Blown Away (19 page)

“Dave’s daughter had a thing at school. Believe it or not, I volunteered.”

Vance was career Army, though you wouldn’t know it from his ripped jeans, t-shirt, and motorcycle boots. Which was the point.

A former Green Beret, he’d been stationed at the Army lab in Adelphia, Maryland, for years and had transported several top-secret items for Jimmy. When Vance walked out the back door with the compound in a specially made backpack then blended in with the crowds back to his car, no one would know they’d made the transfer.

“Well, I swear this won’t weigh a ton like the last one. Come on down to the lab and I’ll get you fitted up.” Jimmy turned to Merri with a grin. “Be back in a few then we’ll go cavort with the lions.”

Merri saw the surprised look Vance gave Jimmy, which he quickly covered. Annie didn’t bother to hide her smile though, and when Jimmy disappeared down the stairs to the lab, Annie turned her full attention on Merri.

“I heard you had an exciting day.”

Merri blushed. She couldn’t help it. “Uh...”

“Excitement seems to follow the DeMarcos. If you’re going to be hanging around for a while, you’ll get used to it.”

A tinge of regret stung at her. “I’m not going to be here that long. I have to go back to work soon.”

Annie sat behind her desk, tapping on her keyboard even as she continued to stare at Merri. “That’s what I said. I told Janey I’d fill in for her for a week. Months later… Well, you can see I’m still here.” She shrugged. “The DeMarcos are sneaky. They steamroll you without you noticing. And that’s not a bad thing. When they take you in, you’re in for good.”

“But…”

What? She didn’t want to be taken in?

Not true.

Who had she run to when her life had turned upside down?

She’d run to Mal. Knowing the DeMarcos had taken him in. Hoping they’d do the same for her if she needed.

And they had.

Hell, it was even better because of Jimmy.

Whom she’d fallen for even before they’d met. Yes, maybe she’d fallen for her idea of the guy first. Mal had called him brilliant and funny and a great guy. High praise from Mal. She’d been intrigued. And then she’d met him and realized he was everything Mal had said and more.

She’d wanted him, but until now she’d never had the time to pursue a relationship.

So what happened to this so-called relationship when she went back to her job?

And she
would
go back. She loved her job. Really, she did.

But she had a sneaking suspicion she could just as easily fall in love with Jimmy.

“Oh, I know that look.” Annie was out of her seat and around the desk in a heartbeat to stand in front of Merri, hands on her shoulders. “Take a deep breath. The situation is not that dire, and I talk more than I should. Don’t flake out on me. I’m not trying to scare you, Merri. Honestly.”

 
Merri took a deep breath. And another. “I really like him.”

The words were barely a whisper but Annie smiled. “He’s easy to like. And honestly, I’ve never seen him act this way with another woman.”

“But we don’t really know each other. And I live in Maryland.”

“That’s not the other side of the world, you know.”

“But I work almost all the time.”

Annie’s eyebrows lifted. “And isn’t that how you got here in the first place?”

“You know,” Merri frowned, “you sound a lot like Grace.”

Annie’s smile grew wider. “I consider that a huge compliment. Thank you.”

She’d meant it as one. “So what do I do now?”

“Well, first, don’t stress. You’ll just make yourself crazy and you won’t be able to enjoy yourself. Trust me on this one. Second, have some fun.”

A blush covered her cheeks in seconds and Annie chuckled. “I see you already have been. Good for you. Now,” Annie moved back to her seat just as Merri heard the rumble of male voices from the hall, “have fun at the zoo.”

* * * * *

“That cotton candy was probably a bad idea on top of the ice cream but damn, they both tasted good.”

Merri laughed, exactly as he’d hoped. She’d laughed a lot today, and the sound made him hard every damn time.

They’d walked through most of the park and now sat on a bench across from the big cats’ enclosure. Merri loved cats. Earlier, he’d asked if she had one and the longing on her face had surprised him. When he asked why she didn’t, she’d shrugged and changed the subject.

It’d taken him a few seconds to realize she wasn’t home enough to take care of one.

He’d been shocked to realize he wanted to go out and get her a kitten. Hell, he wanted to get her two.

So he made her laugh with some idiotic comment about how much he’d eaten today.

“I haven’t had cotton candy in years.” She plucked another piece of pink fluff off the cone and slipped it between her lips. Then her tongue came out to lick at her fingers and Jimmy nearly melted onto the ground at her feet.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d blown off an entire day. He wasn’t as much of a workaholic as Merri… All right, maybe he was but he certainly wasn’t wound as tight.

He had his family to ground him. Merri had no one.

She needed someone to ground her. He wanted to be that someone.

Which was ridiculous.

She was here for a week, maybe two. She wouldn’t stay.

Jimmy had been there, done that and he never wanted to get on that roller coaster of pain again.

Not that Merri reminded him of Barbara in any way.

Except for the fact that Merri tended to lose herself in her job. And had no intention of changing.

And would leave him.

Okay, maybe she had more in common with Barbara than he was comfortable with. Except for the fact that he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted Barbara.

Which should scare the shit out of him.

“So I guess we should be going soon.” She sounded reluctant to leave and he felt the same. Then she slid him a sideways glance and he lit up like kindle hit with a flame.

“Yeah, we probably should.”

“Are we heading back to your place?”

Hell yes. “I was planning to. Unless you—”

“That’s fine. I’m ready to go.”

Standing, he held out his hand. And wanted to pound his chest in victory when she took it.

They didn’t actually run to the car, but it was close. They were both grinning by the time they strapped themselves in.

The drive home was quiet but Jimmy swore he could taste the lust in the air.

By the time he pulled the car into the garage and turned the car off, every muscle in his body had tightened with anticipation.

When they finally reached the living room, Jimmy realized this time wasn’t going to be as civilized as the last.

He didn’t feel civilized. He felt…out of control.

And when Merri stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face him, her smile severed the last shred of his restraint.

He grabbed her by the waist and yanked her against him, ground his mouth down on hers and kissed her until he couldn’t breathe.

He heard her suck in a startled gasp, but she immediately went onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him even closer.

Their bodies meshed together as perfectly as their mouths. When he lifted her, she knew exactly what he wanted and wrapped her legs around his waist.

He managed to get them to his bedroom without damaging either one of them. They fell on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs, tearing at clothes, teeth nipping at exposed skin.

When their clothes lay in a pile on the floor, Jimmy began to kiss his way down Merri’s body. He stopped for a brief moment to suck her nipples into his mouth and tease them with his tongue before continuing on to the smooth skin of her stomach.

He flicked at her belly button with his tongue, heard her draw in a sharp breath, and felt the muscles of her abdomen tighten. Her fingers slid into his hair, her nails scratching at his scalp.

His cock throbbed, hard and ready. And when he licked her clit, he nearly came at the sound she made.

With his hands clamped on her hips, he brought her to the edge of orgasm twice before he crawled back up her body and kissed her as he teased the tip of his cock against her lower lips.

He wasn’t prepared for her to smile so smugly then flip him onto his back.

Straddling him, she teased him with the brush of her sex against his, rocking her hips and driving him closer to the edge.

She reached for the side table and pulled out a condom, taking a few extra seconds to tease him as she rolled on the sheath.

He responded by grabbing her around the neck and pulling her forward until he could kiss her, grinding his mouth against hers. She didn’t seem to mind as she sighed into his mouth, aligned their bodies and slid down his shaft.

She rode him slow at first, gradually gaining speed. Their fingers meshed and their gazes met and held. His release gathered lower in his body, his balls tightening as she moved faster then frantically.

When she finally released a breathless cry and came, her body contracted around him, drawing his release.

Seconds later, she sank onto his chest, snuggled her head under his chin, and went completely limp.

Jimmy tightened his arms so she wouldn’t slip away.

Too late for him, though. He was already gone.

* * * * *

Merri had no idea what woke her.

Probably Jimmy’s hand over her mouth. She panicked for one second before the bone-deep knowledge that Jimmy would never hurt her sank in. Then she froze. Another second later, he whispered in her ear, so quietly she had to think about what he said.

“Someone’s here.”

She didn’t figure that was a good thing, so she nodded to let him know she understood and he removed his hand.

As Jimmy moved silently off the bed, she slid to the other side and pulled on the first thing she grabbed. Jimmy’s t-shirt.

In the glow from the nightlight in the attached bath, she saw Jimmy grab his shorts off the floor.

The door to the bedroom was open, but Merri didn’t hear any noise from the rest of the house. Didn’t matter. She trusted Jimmy. If he said there was someone in the house, there was someone here.

He crept toward the door, making barely a whisper of sound.

She heard it then. The faint shush of papers being moved. The sound came from the back of the house, probably the office.

As Jimmy disappeared into the dark hallway, Merri eased off the bed as quietly as she could manage and tiptoed to the door.

But as soon as she heard the muffled sound of a fight, she took off.

By the time she got there, Jimmy had his arms up, blocking the punches of a much smaller person dressed in black. Since there was no light, she had a tough time seeing exactly what was going on, but she could tell Jimmy wasn’t throwing any punches.