Special Forces Father - By Mallory Kane Page 0,10
her find her little boy. He held her, trying to ignore the familiar strawberry scent of her hair and the firm yet soft feel of her body against his.
Finally she straightened and pushed against him, ready to stand on her own two feet again.
“You okay?” he whispered, his mouth near her ear.
She nodded, sending another wave of strawberries across his nostrils.
“I’ll let you stay here. I don’t want to be by myself. Besides—” she lifted her head and looked into his eyes “—I have to keep an eye on you so you won’t call in the entire Delancey police force.”
He smiled grimly. Grasping her arms, he set her away from him. “I promise you I won’t. Not until you and I both agree,” he said, pointing at her then at himself to emphasize that he was being truthful. “Now on to more important things. You look exhausted. Why don’t you take a shower and get ready for bed?”
She started shaking her head. “I can’t sleep—”
He squeezed her arms and bent his head to look into her eyes. “You’d be surprised what you can do when you have no other choice,” he said. “If you don’t sleep, you’ll lose strength and focus. Trust me, I know. You won’t be able to think clearly enough to do your job.”
She lifted her head. “You’re right,” she said. “I guess I will take a shower. What time is it?”
Travis glanced at his watch. “Nine-thirty. Are you going in to work tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “I’ll have to pretend to be sick. There’s no way I can fool my secretary, Alice. She’ll know something’s wrong.” As she talked, she took off the gray suit jacket and began unbuttoning her shirt, seemingly unaware that she was undressing right in front of him. Then she turned and walked out of the living room.
Travis watched her and swallowed hard as an image of her—wet, warm and naked from the shower—filled his inner vision. He’d always loved to touch her, to taste her, after her shower. Her skin always smelled and tasted like lavender, and her hair like strawberries.
His stomach growled, interrupting his thoughts. Just as well. He had no right to think of her like that. He deliberately turned his mind to practical things. He needed to eat something or he was going to collapse. He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There was a block of cheddar cheese, a carton of milk and several containers of yogurt, as well as about a dozen individually boxed juice drinks. He looked around and spotted half a loaf of bread. Grabbing a slice, he wrapped it around a couple slices of cheese. Picking up the milk carton, he sniffed it. It was fine. Milk probably didn’t last long enough to go bad with a kid around. He poured himself a glass, then leaned against the refrigerator and ate.
* * *
BY THE TIME he’d forced down half of the sandwich, Kate came out into the living room in a terry-cloth robe. The hot water hadn’t helped her swollen eyes much, but she did look more comfortable and somewhat more relaxed.
“You look like you feel a little better,” he said.
Kate stared at Travis, leaning against her refrigerator as if he belonged there. How had he materialized at her door on this of all nights? The hot shower had drained the last dregs of energy out of her, but as she looked at him, it occurred to her that he looked worse than she did. He was pale and drawn. His clothes hung loose on his frame and there were dark circles under his eyes.
He saluted her with the glass. “I helped myself. Hope that’s okay.”
“Sure,” Kate said. “I just need enough milk for Max’s—” She stopped and put her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the moan that burned in her throat. She hunched her shoulders against the pain that settled under her breastbone. “I keep forgetting he’s not here. I can’t stand it,” she whispered. “What am I going to do?”
“It’s going to be okay, Kate. I promise.”
“Is it?” she said. “I don’t like empty words. You know that.”
His mouth thinned. “Yet you’re asking empty questions. You know what you should do. I’m not suggesting you call 9-1-1 and have police cars racing over here with sirens blazing. But if you’d let me call Lucas or Ethan, they could help you. They’ll know how to deal with a kidnapping.”
Kate stiffened and clenched her fists. “I said no,” she