The Omega Team_Spurs Read online

  Sitting up, he put his feet on the floor and glanced down. Shit. The plastic was still around his leg. He unwound it and groaned.

  “Ryder?”

  “Sshh. Go back to sleep. I’m just going to close the window.”

  She pushed herself to sit up, pillow marks on her cheek in the moonlight streaming into the room. “Is that the plastic? Did we leave it on your leg?” She was on her feet in an instant. “We need to rebandage you right away.” She clicked on the bedside lamp and dug in the drawer, coming around the bed with gauze.

  “I can do that, Isbet. It feels much better, really.”

  She yawned and knelt in front of him, a position he really liked her in but for other reasons. “No, let me. Consider it part of our fun evening together.

  Resting back on his elbows, he watched her bend over his leg and peel back the bandage. “Is it wet?”

  “No, maybe just a little damp.” She set it aside and tore open an antibiotic wipe. “Hold still.”

  He clenched his fists and breathed through his nose. “It’s never going to heal.”

  “You strained it this afternoon. I’m sure it will get better again.” She placed a rectangle of sterile gauze over the wound and taped it loosely in place. “There you go.”

  Ryder scooted back on the bed, deflated. “No, nobody has ever healed from this thing. The Vibora kills everyone it touches. I’m just going to be the next one.” Any consideration he’d had of making another move on her faded. The shower had been epic. Lifting her like that while they fucked like happy bunnies was a heck of a way to make love for the last time. He couldn’t continue to build anything with a woman when he was a dead man walking. He shivered. “Could you close the window? I’m a little cold.”

  Rising to her feet, Isbet shot him an indecipherable look but headed for the window without a word. The sheer white curtains billowed around her naked form, moonlight ethereal on her skin. She glowed. Like an angel. Arms over her head, she tugged on the old wood frame. “It won’t budge.” She lifted on tiptoes and grunted. “Nope, can’t do it. Can I get a hand here?”

  His leg throbbed like a son of a bitch, but Ryder forced it to the floor and stood. “I hate this house, sometimes. Andrew is so busy on the ranch he doesn’t have time to make the repairs it needs.”

  As he limped toward her, Isbet rested a hip on the sill. “Can’t he hire someone?”

  “Until the new stock starts to pay, we are dependent on the guests just to make ends meet. For now, it’s do it ourselves or not at all.” Arriving at her side, he grabbed the top of the window and started to shove, but she tugged on his arm.

  “No, wait.”

  “Huh?”

  She placed a finger over his mouth. “Sshh. Listen.”

  He poked his head outside, sorting the nighttime sounds. The wind through the aspens and cottonwoods had a unique sound that always reminded him of home like frogs down in the stream, an owl hunting a distance away. Cattle lowed from the meadow just beyond the larger barn. People thought the country was quiet, but it had its own nighttime chorus. Better than sirens and other people’s heavy bass, but it could rival the decibel level. A horse neighed then things settled back somewhat. Music from the other wing where the guest rooms were.

  Nothing of note, however. He arched a brow and she mouthed, “Wait for it.”

  He strained, holding his breath, and heard it. “An engine.” Just for a moment and gone again. Pretty far away, but not as far as the highway.

  “Yes,” she murmured. “Are any of the cowboys on ATV tonight?”

  “I don’t think so,” he said. “At least I didn’t hear any heading out. And that’s not the right direction for the pastures in use this time of year.” He lapsed into silence, and, sure enough, the low growl came again, closer this time. “Definitely downslope.”

  “Wasn’t Andrew going to have the crew cover the whole property?”

  He rested a hip on the sill. How surreal to be here in this moonlit bedroom with a woman who, not only cared so deeply for people, but also made him rock hard, could think on her feet, and could hike and run with the best of them. “We’d better get dressed and go find out.” And didn’t it suck when he wanted nothing more than to take Isbet back to bed and see if she’d like to play with a few things from his drawer. Oh crap. He suddenly could picture the drawer where he’d left the plastic wrap. The one above, with all the hospital junk was pretty full, so he’d stuffed it in the toy drawer below.

  She had to have seen some of the stuff in there. But she hadn’t said a word. Why not?

  “Ryder?”

  “What?”

  She’d been pretty shy about undressing. But not about finding a riding crop and his favorite spurs for sensation play? To him they were sex toys, but to her maybe just the usual cowboy paraphernalia.

  “We’d better get dressed and find Andrew and Carson. At least determine whether there is a worry. Or, if you’re not up to it, I can go.”

  God, she made it easy to be distracted. Enough time in her arms and he’d forget his wound and the danger to the ranch and the country. “Right. We’ll go now.”

  And if, as was likely, the engine came from a Carmichael Ranch employee, he’d bring her back up here and see if he couldn’t talk her into a little session with some of his favorite things.

  “Where are we going to find the guys?” Isbet slipped her arms into a black sweatshirt with a gym logo over her left breast. “The office?”

  “Not sure.” Ryder started down the hall. “It’s as good a place to start as anywhere.”

  She hung back, treating herself to the back view again. How many men could have such a terrible injury and still look fabulous in jeans? If she hadn’t seen the horrible wound herself, she’d have had a hard time believing he was even hurt at all.

  She probably should have left as soon as she’d finished her job. It would have been the professional thing to do. Her former boss waited for her, in fact, with yet another “just one more assignment, Isbet, we promise.”

  They peered into the dark office and continued down the hallway. “They might be in the kitchen,” Isbet said, peeking into each door as they passed. “Or outside?”

  “Yeah, could be.” Ryder stopped at a table just inside the kitchen and picked up a handheld radio. “But since I don’t see any lights down here at all except for the hallway, I think I’ll try to raise them this way.”

  Isbet hopped up to sit on the counter next to the big old farmhouse sink and let her legs swing. “Okay. That’s one of the radios we should have had, huh?”

  “Yeah. Ever use one of these?” He pressed a button on the device and held up his hand. “Andrew, you out there somewhere?” He waited and tried again. “Carson, you on watch?” Nothing. “Okay. This may be a problem or it may not.”

  Isbet reached for a glass from a cupboard behind her and filled it with water. “Where else can we look?” They didn’t know which of the men was even on watch duty. “I can check their bedrooms if you tell me which ones they are.”

  He sat down on a barstool beside her. “Do you always sit on counters?”

  “Is that really what you’re concerned with?” She slid off to stand between his knees. “I am very confused. It could be because I’ve had a long day and only a couple of hours of sleep, but I usually do pretty well on less.” Combing her fingers through his hair, she sighed and rested her forehead against his. “But I am getting the feeling this thing between us is distracting you as much as it is me. And that’s not good.”

  “What branch of the military did you say you served in?” he murmured against her lips and kissed her softly. “Army?”

  She chuckled. “I never said I was in the military. I wasn’t, in fact.”

  “You sure seem to have the training. You’re in great shape, make a good plan, and you got all the way home and back so fast, you must have run all the way there.”

  “I could be a marathon runner.”

  “Not with these curves.” His finger
s dug into her

  Their breathing was loud in the quiet kitchen. Even the night sounds didn’t penetrate the first floor. Better insulation, maybe. And the windows were closed. If they couldn’t hear the wind or the owls or the frogs, they couldn’t hear a distant engine growl either. Could they hear it if it came closer? His hands gripped her hips, bringing her body closer to him, but, with one final kiss on the lips, she shifted away. “Okay, well, doesn’t matter. What does is whether the engine we heard is a legitimate employee or someone who could bring harm to your family.”

  “Spoken like a true operative.”

  “Let it go, Ryder.” His career might be over through no fault of his own, but she still tried to end hers. “It’s not something I like to think about. I’m just an ordinary citizen, a private eye with a certain level of physical fitness appropriate for my job, okay?”

  “For now.”

  Voices came from the front of the house, and she sighed with relief. “There they are.”

  Andrew and Carson came into the kitchen, heads close together, talking. “Hey, what are you two doing down here?” Andrew asked. “Weren’t you asleep?”

  “Yeah, but something came up.” Isbet frowned at them. “And weren’t you guys going to take turns on watch?”

  Carson nodded. “Yes, but I got a message from Omega. Athena has a contact at a lab in Reno who agreed to run some tests on that little item after regular business hours. We had to get it to the tech tonight because she’s leaving tomorrow morning for a conference in D.C.”

  “You don’t think we should have sent it to the government lab already working on this?” Ryder asked, chewing his lip.

  Carson laughed. “Athena’s ‘tech’ is a fifteen-year-old genius attending Cal Tech this fall. The daughter of a friend of hers. I have more faith in this kid than the system.”

  “Were you on an ATV then, downhill from here, toward the highway?”

  “Yeah.” Carson opened the refrigerator door and took out the pitcher of sweet tea. “That was me.”

  “Looks like we wasted our time coming down,” Ryder said. “We heard an engine and wanted to see if it was one of ours. You didn’t take one of those Mules all the way to Reno, though.”

  “No, the tech’s mom met me at the highway while Andrew stayed on watch.”

  She felt almost let down. “Well, damn. We could have stayed in bed.” She became aware of the smirks on the other men’s faces and her cheeks heated. Tossing her head back, she sailed past them. “Ryder, let’s go back to bed.”

  Laughter followed them, and Ryder, following her up, called over his shoulder, “Very mature, men.”

  “We take our fun where we find it, bro,” Andrew choked out. “Remember, safety first.”

  She paused on the landing. Safety. With a five-year implant, she had no pregnancy worries, but she’d let him do her in the shower with no condom, not even a cursory health chat. What about this man made her behave so out of character?

  Isbet was going right back up to that bedroom and doing it right this time! Starting with a little chat about his night table drawer.

  Chapter Eight

  Somehow, when Ryder closed the door behind him, the easy connection between them disappeared and tension rose. The moonlight had moved on, trapped behind clouds or maybe the angle had changed enough it no longer spilled into the room in glowing white beams, making everything magical and out of time.

  Isbet trailed her fingers along the wall to the bedside table and flicked on the lamp then turned to face him. “Feels weird they know we’re up her and they think we…we….” She swallowed hard. “What business is it of theirs, anyway?”

  He shrugged, suppressing his own discomfort. “If you’d been in the service, which you weren’t, of course, you’d recognize a little friendly teasing between buddies.”

  Her stare could have melted bone. “You’re on that again. Look, I told you I was not in the military. However, I was part of another government team, and I had buddies. It was top secret, and I haven’t been 100 percent released. Which is totally pissing me off. Like your idiot relatives with their damn smirks!” Pacing up to him, she gave him a shove, which of course didn’t move him an inch. “Doesn’t their nosiness bother you at all?” Tears filled her eyes, which he could only see this close. “I don’t just fall into bed with any guy who asks. I thought what we had was special.”

  “It is special.” He fixated on a scratch on the oak floor, unable to bear the tears in such a tough woman. Tears he didn’t understand. “But you said you only wanted one night together.”

  “One very special night!” she spat out. “And they ruined it.”

  His leg hurt more with each word, and he didn’t have a clue how to defuse her anger, so he grabbed her and kissed her. To his amazement and delight, she kissed him back, her soft lips parting under his. Her arms looped around his neck, and she hung on tight, her fingers linking at his nape.

  He wouldn’t waste another moment of their “one special night.” “Not ruined,” he murmured against her lips and stepped back. “Not ruined at all.” Guiding her toward the bed, Ryder paused by the nightstand. “Want to have a little cowboy type adventure?” He held his breath, waiting for her reaction. If she’d seen the contents of his drawer—and how could she not?—she’d probably have a clue what he meant.

  Her words sank into his soul like a lead balloon. “I don’t know, Ryder. What about your leg? Shouldn’t you just get some rest? God knows what the morning will bring.”

  “Sshh,” he said, stroking her cheek. “Do I look tired?” He probably looked worse than tired, but he hoped she’d salve his pride and not say so.”

  “If you’re sure.” Brown eyes sparkling, she tilted her head back. “Why not? What do you have in mind? Something from that naughty cowboy drawer of yours?”

  Ryder fluffed her curls and dropped a kiss on her nose. “I thought it might be fun to bring out a few of my toys and play together. If you’re game?”

  “Gonna lasso me, cowboy?”

  His slow grin melted her insides. “With your permission, ma’am.”

  She shivered. No man had ever made her feel so small, so desirable, so feminine. “You may lasso me, then.”

  “I plan to do more than that. Trust me?”

  His gaze held no guile, and she wanted that gorgeous body again, wanted him to make her his. Wanted just one time with no holding back, no hesitation. She wanted to forget about the morning and everything it might bring. “I do.”

  Ryder pulled his T-shirt over his head and smiled down at her. In the lamplight, his tanned skin was smooth and perfect, and she lay back on the bed and watched. With his jeans still on, no sign of any disfigurement was visible and she could almost forget her worry about his leg. In fact, she would force herself to.

  After tonight, they’d deal with the bad guys then go their own ways. She had to find a way to break with her former organization if she was going to make a life and he would, hopefully, heal and return to the career he loved. She’d loved hers once, too.

  She shivered again, and he frowned. “You’re cold.” She wasn’t. The wind had died down at some point, and, though the window was still open, the heat between them created a whole different kind of trembling. Still, she lay quiet, watching him move to the window and jerk it closed, cutting off most of the outdoor sounds, shutting them in together.

  Ryder returned to her side and bent to kiss her. His lips were firm against hers, moving in a demanding way, taking, not asking. Her core clenched at her realization he wasn’t going to ask any more permission. He sat her up and drew her T-shirt over her head then unsnapped her bra and eased it over her shoulders. Silent, determined. He unbuttoned her jeans and, laying her back, slid them over her hips to her feet. Pausing to tug off her boots, he followed them with her jeans and then laughed.

  “Commando?”

  “Looked good on you,” she replied. “We were in a hurry.”

  “Yet you put on a bra.”

  “I
didn’t want to be bouncing all over the place if we had to go after the bad guys.”

  He nodded. “Smart.”

  Reaching into the drawer of erotica, he pulled out a length of coiled rope. “Hands.”

  She held them out to him and watched as he looped it around her wrists over and over then tugged her bound hands over her head and fastened them to the heavy pine posts at the top of the bed. “You look good like that, too,” he said.

  “So do you.” God she’d never taken her fantasies into reality before.

  “Not for long.” He held a kerchief up and folded it into a long rectangle. Bringing it to her face, he said, “Lift your head.” Amazing how awkward that was, when her hands were above it, but she managed and the light disappeared behind the kerchief tied around her face. “You okay in there?”

  “Yes,” she gasped, her heart rate zooming the instant he stepped back. She strained to make out what he might be doing. To remember what she’d seen in the drawer.

  His hand closed around her ankle, and the scratchiness of the rope enclosed it. He tugged it to the side and then reached for the other. She felt open, vulnerable, her legs bound wide open.

  What was he going to do?

  Maybe this was a bad idea. She opened her mouth to say so, but his lips were on her throat, and she swallowed the words, focused on the sensation. On the heat, the scrape of his five o’clock shadow against her skin. He nipped her earlobe, and his breath ignited her skin everywhere it touched.

  “Ready to play?” He bit a little harder, toying with her lobe.

  She nodded, but he hadn’t waited for an answer. His weight dipped the mattress at her side and something cool and a little sharp pressed into the skin at her wrist. It moved down her inner arm, slowly. Her skin woke up, a bit at a time. He reached her underarm and then started on the other wrist, the teeth the wheel—it must be one of those little wheels she read about, what were they called? Wartenberg wheels? She hadn’t seen one in the drawer, but ohhhh….

  Leaving her arms behind, the wheel traveled down her shoulder toward her left breast. It rolled its way over the upward swell and around the nipple. She felt like her whole body was an erogenous zone. “That feels…it feels…,”