Page 24 of The Survivor
His groin tightened as swiftly as it had last night when he’d captured Sam’s mouth with his. When the feel of her lush, moist lips had sent him into a state of arousal he’d never experienced before.
What the hell had he been thinking, kissing her? He’d known, the second he lowered his mouth to hers, that it was a bad idea. That it waswrong. And yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself. It was like an out-of-body experience, as if his mouth and tongue and hands belonged to another man, a man who didn’t seem to understand how inappropriate it was to kiss a goddamnwitness.
He’d wanted to kick himself afterward. Actually, no. When he’d pulled back and caught sight of the arousal swimming in Sam’s luminous gray eyes, he’d wanted to kiss her again.Thenhe’d wanted to kick himself.
If he hadn’t managed to impose that sliver of control, he would’ve made love to her right then and there, peeled everylayer of clothing from her body and laved his tongue over every inch of her perfect skin. That’s why he’d walked away. To stop himself from adding another item to his how-I-screwed-up-today list. That, and because he wasn’t sure he could control himself if he kissed her again.
Sam was too vulnerable. He would never take advantage of her, but he got the feeling that she wouldn’t mind if he did. Which meant one of them needed to remain in control, and it obviously had to be him.
“Knight’s not happy,” Rick said grimly as he strode into the dining room.
Blake swallowed back myriad emotions clinging to his throat. Business. That’s what he needed to focus on now. “I’m not too happy, either,” he replied. “That reporter knew who she was.”
Rick joined him at the table. “Do you think he noticed what floor you’d come from? Think he’s smart enough to sneak into the ICU to do some investigating?”
“Let’s hope not.”
Rick swore. “We need to get Elaine out of there. Her doctor was going to discharge her in a few days, but we’ve got to speed up the process. She can’t stay there a second longer.”
“I know.”
“I’ll call Mel and tell her to start making arrangements.”
The sound of timid footsteps caused Blake to turn his head. Gray eyes lined with remorse, Sam stood in the doorway. She’d scrubbed off her makeup, and gone were the wig and glasses. Her long caramel-colored hair fell over her shoulders in careless waves, resting just above the scooped neckline of the long-sleeved green sweater she’d changed into. A pair of faded jeans encased her long legs, emphasizing her shapely thighs and were rolled up at the bottom to reveal her pale, slender ankles.
She was so damn pretty. Just looking at her made his body ache.
“I’m sorry.” Her quiet voice broke through his troubled thoughts.
He watched as she entered the room and settled in the chair next to Rick’s. She wrung her hands together, looking unhappy, and for a moment he almost regretted snapping at her earlier.
Almost.
Pushing away the tender sympathy threatening to seep into his chest, Blake shot her a firm look. “It’s too late for apologies. Your time’s up, Samantha. We’re getting you out of here tonight.”
Desperation flickered in her gaze. “Will you let me say goodbye to Elaine?”
“No.”
“But…Dammit, Blake! She’ll think I abandoned her.”
“She’ll understand.”
Rick broke the exchange by turning to Sam and asking, “Did she tell you anything useful today?”
Sam appeared reluctant as she tore her gaze from Blake’s. “Actually, she did.”
She quickly related the details she’d learned about the abduction and the scent Elaine had described, then excused herself. Blake heard her moving around in the kitchen, glad she hadn’t argued any further about leaving the city. This time, they would do things his way, and his way required getting Sam out of Dodge before anything worse happened.
“It’ll be hard to find the vehicle,” Rick said, rubbing his chin. “There are probably a million vans in the city. Going through DMV records would be pointless, considering we don’t have a license plate number, not to mention the guy’s name.”
Blake chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to bring into focus the idea nagging at the back of his mind. He knew thechances of finding the van weren’t good, so instead he mulled over the other details Sam had provided. The scent Elaine had mentioned. Something fruity…Was their guy a fruit wholesaler? A grocer?
Naah, that didn’t sit right with him. Fruity and flowery. Flowery. Flowers.
Flowers.
Christ, how had he overlooked it? Flowers. No.Roses.
