Explosive Attraction - By Lena Diaz Page 0,17

she had to do.

She had to climb into that hole.

* * *

WHAT RAFE HAD SEEN in the hallway was the dark silhouette of the gunman, holding the gun with practiced ease in front of him, far closer to their room than Rafe had expected.

He cursed Buresh beneath his breath for not leaving him a weapon.

Using some oxygen tubing he’d pilfered from a drawer beside the bed, he finished securing his hospital gown tightly against his waist. It made more sense to completely strip the gowns off both him and Darby, so the cloth wouldn’t hang down and get in their way when they climbed through the ceiling. But Darby had been so horrified when he’d suggested it that he’d settled for tying their gowns using oxygen tubing and the telephone cord.

After lifting Darby up into the ceiling, Rafe pulled himself up after her and settled on top of a crossbeam. A noise sounded from below, a whisper of sound.

Rafe hurried to secure the tile back in the ceiling. “Come on,” he whispered against Darby’s ear. “This way.” The tiny gaps between the ceiling tiles and the railings allowed enough light in for him to plan their escape route. He could see the end of the hallway thirty feet away. If he could get Darby to that wall, they could drop down into the stairwell.

Halfway to his goal, he glanced back and realized Darby hadn’t followed him. She was still crouched on her hands and knees exactly where she’d been when he’d lifted her into the ceiling. He motioned for her to join him, but she didn’t react. Her eyes were open but even though she was staring at him, she didn’t seem to see him.

Carefully turning around on the beam, he went back to her. There wasn’t any sound from the room below. Was the gunman still there? If Darby had followed him across the beam, they’d already be over another room by now, and it wouldn’t matter.

Rafe leaned down close to Darby’s face. Her eyes were glassy and she was motionless, like a statue. Pressuring her to climb into the ceiling had been a mistake. Her fears were far more serious than he’d realized. Somehow he had to get through to her, to bring her back.

He gently brushed her hair out of her eyes, ran his fingers across her warm, soft skin. No reaction, just that scary, glassy stare. He couldn’t even risk whispering to her with the gunman below.

Come on, Darby. Look at me. See me. You can do this.

Her body started to shake. She let go of the beam beneath her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Rafe grabbed for her, barely catching her before she could fall. If he let her go now, she’d fall sideways right through the ceiling tiles, right into the shooter’s line of sight.

A noise sounded below. The creak of the bathroom door opening.

Darby’s eyes widened, and she let out a low moan.

Rafe did the only thing he could do. He clamped his mouth down on hers to stifle the sound.

The response was intense, immediate.

But not from Darby.

Rafe’s pulse kicked into high gear. Blood pumped away from his brain to another part of his anatomy. As if his hand had a life of its own, it spanned down her back, cupping her bottom.

It had been a long time since he’d held a woman. That was the reason he suddenly wanted to tear off Darby’s ridiculous and completely adorable hospital gowns. That was the reason he wanted to trace his tongue down the curve of her neck, taste the salty sweetness of her skin.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Not with a gunman below. And certainly not when the woman whose lips were pressed against his didn’t even know he was there.

He started to pull back, but Darby followed. She leaned forward, her lips parted as she reached her hands up and pulled him back toward her. That was all the encouragement he needed. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, delighted when she moved against him in response. She sucked lightly on his tongue, and his body throbbed against her softness.

She jerked back, and Rafe had to grab her arms to keep her from falling off the beam. Her wide eyes stared at him in horror, as if being held by him was the worst thing that had ever happened to her.

That horrified look was like a bucket of ice water, and suddenly he was just as horrified as she was.