Search and Seduce

He wasn’t sure if it was the nickname or the way T.J. touched her, but Mark stood, pulling Amy up with him. “Lean on me. I’ll help you to the front.”

Like competitors in a three-legged race, they hobbled away from the table. Mark pushed open the door, keeping Amy close. Out here, it was probably safe to drop the ankle ruse, but she didn’t let go. And he didn’t feel like pushing her away.

But Amy stopped at the edge of the parking lot and released his arm. Standing on her own two feet again, she dialed and lifted the phone to her ear. Mark followed as she walked out into the lot. He overheard her leave a quick message, saying she’d be back soon.

Slipping her cell into her pocket, she turned to him. “I should probably head home. If you want to stay, I’m sure one of the guys would give you a ride.”

“I’ll go with you.”

They headed for her truck, weaving between the parked cars. Mark scanned the area out of habit and stilled when he saw a truck labeled Eloise Jones Veterinary Care, in the corner of the lot. In the front seat was Eloise, looking as if she was riding her very own SEAL. And that sight was a lot more surprising than Molly McAdams’s fake breasts.

One glimpse told him Eloise wasn’t calling the shots. She had her arms bound behind her back with what looked like her bra. Her eyes were closed and her head was thrown back as she moved and arched over a fully dressed Gabe. Or maybe he’d stripped off his pants. Mark couldn’t tell from here, and he wasn’t about to take a closer look. He’d already seen too much.

“What?” Amy said, stopping beside him.

“Nothing,” he said shaking his head, trying to steer her away. But it was too late. She’d already spotted Eloise’s truck.

“Oh,” she said. “Wow.”

He watched her eyes widen, saw the moment her breath caught. Her cheeks flushed, and he saw shock, embarrassment and what looked an awful lot like longing in her eyes...

Mark ground his teeth together, pushing hard against the simmering feelings building up, demanding that he reach for her, offer an answer to the desire written on her face. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t want Amy. There were some lines he wouldn’t cross, and sleeping with his best friend’s widow was one of them. But that line was becoming more indistinct by the moment, and he needed to stay a few feet away from the barrier, not inch closer to it. Yes, he believed Amy should move on with her life. But not with him. She deserved so much more.

He took her arm and led her away. Seeing Eloise and Gabe—it was all kinds of wrong. It was erotic and hot, but not a moment that needed witnesses.

“I guess I didn’t need to worry about her,” Amy said with a laugh. “Looks like she has the situation under control.”

Someone had control in that truck, but Mark wasn’t sure it was Eloise. “They could have waited until they got home,” he said tightly.

“There’s something to be said for claiming the moment. Sometimes I wish I could be that free,” she murmured. “It looks like a lot more fun than my vibrator.”

The spark of the need he’d felt while watching Amy’s reaction flared. The image of Amy with her arms bound, waiting for him to touch her, taste her... Shit, he’d even use her vibrator, teasing her with the toy until she begged for more. For him.

Mark clenched his jaw, pushing the images away. Picking up the pace, he led her to the truck.

“We need to go,” he said, his words clipped and his tone rough. “Now.”

* * *

FIVE MINUTES LATER, Mark stared straight ahead at the dark country road. Tonight had verged off course. It felt as if they were scrambling to make a U-turn and go back to where they’d started the evening.

The thought of Amy wanting to be free, to live in the moment... Mark shifted his hips trying to get comfortable, but with an erection that left him feeling like a seventeen-year-old kid again, it just wasn’t possible. Probably because the reason he was turned on wasn’t back in the Tall Pines parking lot, but sitting beside him in the truck. He’d been focused on one thing—getting out of there—until Amy had started talking about living in the moment and her damn sex toys.

Drawing a deep breath, Mark mentally ran through his checklist for stocking his helicopter.

“I’m sorry,” Amy said.

“For what?” Mark kept his gaze fixed on the road. “When you suggested we look for Eloise and Gabe, I have a feeling you didn’t think we’d find them like that.”

“I’m not apologizing for my cousin. If you need an apology, you can take that up with her or Gabe.”

“Not going to happen.”

“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable,” she said. “For talking to you as if you were one of my girlfriends. You don’t need to know about me and my, well...I’ll stop talking now.”

“You can tell me anything, Amy,” Mark said quietly. “You don’t have to hold back on my account.”

“Okay.”