Walker Page hated to do it, but he had decided to hang up his helmet for a while. He was an uncle now and besides, he was burned out with piece work. What had burned him was that stint in the Middle East, where he was held captive for a month or more. With his team mate Harris, he’d made light of it. But light it hadn’t been.
Days of beatings, no food. Light depravation. Long days that bled into more days, till he had no idea how long it had been. One thing saved his sanity. A face. A beautiful, mesmerizing face. A set of dark eyes that he’d felt had looked into his soul. He thought of her lips, her kisses, her body, her laugh at the worst points of his captivity. The memory of her had literally kept him alive.
Now, he did nothing but hunt for her. He only knew her first name and even that was suspect. They’d met in a resort, just before he was last deployed on that last fateful mission.
Walker closed his eyes and remembered that red bikini….
* * * *
She’d been walking poolside, her tan hips swaying. Long legs that went all the way up to a heaven only the angels or someone very lucky could know about
All the men there did the same as he did—they sat up, tilted down their sunglasses and stared.
And why not? God dammit, she was breathtaking.
Long silky raven hair, gleaming bronze skin. Breasts that were the perfect size her nipples showing through the red satin.
He didn’t get up and chase her, but his dick wanted to as it grew rock hard instantly.
She walked on by, or glided rather and disappeared inside the main building.
At least two men got up and followed as if they couldn’t help themselves.
Walker got up too, but he stood by the outer window and watched as each men got shot down by her shaking her head and moving away from them.
Then he did something he never thought he would, he stalked her from then on through the resort, hoping to find a way to bump into her. It was pathetic but he’d wanted her on sight. This had never happened to him like this before really. Yes, he would be attracted to a woman and with his build and his face; he never had to chase anyone. However, he never felt this gut wrenching want before and certainly not just with one look at a female.
It then became a game. He was the hunter. He knew it was probably wrong, but he couldn’t care. He used his training and skills to practically stake her out. He knew it was insane, but he did it anyway.
Finally, he stepped into an elevator with her in it. The game was on.
She stared at him. “Why are you following me?” Her light accent sounded tense in her voice.
Oh, wow. Caught. How humiliating. So much for fucking stealth. “Yes, you caught me.” he openly admitted. Deciding to go with the truth for once in his life of secrets and lies, he explained, “I saw you three days ago and…” Spit it out Walker! “I just had to…”
Her smile showed on those luscious lips. “Had to?”
“I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t think of anything but you for days now.” Wow, pathetic much? He winced.
“Why would a man who looks like you have to chase me?” Her eyes were twinkling at him.
“I asked myself the same thing.” He shrugged.
Titling her head back, she laughed. “You are so funny.” The elevator door opened and she stepped out, turning her head to look back at him, she said, “Chase me to my room, then,” she challenged.
His eyes rounded. It couldn’t be that easy. Maybe the truth was the right way to go, as his sister was always telling him. He gazed around to see the empty hallway.
Striding away, her red dress molded to her rounded perfect ass, as she headed down the hall.
Like a dumbass, he did just that… followed her like a hungry wolf chasing red riding hood. When he turned the corner, she had disappeared. Could she have made into her room that fast?
Hearing a scream, he turned to the exit door. Leaning down, he saw a flash of her red dress with a man’s arm around her waist as he dragged her down the metal stairs.
Fuck!
Walker headed down the stairs at a fast pace. Some fucker was going regret taking his…what? Prey? He shook his head and raced down to the bottom.
The man was pushing her through the next exit door. “You won’t get away from me this time!” he yelled as he tugged her hair violently to get her to go through.
Growling, Walker, felt rage. He grabbed the man’s shirt and spun him around. He was huge but that didn’t concern him in the least.
The man pulled out a handgun and raised it up to point it at his forehead.
Fuck, stupid mistake and he wasn’t even armed. Some soldier you are, caught like this while chasing tail. It figures. Ducking, he figured it would be too late but he had to try.
A boom sounded through the stairwell as the shot went off.
Walker stood still. So where was the pain and the blackness? He swung his gaze over and spotted his girl in red as she held a small gun, smoke still coming from the barrel.
Biting her lip, she lowered it, her entire body shaking.
Glancing down, he saw the big man lying face down a bullet in the back of his head. Blood spilled out of the holes trickling down along his huge neck.
Walker grabbed her hand and took her out through the exit.
“Where are we going?” she asked her accent thick now.
Walker noted it had to be Italian. “Anywhere but here.” He grabbed the gun from her and tucked it into his waistband while tugging her down the sidewalk.
Getting caught murdering a local in a foreign country would not be pretty. The jails here would make a man wish he were dead. Especially an American man like him. Then they would find he had no real past. He would then be an American, murdering spy.
He got them into a taxi and headed to the other side of town.
The woman said nothing to him the entire time.
He figured she was in shock after just killing a man. Walker had the cabbie stop at a small local hotel. He rushed them into the lobby, paid cash, and headed up to the top floor. He wanted to be able to watch the street.
When they got into the room, she collapsed onto the bed, crying and babbling in Italian.
With a sigh, he locked the door and went to the window. He had to make sure no one had followed them. The streets were quiet.
He strode over to the bed.
She jumped up and came up against him her arms going around his neck.
All that delicious soft flesh, that luscious body he’d fantasized about for days was right up on him. He didn’t act, he just let her cry. What kind of trouble was she in? Why would an armed man be dragging her out of the resort? He had many questions and when she calmed down, he intended to get answers.
Then her mouth found his, her sweet, hot tongue entering through his lips.
Her scent enveloped him, the flavor of her exploded on his tongue. He knew she was in shock, upset. He should slow this down and wait till she was more rational.
Her hands came down and ripped his shirt open the buttons popping off to scatter on the floor.
Or not. If she needed this. Who was he to argue? Yes, he was just human after all.