She Who Dares, Wins (4 page)

K
ATIE HAD HER HANDS FULL
with Macon. Staring out the window of her hotel onto the busy London streets, she tried to gather her thoughts. She still couldn't believe he'd kept his identity from her. What a fool she'd been. If only she'd had a picture of him before that first meeting, things would have been so different. She could have beaten him at his own game—and missed out on one of the best nights of her life.

Part of her wanted to kill him, or at least seriously maim him for lying to her, but the other part wouldn't trade the sex for anything. She would never tell him so, but the way he'd stared at her as he made love to her and the way they'd connected was something she soon wouldn't forget. Katie took a deep breath.

But now was not the time to think about those incredible moments. The man was a client, with a rather serious case.

Katie had no doubt someone had tried to kill him. That he thought the threats were coincidences almost made her laugh. Moving to the desk, she sat down to go through the files the dean's office had gathered for
her. Flipping open the file with the police reports from the accident, she read through them.

The professor hadn't mentioned that the last accident had landed him in the hospital for two days. He'd sustained a concussion and minor lacerations to the face. But the doctors had been concerned about the head injury. He'd lost consciousness for more than thirty minutes and suffered a pretty good blow to the head.

She'd noticed a couple of small scars on his forehead and cheek. He'd healed quickly. Katie tasted blood in her mouth and realized she'd bitten down on her lip too hard.

You're making it personal. That's never a good thing. If you want to help this guy you have to separate the man from the amazing sex. Otherwise you're going to miss something and you're going to get him killed.

Katie cleared her throat and closed her eyes for a moment. If she wanted to help Mac, she had to stay objective. She couldn't do that if she was lusting after him all the time.

Tapping her right index finger, she again focused on the files from the dean. There was something there, something she wasn't seeing. She yawned and glanced at the clock. Only four hours until she had to meet the professor at the lab to escort him home. She'd given him explicit instructions to stay at work until she arrived. He'd laughed at her and wondered aloud how a tiny thing like her could protect him if there really was evil out to get him.

She'd smiled patiently and opened the laptop again. Typing in a URL, she'd brought up a site with training videos for the academy to show him how lethal she could be. There were several of them, and she'd pulled
up one of the advanced classes where she'd had to defend herself against four opponents. In a matter of seconds she had all four men, at least a foot taller than she was, on the mat.

“How is that possible?” the professor had whispered.

“Training,” she'd said confidently. “You don't work in my field without knowing how to take care of business. So when I tell you to stay put, I mean it. Understand?”

He'd nodded, and then grinned.

“What?” she'd asked him.

“I didn't think it was possible, but seeing that made you even sexier. That's seriously hot what you just did. You're like a ninja woman.”

She'd grunted and shut the laptop. The man was hopeless. Promising she'd be back at six to take him home, she'd left him in his office.

She had only four hours left. Four hours before facing the man who stoked her desire with a mere smile. Why did it have to be him? Any other man in the world, but no, it was Mac. And damned if she didn't feel for him more than she had any guy she'd ever met.

Four hours, and then she'd be on duty again until she hauled him back to the lab the next morning. She still felt jet-lagged. Her mind would be clearer if she rested for a short while. She had a glass of water and stuck the Do Not Disturb sign on the outer handle of the door. Two hours of sleep and she could go another twenty-four with no problem. She'd learned that at her former job, too—a police detective was always on call.

After stripping, she snuggled down under the sheets and did her best to clear her mind. It wasn't easy when
she remembered the last time she'd been in this bed it had been with Mac. The way he made her feel sent shivers down her spine.

The way he'd made her come so many times she lost count.

She pounded the mattress below her. “Damn you, Mac. Why did you have to complicate everything?”

 

M
AC HAD A PROBLEM
no equation would ever solve. He had it bad for Katie. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Images of their lovemaking the night before would pop into his head at the most inopportune times. In the middle of separating a strain of bacteria so he could study it under the microscope, he'd remembered how she'd laughed at the pub. That throaty, sexy sound made him instantly hard.

Then there was the way she'd eaten all her steak and salad, without a thought. Most of the women he'd dated ate only the salad, and half of that. For such a petite thing, she'd really enjoyed the food and the beer. He respected that in an odd way.

Scrubbing his face with his hands, he groaned. He had to get the woman out of his head and focus. Now was not a good time for him to be distracted. He'd made serious inroads with his research in the past six months and he was on the cusp of something big.

Katie was definitely a distraction of epic proportions. Three times after she'd left earlier in the day, he'd pulled up the videos to watch her fight. She was absolutely ruthless when it came to making a kill. The exact opposite of what he'd seen the night before when they'd been making love. She'd been nothing but hot sex and sensuality, from her sexy moans to the way she looked
in those stiletto boots. He had to make love to her again. His sanity depended on it.

Mac walked away from the microscope and paced. That's what he did when he had a problem. The movement often helped him to focus. The work had to come first. The dean expected him to present his first papers in the spring, and there was no time for any sort of delays.

But Katie filled his brain.

“What are you, some kind of stalker?” He continued his walk. “She slept with you. You lied. And now she's pissed off. She wouldn't touch you again ever, especially with her rule about clients. And have you noticed that you're talking to yourself out loud?”

Mac stopped and stared at the ceiling. This was nothing more than a schoolboy crush. He'd get over it. He had to. Everything he'd been working on the past few years depended on it. That was it. The best thing he could do would be to cooperate with her so she could see that this so-called case was nothing more than his propensity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then he could send her on her way and get back to work.

Yeah, right.

 

A
KNOCK AT THE DOOR
had Katie sitting straight up in bed wondering where she was. In half a second she remembered. London. The hotel. Mac. Jogging to the bathroom, she found the hotel robe and wrapped it around her naked body.

Someone knocked again.

“Just a minute,” she said. It had better be important, since the person had obviously ignored the Do
Not Disturb sign. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost four. Rising on her toes, she squinted so she could see through the peephole.

Growling, she opened the door.

“I thought I told you to stay put. What the hell are you doing here?”

Mac stood staring, his eyes moving down to the swell of her breasts and back to her face, trying to hide a smile.

“Get in here,” she said, yanking him into the hotel room. “We had a deal—I come get you at six and take you to your home. What's so difficult about that?”

“No need to be so cranky.” Mac moved to sit down on the sofa in the living room. “I didn't know you'd be napping. I thought you'd be running around doing detective stuff.”

“I was, but then I realized I had to get some rest so I could protect you tonight. Would you like to explain why you are here?”

“I had to see you.”

Katie frowned, wondering what had been so important that he'd risk his life to see her. “Is it about your case? Did you remember something?”

“The case? Oh, yeah. The dean stopped by. He wanted me to give you these.” He pulled a couple of files out of his backpack. “They're files about other programs that have been targeted at the university.”

“Thanks. So this is it? It couldn't wait until six?” Frustrated, she pulled the robe tighter around her. “I need you to follow the rules, Professor, so I can do my job. That means doing what I ask so that we can both be safe.”

“I took a cab straight here,” he said by way of expla
nation. “I was never alone. It picked me up at the door of the science building and brought me straight here.”

Katie looked to the ceiling, sighed and sat down again. “Anyone could have grabbed you on your way up here. The lobby at this hotel is crowded at four, because they have high tea, something the Brits seem to favor. I know this because when I checked in the desk clerk told me that I would need reservations, as the place was usually packed.

“There's the elevator, stairwell, any number of places someone could have been hiding, and you would never have seen them coming.”

She threw her hands up in frustration. “I can't help you if you don't take this seriously. I'm good at what I do, but I can't do my job if you don't cooperate. It's that simple.”

“I thought I was taking precautions by calling the cab. Normally I would have walked the twenty blocks or so. I don't see how someone could grab me in a room full of people or on a busy street.”

She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees, and then remembered she was wearing the robe, so she sat back up. “You were mugged on a busy street a little over a week ago.”

He shook his head. “That was kids acting tough. I gave them the few pounds I had and they took off.”

“One of them hit you from behind with a bottle—your second head injury in as many weeks. They also tried to take the backpack you had on your shoulder, which no doubt had your laptop, right?”

He nodded. “I'd done some work at the pub.”

“Right. Those kids were after more than your wallet. That was to keep you from catching on to what they
really wanted. If that couple hadn't come around the corner when they did, the kids might have run off with it. Do you understand? Someone wants your research. I think we're dealing with people who know you and this is personal.”

Something clicked in her brain. “That's it.” She walked over to the files she'd been looking at before. All the crimes against Mac had happened at the same time of day. At the desk she rummaged through the files again.

“Let me guess, you have a pretty solid routine. You get to the university at the same time every day, and you leave at the same time. Am I right?”

He stood. “Yes, why?”

“It's simple. They know your schedule. It's either someone who is watching you, which will make them easy for me to spot, or it's someone close to you.”

She couldn't help but smile. “I knew there was something I wasn't seeing earlier. If they were terrorists, they wouldn't be playing games. We'd either be talking about ransom or requesting your body back for the family.”

“Don't pull any punches on my account.” Mac's voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking out loud. I do that when I'm working a case. I apologize if I've frightened you.”

“Not at all,” Mac said. “I'm glad you've been able to put the dean's crazy ideas about terrorists to rest.”

“No, he isn't crazy. Someone does want to cause you bodily harm. The dean is absolutely correct about that. But it isn't an outward threat.”

Mac shook his head. “But none of this makes any sense. My friends don't have any reason to cause me harm. Most of them don't even know what I do. My
colleagues at the university are professionals who have their own concerns. We are very pleasant with one another.”

“Pleasant is an easy way to hide mercenary and evil,” Katie said, her hands going to her hips. Her mind was on the case, but it didn't keep her from noticing the way his sweater hid his gorgeous abs, or the slight bulge in his pants her fingers ached to touch.

“The way I see it, someone is either jealous or desperately wants your attention. My guess right now is both. They ran you off the road, but you could have been more seriously injured had you been going any faster. The air bags most likely saved your life. We aren't dealing with a pleasant person. Trust me on this.”

Mac's eyebrows drew together and she could tell he was upset. “Hell, I don't know what to think anymore.”

“You said the files weren't the only reason you left early today. Why did you show up here?” she repeated.

Mac moved closer and reached for her hand.

Arousal pooled in her belly.

“I need you.”

“W
HOA,
P
ROFESSOR.”
Katie stepped around Mac so she stood in the middle of the suite's living room. “That's not going to happen. I made it clear earlier this morning what happened last night was a mistake. I won't go so far as to say I regret it. The sex was great, and I never lie. But I have a reputation for being professional, and I'm not about to risk that because of you.”

She was a tough one, his Katie. Yes, he'd already begun to think of her as his. He knew it was too soon, but he couldn't help himself. “So you're saying you don't regret it but it was a mistake. That's not giving me mixed signals at all.”

Katie's arms flew around as she talked, revealing the curve of her breasts. Mac remembered how she'd tasted and how he'd teased her nipples into taut peaks.

“Professor, don't twist my words. It serves you no purpose. If we're going to move forward with your case we have to put last night behind us. It's the only way this is going to work.”

Mac stepped closer. He craved the woman. She smelled of exotic flowers. “What is that perfume?”

Eyes widening in surprise, she looked at him as if she was trying to figure him out. That's when Mac realized his way in. She didn't respond well to his directness, even though she valued the truth above all else. Apart from last night, subterfuge wasn't something he usually enjoyed when it came to women. Katie was a special case, a variable he'd never come across before, and she didn't fit any equation he'd ever worked.

It was necessary to keep her on her toes and off guard. That he could do.

“It's magnolia,” she said about the perfume.

Mac turned away from her and stared out the window. “I like it. I might pick up some for my sister. I'll have to find out where you get it.”

The clouds had rolled in and the snow was so thick he could see nothing but white. He glanced down at his watch. It was too early for dinner. “I hear there's a terrific spa and gym here,” he said. “I haven't been on a run in weeks. Would you like to join me?”

He turned back in time to see her eyebrows shoot up in shock. Whatever she'd expected it wasn't that. “I carry my clothes with me just in case I can work one in. I'll go change.” Picking up his bag, he strode to the bedroom he knew she wasn't using. Yes, he would keep her on her toes, and she'd land right back in his arms.

 

K
ATIE HIT HER STRIDE
around mile two on the treadmill. She had to admit the professor could hold his own. It was obvious from the lean muscles in his legs and his very unprofessor-like upper arms that he didn't spend all his time in the lab. His tight ass under those running shorts made her think nasty wonderful things. Things like curling her fingers around his shaft as she guided him into
her. Unfortunately, she could look all she wanted but there was no more touching allowed.

She didn't know what kind of game he was playing, but he was up to something. When he'd said he wanted to sleep with her, her traitorous body had gone hot with need. Obviously she had the same kind of effect on him that he had on her. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the idea gave her a small amount of satisfaction.

Katie tried to focus on her breathing. This workout hadn't been the worst idea in the world. She usually spent an hour and a half a day in the gym or running. When she didn't work out, her body and mind felt sluggish. The run would help her stay alert on the job. It was also helping to get rid of some of the sexual tension that had crept up her shoulders when the professor was near.

Why did she have to lust after the one guy she couldn't have?

The man orgasmed you to Shangri-la and that's hard to forget.

Damn, Katie. Focus.

She chanced a glance to her left. The professor had hit mile three and had barely broken a sweat. Sensing she was looking at him, he turned his head and she became very interested in whatever was happening on the television.

One of the attendants walked up to her treadmill. “Excuse me, Ms. McClure. There's a call for you. Would you like to take it here? Or we have a private room to the left.”

Katie slowed down. Who would be calling her here? She took the phone from him.

“Hello?”

“Mom, I've got her.”

“Daniel?”

It was her brother. She could hear him talking to their mother before he could answer.

“Young lady, why aren't you answering your phone? I've been calling you for two days.”

Katie sighed. Would she ever really get away from these people? “Hi, Mom, so nice of you to call.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

“I'm out of the country on business, and I had a problem with my phone.”

“And you couldn't call from another phone to let me know you arrived safely? Dear God, Katie, it was your first trip out of the country. Until you moved down south—goodness, I'll never know why—you'd never been out of the Bronx. Now you're Miss High and Mighty traveling the world, can't be bothered to call her mother.”

“Ma, it isn't like that. I was—” She glanced over to find Mac watching her with amusement. Great, and she'd been lecturing him about how professional she was. Katie stopped the treadmill and walked around the corner. She wanted to keep an eye on the professor, since it was her job, but he didn't need to hear this particular conversation.

“Mom, you have to understand that when I'm working like this, I won't always have access to the phone. How did you find me here?”

“Why are you so out of breath? Were you chasing someone?” Her mother ignored the question. Knowing her family, they'd probably called the office when they
couldn't get in touch with her. They were persistent if nothing else.

“No, I'm in the gym.” As soon as she said it, she knew she'd made a mistake. She hit herself on the forehead with the phone, still able to hear her mother's rant.

“Oh, you have time to work out, but you can't let me know your plane didn't crash or that you hadn't been mugged.”

“Mom, I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself. And honestly, the day a mugger gets the best of me—well, hell, he deserves my money.”

Her mother sighed loudly on the other end. “Uncle Walter is sick again. Danny's taking him down to see that new young Dr. Ross. I want you to meet him when you come visit us.”

The tongue-lashing was over and they'd moved on. She'd have to hear about everyone in the neighborhood. That part she really didn't mind so much. She missed her friends, the bar and, yes, even her family. Sometimes. This was not one of those times.

Every conversation she had with her mother these days began with a complaint about Katie leaving the family, and then it moved on to the young men she needed to meet. And it always finished with a good dose of if-you-never-meet-a-man-I'll-never-have-grandchildren guilt. Her mother was a good old-fashioned Italian woman and had it in her head that if Katie could meet a nice young man in the Bronx, she'd want to come home. Her dad, who had given her the Irish surname McClure, supported her decision to follow her career.

There was no way her mother would ever understand. Being the only girl in the McClure family came with the burden of procreation. Her brothers could run around
and date as many women as they liked without getting serious and no on ever said a word. Katie didn't like the double standard.

Peeking around the corner, she checked on Mac, who was continuing his run. Hell, she had met a man. One who turned her inside out and made her body ache with need for him.

She'd certainly never met anyone like Mac in the Bronx. Katie loved the place, but she had no desire to return. Her life in Texas was far from perfect, but it was her own. Well, except for these daily phone calls, which even a dead phone couldn't keep away.

“If you work all the time, you're never going to meet a nice boy—Katie, are you listening to me?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Now, like I was telling you…”

The professor had finished his workout on the treadmill and moved to the weights. She watched as he lifted the weights over his head, the muscles so strong. Tensing, taut and powerful.

Her mother had paused, and Katie realized she hadn't been listening. “Uh-huh,” she said, hoping that would suffice.

Her mother's prattling went on, but at the mention of the pub she paid attention again. “Your GJ threatened to sell the pub if your dad didn't start taking care of himself.”

“Wait, what? What happened to Pops?” She and her father didn't always see eye to eye on the choices Katie made in her life, but they loved each other. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for the man. She'd been Daddy's little girl, until she turned sixteen and decided she had a mind of her own.

“That's what I was telling you. He had a small episode and the doctors are worried about his heart. That's how we met that cute young Italian doctor I want you to meet. That man will have beautiful children, I tell you.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Mom, focus. What did they say about Pops's heart? Why didn't you say that in the beginning?”

“Angina. Said he has to cut the fat out of his diet. The doctor gave me a list of the foods he can eat, and I'm trying to figure out how to make his favorites healthier. It's not easy, mind you. Using lean turkey instead of sausage and beef to make lasagna is unnatural, but I'm doing my best.”

Her dad was sick. Katie's big fear when she took the job in Texas was that as soon as she moved away something bad would happen to someone in her family. If GJ was upset, that meant Pops hadn't slowed down his schedule at the pub. He had plenty of help, but he was a man who liked to do things himself. He never leaned on anyone, and he was the strongest man she'd ever met—well, besides GJ. They were cut from the same mold, those two.

“Is he there?”

“Your father's resting. GJ insisted between one and four every day your father take a siesta. Of course it leaves me with three hours of walking around on eggshells while he sleeps. Don't know how I'm supposed to cook without clanking pans around.”

Katie took a deep breath. “Maybe you could do some of the cooking down in the pub kitchen,” she offered. “You always liked those ovens better anyway.”

“Good idea, Katie girl.”

Finally, some praise.

The professor had finished his workout and was headed toward her.

“Mom, I've got to go. I have a meeting in a half hour and I need to get a shower.”

“Fine,” her mother huffed. “But you call me or text Danny when you get your phone fixed so I know you're okay.”

“I promise. Give my love to everyone.”

She hit the off button on the hotel phone.

“Is everything okay?” The professor's T-shirt clung to those hard ab muscles she'd explored the night before. He had that sexy, earthy smell of a man who had just done something physical. “You looked worried for a moment.”

“Fine. My mom was concerned because she couldn't get in touch with me, and my pop had some kind of angina attack.”

“Is he doing okay?”

Katie pursed her lips. “The doctors want him to change his diet, which is going to be difficult with the way my mom cooks. She's hard-core Italian, but it sounds like she's adjusting. I can't believe she found me here.”

“No matter how far we go, we can never get away from our moms. Mine calls every three days like clockwork. She worries I'm not eating right and sends a giant box of food each month, most of which I end up leaving in the faculty lounge at school because I could never eat it all.”

“So, what's next on the agenda?” She reached for a towel from the basket and wrapped it around her neck.
“Do you need to get back to the lab, since you left early?”

“Dinner. I don't know about you, but after that workout I'm starving.”

Katie could most definitely eat. She'd skipped lunch and had only half a muffin with Mac in the cafeteria earlier in the day.

“I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of ordering in room service.” He glanced at his watch. “We have about an hour before it arrives, just enough time to get cleaned up.”

The man was just full of surprises.

“When did you do that?”

“While you were changing to come downstairs,” he answered.

Katie's eyebrow rose. Still, it would be easier to keep an eye on him in her room, and she did have that huge dining area in the suite. There was no harm in sharing a meal in her room, and it was safer than a restaurant, where she'd constantly have to search for suspicious behavior.

“Fine.”

He gave her a wicked smile.

Yes, the man was most definitely dangerous.