The Heart Has Reasons (8 page)

Was
he simply off his game tonight or had eight months of civilian life softened
him that much?  Dropping her onto the edge of the bed, he leaned down until
his face was just inches from hers.  “Are you going to scream when I take
my hand away?”  She shook her head.  “If you do, I’m going to make
you very,
very
sorry you did.”  When she shook her head again, he
cautiously removed his hand.  “You’d better not fucking move.”

Keeping
a close eye on her, he leaned down to pluck the pill from the floor, refusing
to wince at the pain that blazed along his ribs as he straightened back
up.  “I think you
want
me to hurt you.”

She
blanched, but met his gaze squarely.  “What I want is for you to let me
go.”

“That’s
not going to happen.”  Dirt and carpet fibers now clung to the
capsule.  “I should make you take this one.”  Instead, he pitched it
into the plastic wastebasket beside the bed.

When
he produced a second from his pocket, she set her chin defiantly.  “I’m
not taking it.”

“That’s
what you think.”  Intending to force the capsule into her mouth, he shoved
her back onto the mattress.  Before he could pin her, she wedged her knees
between them, shoved him off, and rolled in the opposite direction.

He
lunged for her.  Quick as a striking snake, her arm shot out.  Again
caught off guard, he barely managed to block the blade of her hand from
connecting with his throat.  She’d clearly had some sort of self-defense
training.

As
they struggled, he found himself somewhat hampered by holding the capsule in
one hand, and by the fact that he didn’t want to inadvertently hurt her. 
Avoiding another blow, he sprawled atop her, using his own weight to pin her to
the bed.

Suddenly
he was wrestling a  hissing, spitting wildcat.  She was fast,
stronger than he would’ve imagined, and as hard to get a grip on as an
eel.  As they grappled in a tangle of flailing limbs, she punched, kicked,
clawed, and once nearly managed to sink her teeth into his wrist before he
twisted free of her grasp.

When
he swung a leg up and over to straddle her, her knee shot toward his
groin.  He jerked his hips back, sucking in a breath in anticipation of
the pain that, fortunately, never arrived as she missed his testicles by a mere
hair’s breadth.  “Knee me in the balls and I’ll take my belt to your ass.”

Despite
his threat, he was somewhat disconcerted to realize he was immensely enjoying
their struggles.  However, when she swung an elbow around, driving it into
the side of his head hard enough to make his ears ring, he’d finally had
enough.  Flipping her onto her stomach, he drew back and administered a
stinging slap to one cheek of her ass.

She
yelped and instantly stopped struggling.  “
Ow-w-w!
  That
hurt!
”

“I
intended it to.  Are you going to take the fucking pill?”

“No!”

When
she tried to roll over onto her back, he pinned her face down on the
mattress.  Reaching up over their heads, she grabbed hold of the top of
the ski mask and pulled, blinding him as the eyeholes shifted up onto his
forehead.  He grabbed the mask with one hand and locked the other around
her bruised wrist.  With his mouth close to her ear, he whispered through
the knit fabric, “Do you remember what I said would happen to you if you saw my
face?”

After
a moment’s hesitation, she released her grip.  When he started to tug the
mask back into place, she took advantage of his momentary blindness to ram an
elbow into his gut, hard enough to make his breath
whoosh
out.  As
he doubled over, she scrambled out from under him.  Still blinded by the
ski mask, he managed to lock one hand around an ankle and haul her back. 
Throwing himself on top of her, he pinned her to the mattress, allowing his
full weight to hold her immobile.

“Get
off me,” she gasped.

“Shut
up.”  He tugged the mask back into position, then raised himself onto his
elbows, taking most of his weight off her chest.  As she squirmed beneath
him, he realized he had a full erection.  It pressed into the juncture of
her thighs and, without consciously intending to do so, he thrust against
her.  She abruptly stopped struggling, to lay stiff as a statue.

They
remained in that position for several moments, faces only inches apart as they
gazed into one another’s eyes.  Neither spoke, although neither could
ignore the erection sandwiched between them, huge and throbbing with a life of
its own.  His eyes locked onto her mouth, wondering what it would be like
to kiss her.  She was breathing in shallow, panting breaths, her chest
heaving beneath his.  Both it and the pulse throbbing in his ears seemed
unnaturally loud in the heavy stillness.

“Despite
the fact that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed wrestling with you, it’s beginning to
grow tiresome.  Continue to resist, and I
will
use pain to make you
comply.”

She
took a deep, shuddery breath as green eyes brimming with frank rebellion met
his.  “I’m not taking that freaking pill.”

While
preparing for this mission, he’d tried to plan for every possible contingency,
but never once had he imagined that she’d be so goddamned
recalcitrant
. 
Pinning her upper arms to the mattress, he walked his knees up either side of
her body until he was straddling her waist, all the while trying to ignore the
erection that tented his pajama bottoms.  “I didn’t want to do this, but
you leave me no choice.”

When
he circled one hand about her throat, she realized his intention and tried to
suck in a breath.  He clamped down with barely enough force to close off
her windpipe.  Grabbing his wrist with both hands, she struggled to wrench
his hand away.

He
held the pill before her face.  “Open your mouth and I’ll let go.” 
Her jaw clenched tighter.  “Open your fucking mouth!”  The tears that
glittered in defiant green eyes deflated his erection.  Oxygen depletion gradually
slackened her grip on his wrist, her face began take on a bluish hue, and
still
she wouldn’t open.

Fuck!

He
abruptly released his grip.  Her chest heaved like a bellows as she
desperately sucked in air.  “You can kill me if you want, but I’m not swallowing
that pill.”

He
briefly considered relenting but, if he conceded defeat so easily, she’d be
even harder to manage over the next four days.  She
had
to take
it.  But since threats seemed to have no effect, how could he make her
comply without actually hurting her?  He’d more easily managed hardened
Afghan rebels, while she was just a pampered American woman.

Then
it hit him.  He needed to change tactics and deal with her
as a woman
.

Shifting
off her, he grabbed her shoulders and roughly flipped her onto her
stomach.  He immediately threw a leg over her so he was once again
straddling her, but this time facing her feet.  Grabbing her pants by
their elastic waistband, he yanked them down to expose her bare buttocks.

Thrashing
frantically, she threw an arm back over his thigh, locked a hand onto her
pants, and struggled to pull them back up.  “
What are you doing?
”

“It
just occurred to me that you don’t have to swallow the capsule.  It’ll
work just as well administered as a rectal suppository.”

CHAPTER
7

“
No!
” she screamed.
 “Okay. 
Okay!
  I’ll take it!”

“Too
late.  I’d rather give it to you this way.”

“
Please!
 
Let me swallow it.”

“Are
you sure?”

“
Yes!
 
I promise not to fight anymore.”

Triumphant,
Chase let her up.

Scrambling
away from him, she huddled against the cheap, wooden headboard and knuckled
tears from her eyes.  “If you’re not planning to … to do something to me,
then why do I have to take it?”

“Without
it, you won’t be able to sleep.  If
you
don’t sleep,
I
won’t
sleep, and I’ve got a whole day of driving ahead of me tomorrow.”

Sullen
eyes stared at him for the space of a dozen heartbeats.  “And there’s no
other reason?”

“I’d
think by now it would be obvious that if I were
planning to molest you
I’d prefer you wide-awake and struggling.”

Her
eyes flicked to his crotch, and a flush crept up her cheeks.  “Okay, give
it to me.”  When she opened her mouth, he placed the capsule on her
tongue.  She drained the last of the water from the glass, swallowed, and
opened her mouth again, lifting her tongue this time.

“See
how much easier it is when you don’t fight me?”

“See
how much easier it is when you
explain
things?”

Pleased
her spirit was still intact, he raised a hand to sketch a little salute. 
“Touché.”

“If
you expect me to cooperate, then you need to treat me with a little more
respect.”

“A
mutually beneficial accord?  In the interests of making the next four days
go by any easier, I agree.” 
Any
thing to make handling her easier.

Green
eyes opened wide as his words registered.  “Next four days?  You’re
not delivering me tomorrow?”

Caressed
by the sultry southern warmth of her voice, he shook his head in the
negative.  Despite the fact that she was a gold-digging, child-abandoning
bitch, she was a most diverting woman.  No wonder Keswick was willing to
pay a small fortune for her return.

Sweating
slightly from their exertions, she tugged his sweatshirt over her head,
instantly provoking another stirring at his crotch.  Well, shit. 
Sexual attraction was something he hadn’t taken into consideration
beforehand.  He’d definitely have to guard against it.

A
high-pitched sound caught his attention, and then he noticed the exaggerated
rise and fall of her chest.  “Are you wheezing?”

As
if on cue, she gasped and clutched her throat.  “I’m having an asthma
attack!  I can’t breathe.  I need to go to the emergency room!”

Fuck. 
This was just what he needed.  “Cut the theatrics.  We’re not going
anywhere.”  Keeping an eye on her, he rummaged through the trash bag of
toiletries. 

“If
you don’t take me, I’ll die!”

“Don’t
be melodramatic.”

When
he extended his arm toward her, green eyes widened at seeing her inhaler. 
For a moment, he thought she’d refuse it in an attempt to force the issue of
going to the hospital.  Apparently realizing this would be yet another
battle she’d lose, she snatched it from his hand and sucked the mist into her
lungs.

“Is
your asthma bad?  And don’t lie.”

She
held the breath for a moment, then exhaled.  “Not normally.  I
haven’t used the inhaler in nearly a year.”

“Stress
makes it worse?”  She nodded. 
Shit
.  “I saw it in your
medicine cabinet and brought it, just in case.”

She
took a second hit off the inhaler.  “What are you?  Some kind of Boy
Scout?”  Was that a slight tinge of sarcasm he detected?  As the
wheezing gradually subsided, he definitely detected the unmistakable sound of
an empty stomach rumbling, and it wasn’t his own.  “You really should eat
something.”

“I
am starting to feel a little hungry.”

Following
closely as she headed toward the kitchenette, he realized he’d have to keep her
hobbled.  She may have agreed to cooperate, but she was a fool if she
thought he’d trust her.  She’d proven to be both devious and relentless,
and he would
not
underestimate her again.  “Take a seat.”

As
he retrieved the untouched sandwich from the refrigerator, she removed the damp
ski mask from the back of the chair and placed it on the table.  “You
brought an extra mask?”

“Several
extras.  I believe in being prepared.”

“You
really are a Boy Scout, aren’t you?”  He set the sandwich before her and
retrieved the second chair from in front of the television.

As
she ate, green eyes flicked constantly around the room, paying particular
attention to the door and window.  There was such grim determination at
work in that beautiful face that he could almost hear the wheels turning in her
head.

She
swallowed the last bite, washed it down with a sip of water, and turned those
gorgeous green eyes on him.  “So, what do I call you?”

He
shrugged.  “Whatever you like.”

“I
could think of several things.”

“I’m
sure you could.”

“Where
are we headed?”

“You’ll
find that out when we get there.”

“I
don’t see why it has to be such a freaking secret.  I mean, it not like I
can do anything to alter our destination.  And what happened to our
‘mutually beneficial accord’?”

“Some
things I’m simply not at liberty to tell you.”  When her mouth opened to
protest, he quickly cut her off.  “And we’re
not
going to argue
about it.”