Danger and Desire: A Romantic Suspense Anthology

by Kimberly Kincaid

  The light was gone from behind his eyes. His smile lacked something.

  She shouldn’t have said what she had. Things were awkward between them now. Obviously, he hadn’t attached any universal significance to them meeting at the market.

  It was stupid that she would’ve, either. And there was definitely no talk about going out on a date.

  They finished their meal, the conversation between them flowing, but lacking the magic from earlier. She stood and grabbed their plates to walk them to the sink. “I’ve got some ice cream if you’re a fan.”

  He winced as he stood and grabbed their glasses.

  God, was it that bad that he was wincing at the thought of having to spend more time with her?

  “Or not,” she managed to get out brightly. “You probably need to get back. It’s no problem.”

  Well, at least now she had her answer about whether Wyatt was interested in a more intimate relationship.

  No.

  Chapter 4

  Wyatt pushed down the aches coursing through his body as he stood, silently cursing the shadow that fell over Nadine’s face. As if he needed to feel any more like a jackass.

  Evidently it wasn’t enough to know he was using this sweet, charming, funny, beautiful woman for his own gain.

  Now he had to know she took their little run-in as a sign from the universe. Like she was on the right track and her life was finally beginning to turn around.

  Shit.

  She was finally ready to stick her chin out and see what life had to offer. He’d been waiting, as patiently as he could—and that had been so fucking hard given how he felt about her—for her to reach this point. To make a real, actual move toward wanting more out of their old-fashioned style courtship.

  But her thinking him showing up today was a sign from the universe? He wished he could reach his own ass to kick it.

  Worse was the way she carefully avoided looking at him. She looked everywhere but at him—the dishes in the sink, her shoes, the counter. They’d had such a wonderful meal, talking and laughing in ways he hadn’t been sure he was still capable of. She’d helped him forget everything for a few minutes. To relax.

  Wyatt had been called many things in his life, but relaxed was not one of them.

  But he could relax around Nadine. Had relaxed—almost ridiculously so, given the circumstances—right up to the point where she started talking about how the two of them meeting today was fate.

  Not because he’d known she’d be there. There was so much of this situation she didn’t know and probably wouldn’t understand even if she did.

  She deserved better than this. She deserved to be set up on the counter and kissed until she couldn’t remember her own name. That was what he longed to do to her. To kiss and touch her and forget everything else. To lose himself in this woman who’d captivated him without trying.

  Not an option, not right now with so many lies between them. Especially not until he figured out how to handle the situation with the computer drive.

  But there was no way he could live with that hurt in her eyes, knowing he’d put it there.

  “Hey. I’m sorry.” He pulled her away from the dishes and against his chest, but Wyatt kept his embrace loose so she knew she could get away at any time. “I messed up earlier, and I’m so sorry I hurt you. There’s nothing more I want than to agree the universe brought us together today, but I’m not sure I believe in that sort of thing.”

  There was so much she didn’t know. She’d probably send him packing immediately if she did.

  She leaned away from him so she could look up in his eyes. He placed a thumb under her chin, keeping her face tilted up when she would’ve turned away. “But one thing I definitely know? Being with you today has been amazing. You’re smart and funny, and I won’t deny that the way you cook makes me want to hire you as my personal chef. This has been a great day. The greatest day.”

  “Really?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  He’d had to tell her so many lies today, but every single word of this was the truth.

  He pulled her closer, relieved when she snuggled up against him. “Getting to know you over the past year has been the highlight of my life.”

  “Really?” she asked again, her question muffled by his shoulder.

  “Truest words I’ve ever spoken.”

  She snuggled closer, and he had to swallow a groan as his arms automatically tightened around her. Holding her like this was beyond good. She fit perfectly against him, like they were made for each other. He was a big guy, nearly six-foot-four, and he dwarfed most women. Not Nadine. She was substantial, Amazon-sized, and he fucking loved it. He had no time for skinny waifs.

  But he’d made a tactical error holding her this close, her ample curves nestling against him. She was soft, warm, lush. Her body held endless wonders he’d love nothing more than to indulge in.

  But not right now. He couldn’t let this go in that direction, no matter how much he wanted to. Things were bad enough as it was.

  But he still kept her against him a few moments longer. How many months had he been thinking about doing this very thing? Finally, he gently pulled back, loving the way her eyes shone up at him. She was a little breathless. God, if she only knew what she did to him.

  “So,” she said as she turned back to the dishes in the sink, washing them. He picked up a towel to dry what she handed him.

  “So.” He needed to change the subject. No more talk of fate or the universe smiling on them. He couldn’t bear it. Not with all the lies between them.

  “I like your house. Like all the space around it. How far is your nearest neighbor?”

  “Over three miles away. It took a little getting used to at first, but it wasn’t long before this place really started to help me.”

  “The house itself, or the land?”

  Her little bungalow wasn’t very large, but it was homey. Probably two bedrooms, given the size. He’d only seen the living room and the kitchen with its dining nook, but he had immediately recognized the ways she’d taken a relatively plain property and made it her own.

  Flowers from the market, but also colorful throws and pillows on her leather couch added pops of color against the white walls. An oversized plush chair pulled over by one of the huge back windows, a stack of books around it. Obviously, a favorite reading spot.

  “Both, probably.” She handed him another plate to dry. “I like being here. Like that no one knows where this is or would take the time to come out to the least populous town in Idaho, even if they did. But it’s this area—the land itself—that has really helped me the most.”

  “That I definitely can understand. The Wyoming wilderness has calmed the beast inside me on many a night. Chased the nightmares away.”

  She looked over with agreement clear in her eyes. “I’ve been soaking it up as much as possible. Getting outside more and more. Mostly hiking, and believe it or not, some kayaking and rappelling.”

  Her soft little smile made him want to push her up against the counter and kiss them both senseless. “You liked rappelling, huh?”

  “I never thought I would be the type of person to go over a cliff on purpose. But… yeah, I liked it. Liked facing my fears and not letting it stop me.”

  He understood that right down to his bones. “You liked being in control.”

  “There’s been a lot in my life I haven’t been in control of, so yeah, rappelling made me feel… strong.” She shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe I’m trying to get past some old fears.”

  She was strong. So much stronger than she realized. Unfortunately, that wasn’t something someone else could tell her with any real effect. She had to figure it out for herself.

  She went back to washing a glass. “It helps that after the initial learning, they aren’t group activities,” she added. “I like my solitude.”

  “You should come out to Oak Creek sometime. The beauty of our outdoors rivals yours. Plus, it’s part of our business.”

/>   “Really?”

  “Sure. A big part of what we do at Linear Tactical is wilderness survival training.”

  Her eyes lit up. “You never told me that. What do you teach?”

  He turned and leaned against the counter so he could see her while he dried. “We teach a modified version of the SERE training we learned in the military.”

  “Sear?”

  “S-E-R-E. Survival. Evasion. Resistance. Escape. It’s a type of training a lot of military members go through. The Air Force established it at the end of WWII, but the other branches have picked it up. Survival training for warfare situations.”

  “You guys teach that to people?”

  “Basically, we focus on the survival aspect since most people aren’t trying to evade captors or live through prisoner of war situations. Stuff like building a shelter, how to start and maintain a fire, how to set up traps and snares.”

  “Really?” Her eyes lit up as she finished the last of the dishes and went over to get the ice cream out of the freezer. He nodded enthusiastically when she showed him the container.

  “Absolutely. We get groups who come, but also individuals. Some people want to learn in case of emergency. Others want to build on skills they already have.”

  She scooped out ice cream and handed him a bowl. “How long are the courses?”

  He loved that she was so interested in this. “Everything from a single day to two full weeks. We can teach a few basics over a weekend, like improvising equipment and making it out of what can be found nearby. How to navigate. How to tell dangerous vegetation from the rest.”

  “Wow, that’s exciting stuff.”

  “And necessary. With so many people out there going on what could be dangerous hikes and climbs, they need to know how to survive if things go south. We also teach the basics of evasion—how to gain a tactical advantage over an opponent. You’d be surprised how many people are interested in that.”

  “Actually, I’m not surprised at all. I would love to learn about that.”

  He grinned. “You’ll have to come over to Oak Creek some time, then. Take a course.”

  She leaned against the counter, tipping her spoon upside down and licking it.

  Jesus.

  Watching that sweet pink tongue lick down the length of the metal had him all but groaning. To make it worse, it was a totally innocent gesture on her part. She was just deep in thought about SERE training and enjoying her ice cream.

  He, on the other hand, would love to use their tongues to trail up and down the lengths of each other’s bodies.

  “Do you ever teach the classes?”

  He tore his gaze away from her mouth. “Sometimes. I’ll make sure I’m the one who teaches you. How’s that sound?”

  Her cheeks flushed. So pretty. He wondered how far down that flush went. “That sounds good.”

  “Excellent. I’ll hold you to it. And don’t think I’ll forget.”

  “I wouldn’t let you.”

  They finished their dessert with more talk about wilderness survival training. They stayed in the kitchen, their conversation as informal as the room itself. He’d love to stay here and talk until morning.

  He’d love to take her back to the bedroom, too. He’d love to explore those curves that had been driving him crazy all night. But he’d be equally happy with the talking. He hadn’t felt this good in forever as he did simply being with her. It proved the sudden attraction and attachment he’d felt a year ago wasn’t a fluke.

  But it wasn’t meant to be. Not right now, anyway. Not when he was on the run. It was time to head back to Idaho Falls, steal a car, and figure out a way to get this computer drive to Kendrick Foster, Linear Tactical’s computer guru. He was the only person Wyatt knew who could decrypt the files. Without his expertise, the drive was useless.

  And all Wyatt knew about the info on the drive was that people were willing to kill for it. Bryce had died for it.

  Which had him sighing as they finished washing and drying the ice cream bowls. “I guess—”

  “You have to go,” she finished for him. “I understand. You’ve escaped what’s hounding you long enough, and now you have to go back and face it.”

  He did a double take. “What?” How could she possibly know that?

  “It just seemed like you’ve relaxed for your given amount of time, and now you have to go back and fight the bad guys.” She glanced down, embarrassed. “Don’t listen to me. I have an overactive imagination.”

  The woman was damn near perfect. Insightful, but sweet and generous to a fault. No wonder it had been easy for Oakley to take advantage of her.

  So easy for him to take advantage of her, even if it was for better reasons.

  He neither confirmed nor denied her observation, although he wanted nothing more than to tell her that her instincts were spot on. “I’ve loved hanging out with you tonight, Nadine. Everything about it was amazing, especially the company.”

  She gave him a little nod and they walked out to her car, both admiring the stars in the clear, crisp night.

  His hands twitched from the impulse to reach for her, but he tamped it down. Another time.

  The ride back to town was pleasant enough, but tension filled him with each mile closer to Idaho Falls they came. There was no chance the people after him had given up. They knew he had to steal a car, so they’d be checking for those reports. When they didn’t find any, they’d start checking places he’d try to hitch a ride.

  “Do you want me to take you to the mechanics? They can’t possibly be open at this hour.”

  Right. The reason he supposedly had to hang around town earlier. “I’m going to grab a hotel room for the night.”

  “You should’ve reminded me to get you back sooner. I’m so sorry.”

  “No worries. I’ll get up first thing in the morning and make an early start. Nothing to worry about.” But damn if he didn’t like her concern.

  He directed her to a hotel on the town’s outskirts, blocks from the market. “This should do.” He made a big deal of making it look like he was searching for availability on his phone. “Yeah, they have rooms available.”

  She pulled up at the curb and put the car in park before turning to him. “Thank you for today,” she murmured.

  “You’re the one who deserves the thanks. For dinner, for the excellent company, for carting me back and forth. You made this a good day.” Given his mind a chance to rest, his body a chance to relax, although the pain still made him stiff.

  She’d probably saved his life and would never know it.

  He’d probably never be able to talk to her about any of this, and he regretted there would always be lies between them. But he definitely planned to see her again as soon as he could. Being around her had made that a priority.

  But not now. Probably weeks from now, and he fucking hated that. And he wouldn’t be able to explain why.

  He reached over and kissed her cheek, breathing in her sweet scent. “Thank you. I mean it. I’ll message you soon.”

  “Okay. Be safe.” She stayed as he got out of the car and walked toward the sliding doors leading into the hotel. It would be easier if she’d drive away so he could immediately give up the ruse, but he didn’t have that luck.

  He would go inside and head for the front desk. She would pull away once she saw him inside, wouldn’t she? How far into this charade would he have to go?

  The doors opened. He glanced over his shoulder and found her waiting. He gave her a little wave, then walked inside.

  He saw them immediately as he entered the lobby. He didn’t stop his stride or give any outward indication that he noticed the two men. One was in a chair reading a magazine while the other was leaning against a long console table talking on the phone.

  Pretending to talk on the phone.

  Neither of them made overt moves that gave them away, perhaps a split second too long of interest. If it wasn’t for Wyatt’s Special Forces training—years of walking into missions where in
nocents and enemies had to be identified at a moment’s notice—he might not have noticed them, either.

  These weren’t the same men who’d been hunting him in the market today, but they definitely had the same purpose—retrieve the computer drive. They needed to catch Wyatt alive in order to ascertain where it was.

  Idaho Falls wasn’t very big. There were probably similar teams placed at the other hotels, waiting to see if Wyatt appeared.

  It wouldn’t be long until those teams were here.

  A couple walked by. Wyatt kept his eye on the two men as he stepped back, forcing the couple to cross in front of him. He hadn’t been joking when he’d told Nadine not to turn her back on the enemy.

  The lady muttered an apology as she brushed by him, but they kept walking out the door. The two men hadn’t moved, but the clock was already ticking. He needed to get out of there.

  Had Nadine already left? He didn’t want to do anything that would draw their attention to her. He would head upstairs then sneak back down, going out a back door, not caring if it would set off alarms.

  He immediately went to the elevator and jabbed his thumb on the button, then glanced over at the two men. They weren’t following yet. That was good. The doors opened right away, and he swayed the slightest bit as he entered.

  He blinked twice. What just happened?

  The doors closed behind him without anyone approaching. He reached to press the third-floor button, but the numbers blurred in front of his eyes.

  Shit. He’d been drugged.

  The woman who’d brushed against him as she’d passed him in the lobby. She gotten something into his system through his skin.

  He braced himself against the wall as the elevator moved, stopped, and the doors slid open. Everything was blurry, uneven.

  Staggering down the hall, he kept the red EXIT sign in his crosshairs. Nothing mattered as much as getting out of here, then far away.

  He was going to be unconscious soon, and his only chance to survive was to get out of here before that happened.

  He pushed himself along the wall, one lurching step at a time, before he finally made it into the stairwell. He somehow made it back down the first turn of stairs, his grip on the handrail the only thing keeping him on his feet.