Cat 'N Mouse (11 page)

She’d ignored most of the dinner conversation until she found out Sam lost his virginity to his prom date.

Alexandria didn’t care for Robyn telling Sam about her work at Robyn’s Nest. She assumed Robyn had mentioned it to Sam while they were alone in the kitchen. What she did with her life was nobody’s business but her own. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation, but Robyn felt she did. When Sam woke her and said it was time to leave, she was ready to go home.

“I said Dennis and Robyn are not what I’d expected.”

“Oh.”

She turned her head toward the window yawning, thinking about her and Sam and toes curling. He would’ve kissed her if Robyn hadn’t walked in on them or rather she would’ve kissed him. She still wanted him to, craved it.

“I need you awake, Princess.” They stopped at a traffic light and Sam reached over and ran a finger along her cheek. She felt the same intense heat as she did when they were in Robyn’s living room. “Talk to me. Tell me about yourself.”

His finger left a hot trail along the path from her jaw to her chin and she moaned. The wine coupled with the hypnotic purring of the engine caused her inhibitions to fly out the window. She stared at him. His lips were full, jaw strong. His hands were big and strong as he shifted gears. She wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by those lips or feel his hands all over her body.

“What do you want to know? I would think Matt would have given you a file on me already.”

“I got a file but it pales in comparison to the lady.” Sam smiled and she went all warm, tingly and her heartbeat sped up. This was the first time since they’d met that he smiled at her and it softened the hard lines in his face. “Tell me about your relationship with Robyn. How did you meet?”

“Umm, let’s see… I heard her speak at a fundraiser about loosing her sister to sickle cell. That’s why she’s so passionate about it. I was interested in her work at the Foundation and she invited me for coffee a few days after. I’ve never known anyone to have such convictions about a cause.”

Three years ago Alexandria was looking for some kind of purpose or direction in her life. Her father had offered her a job at the time and she’d turned it down. Robyn had a purpose and a passion for her work and Alexandria wanted to feel something like that. She wanted to do something meaningful with her life and Robyn’s foundation was it. Somewhere along the road to self-discovery, Robyn’s Nest had become important to her. She had fallen in love with the kids, especially a little girl named Tiana.

“What about you? Dennis knows more about you than I do.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Was your prom date your first?”

“We’re not talking about that.”

“You’re a retired detective. At what age…thirty-three, I’m guessing.”

“It wasn’t by choice.”

“Care to explain?”

“There is nothing to explain. My life is boring.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Your life is a lot more interesting than mine. Your mother’s background is Egyptian but Sienna is not really an Egyptian name. Your father is an American, born in Detroit. That’s an interesting mix.”

“Me?” She asked with a laugh, looking at him. “What did Dennis say about your background? Irish/Trinidadian—now that’s an interesting mix. Your mother is Irish and your father is Trinidadian. I wouldn’t have guessed you were Irish in a million years. Part Irish anyway.”

“I guess we’re both culturally challenged.”

The streetlight hit his face as he glanced over at her and she noticed the odd look in his eyes. They were dark, almost haunting, as if he was reliving a painful memory.

“I wouldn’t say that. My father has always been a strong influence in my life. My mother died when I was very young.”

“On your calendar you had RN written in your schedule and I was wondering what it stood for. It’s Robyn’s Nest, isn’t it?”

“So.” She liked the way his voice sound. It was deep and rich.

“What I don’t get is why you keep what you do at Robyn’s Nest a secret.”

“It’s not a secret. No one wants to hear about the poor little rich girl volunteering her time because she has nothing better to do while she squanders away daddy’s money. They’re way more interested in other activities, like my love life…like you and me for example.” She turned in her seat toward him feeling very mellow. “Mimi called you a hunk and I believe Dennis’ exact words were ‘alpha male’.”

“Is that how you see yourself?” he glanced over at her.

“As an alpha male?” She intentionally misunderstood him.

“As the poor little rich girl?” He glanced up in the rearview mirror then back at her.

“Isn’t that how you see me? What did you call me? Oh, let me see if I can remember word for word, ‘a spoiled brat who has never worked a day in your life’.”

“Perhaps I was too quick to judge.”

“I’ll say.”

She brought her hand up over her mouth and yawned. “Mimi is right, you’re a hunk.”

Her hand found its way to rest on his thigh. His leg muscles tensed under her touch. Taking that as encouragement, she proceeded to run her palm along his inner thigh, inching toward his zipper.

Sam swallowed. “Okay, Princess,” he said clearing his voice as he grabbed her wandering hand, stilling it on his leg. His hand felt warm against hers and he held her hand firmly in place when she tried to pull away.

“You’re no fun,” she pouted and then undoing the seat belt with her free hand, she slid closer to him.

“And you’re drunk,” Sam smiled glancing into the rearview mirror. The smile slid from his face and his jaw muscles tensed.

“Only a little, but I know what I—”

“I need you back in your seat with your seatbelt on now!”

•  •  •

Sam’s anger had snapped her out of her dream-like state. There were worst things in life to contend with than being hit on…then she realized something was wrong—very wrong.

He glanced into the rearview mirror again then jammed his foot on the accelerator. The vehicle leaped forward.

Before Alexandria finished buckling her seatbelt, they were hit from behind which such force that jolted her forward. Trembling hands worked at warp speed to fasten the seatbelt, but not fast enough.

“Sam!”

His hand shot out and caught her before she hit the dashboard. She quickly snapped the clasp into the buckle. Shaking.

She looked into the rearview mirror and a saw a pair of headlights charging toward them again like a monster in the dark. A scream tore from her throat as the vehicle barreled down on them. This time when the truck hit them the seatbelt held her, biting into her shoulder.

Tires squealed, metal crunched and the Land Rover swerved violently. With precision control, Sam kept on going, keeping the vehicle from sliding into the ditch. He shifted gear and gunned the SUV but the monster truck kept pushing at them. Sam swore and shifted gear again. The Land Rover fishtailed as it sped away from the truck. He had about a block between him and the truck but the truck was closing the gap quickly.

“Hold on!”

Sam slammed on the breaks and the SUV spun out and she thought they were going to roll over when the two wheels left the road then dropped down on all fours again, rocking them back and fourth. Somehow he managed to keep them from rolling and stopped the Land Rover facing the truck charging toward them.

The truck came to a screeching stop. A standoff.

“What are you doing?” Alexandria’s heart hammered in her chest as panic set her heart racing. There were no other vehicles on the road. No one to help them. “No. Keep going.” She clutched at his arm. “Please.”

“We can’t outrun him. Eventually, he’ll run us off the road and we’ll end up in the ditch a few miles up the road.”

Sam grabbed the gun from his shoulder hostler. He reached over her lap and shoved her door open. “See that tree over there?”

She was going to die. First it was the man with the blood this afternoon, and now this. A paralyzing fear took over her body. Someone wanted to kill her.

“Sweetheart,” he said quickly, dividing his attention between the idling truck and her. “I need you to listen to me.” He grasped her hand and squeezed it. “When I start shooting, run for that line of trees right over there and stay there until I call you.”

“He’s coming right at us!” she screamed.

Sam jumped out of the SUV. “Run!”

S
am waited until Alexandria disappeared behind the tree. The truck engine revved and started toward him. He fired.

He wasn’t sure how many shots he fired. His only goal was to stop the truck and he did. The headlights were the first to go. A bullet struck the windshield and the truck swerved. The driver slammed on the breaks and Sam could smell the burning of the tires against the asphalt.

The truck idled for a little as if the person behind the wheel was trying to decide if he was going to ram the Land Rover. Sam reached under the driver seat for the box of ammo watching the truck as he reloaded. Then the driver reversed and headed in the opposite direction.

He let out a slow shaky breath and called out to Alexandria. He watched as the truck drove off hoping whoever was behind the wheel didn’t decide to pay them a return visit. Alexandria didn’t respond to his call. He cut the engine and called again.

“Alexandria, you can come out now.”

Putting the gun back into the shoulder holster, he checked the damage to the Land Rover. The bumper was still intact and the tires felt okay. The damage was minimal so the sooner they got on their way the better. But Alexandria still hadn’t responded to his call. As a matter of fact, the only things calling out to him were crickets. He wondered if she had even stopped at the tree or in her fear, had just she kept on going. He looked beyond the trees in the dark.

“Alexandria!”

Sam jumped into the Land Rover turning the vehicle around, the headlights shining toward the trees. He got out and raced toward the tree. He found her crouched down shaking against it, her hands covering her ears.

“No!” She screamed when he touched her shoulder, hands lashing out throwing blind punches.

“It’s me… Sam. Are you alright?” She didn’t answer. She just sat there shaking, arms hugging her knees. “Sweetheart, it’s time to go.”

A feeling of protectiveness came over him. The need to protect her so she could feel safe was his only priority at the moment.

“Come on.” Sam bent and lifted her up off the ground. It was as though she was in some kind of trance. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her to the vehicle, sat her in the seat on the passenger side and snapped her seatbelt in place. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Okay?”

She nodded, but he knew she didn’t believe him. And why should she. He’d been leaning hard on her since they’d met. As it turned out, she wasn’t at all what he’d expected. That changed everything.

Sam slid into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. He would have gone after the bastard if he were alone. With Alexandria shaking in her seat, he couldn’t take the chance. What if there had been more than one person in the truck? He couldn’t see me much with the headlights blinding him. At least they were safe for now.

They were about half an hour away from her condo and she sat in silence staring straight ahead, shaking.

He shouldn’t have allowed her to attend the dinner. He had given in because of what she’d gone through this afternoon and she’d bounced back. Would she recover from this latest incident? He needed to step up his game and not allow the bastard to hurt her anymore.

When they arrived at the condo, she headed straight for her bedroom. He didn’t want her locking herself in her room. Not like that.

“Alexandria?”

She halted her steps for a moment then reluctantly turned to look at him. There were no tears and he almost wished there were. At least she would be letting it out instead of keeping the terror of tonight bottled up inside her. She looked like she was about to shatter and he folded her into his arms. That’s when a sob tore from her throat.

“Shhh…it’s okay, you’re safe now.”

He held her with his chin resting on top of her head until all the tears were gone. All he could smell was the soft musk fragrance of her perfume. His hands seemed to burn on her bare skin. She stirred against him and lifted her head up to meet his gaze. When soft baby brown eyes held his everything changed. It wasn’t about comforting anymore. Comfort turned into need.

His need.

Her need.

Her hands circled his waist, pulling him closer. His head dipped and his lips touched hers.

He wasn’t wondering what it felt like to kiss her anymore. He was doing it. And it felt good all the way down to the soles of his feet. Her lips were incredibly soft. His heart hammered out of control and his head swam with the taste of her. Tongues mingled and he wanted so much more. His lips caressed her face moving along her neck and up again. He held her face between his hands and took her mouth again.

She moaned and opened her mouth, accepting his tongue. Her hands found their way inside his shirt moving up and down his back then making her way around to his chest, flirting with his belt buckle then boldly undoing the buckle. That’s when warning bells went off and he pulled away, putting a stop to the sweetest thing that had happened to him in a long, long time.

“No.” Sam groaned, shaking his head slowly trying to pull himself together and fighting for control as he buckled his pants. He was breathing as if he’d just ran a marathon. “This can’t happen.”

“Sam?” It sounded more like a plea than a question. He knew what she wanted and he wanted the same thing too. How could he take advantage of the situation? She was loaded up with wine and was coming off the worst scare of her life.

“This is not what your father hired me to do.” He said the first thing that came to his mind. It was also the wrong thing to say. This had nothing to do with Prescott. It had to do with him and the magnetic pull that had been drawing them together since their first meeting that they’d been tiptoeing around.

She stepped back from him abruptly putting space between them. As if unsure what to do, she turned and headed for her room.