Ashfall (6 page)

Intense interest made her want to ask him twenty questions, and she blurted one out. “When did you get out of the military?”

His expression turned thoughtful. “Five years. I’ve been working that long for this company.”

She leaned against the desk and crossed my arms. “I’ve heard about pararescue. Brave stuff.”

He cracked a smile. “It’s all I ever wanted to do.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Long story. For later.” He glanced at the big black watch on his left wrist.

She walked toward the bathroom. She half expected him to leave, but instead he followed her. She touched the granite countertop of the double sink and glanced in the mirror. Adam stood behind her in the doorway, not close but appearing huge in the space. His gaze caught hers in the mirror and burned with a special heat that melted her inside.

She pivoted toward him and leaned her rear against the counter. “Okay, it’s a beautiful place. Maybe less impersonal than my own house. But I have a lot of questions that need answering.”

He nodded. “I get it. Look, I’m going to stow this gear, and when I get back, we’ll talk. I’ll bring up your luggage and I’ll transfer your weaponry to the arms room.”

For two seconds she considered telling him she could get her own luggage and weaponry. She discarded the idea. Wasn’t worth it, and she was surprised as hell to feel extremely tired.

She stalked toward him slowly, half afraid to be close to him again. Not because of fear, but because she wanted to touch him and feel those solid muscles under her fingers.

“Just because I didn’t want to leave my weapons at the house doesn’t mean I’ve transferred ownership to you,” she said.

“Of course.”

“Where’s your room?”

“Down the hall. Every bedroom here is a suite so they’re all alike. The General didn’t skimp when he had this place built.” He smiled and when she was standing fairly close in front of him, he cupped her face with his warm palm. “Whatever you think you know about me, my intentions are honorable.”

“How do I know that?”

He sighed. “I’ll have to earn your trust. You’re safe here, and I’d never do anything you don’t want. Do I want you? Yeah, I do.” He shifted a little closer, and the heat in his eyes was unmistakable. His voice dropped to a husky softness that brushed over her senses like velvet. “But the only way I’ll get into bed with you is if you invite me.”

A little stunned, she asked, “If I invite you?”

“Yep.”

“Do you get into the bed of every woman who invites you?”

His fingers moved in the slightest caress and sent a spiral of heat all through her body. “No.”

She imagined legions of women asking him to take them to bed. While the man radiated sex, he also projected a razor sharp discipline and edge.

She reached up in reaction and covered his hand with hers. “You’d do that? Jump into my bed if I asked?”

A heart-stopping grin curved his mouth. “Hell yeah.”

He leaned in and caught her mouth with his.

Exquisitely gentle, Adam’s kiss played with her lips for only a few seconds but it was enough to make her crazy. Twice in one day this man she’d just met had kissed her and sent her senses into a tailspin. He released her and stepped back.

The radio on his shoulder squeaked, and a male voice came out of it. “Becker, we need you down here in the war room ASAP.”

He started for the door. “I’ll be back later.”

After he left she sat on the bed and her hands touched the soft, expensive comforter. She stood and walked to the single window in the bedroom. Adam had flipped a light switch when they came in, illuminating the two lamps on either side of the bed. She opened the venetian blinds a little wider. Night came and it changed the strange sky, now covered with streaks of red. Ah yes. The red sky everyone would see for many, many years to come as a result of the ash. She should have worn her winter coat rather than pack it—she was cold. Only a hot shower would help. She secured her Glock in a drawer by the bed and headed downstairs to retrieve her luggage. To hell with waiting for someone to bring it up. She’d take the elevator she’d passed in the hallway on the way up, because both cases she had packed had plenty of weight to them. She walked by the empty offices, and the eerie quiet in the building disturbed her. Then she remembered if she left the building to retrieve her luggage she didn’t have the code to renter.
Damn it.

She heard voices coming from the war room, and she glanced around. Caution lost, she allowed curiosity to overtake her. In this situation she wasn’t above eavesdropping. Her athletic shoes didn’t squeak on the floor, so she took slow steps until she stood near the closed door. She heard muffled voices.

Nothing clear until she heard, “Just because your Johnson is doing all the thinking for you, Becker.”

She didn’t recognize the voice—it didn’t sound like Ian’s distinctive Scottish accent or Mark’s smoother sound.

She wondered if the General, as everyone spoke of him, didn’t like the fact Adam had brought her here. She could understand the reasoning. Many years ago she’d walked into a burger chain restaurant on an army post to grab her lunch after attending a meeting for a military charity she’d helped run. The room was full of men—no women. Half the conversations had stopped and most gazes turned her way. She hadn’t felt assaulted, but overwhelmed by male attention. She’d averted her eyes, and later experienced shame that she’d allowed herself to turn from their watchful interest. There were plenty of reasons why the men had noticed her…the sea of battle dress uniforms against her bright blue suit being one reason. Who wouldn’t have noticed? Yet she’d also felt like she hadn’t belonged there among all that strength and power.

Mally jerked her attention away from the conversation. The voices stayed muffled, and then she heard chairs scraping across the floor. She escaped upstairs to the apartment before anyone could find her loitering.

As she entered, she slammed into a body so hard she flew back and landed on her rear in the foyer. The man hovering over her didn’t look the least remorseful. A smile crept across his thin-lipped mouth. Unlike Ian’s blond/red hair, this man’s hair was so white it appeared almost bleached. Over six feet tall, he had the build of a boxer in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans. His brutal-looking face only reinforced her impression of a boxer. His nose had been broken more than once, and not reset properly. She guessed he might be in his fifties. He was about two hundred pounds of ugly, but it wasn’t his face that prejudiced her against him. He planted his hands on his hips. He looked like the very last guy she wanted to run into. Ever.

“Who are you?” he asked.

She eased to her feet. “Mally Andretti.”

His smile curved, becoming unpleasant and a bit menacing. “Oh, yeah. Becker’s piece of ass.”

“What the—”

“I heard about you.” The hostility on his face grew stronger. “He can’t get his fucking job done because he’s obsessing over you.”

Anger grabbed her by the throat, but before she could answer his accusations, Adam’s voice interrupted loudly from behind her. “Get the hell away from her, Magnus.”

She swiveled as Adam strode her way, his eyes steel, mouth a slash of barely leashed anger. He no longer wore the heavy vest, the baseball cap or the semi-automatic. He still looked every bit as dangerous.

“What the fuck are you doing up here?” Adam asked the man.

“Picking up my shit, what else? I don’t want to stay in here any longer than necessary.”

She moved between the men and faced Adam, fearing a fight. When Adam reached her, his hands gently cupped her shoulders. “You okay?”

“Other than being insulted, I’m great.”

Magnus snorted and walked by without another word. When he’d disappeared from view downstairs, Adam steered her into the apartment and closed the door. His eyes were hard and unforgiving.

“What’s his deal?” Mally asked, walking into the kitchen.

“I’ll get your luggage and be right back. We can talk about it then.”

Irritated at what had just happened and the delay, she headed for the single portion coffee brewer. She filled an enormous white coffee mug and settled on an upholstered chair next to a small table on one side of the room. She plopped her feet up on the footrest and cupped her hands around the mug. Savoring the heat, she took a sip. A shiver raced through her, but she wasn’t cold any longer. The last several moments had warmed her up. After Adam brought in her cases and placed them near the bed, he took the matching chair nearby.

“Magnus won’t bother you again,” he said.

“That’s a relief.” She sipped more coffee. “But there’s no need to go all caveman. I can handle myself.”

With a poker face he said, “I know.”

“I’m serious. Men like him just make me more stubborn and determined.” She eyeballed Adam.

His gaze snapped up to Mally’s, challenge in his eyes. “If I give you an order it’ll be to save your life.”

“I don’t take orders. Especially not from someone I’ve just met.”

He nodded, but his gaze tangled with hers.

“Fair enough,” he said. “Sometimes I forget I’m not still giving orders, even if I am taking them.”

“Boss me around and I’m outta here.”

He tilted his head to one side and clasped his big hands over his flat stomach. “I take it you got that strength from your father or you have it because your father was bossy.”

“Bingo. I think it’s both.”

“Good.”

She lifted one eyebrow. “How is that?”

“Because in this new world you’ll need that strength. No matter what happens, it’ll help keep you safe.” He segued immediately. “What did Magnus say to you?”

“He called me ‘Becker’s piece of ass’.”

Adam’s lips curled in disgust. “Son-of-a-bitch.”

“That’s a mild descriptor. He’s leaving the compound?”

“He’s leaving the company. The General fired him this morning.”

“Why?”

“On our last op we caught him manhandling a woman. That’s not the way we roll. Ian pulled him off her and punched him. We had to peel Ian off Magnus before Ian lost control.”

“Why did he go so nuts on Magnus?”

Adam put his hands behind his head. “Because Magnus reminds Ian of some serious shit that went down in his life. He won’t tolerate men abusing women. None of us will. Magnus was former infantry and worked with the General. The General hired him without realizing what an asshole Magnus is.”

“He doesn’t do background checks?”

“He does, but nothing came up indicating Magnus would be a problem.”

She held the cup tighter, still too damn cold, and fatigue weighing her down. She yawned.

Adam surveyed the room. “Keep your piece on you all the time, even while you’re in here. It’ll make you feel safer around all these men.”

“I’ll keep it by the bed.”

He smiled gently. “Guess if I want to kiss you again I’d better ask permission or you might shoot me.”

She laughed. “Maybe.”

His smile grew wider. “I’ll make you a deal. If you want a kiss, you’ll have to kiss me first.”

Her mouth flopped open, but she snapped it shut just as fast.
Not what I expected.
“That’s a first. I’m used to big alpha males taking what they want.”

Yeah, her father was a nerd about science, a freaking paranoid man, but he’d also been a hard-core alpha male with none of his hard edges smoothed. She knew she couldn’t judge every man against her father. Intellectually she understood it, but sometimes emotionally she forgot that fact.

His eyes narrowed slightly and he leaned forward. “Are you saying you want me to take a kiss?”

Good deal, Mally. Don’t challenge the silverback in his enclosure.
Okay, she was being a jerk thinking of him as a gorilla. “No.”

“Have you been so isolated that you’ve only run into men who are brutes?”

She placed her mug on the table between them and held up her hands. “Sorry. This has gone off the rails. I’ve had male relationships that haven’t been fun and games. More than one guy who wanted me for my money, and there was an ex-cop who…I wasn’t dating him but he was obsessed with me. My father hired him as a bodyguard and things went downhill from there.”

Adam stayed in place, his interest obvious. “What happened?”

“Long story.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got plenty of time.”

“Manny was indoctrinated in Father’s ideas about the End Times. Believed women should be subservient to men. He used to taunt me with that all the time. One day he caught me in the kitchen and forced a kiss on me. I was struggling but he was so much bigger than me. Father came in and pulled the man off. He fired him on the spot, but later Father said it was my fault because I tempted Manny. Which was complete crap, of course.”

“No man has a right to put his hands on a woman in anger.” Adam’s frown slowly turned into a smile. “I’m surprised you didn’t twist my nuts off when I kissed you.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “I was tempted.”

His dark gaze entangled with hers again, and heat shot through her like a lightning bolt. How could a man she barely knew create such a riot of excitement inside her? Twist his nuts off? No, if she was brutally honest with herself, she wanted to take him in hand. Kiss him. Touch him in ways that would make his eyes roll back in his head with pleasure. She cleared her throat, afraid what might show on her face.

“You said you’d explain what got you started with Sentry Security,” she said.

He closed his eyes, and she wondered if he planned to clam up. Finally he said, “After I left the air force, my life went into the toilet.”

“PTSD?”

His eyes opened. “No. I just couldn’t figure out for a few months what the hell I wanted to do. Finally one day something clicked. I was with friends…another pararescueman and his wife. We were in a restaurant parking lot and a drunk driver ran over my friends in a cross walk.”

“Oh, no.” She swallowed hard.

He sighed. “Yeah. I managed to keep them alive long enough to be transported by ambulance to the hospital, but they died a day later. Something inside me solidified, and I knew I wanted to get back into a profession where I could help keep people safe.”