She Who Dares, Wins (6 page)

M
AC HAD A BIG PROBLEM.
Making love to Katie hadn't quenched his thirst a bit. He was inside her so spent he wasn't sure he could stand another moment. Yet he wanted her again—and again. What was wrong with him?

“I don't think I can move,” Katie said softly.

The woman was everything. He didn't want to admit that to himself, but she was. Everything he didn't know he wanted.

Scooping her up, he gently carried her to the bedroom.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Am I out of your system?”

He drew his head back. “What?” Mac placed her on the bed. She couldn't have known what he was thinking. Then again, the woman was always full of surprises.

“I'm a good detective—we figure these things out. I wanted to know if it worked.” She studied him with that intense gaze of hers.

“No. The experiment didn't go as I expected. I'm afraid we call that a null hypothesis with a type-two
error.” He sat next to her on the bed, but he didn't miss the sly smile that slid across her face.

“How about you? Did you get me out of your system, Katie?” Part of him wondered if she'd say yes out of spite, but he knew how her body responded to his touch. What they had together was far beyond anything he had ever experienced. It was as if their bodies came alive at the connection—atoms knocking against one another with incredible force.

“I always tell the truth, Mac. You know that.”

He nodded.

“No.” She took a deep breath. “No, you are still very much in my system. I think we should try your experiment again. Maybe it's one of those false positives or something.”

“Or something.” Mac grinned at her. “So you want to try it again?”

“Yes, but I need some of that wine we had with dinner. I'm thirsty.” Her hand touched his cheek.

This woman was dangerous to his sanity. Making love to her again took no thought at all. Being with her was the most important thing to him now, and that scared the hell out of him.

He jumped up.

Coward.
Mac was more than happy to oblige her desire for more lovemaking, but he needed a moment. One for his body to recover, though as soon as she'd said
again,
his cock had begun to harden.

“Wine it is,” he said as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

Mac stopped by the bathroom to clean up. Staring at himself in the mirror, he frowned. He'd known this woman for less than twenty-four hours, and he was
already attached. The man who never held on tight to anyone couldn't imagine letting this woman go. But he would have to, eventually. The only reason she was here was to protect him.

He thought about the way she'd moaned when he'd pounded her so hard he thought he'd break her, and she'd wanted more. His gut tightened at the thought of her skin under his hands, so soft and supple.

He was rock hard.

What have I done?

Mac gathered their glasses and the bottle of wine they'd had at dinner. As an afterthought, he picked up the chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Yes, she was here for a short time. They might as well have fun while they could. Once she solved this case, she'd leave and that would be the end of it. They'd both move on with their lives. Their experiment would be over.

Mac stood at the doorway and glanced at Katie's backside as she climbed into bed. Though there was absolutely no reason they couldn't continue pleasuring one another while she was here protecting him. As if his cock weren't hard enough already, the sight of her naked propelled him into the room.

No, their little experiment was far from over.

 

B
UCKINGHAM
P
ALACE
was more grand than Katie had ever expected. She watched as the guard changed. Wrapping her arm around Mac's, she gave him a squeeze. The heavy snow had virtually shut down the city, so he didn't have to teach at the university. Most of the restaurants and pubs were open, but the museums and tourist places
were closed. Claiming cabin fever, Mac had convinced her to get out of the hotel.

After trying to contact all the people on her list to see if she could meet with them, she'd given up on work. She hadn't reached a single person, so she'd left voice-mail messages all around London. She would never admit it to Mac, but she had cabin fever, too. She didn't like to sit still in one place too long.

Katie worried about his safety in public, but Mac told her he didn't mind being bait. If his stalker was stupid enough to go out in that weather, Mac was certain Katie would spot him. It had taken an hour and a half of cajoling, but she'd eventually given in.

“I can't believe you talked me into this, but I'm grateful,” she said, watching the pomp and circumstance before her. Katie's mom had always been fascinated by anything to do with the royal family, so she took pictures to send.

“If I'm going to be bait, at least we can have some fun.” Mac kissed the top of her head.

Katie wished he wouldn't joke like that. The man didn't take the threat against him seriously. The only reason she'd finally allowed the outing was that Mac had been right about the weather. The snow still fell at a steady pace and was three feet high in places. Not many people were out and about, and it was easy for her to keep an eye on suspicious behavior.

They'd taken the subway, or the tube as they called it here, to each of their destinations. So far they'd seen Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square. They'd even visited famous Beatles landmarks. That would please her father to no end. He was a huge Beatles fan—the back wall of the pub was loaded with memorabilia.

Mac's phone beeped. “We're in luck.”

“Why?” Katie had no idea what his phone beeping meant.

“It's a surprise,” Mac said as he took her hand. “Come on.”

Katie followed him back to the tube. In the subway car they were alone, and he stole a kiss.

“Except for the last two nights, this is the most fun I've had since I came to London,” Mac said against her lips.

“It's the most fun I've had in years,” Katie admitted. For so long it had been nothing but the job. During her childhood she'd learned doing a good job gave a person a sense of accomplishment. Her dad would come home bone tired from his patrol, and she'd ask why he did it.

“I'm making a difference, cupcake. Daddy's helping people and making the world a better place for you.”

While Katie's friend and favorite psychologist, Makala, would argue that she'd had no other choice than going into police work, Katie disagreed. Yes, she'd been born into a family of cops, but she'd never let them define her. Her goal was to be the first one in the family to graduate from college. She beat both of her older brothers in that respect. They finished their degrees on the job, but she'd whizzed through school.

Then one day when GJ made an offhand comment that with her quick mind and eye for detail she'd make a great police detective, the idea stuck with her. That was her next goal and she worked hard to achieve it, surprising everyone, not least of all herself.

“Hey.” Mac put his finger under her chin. “I lost you.”

She smiled at him. “I was trying to think of the last time I had fun like this, and I honestly can't remember. Sad, isn't it?”

“I have a hard time believing a beautiful woman like you isn't whisked off on fancy dates all the time.” He had an incredulous look on his face.

Katie barked out a laugh and patted his knee. “You are a funny one, Mac.”

“I meant it. I've been jealous the last forty-eight hours of every man who has had a chance to kiss you.”

Katie's heart sped up. “That might be the sweetest thing I've heard, but you're still funny. Mac, I hardly ever date, and it almost never gets to the kissing part. I don't know if they're intimidated by what I do, or if I come across as too tough, but I seldom go on second dates.”

“Now you're messing with me.” Mac sat back and crossed his arms against his chest.

“I'm dead serious. In high school I dated Tommy Klein for three days and he kissed my cheek. Sister Clery caught us holding hands, and we had detention for three weeks. He wouldn't speak to me after that.”

“Well, he was a dumb kid.”

She'd eventually put Tommy behind bars for armed robbery, so she couldn't disagree about the dumb part.

“What about college?”

She shook her head. “I studied all the time, and worked at the bar to help pay for school. There wasn't time. Then on the job, it was the same thing. I was on call all the time. Every single time I went on a date, I'd get called in. Guys don't like that. They'd never go out with me again. There was one guy I thought might be the one, but turned out he was a lying scumbag, who
was more interested in how many women he could sleep with in a night. I found I was part of a long list.”

“Well, then they're all idiots.” Mac tugged gently on her hair. “I consider myself lucky, then, because you saved all those kisses for me.”

Katie was about to lean in for another one of those delicious pecks when the subway car lurched to a stop.

Mac helped her up and they came out near the Thames. She didn't think it possible, but it was even colder here. The snow had continued to fall, and so had the temperature.

They half trotted to an enormous building near a bridge.

“This is London Bridge Tower,” said Mac. “It's one of the tallest buildings in London and has spectacular views.”

“Mr. Douglas?” A security guard at the door, who let them in, greeted them.

“Yes,” Mac said.

“May I please see your identification, sir? You, too, miss.” The elderly man smiled at them. Katie had left her bag at the hotel, but she'd slipped a small wallet into her jeans pocket.

Mac helped her take off her long wool coat so she could reach into her back pocket.

Once he'd checked their IDs he led them to the elevator. Stepping inside, he punched in a code.

“When you're ready to come downstairs, call from the phone next to the elevator wall and I'll come get you.”

“Okay,” Mac said. “Thanks.”

They rode up for what seemed like several minutes.

“Where are we going?”

“A friend of mine has one of the first offices that went in here, and he arranged for us to visit.”

“Oh.” Katie had to admit she was disappointed. She enjoyed their time alone, and wasn't quite ready to share Mac with anyone else.

“What's wrong?” He must have noticed the worry on her face.

“Nothing. I'm excited to meet your friend.”

Mac laughed. “Uh, no. The point of today is us spending time alone together. He's not here, and he let his staff have the day off. We have the place to ourselves.”

Katie still didn't understand why this office was so important—until the doors opened. There was nothing blocking the view from the huge expanse of windows, and a snowy London made a picture-perfect postcard.

“Oh my,” she said, her hand flying to her mouth.

Mac hugged her to him.

“Now I see why you wanted to come up here.”

“That's not the only reason.” He turned her body away from the windows to show her the office. There were huge video screens and toys everywhere. Giant robots, life-size ones, loomed like soldiers all around. There were slides, swings and a mass array of electronic toys and gadgets.

“What is this place?”

“The Kaba Toy Company,” he said. “My friend Hunter inherited it from his dad and has turned it from a mom-and-pop shop, which was magical and still exists in Knightsbridge, into a multibillion-dollar corporation. They design toys for all ages as well as video games. It's a wonderland for a kid like me who didn't have a lot of toys growing up.”

“Why?” She took his hand and squeezed.

“My parents weren't big on that sort of thing. If it wasn't educational in some way my parents didn't buy it. I had to hide my comic-book collection from them for years.”

“Comic books?” She laughed. “You really are a geek.”

“Hey.” He gently chucked her chin.

She winked at him. “I'm kidding. I'm a fan of Batman myself. My brothers made sure I was well initiated into that world.”

“Hmm. Batman? That says a lot about you.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, I don't know. Caped crusader keeping the world safe—sound familiar?”

“I don't own a cape,” she said quickly.

He grinned. “Come on, let's see what kind of trouble we can get into.”

He guided her through a maze of desks to a huge glassed-in room with one desk and tons of toys. “This is his office,” Mac said as he pulled her into the room. She noticed the center of the room spiraled down to a second floor below. There was a twirling ramp, painted in black-and-white checks that made her dizzy when she looked at it too long.

“Have you ever ridden a Segway?” The contraption was like a motorized scooter, only you stood instead of sitting.

Katie shook her head.

Mac climbed onto one of four machines against the wall. “It moves with your body. Here, climb on—this one holds two.”

She did as he asked and he pitched forward. She
would have jumped off, but he held on to her and they headed down the ramp to the other floor.

Katie couldn't help but laugh—it was like a wild carnival ride. She couldn't stop giggling.

“This is a giant playroom for grown-ups, isn't it?”

Mac helped her off the machine. “Well, technically it's for kids, but grown-ups are welcome. They do testing in some of the rooms just off here, where children get to try out the new inventions. But for today, it's all ours. It's time to play.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I know what I'm going to do to you in the bouncy balls.”

Katie couldn't wait. She took off on a dead run and landed smack in the middle of the balls.