The Agent Next Door (14 page)

He broke the kiss and looked down at her, his
gaze inscrutable. But the ferocity of his kiss said everything his
words didn’t. He had feelings for her too. And not just because she
happened to be under his protection.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Because I…you saved us. Thank you.”

The kiss would have to do for now. A
blood-soaked patch of land wasn’t the best place to make heart-felt
declarations of love. He’d only think that she was hysterical. And
who knew, maybe she was. She certainly felt a little unglued.

Maybe it would be better if she waited. Just
a little. Just until they got back home. Then she could be certain
too.

“I told you I would,” John said. He took a
step back. “I’m sorry, Erin. I have to make a phone call.”

Of course. They weren’t out of the woods yet.
Literally.

John's car was shot to hell. And, even if
they could somehow manage to drive out of the orchard, they
couldn't just leave a pile of dead bodies behind.

Erin nodded and wrapped her arms around her
body as he pulled out his phone. Maybe it was shock, or the
adrenaline leaving her body, or the loss of John’s heat pressed up
against hers, but she was suddenly freezing.

John reached behind her and tossed a faded
brown leather jacket in her lap. She slipped his jacket over her
arms and wrapped the rest over her chest. She closed her eyes and
let her head fall back against the headrest, taking comfort in his
scent clinging to the jacket. Erin listened as he told whoever he
was talking to their location. A moment later he was silent
again.

When Erin opened her eyes, the man she’d
kissed a minute ago was gone. Back was the cold, professional John.
He stayed outside the car, his vigilance never slipping, not for a
second. Not a half an hour later when they heard the sirens in the
distance, or when various authorities began to arrive. Some in
uniforms, some in suits. All of them walking and talking in the
same efficient manner as John. The only one that she recognized was
Ty. He nodded to her but kept his distance.

So did everyone else. It was like they had
been warned not to bother her. To not even go near her.

John was still protecting her, she
realized.

One part of her wanted to tell him that he
didn’t have to protect her. She wasn't fragile. The other part
wanted to shower him with thanks.

And she would, just as soon as they got
home.

Chapter 10

Erin’s eyes opened as the FBI sedan she was
riding in pulled to a stop on Shannon Court. She lifted her head
from John’s shoulder, noticing a tiny wet spot on his shirt where
her mouth had been.

She was more than a little surprised that
she’d managed to drift off to sleep at all, especially deep enough
to drool. At least it had been John riding in the back seat with
her. That was embarrassing enough. She couldn’t imagine how she’d
feel if it had been some strange agent next to her…or worse,
Ty.

Not that John would have allowed anyone else
in the back seat with her. He’d insisted Ty take shotgun while one
of his agents took the wheel for the long drive back home. She’d
been rattled by tonight’s events, but the moment John had wrapped
his arm around her shoulder and tucked her body next to his, Erin’s
stress melted away. As far as she knew, John and Ty had talked the
whole way home, but somewhere outside of Turlock their voices had
transformed into a soothing drone that only lulled her deeper.

Erin glanced at the dashboard clock. It was a
little past two o’clock in the morning.

“We’re here,” John whispered in her ear, and
Erin sat up straight. A moment later, Ty opened her door. She
thanked him and stepped out. Three more identical black cars pulled
into the court behind them.

It appeared that after tonight they’d moved
past subtlety. Now it was time to send a different message. Kallus
might be strong, but the FBI was stronger. For the first time in
her life, Erin took a measure of comfort in the show of government
authority.

“My agents are going to do a sweep to make
sure the house is clear before we leave for the night,” Ty said as
they stepped into the hallway.

Erin nodded, and pulled John’s jacket
tighter. What was a couple more minutes? The truth was, now that
she was awake, she was no longer very tired.

John stayed by her side as she turned and
stared out his foyer window at the burned husk of her house. For
the first time, she didn’t feel overwhelmed by loss at the sight.
Her eyes didn’t well up. No lump formed in her throat. Just a dull
cloud of sadness. It wasn’t the most pleasant sensation, but it
didn’t bring her to her knees.

Yes, she’d lost her house and all the things
she’d filled it with, all the soft and sparkly trinkets she’d
collected to try to redefine her life. They’d all burned.

But not her.

She was still standing.

She was still alive.

Her mother’s words rang in her ears.

You’re ten times stronger than he ever
was.

At the time, Erin had thought that her mom
was just giving her best pep talk, but now she wasn’t so sure. For
two decades the name Frank Holliday was synonymous with toughness.
With being badass. With fearlessness.

Erin wasn’t any of these things.

But she was resilient. She was hardy. She had
weathered every storm that had threatened to blow her life
apart.

And she was still standing.

Her father might have died for pride, but she
had lived for hope. Hope that her life might be filled with
something more than pain and fear. No one, not even the Mustaar,
could blow that away.

John’s hand wrapped around her shoulder. “You
holding up?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“Everyone will be out of here soon.”

“Good.”

A few minutes later Ty gave the all clear and
bid them good night. The moment the door closed, Erin took John’s
hand. He didn’t resist, but he did raise a brow when she started
back toward the bedroom. Once they were both inside, she lifted
herself up on tiptoes to kiss him.

“Are you sure about this?” he said as she
kicked the door closed. “You’ve been through a hell of a
night.”

“So have you.”

Erin kicked off her shoes and took a couple
of backward steps to get closer to the bed. She peeled off his
jacket and tossed it on the floor. Her shirt joined his clothes a
second later.

He leaned over to hit the lights.

“No. Leave them on,” she said, stopping him.
It appeared as though she would be testing her own courage
tonight.

His eyes took on a hungry gleam that heated
her blood. He covered the distance between them in a single step.
His hands wrapped around her hips and he lifted her effortlessly
off the floor.

She relished the feel of him against her. He
was so strong, so alive. She swept her hands up his back, over his
shoulders. Even through his shirt, she could feel his vitality. She
was desperate to drink more in, to feel every inch of him. Every
touch was a powerful reminder that she was still alive.

Maybe just for the moment, but that was all
that mattered. This very second. His heat. His body. And hers.
Together.

She ran her tongue across his lower lip,
tasting him, teasing him. She was rewarded with his low moan. His
mouth crashed against hers, demanding that she let him in. Erin met
his kiss swipe for swipe, as hungry for him as he seemed to be for
her.

Heat swirled deep inside her. She didn’t know
how much more she could take before she took what she really
wanted. She didn’t have to wait long.

He bent over the bed, pressing her back into
the mattress, and slid down her body. Erin’s fingers twisted in the
sheets as his mouth blazed a trail of kisses over her breasts and
belly. A gasp escaped her lips as he undid the button of her jeans
with his teeth.

Then he was sinking down to the floor,
sliding her pants off as he went. She shivered as his fingertips
curled under the elastic of her panties. A moment later, he slipped
them over her ankles.

***

She was gorgeous.

Erin’s naked body was draped across his bed.
He could happily spend forever exploring her with his hands, but
right now he wanted to taste her. He grabbed her hips and pulled
her toward the edge of the bed.

Her back arched with the first swipe of his
tongue. John laid one hand flat against her belly. The other arm he
wrapped around her back, just above the flare of her hips. He held
tight, keeping her close.

Her breath sped up with every kiss, little
moans escaping her mouth. Each one not only stoked the passion
inside him, they touched something deeper.

He’d never been so afraid as he had been
tonight. He’d faced storms of gunfire before. He’d faced much
greater odds. But he’d never faced the prospect of losing someone
so precious in the fight.

He’d been so certain that he could keep her
safe, that there was no threat he couldn’t face. But when he’d
glimpsed her terror as they’d raced through the trees tonight, he’d
known he’d put his ego before her safety. Her life was far too
valuable to risk.

There had never been anyone like her—a woman
who made his heart pound and filled his chest with light. All he’d
ever had was his pride and ideals, his duty and his brothers. Until
now they’d been enough. But Erin was a ray of springtime sun after
a long winter, filling him with warmth and promise.

If anything had happened to her…

John couldn’t bear the idea.

He intensified his strokes. Her legs began to
shake. He didn’t let her go. He needed to show her what she meant
to him. How beautiful. How sweet.

Her muscles tensed. She cried out. The sound
echoed off his bedroom walls as her legs relaxed against him.

John rose to his feet. He pulled his shirt
over his head and undid the buckle at his waist. He angled his body
over hers, propping himself up on his arms and looked down at her
beautiful face. Her eyes were still closed, but a languid smile
pulled at the corners of her mouth. She raised a hand and slowly
drew it up and down his spine.

She
was
gorgeous. Everything that he’d
ever dreamed of.

And far more important than his pride. Which
meant that, once the sun rose, he and Ty were going to have to come
up with a new plan. One that Erin wasn’t going to like very
much.

He leaned down and kissed her hard.

Sunrise was still hours away.

***

Erin sat straight up in John’s bed. Sunlight
filtered in through the windows but that couldn’t have been what
had ripped her out of such a deep sleep.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked
over at John. The sheets on his side of the bed were flung back. He
was buck naked, as he reached for a pair of pants and his gun
belt.

“What’s happen—”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Someone was pounding on the front door. Not
just someone. Erin recognized the rhythm.

“Whoa, Cowboy,” Erin said, pulling the sheet
around her bare body before stepping onto the floor. “It’s just
Marianne.”

John swiveled toward her. “You sure.”

The pounding sounded again, but this time a
faint high voice followed. “Erin? I know you’re in there, Erin. Let
an old lady in. Your nosy neighbors are starting to stare.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Pretty
sure.”

Erin clutched the sheet tight to her chest as
she walked to the doorway. She poked her head out. “Gimme a second,
Marianne,” she shouted.

Her friend must have heard her because the
pounding stopped.

Erin turned around to find John still naked
and staring at her.

“You might want to put something on if you’re
going to let her in,” she said.

He didn't make a move. “So should you.”

“You first.”

“You weren’t this shy last night.” He crossed
his arms and leaned his hip against the dresser.

“Yeah…well, that was last night.”

He flashed a wicked smile. “I’m still not
going anywhere.”

Erin raised a brow. She knew a challenge when
she heard one. She tiptoed over to the pile of clothes on the
floor. Bending down deep at the knees she picked up her jeans. She
shimmied them on without letting the sheet slip an inch. She
grabbed her shirt next, not letting go of the linen until she’d
pulled it over her head. Sliding her bra on under her shirt was no
trouble. She’d had plenty of practice in gym locker rooms.

“Impressive.”

“Thanks. Modest girls have skills too.”

“You forgot one thing.”

“What's that?”

“Now all I’m going to be able to think about
is how you’re not wearing any underwear under those jeans.”

Erin balled up the sheet in her hands and
tossed it at him. She didn't wait to see if she hit her mark. She
didn’t have to. His laughter followed her all the way down the
hall.

Erin opened the door. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Marianne looked up and down,
her gaze lingering on Erin’s wrinkled clothes and rat-nest hair.
“Tell me we’re past pretending that you’re sleeping on the
couch.”

Erin blushed hard. “Are you coming in?”

“That depends. Does Muscles have any pants
on?”

“Of course.”

“What a shame.” Marianne’s face fell, but she
recovered quickly enough. She pushed past Erin and made a beeline
for the living room. “But I suppose I can live with the
disappointment. I need to talk to you.”

Erin hesitated before she closed the door.
There were two black cars parked on Shannon Court, another two out
on the side street. Erin made eye contact with one of the men
directly across from the house. She gave him a little wave. He
didn't so much as blink back.