Page 31 of Deadly Threat
“Wow.”She couldn’t think of anything more apt to say. Not only was Sam and Joe’s house incredibly nice, the walk-in-closet was like a movie prop fitting room. “Do I want to know why they have all this stuff?”
“Sam used to do undercover work.” Malachi leaned on the door behind him. Jack-Jack was the only one home, he happily greeted them. He was currently giving Ladybug a downstairs tour.
Mia fingered the assortment of clothes on their hangers, from swanky ball gowns to blue jeans and leather jackets. It was like playing dress-up with a millionaire’s wardrobe, rather than your grandmother’s abandoned trunk in the attic. “WITSEC could take lessons from Sam.” During and after Marcher’s trial, they’d set her up with a minimum of image altering choices. The hair dye, colored contacts, told her to wear layers of bulky clothes to hide her thin frame.
In the full length mirror at the end of the room, she noticed her roots were showing. With her light brown hair that already had a reddish undertone, going auburn had been easy. Keeping up with it, however, not so much. She’d been wearing contacts for years, changing out her eye color had been simple. She’d stopped wearing make-up, stopped caring about her appearance, instead trying to disappear.
In the center there was a table with a marble countertop. It seemed to be a sort of dresser, with multiple shelves that rolled out. She glanced at Malachi across it then back to the clothes. Could he look any sexier, leaning casually against the doorjamb? Neither of them had mentioned the hand holding; she considered bringing it up to clarify that she liked him, but she wasn’t in to hook-ups and a relationship was… well, rushing it.
She definitely wanted one when things calmed down, if it ever did. But her life was a hot mess at the moment. The idea of dating appealed, yet she couldn’t shake off the weight on her shoulders. She was literally filled with scars inside and out, and wasn’t that a great way to start off with a new guy? Of course, Malachi knew about some of them, but not all of them, by a long shot.
The thing was, she sensed she didn’t need to say that. She wasn’t the only one with scars. He’d been at that meeting, and while some might say it was serendipity, she hoped it was more than that.
She’d always been good at speaking, her gift for communication making her a great speech writer for Amber. Now, she wasn’t sure how to articulate any of this without sounding like a victim or martyr. Neither role sat comfortably, nor did she want to embrace either. She just wasn’t sure what her new position was. It all felt undecided, as though she were in limbo.
He continued to remain quiet, watching her examine the handbags, the shoes. She paused at a selection of wigs. “What do you think.” She pointed at the blonde style with bangs, then a brunette pageboy. “Which would suit me better?”
His gaze didn’t leave her face, and she felt his awareness of her down to her toes. “You’re beautiful the way you are.”
Parts of her lower body lit up like someone had struck a match. Parts that had been dead a long time. Outside, the rain continued in soft sheets, she felt as though they were in another world. A different time and place.
Or maybe that was just her wishful thinking. “But this isn’t my natural color.”
“I’m not talking about that. You could rock pink hair with rainbow stripes and I’d still find you beautiful.”
Her breath lodged inside her chest. Heat raced to her cheeks. “You’re not bad yourself.”
A dark brow arched and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Is that so?”
Before her brain could caution her, as it did constantly these days, she closed the distance between them.What am I doing?Shoving the analyzing away, she threw herself at him.
It was like jumping into a warm pool. He came out of his casual stance and was ready for her, his arms opening. He half lifted her off the floor, his mouth meeting her upturned one and their lips colliding.
Drowning. That’s what this was. She circled his neck with her arms and shoved her hands through his hair. He moaned and kissed her, teasing her with the tip of his tongue, his strong muscles holding her tightly but tenderly.
She itched to touch him everywhere, to squeeze those muscles, to look inside his heart. She settled on running her fingers down his back and onto his shoulders as he probed the landscape of her mouth. Not drowning—he was her lifesaver on a sea of unknown.
“So damn beautiful,” he muttered against her lips.
Her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips and he cupped her bottom. She continued to revel in the feel of him, letting the waves of emotion roll over her. Hard, strong, amazing, she reveled in the way he positioned her on the center island.
He broke the kiss, and they stared at each other, both breathing hard for a long moment. Then she was reaching for his shirt to tug it off.
Downstairs the dogs barked; they heard a beeping noise follow.
“Damn it,” Malachi swore.
She released the grip on the hem of his shirt, suddenly on alert. “Is someone here?”
He backed away, lifting her and placing her carefully on her feet. “Joe has the worst timing.”
Except it wasn’t Joe. It was Sam.
They found her removing a raincoat in the hall. “Hey,” she said. “Caleb told me you guys were here.” She hung it in the mudroom then marched to the kitchen. Jack-Jack was jumping all over the place greeting her like she’d been away for years. She petted him as she looked them over. “You two okay? You look like you just ran an all-out sprint.”
Mia fidgeted, feeling that heat in her cheeks again.
Malachi looked out the window, the corner of his mouth twitching again. “Any news? Do you have any leads for us?”
