Pandora's Box (32 page)

Tyler
went to the left side of the bed, smiling at her.
 
Then he changed direction, circling to the right side, and looking at her from every angle like a hungry tiger.
 
She watched him, moving her body to keep facing him.
 
Instead of joining her, he went to the end of the bed where she had leaped on.
 
His eyes, still hungry, took in every movement she made.
 

Although she wanted him desperately, this game he played so expertly had her craving his touch more and more with every passing second.
 
It had reached an almost unbearable pitch.
 
Her nerves sizzled with sexual awareness.
 
She’d obviously met her match in
Tyler
.

There was a small silver radio set on the dresser.
 
Tyler
turned it on and found a sexy song.
 
He turned the volume low.
 

Madison
stood in the center of the bed, confident of her appeal.
 
She did a slow dance for him, reveling in the way his eyes seemed to memorize everything she did.
 
Turning around, hips swaying to the music, she reached back to unhook her bra.
 
She took her time letting it go, her back to her future lover.
 
Let him drool for awhile.

She turned around inch by inch, rocking her pelvis.
 
The bra fell to the mattress.
 
Her arms went over her head, swinging gracefully.
 
She’d never been more glad to be in good shape.
 
The millions of sit-ups she’d done over the years had paid off.
 
The way
Tyler
was looking at her made her swell with pride.
 

With a mischievous smile, she flipped over, hands on mattress, feet flying over her head.
 
She sailed off the bed, landing in his outstretched arms.
 

“You’re out of your mind,” he said, surprised by her athletic dismount.
 

“I knew you’d catch me.
 
I trust you.
 
I think I always have deep down.”
 
He lowered her on the bed and followed her down, his body stretched beside hers.
 
She traced his sexy lower lip with her finger.
 
“Please don’t prove me wrong.”
 
She gently pinched the lip between her fingers, catching his attention completely.
 
“If you betray me, I’ll kill you.”

And she meant it.

His eyes, a study of seriousness, gazed into hers and he said, “Hey, I don’t trust people either.
 
It’s kind of hard in this business.
 
So many people are liars, twisting their evil deeds until they can justify the things they do.”
 
He kissed her solidly on the mouth as if sealing a deal.
 
“So if you turn out to be one of them, if you’re working against me, if this is all an elaborate ruse, right back at you, honey.”

“Understood.”
 
She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him down for a long, lingering kiss.
 
Her tongue slipped between his lips, tasting him.
 
“But just so you know.
 
I’m one of the good guys.
 
I won’t betray you.”

“Good to know.”
 
He smiled and his hand slipped down to her lacy panties.
 
His fingers teased her, brushing over the area softly instead of really touching her.
 
She longed for something more tangible.
 
He added, “Enough talk.
 
I want you now.”

“I hope nobody calls this time,” she said, remembering their last attempt at lovemaking.
 

Tyler
groaned at the bad memory.
 
He buried his face in her neck, his breathing growing heavier by the minute.
 
He touched her tentatively at first.
 
She pressed against his hand, silently begging for more and he gave it to her.
 
His fingers delved deep, exploring her femininity.
 

Madison
bit his shoulder, already close to losing control.
 
She wanted to make it last as long as possible.
 
The salt of his skin lingered on her tongue.
 
She threw back her head on the pillow and moaned.
 
Her entire body stretched right down to her toes.
 
Her heels dug in to the mattress.
 
She arched her back, pushing her entire body up to meet him.

“Please,
Tyler
, now!”

She lost herself in a beautiful haze.
 
Her hands gripped his back, kneading the muscles as they flexed, clenched, and released.
 
Emotional overload.
 
She couldn’t think.
 
Her brain shut down.
 
But her other senses came to life for what seemed like the first time.
 
She moved with him, beneath him.
 

How could anything feel this good?

They were two halves of a whole.
 
She knew what he was going to do before he did it.
 
Making love to him felt so incredibly familiar.
 
Why?

Stars shot through her head.
 
She collapsed on top of
Tyler
’s chest, her own heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
 
They lay together in each other’s arms, both soaked in sweat.

“Wow!” he exclaimed, destroying the silence.
 
“You are one hell of a woman, Madison Grey.”
 
He pushed damp strands of hair away from her face and asked, “How do you want to handle this?
 
Can I hold you tonight or would you prefer to roll off to the side of the bed?
 
How do you like to sleep after making love?”

Truthfully, she usually wanted to get as far away from the guy as possible.
 
Even with DeMarco.
 
Somehow this was different.
 
She clung to him, hoping he didn’t mind.
 
“I could fall asleep like this.”

And they did.

But before
Madison
drifted off, several flashes of memories filled her mind, overwhelming her.
 
She kept her eyes closed because she wanted them to continue.
  
Snatches of dreams or real memories, they were wonderful and
Tyler
starred in every single one.
 
A smile played across her lips as she watched them.

Tyler chased her down a flight of stairs
, caught her around the waist, and swung her in a circle as she laughed.

She pulled a sweater over his head and tossed it
.
 
They made love on a red couch in front of a roaring fire.

They danced a beautiful waltz in a roomful of people before going to work on the safe upstairs.

She and Tyler split up
, guns drawn and ready.
 
She went to the back door of a seemingly abandoned house while
Tyler
kicked in the front door.
 
Bullets were fired.
 
She worried
Tyler
might get hurt.
 
He was everything to her.

Tyler rubbed the side of her head
, a habit of his, and warmth spread through her.
 
He smiled.
 
She returned it.
 
Gazing deep into his eyes, she knew this was where she belonged.

Trapped inside her house and outnumbered
.
 
A voice called out to her, taunting her with lies.
 
The woman told her that
Tyler
was lying in a gutter somewhere, having been shot in the head by her.
 
But it couldn’t be true.
 
Madison
wouldn’t believe it.
 
Tyler
was okay.
 
She just had to get out of this mess and find him.

Present time,
Madison
shot up in bed, drenched in sweat.
 
The sheets were tangled around her limbs and
Tyler
wasn’t in bed next to her anymore.
 
Fresh morning light dappled across the walls, peeking through the parted curtains.
 
She could hear the shower running and Tyler singing off-key.

The song brought on another flood of short movies to her mind, events that couldn’t possibly have happened.
 
Could it be another side-effect of the microchip?
 

How could it be?
 
Her microchips had been rendered useless.

Then she remembered what Grainger had told her about the ‘boxes’ he stored memories in.
 
What if her Pandora’s Box had just opened and memories were spilling out?
 
Could they be real?
 
Or was she seeing visions that had been implanted into her subconscious?

They could be hallucinations brought on by something Grainger did to her while destroying the microchips in her brain.

Tyler
exited the bathroom, towel draped around his lean hips.
 
His dark hair had been combed straight back and he hadn’t shaved yet.
 
He looked so incredible.
 
She wanted to throw back the covers, invite him to return for another session, but something had changed between them.
 
She felt it even if he didn’t.

“You’re pale,” he said.
 
“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, not trusting her voice to be steady.
 
Until she knew what the visions meant, she didn’t feel right about sharing them with
Tyler
.
 
Not yet.
 
If they were real, then she and Tyler shared a past.
 

And if they weren’t real…then someone was still messing with her head.

He crossed over to the bed, sat next to her.
 
His eyes stared fixedly at her face.
 
She was surprised when his cell phone rang.
 
He sighed and grabbed it off the dresser, still watching her.
 
At some point he’d retrieved it from the living room while she slept.
 
The conversation was short and terse.
 
She couldn’t tell what was going on from his side of the conversation, but it sounded important.

When he got off the phone, he said, “Get dressed.
 
We’re going home.”

Had he lost his mind?
 
“We can’t.”

“My father says they found evidence that your buddy DeMarco may have been involved.
 
They’re also following a few other leads.
 
None of them you.
 
My father believes in your innocence now.”

DeMarco?
 
A traitor?
 
She didn’t believe it.
 

“I’ll still need to turn myself in,” she said.
 
“I murdered him in cold blood.”

“You’ll probably get a medal for that.
 
Relax.
 
My father told me everything is fine.
 
We can go home without any repercussions.”

“Since when do you trust your father?”

“Since when do you not trust him?”
 
Tyler
scowled and he used an extra towel to rub his wet hair.
 
“He’s gotten the CIA and FBI to back off of us.
 
There isn’t any reason for us to be out in the cold anymore.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
 
“What if it’s a trick?
 
They called me a terrorist.
 
How do you know they won’t arrest me on sight?”

“I won’t let that happen.
 
Would you please trust me on this?”

Trust.
 
Why did that word keep popping up?
 
He had no idea what he was asking.
 
Her eyes strayed to the bed.
 
They’d made love, and she’d felt closer to him than any other human being on earth.
 
She didn’t want to lose that.
 

“Okay.”
 
She shrugged.
 
“We’ll go back to
Washington
.
 
Did your father have anything else to say?”

“He’s sent a private plane for us.
 
We need to hurry and get dressed.”

It was all happening so fast.
 
Madison
’s head spun in dizzy circles.
 
She wasn’t sure what to think anymore.

An invisible wall sprang up between them, and she didn’t know how to breach it.
 
Feeling vulnerable,
Madison
stared at the wall behind him.
 
She didn’t know what to say or what to do.
 
Leaving their love nest didn’t seem to be bothering
Tyler
.
 
He was behaving as if nothing wonderful had happened between them last night.