He’d been way too rough on her the night before.
But he’d wanted her… wanted to claim her in a way he couldn’t quite understand. Wanted to mark her, to make sure she always remembered him.
When he fucked up, he liked to do a great job of it.
Shit.
She stirred and slowly sat up, gazing around the surroundings with wide green eyes. In the morning, sans the makeup, she looked about eighteen. Smooth skin, wide eyes, black curly hair.
Wild and innocent.
The perfect woman.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry if I was too rough.”
She pulled the sheet up to her neck, meeting his gaze directly. “You were fantastic.”
He studied her facial expressions and took note of her tone of voice. While Nate was a human lie detector, Jory could usually tell a falsehood. “Are you just being nice?”
She rolled her eyes and stretched her hands above her head. The sheet dropped to her waist.
He swallowed, his gaze dropping to pert, well-loved breasts… kissed a lovely pink. He’d left his mark there, and damn, if that didn’t please him on some primitive level he wanted to deny. “Are you sure?”
“Stop fishing for compliments.”
He wasn’t. More than anything, he wanted to scoop her up and spend the day in bed together and soothe any aches he’d caused. But there was no time. “We have to plan your escape in a way that keeps you safe and doesn’t give away my brothers.”
She blinked, and then her bottom lip quirked. “You sweet talker you. Stop with the compliments.”
Smart-ass. But at the thought, the tightness released his chest. “You’re really all right?”
“Yes.” Her smile remained slightly sleepy. “Aren’t you?” Doubt crept into her tone.
“I’m wonderful. Last night was amazing.” He could give her the truth there.
“Good.” Her smile nearly blinded him, and he had to blink to keep concentration. “So… a good plan, huh?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.” One quick stride, and he planted a knee on the bed. Reaching for her, he caressed her fragile jaw and wrapped his hand around her neck. “Good morning.” Lowering his head, he took her mouth.
He moved against her softly until she sighed, and then he went deep. Her nails dug into his chest, and he growled, enjoying her little shiver. The woman was a keeper. At the thought, he drew away.
Her eyes were dreamy, her lips a pretty pink. She’d chosen him, and now he wanted to choose her. He couldn’t let her go back into the facility and put herself in danger. If she went back, it had to be for the mere purpose of getting a message to Chance and nothing else. Then she needed to get out of town.
He took a deep breath. “You can either flee with your mom, or you can go back and tell the commander I kidnapped you and forced you to lie about this kidnapping. I can’t ask you to lie for me and about the PROTECT group in case he figures out the full truth. I won’t let you be in danger.”
She rubbed her chin and once again drew the sheet up to cover herself. “Why would I tell him the truth? I thought we were going to say the PROTECT group kept me.”
Jory shook his head. “You suck at lying, so you’ll have to stick closer to the truth, which is that I have you. If you go in, it’s for one day only to get a message to Chance on how we’re getting him out. Then you get to safety.” He frowned, fighting the urge to reach over and drag down the sheet, to prevent her from hiding any aspect of herself from him. To prevent any barriers. “What do you want to do?”
She smoothed the sheet over her drawn-up legs. “Want to do? I already made my choice. I have no intention of playing both sides.” She tilted her head to the side. “I choose you, Jory. I’m all in here with the original plan. Danger or not, I’ll make good the lie.”
He stood, the blood rushing through his veins in a definite fight or flight speed. All in? He just needed her to get word to Chance, not to become a super-spy for Jory or some double agent against the commander. The woman wasn’t a good liar. “What are you saying?”
She bit her lip. “I believe you. With the tracker, your abilities, Chance, my not knowing the commander… and last night? I believe you. I’m in this now, and whatever I need to do to save you and your brothers… I’m in.”
He backed away from the bed, his breath heating. Gratitude and warmth slammed him so hard in the gut he nearly buckled in two. She chose him. Just him, and she intended to put herself in danger for him. More than once. “No.”
She chuckled. “Yes.” Relief unwrinkled her brow. “I’ve known—instinctively about my father. Sure, I wanted him to be a good guy, to care about me, and maybe he does. But what’s going on there is wrong.”
Jory tilted his head. “You’re thinking with your brain.”
She snorted. “I usually do.”
Funny. The thought of anything or anyone dampening her spirit blazed fire through him.
“I can help you get insider information.” She hugged her knees, her voice nearly eager.
There was no safety for her on his side, no protection when all hell broke loose, and it surely would. He’d be dead in less than two days, and he couldn’t leave her unprotected. “Absolutely not.”
“Wow. Such a dictate. I’m doing it.” Amusement and a feminine understanding curved her upper lip. “Take a breath, Jory, ah, dude. I’ll protect you.”
Dude? She’d protect him? Was she crazy? It was his job to protect her. And if she thought she could distance herself from him with a stupid nickname, she was in for a surprise. “Dean. Jory Dean.”
Her smile split wide open. “You do have a last name.”
“Yes. The commander doesn’t know it.” He frowned. “I don’t think he knows it, anyway. I’ve been out of touch for a couple of years. Coma and all that.”
“Because somebody shot you.” She frowned. “Not the Russians.”
“No. A woman, apparently.” He sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair. A trembling hand. She’d rocked his world with choosing him. Over her own biological father—both a logical and an emotional choice. “My brothers saw a video, and it was a woman who shot me, but they couldn’t see who.”
“Dr. Madison?” Piper said quietly.
Jory shrugged. “Maybe.”
Piper frowned. “That hurts you.”
“No, it doesn’t.” The woman saw way too much beneath the surface, and he refused to dwell on that right now. Not on top of everything else.
“Yes, it does. Believe me, I understand parental failure.” She paled.
Anger roared through him, and he twisted his head. “Okay, if she shot me, that bothers me a little. Not because I care about her or anything, but because that means the closest thing I ever had to a mother was just fine with killing me. There’s something fucked up about that.”
Piper plucked at a bed string. “I know. My own father tagged me like a dog. That sucks, but it doesn’t change who I am or what I want. And right now I want to help Chance and save you.”
Jory focused and then slowly forced his body to relax. “I want your help, but it’d kill me if something happened to you.”
She nodded. “So we plan. I escape, get help, and lie and say the PROTECT people took me. Then I need to find a way to the inland facility to rescue Chance and his brothers as well as get the computer codes.”
“No. Absolutely not.” Jory finally lost his sense of wonder and returned to the problem at hand. The idea of her putting herself in any more danger ripped holes in his fucking gut. She’d given something of herself to him. He had to hold that tight for as long as he could. “You’re in to give a message to Chance on when to be ready for me to rescue him, and then you get out. No spying, no working on computer codes. Just a message. This isn’t up for debate.”
“Good thing I’m not debating.”
Oh yeah? There was another way to go here, and one that finally eased the pressure pounding through his temples.
He saw the second she realiz
ed what he was thinking, because she bolted straight up in the bed. “You are not keeping me here under wraps.”
Maybe he should. “We both know I could make that happen.” He kept his gaze direct and lowered his voice to the tone of command he’d learned long ago on missions.
She shook her head, thoughts scattering across her pretty face. “Okay. I won’t try to get to the inland facility and will just get a message to Chance on whatever your plan is once you figure it out.”
Ah, she was cute. So damn cute when she thought she was playing him. Jory smiled. “The city facility pretty much blew up yesterday. Where exactly did you think the commander will have Chance?”
A light pink stole across her smooth cheekbones. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
She was also cute when she lied. “Hadn’t you?” Jory asked, reaching for a T-shirt to drag on.
“Not exactly,” she groused. Holding the sheet in place, she swung her legs from the bed and stood. “This is my decision.”
He moved instinctively and without much thought, deftly jerking the sheet from her body.
She yelped, moved to cover herself, thought about the situation with a quick bite to the lip, and then stood to her full height, hands at her sides.
Damn, the woman was something. Jory shook his head. “You gave something of yourself to me last night, Piper, and you know it. I won’t allow you to put yourself in danger, not even for me.”
Somewhere during the sentence, her temper ignited, if the sparks flashing through her emerald eyes were any indication. He watched, fascinated, when her pupils narrowed to pinpricks.
“You don’t get to allow anything with me, butthead.”
Glorious. Fucking glorious. How he’d ended up, however briefly, with such an amazing woman, he’d never understand. Protecting and defending were what he did best, and he knew how to get results. For the first time, his heart, instead of his brain, pushed him to use his skills. He moved into her space, appreciating when she swallowed in reflex. “Allow was a poor word choice, as was butthead.”
“Butthead was the perfect word choice.” She slammed her hands on her hips and tilted her head way back to meet his gaze with a hard glare.
He’d known she was going to say that, and the thought filled him with gratitude. And determination. Even though they were currently engaged in a battle of wills, one he had to win to ensure her safety, he loved that he could guess her thoughts.
So he traced a line from her collarbone down to the undersides of her breasts.
Her breath caught, and her nostrils flared. Desire warmed those sparking eyes. His body awakened instantly in response.
Then he pushed.
She squinted in a frown.
“That bruise?” He pressed again, not too hard, anger drawing through him that he’d harmed someone fragile—someone who trusted him. “That’s from me.”
Her head tilted farther, and her eyes narrowed. “So?”
So? He’d beat to death anybody else who dared to bruise her, and yet look what he’d done. He caressed down and around to the perfect fingerprints embedded in her ass. “These, too.”
“So the heck what?” Her breath came out husky this time, and his cock flared to attention.
“I marked you.” How could she not understand what he’d done?
She patted above his heart, right beneath his tattoo, none too gently. “I left a reminder, as well.”
He nodded, having appreciated the scratches earlier while she slept. “Not the same.”
“Why not?”
Challenge launched through him. Then he leaned down until they were almost nose to nose. “Because I’m a fucking killing machine, and you’re a sweet little hacker who likes to flirt with danger. Baby, I am danger.” He put every ounce of threat and menace into his voice.
So when she threw back her head and laughed, hard and deep, he frowned. Even her nicely jiggling breasts couldn’t take his attention from that throaty chuckle.
“Seriously, Jory,” she gasped out, wiping a tear from the corner of one eye.
He shook his head. “I’ve never met a woman who needed a taming more than you do.” The words popped out, bemused and thoughtful.
Her eyes widened, and her back went ramrod straight. She coughed and then tried to back up, the bed at her knees halting her retreat.
Interesting. His mean voice didn’t work, but his thoughtful one, quite serious to be honest, had made her think twice. Honesty did work with his woman.
His woman?
Yeah. He smiled. They may be short-lived, but while he lived, he had a woman. Piper.
She held both hands up and out to ward him off. “Now wait a minute here.”
“Why?” He leaned over until his hands clutched the mattress on either side of her hips, forcing her to sit. “I feel like I finally have your attention.”
She shook her head, a jerky movement. “There’s no taming women, for goodness’ sakes.”
He nodded, his arms caging her. “I don’t want to tame women, just you.”
She eyed the door, his groin, and then his face, her thoughts a blueprint to her escape plan. “I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I don’t think I like it.”
“I wouldn’t either, were I you,” he said somberly, having way too much fun all of a sudden. God, she was wonderful to mess with. “So how about we come up with a plan we both think is safe?”
“That’s fine”—she spoke slowly, carefully—“but part of the plan has to be protecting my mother and my going back to work. Even if your brothers have the computer program, I’m close to figuring out the coding sequence so you don’t have to. Plus, if Chance is really held captive there, I have to get your plan to him. At least to let him know you’re coming.”
Oh, she was trying to work with him, and Jory could appreciate that. “If the commander gets you inland to the facility, there’s a damn good chance he won’t let you go.” How could she not understand how dangerous the commander could be?
Piper rolled her eyes. “My mother will call the National Guard to come looking, so I’m not too worried.”
“What if he takes your mother, too?”
She frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Then she rubbed her chin. “I think maybe I should send my mother on a cruise or vacation somewhere until we get this figured out. Just like you did Edna.”
Jory nodded. “That’s not a bad plan, except unless you’ve been planning it, the commander will get suspicious. Like it or not, he’ll see that move as you getting your mother to safety before all hell breaks loose, which would be an accurate interpretation.”
Piper bit her lip. “What if she wins a vacation like Edna?”
“Still suspicious.” Jory stepped back and sat down. “The only way to get your mother to safety is if you go with her. I’ll keep the commander busy enough he won’t come looking.”
Piper picked at a loose string on the blanket. “No. Unfortunately, I’m in the best position to not only get word to Chance but to unravel the codes for the kill chips as well as open a line to yours. I’m it, Jory. Use me.”
“I can’t.” His hands actually shook as he gave her the truth.
She tried to roll her eyes again but failed miserably. “Listen, it was just sex. Really. It was great sex but just bodily functions for us both. The fact that it’s been so long for you has emotion clouding the issue.”
Did she just say just sex? It was one of the best fucking nights of his entire life. His shoulders went back, and his vertebrae straightened. “Just sex?”
“Yes.” Relief slackened the muscle along her jaw. “It’s okay. No emotion, no promises. Stop making something out of last night that wasn’t there.”
He shook his head and focused on the scent of the lie. She was lying so he’d allow her into danger, and he could understand that. So he’d ignore the figurative kick to his balls and not shove her stubborn ass back on the bed and kiss her until she relented. The night meant something—to both of them. He could hear h
er heart even now, and he could see beneath her surface. “You’re the worst liar I have ever met. Don’t even think about playing poker with my brothers. Ever.”
Her eyes widened and her eyelashes actually fluttered. “I’m not lying or trying to hurt your feelings. But you making more out of last night than was there is causing a problem in what was a perfectly good plan. I can take care of myself.”
“Remember that taming?” he asked softly.
Flaming red climbed from her chest to her face. “Stop threatening me.”
“Then stop lying to me.” He could tell she was lying, and he appreciated her need to help him and his brothers. But either they worked together, or he’d have her cute butt locked down somewhere with her mother. “You have one chance here, Piper.”
She studied him, her gaze probing deep. Finally, apparently believing him, she nodded. “Fine. We’ll agree together, but I have to lie about who had me. If I admit I was with you, they’ll know the truth. About us.”
He studied her. That was a good point.
She smiled. “So let’s work together. What’s the plan?”
Smart girl.
The rumble of an opening garage door vibrated the floor. He stood and reached for her clothing on the antique settee. “Get dressed. My brothers are here. Together we’ll figure out a way to keep you safe and possibly get the information to Chance.” Before he sent her somewhere safe that the commander could never find.
Maybe Chance could somehow get the codes on his way out, because Jory doubted one day was enough for Piper to get the information, considering she’d probably spend most of it being debriefed.
Jory paused at the doorway. While he didn’t particularly like this new side of himself, he had no choice but to be honest and embrace it. “But if you deviate from my plan in any way, Piper, you’ll understand the meaning of the word taming.”
Her snort as he left the room failed to reassure him. Shaking his head, he loped into the kitchen just as Nate entered from the garage.
Nate lifted an eyebrow and shut the door behind himself. “You had sex.”