InTooDeep (18 page)

“I went by the hospital first. Dani said
you’d left to get a change of clothes.” Hunt provided the information in
between kisses.

“You haven’t called.” Carley held on to him
so tightly her arms ached. She’d missed him. God how she’d missed him. Even as
she’d sat at Dani’s side, talking to her about everything, she’d thought about
Hunt.

Had he been thinking about her too? Had he
been wanting to get her alone again, to touch her, to kiss her like this? She
needed him, needed this. Since Dani had woken up, Carley’s world had slipped
back into place and she’d realized how much she wanted Hunt to be a part of
that world…no matter what it took.

Her hands framed his face and she leaned
into the kiss, sucking on his tongue, nibbling on his lower lip. Drinking in
his flavor. When Hunt started to pull away she moaned in protest, wrapping her
arms around his neck.

He traced the outline of her lips with his
finger. “You didn’t call either.” His voice held no recrimination.

She smiled. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to
hear from me, and I’ve been with Dani.”

“She looks like she’s doing okay. Do the
doctors know when she’ll get out of the hospital?”

“Probably tomorrow, even though I want her
to stay a little longer. She wants to come home.” Carley gave a little laugh.
“She says the scars on her body can heal just as well at home as they can in
the hospital, but it’s the other scars I’m worried about.”

Hunt kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be
difficult, and there will be nights when the nightmares will keep her from
sleeping more than a few minutes at a time. But she can get through this with
the proper care.”

“I’ll make sure she gets whatever she
needs.” She dropped her head to his shoulder for a brief moment before lifting
her gaze to his face. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too.”

His gaze pierced her face, revealing
something dark and dangerous in the depths of his eyes. A warning, maybe? Maybe
he’d come for one last connection with her. Was his intent to carry her into
the bedroom and have one last night of sex before he left her?

She didn’t want to consider that
possibility but was she kidding herself? They couldn’t be together, not with
her history. Hunt was dedicated to his badge and it didn’t matter that she’d
decided to quit. Her past would always be a part of her.

Hunt took hold of her hand, threaded her
fingers through his.

“What’s wrong?” She didn’t remove her hand.

“I don’t want you to think I just came here
because…” His voice was strained, almost choked.

“You don’t think I’ve been thinking about
being with you too? I think Dani finally sent me away because I was driving her
crazy talking about you.” She pulled out of his embrace and retreated to the
couch. “I’ve never done that before, spent so much time focused on one man.”

“Maybe we could take the focus into the
other room.” He scooped her into his arms.

“You mean like the bedroom?” She sighed in
surrender.

“That would be the room I was referring to,
yes.”

“I like that idea.”

Hunt picked up the pace to the room. “Wait
until you hear some of my others.”

Chapter Seventeen

Sunlight slashed through the thin curtains,
splintering the darkness. Its long rays targeted Carley’s face and Hunt
chuckled when she groaned. She wasn’t any more eager to face the day than he
was.

He glanced at the clock on the bedside table
and grimaced. Three hours’ sleep wasn’t a lot to run on but he’d had to shuffle
a lot of papers and help interview each of the women who’d been rescued. He’d
finally managed to crawl into bed a little after six in the morning.

Carley distracted his thoughts by rolling
over onto her side and covering her face with the thick blanket, clearly
establishing her intent to seek the darkness of sleep again.

Taking no pity on her, he tugged the
blanket free, brushing the hair away from her face. “You planning on sleeping
all day?”

“I’m seriously considering it,” she
mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head.

“Did you get much sleep?” She nuzzled his
neck.

“Not much.” He began to stroke her back,
pulling her even closer. “But it’ll have to do.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” she whispered, her
voice husky from sleep.

“Me too.” The admission should have
strangled him. But the smile on Carley’s face gave him a pat on the back, a
good, solid “atta boy”.

She propped herself up on one elbow and
continued to smile at him. “Is everything wrapped up?”

He ran one finger down the length of her
nose without answering the question. It would only bring on a conversation he
wasn’t ready for, wasn’t sure he wanted to be ready for. Leaning in, he kissed
her. “I’m going to go grab a shower.” He flung the blanket to one side and rose
from the bed, stark naked. He felt her eyes on him as he walked across the
bedroom floor.

“Hey.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Do you really need to take a shower right
now?”

Hunt pivoted slowly. “You got something
else in mind?”

She patted the warm side of the mattress
that still bore the imprint of his body. “I have several ideas as a matter of
fact. And none of them require clothes.”

His eyes flashed as he began to walk toward
her. Once he reached her Carley got up on her knees, fisted her hands in his
hair and tugged him down onto the bed. Their bodies tangled, rolling against
the mattress as one.

“You know, I was thinking.” She twisted and
turned until she managed to gain the upper hand. Holding his shoulders down
against the mattress, she stared down into his face, her gaze holding his. “You
didn’t answer my question when I asked if everything was wrapped up.”

Shit. The determined look on her face told
him he needed to distract her. His hand crept between their bodies. “Isn’t
there something you’d much rather be doing than talking?

“You know, you can tell me the truth. I’m a
big girl and I can take it.” Her breath came out in heavy pants.

His arms going around her waist, he rolled
with her until her back lay against the sheets. Their bodies fit together like
two pieces of a puzzle. Perfectly positioned. “Hunt?” She kissed his neck,
raked her fingernails up and down his back.

His jaw clenched. “Do you really want to
talk right now?” As he asked the question, he slipped into her body, stretching
her, whispering her name.

She arched beneath him, taking him fully
inside. “Maybe not right this minute.” Her hips matched his stroke for stroke,
giving, taking while her heart beat in rhythm with his.

Their hands joined, lifted, suspended in
midair while their bodies connected. Joined with her, he touched her, not just
physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Everywhere.

Carley had never believed in fate but if
such a thing did exist, she believed she was fated to meet Hunt Chandler, fated
to be with him like this in this moment. Maybe not forever but for now. These
were memories she’d take with her when she left on her next adventure and he
returned to Virginia.

A tear leaked out of her eye, trickled down
her cheek. But she didn’t look away. She wanted him to see what she couldn’t
tell him. How much she cared.

Hunt watched the tear track its way to her
chin and he lowered his head to lick the saltiness. He wanted to tell her not
to cry but he understood the raw emotion twisting her body into a knot. He felt
it too. It was powerful, unique and would change him—if it hadn’t already.

His lips sought hers seconds before his
release hit. He squeezed her tight, his hands digging into her hips. Carley
buried her face in his neck and held on. Her legs tangled with his, her breasts
against his chest, and she imagined she could stay like this for a long time.
Until his next words…

“Come to Virginia with me.”

Carley stiffened and pushed against his
shoulders. “What? What are you talking about?” She managed to squeeze her way
out from under him and, snagging the top sheet, slid off the bed. Holding the
Egyptian cotton up to her chin, she stared at Hunt, who lay there looking up at
her like he’d just come up with a brilliant idea.

“I’m surprised you still have a job.” She
hedged for time.

“Actually, I’m up for a commendation.” He
propped his head in his hand. “My team got an overlapping case of amnesia so
they’re not giving the director anything to use against me.” He shrugged. “Not
that it would have mattered. I wouldn’t change anything I did.”

“Not even if it meant losing your badge?”
He had no idea how important his answer was.

“Not even. Somewhere in the middle of all
of this, Carley, I realized that I’d finally found something,
someone
,
who was more important to me than my job. That’s why I want you to come with
me.”

Damn the tears filling her eyes. How she
wanted to throw herself into his arms and give a resounding yes but the white
elephant in the room had to be let out. “I wish it was as simple as my saying
yes.”

“Why isn’t it?” He sat up, still gloriously
naked. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

“I’ve thought about asking you to quit the
FBI and come with me,” she returned, watching the smile slide off his face.

“Now who’s not being serious?” Hunt got to
his feet and wandered to the edge of the bed, closer to her. “If you think
about it, this makes sense. Neither one of us really wants to leave the other.”

“But you want me to give up what I do.”
She’d wanted to tell him her decision to quit, but in her own time, in her own
way.

“It’s not like it’s a career, Carley. It’s
theft.” Hunt frowned at her. “You can’t stand there and tell me with a straight
face that you haven’t been thinking about quitting since the day we met.”

Yeah she’d thought about it, had thought of
nothing else since she’d come clean with her sister, but Hunt’s words made her
feel like she was beneath him and pissed her off. And right now she needed
distance from him before their words escalated into a major fight.

Hunt folded his arms across that impressive
chest. “Well?”

Wrapping the sheet around her like a
security blanket, Carley spun around and tried not to stomp toward the
bathroom. “You can let yourself out.” Though the words came out with
determination, she really didn’t want him to leave…even if it meant a battle.

She wanted to know Hunt was willing to
stay, to fight for what he wanted, what they both wanted. Maybe it was because
a part of her was scared he didn’t really want her as much as he thought. Or he
was just enamored with the idea of reforming her.

“What?” His attention secured, he followed
her. “What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere, not until we finish
this conversation.”

“And I agree to come back to Virginia with
you.” Carley hurled the words at him like daggers, her eyes just as sharp as
she spun around to face him.

Knowledge dawning in his eyes, Hunt
retreated to the bed and scooped his pants up off the floor. “You don’t want to
come with me because you don’t want to give up the money, the lifestyle your
talents afford you.” He slipped into his pants, dragged them up over his hips
and secured the fastening. “All you had to do was say so.”

Almost panicked, Carley watched him finish
dressing, but she couldn’t watch him walk away. Not again. Not when she might
really never see him again. “Wait. I never said I didn’t want to give it up but
my life isn’t as simple as just walking away. I have things to finish.”

“You mean jobs? After all of this can you
really go back to the life you’ve been leading? Stand there and tell me you
can, that this thing that’s happened between us means so little that you aren’t
willing to give it a shot.”

He was throwing too much at her and her
chest tightened with panic. It had nothing to do with the money. She had enough
to live on comfortably without completing one more job but in this line of work
you didn’t just walk away without consequences.

She flipped her hair over her shoulders,
tightened the sheet over her breasts. “There are people out there who know me,
Hunt, and things I’m committed to. I can’t just call and tell them I’m
quitting. They won’t accept any reason I give them.”

His belt through one loop, he paused. “If
you’re scared I can protect you, and Dani. You don’t have to do this on your
own.”

She gave a little laugh. “Dani is another
subject altogether. She’ll need me here. I don’t know for how long.”

His gaze lifted, fixed on hers. “But she’s
not going to need you forever.”

“I can’t leave her until I’m sure she’s
okay and safe, although it seems like her boyfriend Scott isn’t such a bad guy.
He’s been staying at the hospital with her too. But I’m still not going to
leave her just yet.” Carley pushed back the panic, recognized that her fear
came from a far deeper place than just the risk of leaving her clients in the
lurch.

“I wouldn’t ask you to. I’ll fly in from
Virginia as often as I can, or the two of you can come to Virginia. It doesn’t
matter how we do it, Carley, just as long as we do it.”

Carley took a deep breath, took direct aim
at the remaining obstacle. “I can’t escape my past, Hunt, and I won’t be
ashamed of what I’ve done.”

“I don’t recall asking you to be ashamed.”
He started walking toward her. “And I’m not asking you to change who you are,
just what you do.”

She couldn’t fault him for that, and once
she’d realized she’d started to have feelings for him she’d known this was one
hurdle only she could remove. How else could she love an agent with the FBI and
still be a thief?

“I’ve built a steady business, Hunt.” She
ignored his grimace. “Yes, I’ve built it illegally but you knew that when you
asked me to go to Virginia with you. It’s going to take me time to close it
down.”

He stopped walking. “Can you do it
without—”

“Stealing again?” She offered him a weak
smile, recognizing he was as torn as she was.

“I wasn’t going to put it so bluntly but
yeah, that’s my question.”

“It won’t be easy.”

“I can help you.”

“I’m not giving you my client list so you
can bust them.”

Hunt grinned. “Old habits. But you have to
admit, it would shut down the operation pretty quick.”

“Some of these people are my friends, Hunt.
They don’t deserve that even if they were helping me break the law. Don’t ask
me to do that.” Even as she made the demand, she read his expression, the
agreement in his eyes, and her shoulders relaxed. “I’m not sure what I’ll do
with myself if I walk away from the only life I’ve known.”

“You’ll think of something. I don’t doubt
you’ll come up with something as equally daring as your previous career
choice.”

“And if your friends ask what I do for a
living?”

“You were an acquisitions dealer.” His grin
flashed. “Which is actually not a bad idea for a legit career path. I’m sure
there are museums in Virginia that could use someone with your expertise.”

“I doubt they’d approve of my means of acquiring
the antiques.”

“So you’ll find a way to do it legally.
Carley, you can do anything you want to do, that includes coming with me to
Virginia when the time is right.”

She met him halfway across the floor. “Why
do you want me to come with you?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” He tucked a stray
strand of hair behind her ear.

“Enlighten me.”

“I fell in love with you the first time I
saw you.” His arms looped around her waist.

How was it possible to love someone so much
in such a short amount of time? Carley stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “I don’t
know when I first started loving you. Maybe that’s because it came on so
subtly. One minute I needed you to help me find my sister and the next I just
needed you.”

Hunt dipped his head into the curve of her
neck. “We’re going to make this work, Carley.”

She leaned away from him to see his face.
“You really fell in love with me the night I kicked your ass?” Her hands slid
up the wall of his chest. She loved the hardness of his muscles beneath the
softness of his skin but mostly she loved standing so close to him, holding him
and being held like she was cherished. The last time she’d felt this way had
been before her father died.

Hunt laughed and squeezed her tight. “Yeah
well, if we can call you an acquisitions dealer, I think we can come up with a
better story than that when someone asks how we met.” He planted a solid kiss
on her lips.

Carley grinned and tapped one finger
against her cheek. “Let me think about that.” She tipped her head to one side,
giving the impression of contemplating the idea. Then she shook her head.
“Nope. I think I like the original story best.”

“Well I’ll just have to see what I can do
to change your mind.”

“You can try, but I’m a hard sell.”

“Really? You haven’t seen how convincing I
can be.” He danced her toward the bed.