Irresistible Deceptions

by Mackenzie Crowne

  Compared to the noxious poison of his ex, Nicky was a pure breath of fresh air. He’d never experienced the kind of magnetic pull he did for the woman in the tub beyond the door. Instinct insisted he explore the growing attraction between Nicky and him, but what would be the point? His failed marriage proved he didn’t have what it took to succeed at long-term, and how could he make a move on Nicky when their association was based on a lie? How could he act on the overwhelming urge to grab her close and not let go when his deception hung over them like a wrecking ball waiting to drop?

  He scrubbed his free hand over his face. Christ, what a mess. The right thing, the honorable thing, would be to tell her the truth now. She deserved his honesty, and coming clean would ease the crushing sense of guilt weighing on his shoulders like a leaden yoke. Unfortunately, she’d proven her first instinct was to run. He couldn’t let that happen. They couldn’t afford any further delays.

  The rationalization scraped at his pride, but first and foremost, he had a job to do, and wallowing in guilt would only dull his focus. Whether he liked it or not, explaining his deception would have to wait.

  Rhy herded them back onto the road the next morning with a new determination. Nicky was innocent, and he’d do whatever it took to free her and Alex from Everson’s evil game. The question remained of whether or not he’d be leaving Alex with Devin and Grace Maxwell, but nothing in Tim’s report had set off any warning bells. Quite the contrary. Maxwell appeared to be a man who could handle himself in difficult situations.

  The background check included the details of a kidnapping several years ago involving the now Mrs. Maxwell. The situation had ended in the kidnapper’s death. Devin Maxwell’s part in her rescue spoke volumes about the type of man he was. He could protect what he considered his—and did.

  Although the night of pampering had helped ease some of Nicky’s tension, they weren’t out of the woods yet. If all went according to plan, a confrontation with Everson loomed in the near future, and to distract Nicky from her fears, Rhy kept up a fact-filled, running dialogue, sharing his knowledge of the local countryside. As the flat landscape of the Texas plains gave way to the earth-toned majesty of the Southwest, he kept her engaged in conversation as often as possible. He took full advantage of the opportunity and refused to feel guilty each time he brushed her hand with his or ran his fingers over her shoulder to draw her attention to some point of historical interest. Alex did his part without prompt, drawing Nicky from her frequent bouts of silent introspection with his never-ending questions.

  On a long stretch of lonely highway, surrounded by monolithic towers of red rock, Rhy bobbed his chin toward an animal loping across the desert in the distance. “Check it out, sport.”

  Alex pressed his nose to the window. “Is it a dog?”

  “Nope.” Rhy shot Nicky a grin. “It’s Wile E. Coyote.”

  She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips.

  “Like the cartoon?”

  “Exactly.” Rhy dipped his chin in a nod. “I bet if you look close, you’ll spot the Road Runner.”

  With single-minded determination, Alex searched for the elusive bird, to no avail, until the next morning as they sat in a booth in a truck stop restaurant.

  Rhy bumped the boy’s shoulder with his and pointed a finger out the window. At the edge of the parking lot, a tall, brownish-gray bird with long legs and a bushy crest darted from the brush.

  Alex squealed with excitement and scrambled to his knees for a better view of their quarry. “There he is!” He turned to Rhy with a grin.

  “Told ya.” Rhy laughed and held up his hand, and they shared a palm-numbing high five.

  Alex turned to Nicky, his eyes glittering with excitement. “Do you see him, Mom? It’s the Road Runner.”

  Nicky nodded, and though she smiled, Rhy couldn’t help but wonder at the sudden flash of dismay in her eyes.

  Nicky’s heart pulsed with equal amounts of joy and alarm at Alex’s little face, animated with pure happiness. Always before, he’d seemed to sense their need to remain apart from society in general. Wary of strangers, he remained quiet in the presence of adults. Only Peggy, their one friend from Flagstaff, had managed to slip past his protective shell, but it had taken months for her to gain his trust, despite the allure of a large, orange cat.

  McLean had circumvented Alex’s natural reserve with the help of a radio and a promise. The cloak-and-dagger business with Lyndsay only added to Alex’s fascination with McLean, and though Nicky wouldn’t admit so to another living soul, she was fighting a fascination for the man as well.

  From beneath lowered lashes, she studied his strong profile as he grinned at her son. The arrogant jerk who’d walked into Paul and Joyce’s library had disappeared once she gave her word she wouldn’t take off again. In his place was a man who, while he remained ever alert to his surroundings, was quick with a smile or to tease.

  Completely at ease with her curious son, McLean had spent the last two days talking and laughing with Alex and had drawn her into their conversations more often than she liked. The slow, dimpled smiles McLean sent her on those occasions were hell on her equilibrium, and from the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he knew the effect they had on her.

  As if Nicky didn’t have enough to worry about, her helpless attraction to McLean was growing more and more difficult to fight. How was she supposed to resist his charm when he kept doing the unexpected, like lying about being tired, when nothing could be further from the truth? And instead of being pissed since that embarrassing scene with the Mr. Bulge look-alike, he’d handled her as if she were made of spun glass.

  Perhaps he was afraid she was about to break, and he’d be left to deal with a crazy woman. She couldn’t blame him. The need for intensive therapy was a definite possibility at some point in her future. At the moment, some quality time on a shrink’s couch sounded like a lifeline, but from the look of things, concern for her sanity wasn’t his only motivation. The gut-wrenching attraction she suffered wasn’t one-sided. Unlike her, however, Rhy didn’t seem concerned by the ever-building arc of sensual awareness between them.

  Quite the contrary. Despite the dangerous nature of their venture and their initial contentious clashes, he seemed intent on fanning the flames of interest at every opportunity. The smiles, the heated glances, and oh, Lord, the constant brush of his fingers against her arm, her shoulder, her knee, weakened the walls of her logical resistance until they threatened to crumble into a pile of ash.

  His behavior made no sense. Okay, maybe not. As she’d recently discovered, lust was a powerful force, but this was business. Dangerous business. Their lives were on the line, and sensual undercurrents aside, she’d never met a man more intent on completing his mission than McLean.

  “Mom, did you hear me? I want to take a picture.”

  Heat flared on her cheeks as she realized both Alex and McLean were staring at her. As if he’d heard every word of her musings, McLean’s eyes darkened sensually, and one corner of his mouth lifted in a sultry smile.

  “Yes, of course.” Nicky dipped her head and dug through her purse.

  She held up her camera, and Alex’s nose wrinkled. He leaned his elbows on the table to look closer. “Your face is all red.”

  Geez. Alex.

  McLean barked with laughter, making her face burn all the hotter.

  Nicky was happy to escape McLean’s disturbing presence several hours later. On the outskirts of Albuquerque, they stopped for dinner at a fast-food restaurant across the parking lot from a discount store. They would arrive at the ranch later that night, and McLean agreed with her request for a quick shopping trip to pick up a few items she needed.

  She rose from the booth and held out her hand to Alex. He slid a bit closer to his new best friend and shook his head. Stung by the innocent rejection, she nonetheless hesitated to leave him, even for a few minutes. McLean’s smile said he understood.

  “Go ahead, Momma Bear. We’ll finish up here and meet you a
t the checkout counter in a couple of minutes.” He held her gaze. “Be careful.”

  Nicky nodded and reluctantly turned to go. Once inside the store, she grabbed a cart and made for the children’s clothing department. After the chaos of the last week, doing something as normal to the population in general as shopping for life’s little necessities was doubly odd. She didn’t exactly browse. That wasn’t possible when one was constantly scanning the aisles for potential trouble, but she didn’t rush, either. She chose several warm outfits for Alex to wear at the ranch then made her way to the personal hygiene aisle for toothpaste and deodorant.

  Soon! Soon, she and Alex would be able to live like normal people, secure in the safety others took for granted. A trip to pick up toiletries would be a mundane experience instead of a test of nerves.

  Nicky’s silent promise returned to haunt her several minutes later when the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end in instinctive warning. She refused to freak out and dragged in a calming breath. It was probably nothing. They were far away from anywhere or anything connected to her or McLean and Global Shield. Other than the one text, they’d seen no evidence Jonathan was on their trail. Still, something was wrong. The sense of menace chilled her to her bones.

  She sent up a silent prayer of thanks Alex had stayed with McLean. She could maneuver a lot easier without having to worry about her son. Then again, if Jonathan or one of his men had found her, they most likely already knew where Alex was.

  Adrenaline, hot and sharp, fired in her veins. She shoved her cart to the side and bolted by an elderly couple. Not bothering to search out the source of her unease, she moved briskly and banged her hip on the edge of a cart as she squeezed past a young mother with a toddler on one hip.

  “Sorry,” Nicky mumbled but didn’t slow her hurried steps until she was several yards from the checkout area. Though crowded with shoppers paying for their purchases, no source stood out to explain her sense of dread. A quick scan of the area told her Alex and McLean weren’t waiting where he said they would be.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

  She cataloged her options. To remain inside the store seemed the wisest plan. Someone was sure to take notice of a kicking, screaming woman if anyone tried to grab her. However, how long would it take to muscle her outside and into a vehicle? She and her would-be captors would be long gone before help arrived, and what of Alex? If they’d taken McLean unawares, Alex would need her help.

  Nicky’s heart leaped into triple time, and she bolted for the exit, skidding to a stop as the automatic doors whooshed open and Alex, holding tight to McLean’s hand, stepped inside. A hand fell on her shoulder at the same moment her frantic gaze met McLean’s. Silently beseeching him to keep her son safe from this new danger, she braced herself to mount a defense.

  Time slowed to a crawl. Helpless appreciation rushed through her veins as McLean nudged Alex behind him and moved his hand to the small of his back and the weapon he carried. She consciously forced her clenched muscles to relax and leaped to the side, and the unknown hand slipped from her shoulder.

  The world snapped back to real time as Nicky spun around, her fists raised to attack. A teenager in a blue vest labeling him an employee of the store stood close. His eyes wide, the young clerk jerked back several steps. He held out a scarf—the same scarf she’d worn when she entered the store not ten minutes earlier.

  She darted her gaze about the store, but besides the odd glances from a few curious shoppers, no one but the clerk paid her any attention.

  “Ma’am.” The teenager held up the scarf. He jerked his head toward a point over his shoulder. “You dropped this back there.”

  “What’s wrong?” McLean arrived at her side and gripped her elbow.

  “Nothing.” Nicky accepted the scarf and offered the young employee a sickly smile. “Thank you.”

  He nodded warily and quickly scurried away.

  “Mommy?”

  She turned. Alex pressed close against McLean’s side. His small hand clung to McLean’s much bigger one, and his face was pinched with confusion and concern.

  “I dropped my scarf, baby.” Nicky shook her head and met McLean’s intent gaze. Though she tried, she couldn’t prevent the desperation in her voice. “This has to end. I’m losing my mind. Truck drivers and stock boys are sending me into hysterics.”

  Understanding gleamed in his eyes, and McLean squeezed her elbow gently. “You have the right to be a little paranoid.”

  Nicky formed her lips into a weak smile for Alex’s benefit. McLean glanced around then down at her hands, empty except for the scarf.

  “You didn’t find anything you wanted?” Subtle lines crinkled the corners of his eyes with his relieved smile. “I didn’t know there was a woman alive who could spend ten minutes shopping and not come up with something.”

  His attempt to lighten the mood worked, sort of.

  “Ha. Ha.” She heaved a shaky sigh. “I abandoned my cart somewhere back there.”

  “Shall we go collect it?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure how much longer my legs will carry me. Let’s just go.”

  McLean’s intense gaze roamed her face. When he narrowed his eyes and moved in closer, she was afraid he was going to scoop her up and carry her out to the car. The idea of letting him was incredibly tempting but a bad idea just the same.

  She slapped the hand holding the scarf to his chest.

  “Get real, Tarzan. I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own.”

  He chuckled, deep and low. His killer dimples popped with his grin. Beneath sinfully thick lashes, his eyes glittered with teasing humor as he lifted his free hand to brush a fingertip over her cheekbone. He dipped his head until they were nose to nose. “There you are. I was wondering what happened to the woman who tried to kill me with a lamp the other day.”

  Nicky leaned away from the intimacy of his smile. “If I’d wanted to kill you…”

  He straightened on a full-throated laugh. Warm and cleansing, the deep rumble of his humor wrapped around her like a gentle embrace. Heat unfurled in her belly. She locked her knees against her suddenly limp leg muscles.

  Well, geez. I might have to rethink that whole walking on my own thing.

  “I had an apple pie!”

  Alex’s timely interruption dragged her back from the mesmerizing intimacy in McLean’s eyes. Still, she had no idea what she said in response.

  McLean led them outside. He made a point of staying right next to her and slid his arm around her waist when she stumbled on the curb. By the time they reached the car, her wobbly legs all but gave way beneath her as she dropped onto the passenger seat. Alex climbed into the backseat while McLean squatted beside her open door. He instructed Alex to fasten his seat belt and went about performing the same service for her as though she were incapable of such a simple task.

  The way her hands shook, she was afraid he might be right.

  “It’s just adrenaline,” he said quietly.

  Adrenaline with a dash of lust.

  His probing gaze held hers. A sensual, blue lifeline in a world gone mad. She wanted nothing more than to grab hold and not let go. Oh, God. He didn’t play fair. How was she supposed to resist a man who tempted her with the promise of safety and seduction when she was on her last reserve?

  Nicky mentally cleared her throat and attempted to rein in her out-of-control emotions. Baring her teeth in a false smile, she might have pulled it off if the back of his hand hadn’t brushed across the underside of one breast.

  He froze, as if the touch was accidental, but the blue of his irises narrowed, and his pupils dilated. Her smile slid away on a rattled gasp as he repeated the barely-there caress. His knuckles measured the curve of her breast in a slow slide, once, twice, and then once more. Unable to breathe, Nicky held still beneath his sensual exploration.

  Her seat belt fastened with a soft snick.

  McLean’s nostrils flared on a heavy breath, and he had the audacity to arch
a knowing brow. The rat. He was a blue-eyed devil, determined to keep her off-balance. As if she weren’t rattled enough already.

  Nicky shoved the hair back from her face and played dumb. “I know it’s adrenaline, but I still feel stupid.” Stupid was an understatement. She was losing her mind, and the riot of sensual sparks ricocheting through her bloodstream didn’t help.

  “You don’t look stupid.” Balanced on the balls of his feet, he squatted in the open doorway. The gravelly timbre of his voice flared the sparks to molten lava. “You look beautiful.” He paused as his seductively tender gaze caressed hers. “As usual.”

  Well, hell. What’s a woman supposed to say to that? In danger of spontaneous combustion, she remained silent.

  After a long moment, McLean stood and closed the door. A shuddering breath escaped her lungs as she followed his progress around the hood of the car.

  “I think you look beautiful, too, Mommy,” Alex chimed in from the backseat.

  Nicky rubbed a shaking hand over her dry mouth. God. She was on the run for her life, for the life of her son, and here she was, in danger of losing her heart along with her mind. Yes, her world had definitely gone mad.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Midnight approached when they passed through the gates of Maxwell Ranch. A three-quarter moon illuminated the high desert landscape, and Rhy couldn’t help but be impressed. Well-kept paddocks lined the private road weaving its way over Maxwell land and attested to the success of the ranch’s breeding program. The core of the enterprise came into view as they topped a rise. Among numerous barns and outbuildings sat the large main house.

  He brought the car to a stop in front of the sprawling, stone-and-log structure, recognizing the rancher and his wife from the photos included in Tim’s report. They descended the porch stairs as Rhy stepped from the vehicle, his watchful gaze locked with that of the big, blond rancher. Devin Maxwell nodded a curt greeting. His redheaded wife rushed to the opening passenger door. A half foot taller than Nicky, Grace gathered Nicky into her arms for a warm embrace the moment she rose from the car.