After Roland finished surveying the area around the cabin—and putting even more security measures in place--he headed back inside. Something was bothering him. Maybe it was the fact that all three of his friends--Striker, Quasar and Stonewall—weren’t happy that he’d taken the FBI’s suggestion about staying tonight. Maybe he should heed their concerns and go tell Lennox that they should find another place to stay for the night. After all, he supposed there were hotels in the area, as well as truck stops with rooms.
But there was one major drawback to those places—and the reason he’d brought her to the cabin in the first place. Truck stops and hotels were all surrounded with security video cameras. It wouldn’t be hard for the wrong people to find them, if they had universal security coverage. And unfortunately, most people who worked outside of the law had it.
This place would be alright, at least for tonight. It had to be.
Before going inside, he took a moment to think about the woman he’d left there--the woman who was getting deeper and deeper under his skin, whether he liked it or not. And he honestly didn’t. So, what the hell was he going to do about it?
What he should do, was go inside and over their meal, have an important conversation with her. Although their time at Lake Erie Beach had been out of this world fantastic and would forever be infused in his memory, they shouldn’t share a bed any more. It was too dangerous, for many reasons.
He shook his head. Good luck on that happening, when this cabin was so small. There was only one bedroom and the sofa didn’t look comfortable at all. Hell, it actually looked painful. Still, he’d made up his mind and he wouldn’t be deterred on what he needed to do--what he had to do. And that was to get things back on a professional footing between them.
Opening the door, he went inside, then closed it and locked it behind him. He glanced to the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table, waiting for him. She glanced up when she saw him and their gazes held. The smart thing to do would be to break the connection, but he couldn’t. Already, his resolve was weakening. It was going to be a long night.
“I’ve warmed up the food. It’s all ready.”
Roland nodded. They had stopped at an Italian restaurant on the way here when she’d mentioned she had a taste for it.
He had a taste for her.
“I need to wash up,” he said, moving toward the small bathroom. He closed the door behind him and noticed how small it was. No tub, just a shower. No window. That was good. What wasn’t good was him being as aroused as he was.
Moving to the vanity sink, he washed his hands and then toweled them dry before opening the door and heading back to the kitchen. His breathing hitched when he saw her. Keeping his hands off of her was going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.
“Are you okay, Roland?” she asked, when he awkwardly sat down across from her.
He picked up his fork. “Yes. Any reason I wouldn’t be?”
“You tell me.”
But instead of saying anything, he just started to eat…at least, he tried to. He knew she was watching him; however, he refused to look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze on his food.
“That won’t work, you know.”
Roland glanced up at her and saw her staring at him with a smile on her lips. Damn, he wished he didn’t like those lips so much. “What won’t work?”
“For you to think we won’t be sharing another bed.”
He cursed silently. How had she known what he’d been thinking? “It’s for the best, Lennox.” Then he gave his full attention to his food again.
“No, it’s not. I enjoy making love with you at night. To be honest, I enjoy making love with you morning, noon and night, and those times in between. And I’m not ready to give that up.”
Up to this point, he’d been trying not to spare her a glance, but her words made him look over at her to say. “What if I said you have no choice in the matter.”
“Then I would challenge you and put it to the test.” She closed the container her food was in and stood. As he watched, she sashayed around the table and out of thekitchen. His gaze followed her every move, every sway of her hips in those short shorts and every strut of those long, long legs in stilettos.
As if she’d sensed his eyes on her, she glanced over her shoulder and said, “I’ve eaten enough dinner for now. I have a taste for another kind of meal. If you’re interested, you know where to find me. I’ll be in bed, waiting for you. Naked.”
Then she walked into the bedroom and closed the door.
• • •
What the hell…
Roland wasn’t going to allow Lennox to have the upper hand, so he turned his attention back to eating. For some reason, the food didn’t taste as good as he knew her skin and certain parts of her body did. Damn, was she trying to drive him crazy? Couldn’t she see he was just trying to better protect her?
Things had been different at Lake Erie Beach. He’d known Byron was watching his back. But tonight, other than the Jeep alerting him if someone approached, he had no backup. That meant he had to stay alert.
He glanced back at the closed bedroom door. It was a challenge, all right. One of wills. And he was losing. All he could think about was how she’d look on the other side of that door. Was she naked in bed, waiting on him, as she’d claimed? Suddenly, his thoughts were filled with sexual possibilities. Instead of seeing the food on his plate, he envisioned her breasts and the area between those lusciouslegs. He thought of tasting her all over, licking her up, down and all around, and then easing inside of her and…