Hunted, A Romantic Suspence Novel (25 page)

But the most wonderful thing about this elf was her smell. Cinnamon, nutmeg and orange spices filled the very air around her.

“Goodness gracious, Charlie Watts, let the poor souls inside. It’s nigh on to freezing out there.” She elbowed her husband away from the door. Taking Katie by the hand, she led her into the old Victorian farmhouse’s front room.

Matt followed them inside and finally Charlie closed the door while grumbling about calling ahead and reservations.

“We really hate to impose,” Kate tried to ease the older man’s complaints.

“Dearie, never mind Charlie. If he didn’t have something to complain about, he wouldn’t talk for days.” Penelope led them through the house to the kitchen. She directed them to the large country table decorated with Christmas linens and plates. “Pull off your coats and have a seat. I’ll fix us some supper. It’s always so lovely to have unexpected guests.”

Katie looked at Matt. He simply shrugged and started removing his coat.

“Charlie asked me why I was baking pies and starting bread for the morning. I just knew we’d be having company tonight. The other guests have all just left. Charlie thought we’d have a few days to clean the rooms before the next reservations arrive. Luckily we still have one room available.”

The tiny pixie bustled around the room, chattering almost without taking a breath as she spooned vegetable soup into bowls. The flavors smelled so hearty, Katie could taste them from across the room.

Penelope set heaping bowlfuls before Katie and Matt. “Now you just warm your outsides in front of the fire here, and let the soup warm the insides.”

Meanwhile Charlie, took his seat at the end of the table, packed his pipe with tobacco, and lit the bowl. Sweet tangy smell of oranges wafted from around him.

Katie looked at Matt. He winked at her, and she fought the urge to laugh.

It was all a little surreal for her.

Anyone observing this domestic scene would have no idea she and Matt had a mission of such vital importance. And yet, for the first time since they left Columbus on their trek, the ache of tension between her shoulder blades loosened.

“So, Mr. Watts, you said you have one available room for the night?” Matt asked between bites.

Charlie puffed on his pipe a few times before answering. “Sure do.”

“Oh, Charlie, quit being so obstinate,” his wife said from the across the kitchen. “It’s the honeymoon suite and he doesn’t want to tell you because we usually only rent that to married couples. But since you’re engaged, that’s almost the same thing, now isn’t it? And a very lucky thing too, given how late it is and how cold it’s turning outside.”

Katie blinked hard at the sudden rush of words, then realized Mrs. Watts spoke to her. The lie they’d told the couple stuck in her throat. She focused her attention on her bowl and tried to swallow the food in her mouth that had turned to paste.

“It is fortunate for us, Mrs. Watts.” Matt took over the conversation. “We’ve been traveling for hours, and still have a nightmarish trip ahead of us. It’s great to enjoy your hospitality for tonight.”

He intended to perpetuate the falsehood to these nice people. Katie didn’t know whether to hug him or kill him.

“Have you been engaged long?”
Penelope smiled at Matt, but Katie saw her glance at her left hand first. Heat filled her face. Their story shone for the lie it was.

Matt laughed. “You’ll have to excuse Katie. The change in our relationship is still new to her.”

New to her and everyone in the free world.

He leaned forward as if telling their hostess a secret. “We just became engaged on this trip. I haven’t had time to buy her a ring, yet.”

“Well, don’t spend too much on one, son. You’d do better to invest in a house.” Charlie puffed on his pipe a few more times.

Katie glanced at Matt. He straightened in his chair, any hint of humor gone, he watched her with such intense desire it set every fiber of her being on high alert.

What was he thinking?

“You know, Mr. Watts, I might do that.” He reached out and took Katie’s hand in his. “I imagine a home of her own is just what Katie needs.”

* * * * *

Several hours later, Katie climbed out of the cooling bath in the honeymoon suite’s bathroom. She wiped the fog from the mirror and studied the woman reflected there.

The young features and clear open gaze didn’t fit the ancient way she felt inside. Was she really only twenty-seven? She felt sixty. Lord knows she’d lived a life hard enough to fill that many years.

She pushed her wet dark hair off her temples. And yet there were so many things she hadn’t done in her life. She’d never gone to a high school football game, a prom, fallen in love, gotten married, or had children. For that matter she hadn’t ever made love. Of course, until a week and a half ago, there hadn’t been a man she trusted enough to fall in love with or make love to.

Visions of Matt filled her mind. The tall patrolman stopping and insisting she take a Breathalyzer test. Oh, he’d irritated her with that, yet softened it by insisting she drink hot chocolate.

The way he came to her rescue, insisted on helping her, despite her attempts to keep him at arm’s length, showed his unwavering courage. He even put his own life at risk to protect her and taught her to trust him.

The memory of his fingers caressing her scars and his lips kissing each one as if he could take the decades-old pain away from her, made her heart ache with longing.

Each scalding kiss they’d shared played in her mind again. Her fingers still remembered the feel of his skin beneath them. Her body ached to press against his solid frame once more.

Again she studied the woman in the mirror.

This time a smile played around the corners of her lips, her pupils dilated, her cheeks grew flushed with excitement.

Never had a man treated her with such respect, such protectiveness or made her want the normal things every other woman dreamed of in this world.

And oh, did she want him. The ache low in her stomach spread throughout her body. Her entire body craved more of his kisses, his touch, him.

“You may be dead tomorrow,” the young woman in the mirror said to her. “Be greedy. Make love to the man in the other room. Feel alive.”

“I have no future to offer him.”

“He hasn’t asked for one. But you have here and now. He’s won your heart. Let him know it. If fate decrees you’ll survive Strict’s plans, then you can worry about futures.”

“If he rejects me again, I don’t think I’ll survive it.”

The look on his face at dinner when he’d held her hand and promised her a home flashed before her. That wasn’t the look of an indifferent man.

“Katie?” Matt’s voice sounded from the door’s other side. “You okay in there?”

She blinked and her heart jumped a few beats. “Yes. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Don’t be a coward,” the woman in the mirror said. “For once in your life, take what you want.”

Her decision made, Katie slipped on her nightshirt.

Not exactly a sexy negligée for seducing the man of my dreams.
But she couldn’t walk out naked. That was too daring for her, no matter how much she’d come to trust him.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the bathroom door and stepped into the honeymoon suite’s bedroom.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Soft candlelight cast the room in a romantic glow. A low fire crackled in the fireplace. The scent of pine filled the room. The covers on the bed had been turned back in anticipation and Matt leaned against the window frame across the room, watching her.

She couldn’t meet his eyes—not yet. Her gaze started at his bare feet on the hardwood floors. Slowly she let it travel upward. His jeans stretched against his firm thighs and hips, hugging his waist. His shirt was off. No signs of love handles existed at his waist. He didn’t have the washboard abs so many infomercials said men needed, but his flat stomach came close.

She licked her parched lips. Heat flooded her from her head to her toes, settling deep between her thighs.

Oh, she wanted this man.

The only flaw she saw on his body was the white bandage she’d taped to his shoulder earlier in the day. Beneath it lay the wound he’d gotten protecting her.

“Katie?” He held out his hand.

Without hesitation, she cleared the distance between them. She place her hand in his, letting the other rest lightly over his bandage. “I’m so sorry you got hurt because of me.”

“It wasn’t your fault, sweetheart.” He kissed her knuckles.

A shiver ran through her. “You could’ve been killed today.”

“So could you. We were lucky.” He wrapped one arm around her and drew her closer. He gave her a boyish grin. “Besides, you saved my life once, seemed only fair I return the favor.”

The heat of his body warmed her, despite the slight draft from the window. She stared into his deep hazel eyes. “Is that why you knocked me away from the bullet? To return a favor?”

His face lost all humor. “As long as I’m able, I won’t let anything happen to you. You have to trust me on that.”

She laid her free hand on the side of his face. Her thumb stroked the taut muscle along his jaw. “I do trust you, Matt. More than anyone in my whole life, I trust you.”

“I’d never hurt you.” He lowered his lips to hers, offering her a soft, gentle kiss. The scent of gardenias clung to her. He tightened his arm about her waist, pressing her closer. She felt so right in his arms. He deepened the kiss. The need to possess her raged through him.

A soft whimper escaped her.

It was like ice water to the raging fire inside him. Slowly he eased her away from him, their lips lingering for an extra second before they parted.

 He’d just promised not to hurt her. He wanted this night to be special to her. He wanted no memory of her past to infringe on this night. If she’d lived the life other women trapped in the male dominant society of Strict’s Family had, then Matt doubted she’d escaped being raped. Tonight had to be all about Katie. She had to want his lovemaking.

If she couldn’t, no matter how much it would kill him, he’d simply spend the night holding her.

“Penelope insisted on making the room romantic, sweetheart. I didn’t know how to stop her.” He stared into Katie’s deep violet eyes. His hand splayed against the small of her back. “If it’s too much for you, we’ll blow out the candles and just get some sleep. Nothing else has to happen tonight.”

“I think it’s all lovely.” She leaned in and kissed him, her lips barely touching his. “I’ve read about this kind of romance in books. It’s every normal woman’s dream. Matt, I’ve never had normal. Not since I was six years old. For once in my life I want something good.”

“I don’t want you to feel pressured about this. I was worried about taking you to the compound tonight. I only brought you here so you could rest.”

She placed a finger on his lips, stopping any more words. “Please don’t give me a reason to act the coward now, Matt. I’ve never made love to anyone before.”

His heart pounded in his chest. The implication was huge. He’d be the first man she’d ever given herself to, not just another man using her for his needs. Could he do it?

For a moment he held her in his arms, then he lowered his head to hers, stopping a hair’s breadth from her lips. “If you’re sure this is what you want.”

“What I want, Matt, is you.”

“I’ve never felt like this about anyone in my life, Matt.” Katie cupped his face. His five o’clock shadow tickled her palms. She wanted him to understand what she was asking. “You’re the first man I’ve ever trusted to make love to me. Please make this special.”

His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed. Understanding lit his face, and something deeper. Need. The intensity of it thrilled her. In all her life, no man had looked at her like she was a five-course meal to be devoured.

Suddenly, she felt feminine, sexy and in control.

She pressed her body against the length of his solid frame. With her hands still holding his face, she stood on her tiptoes, pulled his head toward hers, and kissed him with all the need she held inside.

His arms tightened around her. A growl ripped through him, and he crushed her to him, bringing her slightly off the ground. Katie wrapped a leg around his, clinging to him as her body pulsed with desire. His hands slid down to cup her bottom and lift her higher.

“Yes,” she murmured against his lips. “Teach me. Show me what it’s like to be a woman.”

He broke the kiss and studied her face once more. She thought he meant to set her aside. Instead, he cradled her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down, stretching out beside her. With one hand he smoothed her hair off her face. The intensity in his eyes once again thrilled her.

Without shifting his gaze from her face, he reached for the hem of her nightshirt. He pulled it to the base of her rib cage, splaying his hand across her soft abdomen. She sucked in her breath.

He pushed her nightshirt over her breasts, then off her body. It was his turn to suck in his breath. “God, you’re beautiful, Katie.”

This man knew all her secrets. He’d seen all her scars. Touched them, kissed them. And still he saw her as beautiful.

No man had ever seen her naked. A shiver coursed throughout her body. Embarrassed to be so exposed to him, she reached for him, but he captured her hands in one of his.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he whispered, raising her arms above her head. “We’re going to go slow with this. If we go too fast, I’ll hurt you, and I mean to show you how it is to be loved. Trust me, Katie,” he said, pushing her fingers against the headboard’s spindles.

Didn’t he know how much she trusted him? Tomorrow held every possibility that she’d die. This might be the only time in her short life she’d feel loved. If he wanted to take the entire night, she’d follow his lead. Her fingers curled around the headboard’s spindles, and she gave him a tentative nod. Words were beyond her now.

He stretched his body along the length of hers. “I’ve been thinking of having you, like this, for days.” He leaned in and kissed her slow and deep. With his hand he made a light trail along the far side of her body, slowly moving from hip to ribs, his fingers caressing the tips of the scars that crisscrossed her back. Finally he brought his hand to rest with his palm covering her breast.