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“No.”
“Then do you mind telling me your real name? I mean, you’re naked on my sofa so I think we should be on a first-name basis, don’t you?”
“You may call me Scorpio.”
Drat him. “Okay, you may call me Fiona. And if you call me Fee-Fee or Red, I will pour salt in your wounds, is that understood?”
A smile curved his full lips, bringing the dimple and perfect white teeth into view. “Are you always this aggressive?”
“Honey, you don’t know the half of it.” But he would.
With that, she left behind his sinful grin and beautiful butt to make the call to Peg in the kitchen. But she couldn’t escape the vision of him lying on her couch—or the one of him lying in her bed, naked, taking her on an all-night journey to cloud nine. As if that was going to happen.
Darin had believed knife wounds would serve as a deterrent to a man’s desire. He’d been wrong. When Fiona had touched his side, he’d experienced the first sexual stirrings. When she’d moved to his thigh, he’d grown as hard as his handgun. Of course, when she’d manipulated his injured foot, that had somewhat alleviated any thoughts of sex. But even now, even though his ankle still throbbed, he would gladly relieve his current predicament in her bed, deep inside her body, in order to keep his mind off his injuries, and his errors.
Working his way back into a sitting position, he left the ugly blanket draped across his lap to hide the effect of his questionable cravings, urges most likely resulting from adrenaline and the length of time since he’d been to bed with a woman. He had no cause to consider seduction when his mission was paramount. It would be best to allow Fiona’s medical friend to treat the wounds, then be on his way.
“She’s on her way,” Fiona said as she reentered the room and took the very pink chair across from him.
“Good. And she is a physician?”
“She’s a part-time nurse.”
“This is your idea of medical expertise?”
She folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Do you have any better ideas?”
Yes, he did, but they had nothing to do with tending his injuries and everything to do with learning each curve, each crevice of her enticing body with his hands and mouth. He moved his injured foot, sending a sharp pain up the back of his leg in order to limit his increasing erection, and to remind him of his goals. “I would appreciate any medical attention she can provide. And if you will retrieve my bag from the trunk of the car, I will have clothes available for my departure.”
She brought her legs onto the cushions and crossed them in front of her. “You really don’t think you’re going anywhere tonight, do you?”
“I must if I wish to continue my mission.”
“You’re going to go running through the back alleys of Vegas looking for this Birkenfeld who has—” she checked her watch “—about an hour’s head start? Do you plan to do that on your knees?”
He could certainly think of one thing he would like to do on his knees before her. “I have endured worse injury.” To his body. To his soul.
She sent him a skeptical look. “I’m sure you have. But even if you do manage to walk out of here, and I have my doubts you can tonight, don’t you think he’s probably long gone by now, maybe even left the state?”
“Not likely.”
“How do you know for sure?”
She asked too many questions, required too many answers, knew too much already. But Darin had possibly put her in peril by having her bring him here. The least he could do was reveal a few details. Perhaps then she would understand the consequences if Birkenfeld was not captured immediately. “Can I trust that whatever I tell you will go no further?”
“My lips are sealed and I’m all ears.”
She was all sensual, seductive woman, Darin decided before forcing his thoughts back to the dire situation at hand. “Birkenfeld established a black-market adoption ring he operated using his obstetrics practice as a front. He stole newborns and sold them for large amounts of money. He also murdered a doctor in Texas in order to assume his identity so he could infiltrate a hospital, looking for a woman whose infant he had attempted to kidnap. Fortunately, he was stopped before he could harm her but later escaped authorities.”
“He’s a murderer and a baby thief?” Anger resonated in her tone, the same anger Darin had experienced each time he considered Birkenfeld’s crimes.
“He needs money to pay off East Coast loan sharks and to feed his gambling habit,” he continued. “We have an informant who claims that Birkenfeld has connections here that will enable him to obtain funds. This city also has places where he can easily hide.” But Darin would ferret him out, and soon. Birkenfeld would not escape again.
She remained silent for a few moments as if needing time to analyze the information. “Look, even if that’s true and he’s still in town, you can’t accomplish anything tonight with a bum ankle, especially if you’re not sure where to look.”
She had a valid point, though Darin was reluctant to admit it. “I suppose you’re correct in terms of Birkenfeld going underground.”
“Of course I am. You can stay here tonight then go after him again in the morning, if you’re feeling up to the challenge.”
When she streaked her tongue over her bottom lip, Darin recognized he was definitely up for one challenge unrelated to Birkenfeld.
A strange shuffling sound drew his attention from Fiona’s mouth to the closed door adjacent to the living area. “What is that noise?”
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It’s just Lottie. She heard I had a naked man on the couch.”
This was all Darin needed, involving another innocent party. “You should have informed me we are not alone.”
“Oh, you can trust her. She won’t say a word. I’d let her out but she’d just jump all over you and lick your face.”
Hearing the word lick did nothing to help Darin’s threatening state of arousal. “Does she always greet your guests in that manner?”
“Oh, yeah. She’s kind of wild.” Fiona nodded toward the shreds of paper strewn across the floor in the corner. “Today she got bored and tore up my textbook.”
“Are you a student?”
“College student. I’m studying hotel management. And in case you haven’t guessed, Lottie is my dog.”
He was relieved over both revelations. Being alone in an apartment with a woman not of legal age would be another mistake in a long line of many. “I had assumed you were older.”
Her smile faded. “Gee, thanks.”
He was failing miserably at all his endeavors tonight, but at least he had kept her alive. “I meant older than your early twenties.”
“I’m twenty-five, almost twenty-six. I started my career late. Better late than never, I guess.”
“Are you from Las Vegas?”
“Actually, I’m from Idaho. I’ve been here for a few years. I work the bar at night to pay for my school and this dump.”
Darin could not fathom being without adequate funds. He admired her conviction as much as he admired her body. However, he did find her stubborn nature somewhat disconcerting on one level. On another, he found it intriguing. That much passion might translate well in bed. He shifted and looked away.
“How about you?” she asked, again drawing his attention. “Have you always lived in Texas?”
“I have lived everywhere. I have no permanent home.”
“Everyone has to start out somewhere, Scorpio,” she said. “My guess is that you’re not originally from the States.”
“Your guess is correct. I was born in a small country near Oman, but I have not been back for some time.”
“No wife or girlfriend waiting for you? Or are you the kind of guy who has a girl at every stop?”
“I have no ties.” He wanted no ties.
“What about your parents?”
“Both dead.”
She looked sympathetic. “I’m sorry. My dad died when I was young, but my mom’s still alive. She taught me everything I know about bartending because that’s how she supported us. She makes the best gin martini in the good old U. S. of A. Probably in the world. She also taught me how to fight when the situation called for it.”
Her ability to fight had been apparent to Darin when she’d taken on Birkenfeld in the alley. At least he was somewhat assured she could handle herself during a dangerous situation—but only to a point. He would make certain she was not faced with that prospect again—all the more reason for him to make a quick exit from the apartment and her life.
A bark and a whine came from the room at the same time the knock sounded, saving Darin from having to answer questions of a personal nature. He had already revealed more to her than he should.
When he started to stand, she pointed a finger at him and said, “Don’t get up. It’s just Peg.”
“Make certain before you open the door,” Darin cautioned. “Birkenfeld could have followed us.”
She frowned. “And I’m so sure he would be polite enough to knock before he kicked down the door.”
When Fiona walked to the entry, Darin withdrew his gun from the discarded holster on the table and laid it on his lap. He, too, greatly doubted that Birkenfeld would knock, but he intended to be prepared for anything, although he had not been prepared for this woman named Fiona.
He questioned his wisdom in spending the night with her—a woman who had sparked his imagination and effectively lowered his guard, something that could prove costly if he did not practice more care. Yet the prospect of giving her one night of pleasure beyond the limits caused his body to stir to life once more. He was in no shape to chase after Birkenfeld tonight, but he wasn’t totally incapacitated. Despite his caution and his wounds, he would most gladly make love to her in ways she would not soon forget.
But only if she agreed to the terms. No ties. No emotional entanglement. No promises. Whatever happened between them during those hours between dark and dawn would be solely up to her.
Tomorrow he would return to his solitary existence where nothing mattered beyond the mission. He had no need for a permanent relationship—even though at times he longed for that very thing.
Fiona peeked through the peephole to see fifty-something Peg standing on the threshold dressed in baggy red-heart-spattered white pajamas, her brown hair shooting from her scalp like frizzy fireworks. “It’s her,” she told Scorpio without turning around.
She opened the door only far enough so she could slip outside to join her neighbor on the porch, closing the door behind her. “That was fast.”
Peg held up a brown bag. “This is what I had on hand. A few butterfly closures, gauze wrap and tape and some antibiotic samples. I wasn’t about to go traipsing down to the clinic this time of night and risk setting off the alarm.”
Fiona took the bag and looked inside. “Thanks, Peg. You’re a jewel, as always.”
“So where is it?” Peg asked.
“Where is what?”
“Your cut?”
“I don’t have a cut.”
She nodded toward the bag clutched in Fiona’s hand. “Then who is that for?”
“A friend.”
Peg frowned. “A friend? Fiona, you better hope your ‘friend’ isn’t allergic to penicillin. I don’t want to be responsible if they go into anaphylactic shock. I could lose my job.”
“I’ll be sure to ask him.”
Peg’s wide smile farther inflated her dumpling cheeks. “Him? You got a man in there?”
Boy, Fiona had really done it now. “Yes, and don’t start making assumptions.”
Before Fiona could issue a protest, Peg stepped to one side on the porch and peered into the picture window through the break in the curtains. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. “You have a half-naked man with a gun on your couch!”
“He has his gun out?” Fiona moved behind Peg to confirm that fact.
Peg turned, alarm in her blue eyes. “Is he holding you hostage?”
In a manner of speaking, at least her libido. “Of course not. I would’ve called the police. In fact, he is the police, working undercover.” And she could imagine how well he would work under the covers. “That’s why he has the gun. He got into a fight at the bar and he doesn’t want to blow his cover by going to a hospital.”
Peg turned back to the window. “Impressive gun. Impressive guy. How well does his other pistol work?”
Fiona took Peg’s pudgy arm and pulled her back around and away from the window. “This is not what you think, Peg.” Unfortunately.
Peg smirked. “Are you sure the sex didn’t get a little wild and you clawed him?”
“In my dreams.”
“Well, if I were you, I’d make those dreams a reality. You’re already halfway there. You got him naked.”
“He got himself naked.”
Peg shrugged. “A minor point. Now all you have to do is get yourself naked and climb onboard the temptation train.”
“Don’t be obtuse, Peg. He’s beat-up. He’s not interested in sex.”
Peg released a metal-scraping laugh. “And don’t be stupid, Fiona. I don’t know one man who would let a little cut stop him from having sex.”
“It’s not a little cut, Peg. It’s three cuts, and one’s pretty bad. That’s why I need you to take a look, as long as you promise not to ask any questions.”
“I promise.”
“And no snide remarks.”
“I’ll try,” she said with less conviction.
Fiona opened the door and Peg followed close behind her. Scorpio was still sitting on the couch, the throw now wrapped around his waist. Fortunately, he’d put the gun back in its holster.
Fiona gestured at Peg and said, “Frank, this is my neighbor, Peggy Jones. She’s going to see what she can do about your cuts.”
Scorpio nodded at Peg. “I would be grateful for your aid.”
Peg elbowed Fiona aside and plopped her hefty frame next to Scorpio. “No problem. Now show me where it hurts.”
He lifted the throw, exposing his thigh to Peg’s scrutiny. “This isn’t going to do,” she said, and began ripping away the bandages. Fiona figured the poor guy’s thighs would be stripped of hair before Peg was done with him, yet Scorpio’s expression remained impassive. Obviously, he had a high pain threshold.
