Page 8 of Innocent Target

It was clear he wouldn’t let her go until he was satisfied, so she turned her back to him and lifted her shirt. Glad the light was low, she’d thought he’d step away, but instead, his fingers glided gently over her scar, along the reddish skin of the healing wound. It was becoming more and more challenging to stay detached with his hands on her and his body so close.

“You said you had ghost pain. I had that once. My nerves were burning like crazy.”

Mercy swallowed hard, fighting to keep a steady voice. “How long before it disappeared?”

“It took some time, but massage helped.” And to illustrate his words, James pressed his palm over her scar. Immediately, the detached touch turned intimate. His fingers made circles over her hip, mindful of the scar tissue.

Standing still as a statue, Mercy reminded herself that he was only a friend offering help. She’d almost convinced herself of that when she felt his warm hand expand its circle, turning more caressing by the second. Mercy closed her eyes and swayed.

A muscled arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in his embrace. As she tensed, James’s mouth came close to her ear. “I don’t understand, Mercy. I know you can feel what’s between us, but I don’t understand why you can’t admit it, too.”

Pulling slightly away from him, she shivered while fighting the attraction for his sake. “I can offer you my friendship, that’s a given. You have my gun, my skills at your disposal, and I’m willing to lay my life on the line too, but what you’re asking, I can’t give you.”

Even with her heartfelt admission, his hold didn’t loosen. “Is it because of the other women? How I flirt with them? You know that Romeo is a nickname that stuck with me, but it’s not everything I am. Flirting is one thing, but I’m not flirting with you. I’m telling you the truth.”

It was true James had a reputation, but the fact that he was speaking so seriously now made him even more dangerous to her. “I know, James. But understand that I’m being honest when I say I can only offer you my friendship.”

He swiveled her in his arms, and now she could see with clear eyes the intensity in him, how he silently disagreed with every fiber of his being.

Mercy expected him to argue some more, but instead, he lowered his head to take her mouth.

Her mind was screaming to end it, but everything else in her surrendered. Arms around his shoulders, she indulged herself in his taste, as he did the same with her. Obviously skilled, he was willing to use it to break through her barriers using every way a man could try with a woman.

Soon, his hands left her waist to slide up her ribcage, tracing a path of fire over her skin, before teasing the side of her breasts through the delicate lace of her bra. Even though she should have pulled back, Mercy pressed forward, opening her mouth to him.

Breath mingling, her hands slid up through his hair and back down his neck, featherlight and teasing, enough to make him catch his breath. The rising tide of lust almost made her forget where she was and what she was doing.

With inhuman effort, she tore herself away from him, pushing against his muscled chest until they were no longer touching. Even at a distance, the electricity between them crackled, the expression on his handsome face reminding her of a predator ready to pounce.

When she spoke, it was hard not to hear the rawness of her own voice. “James. I’m asking, no, begging you. Please respect my wishes. Take a step back and be my friend.”

Utterly bewildered, James shook his head. “You can’t be serious. What just happened is proof of our connection, and you still deny it?”

“I am. I’ve never been more serious.”

She expected him to be annoyed or even tease her about it, but the agent before her couldn’t have looked or sounded more serious.

“Not a chance in hell, Merc. Why are you pushing me away?”

Only hanging by a thread, she shouted at him. “I’m trying to protect you, dammit. I can only be your friend, and I don’t want to lose you as such. That’s all I can offer you. I told you that. It’s the only connection I’ll ever be able to give you. Believe me,” taking a deep breath, she forced herself to smile and tease, even if her next words felt foul in her mouth, “there are plenty of fish in the sea, willing enough to be captured. Including your happily-ever-after if you search hard enough.”

James was clearly about to charge forward, but a faint cry through the baby monitor stopped him.

He turned around to get to Abbie, but not before giving her one last threat. “I won’t allow you to lie to me, Mercy. I’ll get to the bottom of this, and you’ll tell me why you’re denying what we have. We’ll get this mission done, get my sister back, and then, I swear to God, you’ll see what I see between us and accept it.”

The cries intensified, and James disappeared as Mercy fought to calm her breathing.

Through the baby monitor, she heard his soothing voice coaxing his niece to calm down, and Mercy touched her belly, tears welling up. She was so close to losing it for the first time in years because the man she cared about was stubborn enough not to walk away.

It was the cell phone buzzing in her back pocket that drew her away from her depressing thoughts. One look told her that it was Imari, which didn’t bode well so soon into the investigation. “Mercy here.”

“Hey, it’s Imari with Alex. You’re on speakerphone. Shane and Emme are also on the line. Is James there?”

The request confirmed her thoughts. “He’s busy with Abbie. I can get him.”

“We can hear the baby crying on the line, so better let him finish up. You can update him when he’s available. I found the last address for Bethany Valentine. She’s been in Miami for the last month or so. It took me some time to find it. It seems she was trying to hide every trace of herself she could.”

Mercy frowned. “It must have been about the time Abbie was due.”