Out of the Dark (10 page)

Hands on her hips, she said, “Spoken like a true man.” Like being a man was a bad thing, she turned and moved to the sink. “Get in bed and I’ll fix an ice pack.”

Stiff and sore he crawled between the clean sheets. The air conditioner pumped out some serious cold air. Maybe he should raise the thermostat.

Before he could make a move, Emily pulled back the covers. With the ice bag wrapped in a small white towel, she put it on the table and handed him her Coke. He shook his head, but when she opened her fist and held out two round pills his eyes locked with hers. “Advil,” she said.
“Found them in the bottom of my purse. Best I can do.” 

Grunting, Mac pushed to his elbow. He popped the
pills in his mouth and chased them with a swallow of the lukewarm, bitter soda.  When he collapsed, she put the ice pack on his side then pulled the blanket to his chin.

“I’m going to take my shower,” she said. “A word of warning. You stay on your side of the bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He waited for the sound of running water. When it came, Mac closed his eyes and listened to Jay Leno on the TV. Facing the door, he couldn’t see the screen, but that was okay. All he wanted was a painless night’s sleep.

He must have dozed, because when he op
ened his eyes again he saw Em from the light reflecting off the screen of the TV. Quietly, she walked toward the door. Her wet auburn hair hung in shinny ringlets. She’d pulled on his T-shirt. She might be short, but Mac swore he’d never imagined legs that long or shapely before. And by God, he’d seen some legs.

Did
she plan on leaving?  He tensed, prepared to stop her.  She pulled the curtain away from the window and looked out then she checked the lock on the door. Just as she turned, Mac closed his eyes. His side felt much better.

The room grew silent when she turned off the television and the hard mattress sagged slightly beneath her weight as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. She lifted the covers to remove the ice pack, and cool air kissed his skin. Gently, she pulled the blanket over his shoulders. 

Finally, Em stood and went around to the other side of the bed, but not before giving Mac a perfect glance of a pair of red bikini panties, she must have bought at the airport in London, shadowed beneath his black T-shirt.

It also caught him by surprise that he liked the idea of her
sleeping in his shirt. Her body against his shirt seemed sexy as all get out.

Mac waited for her to get into bed. With the noise and light gone from the room, she slid in beside him and turned her back. She must be hanging on the edge of the bed because she certainly wasn’t anywhere near him. He wanted to chuckle, but he decided to sleep instead.

*  * *

Long before daylight, Mac woke from a deep slumber.  He stilled, gathering his bearing. Then he realized what disturbed his sleep. A hot, little body pressed against his back like a second s
kin, and a world-class hard-on.

Damn.

Mac knew he had to get some distance between him and Em, but at the moment, he was in a very awkward position. Em, the man-hater, was wrapped round him like paper on a present. To make matters worse, her smooth leg was wedged between his, her other stacked on his thigh.

She had him trapped and it felt
good
. Her warm body spooned his, with all the right body parts lining up perfectly. If he weren’t on assignment he’d probably sleep like this for days.

But he couldn’t.

Slowly, so as not to wake Em, he untangled himself. When he finally sat up and planted his feet on the carpeted floor, she mumbled something and rolled over. 

After
limping to the bathroom, Mac took a very painful piss. Now what to do about the damn woody?  No jacking off, he couldn’t muster that. So he did the next best thing, he removed his underwear, picked up the bucket of ice, gulped half the cold water then poured the rest down his belly. His thirst quenched, his dick limp, Mac dried off, slipped on his shorts, and looked at the bed.

With help from the outside security lights he saw her tousled hair fanned out on the pillowcase and his mouth watered, making the pain in his groin intensify. Em was prettier than he first imagined, and he rarely made mistakes like
that. She had a certain natural beauty, and wittiness he found refreshing and sexy as hell.

All his life, he’d
been attracted to pretty woman. Models, stewardesses, tall blondes, chicks like that. He never went for brains, personality or a sense of humor. 

No, h
e was a hands-on guy. Not the type to spend a lot of time with one woman. Never settled for one when two was so much more fun.

Mac didn’t
engage in tight relationships, and couldn’t fathom ever asking a woman to marry him. The very words would probably choke him to death.

If marriage was anything like the hell his parents suffered
through, he wanted no damn part of it. The accusations, the cussing, the drinking had made his childhood a living hell. The drugs came later. A strung out dealer shot his mother sixteen months after his father went to jail on a robbery charge.

When all was said and done, he’d ended up in the foster care system until he was old enough to join the Navy. His parents left him so bitter there was no room in his heart for love.

Marriage my ass. Give me a firing squad any day. 

Besides, the life he led, the jobs he worked, and his personality in general, weren’t ideal for a wife or family.  He never knew where he’d be next, or if he’d be coming back.

Every time he went on a mission, the odds were he wouldn’t return. So, why put a woman
through that? Better he just did what he was paid to do, and keep his relationships light. So far he’d had no complaints.

Mac walked across the room and stopped next to the bed. Mouth tight, he stared down at Em, who not only took most of the bed, but she had all the covers. Holding his side, he reached down, grabbed the corner of the blanket, and dumped her on the floor.

She jumped up like a drowning victim surfacing. Shoving her hair out of her face, she frantically looked around. “What! What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said, wrapping himself in the blanket.  He lay down and fluffed the pillow beneath his head. 

“Hey,” she said. “You took the covers.”

He rolled on his back.  “That’s a switch, because you had them, and most of the bed, all night. Now, it’s my turn.”

“I’m not a bed hog.”

“The hell you aren’t. Now let me get some sleep.”

He turned his back just as Em whacked his head with a pillow. He slowly tossed the covers aside, stood and faced her. Her hair all tangled, breasts pushing against his shirt, and those legs he’d dreamed about trapped in the sheets.

Mac fisted his hands. He was either going to take her down, or make love to her like she’d never imagined possible. The choice was his. He was meaner, tougher and horny as hell. Odds were Emily Richards, the great mediator, was about to learn what a real man could do.

Emily wanted to kill. “So, all I get is a sheet? That isn’t fair. It’s cold.” For the first time in her life Emily wanted to jump up and down like a three-year old, but she refused to belittle herself in front of him.

“Tough.”

Balling her fists, she shouted, “Fine!”

She stumbled around the dark room, stubbed her toe, bumped into a dresser then finally made it to where she’d left her shoes.

Angrily, she yanked on her jeans, walked over and unlocked the door.

“Where are you going? Shut that door.”

“I’m getting my own blanket. I’m sure the desk clerk has an extra one.” She
wasn’t about to put up with him bossing her around.

“Come back here.”

“I want a blanket.”

A
strange male voice drew nearer and Emily turned toward the sound. From the security lights attached to eaves of the motel, a man wearing a black cowboy hat walked her way.

“Hey, little lady, you want to have some fun? Me and my buddies are having a party down there in 208.  Wanna join us?”

This didn’t look good, and Emily had no desire to put up with another jerk. “No thanks,” she said as he drew closer. Without pause, she backed into the room, and closed the door in the young man’s face.

What else could go wrong?

“Lock it,” Mac demanded.

As she turned the latch, a knock sounded from the opposite side. 

“Come on out, sweetheart.”

Emily leaned her forehead against the wall. What a night this turned out to be. Before she could tell the guy to go away, Mac came up behind her. Wearing a dark scowl, he jerked his head, motioning her to move out of the way. When she did, he yanked open the door.

She couldn’t help but notice with light streaming in from outside how Mac’s black boxers hugged his toned rear.

Boldly, Mac grabbed the young man by the collar. “Get the fuck away from this door before you get more than you bargained for, cowboy.”

With a grunt, Mac released the kid. He staggered backwards, his hands at his throat. “Hey, I didn’t mean no harm. Ain’t no cause to get all riled up.”

“You mess with my wife and I get plenty
riled
. And when I do, I go looking to hurt somebody.” Taking a threatening step forward, Mac demanded, “Get back to your room.”

Mac stepped into the room,
slammed then bolted the door. He turned back to Emily, pointing a damning finger. “You’re a lot of trouble.”

“Me,” s
he screeched. His insanity ran rampant. What had she done? “I was only going to get a blanket because you took the covers. So, now all this is this my fault? If you hadn’t been so grouchy I would still be sound asleep. I wasn’t looking for trouble, and don’t you even hint I encouraged that idiot.”

“I know you didn’t give him the come on,” Mac said wearily. “I’m just tired. I want some sleep.”

Was that an apology? Probably as close as she’d get coming from him.

Guilt set in when she noticed the lines around his eyes. No doubt he was exhausted. His shoulders slumped and the dark shadow on the bottom of his face gave
him a sinister look. A barrage of blame washed over her like Niagara Falls. She groaned. How much more of this could she take? Enough already.

“Look,” Emily said. “I’m sorry about all this. I’m acting like a moron. I know you’re tired.”

“Yeah, I think that makes two of us. How about we just get some sleep?”

Together they straightened the sheets on the bed and Mac crawled beneath the blanket with a heavy sigh. “Stay on your side of the bed,” he grumbled.

“Yes, sir,” she mimicked. “Gladly. Who wants to sleep cuddled up next to you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t pack my charming personality this trip.”

“You don’t own a charming anything. Go to sleep, Mac.”

A strange, yet dangerous silence settled momentarily.  Mac turned to her. 

Quicker than she could draw her next breathe, Mac had her pinned beneath him, straddling her. 

He leaned over
, placing his face directly in front of hers. His hot breath touched her face as he yanked up her shirt. “Don’t mess with me.  I’m mean.”  Her gaze locked with his. “Now, let’s get to sleep.” His stare intensified. “Or do you want me to continue?”

Shocked, Emily opened her mouth but no words came out.  She blinked. Her breath trapped somewhere between her lungs and her nostrils.

Despite his injury, he smoothly swung off her then flopped on his side of the bed, leaving her exposed and stunned. 

What in God’s name just happened? He could have taken her in an instant, and she would have been helpless to stop him. He was quick and deadly, even wounded. In all her years, Emily had never seen a man move so fast.

With his back to her, Emily lowered her top, but remained rigid. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t ignore the loud pounding of her heart or her racing pulse. And she’d trusted the agent without question.

Foolish.

The darkness of the room closed in on her as she fought back tears. Frightened and shivering, Emily stared at the ceili
ng, as she clutched the blanket beneath her chin. Never had she felt so vulnerable. She realized for her own good, she had to get away before something happened.   

Careful not to touch him, or breathe too heavily, Emily close her eyes and prayed.

***

Mac was at the point he wanted to shoot himself. That was a dumb assed thing to do, he scolded himself.

What were you trying to prove? That you could overpower her? Was there any doubt? Shit, she doesn’t weight anything, and you just extinguished the only hint of guts you’d ever seen in a woman.

T
he look in her face damned him. The fear in her eyes taunted him and his gut burned like he’d eaten a bowl of jalapenos? Realization hurt worse than his ribs. He’d cut his own damn throat before he ever again saw that look in Em’s eyes. And he’d kill any other man who made the same mistake.

She moved slightly and Mac
hoped she wasn’t going to cry. If she cried, it would be all over. He was going to take the fucking Glock off the nightstand and blow his damn head off. 

Of all the stupid things he could have done, this took the prize. If he wanted to punish her
, it had worked. But he’d also done a good job on himself.

He wanted her, but he wanted her willing, eager.

Ever since he’d met her, he’d been a royal son of a bitch and he didn’t know why. What was it about Em that brought out the worst in him, even when he wanted to be nice? It was as if he deliberately shoved her away, and did everything he could to show her what an ass he could be.

She didn’t do anything
other than provoke him a little. Hell that just showed her spunk and tenacity. She shouldn’t have to put up with his foul disposition and meanness. 

Mac moved a little trying to
relieve his discomfort. All he thought about was Em’s flaring hips and heavy breasts. He never wanted to taste anything in his whole life like he wanted to wrap his lips round her nipples and suck.

He was in for a long night, a very long night.
The artificial light from the sign outside slithered through the gaps in the drapes.

What was she thinking over there? That he was a bastard? Damn, he wished he could get rid of her. Well, after tonight he’d never see her again.
He pulled up the covers. If he could get through the next few hours he’d be home free.