Check Mate (5 page)

Mariah retrieved the handcuffs she had removed from Jake earlier and walked over to his bed. She hated having to cuff him to the headboard, but if he tried to escape, Lester or Burgess would stop him, maybe even kill him. She couldn't allow anything to happen to Jake. He was too valuable. Part of her job was to keep him safe.

"Sorry to have to do this, but..."

He held up both arms. She hesitated, wondering how touching him would affect her. Just do it, she told herself. She grabbed his left arm, cuffed his wrist and then attached the other cuff to the bedpost. Frozen to the spot, the feel of his warm wrist still tingling through her palm, she stared at him, and from the way he was looking at her, she suspected that innocent touch had rattled him as much as it had her. If not, then he was doing a damn good job of faking it.

"If you need to go to the bathroom during the night, or need anything else, just let me know," she said.

"I'll keep the offer in mind."

Once again he'd used her own words against her, changing their original intent into something sexual. Let it go, she told herself. Don't respond.

Mariah slid into bed, pulled the covers up to her waist, then reached out to turn off the bedside lamp. "I'm going to sleep," she told him. "I suggest you do the same."

Several minutes later, when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Mariah could see a sliver of light coming from beneath the closed door. She lay there, wide awake and wishing she was anywhere else on earth. Anywhere except confined inside a mountain cabin with a man she had to think of as her enemy. A man who, come morning, she would be forced to deceive, playing with his mind the way a cat plays with a mouse before going in for the kill.

Three

Much to his surprise, Jake actually slept several hours before waking with a cramp in his arm. When he first awoke, he tugged on his wrist and couldn't figure out why it was bound, but then reality hit him like a splash of ice-cold water.

Everything came back in an instant flash. His beating, capture and transport to this isolated mountain cabin. Using his free hand, he massaged his aching arm; then as he flipped over, he glanced at the person lying in the bed next to him.

Dr. Mariah Brooks. The woman fascinated him, but he didn't have the luxury of fully exploring that fascination. What he needed from her—and needed as soon a possible—was her help in escaping. Accomplishing that goal would take finesse on his part. If he pushed too hard, too fast, she might balk. But then again, he really couldn't wait.

He wondered how deeply involved she was with the Coalition, how many years she'd been working for them. Was she doing it for the money or was she committed to their cause? If it was money, he could offer her twice what they were paying her. If it was a true commitment on her part, then he might be screwed. Unless he could charm her into helping him, regardless of her loyalty to an unjust cause. Women had been known to betray their families, their countries, their own valued principles, all for love. Could he seduce Mariah into thinking she was in love with him? He didn't have much time. He needed to put a plan into motion immediately.

"Dr. Brooks?" Jake called her name softly, but when she didn't respond, he said it a bit louder the second time. He could barely make out her dark form moving beneath the covers, but when she turned over, he felt certain she was looking his way.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, her voice sleep-husky.

"I've got a cramp in my arm," he admitted honestly. "Would you mind removing the handcuff for a few minutes?"

"All right." As soon as she rolled out of bed, she flipped on the bedside lamp, lighting the room with a forty-watt creamy white glow.

He watched her as she got to her feet—long slender feet, with red toenails. Red toenails! Now wasn't that interesting? Dr. Brooks's fingernails were short and sported clear polish. Neat, professional, boring. But her toenails were fire-engine red. Bright, sexy, ultrafeminine. And exciting.

She retrieved the key for the handcuffs, then approached his bed. He looked up at her and smiled. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're awfully pretty when you first wake up?"

Narrowing her gaze to slits, she glowered at him as she reached down, unlocked the handcuffs, removed one cuff from the bedpost and then pulled the other cuff from his wrist. He dropped his arm and sighed dramatically while he rubbed his arm from wrist to elbow.

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"I don't know what sort of game you think you're playing," she said, "but I advise you to forget it."

As she turned to walk away, he reached out, grabbed her arm and dragged her down until she toppled over on top of him. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, didn't know if she'd slap him, just jump up to get away from him or verbally reprimand him again. She surprised him by sliding off him and onto her side, then she stared deeply into his eyes.

Those sky-blue eyes of hers appeared twice as bright, twice as sparkling, against the golden glow of her dark complexion. In that one instant of complete stillness, Jake slid his arm around her. She didn't move, didn't respond, and he realized she was holding her breath.

He caressed her neck with his fingertips. "Do you play chess, Marian?"

She shook her head, tossing her thick black hair ever so slightly from side to side. "I jog, I play tennis, I work out at the gym. As far as games go, I haven't played any since I was a kid. Checkers and jacks were my favorites."

He continued caressing her, allowing his fingers to linger over her earlobe a few minutes before forking them through her hair. "In chess, each player's goal is to attack the enemy's king in such a way that the king can't escape.

It's a game of wits. You must learn to not only evaluate your own moves, but you must anticipate your opponent's next move."

"Does chess have anything to do with the game you're trying to play with me?" A shiver rippled through her when he cupped the back of her head and brought his mouth within a hairbreadth of hers.

"What do you think?"

"I think you should release me and go back to sleep. I plan to start our first session fairly early in the morning."

"Why don't we start now?" Before she had a chance to respond, he lowered his mouth and kissed her. Gently.

Sweetly. Being careful not to seem too aggressive. For a split second she responded, giving herself over to the moment, but then she ended things. Abruptly. Withdrawing quickly, she stared at him, a startled expression widening her eyes.

"No." She uttered that one word before she pulled out of his arms and shot up off the bed. After turning from him, her back ramrod straight, she stood in place for several seconds before she faced him again. Without saying anything else, she grabbed his arm, manacled his wrist and yanked the cuffed hand high enough to secure the other cuff to the bedpost

Jake looked up at her, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. He'd had her there for a few seconds. She'd been his completely. Perhaps he'd been too gentle. Next time—and there would be a next time—he'd take her hard and fast, without giving her a chance to think.

"Should I apologize?" he asked.

Instead of responding, she turned and walked away, straight back to her bed. She dropped the key into her boot, which rested on the floor beside her bed. He watched her while she crawled beneath the covers and then switched off the lamp.

"Mariah?"

Silence.

"I don't like it any more than you do, you know," he told her. "How do you think I feel being attracted to a woman who plans to try to reactivate Oliver Grimble's programming embedded in my brain? Believe me, lady, you're the last woman on earth I want getting me hot and bothered." Say something, damn it, Jake thought. Had he really blown it with Mariah? Had the kiss been too much too soon? "We can't help it. Neither of us. I want you. You want me. It's that simple. We'll have to find a way to deal with it."

"Go to sleep, Jake," she said finally, her voice low and calm. "You need your rest."

"Avoiding talking about it isn't going to change anything. It's not going to make us want each other any less."

"Shut up, will you?"

Smiling, Jake burrowed his head into the fluffy pillow. He had her rattled. He considered his options and decided that keeping quiet was the wisest course of action right now. Mariah was interested, but she was no pushover. She would fight him every inch of the way. And if he knew women—and he did—she'd be cool and aloof come morning.

He expected her to give him the cold shoulder and probably take a bit of perverse delight in trying to break down his defenses. His gut instincts told him that Dr. Mariah Brooks was accustomed to being the one in charge. Maybe he should let her believe she could control him, then when she least expected it, make his move.

***

Mariah brought Jake downstairs for breakfast with Burgess and Lester, an action designed to deactivate Jake's out-of-control libido. Of course, she wasn't sure whether the guy really was turned on by her or if his seduction routine was simply part of some master plan he'd concocted. Either way, she had to make sure he didn't kiss her again.

In the wee hours of the morning, she'd known before he kissed her that he was going to—and she'd let him. She'd had enough warning so she could have stopped him if she'd really wanted to. But that was the problem—she had wanted that kiss. Her own sexuality and curiosity had gotten the best of her, at least for a couple of seconds. Thank goodness
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she'd been able to use her common sense in the nick of time. Another couple of seconds and she would have been lost. As it was, just that brief kiss had been enough to curl her toes. Heaven help her, she was "in lust" with Jake Ingram. Talk about a major professional mistake!

"Will you need us to go upstairs and stay with you this morning while you work on Ingram?" Burgess, who stood beside the kitchen counter, downed the last drops of his second cup of coffee, then put the empty cup in the sink.

"Not unless Mr. Ingram refuses to cooperate," Mariah replied.

"You're not going to do that, are you, buddy boy?" Standing at the back of Jake's chair, Lester ruffled Jake's hair.

Jake snarled, then glanced over his shoulder and gave Les a warning glare.

"I plan to give Mr. Ingram an injection," Mariah said. "Burgess, perhaps you should accompany us upstairs to make sure he doesn't give me any trouble. Once the medicine takes effect, I should be able to handle things myself."

"What are you going to give him, some type of truth serum?" Les asked, his lopsided, yellow-toothed grin difficult to stomach so early in the morning.

"What type of medication I use on Mr. Ingram is none of your concern. You're here strictly to follow my orders and I'm ordering you to mind your own business."

"Humph!" Les glowered at Mariah, but he didn't respond verbally.

She looked at Burgess. "I'm going to set things up in the bedroom and I'd like for you to bring Mr. Ingram upstairs in a few minutes. I'll let you know when."

"Yes, ma'am." With a nod of his head, Burgess motioned for Les to leave the room, which he did immediately, if somewhat reluctantly. "I'm sorry Les is giving you a hard time, Dr. Brooks. He thinks he's a damn ladies' man."

"I appreciate your keeping him in line," Mariah said. "But I do plan to report his behavior to our superiors."

"I understand."

"These corn flakes could use a little something," Jake said.

Both Mariah and Burgess snapped around and glared at him.

"Maybe a banana or some blueberries or—"

"You're lucky you're getting breakfast," Mariah told him. "Some forms of therapy use deprivation as a tool. No sleep. No food. No privacy. I'm being very lenient with you, Jake. I expect you to appreciate my kindness."

Jake stared at her, puzzlement in his eyes, then suddenly he smiled. Damn the man. It was as if he could see right through her, as if he understood what motivated her, why she was treating him so coldly this morning. He might suspect that she was protecting herself from her unwanted attraction to him, and he'd be right. But he didn't know the half of it, had no idea why she couldn't allow either Burgess or Lester to think she was going easy on him. And with the Coalitions' two goons nearby all the time, she couldn't risk explaining herself fully to Jake because she didn't know how he'd react. For that they needed totally privacy, which meant she had to find a way to get Jake's bodyguards out of the house for a few hours.

"I'd like to speak to you privately," Mariah said to Burgess. "Would you mind stepping out into the hall for a few minutes."

"Les, get your ass back in here and keep an eye on Ingram," Burgess bellowed.

Les came running like an obedient dog. Burgess motioned to Mariah to walk into the hall, which she did. He followed right behind her.

"Yeah, what's up, Doc?" Realizing what he'd said. Burgess chuckled.

Mariah laughed, faking amusement. "If everything goes the way I think it will today, Mr. Ingram will be exhausted and I'll be putting him to bed early tonight." Mariah looked directly at Burgess, keeping her tone friendly yet commanding. "Unless something unexpected comes up, I don't see why you and Les shouldn't get out of the house for a few hours, maybe drive into town to the local bar. According to the weather forecast, they aren't predicting any snow for a couple of days, so this evening might be a good time to take a break, in case we get snowed in here later."

"We just might do that. Les is already antsy. Maybe if he finds him a woman tonight, he'll stop pestering you."

"Soothing the raging beast in Lester sounds like a good idea."

"Are you sure you'll be all right alone with Ingram?"

"I'm positive." She faked a wide smile. "I plan to give him a sedative this evening and it will knock him out for the night."

"Okay. You go on and get things ready. Then just let me know when you want me to bring Ingrain up to the bedroom."