Her Baby's Bodyguard (12 page)

“I understand that you’re scared.” He eased his grip, rubbing his thumbs along the top of her shoulders. “You have every reason to be because you’re running for your life. But I’m not your enemy.”

She nodded. “I know, but—”

“And I’m sure as hell not Burian.”

“Burian? This has nothing to do with him.”

“Yes, it does. He’s warped your view of all men. You trusted him, and he betrayed you. He turned the work you loved into a lie. He messed with your head so much that you assume the only thing he could want from you is your scientific expertise.”

“I already told you that he would realize I would no longer cooperate.”

“You’re missing the point. You’re a passionate, courageous, beautiful woman. A man doesn’t need an ulterior motive to want to touch you.”

“Jack…”

“And just for the record, I do care about you, Eva.” He slid his hands to her face and cradled her cheeks in his palms. “But it would be a hell of a lot simpler if I didn’t.”

She could have moved away then. Or turned her face aside when he lowered his head. She did neither. She stood rooted to the floor and let him kiss her.

Oh, it shouldn’t feel this good. They had just been arguing. She had been angry with him. She shouldn’t trust him. She couldn’t rely on her judgment when it came to men. She’d been so horribly wrong before.

The familiar refrain played through her head, but it had no effect. His kiss felt real. More than that, it felt natural. Right. Instead of being sensible and pushing him away, she found she had anchored her hands in the front of his sweater and was pulling him closer.

She should tell him it was only due to the circumstances, to their forced proximity, to excitement. The physical attraction was a consequence of chemistry. She still barely knew him. Yet before the thought finished forming, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and her brain simply shut down.

His taste was fresh like the springwater she’d drank from his canteen. It curled through her senses, seducing her as softly as the gentle pressure of his lips. She moaned at the pleasure and slid her hands to his shoulders.

At her response, he braced his feet apart, clasped her hips and pulled her flush to his body. Eva trembled, grateful for his firm hold. She’d felt his body against hers more times than she could count now, but this was different. This time, she allowed herself to enjoy it.

He was so firm, so solid, everywhere they touched. Her own body was responding instinctively. Blood was rushing to places that had rested dormant for months, stirring needs she’d tried to forget about when she’d entered motherhood. She wrapped her arms behind his neck to press her breasts to his chest. Her nipples hardened so swiftly she winced.

Something fluttered overhead. Probably a bird, trying to reclaim its home. Dirt gritted on the stone beneath her boots. Katya’s whimper was fainter than either sound, but it was enough to enable Eva to regain her senses.

She broke off the kiss and gasped for air.

Jack moved his lips along her cheek to her ear. He licked the lobe, then rubbed it gently between his teeth.

“No,” she breathed. “Stop.”

“Eva…”

“This is a mistake, Jack.”

He pressed his forehead against hers. “Yeah, I know.”

His quick agreement surprised her. She had expected—wanted?—him to push her for more.

He sifted a handful of her hair through his fingers. “I should apologize. I took advantage.”

“You didn’t take anything.” She dropped her arms to her sides. “I’m as much at fault.”

“No. I’ve seen this happen before. Being in danger can scramble people’s emotions. It’s the adrenaline. We’ve had psych lectures about this, and I should know better.” He turned his face to her hair and inhaled. Then he released his hold on her and stepped back. “I was way out of line. It won’t happen again.”

She should be pleased. He was being sensible. He’d echoed what she’d already thought. There were so many reasons why she shouldn’t kiss Jack that she couldn’t begin to list them.

Yet she had to cross her arms over her chest so she didn’t reach for him once more.

He went to where he’d left his gun, picked it up and walked to the doorway in silence. He didn’t speak until he was on the threshold. “I’m going to tour the perimeter before the sun sets. You’ll be safe here.”

He was back in full soldier mode, she realized, his movements crisp, his voice firm. He was acting as if the kiss had never happened. She tried to follow his lead. “Take your coat,” she said. “I’ll use the blanket for Katya.”

He laughed without humor. “No, thanks. I could use some cooling off.”

“Jack?”

“This is my job, Eva. It’s the only reason we’re together. It’s my duty to keep you safe, and I’m going to be damned sure that you are.” He paused. “Especially from me.”

Chapter 7

J
ack leaned his back against the wall and propped his boot on the edge of the doorway, the familiar weight of his rifle in his hands. This was what he knew. It was what he was good at. It was the life he wanted. He was no different from countless other soldiers who had stood in this same spot over the centuries, their weapons at the ready, while they kept watch over the valley.

The designers of the outpost had chosen the site well. Though the moonlight illuminated the surrounding area, it didn’t penetrate the shadows on this side of the tower. Even without being able to climb to the top and look out the windows, Jack still had the advantage over anyone who approached. So far, apart from the rustling of wildlife among the dried shrubs, and the occasional whisper from the pine grove when a breeze puffed through, the night had been dead quiet. No sign of pursuit. No trace of the evac helicopter yet, either. The only trouble was, the silence outside the tower made it that much harder to ignore the sounds that came from inside. For the past twenty minutes Eva had been nursing the kid.

Jack doubted whether any of the other soldiers who had stood here over the centuries had had a distraction quite like this one. Why was it that his senses were so finely attuned to everything that woman did? He thumped his head against the wall and told himself to ignore her.

It was no use. He could hear the pine branches shift as she changed position, and he tried not to imagine what she was doing on that blanket. Or to picture how the moonlight would filter through the top of the tower to gleam on her naked skin. He heard her murmur something to Katya, her voice taking on the special tenderness she used whenever she spoke to her child. And he tried not to remember the way she’d moaned deep in her throat when he’d given her his tongue.

Damn, he shouldn’t have kissed her. Most of the time, he had no business touching her, either. Didn’t seem to make any difference because he couldn’t seem to stop.

With any luck, by tomorrow it would no longer be an issue. Eva and her cargo should be delivered to whatever government department awaited her. Their welfare would be out of his hands. She would go on to a new life in America. Jack would go on to the next mission. The information on the disk would be processed, the diplomats would do their thing and the world would be a safer place. Everyone would be happy.

A blur of movement to his left caught his eye. He turned and focused on the ruins that were partway down the slope. A rabbit crept from behind a crumbled wall, poked around nervously for a few minutes and disappeared beneath a bush.

Eva had been scared, too. Not timid like that rabbit, but just as conscious of the danger she’d been in. He’d realized that when they’d met. He’d seen proof of it again in her paranoid reaction when he’d found that disk.

But instead of making allowances for her less-than-rational state of mind, he’d kissed her.

He banged his head against the wall again. What had happened to his self-control? His honor? He’d known kissing her was wrong, but he’d enjoyed every second of it. To make matters worse, so had Eva. She sure didn’t kiss like a scientist. There had been nothing cool or intellectual about her response. It was just as he’d suspected; she had plenty of passion. Too much passion for a man like Burian.

Jack thought of the photo he’d seen during the mission briefing. Burian Ryazan was white-haired, only a few inches taller than Eva and was lean to the point of gauntness. His features were honed sharp, his mouth a carved line, his eyes dark and calculating. He did look as if he would consider his child a possession. He’d likely regarded Eva that way, too. Jack couldn’t picture the two of them together. Correction, he didn’t want to picture them together. She deserved someone closer to her age, someone more physically compatible who could match her passion….

But it wasn’t going to be Jack. No, sir. He knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t a nesting woman with a readymade family. Once this mission was over, he’d never see her again. Which was good. For both of them.

The rabbit bounded out from the concealment of the bush and streaked across the hillside. Jack froze, his senses going on full alert.

A new shadow had appeared halfway between the pine grove and the tower. Jack regarded it for a full minute, trying to determine if it was the result of the setting moon lengthening the shadow of one of the boulders. It remained motionless, but something about the shape wasn’t right.

He crouched to make himself less of a target and brought his rifle to his shoulder. A thorough scan of the hillside revealed nothing else out of place. There was still no sound of an engine or anything mechanical. To be on the safe side, Jack took aim at a spot just behind the boulder.

An animal howled from the shadow Jack was targeting. Precisely five seconds later it howled again. And there was something familiar about it….

Jack blew out a relieved breath and eased his finger away from the trigger. “That’s one lovesick coyote, junior,” he called softly.

Tyler moved from behind the boulder and stepped into the moonlight. “It was a wolf.”

“If you say so.”

“Should have known a city boy like you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.” He climbed the hill and stopped a few feet from the base of the tower. “Any problems?”

“No, the area’s clear.”

He turned to look behind him. “I saw the glint of your rifle. I wanted to make sure whose it was before I showed myself.”

Jack took another look around, but he could see no one else. “Where are the others?”

“Lang is ditching the truck. Dunk and Gonzo are doing a sweep of the vicinity. They should be here in a few minutes.”

“How’d you manage to lose the pretty blue chopper?”

“We found a spot just past a bridge on the side of a gorge and faked engine trouble. They came in close enough to shoot our roof off, so I was able to take out their tail rotor.”

“That would have done it.”

“Yeah. They spun right into the side of a cliff. Judging by the size of the fireball on impact, they didn’t have that much fuel left.”

“You said they targeted the roof?”

“It might have been accidental. There was some bad wind sheer over the gorge that made the chopper pitch. That old canvas shredded so fast. The wind did most of the damage.”

“With the roof gone, they would have seen that Eva and the kid weren’t on board.”

“Maybe. Duncan couldn’t tell whether or not they got a transmission off before they crashed. He was busy with damage control.”

“What happened?”

“His computer took a couple of rounds right through the hard drive. Good thing he saved the radio.”

“Damn, that’s too close. It’s lucky we bailed.”

“Yeah. When Dunk saw what they’d done to his toy, he used some language no lady should hear.” He paused. “Where is our lady, anyway?”

Jack tipped his head toward the doorway. “Inside.”

“Can’t stand your company already, huh?”

“She’s breast-feeding the kid.”

“Whoa.”

Jack snorted. He’d said the same thing the first time. “Hey, Eva,” he said, turning his head toward the doorway. “We’ve got company.”

There was no reply.

Jack moved to the threshold and spoke again. “Eva? It’s okay. They’re the good guys.”

Instead of Eva’s voice, he heard a faint whimper from Katya. He slung the strap of his rifle on his shoulder and pulled his penlight from his pants pocket. “Stay here and keep watch, junior,” he said, ducking his head as he stepped over the threshold.

He allowed his eyes a few moments to adjust, and then he moved toward the pallet in the corner. Katya continued to whimper, with still no sound from Eva. He switched on his light, directing the narrow beam toward the dark shape that lay on the blanket.

Eva was on her side, her eyes closed, her head pillowed on her bent arm while her other arm was curled around the baby.

Jack knelt beside her and pressed the underside of his wrist to her forehead to make sure she didn’t have a fever. He hadn’t found any hint of infection when he’d examined her wound, but that had been several hours ago. Thankfully, her skin felt cool. Her breathing was normal, too. By all appearances, this was a healthy sleep.

She stirred at his touch, her eyelids fluttering. “Jack?”

“Shh, it’s okay,” he said. He stroked a lock of hair off her cheek before he withdrew his hand. “I just wanted to tell you the guys are here.”

“They made it? Are they all right?”

“Uh-huh. Go back to sleep.”

“Katya…”

He placed his hand over Katya’s stomach. The baby immediately quieted. “Don’t worry. She’s fine.”

Eva’s mouth moved into a smile that lasted only a moment before her lips parted on a delicate snore.

Jack played the light over her more closely. She must have fallen asleep as soon as she’d finished feeding the baby. She’d fastened her blouse, but her sweater was still pulled up. He set the flashlight on the blanket and carefully tugged down her sweater. He clenched his jaw, ordering himself not to linger, as his knuckles grazed the side of her breast. Moving quickly, he drew the sides of her coat closed and then pushed himself back to his feet.

As soon as he’d stood, Katya began fussing again.

“Something wrong, doc?” Tyler asked, ducking his head as he stepped through the doorway.