Resisting Her Rebel Hero (9 page)

Wondering who on earth could be visiting her at such a late hour, she tossed the journal aside and rose from the rumpled bed to pad across the floor to the door.

Expecting to see the innkeeper, she was unnerved to find a US Navy SEAL propping up the door frame, hands shoved into jeans pockets, radiating enough virility and attitude to give a woman bad ideas. Ideas she should be done with.

The shoulders of his jacket were damp and rain dotted his dark, ruffled hair. His eyes and most of his face were shadowed, leaving his left cheekbone and half his mouth and strong jaw illuminated by the hallway light.

Heat rose in her cheeks as his hooded gaze boldly swept from the top of her tousled hair to her bare feet. Her grip tightening on the door, Cassidy barely resisted the urge to slam it in his face or—worse—cover her breasts. And since he’d already seen every inch of her naked body, that, and slamming the door, would only make her look ridiculous.

It was the first time she’d seen him since he’d rocked her world and she couldn’t help being conscious of her nudity beneath the thin tank top and long track pants she wore as pajamas.

“Major,” she said coolly in greeting. A dark brow rose at her tone and his mouth kicked up at one corner.

“Doctor,” he mocked, and after a few beats, during which he continued to study her silently, Cassidy gave in to the urge to flick her tongue nervously over her lips. His eyes went hot at the move.

Finally, when she could no longer stand the rising tension, she demanded, “What are you doing here, Major?”

“Invite me in and I’ll tell you.”

Wary of his strange mood, Cassidy eyed him suspiciously. “Why can’t you tell me out here?”

A slow, wicked smile curved his mouth. “You want the entire floor to hear what I have to say,
babe
?”

Flushing at his reminder of the night they’d spent together, she narrowed her eyes and fought the urge to slam the door in his face-even if it did make her look like an idiot. He must have read her mind because he pushed away from the wall and stepped into her, forcing her back into the room to avoid coming into contact with his hard heat.

“Come in, why don’t you?” she drawled dryly.

“Why, thank you, Dr. Honey,” he mocked softly, “don’t mind if I do.” He angled his shoulders, intentionally brushing against her as he moved past. A shiver of awareness spread across her skin, tightening her breasts. Cassidy retreated while Sam continued into the room then turned to lean back against the door, hoping it would support her wobbly knees.

He simply took over her space with his presence, leaving Cassidy fighting twin urges to plaster herself against him or run like hell.

He shrugged off his battered leather jacket and tossed it over the back of an armchair, clearly intent on staying a while. She eyed the way his dark blue T-shirt molded to wide shoulders and a strong back and her hands tingled at the memory of running them over hard muscles covered with warm, satin-smooth skin.

Thrusting his hands on his narrow hips, Sam took his time looking around the room, making Cassidy painfully aware of her rumpled appearance and the large bed dominating the space. Glowing bedside lamps gave the room an intimate glow that had her recalling in perfect detail the last time they’d been in a room together.

He turned, catching her gaze over one broad shoulder. The hot, sleepy expression in his eyes told her his thoughts were moving along similar lines.

“You bailed.” He sounded vaguely accusing, which surprised her since she’d thought they’d both wanted to avoid any “after” awkwardness. Talking about it now was not only redundant, it was...mortifying. She wanted to forget the whole incident. But if he wanted to discuss it, the least she could do was be honest.

“Look, Major, I’m not looking to start...well, anything. It...it was a mistake,” she finished firmly.

His eyes darkened and his jaw flexed. “A mistake?”

Suddenly parched, she pushed away from the door and headed for the small bar fridge, determined not to let him distract her with memories of “the sofa interlude.” It was over and she wasn’t going there again.

She bent at the waist to grab a bottle of water and looked over her shoulder, only to catch his smoldering gaze on her backside. She straightened with a snap and “Can I get you something?” emerged on a breathless little squeak.

Unconcerned that he’d been caught ogling, Sam’s brooding gaze traveled up the length of her body until his eyes met hers, heat and accusation in his expression. He shook his head. “I’m good.”

Yeah, right.

She headed for the window with her bottle, hoping a little distance would help her breathe in the suddenly hot, airless room. She turned and propped her hip against the windowsill. “Why are you here, Major?” she demanded, twisting off the cap. “Are you ill? Find out your girlfriend has an STD?”

His lips twitched but he shook his head slowly, eyes scorching and intense as he watched her lift the bottle and drink thirstily. He licked his lips, his gaze travelling from her mouth, down her throat to her tight breasts. He didn’t look sick, she thought a little wildly. In fact, he looked fabulous. And hot.
Dammit
.

“Is something...um wrong?” she asked hoarsely, before clearing her throat irritably. “
Do
you need a doctor?” Her gaze checked him for blood and found none.

“Yes... No.” He moved across the floor and her heart skipped a few too many beats when he came to a halt less than a foot away. His gold eyes studied her as though he’d never seen her before. “
You
do.”

“I—what?”
What the heck was he talking about?

“Monty had an accident on his way back from visiting his daughter. He’s in Spruce Ridge General.”

Cassidy gasped and felt her face drain of color. She tightened her hand on the plastic bottle. “Oh, God, is he all right?” She hadn’t known the older man long but had come to like and respect him enormously.

“Shattered hip. He’ll be out of commission for a while.”

“You know as well as I do that he won’t be back,” she told him quietly. “After something like that the workload would likely kill him. Besides, he should be enjoying his retirement.”

“He’s been treating people here for the past forty-five years. Hell, he
is
the hospital.”

“He still needs to enjoy his retirement.”

“Tell that to him. Besides, Crescent Lake’s tourism has soared over the past five years. The hospital needs someone younger who can cope with the workload.” He paused. “So. You interested?”

Cassidy’s heart skipped a beat but she knew enough not to read too much into his question. He wasn’t asking because
he
wanted her to stay. “What about you?”

He sent her an impatient look. “I already have a job,” he reminded her shortly.

“Yes,” she agreed shortly. “Yelling ‘
boo-yah
’ as you jump from high altitudes.”

“That’s right.” His brows lowered and he folded his arms across his chest. “You make it sound like a kids’ game.”

“No, it’s not and I appreciate that you risk your life with every mission, but you’re more than a SEAL, Major. You’re more than infiltration, interrogation and demolition.”

“Yeah,” he agreed silky. “I’m damn good at my job.”

“You’d have to be. But you can’t be a SEAL for ever.”

A dark brow rose arrogantly. “I can’t?”

Rolling her eyes, Cassidy recapped the water bottle with an irritated twist. “You know you can’t,” she said flatly, slapping the bottle on the windowsill with a snap. He caught and held her gaze with an intensity she felt like a burn in her gut. “Eventually you have to retire or move up the ladder.”

“Or come home in a body bag.”

“Don’t say that,” she snapped, suddenly furious with his dry flippancy. The thought of him being KIA made her queasy. She gulped, pushing her hair off her forehead with unsteady fingers. “
God
, don’t say that. Just...just...
don’t
.”

“Every soldier, every sailor thinks about it,” he reminded her gently. “It’s the reality of being in any country’s armed forces.
Hell
, before every mission we write letters to our families and get our affairs in order.”

Cassidy felt tears burning the backs of her eyes, pressure squeezing her chest like a vice. She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes to counteract the sudden threat of tears. “That’s...
Dammit
. That’s not fair.”

A slow, satisfied smile lit his dark features. “Sounds like you care what happens to me,” he said cockily, the masculine confidence in his voice sending her belly dipping and her temper rising. She wanted to simultaneously slug him and wrap her arms around him.

“Of course I care,” she snapped hotly, before realizing how he might interpret her words. “You’re...you’re a valuable member of the country’s special armed forces. I’d care about anyone I knew going off to fight a dangerous war.”

His looked skeptical. “
Riiiiight.
” He stepped closer to plant his big boots either side of her bare feet and slapped both hands on the windowsill at her hips, effectively boxing her in. Then he leant down to brush his lips against the delicate skin beneath her ear.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t miss me?” he demanded softly.

Cassidy gulped and her head spun with the warm, male scent of him. “I...uh.”

“Not even a little?” he whispered, giving her earlobe a tiny nip that sent shivers of pure sensation spreading throughout her body. The back of her neck prickled, her breasts tightened and familiar heat pooled between her thighs. And when his mouth opened against her throat she moaned, tilting her head to the side to give him room. She wanted to beg him to stop one instant and the next—

“Samuel.” Her voice emerged, husky and aching with a desire she could no longer deny. She wanted him. Needed the hot slide of his flesh against hers more than she needed her next breath. “This is a mistake.”

“No,” he rasped against her neck. “Inevitable.”

She gave a breathless moan when his hands curled around her knees, pushed them gently apart to step between them until his heat and hardness pressed against where she ached.

“Admit it,” he insisted softly, his hands smoothing a line of fire up her thighs to her hips. “Admit that you’d miss me if some scumbag terrorist took me out,” he said against her mouth.

Dizzy with the force of her emotions, Cassidy slid her palms up his long muscular arms to his shoulders and fought the urge to clutch him close. She wondered briefly why she’d imagined she could ignore him, especially when he touched her like this. Put his mouth on her. Talked about dying.

“Yes,” she breathed against his mouth, sliding her hands into his thick hair. “
God, yes
,” and caught his mouth in a kiss that showed him exactly how much she would miss him. How much she’d come to need him despite her determination not to.

Sam growled deep in his throat and lifted her, yanking her hard against him. And when her legs snaked around his hips, he turned towards the rumpled bed.

“Show me, Cassidy,” he growled against her throat. “Show me how much you’d miss me.”

CHAPTER NINE

W
HEN
C
ASSIDY
 
WOKE
 
the following morning she was naked and aching in deliciously intimate places.
Again
.

Only this time
she
was alone and didn’t have to scramble around looking for her clothes.

Sliding her hand over the bed where Sam’s big body had heated up the sheets, she told herself she was relieved. But the truth was the hollow feeling in her chest made her feel like a hypocrite.

In the dark, intimate hours of the night she’d pressed her body to his, arched into his hungry caresses and moaned when he’d moved his hot, moist mouth over every inch of skin and thrust his body into hers. And when their ragged, harsh breathing had calmed and their skin cooled, he’d pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her as she’d slid bonelessly into sleep.

As if he’d never let her go.

He’d made her feel safe and protected as she hadn’t felt in a long time—as though within his arms she’d found her shelter from the storm.

Which was ridiculous.

Samuel J. Kellan
was
the storm. He’d blown into her life when she’d been determined to hide from the world. He’d turned her inside out with his sexy smile and hot, seductive kisses that made her feel—things she didn’t want to feel—and then he’d given her a glimpse of the caring, honorable man beneath the tough, broody SEAL exterior.
Worst
of all he’d made her admire him when she’d been convinced he was exactly like Lance Turnbull.

Okay, so she liked him too—a
lot
—but that was beside the point. He’d soon be back with his team, plotting mayhem and destruction in the world’s hottest hotspots and she’d be...here. A world away.

Her one-night stand had just become two, and she didn’t know what that meant, how she felt about it or if she wanted more. Heck, if
he
wanted more.

Fortunately, by the time she walked into the hospital she’d managed to get her wildly unstable emotions under control. Until she saw
him
—tall and darkly handsome—surrounded by animated adoring women and looking like a large hungry predator in a hen house.

As though his senses were attuned to her, Sam’s head lifted and his eyes met hers across the room. The force of his gaze hit her like a sledgehammer, leaving Cassidy stunned and gasping for air because that look said he saw things she’d rather keep hidden. Things that had become painfully obvious last night when he’d talked about dying. Things she’d refused to acknowledge. Even to herself.
Oh, God.
Even with the truth staring her in the face.

Then his eyes crinkled in a private, evocative smile meant to remind her of hot, wet mouths and frantic, greedy hands. Her heart lurched in her chest before taking off like a crazed meth head fleeing from the cops.

Shocked and a little spooked by her reaction, she turned and hurried towards the hallway leading to her office, her palm hitting the door as though she couldn’t escape fast enough. In reality she wanted to run for the exit and keep going until the feelings faded. But she had an awful feeling she couldn’t run too far or too fast. Everything that had happened with Sam was burned indelibly into her mind—
heck
,
 
her soul—and running would accomplish nothing.

Besides, she wasn’t the kind of woman who got swept away by a couple of nights with a sexy Navy SEAL.

Was she?

Hyperventilating and angry with herself for making more of things than they were, Cassidy stormed into her office and yanked off her jacket. She flung it at the coat rack and tossed her purse into her bottom drawer with shaking hands, then gave the drawer a frustrated little kick.

What the hell was that?

“What the hell was that?”

Cassidy froze when the low, furious demand filled the room. A frisson of alarm skated up her spine as memories roared in of the last time she’d been cornered in an office by an angry man. Drawing in a steadying breath, she gathered her professionalism around her like an invisible cloak and turned to find him looking hot and annoyed and more than a little baffled.

Sam wasn’t Lance, she reminded herself. And he wasn’t a desperate, drug-crazed psycho.

“Excuse me?” she asked coolly, hoping he’d take the hint and back the hell off. With her emotions frayed and ragged, she wasn’t up to a confrontation without exposing emotions scraped raw from panic.

Sam folded his arms across his chest, his dark brows a slash of irritation across the bridge of his nose. “You heard me.”

Cassidy lifted her chin in challenge. “What was what?” She had the satisfaction of seeing a muscle twitch in his jaw.
Good,
she thought uncharitably,
I’m not the only unhinged person here
.

“
That
,” he snapped, pointing at her. “In here. Out there. It’s like you’re two different people. It’s confusing as hell. I never know where I am with you.”

All thoughts of poise and cool professionalism forgotten, Cassidy stared back at him frostily and ignored the way her stomach clenched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“
Jeez,
Cassidy,” he said roughly, his face harsh with some fierce emotion he seemed to be struggling with. “One minute you’re all warm and sweet and sexy and the next...hell, you looked at me like I’m the Greenside rapist.”

Wincing inwardly, Cassidy turned away, hunching her shoulders against the truth. She smoothed unsteady hands down her thighs. “You’re imagining things. I was just a little surprised to see you, that’s all. I’m—” She stopped abruptly when she turned to find him a couple inches away. Her eyes widened and she uttered an audible gasp.
Yikes
. The man moved like smoke.

She gulped and backed up a step. He was so close, so...
familiar
.

“That’s bull.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me,” he growled, his deep voice scraping against ragged nerve endings. “I’m not some muscle-bound redneck you can intimidate with the frosty debutante routine.”

Staring into eyes fierce with a confusing mix of emotions, Cassidy swallowed past the lump in her throat and sighed. “It’s...complicated.” She shrugged helplessly. “Just old, not-so-pleasant memories. Ancient history. Really.”

After a long moment he lifted a hand and brushed his knuckles across her jaw. Surprise at the gentle touch added to her ragged emotions. Emotions she didn’t want or need. Emotions that made her feel fragile and susceptible and long for something she couldn’t have.

“Wanna talk about it?”

A strangled laugh escaped and she finally found the strength to move away from the temptation to lean on him, draw in some of his strength and heat.

“
God
,
no
. It’s nothing,
really
.” She drew in a fortifying breath and turned, eager to change the subject. “So, what
are
you doing here?”

His gaze narrowed, probed. “I told you last night.”

“You
did
?” Now it was Cassidy’s turn to be confused.

“Yeah. I told you Monty had an accident and the mayor asked me to fill in until they can get someone else—or I’m recalled.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Whichever comes first.”

Cassidy frowned as though trying to recall what he’d said last night. “You told me about the accident.” She remembered him talking about body bags and dying and then— “You never said anything about filling in as medic,” she added quickly, memories of what had followed flooding her with heat.
Yeesh
.
So not the time to be thinking about that
. “I would have remembered.”

Sam eyed her flushed face silently for a few beats then his mouth slowly curved into a smartass grin that she wanted to simultaneously smack and kiss. “You thought I was here to take up where we left off last night, didn’t you?”

She flushed. “Of course not,” she denied instantly, smoothing her already smooth French twist with shaking hands. “That’s...that’s insane,” she finished lamely, trying to hide her shock at discovering they would be working closely together.
Oh, boy.

“You
did
.” His grin faded into a harsh frown and his mouth twisted. She could feel him withdrawing. “I think I get it now. Negative reaction, ancient history. I reminded you of some scumbag stalker, didn’t I?” Without waiting for a response, he swore and shoved his fingers through his hair. “What the hell kind of man do you take me for?”

“Th-that’s ridiculous,” she spluttered and turned to reach for the clean lab coat hanging on the back of her chair to give her hands something to do. “Why would I th-think that?” Large, warm hands dropped onto her shoulders and she tensed, abruptly sucking in a shaky breath.

“Hey.” His voice, deep and rough, slid inside her chest and aimed for her heart. “Is that what you think?” he demanded hoarsely. “That I would...hell...
could
hurt you?”

Cassidy looked up over her shoulder into his face and couldn’t deny the sincerity behind the baffled hurt and anger. Sighing, she made herself relax and ignored the temptation to lean back against him, let him wrap his arms around her. Like he had during the night. But she couldn’t. He might say he wouldn’t hurt her, but he would. Not intentionally or physically. She didn’t think he was capable of that. But he most definitely would hurt her. And soon.

“No, I don’t,” she denied, easing out from beneath his hands and moving a safe distance away.
Not really.
“A year ago I made the mistake of trusting...well, someone I shouldn’t have.”

She felt him come up behind her. “What happened?”

Cassidy sighed, admitting to herself that he deserved to know why she behaved like she had a multiple personality. “Lance is...
was
a vice cop. Charming, handsome...” Her mouth twisted wryly. “A hero. He...um...he was brought into ER after a drug bust went wrong.”

“I sense that’s not the only thing that went wrong.”

Cassidy flushed with embarrassment, hating that she’d been so naïve. “He came to thank me for saving his life. An exaggeration, but he was sweet and...well—”

“Charming?” Sam demanded darkly, and when she remained silent he cursed softly. “And you fell for it.”

Cassidy gritted her teeth. “I guess you could say that.”

“But?”

“He had a habit of seducing women in the medical profession.”

“Let me guess. He liked all the attention?” He sounded disgusted.

Cassidy shrugged. “That too.”

“There’s more?”

“He stole my security card and helped himself to the dispensary.”

“
Holy cr
—! He stole drugs?”

“For which I was blamed. The cops were called in. Fortunately for me he was already under investigation and my testimony...well, suffice it to say he’s no longer a cop.”

“Good for you. I hope the bastard rots in jail.” He was silent a moment. “You were exonerated?”

“Yes, but...”

“Again
but
?”

“Things got...well,
difficult
after that.”

“They fired you?” He sounded outraged.

She shook her head. “No. But sometimes I think it might have been better if they had. There was a lot of gossip and jokes. Cruel jokes.” She shrugged. “You know what it’s like in hospitals. So...I eventually resigned and moved here.” Cassidy abruptly became all business. “As I said, Major, ancient history.”

A dark brow hiked up his forehead at her cool tone and his eyes darkened. “Are we back to that,
Doctor
?”

Cassidy sighed. “Look, last night was a—”

“Don’t say it,” he interrupted her shortly, taking a couple of long strides in her direction. Her eyes widened and she quickly moved to put the desk between them. He halted, shoving his hands on his narrow hips as he studied her, brows lowered in visible frustration.

“It
was
a mistake,” she insisted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes since “mistake” was a major understatement. At least for her it was. It meant she could no longer blame her behavior on adrenaline. But he would still leave, and if she let her feelings develop, what then?

Sam was silent for so long she began to rearrange her desk to give her hands something to do. Just when she thought he’d finally taken the hint and left, a large hand covered hers.

She froze, staring down at the sight of her pale, slender hand engulfed in his. His hand was huge, tanned and broad with long skilled fingers that were capable of killing a man, bringing a baby back from the brink of death—and driving a woman out of her mind with pleasure.

The strength of it should have scared her but for some strange reason it just felt...right.
He
felt right. As though her hand had been fashioned to fit perfectly into his.

But that was a dangerous illusion and one she needed to get out of her head. He wasn’t perfect, she reminded herself firmly. He was fighting demons as hard as he fought for his country. The combination wasn’t healthy. For either of them.

“Why?” he demanded softly. “You didn’t have a good time?”

Making a sound in her throat that was a cross between a laugh and groan, Cassidy stopped trying to escape and looked up over her shoulder into his fallen-angel face. She would like to say no, but she couldn’t lie to him, not any more. So she said instead, “I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it may incriminate me.”

Sam used his grasp on her hand to whip her around and tug her against him. “Then what’s the problem?” His free arm snaked around her waist and his lips brushed her temple.

Cassidy pressed her palms against the hard heat of his chest and fought the urge to slide them up to cup his firm jaw, tunnel into his thick dark hair. “You. Me... Hell, I don’t know. I just know it can’t happen again.”

His arms tightened as though he would pull her into him. “Why not?” He sounded baffled and frustrated. “You had a good time and I sure as hell did.”

Cassidy sighed and pressed her face wearily into his throat, tempted to close her eyes and burrow deep. Until she absorbed his heat, his strength. Or he absorbed all of her.