Her Master Defender (The Masters Men Series) (15 page)

She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “I know. He doesn’t even chase squirrels. But put a butterfly in his line of sight and he’s off.”

The grin her comment brought to his face, didn’t look forced as much as too much effort as he walked by her to hang his coat and hat up by the garage door. He looked tired. He walked tired. It seemed even Kismet noticed because he didn’t tear back down the hallway. Instead, he padded slowly around Dos. She watched the dog look back, then walk to the fireplace and lay down. When she returned her attention to Dos, he was walking toward her rubbing the back of his neck.

“Come sit down,” she said, motioning toward the kitchen table.

“Why?” he asked, looking at her with hooded eyes.

“Good heavens, are you suspicious of everyone? I just want to massage your head and neck before that headache gets out of control.” They were safe in his cabin, so the pictures could wait. She didn’t want him getting another migraine because of her.

“Who said I have a headache?” he asked, continuing toward his leather chair.

She hurried over before he could reach it. Working behind the chair would be too hard. Wrapping her hand around his bicep she steered him where she wanted him.

“You did by rubbing your neck and squinting at every change of light in here. Come on.”

He didn’t let her get far. Geez the man was stubborn. “What?” she asked when she couldn’t budge him further.

“I have work to do. You have pictures to develop.”

“Both can wait. It’s Saturday night not to mention after eight. You’re exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” he said, taking a step. “I don’t like massages, sorry.”

Copper moved to stand directly in front of him. She reached up with both hands and stroked his face. “You didn’t seem to mind this morning.”

Moving her fingers slowly back over his cheekbones she made her way to his temples. Applying gentle pressure she moved them in circular motions.

“I was incapacitated at the time.”

His eyes had already started to lose some of their intensity. “And the massage helped,” she said.

He didn’t answer, but his eyes closed and he didn’t move away.

Copper took a couple of slow steps toward him causing him to move closer to the kitchen chair. When it hit the back of his legs he opened his eyes to slits.

“Five minutes,” he said. “And just the head and neck.”

“Okay,” she agreed, fully planning on at least fifteen and taking care of the knots in his shoulders.

Once he was sitting down, she stood close behind his chair and returned to work. Her fingers massaged his entire skull. In her profession you got to know heads well, and he had a great one. She grinned thinking he probably looked as handsome with a horseshoe high and tight as he did with his gorgeous hot fudge waves covering it now.

Moving to his neck she couldn’t believe his head wasn’t splitting there was so much tension. She worked on a particularly tough knot for several minutes. When it finally released she heard a distinct moan from his throat. Copper bit her tongue rather than say I told you so.

She spent another couple of minutes on the back of his neck then worked her way up to his jaw line. Tilting his head back she was startled to find his eyes open.

“Hi,” she said, not knowing why. It just felt like she was seeing a different man than before.

His gaze was clear as he looked up at her. She felt herself being pulled into the warmth of his eyes. Liquid heat built low inside her belly. The intensity of his gaze told her he knew it. She stopped massaging his face and began stroking it. Dipping her head she touched her lips to his.

Expecting to be rebuked she was surprised by his reciprocating movement. The warmth of his lips was too tempting, and she pressed her advantage. He reached up, cupping her arm. She stepped around to the side of the chair. When he pulled her onto his lap she was startled. When he deepened the kiss she was lost.

Dos knew he shouldn’t. He knew nothing good would come of it. But it had been so damned long since he’d allowed himself anything. And God, she tasted like life itself.

Slipping a hand into her silken hair, he pressed her closer deepening the kiss. Her kiss made him feel alive. Her hands on his chest had all kinds of sensations firing through his body. Breaking the kiss, he gently pulled on her hair so her head tipped back allowing him access to her neck.

He kissed his way down the soft skin to the pulse at her collar bone. It raced much like his. Nipping her skin there, he smiled as his name whispered from her lips. Working his way back up her throat he took her mouth again. Her response was more than he ever hoped for, encouraging him to continue, even go further. That thought brought him crashing back to his senses. What was he thinking? Just kissing her could be putting her at risk of contracting the virus, right?

Despite that fear, he pulled back slowly, reluctant to end his one minute of heaven. He also didn’t want her to think he regretted any of it. He did, but only because of his issues and he didn’t want that to embarrass her. So, he wrapped both arms around her and held  her close giving them both time to recover from their racing hearts.

She didn’t question his retreat. Instead she too wrapped her arms around him resting her head on his shoulder. She snuggled into a more comfortable position and a sigh breathed over his skin. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so at peace. Her complete trust and acceptance of both the start and the end of the time awed him.

“I think that was more than five minutes,” he said smiling against her hair.

“Mmmm,” she murmured against his neck. She kissed it then tilted her head back and met his gaze. “I should probably be embarrassed.”

Dos tried to take in every nuance of her face knowing he could never risk getting this close again. “Not on my account.”

She smiled up at him. Damn but she had a gorgeous smile.

“Good, because I’m not.”

“Then we’re in agreement. But,” he placed a quick kiss on her too tempting lips before lifting her off his lap. He stood close, his wanting to touch her again in conflict with the fact he needed to put distance between them. “We both have things we need to do.”

“I know what I want to do,” she said, running a hand up the front of his shirt.

If he were ever going to let himself give into temptation, this would be the time. But he couldn’t. How to tell her that without sounding like a jerk, or telling her the truth, was a good question.

“That’s not a good idea.” Very good, Dos. Did you think that one up all on your own?

“Because of my father?”

She’s giving you an out. Take it.

Shaking his head he turned to walk away. His cell phone rang at the same time she touched his back. One touch froze him in place. She deserved better than he was giving her, and that one gentle touch told him so. He should at least tell her something, but what? The cell phone rang again pulling him out of the fantasy he had tried to disappear into and back to reality.

“Masters.”

“Secure line,” the Colonel answered then disconnected.

“Shit.” Every ounce of comfort and relief Copper had given him disappeared.

“What’s wrong?” Copper asked, following him to the door of his office.

“I need a secure line.” He punched in the code and stepped into the muted light of the room walking straight to the phone there.

“Wow.”

Dos whipped around. Shit, he hadn’t thought to secure the door. Having dialed the Colonel’s number already he didn’t dare disconnect to get her out of the room. For the Colonel to have been that abrupt it must be important.

“Sir?” he said, still watching Copper survey his office.

“The research lab has been destroyed.”

“Drs. Scheminger and Martin?” Only one reason existed for information about the research lab to be important to him.

“Scheminger’s dead. Martin’s still unaccounted for.”

Dos squeezed his eyes shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose. All they had been trying to do was help him. “Family?”

“We’ve got Scheminger’s wife and kids in protective custody for now. Martin is a bachelor with no extended family.”

Kids didn’t have a father because of him. He should have just given up and died. If he hadn’t come back none of this would have happened. And his own family would have moved on by now.

Scrubbing a hand over his face Dos pushed the self-pity aside. “Whatever they want for the doctor’s funeral charge to me. Whatever his wife and kids want or need charge to--"

“Dos we’ll take care of it.”

“No! It’s my fault. I’ll take care of it.”

He felt Copper’s gaze burn in his direction, but he couldn’t meet it. She wasn’t tarnished by this mess yet, he wanted her to stay that way.

“It’s not--"

“The hell it’s not. They weren’t working on anything else. The real question is why go after the lab and the scientists? How did they even know about them? And why not just come after me? He wants me back if for no other reason than I got away.”

“True, men like him don’t take failure well,” the Colonel agreed. “How he found out about them, I don’t know but plan to find out. As to the other questions, I don’t have any answers. I do, however, have some pictures I emailed to you.”

Dos pressed a button on the monitor. He knocked down several sites he’d been doing research on. The amount of information on supposedly secret drug rings was amazing. Bringing up his mailbox he clicked on the most recent one from the Colonel.

“Opening it now. What are the pictures of?” he asked while they downloaded.

“I told you Cardone had been spotted in the U.S.”

“Yeah.” It was one of the reasons Dos had been even more on guard recently.

“I’ve kept him under surveillance and these are the first photos of people he’s met with. For the most part he has kept to business as usual. Big drug dealers, money launderers, etc. A few of them I don’t have background on yet.”

Dos flipped through the images scanning each one carefully. He was so intent on them he forgot about Copper.

“That’s him.”

Dos’ heart stopped. If she recognized someone, they were in trouble. Of course, the Colonel would probably kill him for allowing her to see the information anyway.

“Who?” Dos asked her, while the Colonel ranted in his ear.

“Go back one. There, that’s the creepy guy from the shelter benefit. It’s the same beard and the same emblem on his cap.”

The headache that had been just an inkling earlier gained strength as he ground his teeth together. The guy was here. Not only here, he was after Copper now. Dos wondered again why the hell he hadn’t just let the bastards kill him.

“Do you have the images on screen, sir?” he rubbed his neck while waiting until the Colonel confirmed. “The third one in, the guy in the cap talking to Cardone is in Colorado.”

Dos leaned closer to the screen. “He looks familiar, but I can’t place him.”

“Let me check on the time,” the Colonel said, and Dos heard papers being shuffled. “I’m sure you saw a lot of Cardone’s men while you were his prisoner.”

“True, but I don’t think that’s it. He doesn’t look like any of Cardone’s goons. Even the way he’s standing, almost confronting Cardone. None of his regular men would dare,” Dos said.

“This one was taken two days ago. Some damned ice storm screwed up the internet in the south. That’s probably why it took so long for me to get it.”

With the timing he wasn’t sure it was the same guy. He turned to Copper. “Are you certain this is the guy?”

She glared at him. “Yes, I’m sure. He got too close for me not to recognize him.”

Looking back at the monitor he concentrated on the background of the photo. “It looks as if they’re in an airport. I suppose if he was talking to Cardone before catching a flight here, it’s possible. Anyway, we think he bumped into Copper at a benefit the other night where she was taking pictures. I  was thinking maybe she got a picture of him and he’s trying to get it back. He’s probably the one behind the break-ins on her properties.”

“I thought you stopped them before they got in the house.”

Shit, he’d thought Copper told him about the house. “Yes, sir. But they must have gone back later.”

Glancing up at her from his chair she shrugged. Of course she did. The Colonel wasn’t going to break her eardrums when he blew up on the other end of the line.

“But she’s okay. She’s still staying with you?”

The man’s confidence in him was humbling, and horribly misplaced. Had he forgotten about Dos’ dead teammates? “Yes, and that makes her more of a target. Before your daughter is added to the list of casualties, you’d better find someone better to protect her.”

“There isn’t anyone better,” the Colonel said.

“Are you willing to risk her life on that?” he asked, standing as if the Colonel could see him and would be intimidated. Dos wanted to crawl through the line and strangle the man. His free hand fisted in frustration. “Damn it, man she’s . . . aughhh, not--"

Copper stepped to the side as Dos dropped the phone. He was pulling something from his pocket as he fell back into the chair. “Let me help,” she said when he had trouble manipulating the container.