Taking Chances Read online

  She pulled away. “Bedroom.”

  Like a man thirsting for water, he followed her to the bedroom. “Beat it, Ranger.” Ranger trotted out and Lucas closed the door.

  Nora met him halfway, grabbed his shirt and kissed him. With a low growl, he took command of the kiss, tasting the sweetness of her mouth. He slid his hands beneath her tee shirt, needing to touch her skin. A soft groan escaped her lips when he cupped her breast, flicking a thumb over a pebbled nipple.

  She tugged at the bottom of his shirt. Releasing her mouth, he pulled the shirt off and tossed it on the chair. She did the same with hers. Then reached for her pajama bottoms and shimmied out of them, revealing long, shapely legs. The small scrap of black lace came last, sliding down her legs, to be kicked aside.

  Lucas let his gaze roam over her slender, toned body slowly, while he grew hard with desire. Her lips parted on a sigh when his gaze lingered on her breasts, perfectly sized for his hands.

  No modesty with Nora. Only uninhibited, undeniable, sexual attraction. He liked a bold woman, but had never met one like her.

  “Your turn,” she said.

  Grinning, he shucked his pants. Her eyes took in his erection and she licked her lips. Good God, he could love this woman.

  She pulled him down to the bed and he captured her mouth. Her nails raked his back. He surged against her. Hard, ready, he tore his mouth from hers to trail a fiery path down her neck to the pulse that pounded in her throat. Biting down, he nipped it, then laved it with his tongue. She let out a gasp of pleasure.

  Sliding lower, he took one of her nipples in his mouth, flicked it with his tongue. Her back arched off the bed. Both her hands buried in his hair, pressed him closer. He moved to the other nipple, repeated the action.

  “Lucas,” Nora moaned. “I like foreplay, but I need you inside me.”

  He lifted his head. “Don’t want to disappoint a lady.” Grabbing his bag, he rifled through it for a condom he always kept on hand, ripped it open with his teeth, and started to put it on.

  Nora took it from him, rolled it on, then wrapped her hands around him.

  He groaned and thrust into her palms.

  With a wicked smile, she lay on the bed. He followed her down. Her legs wrapped around his thighs and with a low growl he surged inside her. His grunt matched her groan as he slid to the hilt, surrounded by her heat. One thought entered his mind. Mine.

  Nora went still beneath him. Worried he’d hurt her, he propped on his elbows and looked down at her. “Say the word and I’ll stop right now.”

  “Don’t you dare.” She pulled his head down to kiss him and the hitch in her voice slipped from his mind as he drove into her, bringing them both to the edge too fast. He wanted this to last, but she so was damn responsive, so beautiful and sexy, he couldn’t stop.

  “Yes,” she urged, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

  “Now.” With a grunt of pure male satisfaction, he buried himself deep. She tightened around him with a cry of pleasure. Her arms went around his neck as she bucked against him. He’d never had a woman hold him like that when she came. Emotion swelled in his chest as he rode the waves with her.

  Her breath hot against his neck, he wrapped his arms around her, waiting for his own breathing to return to normal. Normally, he and his partners rolled apart to catch their breath, sated and weak. His women never wanted to stay close after. There was no need.

  Lucas pressed a kiss to her temple. She nibbled his jaw. His dick jumped to life, ready for another round.

  “Mmmm,” she murmured, circling her hips. “I like a man with stamina.”

  He reached for his bag. “Darlin’, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Chapter 5

  Nora slipped out of the bedroom, clutching her pajamas. She closed herself in the bathroom and turned on the light. Chilled, she dressed quickly and caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her hair was a tousled mess, her skin still flushed.

  She touched her swollen lips, memories of the past few hours invading her thoughts. How could one man, a stranger, make her feel things she’d never felt before? Not even with Keith.

  Tears filled her eyes and slipped past her lashes before she could stop them. For the first time in fourteen months, her tears weren’t for the hole in her heart, but because she didn’t feel it. She rubbed her chest, expecting to feel the emptiness, the ache that had been there since Keith’s death.

  Oh, God, could she take another chance? Let her feelings for Lucas develop? Take a chance on love again?

  What she felt for Keith couldn’t compare to this, and that scared her almost as much as taking a leap of faith. She’d loved Keith. Wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

  Then why did her feelings for Lucas feel so much more right than what she’d felt for Keith?

  Tonight she’d done something she’d never done during and after sex. Her emotions had been running so high, she’d been afraid to let go, fearing what she felt would slip away. She’d wanted to hold on to it forever, and that wasn’t something she did. She’d tried that once and it ended tragically.

  Lucas made her want to hold on. The way he touched her as if he knew her. Sex with Keith had been good, but it hadn’t felt so…intimate. How could she say that? She’d loved him. Sex could be nothing but intimate. So why did it feel real with Lucas?

  Confused, she pressed a fist to her mouth to stifle her sobs as her tears came harder.

  The door opened and Lucas stood there, bare-chested, a pair of jeans riding low on his lean hips. “Nora? Ah, hell. I hurt you, didn’t I?”

  He moved into the room and pulled her into arms, hugging her to his chest. She wanted to fight it, avoid her feelings, but she melted into him, absorbing his warm strength.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he murmured.

  She shook her head. “You didn’t hurt me.”

  Some of the tension left his muscles. “Well, not to worry, you only hurt me a little, but I’m taking it like a man.”

  A small laugh escaped through her tears and she shook her head as something new settled in her chest. Not pain. Not emptiness.

  He put a hand under her chin and tilted her face up. “There. That’s better,” he said softly. “I don’t like seeing a lady cry. Especially one I just slept with. Reflects badly on my reputation.”

  He kissed a tear off her cheek and her feelings grew even more for this charming man who made her laugh when she wanted to cry.

  “Come back to bed,” he murmured against her mouth.

  She slipped her hand in his and followed him back to the bedroom, wanting to be nowhere else.

  ****

  Ranger’s whines brought Lucas awake.

  “Something’s wrong with Ranger,” Nora said, lifting her head off his chest.

  Lucas reached for his clothes. “Go back to sleep. I’ll check on him.”

  Something moved next to the bed and the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed against his temple. The light snapped on. “Don’t move, lover boy.”

  Nora went rigid against him and he tightened his arm around her.

  “Keith?” she whispered.

  Keith? The man she’d dreamed about. Woke up screaming for. Damn, he was Keith’s replacement. Geezus, what a damn fool.

  “Hey, kitten. It’s been awhile.”

  A band wrapped around Lucas’s chest and squeezed. “You know this guy?”

  “Yes.”

  A big stupid fool who should have trusted his instincts. Leave it to him to fall for a woman he couldn’t have. Again.

  Damn.

  “Mind getting that gun out of my face? Little bit of overkill, don’t you think?”

  Keith’s brown eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about? Never mind, get out of bed. Slowly. And get dressed.”

  “Where’s Ranger?” Nora asked.

  His hands where Keith could see them, Lucas got out of bed as instructed and reached for his clothes.

  “Assuming that’s the dog who tried t
o bite my face off when I came in, I gave him a little something to help him sleep.”

  “You better not have hurt him.”

  Lucas tugged his jeans on, assessing the situation. Nora made no move to get out of bed. Her face was pale, yet she didn’t seem afraid. More shocked. Dayton was a good place to hide; he’d be surprised too if his ex showed up. Especially up here in an isolated cabin during an ice storm. Only a man determined to find her would risk that.

  He just needed to find out why said man had a gun, took the chance, and what it meant to their safety. Despite being a complete dumbass to fall for an involved woman, he wouldn’t let this guy hurt Nora in any way. Jealous lover, ex husband, didn’t matter. He came in here with a gun, that made him a threat.

  “It’s a dog. What would it matter if I put a bullet in him?”

  Nora went rigid.

  Lucas went on alert.

  “Stay away from him, Keith,” she warned.

  “Retirement has made you soft. Why don’t you get dressed, kitten.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “You used to like it.”

  A twinge of jealousy needled. Now wasn’t the time for it. Although Keith’s attention was on Nora, Lucas knew better than to underestimate the man. If he went for the gun now, it would only put them all in danger.

  “Forgive me if I don’t want the man whose body I buried fourteen months ago to call me by a pet name,” Nora said, throwing back the covers and reaching for her clothes.

  What? Questions raced through his head. Keith back from the dead? What the hell was going on? Did Nora put him in the ground literally? Christ, he’d really screwed up this time.

  “I can explain that. First, lover boy needs to put these on.”

  He tossed a pair of zip ties to Lucas. Damn. Handcuffs, ropes, tape, all easy to escape. Zip ties, nearly impossible. This guy knew what he was doing.

  “Nice and tight,” Keith coached when Lucas slipped them on his wrists. “Nora, I’m gonna need you to do the same to his ankles.” He tossed another pair to Nora.

  “Is this necessary? Why are you here?” she asked, making no move to do as commanded. “How are you here?”

  “Safety first. Tie your guy up, then we’ll get down to business.”

  Business? So far, none of the pieces were fitting into place. Resembled a lover’s tryst. He’d been there before and it had gone just like this. That night had ended with him in the hospital from a bullet to the chest and the woman he loved back in her husband’s arms. Looked like a good chance he’d end up there again, but the business part had him puzzled. The bullet should be because he’d slept with another man’s woman.

  “I’m not doing anything until you tell me what this is about.”

  Keith backhanded her.

  Nora reeled backward, her hand going to her cheek.

  Son of a bitch. Lucas charged toward Keith.

  The barrel of a gun stopped him mid-stride. “Hold it there, lover boy. Now’s not the time for heroics.”

  Ignoring Keith, he looked at Nora. “You all right?”

  Anger replaced the stunned look on her face. She nodded and something cold and hard filled her eyes. Her shoulders straightened as she pulled herself up. The transformation was uncanny.

  She walked over to Keith. “Wouldn’t you rather I tie him to a kitchen chair?” she asked, completely detached.

  Lucas shot her a look.

  A slow smile spread across Keith’s face. “There’s the agent I know and love. Yes, let’s do that.”

  Agent?

  As in government?

  “You heard the lady. To the kitchen, pal.”

  Lucas met Nora’s cool, blank stare. If she was putting on a show, she had him convinced. Damned if he could tell.

  With the gun pointed at his back, he led the way to the kitchen. Once there, he sat in one of the chairs while Nora secured his feet. He hated not knowing her plan, hated leaving her unprotected.

  She rose to her feet to face their captor. “There. Now, I want answers.”

  Keith moved closer to her, tucked the gun into his waistband and pulled out a knife. “First things first, kitten. You have something I need.”

  He pressed the blade to Nora’s throat.

  Chapter 6

  Lucas fought his bonds to get to Nora before the knife slit her throat. Nora’s hand shot out and knocked the knife from Keith’s hands. It clattered to the floor. In what looked like a choreographed scene from a movie, he watched the two spar. He knew what close-quarters combat training looked like. These two were trained.

  Keith pulled the upper hand and got her in a chokehold. “That was fun and all, kitten, but time is wasting. Just give me what I need and I’ll be on my way.”

  “I have nothing you need.”

  “Ah, but you do. It’s right here.” He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

  Jealousy and rage shot through Lucas, but all he could do was sit there and watch while the pieces fell into place.

  Nora jerked away. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you’d just let me get my knife, I’d explain.”

  “Explain first.”

  “Sorry, kitten, I know you too well for that.”

  Nora went slack. “What did you do?”

  “Hold still. This will only sting for a second.”

  The knife glinted in the light seconds before Keith dug the tip into the flesh of Nora’s neck. Her sharp, indrawn breath made Lucas curse.

  “If you hurt her, I’m gonna kill you,” he warned.

  “She’ll be fine. Besides, Nora never needed a champion. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”

  A small trail of blood slid down Nora’s neck. Something primal rose within Lucas. He wanted to rip the bastard limb from limb.

  “Ah, got it.” Keith let go of Nora, and she pressed her hand to her neck to stop the bleeding.

  Keith held something in his hand.

  “You planted a microchip in me?” Nora gasped. “When?”

  “Thailand. Just before I faked my death.”

  “You waited fourteen months to come get it? Why? Why did you do it?”

  “Come on, Nora, you know why. We worked for peanuts for the Agency. We did the dirty work while they took the credit. We were stars on the wall. No one was gonna miss me anyway, so why not get paid for what I’m good at? The information on this chip will set me up for life. ”

  Mind reeling, Lucas watched Nora go pale. A CIA agent. Didn’t see that one coming.

  “You used me to get the chip out of the country.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you really love me, Keith? Or was that faked too?”

  Good damn question. He watched Keith walk over to Nora and cup her cheek.

  “I still love you. That part was real. What we had was good. You know it wasn’t faked.” He leaned in close. “Come with me. Let’s run off to some private island in Fuji like we always planned. Just the two of us.”

  Lucas looked at Nora, chest tight. This wasn’t a lover’s tryst. Nora couldn’t be compared to Corinne, and this situation was nothing like the last. She hadn’t played him for a fool. And the woman he’d fallen for had just been given a proposal by the man she’d once loved.

  God help him, he didn’t want to lose her.

  ****

  Nora studied the first man she’d ever allowed herself to love. But, as she looked at him now, she saw nothing but a criminal. A user. A man who would say or do anything to get what he wanted. He was a trained liar. Why had she not seen this before?

  She’d fallen for his lies, wanted so badly for someone to love, to love her, that she’d believed everything he told her. Looking back, she saw it so clearly now. Had seen him turn assets using the same tactics many times.

  God, she’d fallen victim to her own game.

  She and Keith had been partners in the CIA for ten years. They knew each other better than they knew themselves. And he’d used that k
nowledge against her in his criminal activities. He’d faked his own death, put her through hell, so he could live a life of crime, free of the Agency.

  All this time she’d been mourning the loss, believing she deserved to be alone, and over something that wasn’t real. She looked at Lucas. Handsome, charming, honest. Real. Like her love for him. Understanding shown in his emerald eyes. This man would never hide from her, or lie to her, or hurt her. He was a retired Navy pilot turned rancher from Dayton, Colorado. No secrets. And she wanted to spend the rest of her life getting to know the rest of him.

  “What about him?” she asked, turning her gaze back to Keith.

  Keith smiled. “I knew you’d come around. We belong together, kitten. He’s a witness. No loose ends.” He pulled the gun out of his waistband.

  Nora took it from him. The weight familiar in her hands. “I’ll do it.”

  “That’s my girl. I’ve missed you.”

  She rose to her feet, walked over to Lucas, and raised the gun. “I’m sorry,” she said, then swung around and pulled the trigger.

  The shot echoed through the cabin. Keith stumbled backward. Blood bloomed on his chest. “Nora?” he murmured, looking down, then up at her.

  “We’re over, Keith.”

  He slumped to the floor and she grabbed the knife off the counter where Keith had left it. She used it to cut the ties off Lucas’s ankles and wrists.

  He lunged toward Keith, but she blocked him.

  “Lucas, no. He’s not dead. I only wounded him.”

  “I want the bastard dead for hurting you.”

  Her heart swelled. She cupped his cheek. “Help me tie him up. When the storm clears, we’ll take him to the authorities. Rotting in jail will be Keith’s worst nightmare, trust me.”

  His thumb circled lightly over her cheek where Keith had hit her. All her fears evaporated. “All that was true? You were CIA?”

  She nodded.

  “Any interest in going back?”

  “No.” Never. Her days with the Agency were over.

  He leaned in close so their lips were inches apart. “Can I interest you in a new start?”