The Unseen Enemy Series

Chapter 17

“Emma!” he said. “Hey, you OK?”

She nodded against him.

“OK, angel. Sit down.” Gently, he lowered her back to the chair and kneeled in front of her. She looked so pale, it scared him a bit.

Thank God we’re in a hospital.

“Emma?”

“Yeah.” It took a lot of effort for her to form words. “Yeah, I’m fine, Dean.”

“Like hell you are. You almost passed out.” He stood up. “I’m going to get a doctor.”

“No!” She reached out and grabbed his wrist. “There’s no need for that. It was just a dizzy spell – I haven’t eaten today.”

“What? At all?”

She shook her head.

“Why not?”

“Just – just busy.”

He knelt down again. “Look at me.”

She forced herself to meet those eyes. He studied her closely, taking in every inch of her face and she tried to look like she wasn’t withholding critical information from him.

Dean took in her pallor, the shadows under her eyes. A wave of worry moved over him and he reached out to touch her cheek. “You need to talk to your employer about more downtime, Emma. You hear me? You look like you need a break.”

“Yeah,” she said, trying to smile. “I’m actually taking some time off work, starting from tomorrow. I have almost a week off.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Finally. I’m not telling this man a lie.

“OK, then.” He stood up again. “Let’s go. I’m taking you home.”

“Oh, no.” She tried to pull herself together. “I’m fine now.”

“Bullshit. You so are not.”

“I’m better, I promise.”

“Well. At least let me take you for something to eat.”

“That’s OK, Dean. You don’t have to do that.”

“Maybe I want to.” He smiled at her, and it was so sexy her stomach clenched. “Ever thought of that?”

She blinked at him. “You do?”

“Yep. So let’s go. There’s a good Italian place just around the corner. Let’s get some food into you, OK?”

“Are you sure? Maybe you have somewhere to be?”

He held out his hand. “Nowhere at all, Emma. Nowhere but where I am right now. So come on.”

**

Emma couldn’t believe how much better she felt after she ate. She downed a plate of pasta in almost record-time and felt her strength flow back through her tired body. She resolved to take better care of herself, seeing too late how stupid and careless she had been that day.

Dean watched her from across the table and saw that her color was back. She still looked like she needed a good night’s rest, but she didn’t look so ill anymore. The light was shining in her eyes and she was relaxed again.

She looked up at him. “Sorry for inhaling my food like this. I’m just surprised at how hungry I am.”

“Yeah, well. That’s what happens when you don’t eat for a whole day.”

“Yeah.” She drank some more water. “Thanks, Dean.”

“No problem.”

Something in his voice made her look at him again. “What’s wrong?”

He leaned back and she admired his broad shoulders. God, he was just so male. Emma remembered his body, its planes and hardness under her hands, his heat and primal need for her softness. He took her breath away.

“Nothing,” he said. “I’m just trying to figure out how to get you back to my place. Since no stealth strategy is presenting itself, I thought I’d just come right out and ask.”

Her eyes widened in shock.

He waited.

She found her voice. “You – you want me to come home with you again?”

“Oh, yeah, baby.” His voice was almost a growl. “You’d f*****g better believe it. And not just tonight, either.”

And that was it: she was instantly, immediately, totally wet. Her p***y wanted to go home with him, that much was clear, but her life was complicated right now. She exhaled, hard.

He saw her face, heard her sigh. “Is that a no?”

“It’s… it’s a maybe. A maybe with reservations and conditions.”

“OK, Emma. What’s holding you back? Tell me.”

She looked down. “I don’t – I can’t… I’m not in a good place in my life for a relationship. Not now. Are you – what do you…” Her voice trailed off and she felt incredibly dumb.

He studied her. “You’re saying you don’t want anything serious?”

“Right. I just – life is weird right now. I can’t be in anything that means commitment or expectations or long-term.”

“Well, at the risk of sounding like an asshole, I don’t do commitment or expectations or long-term.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope. Listen, can I lay it out for you?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“I want you in my bed. That’s it. I want to do all kinds of bad things to you, things that will make both of us feel good.” His eyes were steady and hot. “I want to go down on you until you come against my mouth, I want to f**k you until you scream. But no promises, no pressure. Just lots and lots of mind-blowing orgasms for both of us.”

Her breath was coming faster now.

God, is he actually offering me great s*x and I wouldn’t even have to tell him about the cancer? What could be better for my life right now, what could be a better escape? Nothing, that’s what.