by Karen Anders
To explain their state, Derrick had a story ready about their car breaking down and how they had to walk for miles. When it came time to decide on the room, he didn’t hesitate. “One room, please.” Emma glanced at him, but like in Santa Ana, she didn’t say anything. It was probably “safer” for them to get separate rooms, but Derrick decided it was better to be together. They were mature adults. They could handle this.
With room keys in hand, they headed for the elevator, the bellman trailing behind. Emma leaned in and said, “That was so convincing I almost believed it.”
He chuckled as they stepped inside for the brief ride up. Once inside their room with their luggage and the bellman handled, Derrick indicated the bathroom with his hand. “You go first. I’ll order. Just decide what you would like.”
“The menu.”
He walked over to the table in the room and picked up the menu. “No,” she said with a smile. “The whole menu.”
He chuckled as she took it out of his hands, her stomach growling. “Breakfast didn’t go far enough.”
“We were in survival mode for a couple of days. We need to refuel.”
She nodded absently as she looked at the menu, then told him her order, disappearing into the bathroom.
With one lingering look at the closed bathroom door and his imagination at what she was doing right about now, he turned away and pressed the numbers on his phone.
“Naval Medical Center, ICU, Lieutenant Keenan speaking.”
“Lieutenant Keenan, this is Special Agent Derrick Gunn inquiring as to the status of Petty Officer Lily St. John.”
“I’m afraid she’s still in a coma and unresponsive. But she’s stable,” she said in a no-nonsense voice.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
He hung up and then sent a call to Austin. He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, we were just about to call you. Here’s Kai.”
A moment passed and Kai’s voice came on the line. “Did you make it okay?”
“Yes, We’re in the hotel now. We weren’t followed.”
“Good. So, I’ve consulted with Inspector Reyes and Agent Velasco and they both say you should stay put and they’ll come to you. Once you’ve had a chance to touch base, they’ll escort you to Caliche by plane. They can smooth your way through security with your sidearms. So take time to rest and regroup. They will be there first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t worry about the government-issued car.”
“Yes, boss lady,” he replied. “About the car...yeah, that was taken along with our luggage. I managed to salvage my bag, tablet, and we both have our cells. We still both have our documents and money along with my badge.”
“Well, you’re going to have to submit paperwork for the car.”
“Will do.”
“And Derrick, stay alert once you get to Caliche.” His eyes snagged on Emma’s bag open on the bed, lacy and frilly things visible. He closed his eyes and turned away. “It’s stable, but lawless. The cartel runs roughshod over a lot of the local law enforcement.”
“I’ve been in worse places,” he murmured.
“Well, now you’re working for me, and that’s an order.”
“Copy that. Can I speak to Austin?”
“Of course, touch base when you get to Caliche. Bye, Derrick.”
There was another short silence, then Austin said, “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Delve deeper into the Ortegas and get me anything you find on them. I like to know who I’m going up against in detail. Especially weaknesses.” Derrick sat on the bed. “And, find out who that teen killer is, Austin. Like yesterday,” he growled.
“I’m working on it. Okay? Cool your jets. I know what’s at stake,” Austin said defensively. “How are you and Emma holding up?”
“We’re making do,” Derrick said, unable to lose the edge to his words.
Austin lowered his voice and Derrick could imagine him at his desk, swiveling around so his back was to the office. “I couldn’t help overhearing that tone in your voice or miss the way you looked at her...ah, when you weren’t glaring at her.” He lowered his voice even more. “You getting along with this woman?”
“Yeah, she’s special. Very professional. I think I did her an injustice by generalizing her job.”
The water shut off and Derrick focused desperately on the conversation, trying to keep his mind completely off clean, damp skin as the terry-cloth slid over it, soaking up every drop. “Oh, okay, it’s like that.”
Austin and Amber were the two people closest to him, knew him the best and that was saying something. Along with Kai, they were the longest long-term coworkers/friendships he’d ever had, except for a few CIA officers he still had contact with. “Uh, Austin. It’s not like anything.” Anything I’ve ever known, anyway.
“Sure it isn’t. You’re too suave and slick to get snagged by a beautiful, smart and savvy woman.”
Derrick remained silent, still reluctant to even engage in this type of banter with his coworker. He was still struggling with their connection. He’d never experienced anything like the laid-back surfer, but Austin’s mind was as ridiculously agile as his hands. The most evolved technology, along with mechanical objects of all sizes and complexity, bowed before his amazing, inborn talents.
The blow-dryer sounded. “Stay loose, surfer boy, and wipe that damn, smug-ass grin off your face.”
His voice was filled with that smug-ass grin. “I’ll be in touch when I come up with more information.” Then he clicked off.
The door opened and Emma stepped out, her hair straight and loose, her bangs fluffed from the blow-dryer. She looked...pensive, but when she passed him, she gave him a smile. “All yours.” She smelled deliciously female and he wanted to bury his nose in her hair.
Instead, he watched as she opened the sliding glass door and went onto the balcony. Ten minutes later he stepped out of the hottest shower he’d taken in a long time, happy to be clean, but not feeling as rejuvenated as he’d hoped. He was worried and probably overanalyzing everything.
He didn’t need any more distraction after having been through the emotional roller coaster of the past couple of days. He came out of the bedroom and she was still standing on the balcony. Grabbing a pair of boxer briefs, he put them on under the towel. Then a pair of khaki shorts. He rubbed the towel over his hair and threw it on the bed as he passed. Slipping onto the balcony, he saw the city stretch off into urban sprawl below them. He said, “I called the medical center. Your sister is the same, but the nurse said she was stable.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “Thank you.” Her shoulders were a little curved, arms folded across her middle, her gaze on the city below. “Do you think we messed up, Derrick? Showed our hand and it’s going to be doubly hard to find Matty?”
He knew it was fatigue and worry talking, but it still made him wish he had a better handle on the situation, and better options available. He wished he could find her nephew and return him to her. “We’ll find him, Emma. I swear it. Let’s not give up before we’ve even begun.”
Her arms tightened around herself and he could barely stand the pain on her face. She was unraveling and, if he was being honest, he’d expected it to happen either in private or before now. Exhaustion broke down the defenses faster than anything. He knew that from his training and from experience, had been taught ways to contain his emotions, finish the mission, no matter what horrible thing or personal catastrophe had happened.
But he wasn’t a spy anymore. That hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn’t have to be secretive or guarded. He didn’t have to hide the fact that he wanted to comfort this woman.
“I’m not giving up. I’m just so afraid for him,” she whispered.
He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. For a moment he just held her, forti
fying her and giving her a shoulder to lean on for now. Until she was strong again.
He bent down and kissed her hair, wanting to connect with her like never in his life.
* * *
When he kissed her head, the tenderness, the comfort from that gesture, rushed through her. It was tantalizing for a woman who had been alone for a long time, fiercely independent and determined not to give in to weakness. She’d had to be strong for Lily her whole life. Emma had told herself over and over in the shower everything was going to be all right. Yet anxiety churned in her gut anyway. If they had tipped off the cartel they were after Matty, what repercussions would follow? That was what she couldn’t seem to shake. That somehow they had made things worse. But what was the alternative?
She turned in his arms, and he hugged her hard. Achingly moved by the hug, even more moved by the protective way he tucked her head against his shoulder, Emma shut her eyes and struggled against the sudden threat of tears.
Resting his cheek against her hair, Derrick rubbed her back, and Emma turned her face against his neck, saturating herself in his touch.
“Emma, there was no other course of action. The Ortegas were going to find out sooner or later. We have to move forward.”
She looked up at him, his gaze troubled. He lifted a wisp of hair off her face and carefully tucked it behind her ear. It was then that Emma understood that her attraction to Derrick was more than she could handle, cosmic, gigantic and overwhelming.
She took his face between her hands, then stretched up and gave him a soft kiss.
He stopped breathing and went very still. Emma could feel the need in him, the lonely, lonely need, and she put her heart and soul into that kiss, wordlessly telling him things she couldn’t say aloud. A shudder coursed through him, and he drew a ragged breath, catching her by the back of the head, his jaw flexing beneath her hand as he responded. He moved his mouth slowly against hers, tasting her, savoring her, drawing her breath from her and leaving her weak.
It went on and on until Emma felt as if she were suffocating from all the sensation pouring in on her, and she flattened her hand against his chest. Derrick tensed and dragged his mouth away from hers. His heart was slamming, and his breathing was harsh and uneven, but he gathered her up in a cuddling embrace, and Emma hung on to him, needing him—needing his strength around her. Finally, Derrick ran his hand up her back, pressing her to him. He turned his head, placing an unsteady kiss against the curve of her neck, then nestled her closer. “Together we’ll get him back.”
Emma closed her eyes and hugged him hard, moved by his husky admission. “Promise.”
“I promise,” he murmured as the knock sounded against the door. “The food,” he said, easing away from her.
She was in big trouble with Derrick. Big, big trouble.
Chapter 9
Derrick had the bellman set up the table in the middle of the room. Derrick tipped him and closed the door after he left.
She moved over to the table, still feeling a bit shaky. It had been sweet of him to find out about her sister for her, but she experienced a stab of guilt that she was indulging in kissy-face with Derrick when she should be working to track down who had Matty and had thrown her sister down the stairs.
She hoped that Lily would come out of her coma. Hoped that she would be all right and when she got Matty back, they could all be a family again. Emma felt so petty about their fight now that she knew Commander Ward was part of Lily’s life. Maybe she had been jealous that Lily was getting on with her life, or maybe she had been afraid of her sister leaving her alone. Maybe Emma was afraid to get on with her own life?
She closed her eyes at that realization.
The scent of the food made her stomach growl and her mouth water. Derrick took the top off her burger and his, setting them aside. Emma dragged one of the chairs over to the table and settled into the seat. This wasn’t exactly the best setup to get involved with a man. Part of it was all that adrenaline jacking them up and the other part was the forced proximity to a man she was attracted to, but was seeing in something more intense than a normal dating situation. Not that she was dating Derrick or would date him. She ran her hands through her hair, deciding that thinking about anything but food was going to be counterproductive until she got some sleep and was able to think in a rational manner.
She set the napkin against her lap and picked up the burger, taking a bite. Chewing, she glanced at Derrick. He was focusing on his meal. “Thank you again for checking up on my sister. It was going to be my first call after the shower.”
He nodded. “I’m sure it’s heavy on your mind. But you have your grandmother to stop in and visit.”
Emma snorted, setting down the burger without biting into it again. “I’m sure she’s much too busy to worry about Lily,” she bit out, then took an uneven breath. Picking up her burger, she didn’t encourage Derrick to ask any questions. Her volatile relationship with Bess as dinner conversation would only cause her indigestion.
They continued in silence for several surprisingly comfortable minutes, comfortable enough that she ate the rest of her burger and sat back to enjoy the coffee.
“Inspector Reyes and Agent Velasco are going to be landing here tomorrow and escorting us to Caliche. We’ve lost any advantage we would have had trailing your nephew by car, but could possibly beat him to Caliche.”
“Escort us?” she said with a bit of an edge to her voice.
“Just as a courtesy. I don’t think it was meant as an insult, Emma.”
She set the napkin on the small table and rose, while Derrick wheeled the remnants of their lunch into the hall. “You’re probably right. I’m just on edge. If it’ll get us to Matty faster, I’m all for it.”
She walked to the TV and grabbed up the remote, turning it on. Flipping through the channels, she found their news station. Derrick came up to her and turned her around. “Emma, this isn’t a slight against us. They are here to help.”
She breathed a huff of breath. “I’m just tired, Derrick. I’m sure they don’t mean any disrespect.”
“They don’t want anything to happen to us out on the open road. I don’t want that, either.”
The way he’d said it, the look on his face, made her heart squeeze. She tried to ignore that and focus on business, even though she knew there was some subtext there. “I can handle myself, Derrick. Just to make sure you know that.”
“No, of course you can. You proved me wrong there. This is the best course of action. I agree with Kai. If I didn’t, I would have said so.”
He hadn’t removed his hands from her arms and his touch was strong and warm, thoroughly distracting. “You don’t want anything to happen to me.”
“I didn’t say it was logical, or even rational. It’s...caveman.” He smiled. “And, trust me, it’s not something I’m entirely comfortable with, either. Especially since I was so vocal you shouldn’t be allowed to accompany me. But if I’d been alone, Emma, it would have been much more difficult to get out of that situation. Not that I couldn’t.”
“I have no doubt about that,” she said, even as her insides were melting a little. No one had cared for her. She’d always cared for others and this felt strange. “Worry about the cartel. Worry about finding Matty. Don’t worry about me.”
“I will,” he said, looking down into her eyes. “But that doesn’t stop me from worrying about you.”
“Are you going soft on me?” she said, tilting her head.
He smiled slightly. “Maybe. You’re making me eat my words, lady. I don’t often have to do that.”
“Oh, so you’re usually right?”
“Usually, except when I’m wrong.”
She laughed softly. “Oh, Derrick, there aren’t any guarantees. In anything.”
“I’m aware of that.” Those intense eyes captured he
rs. “I can’t guarantee a thing, your safety included. I just feel that if we stick together, we have a better chance of dealing with whatever is out there.” His smile returned, but there was something tender, almost vulnerable in it. “We make a good team, Emma. I don’t say that easily because I’m not the best team member.”
She couldn’t manage to look away, couldn’t seem to find whatever it was she had left that would keep her mind strictly on business. “I think we do, too,” she said, being completely honest.
She couldn’t seem to stop her wayward hands as they slid up his hard torso to wrap around his neck. His hands fell away from her upper arms in the movement, snaking around her waist. “Emma,” he warned, swallowing hard. “We could complicate things.”
“I know,” she whispered.
He closed his eyes, his hands flattening out and grasping her hips, dragging her against his thick arousal.
She gasped and he groaned softly, deep in his throat. Then his mouth was finally, blessedly on hers again. And there was nothing tentative about his kiss, regardless of his doubts. He was confident, a warrior. She had no doubts about that. But he was also beautiful, seductive and so very male.
For the first time in her life, she wanted to be with a man who was so responsive to her needs, who pushed her to reach for more, no matter how spent she’d thought herself, but also someone from whom she’d learned the depths of pleasure to be gained from satisfying their needs. She felt aggressive, discovering a confidence that being successful in her other endeavors had never given her. She had no idea if Derrick knew the myriad gifts he was giving her.
Her heart squeezed, engaged despite her own misgivings and her own fears, as he tenderly drew his fingers along the side of her neck, moving his mouth to the delicate line of her jaw, then following the trail of his fingers.
He was so gentle, this warrior who had subdued several men. So much more of her than her body was at risk of being seduced.