“If that’s what you want.” J.C. gave Drew two thumbs-up. “We witnesses have to stick together, don’t we?”
18
DREW DIDN’T RUSH toward the ladies’ room, but her mind was racing. Looking back to see if Kit was following her might give her away. The man had an uncanny knack for figuring out what she was going to do.
She glanced around as she entered a small hallway. There were three doors, one marked Men to her right, one marked Women to her left and another marked Exit. All three were in full view of the bar where Nik and Kit were sitting. So she had to go in the restroom. It was small—just one stall and a tiny vanity and mirror. Paper towels were stacked neatly in a brass basket and next to it was a vase of fresh violets. Pretty and welcoming, Drew thought, and then she spotted the window high overhead. Perfect.
Or almost. It was a good three feet in width, but maybe only a foot high. Since it opened outward on a crank, she’d have the entire height to wiggle through. She could do it. She climbed onto the vanity and carefully got to her feet. The window opened to the alley. Getting a good grip on the sill, she jumped up and got her chest on the window ledge. Then she twisted, wiggled and generally muscled herself through the opening until she was teetering half in and half out of the bathroom.
And she was stuck.
Drew tried to wiggle forward hoping to pitch onto the alley floor. No luck. Next she tried twisting this way and that. But she couldn’t make progress. Finally, she tried wiggling backward, and that’s when she heard the rip of silk. The scarf that Kit had bought for her was caught on something. She reached back to get a grip on it and her legs and her feet shot upward.
Enough of her weight had shifted forward so that it was her thighs that now rested on the window ledge. Her fingers were only about six inches from the ground but she couldn’t quite reach it.
The sound of the restroom door opening had her taking in a fresh gulp of air. “Hey,” she called, “can you give me a hand?”
“Be glad to.”
Her stomach did a little flip. Then Kit’s hands gripped her waist, and he yanked her out of the window. Two seconds later, she was facing him on the bathroom floor. The room was even smaller than she’d thought, and Kit seemed to take up most of it.
He was angry. She’d never seen him this angry before. And he was standing so close. She couldn’t even take a breath without inhaling his scent.
Something tangled in her stomach, something that had heat licking along her nerve endings. She took a quick step back and hit the stall door. When she stepped to the side, he slapped his hand against the wall to cage her in. Heat flicked through her again. She slipped her hands behind her back so that she wouldn’t touch him.
“You’re not going anywhere until we settle this, Drew.”
She lifted her chin. “Okay. Fine. I’ll go back to the table with you and we’ll talk.” But she had to get out of this room, or in a minute, she was going to jump him.
“I put an Out-of-Order sign on the door and I locked it. We’re not leaving until you tell me why you’re running away.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not running away. I’m going to the police to turn myself in. Nik wanted to take me in, didn’t he? And you talked him out of it, didn’t you?”
“You’re no good to the police until you get your memory back. Going to your house might turn the trick.”
“And it might not. Besides, the police can take me to the house. I don’t need you for that.”
The words were like a slap. But it wasn’t the words so much as the fear they sent sprinting through him that had Kit grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her against him. “You’re not going to run away from me.”
Maybe if she’d struggled, he’d have been able to pull back. Or perhaps if she’d surrendered, he’d have gotten some grip on his control. She did neither. Instead, her mouth was as demanding as his, her hands as desperate.
He pushed the strap of her sundress over her shoulders and down her arms. He hadn’t planned to do this. But the sight of her in the window, the knowledge that in another few minutes she’d have been gone, out on the streets alone, except for two killers who wanted her dead….
He dragged his mouth from hers and tried to catch his breath. Gripping her shoulders, he shoved her up against the stall door. He wanted to shake her. He wanted to haul her to the floor. “Don’t you know they could be watching this place? My car is still here. They’ll figure that sooner or later, I’ll come back for it. That’s why I had the taxi drop us off in the alley.”
She poked one finger into his chest. “They’re shooting at you, too. That’s why I tried to leave. If I’m not with you, you’re safe.”
Understanding mixed with some of the fear still ruling him. “Let me handle the safety issue.” When she hesitated, he said, “Haven’t I done a pretty good job so far?”
“Yes, but…”
He gave her shoulders a little shake. “Well, I don’t quit in the middle of something. You hired me, and I intend to finish this job. Tell me you won’t pull another stunt like this.”
“All right. I won’t. Now, tell me that you’re going to finish what you just started.”
This time it was delight that shot through him. “Right here?”
“Right now.” Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled his mouth down to hers.
Hunger built just as rapidly as it had a few moments before. Heat arrowed through him making him just as desperate. He slid his hand beneath her skirt to find her skin—soft, hot and smooth. He moved his hand higher, over her hip to her waist. Each separate response—the way her stomach muscles clenched, the little sound she made in her throat—tore through Kit and drove him to demand more.
He might have done something this reckless before, but not in years—and he’d never wanted anyone this much. Desire pounded at him as he dropped to his knees and dragged her panties down her legs, pulling sandals off in the process. Then shoving her skirt out of the way, he spread his fingers over her buttocks, drew her close and began to use his mouth on her.
The shock, an electric current, sizzled through her and sent her heartbeat racing. Drew let her head fall back and pressed her hands against the stall door for balance. She felt everything—the scrape of his teeth, the smooth, hard slide of his tongue, the pressure of those hard fingers branding her skin.
It was too much. It wasn’t nearly enough. Each separate thrill drove her higher and higher until the climax poured through her in one searing wave.
Before she could ride it fully to its crest, he eased her to the floor and cradled her across his thighs until he’d dealt with the condom. She’d barely had time to reorient herself before he lifted her by the hips and shifted her so he was kneeling and she was straddling his lap.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
Once she did, he filled her in a smooth hard stroke. For one blinding moment, the pleasure was so acute, she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. She simply closed her eyes and absorbed. Then desire tore through her again, and she tried to move, but couldn’t.
“Look at me, Drew.”
He held her still until they were eye to eye, then said, “Make me come.”
The intensity of the hunger in his eyes had her inner muscles tightening around him deep inside of her.
A moan escaped his lips. “More,” he breathed.
His hands imprisoned her and the most she could do was inch her hips up and down. Each time she did, pleasure rippled through her, but it wasn’t enough for either of them. Layer after layer of tension built, but release was just out of reach. She’d never known this kind of torture, this kind of ecstasy.
Finally, she leaned forward, nipped on his bottom lip and breathed, “Let me finish this. Please.”
“We’ll finish it together, partner. Deal?”
She leveled her eyes on his. “Deal.”
He released her then, and, finally free to move, she began to position her hips against him as surge after surge of pleasure slammed into her. She would have screamed if she could. But she was helpless to do anything but give herself to him.
Kit watched her through slitted eyes, moving just enough to drive her higher. He would have done anything to keep her here, thinking only of him and the satisfaction that he could give her. But in the same way that he was driving her, she was driving him, and finally, helpless, he had no choice but to surrender himself to her and to the completion that only she could provide.
Afterward, Drew broke the silence. “Well. I can’t help but wonder if this is another first for me.”
He found the strength to open his eyes and found that she was lying on top of him and they were stretched out on the floor.
“I know it can’t be a first for you,” she continued.
“And you know that because…” He was surprised to find his voice was working.
“You must have known right where that Out-of-Order sign was. Very smooth. I suspect that you and your brothers did a lot more in this restaurant than cook or bus tables.”
Deciding that his best response to that was to change the subject, Kit tucked a finger under her chin. “You’ll stick with me now?”