Big Bad Wolf (12 page)

Nick grinned.
“In that case, then it’s my duty to take care of my boss.
I promise to behave at this…bash, as she called it.”

“No one behaves at Mindy’s birthday bashes,” Jaymee warned.
“You’re expected to eat her barbecue, drink her beer, dance with the birthday girl, and there’s even karaoke, if you’re drunk enough.”
She sighed, gave in, and smiled.
“You’ll enjoy it.
Mindy is a great person.”

Buttering his roll, Nick casually said, “Since I won’t be able to transfer your files on Saturday, let’s do it tonight then.
I’ve a few free hours after work.”

“If you want to.
I don’t want you to feel you have to.”

“No problem.
Why let you muddle through when I can do it for you painlessly?”

“Thanks, Nick.”
She was relieved he offered to do it.
She really wasn’t looking forward to reading Windows for Dummies.
“You’ve been a great help.”

Nick ignored the twinge of guilt and smiled back winningly.
“You’ve been more help to me than you realize, too.”
He gave her the buttered roll.

As someone who had been in tighter spots, Nick had learned not to question providence when opportunity arose.
He told himself he wasn’t taking advantage of Jaymee, knowing his feelings for her were complicating the very simple issue of survival.
What he was doing had to be done.
It was that simple.
In return, he helped her out with her computer problems.

Fair enough.
So why the unexpected guilt?
Because he wanted to be honest with this woman, that’s why.
When he’d kissed her last Saturday, his savage need had shocked him enough to make him step back to evaluate the whole situation.
He accepted the desire for Jaymee, that the attraction he felt was more than any feeling he’d ever experienced for another woman.
He could even deal with the strange possessiveness he had for her.
Something about her pulled new emotions from inside him.
Maybe it was her innocence.
Or, her tightly-reined control.
Whatever it was, he realized her response to him was instinctive, despite of her fears, and that in turn transformed him to some chest-beating primitive.
He
laughed under his breath at the
notion.
The woman was driving him crazy, that was what was the matter.

That kiss, he admitted now, made him realize for the first time si
nce he joined his covert agency,
he wanted to step out of the shadows and share his own true self with somebody.
He wanted Jaymee Barrows to know who he was and to accept him for what he was.
He also realized, knowing her abhorrence of deception in his sex, that the longer he deceived her, the more hurt she would be.

Hopefully, some communications would be waiting for him when he checked tonight.
The quicker he ended this situation regarding his mission, the better.
Then, he glanced at Jaymee, who was obviously enjoying her turkey special now that Mindy had quit baiting her, then, he could fully concentrate on more pressing matters.

When Nick showed up at her house later that evening, Jaymee was again not at home, even though the blue truck was parked in the driveway.
He sat on the railing of the back porch and watched the sun disappear behind the tall pines across the lake.
Where did she go that didn’t need her vehicle?
Was she with Mindy?
He knew now it wasn’t the missing Danny, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing another man.
His frown deepened as he realized
he’d taken for granted she was unattached; she’
d never said she didn’t have a special someone.
After all, it was inconceivable to expect her, or anyone, to be without a partner for eight years.

She appeared suddenly, panting hard, as if she’d been running at full speed.
She bent over, hands on knees, breathing hard.

“Sorry,” she apologized.
“I forgot the time.
Got back as fast as I could.”

“It’s OK,” Nick said.

He wanted to ask her where she’d been, but that would only make her wary of him all over again.
Right now, mentally, she was where he wanted her to be.
She was opening doors that were locked before, and he wanted her to open them herself, for herself.
Even if his own personal program was in jeopardy of crashing every time she was within his sexual radar.
Even if he had a perpetual discomfort in his pants at night when he thought about her.
He smiled, amused at his own thoughts.

Jaymee looked up.
His smile made her feel even giddier as she tried to catch her breath.
God, he looked good enough to eat
.
She took in the white cotton shirt and khaki pants, which set off his tan to perfection.
The top few buttons were left undone, revealing curling hair.
She wanted to bury her nose in that chest and breathe in
the
warm musky masculine scent that seemed to make her think indecent thoughts.
With sudden dismay, she realized she still hadn’t changed from her day at work.
Who would get turned on at the sight of her in tarred-up work clothes, still sweaty from the day, so totally unappealing?

Unlocking the back door, she flipped on the light switch, knowing her father would still be at one of his friends’.
She sighed at the pile of dishes in the sink and bent down to pick up scattered newspapers by the kitchen table.

“Sorry, the place is a mess.
I should’ve come home earlier to straighten up.”

“Stop apologizing.”
Nick saw the shadows under her eyes, noticed the quick roll of her shoulders in an attempt to relax.
He didn’t like her overworking like this.
“Look, I can do this without you in the study.
If you trust me not to steal your silverware, why don’t you go and take a shower or a bath?
It’ll take me an hour or so to transfer your files and play around with your programs, and that’ll give you time for a good soak.”

“You don’t mind?”
A hot soak sounded so good.
“I mean, you won’t think I’m rude not to...”

“Go,” he ordered, giving her a slight push. “If I need you, I’ll find you.”

Jaymee didn’t need more persuasion.
A hot soak.
As in bubble bath.
Heaven.
She didn’t even look back as she went off.

Nick wistfully looked after her as she went off.
That little ass out of her tight lycra pants.
The sudden image of Jaymee in a bathtub wasn’t going to make the next hour comfortable at all.
Ruefully, he looked down at his predicament.

“Down, boyo,” he softly muttered, “or I’m going to have to reprogram you.”

He decided to get his business done first before transferring Jaymee’s files from the old computer to the new.
That way, if she joined him after her bath, he’d be finished.
Within minutes of connecting, he was in, and he navigated through the high-tech daily changes in the protective links that his agency used to confound the usual breed of hackers.
Scanning through, he found what he needed; the right person had recognized his communication.

He printed out the jumbled, coded puzzle, deciphering the message, which read: SITUATION RED.
ASSESS.
F2F.
COORDINATES.
He had already expected the warning of danger, but the caution to remain dead, as well as to evaluate the situation was a double warning to be careful.
Interesting.
He considered for a moment, then relayed another coded encryption.
If he had to look out for a “face-to-face,” that meant serious trouble.
Trust no one.

A triple warning, he amended.
Hesitating, he tried t
o decide whether to reveal
he didn’t escape the boat without first taking care of business, that he had the assignment in his possession.
He’d been in the process of decoding its secrets when he’d sensed something was wrong.
Since his escape, he hadn’t had a chance to continue his work without a computer.
He had never turned over an unfinished assignment.
He signed off without adding anything further to the message.

All he could do now was wait.

*

Ahhhhhh.

This was definitely what she needed.
Jaymee sank deeper into the steaming water, blowing bubbles that landed on her nose.
She had washed her hair while waiting for the tub to fill up.
It felt so good to be clean and soft.
She needed to do this more often.

She promised herself she’d take a few hours off a week for rest, for personal well-being.
Besides, Mindy’s party was coming up and she needed to spend a few hours to make herself human again, so she could face all the friends attending the bash.
She smiled, wondering whether she’d remember how to enjoy herself at a party.
She hadn’t gone out in a long time, what with her having to stay out later ever since she had to work shorthanded, and on top of that, spending all available time as well as weekends trying to get everything accomplished within her crazy self-imposed schedule.
However, even she had to admit she couldn’t burn the candle at both ends indefinitely.
Her yawn was huge.
Even Superwoman needed to recharge her batteries sometime.
The hypnotic effect of gently lapping water had her half-dreaming as the bubbles popped quietly.

She didn’t know how long she floated in the hot water, but the sudden jolt of pain up her left leg shocked her to wakefulness.
She gasped loudly and the violent jerk of her body created a wave that splashed onto her face and into her mouth, causing a fit of coughing as she choked out a scream when she tried to move.

The pain was horrendous.
Hot tears spurted out as she struggled to stand up, but her left leg was totally useless, knotting tighter and tighter until she had to kneel on her right knee for balance.
She leaned out of the tub, her wet hair dripping water all over the tile floor as pain repeatedly pounded up her injured leg.
She tried to stand again.
And gasped out a few choice words.
Someone was pounding at the door.
It became more insistent as she held onto the tub’s rim.

“Jaymee?”
Nick called from the other side of the bathroom door.
“I heard you scream.
Are you all right?”

Using her elbows, she somehow managed to lift herself up high enough to sit on the side of the tub.
“Yes,” she choked out, then gasped in agony as the cramp worsened.

The door flew open without warning and Nick’s large frame was suddenly in front of her.
Squatting down, he held her by the shoulders.

“What’s wrong?” he asked brusquely.

Through the haze of pain, she stared at Nick’s face, then realized she was sitting there naked.

“Get out!”

She tried to squirm out of his hold, desperately reaching for the towel hanging nearby.
However, the floor was too slippery and she lost her balance.
She cried out when she tried put weight on her leg.

Silently, Nick easily gathered her up, one arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders, and carried her out of the bathroom into her bedroom.
Jaymee couldn’t even protest as she held onto the knotted muscle with both hands.
He lay her down on her bed.

“Don’t move,” he tersely ordered, and disappeared back into the bathroom.
He returned with a towel and swore softly at the sight of her trying to pull the tucked bed sheets loose to cover herself.

“You’re just going to hurt yourself doing that,” he told her, then sat down right beside her naked body.

“Don’t!” Jaymee weakly tried to fight off the big fluffy towel rubbing her body.
She didn’t actually object to the towel.
It was the pair of hands rubbing her dry that was cause for alarm.
She couldn’t believe she was actually lying on her bed with his hands on her.
She’d fantasized about that, without the agony of a cramp.
It was too frighteningly like her fantasies, and she struggled more earnestly, understanding with sudden clarity her own danger.

Nick sighed and took the only option left to get her to stop.
He stretched his long length on top of her, using his weight to quiet her struggles.
Her body felt temptingly soft.

“Be still,” he told her softly.

As if she had a choice.
Her thigh still throbbing, Jaymee glared up at him, torn between embarrassment and pain.
“Get off me, Nick,” she said.
She might be in pain, but she hadn’t lost her sense of self-preservation yet.