Still Mine (10 page)

She was lucky only her hand had ended up burned. It was difficult to acknowledge the blame. But he’d insisted she be brought here when she could have been relocated to any number of other locations without even telling her what the problem was. She could have woken up this morning still believing herself a widow.

Instead he was acting with the same recklessness that had started the whole thing six years ago.

The physical effect she solicited from him was still a mystery this morning. Maybe he had only insisted on seeing her to confirm she would have no effect on him. If so, he’d miscalculated somewhere in the equation.

Paul paused with his sight on the data displayed by his terminal. He’d given up his wife because of this moment. Listened to older men tell him the dangers the project came with. That keeping Jo would be selfish. He’d believed them when they’d promised he’d forget about her. That he’d have to choose between a normal life with a wife and family or his top-secret project. Dangers surrounded his dream planes. Threats made it impossible for him to live a normal life. Deciding to live behind a curtain of security was something he just couldn’t impose on Jo. It had felt like smothering her.

But he’d only agreed because it would have killed him to watch her live in fear. Watch as her eyes welled up with terror as those same men lowered the weight of their classified project onto her young shoulders. He’d been too stupid to understand love wasn’t something you decided anything about. It controlled you, held on and never stopped burning. He’d prowled through photos of her, watching her through a camera because he yearned for contact. Letting her go felt right every time he saw her achieve something new. Building the life she couldn’t have as his wife.

Maybe he’d just grasped the chance to see her again without really recognizing his own selfish impulse.

While Ruby’s data completed his goals, the cool material in front of his eyes wasn’t as exciting as having his hand on Jo’s skin last night. When he was a younger man, he’d thought the project was worth it; today he was wondering why he’d been so idiotic. Maybe he could have moved on if she’d moved on. It was a unique puzzle, because he hadn’t ever considered that Jonnie wouldn’t find another man. In a way, he’d needed her to. It was the only thing that would have torn him up enough to make him stop thinking about her.

The fact that she hadn’t let anyone into her bed tormented him with the possibility of reclaiming her. She was still his, in law and body. It was a tantalizing idea that drew him away from his work again, just as it had years before. The difference was, he wasn’t an unproven man anymore. He wasn’t going to be strong-armed into devoting his life one hundred and ten percent to the cause. He’d had six years to think about options. Besides, he was the man who made the impossible a reality. He wasn’t in his position because he built planes along conventional lines. He listened to what they wanted and found a way to make it a reality.

That was his real problem. The power of choice. It sat glimmering in his palm as the knowledge that she hadn’t found another lover taunted him.

Raising his head, Paul found Nolan still hovering inside the office space. “How’s her pain today?”

Durant offered him a raised eyebrow. “Can’t find her, so I imagine she’s noticing a lack of medication in her system by now.”

“Damn it. How could you lose her?” The words were out of his mouth before Paul considered them. Nolan shot him a glance that stopped a lot of the major’s men cold.

“No one told me to waste one of my men on guard duty once I delivered her to you.” Durant took a deep breath. “It’s my understanding that she’s here for you to deal with. My responsibility ends with keeping the perimeter secure. It’s tight.”

Inclining his head in acknowledgement, Paul leaned back against the corner of his desk. The testing facility was secure. Jonnie had to be somewhere on it. Andraluph wouldn’t get to her now that she was on post.

“My guess would be she’ll come searching for you when she gets done looking the place over.” Durant sound amused by the idea.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Paul frowned. What was she doing? It was well into the afternoon. She couldn’t have eaten without being spotted, which meant she hadn’t had her pain medication either. He wasn’t used to thinking about Jo being so determined that she ignored discomfort to get what she wanted.

But she would have to have developed that trait if she’d made it through law enforcement training.

“She must be doing a good job of blending in if you don’t know where she is.”

Nolan’s mouth twitched as he acknowledged the comment. “She’s not bad. I’d find her if I needed to.”

“As you stated, she’s my responsibility.” The words were out of his mouth before he really thought about them. Another one of those responses that had gotten him into trouble with Jo six years ago. She was like a pheromone that went straight into his brain, overriding every other thought process to take complete command.

Glancing at his computer, Paul punched in his shutdown code. The hard data had lost its attraction now that Jo was close enough to touch. Anticipation chewed through his control as he pushed his chair back and left.

Jo was his, as surprising and complicated as it might be.

Focusing her eyes, Jo watched the plane that sat on the east runway. This morning she had watched it land. Now it was almost finished being unloaded. What held her attention was the line of people waiting to board the aircraft.

There was no other way off the base except by air. It had taken her the majority of the day to circle the perimeter and discover that not even a single gate existed. Nothing but warning signs posted at even fifty-foot intervals. Well, that was one way to keep things classified. No roads, just an ocean of desert. The afternoon heat hinted at the southwest, but the temperature had dipped pretty low last night. She could be in the northwest, and wouldn’t know for sure until winter hit.

Sticking around that long wasn’t high on her list of possible remedies for her current situation.

She refused to accept imprisonment here. Running back to her boss might not be dignified but it could be effective. Once given the facts, Jo hoped Ross Locke would be able to keep her under the jurisdiction of the marshals office. In any case, she was willing to take the chance. It beat waiting for Paul to show up and face off with her again with his ideas of playing house. Fine, maybe she was a coward. She just wasn’t sure she was strong enough to resist the temptation his muscle-packed frame sparked in her.

She wasn’t wearing that set of shoes again.

Now she just needed to find a way aboard that plane.

“You’d never make it past the security post.”

Jo froze. She had made sure to keep moving along the tree line to avoid detection. Her company dropped from the tree a few feet from her. Jo watched his body bend at the knees to absorb the impact of his landing.

Today her husband was clad only in a pair of canvas pants and a short-sleeved shirt. The coat he’d worn last night had covered a body that was in no way familiar to her. Paul had never been in poor shape, but this man was in exceptional condition. The sharp definition of muscle was more common in a wild animal. Or in this case, an extreme soldier. If he told her he was a Ranger or a SEAL, she’d have no problem believing it. His shoulders were packed with hard muscle. If there was an ounce of fat on his frame, she couldn’t see it. Even in the bright light of day, she detected that hint of shadowy operative clinging to him. It was in his eyes, the way he kept his emotions hidden. One dark eyebrow rose as she contemplated him silently.

“I didn’t scare you?” He sounded intrigued by the fact that she hadn’t yelped when he’d dropped into her line of sight.

“Panic only serves your opponent.” She lifted her chin, stubbornly refusing to show him an inkling of apprehension. “What’s wrong? Did you get tired of sending Goliath after me? Or does the man consider me tame now that he’s got my sidearm?”

“Goliath?”

“Durant.” Jo bit into her lower lip as she recognized just how fast she’d shared a little personal humor with him. It grated on her nerves because she should be able to shut him out, like a stranger you didn’t want to have anything to do with. Instead she was joking with him. Sharing a part of herself that belonged in a relationship. Paul needed to be kept in the “business only” category.

Paul fixed her with his gaze. “You are safe here, Jo. The security is first class. You don’t need to carry a gun.”

“Sorry, but that’s not me anymore. I earned the right to carry a sidearm and I’m not giving it up.” At least that lived up to her desire to freeze him out. His eyes narrowed in response but movement from the runway caught her attention. Watching the line of waiting personnel file onto the empty aircraft drew her complete attention. Bitter envy rose up in her throat for those people down there who held the very dear right to make their own decisions. Jo hadn’t understood just how precious that right was until now.

“Were you really thinking about boarding that plane?”

His question was insulting. Her temper flared and she turned to glare at him.

“What did you think, Paul, you’re the only one who can step out? You appear to have set up a life for yourself, without me. I was going to repay the favor by getting on with my life without you.” She frowned before shrugging. “Or maybe that would just be fitting in with your plans. In any event, the least you could do is divorce me so neither of us faces adultery charges. Last time I checked, the military doesn’t favor cheating spouses very much.”

“I don’t hold any rank. I work here but I’m not enlisted.”

“Oh silly me. Maybe I just thought you were in the army because…” She pointed a finger at him. “Because you told me that you were.”

He pressed his lips into a tight line. A muscle twitched along his jawline as her words hit him. The hint of emotional reaction distracted her because she frankly hadn’t anticipated any caring on his part.

“We aren’t getting divorced.”

“Excuse me? Why the hell not? If you don’t want me as your wife, you have no right to keep me from settling into a new relationship with someone else. Besides, this is the twenty-first century, Paul. I want a divorce and I’ll get one. It sure won’t be hard to prove abandonment.”

“Actually, it will.” His face was etched from stone as he pegged her with a hard stare. “I can have every shred of proof cleansed from the surface of the planet, leaving our marriage license to stand firm.”

The arrogance in his tone really fit with her opinion of FBI agents. They thought themselves omnipotent. But she wasn’t going to bend.

“Plenty of people were at your funeral. I do investigation for a living, Paul. I’ll get that proof.”

“Really? I might just let you try.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “One phone call and every single man who attended will be transferred someplace undefined. Their families won’t talk to you either. Believe me, Jo, I can make it happen.”

Jo fended off a tingle of fear. He wasn’t the first man who had tried to intimidate her into doing what he wanted. Or told her to toss in the towel because she wasn’t up to the challenge. She shook it off, refusing to buckle. Locke had taught her how to prove what everyone didn’t want exposed.

Paul was used to dealing with military personal. He recognized that fact while he lashed through her arguments with a speed that didn’t account for any regard for her feelings. But she didn’t flinch, her lower lip never even quivered. He’d expected it to. Hell, maybe he was trying to piss her off to make his own actions easier to shoulder. Instead, her eyes narrowed.

“When did you turn into such a jerk, Paul?”

It was a good question. One he didn’t enjoy asking himself. Distrust surfaced on her face and it rubbed him raw. It collided with the memory of how she’d looked at him, and the love shimmering in her eyes had filled him with enough happiness to lift his boots off the pavement. Hearing the word “divorce” from her lips lit a fire that turned those memories to charcoal.

“I may be a jerk but I’m also your husband. You married me, Jo.”

“I’m not the one that threw that away.”

He clamped his mouth closed, holding back whatever he wanted to say. Instead, he surveyed her from head to toe with glittering black eyes. A flush of heat spread across her face, stunning her. Blushing for him only made her madder.

He reached out, touching the stain on her cheek. She stepped back, but not before their skin connected. A ripple of sensation washed over her, leaving goose bumps on her forearms.

“You feel that, Jo?” His voice was husky, setting off another wave of awareness. This time, her nipples tingled. His gaze held hers as he took one step towards her, closing the distance again. “I sure did. That isn’t something we choose. We’re bound together by a lot more than a ceremony. You can’t escape that with a legal document. Thinking me dead didn’t cut the link. What makes you so sure a divorce will?”

His words were whisper soft but sharp as a razor. While she was mesmerized by the heat flickering in his eyes, the wind shifted and his scent hit her. Paul snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her into hard contact with his frame. Jo brought her hands up, attempting to force the disturbing wall of flesh away. The only thing her resistance gained her was a fierce jolt of pain from her injured hand. But she shoved at him again because the hard chest beneath her fingertips was pure temptation. Little pulses of excitement raced through her bloodstream. It was too warm, far too male for her fragile emotions. Six years of abstinence and her body wasn’t interested in how much of a callous jerk he was, only the reality that they were married and he was hers for the taking.

“Your hand is burned, Jonnie, stop using it.” His arm stayed in place as one hand smoothed up her neck and knocked her hat off her head. His chest rumbled with a deep sound of male enjoyment as he tugged the clip holding her hair free.

“Turn me loose.” Her teeth were clenched against the tide of rising enjoyment sweeping through her. Control seemed nothing but a distant memory as her nipples drew into hard points.