’ll try not to keep you here all day, but we got a huge shipment of sustainable plant products, and they’re supposed to be delivered today. If I don’t double-check with the carriers, they might get mishandled or delayed.”
“You really care about your job, don’t you?” he asked quietly.
She looked at him as if she were startled by his question. “Of course I do. Do you have any idea how many children are starving or living without shelter or even clothes, the basic things people need to survive in this world?”
He did—he’d seen those kids himself many, many times on missions in foreign countries. He’d always wished he could do something more to make their lives better. “I have a little experience with it.”
“You know it’s up to us to do everything we can to save them.” The elevator dinged, and the door slid open. He cast a nervous glance around before stepping out of the elevator into a busy office of open desks, none of them with cubicle walls. A huge brown and green earth was painted on the back wall, with the letters “Earth-4-One” over the front of it. A few people looked up at them, their eyes going wide at the sight of Hicks, but he noticed their eyes seemed to be lingering on Whitney as well.
Whitney made a few casual greetings, but she brushed past most of them. She paused at an empty desk and muttered, “Where’s Izzy?”
Hicks leaned over her shoulder. “Who’s Izzy?”
“A coworker. She probably overslept. It’s okay. Come on, I think you’re making everyone nervous.” She waved him onward, gesturing for him to follow her into a small office in the back right. But she stopped so suddenly in the doorway Hicks nearly tripped over her.
Instincts already on alert, his hand fell to the holster hidden underneath his shirt. “What’s wrong?”
Mayhem's Desire: Operation Mayhem Page 12