The hot rush of adrenaline she’d felt after she’d seen the blood dripping down his arm calmed somewhat. She was surprised at the fear she’d felt seeing him bleeding like that, having long ago convinced herself she was immune to ever having feelings for Mac Canfield again. She should have known better than to think he would ever mean less to her. She sighed.
“You’re going to be fine,” she said, pushing her emotions deep as she cleaned everything up and turned to him.
“I could have told you that.” He stood. “But thank you anyway.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mac couldn’t believe the woman standing in front of him. The one who’d faced down a barrage of bullets, hopped on the back of his bike for a quick escape, then yelled at him because he’d prevented her from diving for her own gun.
She sure as hell wasn’t the same Lily West he’d known so many years ago. That girl had been sweet and gentle and fragile. The woman who stood in front of him now looked similar, though obviously more grown up. And a hell of a lot tougher. Curvier too, with low slung jeans hugging her hips, a snug-fitting polo shirt that accentuated fuller br**sts and a slender waist. But what was completely unrecognizable was her attitude.
She stared at him, not speaking. Hell, he didn’t know what to say. She licked her lips and he followed the track of her little pink tongue swiping across her full bottom lip.
His gaze went from her mouth to her eyes and the past mingled with the present.
God, she really was here. He moved toward her and she took a step back, stopping when she hit the wall. But her gaze never left his. Even in the darkened bathroom the look she gave him was unmistakable. She was thinking the same thing he was.
Ten years ago. The heat between them. The fact they’d just been shot at a little while ago.
Aw, f**k it. He never was much good at thinking things through. He braced his hands on either side of her head and moved in closer, crowding her.
“Your arm,” she said, looking at the bandage, then back at him.
“Is fine.”
Her lips were still parted and he heard her breathing.
Rapid little pants in and out, like she was having trouble catching her breath. But this time she wasn’t pushing at him to let her go.
“Mac,” she whispered, whether in warning or invitation he didn’t know.
Before it became a denial spilling from her lips, he slanted his mouth over hers and took possession.
Chapter Two
Mac drank in the sound of Lily’s whimper, adding a groan of his own.
A thousand reasons why he shouldn’t be doing this fired through his brain. He shut them out. Fuck them all. He was doing this. She wasn’t a young girl anymore. She was an adult. And until and unless she said no, he was barreling full steam ahead.
Christ, she tasted good. Hot and sweet and wet. He shifted, wrapping his uninjured arm around her back to pull her against his body. He rimmed her lips with his tongue, then slid it between her teeth to find hers, lapping against the velvet softness. And she wasn’t saying no. Not with the way her body sank into his.
Lily palmed his chest, smoothing her warm hands over his skin. He couldn’t think rationally, just wanted her naked against him. He skimmed her belly, feeling the muscles there quiver while he lifted her shirt and jerked it over her head. A sexy little black bra barely contained her br**sts. He traced the swells where they dipped into the satin enclosure. She shuddered.
Her eyes—soft, wide pools of dark blue—registered surprise. He’d always loved her eyes. They told him so much about what she was thinking.
Don’t say a word, he pleaded mentally. He didn’t want anything to stop this.
She didn’t speak, instead grabbed his belt buckle and unhooked it, then released the snap from his jeans. His breath came out in short rasps as she drew the zipper down and slid her hand inside, wrapping her cool fingers around his heated cock.
He pulsed against her hand, surging forward, loving the feel of her skin against his. But he wanted more. So much more. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling the scent of her, drawing his tongue along the column of her throat.
He remembered the taste of her, like an intoxicant entering his blood stream, drugging him into a wild frenzy of untapped lust. He skimmed her flesh, sliding his fingers into her jeans.
The scent of her filled the air around them, a heady, potent aphrodisiac. He already knew how she’d taste and he wanted that sweet honey on his tongue.
Christ, he wanted it all and right now. It had been too damn long.
“Wait. Stop. Mac, stop.”
His motor was running, his engine revving in high gear, and she wanted to slam on the brakes?
Shit. He slowed down, withdrew his hand from her pants and pulled back, studying at her eyes. Eyes that spoke volumes, that read no. No, no, and no.
“What’s wrong?”
“We can’t do this. I can’t do this.” She released her sweet, tight grip on his c**k and started fixing her disheveled clothes.
Ah, hell. She was probably right, though his throbbing dick wanted to argue the point in a big way. He shoved it in his jeans and zipped up, staying silent while he gathered his composure, trying to figure out why the wildcat in his arms had suddenly tucked its tail and run.
Where had his common sense gone? One look, one whiff of her scent and he was off and running at high speed. He was on a case, not on vacation. This wasn’t the time to pursue Lily, to take up where they’d left off ten years ago. He had a ton of questions. Like who she was now and why she’d been at the museum.
“Okay, we won’t do this. If you’d rather talk than f**k, I have questions,” he said. “Why were you at the museum tonight?”
She whirled on him, the heat, the passion of a few moments ago gone from her eyes, replaced by a cold hardness.
“No. I have questions for you. And I’m not saying a damn thing until I get answers to my questions first.”
So much for warmth and sex. He felt every bit of the chill in the night air. Or maybe that was coming from Lily, who’d definitely turned on the cold, hard freeze. “Then I guess we’re not going to have much to say to each other, because I can’t tell you anything.”
She crossed her arms. “Ditto.”
Shit. He couldn’t exactly hold Lily captive without explaining why, but he sure as hell couldn’t reveal who he worked for and why he’d stolen the vial. Which meant she was going to believe he was still a thief. He hated that, but it was how it had to be.