Do You Trust Me? (3 page)

Under any other
circumstances she would hand it over to Sully, but she was caught in a
situation where there was no one she could trust. Not Sully, not even McCall.

And she couldn’t
stall any longer. Another minute and McCall would barge through the door and
haul her out of the bathroom. She snapped the locket shut very carefully and
rubbed it against a towel, as if her fingerprints on it would be a flashing
sign to someone. Then she clasped it around her neck again, making sure it
settled in place.

Tightening the belt
on the robe once more, she opened the door and marched into the room where
Sully waited. She felt as if she were about to face the Spanish Inquisition.

“Better?” Sully gestured
for her to take a seat opposite him.

“Yes, thank you.”

One of the men in the
room handed her a plastic baggie with ice in it and someone else placed a mug
of steaming coffee in front of her. She sipped at it, her movements somewhat
awkward as she worked to keep the ice in place against her nose. The warmth of
the liquid coursing through her system at least settled her nerves.

Sully watched her through
hooded eyes while she drank part of the hot liquid, giving her time to gather
herself before he pounced.

“Okay, Rina, play
time’s over.” His voice had an edge of steel in it. “What were you doing at John’s
tonight?”

In the bathroom she’d
pieced together the least implausible story she could come up with. “John
called me and asked me to meet him there.”

Sully gave her a
wintry smile. “Try again. John would never break mission protocol that way. Not
after the great lengths we went to, hiding your relationship from the world.
And certainly not without asking my permission.”

“But he did,” she
insisted. “He said it was very important, otherwise he’d never ask me.”

“How did you get in?”
McCall asked from behind Sully’s chair, arms folded, watching her as if she were
a bug on a slide.

“He gave me a key a
long time ago.” She spread her hands open, palms up. “In case of emergency, he
said.”

Sully exchanged
glances with the two other men in the room. His face was carefully
expressionless, but anger and suspicion flickered in his eyes. “I can’t imagine
him doing anything like that. There’s no way you should even have known about
the townhouse.”

“He’s my brother, for
God’s sake,” she cried, knotting her fists. “No one is more conscious of
national security than John is, but we only have each other. We had to make
some...difficult adjustments.”

“McCall tells me you
lost your purse.” His tone was slightly accusing.

“Yes, I’m sorry. But
when that man hit me...”

Sully waved a hand at
her. “No matter. Can’t cry about it now. But in addition to everything else, they
now have your identity, and this puts you at great risk. Rina, I don’t want to
flex my muscle, but you have to tell me what John wanted.”

“Tell me about his
mission first,” she demanded.

“You know I can’t do
that.”

She pressed the bag
of ice to her head and glared at him. “Then I have nothing else to say.”

“Damn it,” McCall
exploded. “If you’re keeping something from us that could save John’s life or
keep the mission from being compromised—”

“Save John’s life?”
Her heart tripped over itself. He’d sounded so badly wounded. Were his injuries
life-threatening?

“That’s a good
possibility,” he ground out. “So quit playing games that are way over your head
and tell us what he wanted.”

If he wanted you to
know, he’d have called one of you. Instead, he called me. He broke every rule
to call me because he’s been betrayed. It could be any one of you. I can’t tell
you. I can’t.

“I’m not playing
games.” Irritated, she dropped the bag of ice onto the table. “And I really don’t
feel well. I’d like to get some rest, and then I want to go home.”

Sully shook his head,
and McCall gave her a grim smile.

She looked from one
to the other. “What? I can’t go home?”

Sully leaned forward
and took one of her hands. Lines of anger still bracketed his mouth, but
apparently he was determined to handle this with kid gloves. “Rina, you’ve made
yourself a target for these people by doing what you did. Everything else
aside, I’m putting you in protective custody until this is finished. One way or
another.”

Every muscle in her
body tightened. “What people? Who are they? Never mind. You can’t tell me,
right? But I have to go home. I have a life. Things to do. My writing. Book
signings. All my regular activities.”

“Listen to me.” Sully’s
patience was wearing thin. “These people have your information from your driver’s
license. They know where you live. How simple do you think it will be for them
to come after you?” His hand tightened on hers. “And do you think for a minute that
after tonight’s little trip to the townhouse they won’t assume you and John are
related?” He leaned forward. “I think it’s safe to assume they were after what
John wanted you to have, don’t you?”

“I have nothing to
tell you, Sully.” She pulled her hand away and folded her arms across her
chest. “I don’t know why John wanted to meet me, why he broke the rules, but it
must have been pretty damn important. Why aren’t you out there trying to find
him and ask him yourself?”

“We have men—” one of
the others in the room began.

Sully cut him off
with a slash of a hand. “We’re looking for John. Count on it. But what you know
might help us.”

“I know nothing.”

“Rina, I can’t just
turn you loose. You’ve made yourself a target.”

“Then you’ll have to
arrest me,” she snapped. “Otherwise, I’m out of here as soon as it can be
arranged.”

Sully let out a long
breath and tapped his fingers on the table. “Fine. Then McCall goes with you.”

“What?” they both
shouted.

“There’s no room for
negotiation here. These people are going to come after you. Until this is
wrapped up, he’ll be sticking to you like glue.”

“And how am I supposed
to explain him?” she asked. “What do I tell my friends when a strange man suddenly
moves into my house?”

A mischievous smile
played on the older man’s lips. “Why, you just tell them you’ve acquired a new
lover. Who wouldn’t want to take a handsome lug like this home with them?
Right, McCall?”

Rina just stared, all
her words stuck in her throat. Have McCall living in her house with her? The
man who’d given her a night of unbelievable sex, then left her high and dry?
Impossible. Looking up at McCall she could see similar thoughts reflected in
his silver eyes.

Oh, God, she couldn’t
do this. She could barely control the need that vibrated from her just being in
his presence with other people around. Her nipples tightened, sending a
tingling feeling through her breasts, and a tiny flutter set up in the muscles
of her cunt. What would she do if they were alone? What would
he
do?

Sully ignored them
both. “We’ll fly you back tomorrow in the task force jet and have someone meet
you at the airport. As soon as you’re in your house, Rina, you give McCall a
copy of your complete schedule for the next month. He’ll get it to me. We’ll be
taking some other steps, too, but I want to discuss it with the rest of the
team first.”

“You can’t screw with
my schedule,” she snapped, wondering where all this courage was coming from. “Besides
everything else, I have a huge special book signing planned for March second. Texas Independence Day. That’s less than a week from now. My new book will be released and
my publisher and my agent worked this out with the governor’s office more than
a year ago. Sully, this is the biggest thing I’ve ever done. It’s included in
all the publicity, too.”

“We’ll take a look at
it,” he told her. “McCall will discuss it with me.”

“Sully, I—”

“That’s it, Rina. I
said we’ll discuss it. And while you and McCall are attached at the hip, you
might consider what John told you that got you in the middle of this in the
first place.”

“I told you all I
know.” She swallowed, hard. “Can you at least tell me if he’s all right?”

Sully looked at the
other two men in the room, but their faces gave nothing away. “We hope so. That’s
the best I can tell you.”

John’s words clicked
in her brain. “He hasn’t gotten in touch with you again, has he? You don’t know
where he is.”

Sully ignored her
statement. “I’d suggest you get some sleep now. You’ll be leaving early in the
morning. I’ll send someone out to get you some clothing so you don’t have to go
home in a bathrobe.”

He stood, an
indication the conversation was at an end.

“You’ll sleep in
here.” McCall led her into the bedroom attached to the bath she’d used. “Hold
on a minute.” He went back into the meeting room and through it to another
bedroom. In seconds, he was back, holding out a man’s extra large T-shirt. “You’ll
probably be more comfortable sleeping in this.”

She was touched by
the gesture, even though she could still see the suppressed irritation in his
face at Sully’s instructions.

“McCall, listen...”
How
do I talk to him about this?

“I’m leaving your
door ajar just in case you need anything.”

In case someone
attacks me?
Did
he really think whoever it was could sneak in here and get to her? She clenched
her hands into fists and tucked them under her arms so he couldn’t see them
shaking.

“Thank you,” she
finally managed.

“See you in the
morning.”

She stared at his
retreating figure, a maelstrom of emotions churning inside her. What a fucking
mess.

Chapter Three

Rina didn’t expect
sleep to come easily, despite being exhausted down to the bone. Her body,
however, had a mind of its own. She was still sorting through the jumble in her
brain when she drifted off. She dreamed, and in her dream someone was
screaming. She kept trying to reach them, but the screaming went on and on.

“Rina.”

Someone was shaking
her, hard, their fingers pressing into her arms like steel bands. Whoever it
was wouldn’t let her get to whoever was screaming.

“Rina. Wake up. Now.”

She dragged her eyes
open and realized the screams were coming from her. Gun tucked in the waistband
of his sweat pants, McCall sat beside her, shaking her with both hands. She was
covered with sweat, the T-shirt sticking to her body like a second skin.

“What? What is it?”
She couldn’t seem to make her mouth or her brain work properly.

“You were screaming
the house down.” His hands still gripped her. “Are you okay? I thought someone had
gotten in here.”

“Oh, God.” She scrubbed
her face with her hands. “I was having a dream, but I don’t remember what it
was. Someone was screaming.”

“That would be you.
Are you okay? Let me get you some water.” He left her for a moment and returned
with a full tumbler. “Drink this. It will help your throat. It must be sore as
hell.”

She nodded, surprised
at the strained gentleness in his voice, and sipped at the water. She felt like
the biggest idiot. “I don’t know what happened. I never have dreams like that.
I certainly never scream in my sleep.” She looked past him to the other room. “Did
everyone hear me?”

He shook his head. “If
any of the hotel guests heard you, they probably thought it was the television.
I got to you right away. Everyone here is gone but me. They’ll be back in the
morning.”

She tried on a weak
smile. “So they left you to be the babysitter.”

He shrugged. “Might
as well get started.”

“McCall.” She wet her
lips with the tip of her tongue and tried to still her galloping heart. “I just
want to tell you I’m sorry you got stuck with this. I’m sure you must hate it.”

Heat flared in his
eyes, bright and sharp, and in the slanting light from the other room, she
could see his body tense. So he hadn’t forgotten that night after all.
Reflexively, her eyes dropped to his crotch, the tent in his sweat pants
unmistakable. Dear lord, she was in trouble.

“No problem,” he said
at last. “I do what needs to be done. Why don’t you lie down and let me cover
you up. You’re shaking.”

She knew it but couldn’t
seem to control the trembling. Obediently, she lay back on the pillows, and he
pulled the covers up, leaning over to tuck them under her chin. The heat rolling
off his body warmed her bones. She felt the strength in his hands, their touch
raising her internal thermostat and releasing a flood of moisture between her
thighs.

Oh, God, I’m about to
embarrass myself.

Their faces inches
apart, their eyes locked, hers wide and still frightened, McCall’s dark and bottomless. A muscle jumped in his cheek. That night at her house was like a living thing between
them, and the sexual thread tightened, pulling at them. McCall leaned over that
last little bit and, in a movement as natural as breathing, touched her lips
with his.

It was just like the
last time. Incendiary. Scorching. Consuming. The instant he made contact things
spun out of control. They were playing with fire. She could almost feel his
resolve melt away. He took her mouth as a thirsty man drinks from a fountain,
probing with his tongue, touching every inner surface. His hands cupped her
face, claiming possession.

Rina answered him
just as hungrily, twining her tongue with his, drinking in his warmth as if she
could pull it into her body. He tasted of coffee and wine and toothpaste. The
musky scent of him surrounded her like an erotic cloud. She was drowning in the
kiss.

Drawing her arms out
from under the covers, she wrapped them around his neck, tugging him closer. So
what if he’d run out on her before. So what if this was totally crazy. Right
here, right now, with turmoil swirling around her, this was what she needed. There
was absolutely no way her body was letting her turn away from this.

McCall shifted his head
to a better angle and deepened the kiss. Her body tightened against him, the
peaks of her nipples pressing into him, hard and soft at the same time. Finally,
he drew back, pulling in a shuddering breath and staring at her face.

“Shit.”

“I didn’t think it
was so bad,” Rina said, trying to find her voice. “Actually, I thought it was
pretty good.”

I’m babbling. Stop
babbling, Rina.

“That’s not the
point,” he muttered. “I swore to myself not to let this happen again. Along
with everything else, it’s totally inappropriate.”

“Why?” She only
wanted to dive into his arms and have him take away the unknown terror of her
dreams. “What’s different about tonight from the last time?”

“Rina, I’m here to
protect you, not take advantage of you. You’re feeling vulnerable right now.
What you don’t need is someone jumping your bones. Anyway, the team has an
unwritten rule about getting involved in cases.”

“Is that what I am?”
she asked, trying to draw him back. “A case?”
Hold me, McCall. I need to
feel your warmth.
Her teeth were chattering no matter how tightly she
clenched her jaw.

“That’s all you can
ever be.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I never should have touched
you before. Everything else aside, you deserve far more than I can give you.”

“And exactly what is
it you think I should have?”

His face was like a
clenched fist, his eyes dead black as he searched for the right words. “Listen
to me. In the first place, you’re John’s sister. I can’t treat you the way I do
other women. The women I...get involved with aren’t like you. They’re...different.”

“Oh? Different how,
exactly? Do they have two heads? Three breasts? Four eyes?”

Stop talking and hold
me. Give me tonight. Later,
I’ll worry about tomorrow.

“Damn it, you’re
deliberately misunderstanding. You have no idea the kind of sex I enjoy. What
turns me on. If you did, you’d really start screaming and run as fast as you
could in the other direction.”

“Are you trying to
scare me on purpose?” She licked her lips. “What are you talking about that’s
so bad? Would you lock your handcuffs on me? Tie me up? Make me helpless?”

Oh, my God! He would!

The thought had more
cream gathering in her cunt and her already racing heart speeding up. Every pulse
point in her body was throbbing. She’d never thought of herself as a submissive
in sex, but with McCall, she could be a lot of things she’d never been.

“Damn it.” He raked
his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “This isn’t a game we’re
playing.
Do you want me to spell it out for you? What I want isn’t for you.”

“Oh, and you know so
damn much about me, right?” She was getting angrier by the minute.

“I use women, Rina.
That’s all I can do. There’s nothing beyond that. I like my sex rough. Hard. I
like bondage. Maybe some other things.”

So she was right. He
was
a dom, although maybe not in the truest sense of the word. She’d done enough
research for her romance novels to know the different levels of BDSM. What
would he say if she told him she wanted that as much as he did?

But when she opened
her mouth to speak, he cut her off. “No. Don’t say anything. Let me finish. I
don’t want any emotional connection, either. I just won’t do that to the sister
of a man who’s like a brother to me. You should be with someone who can offer
you a relationship, something, anything but this.”

“Then why did you fuck
me the first time?” Fighting to keep her anger under control, she studied his
face, unreadable as always. “All you had to do was walk out of my house.”

“I wanted you. Badly.
Anyway, I figured I’d managed to frighten you off after that night.”

She felt her face
heat as she thought of what they’d done.

“Uh uh. I know
exactly what you’re thinking. John should beat my ass for that,” he ground out.
“I just pray he never finds out.”

“But John isn’t in
this room with us, McCall, and the last I looked, I wasn’t a cowering virgin.”
She hugged herself with her arms. “I never said I didn’t like what we did. It
was just...unexpected. But all in all, I’ve had a pretty bad day, I don’t know
if John is alive or dead, and I’m falling apart. If I didn’t want this, you’d
be doubled over massaging your groin instead of wrestling with your conscience.”

“Rina,” he began
again.

She threw up her
hands and flopped back on the pillows, tugging the covers up to her chin. “You
must have ice water in your veins. It’s just sex, for God’s sake, right? Isn’t
that what you think? Get the hell out of here and let me go back to my
nightmares.”

He stared at her, his
face wearing its usual unreadable expression, for so long she wondered if he
was ever going to say anything.

“No.” His eyes burned
holes into her. “No, Rina, it isn’t just sex. And that’s the problem. But that’s
all it can ever be with you. I can’t change who and what I am no matter what my
feelings are, and you just don’t fit into that picture. Now do you understand?”

Rina’s heart tried to
leap into her throat. Not just sex? Did that mean he felt the undercurrents,
too? The feeling of being connected? This was crazy, but no crazier than the
way her life had been turned upside down since she got the call from John. Her
nerves were shredded, and she’d been knocked completely off balance. And
someone had tried to kill her.

Strong and
independent was good, except right now she wanted to melt into a puddle in a
man’s arms. McCall’s arms. She wanted to find her way under that granite
exterior and unleash what was hiding there. For better or for worse. She pushed
herself up, the covers falling to her waist.

“Despite what you
might be thinking after our last...episode, I don’t fall into bed easily or
quickly. And I’m pretty picky about whose bed I fall into.”

“Rina—”

She shook her head. “You
also haven’t the faintest idea what I might or might not like. You don’t scare
me, McCall, but you won’t even try to give it a chance. Listen to me.” She
grabbed one of his hands. “I’m feeling vulnerable. And scared, more than I’ve
ever been in my life. But I also haven’t lost my mind altogether. We were good
together, and I think we could be better.” She dropped his hand. “Never mind.
It’s humiliating to have to beg. Go on. Go. I won’t bother you again.”

“You bother me all
right,” he said through gritted teeth. “Too damn much. That’s the problem. Do you really want me to tell you what I’d like to do to you?”

“Yes.” Her breathing
hitched at the flare of lust in his eyes. “Yes, I do.”

He pushed her down
until she was flat on her back, circled her wrists with his fingers, and pulled
her hands over her head, stretching her out. His face was so close to hers his
warm breath fanned her face. “I want to tie your wrists to this bed and spread
your legs out as wide as I can. I want to suck on those gorgeous nipples until
they’re as swollen as I can get them, then fasten nipple clamps on them to keep
them inflamed and engorged so I can bite at them and lick them.”

Rina squirmed in his
grasp, the walls of her pussy quivering with desire.

“I want to spread
your pussy wide open,” he went on, his voice guttural. “And see all that
beautiful pink, glistening flesh and eat you out until you scream for me to let
you come. But I won’t. Not until you’re sobbing and pleading with me, until I
know when I finally give you your release, you’ll be screaming my name and your
body will shatter from the force of it. Can you handle that, little girl?”

“Try me and see,” she
gasped. “Are you chicken, McCall?”

His mouth was
practically touching hers now. “What if I want you on your knees in front of
me, hands behind your back, sucking my cock until I spill my cum down your
throat? Or turn you over my knee and spank that pretty little ass until it’s
bright red.” He spoke the next words into her mouth. “And then, when you’re so
hot you’re about to burn up, I’ll fuck your ass until you come again and again
and again. What do you say to that, little daredevil?”

She thought she’d
burn up just from his words alone. She’d never been into these kinds of games
with anyone before, but with McCall, she would gladly drop all boundaries. The
trick was getting him to accept her willingness to try.

She licked his lips
with a bold stroke. “You can’t deny there’s something going on between us. Go
on, tell me it isn’t true.”

He stared at her for
so long she wondered if he’d ever speak again. “Do you trust me, Rina?”