by Becca Van
“Are you okay, honey? Did he hurt you?” Spence drew back slightly to meet her gaze.
“I’m okay,” she replied in a hoarse voice.
Spence placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face toward the waning light. He must have seen where Phillip had clocked her one, because the frown on his face turned to a scowl.
He ground his teeth together. “He fucking hit you?”
Misha nodded instead of answering verbally, worried if she did that the fury she could see in Spence’s eyes would make him do something unprofessional.
“It doesn’t hurt.” She took hold of his hand and squeezed. “I saw it coming and turned away just in time.”
“No, you didn’t. He still got you.” Spence turned, taking her with him and Misha noticed that Clay had Phillip in handcuffs and was reading the bastard his rights.
Misha met Phillip’s fury filled gaze and would have stepped back if Spence hadn’t released her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, anchoring her against his side. As she stared at the angry chef and the way he stared back at her with so much hate, she began to wonder if he was capable of killing all those women. Now that he was being arrested, maybe the murders would stop.
Clay stepped toward Misha and Spence, but stopped when Phillip tried to charge forward. “Why don’t you take Misha back to the resort? I’ll meet you inside after I hand this asshole over to Cooper and Tanner.”
Spence nodded and turned her away from Phillip. “Are you okay to walk, honey?”
“I’m fine,” she replied automatically and hoped Spence didn’t see how stiffly she was moving. Now that the distressful situation was over and the adrenaline had worn off, her whole body was aching, but she knew that moving would loosen up her stiff muscles.
“Did you find Lucy?” she asked in a soft voice so that Phillip wouldn’t hear her.
“Yeah,” Spence replied, his tone strained.
Misha fought back tears when they threatened again. She didn’t need to be told that Lucy had been found dead. She could hear the anger, frustration, and distress in Spence’s tone.
The rest of their walk was made in silence and when the resort came into view she was at first surprised that none of the official police cars were there yet, but her brain didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders and it took her a moment to remember that it took nearly an hour to travel from Cody.
Spence led her into the reception area of the resort. When the receptionist looked up and gaped at her, he moved his body in front of her to shield her from prying eyes. Once more, she found herself guided to the empty staff room, and after he’d seen her seated, he grabbed hold of a chair and dragged it closer to her. He sat down, not seeming to care that their knees were touching, and he leaned forward and placed his hands on her lower thighs.
“What the hell possessed you to go off on your own?” he asked angrily. “For fuck’s sake, Misha, there’s a serial killer on the loose. Do you have a death wish?”
“No,” she whispered her reply.
“Then explain to me why you took off on your own?”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I–I just felt the need to go toward Crow Peak.”
Spence sat back in his chair, sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Next time, and there better not be a next time, fucking tell us and wait for us to come with you. You could have been killed.”
Misha saw the blood drain from Spence’s face and hated that she’d scared him, but that was the moment she knew that he and Clay weren’t playing her at all. She didn’t know how or why since they didn’t know each other very well, but he and Clay cared for her more than she’d ever imagined. “I’m sorry.” Guilt assailed her, and though she’d just apologized, she knew her apology somehow wasn’t enough.
She lifted her hand to his cheek and stared intently into his eyes, letting him see how contrite she really was. “I’ll never do anything so stupid again.”
“You’re damn right you won’t. If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll put you over my knees and spank that sexy ass.”
A shiver of arousal permeated her body, and though she tried to stop the quake from showing, she knew she’d failed when Spence narrowed his eyes at her and they turned from concerned to heated in an instant. She shouldn’t be turned on by Spence’s words or the vision he’d put in her head, but she was, and as he stared at her so intently, she saw the low humming desire change to pure unadulterated hunger.
Misha didn’t know who moved first, not that it really mattered, but in the next second, Spence’s lips were on hers. He devoured her with open-mouthed voracity that had her blood heating and her insides melting, and though she knew that anyone could walk in and discover their passionate clinch at any second, she didn’t care. All that mattered in that moment was the way his lips molded over hers, the way his tongue glided along and then twirled around her own tongue. He tasted so divine she never wanted the kiss to end and she moaned as she tried to get closer to his big, brawny, warm body.
How she managed to move when her limbs were the consistency of soggy noodles she’d never know, but her arms looped around his neck and her ass connected with his hard, muscular thighs.
He growled into her mouth, threaded his fingers into her hair, and held her still for his passionate overtures. It felt amazingly right to be sitting on his lap while he kissed her until she had no breath left in her lungs. He was the one who broke the kiss and they both gulped in air as they tried to slow their frenetic breathing. Just as her heartrate began to slow and she was breathing a little easier, Spence began to kiss and lick his way over her jawline and down her neck. He must have felt her tremble or heard her soft gasping moan when he licked and sucked at the sensitive skin just beneath her ear, because he came back to that spot again, and again, and again.
Misha tilted her head to the side, giving him easier access, and shifted restlessly on his lap. She sighed out a sob of pleasure when she felt the hard ridge of his erection press against her hot, wet pussy and moved once more, until her groin was pressed against his.
He nipped her ear, lifted his head, and met her gaze with a ravenous stare. His eyes lowered to the left side of her jaw and just like that his expression changed back to anger.
He lifted her from his lap, placed her back in her own seat, rose and walked across to the other side of the room. Misha lowered her head. Her cheeks heated with abject humiliation and she wished the floor would open up beneath her and swallow her whole. She’d never felt so embarrassed in her life and wondered what the hell she’d done wrong to warrant such an action from him. She heard his footsteps approaching again and tried to blink back the tears of humiliation welling in her eyes, and mentally cursed when a tear escaped from the corner of each eye.
“Misha, look at me, honey,” Spence ordered in a low, raspy voice, but instead of doing as commanded, she shook her head and kept her gaze on the floor.
He nudged her chin up and swiped his thumb over each cheek, wiping the moisture away. “I wasn’t rejecting you, honey. I want you more than you could ever know, but when I saw the redness and slight swelling on your jaw, I was angry at that fucker and myself. Instead of pawing you like I was, I should have been getting you some ice and taking your statement.”
She looked at the ice-pack he had in his hand and then met his gaze again and nodded, not sure what to say.
“Here.” He handed her the towel wrapped ice-pack, nudged his chair a little away from hers with his foot and sat. “You’re going to press charges, aren’t you?”
Misha held the pack to her lower left jaw and sighed as it eased some of the throbbing in her face. “Yes.”
“Good.” Spence removed his cell phone from his shirt pocket, hit a few buttons, and held the phone closer to her mouth. “Tell me what happened.”
It didn’t take her long to explain what had happened when she’d encountered Phillip near Crow Peak and when she was done she was so tir
ed, she couldn’t stop yawning. She glanced over toward the door when she caught movement and saw Clay striding toward her. Misha had no idea where the time had gone, but when she glanced at the clock she realized an hour and a half had passed since they’d been back at the resort.
“How are you feeling, baby?” Clay asked as he squatted at her side, clasped her wrist and drew the ice-pack away from her face. “You’re lucky he didn’t get in a harder hit. You’d be more swollen and would have ended up with a big bruise. I’m not sure this is going to bruise at all now that you’ve iced it.”
Misha nodded and cleared her throat. “Do you think it’s Phillip?”
Clay shook his head. “Gut instinct is telling me no, however, don’t take that as gospel. I won’t be confirming or denying that until the FBI profiler’s interrogated the asshole.”
“You’ve brought in a profiler?” Misha shivered and wondered why she’d asked such an obvious question. Of course they would do that since they had a serial killer on their hands.
“We have,” Spence answered. “We need all the help we can get to catch this fucker.”
“Do you have any idea who it could be?”
“No,” Clay answered. “And that scares the shit out of us. Usually, when people think of serial killers, they look for someone who looks like pure evil, but the fact of the matter is, this fucker could be married with a family of his own. He could be interacting with people he works with on a daily basis and no one would ever be the wiser. The killer could be, and probably is, someone’s grandfather, father, husband, or whatever. A psychopath will keep to a routine, communicate with others as they normally would, and never once be suspected for murdering those poor women.”
Misha shivered when goose bumps raced over her skin. She wouldn’t feel safe until they had caught their perpetrator. For all she knew, she could be working with this evil man every single day, and that scared the absolute shit out of her.
Chapter Seven
Clay was still full of adrenaline and couldn’t seem to settle. When he’d seen that fucker attacking Misha, he’d been full of fear and fury. Fear that the ex-chef was the killer and fury because he was hurting the woman he wanted to have a relationship with. He wished he could bundle her up into his truck and spirit her back to their ranch, but he knew she’d kick up a fuss if he even suggested such a thing. Misha had to work the rest of the week, and though he was loath to leave her alone, he knew he was going to have to. He wanted to be able to send a couple of his guys to stay at the resort and protect her. Better yet, be here to protect her himself, but he knew she’d balk if he did. That thought reminded him the last time they been talking about security that she said she was going to hire some security guards.
“Did you hire some security guards?”
“Not yet,” she answered with a sigh.
“Why the hell not?”
“This place isn’t in the middle of the suburbs or a city, Clay. Some people don’t like the idea of working so far out or being away from their friends and family.”
“Would you let us organize the hiring for you?” Spence asked.
“Yes,” Misha answered immediately and that was when Clay knew just how scared she was. She was good at hiding her emotions, but when she’d answered, it had almost sounded like she was pleading and relieved.
Clay nodded and Spence moved toward the rear of the room to make a call. Clay sat in the chair next to Misha and reached for her hand. “I don’t want you to feel as if we’re pushing you, but are you willing to go on a date with us this coming weekend?”
His muscles tensed as he waited for her reply, making sure not to relay the anxiety in his body to the hand he had holding hers.
“Yes, I would love to.”
Clay’s heart flipped with excitement, but he tried to keep his eagerness hidden, and although he wanted to ask her why the sudden change, he kept his mouth shut. There was no way in hell he was making her rethink her answer now that she’d given him the one he wanted. “Great,” he finally remembered to reply, and while he smiled, he made sure the curve of his lips wasn’t too big.
Spence winked at him and gave him the thumbs up as he came up behind Misha, and when she turned to look at his friend over her shoulder, Spence also toned down his eagerness.
“We’ll come pick you up,” Clay said as he rose.
Misha stood as well but shook her head. “No, I know the way to your house now. It would be better if I drove my own car. That’ll save you two hours driving me to and from.”
“Subject change. Two security guards, Chad Patrick and Nick South, will be here the day after tomorrow,” Spence said. “We don’t mind coming to get you in the least, honey.”
“You mightn’t, but I do,” Misha said firmly. “Thank you for organizing the security guards.”
Spence nodded.
“Okay, but make sure you bring an overnight bag,” Clay ordered. “There is no way in hell we’re letting you drive back here after our date. You’re already tired from lack of sleep and I won’t risk you falling asleep at the wheel.”
Clay saw Misha tense and waited for an argument, but she must have seen the logic in what he said because she gave in with a nod and her body relaxed once more.
“So, what time do you want me at your place?”
“How does eight Friday night sound?” Spence said.
“Sounds good.”
Clay moved closer to her and stroked a finger down her face. “Try and get some decent sleep. Can you give me your cell phone?”
“What for?”
“So I can program our phone numbers into it,” Clay answered.
Misha withdrew her cell phone from her jeans pocket and handed it over without a fuss. He thought that maybe things were looking up after all, and he knew by the wink Spence had given him that something had happened between the two of them. He wanted to tug her into his arms and kiss her until she was breathless, but he wasn’t about to make a move on her until she gave him a positive signal. He didn’t want her running again.
After he’d entered his and Spence’s numbers into her phone and called his own cell with hers, he handed it back to her.
“I’m on speed dial one. Spence is speed dial two and our house phone is speed dial three. Call us anytime you want. Day or night. Okay?”
“Okay,” Misha replied as she gripped her phone.
Clay met her gaze and saw her eyes perusing his body up and down, and from the flash of heat he saw pass over them, she definitely liked what she saw. He slowly leaned down, giving her plenty of time to tell him no, or back away, but she surprised him by going up on tiptoes as she grabbed hold of his shirt for balance and met him halfway.
He started off slow, brushing his lips slowly, gently, across hers until she gave him a signal that she wanted more. When she moaned softly and her lips parted, he deepened the kiss as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up against his body. She opened wider for him and he licked into her mouth, swirling his tongue around hers before rubbing along it. She whimpered and pressed in closer and he growled when he felt her hard nipples brush against his chest. He could have gone on kissing her forever, but this wasn’t the time or the place. So, with reluctance, he eased the kiss back until he was sipping at her lips and finally lifted his head. Her face was slightly flushed and her blue eyes were hazed over with passion.
She was so fucking beautiful she took his breath away just looking at her, let alone kissing her. No other woman had ever affected him the way Misha Collette did. She made him burn as no other had before her and he hoped like hell that given time she would eventually agree to be his and Spence’s woman. He was drawn to her and wanted her in his life until he drew his last breath.
Convincing her that they were the men for her was easier said than done, but Clay knew if he and Spence managed to win her heart, all the hard work would be worth it in the end.
* * * *
Before Misha knew it, Friday had arrived, and she was so busy dealing wit
h contractors and checking over deliveries, the day flew by. She was exhausted because she was still having trouble sleeping. She was having nightmares about Janice and Lucy and the other women who’d been murdered and hadn’t managed to snatch more than a few hours of shuteye at any one time. She’d attended Lucy’s funeral and tried to offer Anthony emotional support, but the man had been inconsolable. Luckily, Ken had stepped in and had managed to get through the poor man’s grief. Ken had told her the next morning that he had given Anthony time off to come to terms with his wife’s death, but the man had stubbornly refused. Misha understood why he’d want to keep working but hoped that he didn’t get distracted by his pain and end up hurting himself. However, the decision hadn’t been hers and had already been made so everything was out of her hands.
She thought about calling or texting Clay and Spence to cancel their date, but she didn’t have the heart to disappoint them. They had tried to keep their expressions stoic when she’d agreed to go out with them, but she’d seen the elated satisfaction in their gazes. Plus, she was looking forward to seeing them again. She’d heard a couple of the resort employees talking when she’d passed by one of the rooms they’d been cleaning and heard them praising the two sheriffs as well as drooling over their handsome faces and brawny bodies.
Those words had caused her pain and she realized she was jealous even when she had no reason to be. And that thought also made her realize that the two sheriffs meant more to her than she’d suspected. Her heart flipped with excitement knowing she would be seeing them again very, very soon, but she would need to keep a cool head, because while she’d spent some time with them, here and there, she still didn’t know them very well.
She shut down her computer, gathered up her belongings, and headed out to her small cabin. As she glanced about the room, the hair on her nape stood on end and she had the awful feeling that someone was or had been in her private space. Her first instinct was turn right around and run back to the resort where there were other people and she knew she would be safe, but as her fear dissipated a little, she began to get angry. Angry over the fact she felt vulnerable and violated even though she didn’t know for sure that someone had been in her place.