Hero for Hire (10 page)

Doc climbed onto his stool at the table. “How bad?”

Rafe lifted his gaze from his fists to meet Doc’s eyes. “Bad. Not terminal, but bad. The boys were captured. Miriam’s holding them hostage.”

My hand went to my heart. “Hostage? For what?”

His eyes met mine and my heart twisted in my chest. “Hostage for you. She wants you, Gwyn.”

“She can’t have her,” Ricky said from the doorway of the kitchen, his little face deadly serious.

“Ricky, go help Roger on watch duty,” Doc said.

“But…”

“Go!” Doc barked. Ricky lifted his chin, waiting just long enough to prove he wasn’t afraid of Doc, before he spun around and marched away.

I stood by the table, my mind reeling. Miriam had Rafe’s boys because of me. If I didn’t go to her, she’d hurt them, kill them even, or worse, infect them.

Rafe broke eye contact, dropping his head into his hands. “It gets worse. Miriam, well, she’s…”

I waited, dreading the rest of the sentence.

“She’s infected. But she’s not like the other zombies. She’s still her on the inside, mostly, but on the outside? It’s really nasty. I think she wants you to find a cure to save her.”

I nodded. That was logical. “I’ll go now.”

“No!” Doc and Rafe yelled together.

“Look, you know you can’t trust this Miriam chick. She hates you Gwyn–I heard it in her voice. Even if you went, there’s no guarantee she’ll let the boys go. No. We just need to rescue them.”
 

“But…”

“Rafe’s right,” Doc said. “You throwing yourself into the fire ain’t gonna save the boys.”

“But I think it might. Miriam has no need for two boys. She needs me. If she hurts them, there’s no way I’d agree to work on the cure for her. Besides, they have lab facilities there and I don’t have a lab anymore.”

Rafe paced the kitchen like a caged panther. “She’s infected now, not the woman you used to know. You have no idea what she would or wouldn’t do. We need to make a plan to rescue the boys, not to turn anyone over to those zombies.”

I thought about arguing. The boys didn’t stand a chance if I didn’t go to Miriam. She might be infected, but she’d always been vindictive. I was certain that hadn’t changed. If she didn’t get what she wanted, the boys would pay for it. But Rafe was obviously too overwrought to listen to me, so I’d let him make his plans. They wouldn’t make a difference to what I did, if I did it first.

I listened as they planned, answering their questions as best I could. Honestly, I had no idea where Miriam would stash the boys. There were too many places to choose from. I was their only chance.

After a while, I yawned.

“Guys, if you’re done asking me questions, I’m going to rest up for tomorrow. It’ll be a busy day.”

Rafe barely glanced my way. “Okay, we’ll see you later.”

As I passed behind him, I wrapped my arms around his stiff form. “I’m sorry Miriam has your boys. We will get them back, I know it.”

Distracted, he returned the pressure for a moment, but immediately shifted his attention back to his boys.

I smiled at Doc as I walked out, my eyes burning. Rafe loved those boys so much. I’d make sure he got them back. There was no way I’d let Rafe’s boys take Miriam’s wrath in my place.

Up on the third floor, I went to the bedroom Doc had assigned to me. The entire room was furnished with white carpet, white drapes, even a white fireplace. I went to the room-sized walk-in closet to change clothes, opting for my black tights and a black knit dress. Not optimal escape clothes, but they were black, which would help me blend into the night. There was always someone on guard duty on the roof, but I’d wait until everyone in the house was asleep. I could coast the SUV down the hill and out the gate before anyone alerted Rafe or Doc to my leaving.

I paced the room, impatient to be going. I wished everyone would go to bed already. When I heard footsteps in the hall, I peeked out the door to see Doc.

“Hey, how’s he doing?”

Doc shook his head before looking back the way he’d come. “Not so good. He’s wallowing in guilt. Feels like he should have fought to get them out. He’s decided dawn’s the best time to launch a rescue, but waiting isn’t his best trick. I decided it was best for me to let him be for a while.”

“Okay, goodnight,” I said as he headed down the hall. Back inside my room, I went back to pacing, avoiding the little desk in the corner. I tried to convince myself that Doc knew best. If Doc said Rafe needed to be alone, he would know. Right? I made another circuit of the room, before I gave up. I couldn’t let him take the blame for the boys when it was really my fault. The least I could do was go see him. If he wanted to be alone I could always leave. But letting him brave this night by himself seemed wrong somehow. So I cracked open my bedroom door and crept down the hall in search of Rafe.

When I found him, he was still in the kitchen, slumped in his seat at the table with a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He looked defeated, which scared me. The Rafe I’d seen so far never looked this way. He always had a plan, an answer, or a solution served up with a smirk. But now, I just didn’t know if I could help him when he looked like this. I toyed with slipping back to my room, but couldn’t leave him sitting there all night. I walked over, slid onto the seat beside him, resting my hand on his arm.

He glanced at me, then looked down into his scotch.

I squeezed his arm lightly. “Hey. Do you mind if I sit here a while?”

“No. But I’m not great company tonight.”

“I didn’t think you would be. But I’d like to be here, at least until you want me to go.”

He looked up from his drink into my eyes. A corner of his mouth lifted for a moment into a tired smile. “Thanks,” he murmured. He held my gaze and turned to face me fully, surprising me when he leaned in, wrapping his arms around me.

I supposed he sought the comfort and warmth of another human being, so I hugged him in response. What I saw in his eyes when he pulled away made my stomach flip. The pain of loss, the weight of responsibility, the fear and the longing made me want to take some of the load from him. I reached up to trace his jaw, my hand coming to rest cupped around his face. Before I knew what I meant to do, I fit my mouth over his. He tasted warm and sweet, with a sharp tang of alcohol. I melted into him as his hand caught at the nape of my neck, pressing me further into his embrace.

The kiss started light, comforting, soft and gentle. But it slipped into something rougher, with
 
an edge of desperation. He was trying to forget his boys were alone and afraid tonight, while I was trying to forget I’d be leaving him in a few hours and this time I probably wouldn’t survive Miriam. Salt mingled with scotch on my tongue and I realized it was tears, from him or from me, or from us both, I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. Nothing did but the feel of him against me.

I slid my hands from their resting place on his shoulders, down his back, until I found his waistband and untucked his t-shirt from his pants. A quiet growl deep in his throat set my pulse to thumping, giving me the courage to push my hands under his shirt and up his chest. He deepened the kiss, making it hungry, demanding. A moaning sound escaped my lips. It would be horribly embarrassing to remember later. But right now it made no difference to me at all. All that mattered was that he stayed where he was, that we didn’t stop what we were doing. Because it was glorious.

My hands roamed his belly, before travelling up his chest, scraping his nipple with my fingernail as my hand slid over it. He groaned into my mouth, but pulled away.

My stomach dropped. “Too much?” I chewed the inside of my lip, trying to ignore my inner harridan scolding me for my behavior tonight.

He grabbed my hand tugging me up off my chair. “No. Not enough. Not nearly enough.”

He caught me by the waist and lifted me like I weighed absolutely nothing, setting me on the table. This time when he pressed his body against me, I didn’t back off when I felt the hard bulge in his jeans. I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him into another deep kiss, plastering as much of my body against him as I could. But it wasn’t enough, so I wrapped my legs around him, sighing as he pressed against me.

He groaned and lifted me, carrying me from the room in smooth strides. I watched the kitchen recede quickly. As Rafe nuzzled my neck, I lost all focus.

When he placed me on a bed, I glanced around to discover we were in his room, not mine. I tried to pull him down beside me, but he wouldn’t let me.

“Not yet. I want to see you. All of you.”

Eager to please and to be pleased, I leaned up, fumbling with buttons.

Rafe slid me back down onto the bed. “Let me, okay?

I nodded. Propping myself up on my elbows, I watched as he started with my boots, removing them carefully one at a time, throwing them over his shoulder as he loosed each one.

There was something unbearably exciting about watching him undress me, watching his focus, the hunger that crossed his face as he slid my dress over my head. His hands looked huge at my waist as he worked my tights down. He touched the waistband of my panties, and my arms turned to rubber. I fell back on the bed, my pulse pounding as I tracked the scrape of my panties down my legs. When he tugged me up and unhooked the back of my bra, I gasped as the cool air hit my nipples, both shocking and sensual at the same time.

He stretched out beside me on the bed, focusing on a concerted exploration of my body, surveying every inch of my skin. His hands slid down my arms, up and over my belly to my breasts, stopping to caress my nipples with his thumbs. I moaned, unable to help myself. His chuckle was warm on my neck before he nipped my earlobe. “I love that you like that,” he said, doing it again.

A smile grew on my face in response. His breath feathered hot over my breast, but when his tongue circled my nipple, I drowned in the sensations coursing through me, setting my skin on fire. I felt loose, disconnected from reality by anything but the tether of his mouth on my breast. I arched my back, not wanting to lose the connection.

His hand slid down my belly to my core, dipping into the wetness pooling between my thighs.

He lifted his head, meeting my gaze. “All this just for me?”

I blushed, which made him grin. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been wet for anyone, but here with Rafe, I couldn’t imagine ever wanting anyone else.

“I like that too,” he whispered.

Returning his attention to my breast, he blew lightly on the dampness he’d left on my nipple, sending a throbbing shockwave straight down my body.

When his fingers found my clit, I moaned as my body exploded into a mass of sensation so strong I lost myself in it completely.

When I came back down I was alone.

I opened my eyes, searching for him, missing him, needing him with me, on me, in me. “Rafe?”

“Right here, Princess.” He came out of the bathroom, foil-wrapped package in hand. “Sorry. I haven’t had much need to keep these at the bedside. I was lucky I even found a box.”

I smiled, loving that he hadn’t been with anyone but me in too long to count. It didn’t make sense to care, but I did. I pushed up off the bed, not minding that I was completely naked. “It’s my turn. Can I undress you?”

He grinned, throwing his arms out to his sides. “Knock yourself out.”

I answered his smile with one of my own. Stepping to him, I pressed my naked body against his clothed one and pulled him down for a kiss. I kept it light, teasing him, nibbling his lips, dropping to his neck and working my way back up.

“Mmmm, sweet torture,” he said, catching me up against him.

“Fair is turnabout,” I gasped, unable to think straight. I pushed him back just enough to get at the hem of his shirt so I could pull it over his head, with a little help from him. His chest was wide and warm, covered with golden hair. I leaned in to circle first one nipple, then the other with my tongue.

“My God, you’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” he growled.

When I dropped my hands to his belt, his breathing became even more ragged. Encouraged, I slid my hand over him, loving the sound he made when I did.

“Gwyn darling, you can’t keep doing this to me much longer. I can’t–I need you.”

I unbuttoned his pants and tugged them down along with his boxers. When he stepped out of them, I snuck a peek at his beautiful body. Then, giving up all pretense, I looked my fill, touching where I wanted to, loving the wonderful sounds he made because of what I did to him.