Operation: Tempt Me (8 page)

When his
tongue advanced into the depths of her mouth, lust hit her heavy in the gut.
His tongue stroked against hers, each tangle more thrilling than the last. She
expected to taste the coffee and mint. Instead, all she tasted was fire fueled
by a desire that ran so deep within her shaking body that she lost all track of
her thoughts. He devoured her with every lash of his tongue within her mouth.

Without
breaking their connection, Miller angled his head in the other direction and
her head moved to accommodate his. His fingers manipulated her neck again and
kept her where he wanted to continue this glorious kiss.

She couldn’t,
and wouldn’t, just stand there and not take her fill. Oh no. She loved to kiss,
loved being kissed. But right now, she wanted to drive Miller so wild with need
that he’d beg for more. Just the thought of making love to this handsome man
made her pussy weep with a greedy need, small aches pulsing through her womb.

Needing his
touch as much as he evidently needed hers, Cambrie pushed past his tongue to
plunge deep into his mouth, moving rapidly like she’d never get enough of him.
A firestorm grew within her, a warring of passion desperate for release.

He moaned. She
moaned. It didn’t matter who did. Their sounds mixed within the confinement of
the kiss. Her lungs begged for oxygen, but she just couldn’t bear to pull away
and deprive herself of his warm mouth and hard lips.

To her
disappointment, he broke the connection, but kept his lips against hers.
Breathless like her, he stood holding her and sucking in air.

“My. God.
Cambrie.”

“Ditto.”
Cambrie couldn’t find words to explain how she felt, how that kiss just upended
the world as she knew it. Now what the hell was she suppose to do? No other man
would ever kiss her like that. Shit!

“No, Cambrie.
You don’t understand.” His words sounded desperate, or maybe it was his
staggered breathing, or the wild look in his eyes when he pulled back far
enough to make eye contact with her. His hands remained on her, holding her
where he decided.

“Then
explain,” she demanded.

He rested his
forehead against hers for a long moment before stepping back again and gazing
into her eyes.

“I may need
to take you with me.” He didn’t appear to be joking.

“I think I’d
go willingly.”

When he burst
out laughing and tugged her into a bear hug, she didn’t know if he had lost his
mind or had suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen during that kiss. As long
as he remained upright, she didn’t care. Being in his embrace was the best
medicine for being tired. She felt like she could run a marathon. A wicked
smile crept over her lips as she rested her cheek against his shirt. In his
emails, he had promised to make love to her all night. It was time to take him
up on that.

She pulled
away from the tight embrace but remained in his arms. “My bedroom is just
through that door. Care to take this somewhere more appropriate?”

His dark
brown eyes blazed like melting chocolate. “Thought I said I was gonna seduce
you?”

She shrugged,
running her fingers over his chest. “Maybe I’m tired of you taking your sweet
ass time.”

His laugh
echoed throughout her small apartment. “I’m so going to enjoy spanking your
very fine ass, Cambrie.”

Before she
could protest, he had her slung over his shoulder and strutted toward the
bedroom. Only the flashing light on the answering machine could’ve distracted
her at that moment. And it did. With her long hair hanging all around her, the
blinking red light on the machine barely caught her eye.

“Wait!
Miller, stop. Please.”

He placed her
on her feet just as quickly as he had lifted her off of them. “I’m sorry,
Cambrie. I don’t mean to be rough.”

“Oh, hush. I
don’t mind rough. I’m sure I’m going to like rough with you, but I need to check
my messages.” She hurried to the machine and pressed the play button.

“You what!”
His shock couldn’t be any more obvious at the mood kill.

She wrung her
hands, wishing the old machine would hurry up and spit out the phone call. “I’m
sorry. Long story. Only my aunt’s nursing home has this number. For
emergencies. I must’ve missed the call on my cell phone.”

Her heart
pounded as the voice came across the machine. “Miss Brasher, sorry to alarm you
but this is Dixieborough Nursing Home. Your aunt has taken a small fall and the
doctor is with her now. Please call us when you get this message or stop by.”

“Oh, no!”
Cambrie yelled. “I’ve got to go see her. She’s all I’ve got, Miller. I’m so
sorry.” Cambrie grabbed her purse and bolted for the door with Miller on her
heels. “I know you came all this way and—”

He cut her
off on the porch when she locked her door. “And we can pick up where we left
off once we know that Aunt Annabelle is okay. Let’s walk and talk, darling. The
sooner we get you to her, the sooner we can get that horrified look out of your
eyes. I don’t like seeing you upset.” His fingers latched onto her elbow and
hurried with her to the driveway. “Pity the person who ever intentionally hurts
you, baby.”

“Why’s that?”
she asked, appreciating his protectiveness.

“You don’t
want to know.” He piled into the passenger seat. But his large frame didn’t fit
well in her small, practical car.

“Sorry the
car’s small,” she said, her fingers shaking as she inserted the key into the
ignition.

“Not to
worry. Being six five makes most things small for me. Now drive.”

Chapter Seven

Silence
filled the car while Cambrie drew slow breaths to calm her nerves. Being wound
up from Miller’s kiss was one thing. Add her worry about Aunt Annabelle to
that, and she might be a candidate for a heart attack.

“Tell me
about Aunt Annabelle.” Miller’s soft command was welcomed as she merged through
traffic.

“She’s the
only family I have left. She raised me since I was a little girl.”

“What
happened to your parents?”

She swallowed
hard, harsh memories working their way back into her mind after years of being
buried. She just couldn’t allow them to resurface.

“I’d rather
not talk about it. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad. Just some things are better
left in the past.”

Miller stared
straight ahead. “Agreed. So why is Aunt Annabelle in a nursing home?”

Phew. He
hadn’t been offended that she brushed off his question. She liked how easy he
was to talk with. “Um. Well, she’s been there since she had a heart attack.
Then they found breast cancer, but they caught it in time thanks to the heart
attack.”

“Lucky. If
you can be at all with either illness.”

“That’s how I
looked at it. Oh, I hope she’s all right. It’s just ahead.”

“You’re very
close to her, aren’t you?” Miller asked, his voice soft, soothing.

Cambrie
pulled into a parking spot. “Yes.”

“And what do
you feel right now?”

“Scared
shitless.”

Offering her
a smile when she glanced at him, he spoke with assurance. “Well, besides that.
Your gut. Trust it.”

She jumped
from the car and they rushed toward the building. She looked at him. “I feel
like she’s fine.”

Miller held
the door open. “Then I bet she is.”

And he was
right. Aunt Annabelle was giving the home’s staff hell when Cambrie bolted into
her room.

“Oh, thank
God, Cambrie, you came,” Aunt Annabelle screeched, holding her arms up and
sitting forward in her bed.

Cambrie
rushed over to the bed and accepted the hug. “What happened? You scared me half
to death.”

“All I wanted
was to go down to the lounge, and they said no. They just want to keep me
locked up in here like a prisoner.”

Cambrie
straightened and faced the nurse who spoke with her hands on her hips. “Now,
Miss Annabelle, you know that is the furthest from the truth. Really. I can’t
believe you, of all people, fibbing like that.”

Aunt
Annabelle’s cheeks reddened and she pursed her lips shut, refusing to look at
the nurse. Cambrie bit back a laugh. Aunt Annabelle would be just fine if she
still had attitude swirling within her.

“Miss
Cambrie,” the nurse said, “we just needed her to wait until after meal time.
Then we would dispense meds and we could’ve had her go down to the lounge. It’s
the same routine every night. But, oh no. This woman needed to have her own
way. She’s awfully lucky to only have a bruise on that stubborn butt of hers.
Hmmpff.”

When the
nurse stalked out of the room, Aunt Annabelle’s mouth dropped. “Well, I say.
I’ve never been spoken to like that. How dare she? I’ll see that she’s fired
right away. And you, Cambrie, didn’t stand up for me one bit.”

Cambrie sat
on the edge of the bed and straightened the sheets. “Now that’s not true and
you know it. And you’ll not be getting Nella fired. You know she’s been real
good to you here. You were wrong to get out of bed by yourself. You’ve been
warned so many times.”

Aunt Annabelle
shook her head, the perfectly styled short gray and white hair didn’t move.
“Well, I’m sorry if being cooped up in here all day makes me lose my manners.
Any sane person would go nuts here.” She looked past Cambrie’s shoulder. “Who
is that handsome young man?” Her tone had changed from bitchy to curious.

Cambrie’s
eyes widened and she jumped up, having totally forgotten Miller had accompanied
her to the nursing home. This wasn’t exactly how she wanted him to meet her
aunt. “Oh, I’m sorry. Forgive my manners. Aunt Annabelle, this is Lt. Miller
Daly. He’s the pen pal I told you about that I’m working with to win a grant
for the library.”
And keep my job.

Miller
stepped into the room, instantly stealing all free space with his width and
height. Taking his place beside Cambrie, he stood like a majestic statue.
“Pleasure really is all mine, Aunt Annabelle. And I must say that you have a
lovely niece.” He glanced at Cambrie before turning back to the older woman.
“It’s obvious where she gets not only her looks but her smarts as well. I don’t
blame you for standing up for yourself in here.”

Cambrie
wanted to slug him. He didn’t know that he was encouraging a monster when
Auntie set herself to doing something.

Aunt
Annabelle sat straighter in the bed and primped her hair, an automatic gesture
Cambrie had witnessed from her any time she received a compliment. “Thank you,
Mr. Daly. It’s nice to see Cambrie associating with such a fine gentleman.”

“Thank you,
ma’am. And please just call me Miller.” When he took Aunt Annabelle’s hand and
kissed the knuckles, well, Cambrie thought she’d seen it all. With a few words
and proper attention, Miller had calmed Aunt Annabelle’s temper and won her
over. The old woman beamed and appeared twenty years younger now that her scowl
had disappeared.

Aunt
Annabelle grabbed his arm and studied his tattoo on his upper arm. It peaked
out just enough from under his sleeve for the edge to be viewed. “Who is this
woman?”

Cambrie
noticed the tattoo for the first time. It had been too hard to see on the
picture he had sent. And she had been too busy being stunned at his arrival
earlier to even notice. Her heart sank. Did he love the woman?

Miller looked
at the tattoo and at Cambrie. “It’s your niece I believe.”

Cambrie
gasped. “That can’t be true,” she said through gritted teeth. “You had that
tattoo in the picture you sent. The picture was a year old. Way before I ever
emailed you.”

He faced her.
“Yes, I know. I’ll explain when we have time.”

“Why don’t
you have time now?” Aunt Annabelle insisted.

“Because I’m
just getting into town after a very long trip and I’m afraid if I try to make
any sense now I won’t. I’ll let you ladies visit while I excuse myself to find
a men’s room. I hope you feel better, Aunt Annabelle. Cambrie, I’ll be in the waiting
room, but please take all the time you need.”

When he
marched from the room, Cambrie had the pleasure of viewing his ass, snugly
encased in blue jeans that showcased the hard muscles of his thighs. Her cheeks
blushed when her mind wandered to all the kinky things she wished to do with
him.

“Well, young
lady. I must say you’ve landed yourself a live one,” Aunt Annabelle quipped,
her smile still lighting up her face.

Cambrie waved
her hand in the air. “Oh, stop it. He’s just a pen pal who’s part of a project
for work.” Yeah, right. More like he was the man who ruined her expectations
for any other man.

Aunt
Annabelle made a skeptical face. “If you say so. But I don’t know of many men,
or
pen pals,
that trek around the globe to meet a woman. Sounds like that
would be contradictory to being a
pen pal
.”

“Would you
please stop saying pen pal like that?”