Viper's Kiss (16 page)

Maggie shook her head, her pulse racing as panic swamped her. Tiny brought the glowing poker close to her face.

“I told you, I don’t have it,” she cried.

Tiny’s beefy hand grabbed her chin, holding her head still as he brought the poker toward her eye.

Sweat broke out on her upper lip and brow. She blinked at the heat radiating from the poker, trying to hydrate her eye as Tiny brought it ever closer.

“This is your last chance, Kincaid. Tell me where the suit is, or my friend Tiny here will start branding you like a heifer.”

Her vision filled with the red tip looming closer and closer.

“I didn’t take it,” she yelled, trying to pull her chin out of Tiny’s grip, struggling against her bonds.

The sudden sound of breaking glass echoed through the room and the burgundy curtains billowed and collapsed to the floor. Tiny and Bates whirled around. Maggie took advantage of the moment to scuttle backwards until the hard contact of the desk stopped her. Her wide eyes flicked around the room. She didn’t know what had caused the disruption, but she was glad for the reprieve.

Thud!
Tiny’s head snapped to the side. Another thud and he bent over, wheezing. Tiny lifted the poker, but it flew out of his hand and across the room. Maggie stared, confused. Something was happening, but she had no idea what. It was as if a poltergeist had entered the room.

Bates roared as Tiny stumbled back, his head jerking from one side to the other. The sound of invisible fists striking flesh and bone were a rhythmic partner to his spasmodic movements.

Bates ran to the poker that lay on the floor, swept it up and yelled as he ran toward the phantom assaulting Tiny.

Maggie screamed. She couldn’t even try to make sense of what her eyes were seeing.

Bates stepped closer to Tiny and started swinging the poker with a viciousness that looked maniacal, even comical, as he struck the air in an effort to hit something, anything.

His face was purple with rage, his eyes wild and bulging. Tiny fell back onto the floor, struggling with an invisible opponent, and Bates growled in triumph. He raised the poker and brought it down forcefully. The poker struck home, but not the target he’d intended, its hooked tip piercing Tiny’s forehead. Bates stopped as Tiny’s body jerked, then slumped. Life left the man’s eyes, blood streaming from the head wound.

Maggie gagged in revulsion.

Bates’s body was knocked flying, and he fell in a heap in front of the fire. The poker slipped out of his hands.

His shoulders rose off the floor, his head lolling as his dazed eyes stared upward. Then his face jerked to the side, blood spurting from a cut that opened up on his lip. The poltergeist thingy held him in its grip.

Maggie tried to scoot behind the desk, her breath coming in choking pants.

Bates snarled as he grabbed the air in front of him, raised his legs and pitched his invisible foe over his head and into the fireplace.

Invisible
. Maggie’s eyes rounded as a roar of pain filled the room.

Flames detached from the fire and stumbled into the room.

Maggie gaped. The air shimmered as the flames licked at a silhouette.

Another bellow, and Luke’s face appeared above the flames, then his broad shoulders and torso as he shrugged out of the flaming suit, shucking it over his hips and down his legs before kicking it off his feet. With a sweep of his leg he kicked the burning garment into the fire.

Bates charged Luke and Maggie held her breath as they grappled.

Luke used his forearm to block a punch from the wealthy CEO, then jabbed him in the kidneys with the heel of his hand, following with a brutal roundhouse kick that caught his opponent squarely in the chin.

Bates stumbled back and tripped on the poker. He fell, landing in the blazing hearth.

Maggie flinched as Bates roared in pain. He launched himself out of the fireplace, his expensive suit erupting into flames. Luke dodged several fiery blows. He whirled, grabbed one of the fallen curtains and threw it over the burning man, tackling him to the ground and smothering the flames.

Sirens wailed in the distance. The door to the study was kicked in with a crash, and Maggie sagged in relief as Drew burst into the room.

He paused briefly at the sight of Tiny’s body, pooled blood around the head staining the golden pattern on the carpet. Maggie watched as Drew hurried to help Luke restrain a shaking Bates, who spat abuse in between agonized groans.

“He’s burned pretty bad,” Luke informed Drew.

Drew shook his head as he surveyed the burned flesh on the now-unrecognizable man.

“You bastards,” Bates snarled, his charred lips twisting in an unnatural line.

“Shut up, Dick.” Luke let Drew take over and turned to face Maggie.

She was trying hard not to blubber, but she was just so damned relieved. Relieved that she was alive, relieved that Luke was alive.

He strode over to her and squatted by her side, untying the ropes around her wrists and ankles in quick succession. As soon as her hands were free, she threw her arms around his neck. “Are you okay?”

Luke flinched, but wouldn’t let her go. “Just a little singed, nothing to worry about.” He tightened his hold on her. “How are you? You’ve damn near taken ten years off my life. God, when I saw that lug holding that poker to your face, I almost died.” He pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Me too,” she admitted, a small smile curving her lips. “But I didn’t, thanks to you.” She pulled him to her with gentle arms, enjoying the feel of his body warm against hers. He was so solid. So comforting.

Police swarmed the study, and the large room seemed to shrink with the amount of activity that followed.

An attending paramedic patched up Maggie’s forehead as Bates was strapped to a gurney. An officer read him his rights as the gurney was wheeled from the room. Bates yelled the entire time. Maggie shivered as his vitriol echoed down the hallway outside the room, and Luke rubbed his hand up and down her arm to give her comfort and warmth.

That man has a whole lot of hate trapped inside him
. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. So many people had died in his thirst for revenge—the security guard at Tek-Intel, the two police detectives, and a stripper whose only crime was to resemble a librarian.

Drew approached them, hesitant.

“Uh, Luke, they’re asking about the suit.”

Luke nodded toward the fire. “It’s ashes. The damn thing nearly fried me to a crisp.”

Drew shut his eyes in a grimace. “They’re not going to be happy. Viper has just admitted to destroying the research.”

Maggie frowned. “It was the first prototype. Obviously it was flawed. It would have failed the first stress test.” She glanced up at Luke and smiled. “But I’m glad it lasted as long as it did.”

Luke stared at the still burning fireplace. “I think it’s for the good. I don’t think the world is quite ready for the Visi-suit.”

Drew put his hands on his hips and sighed. He glanced at the fireplace, then back at Luke. “Okay, but you’re definitely the one telling Reese.”

“In time.” Luke buried his face in Maggie’s hair and took a deep breath. “In time.”

Relief calmed the dragons fighting in her stomach. They were alive, that was enough. She closed her eyes and sat. At peace, in the arms of the man she loved.

Luke trailed a finger up Maggie’s arm, loving the soft glide of silky skin. She must be exhausted. The FBI had “interviewed” her for several hours, until he’d called for a break. They were due to return the next day for a final debriefing, but she would avoid arrest. His finger traced her collarbone. She trembled. He smiled.
Maybe not that exhausted
.

A sigh left her lips as his hand slid under the sheet to cup her breast.

“Why the big sigh?” His eyes closed as he inhaled her vanilla scent.
Beautiful
. She was beautiful. She was everything he hadn’t known he’d wanted in a woman, in a partner. He thumbed a pebbled nipple, feeling himself swell as passion stirred to life between them. Again.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said, her voice hesitant.

His movements stilled. His eyes opened.
Uh-oh
. “Thinking? About what?” He knew what could happen when she used her brain. Thankfully there were no smoke bombs or forklifts in their hotel room.

He lifted his head to gaze down at her. Her gray, slumberous, just-been-loved expression changed to a pensive, let’s-talk-about-serious-stuff look.

“About us.”

His eyebrows rose. “What about us?” His internal alarm bells started to jingle.

She pulled herself up on her elbows to face him, and she grasped one of his hands.

“You’ll be going back to Chicago.”

He toyed with her fingers. “And you’ll be coming with me, right?” They’d only spent a short time together, but he couldn’t think of
not
being with her.

Seeing Tiny hold a hot poker to her face was like a switch flicking on inside him. He’d been swamped with emotion. Yes, he’d felt protective. And angry at the men who held her, but there was more. Something fiercer, something undeniable. He’d fallen in love with Maggie. She calmed him inside. Made him think of things, like a home and family.

“I’m not sure,” she whispered.

He sat up slowly, feeling cool air brush across his torso as the sheet slipped down to pool around his hips. Yep, those alarm bells were definitely ringing.

“What do you mean, you’re not sure?”

Her chin wobbled. She looked like she was about to cry.
Good
. He felt like he was about to cry, too, damn it.

Her hand moved in an aimless gesture. “I have very strong feelings for you,” she said softly.
Thank God for that
. He nodded.

“I have very strong feelings for you too.” This was good. They were getting somewhere.

“I just don’t know how genuine those feelings are,” Maggie said, her big gray eyes serious. “Or how permanent. We’ve been thrown into a dangerous situation. Strong emotions are a common side effect of dangerous situations.”

“Are you talking about your damn Disaster Recovery Syndrome?” he asked, his muscles clenching.

“Disaster Relationship Syndrome,” she corrected. “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “I have never felt this strongly for anyone before. Naturally, I’m cautious. I want to make sure it’s real before we do something we’ll regret later.”

Luke sat back, stunned. He felt like she’d slapped him. “I know what I’m feeling, Maggie, and it’s not some Disaster Recuperation Syndrome.”

“Relationship.”

“Whatever.” He grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. “Do you feel my heart beating for you? That’s real.” He lowered her hand to his groin so that she was cupping him. Her jaw dropped. “Do you feel my desire for you? That’s real.”

He raised his other hand and clasped the back of her neck, pulling her toward him. “Do you doubt this?” he asked, before he kissed her. He poured everything into that kiss. All the emotion, all the love, all the passion she raised in him.

He drew back, meeting her gray gaze. “Do you doubt me?”

Tears gave her eyes an added luminosity. “I want to be sure,” she replied, her expression pained. “I’m sorry, Luke. I just need time. I need to bury my mother, figure out what I want to do. I need to make sure this is real.”

Luke understood. He did. She’d been through so much. He also felt as though she’d taken the hot poker from Tiny and stabbed him with it. He breathed through pursed lips. She doubted her feelings for him. She doubted his sincerity. He wanted to yell. He wanted to punch the wall. He loved her.

He rose from the bed, his heart pounding as he jerked on his pants.

“Wait,” she said, lifting her hand toward him. He grabbed his shirt and shoes and turned to look at her. Her tresses fell in wild disarray, her gray eyes were worried, and her mouth pulled down at the corners.

“You want time. Fine. Take all the time you need.” He reached over and wiped the tear that trailed down her cheek. “Just let me know when you’ve figured it out.” He left the room, shutting the door behind him and leaning back against it, closing his eyes against the pain.

He could hear her crying on the other side of the door, her sobs tearing his heart into smaller and smaller pieces. He opened his eyes.

And left.

Maggie paused, pen in hand. Could she do it? She took a breath. She’d weighed her options, looked at it from every angle. She’d even written pros and cons lists.
I can do this
.

She signed her name with a flourish before sliding the contract back across the desk to the man who sat behind it.

She could understand why Luke, Drew and Noah all held Reese McCormack in such high esteem. He was charismatic, wearing power with the same comfort as his dark tailored suit. His shoulders and chest hinted at his core strength and a vigor that she recognized could not be attributed solely to time in a gym, but to a lifestyle of physical work.

His teeth flashed white and bright beneath a brown moustache as he slashed his pen across the page in one efficient movement. He was good looking, too, in a dangerous-beneath-the-suit kind of way. Not that Maggie was attracted. She seemed to have developed a preference for blonds.

“Good. I want any woman who can single-handedly capture an international spy and give three of my men the slip not once, but twice, working for me.” Reese winked at her across the desk.

Maggie’s lips curved into a smile. Reese had introduced himself to her the day after Bates’s arrest. Once all the debriefing was completed with the various authorities, he’d offered her a job. She’d had to sit down at the mention of the salary. As a data analyst at the McCormack Security Agency she’d be paid more than four times her librarian’s wages at the university. She’d be able to pay off her mother’s medical bills within a year. The job would involve travel, Reese had warned her, but he would compensate her for that.
Go figure
. He thought she should be
paid
to travel!

“Thank you for the job, Reese,” she said. After the university had terminated her employment as a result of the security breach, she’d been worried about the little things, like a roof over her head and the next meal. Reese’s generous offer had come at an opportune time.

She glanced around his office. One wall was constructed entirely of glass, giving an impressive view of the Chicago skyline.

A new job, a new city, a new beginning. She should have been excited. Well, she was. Really. So what if she wanted to share her delight with someone. Not just anyone, though, someone special. It was her stupid idea in the first place to insist on some time and space away from Luke.
Idiot
.

She’d wanted to find out if the love she’d discovered was real, or whether it was just a natural desire for emotional security during a dangerous and intense time. She’d burned her copy of that particular study approximately three days after Luke had left.
Idiot
.

It was a delay tactic on her part. She realized that now. After living her whole life with caution and thrift, she’d clung to security, to maintaining the status quo, and it wasn’t until she packed up her mother’s belongings that she realized how much. She was so used to being the responsible one, the person in control, that handing control of her life and her heart to someone else was damn frightening. She’d wanted excitement and passion in her life, and had run from it at the first opportunity. Run from Luke.
Idiot
.

“Uh, is Luke in the office today?” she asked Reese hopefully. They hadn’t spoken since that night at the hotel. She’d tried a couple of times, but her courage had failed her and she waited instead for his call. Which hadn’t come. Well, if Luke wouldn’t come to the mountain, this mountain was going to him.

Reese closed the folder he’d placed the contract in and surveyed her for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“No, he’s not. He said he had something to take care of.”

Maggie ducked her head. “Oh.” He was avoiding her. “Okay.”
Damn
. In the two months since her life was turned upside down, not a day had passed when she didn’t think of Luke. When she relived every conversation they’d had, every look they’d shared. Every kiss and caress as they’d made love. She took a deep breath.
Yep, that’s the kicker
. She was in love with Luke Fletcher. Had been since the first day they’d met. But, being the thinker she was, she’d insisted on them figuring out their emotions first before any kind of commitment—because emotions were just
so
logical, right?
Idiot
. Well, she guessed she had her answer. He’d avoided being in the office when she came in. He didn’t want to see her. Didn’t want to talk to her. She sighed. It was her own fault.

She pasted a brittle smile on her face and met Reese’s compassionate one. She just hoped the McCormack Security Agency was big enough that she wouldn’t run in to Luke often. Maybe just a couple of times, though, just to get a booster shot of Luke Fletcher. She’d try to live with that.

“Uh, well, I guess I’ll see you Monday.”

Reese nodded. “I’ll look forward to it.”

They both rose and Reese escorted her back to the lush reception area. A woman with vibrant red hair looked up and smiled brightly at them.

This time Maggie’s smile was genuine. She’d met Vicky Hastings on a previous visit and had spoken to her over the phone on several occasions. They’d already become fast friends.

“Hey, girlfriend. Heard you’re crazy enough to work here,” the redhead said with a cheeky grin, her green eyes sparkling.

Maggie nodded. “I start Monday.”

Elevator doors pinged, and a tall man with russet brown hair and handsome features stalked into the reception area, wagging his finger at the receptionist.

“You are so dead, Vic,” he growled at her.

Vicky’s eyes widened as she pulled the headset off her head and backed around the desk.

“Now, c’mon Ryan, it was a mistake. Honest.”

His eyes narrowed to a steely gaze and he held up one finger. “First, it was the red-eye flight.” He held up a second finger as he approached her. Vicky shuffled to the side, maintaining the desk between them like a barrier.

“Next it was the baggage. I could handle the floral pink shirts, but honestly, G-strings?” He held up a third finger. “Then it was leaving that message with my date about some phony test results.” Ryan shook his head and held up a fourth finger. “But the last straw was the vegetarian meals.”

He darted to the side, and Vicky took off running down the hall, squealing as the man chased after her.

Maggie turned to Reese and raised an eyebrow. Reese sighed.

“That was Ryan Brennan. I’ll introduce you properly on Monday.” He shook his head. “The vegetarian meals were low. Ryan is definitely a steak man.”

“Oh.”

Another squeal sounded from down the hall, but Reese didn’t bat an eyelid, so neither did she. Maggie pressed the button for the elevator and turned to Reese.

“Thanks again, I really appreciate the job,” she said, sincerely.

Reese held up a hand as the elevator doors slid open. “Wait until you’ve worked for me a couple of months, then tell me that.”

She turned to step into the elevator and nearly bumped into a surprised Noah.

“Hey, Maggie, how are you?” he asked warmly.

She smiled as they swapped positions. “Good, and you? How’s the arm?” she asked, gesturing to his left arm.

He moved it, grinning. “Near as new,” he answered.

She waved as the doors slid closed.

Reese watched as Noah raised his cuff to his lips. “She’s on her way.” Noah turned, only to catch sight of his boss.

Reese cocked an eyebrow.

Noah ducked his head and strode past him to the offices.

Reese shook his head as he turned and followed.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m working with a bunch of kids,” he said to himself, shaking his head and fighting off a grin as a bellow sounded from the direction Vicky and Ryan had taken.

Maggie stepped through the large glass doors of the building onto the pavement outside. She pulled the strap of her handbag up to her shoulder and surveyed the traffic. She needed to get a cab back to her hotel. She could cry in private there.
Luke
. She wished she’d had the guts and gumption to throw her caution to the wind and just jump into the man’s arms when he’d offered. She bit her lip. She knew her insistence for space had cut deep. The wind blew a lock of hair across her face, and she raised a hand to tuck it behind her ear when she felt something wet against her calf.

She jumped and turned. A brown-eyed beagle puppy sporting a big red bow sniffed at her shoes.

“Oh, aren’t you a darling,” she crooned as she leaned down to pat her. The dog licked her shoe, and she laughed.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Did the puppy have a name tag? Maybe she could contact the owner and return her.

She checked the red ribbon, but found no tag.

“What in the world—?” Maggie frowned as she looked around. She heard a whistle, and the puppy bounded off to her right. Maggie turned as a tall blond man stooped to pick up the dog.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Luke
.

He met her eyes as he approached, the dog doing its best to climb up his broad chest and lick his face.

“Hey, Kincaid,” he said to her, his blue eyes intent.

“Hey, yourself,” she said right back, her breath in her throat. He was here. He was right here. He wasn’t avoiding her.

He jostled the puppy. “What do you think of her?”

Maggie smiled as she scratched the dog behind the ears. Brown eyes gazed up at her as the dog tried to jump from Luke to her. “She’s a beauty,” she replied. “What’s her name?”

Luke smiled. “Diana. After some warrior chick. She’s yours, if you want her.”

Maggie’s eyes darted up to his. Hers?

“Oh?” She’d always wanted a dog. She remembered telling him that.

He nodded. “She comes with conditions,” he informed her, his eyes serious.

Maggie swallowed. “Oh?” she croaked, afraid to hope.

He nodded. “Yep. If you want the dog, you have to take me too.”

Maggie sucked in a breath. God, was she dreaming? Was he—? Did he just say—? She trembled.

He leaned closer, and the dog wiggled in his arms. “What do you say, Kincaid? And I’m not talking temporary. A dog is a lifetime commitment, you know. So, how about it? You want to take us both on?”

Maggie felt as though her heart was bursting from her chest. She threw back her head and laughed as she hugged him.

“Yes. Yes!”

His arm slid around her waist as he lowered his lips to hers, and he kissed her. Thoroughly.

Until the dog joined in. They both laughed as the dog licked their faces.

Luke tilted his forehead against hers.

“Damn, you’ve put me through hell, woman.”

Maggie lifted a hand to his cheek, hardly daring to believe he was there, that they were talking, touching. He wasn’t avoiding her after all. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I was an idiot.”

“Me too. I agreed with your damned experiment. I should have realized I was rushing you.” He held her tightly. “God, it feels so good to hold you. I’ve missed you so much.”

Maggie closed her eyes. She was in his arms, but it could have been heaven. “For the record, I love you.”

She tightened her hold on him. “I love you too.”

He pulled his head back, and her body warmed at the look in his eyes.

“Margaret Elizabeth Kincaid, will you marry me?”

“With pleasure, Luke Fletcher.” She beamed back at him.

He let out a whoop and whirled her around, the dog yipping between them.

She laughed, and he kissed her again, their love and jubilation an intoxicating taste.

Smiles broke out on the faces of people passing by as they stepped around the kissing couple.

And a beagle puppy named Diana.