SAM knew she was in trouble when Reese’s warm fingers curled firmly around hers. This deliberate touch seemed much different than the impulsive hug she’d bestowed on him earlier. Despite the cold, heat skipped along the nerve endings in her arm. When they were flying together, his voice was a rudder in a rock-filled sea. But now his touch heightened the sense of an impending storm. She needed to pull away, to establish some space between them.
Heck, she needed to breathe.
His truck was parked right next to her car, so he didn’t hold her hand for long. As soon as he’d tucked her into the passenger seat, he slammed the door and jogged around the truck to slide in beside her.
There, much better. Or so she thought, until he turned the key in the ignition and turned toward her. He was close. Much too close. “So, what are you in the mood for?”
You. She bit her tongue to prevent herself from blurting out the ridiculous truth. Food. He’d meant, what was she in the mood for as far as food went.
Nibbling on him wasn’t an option.
“Er, really, I don’t care. Whatever you feel like is fine with me.” The way her stomach clenched, she doubted she’d be able to eat anything, no matter what he chose.
In the dark interior of the truck she couldn’t read his expression. “Chinese take-out?” His voice held a distinct note of hopefulness.
She took pity on him. “Sure, sounds good.”
“You like Chinese?” He divided his attention between her and the road.
“Doesn’t everyone?” She clasped her hands in her lap to keep them warm. The air blasting through his vents was still frigid. She should have worn her gloves.
“Not necessarily,” Reese argued softly. “I tend to have an adventurous appetite.”
“Really?” Sam wondered what sort of appetite he meant, food or something more? “So what’s your favorite Chinese dish?”
“Yu-Hsing chicken, but a lot of places don’t have it. I’m not picky, though. Anything wrapped in an egg roll works for me.”
She tilted her head to look at him. She’d gotten the impression he’d been at Lifeline for a while, but she didn’t know much about Reese’s past or the secrets he might have buried. “Have you actually been there? To China?”
“Nah.” He flashed her a quick, lethal grin. “I just like to eat. I’m the guy who goes to an ethnic restaurant and orders whatever the house specialty is. You’d be amazed at the weird stuff I’ve eaten.”
“Don’t tell me,” she joked, raising a hand in warning. “I don’t want to ruin my appetite.”
Reese stopped at a small Chinese restaurant a few blocks from their apartment complex which she hadn’t even known existed. She offered to wait in the car but he dragged her inside, forcing her to help pick out food. When they had enough white boxes to feed half the population of Hong Kong, he carried them outside, then stashed them in the back seat.
A spicy scent filled the interior of the truck, making her mouth water with anticipation as they drove. Soon the Oak Terrace apartment buildings loomed into view. He paused at the fork in the road. “Your place or mine?”
“Mine.” Her breath caught in her throat as he turned into the drive leading to the North building. She wanted to place a hand over her racing heart. Good grief, she needed to calm down. This was only dinner. She hadn’t agreed to sleep with him, for heaven’s sake.
Although inviting Reese into the intimacy of her apartment put all kinds of shocking ideas into her head. Not one of them had anything to do with sleep.
Reese carried the huge bag holding their dinner as he followed her inside. Sam glanced around the interior of her apartment, reassuring herself the place was reasonably neat, before opening the door wide to let him in.
“I’ll call a friend of mine who owns a garage to see about your car, if you don’t mind opening boxes.” He set the bag on the table.
“Of course not.” Samantha willed her fingers to stop trembling as she pulled several containers out of the bag and began to open them. Surely she could share a meal with a friend without making a big deal out of the situation. She listened as Reese gave his buddy the details about her car, including the directions to her apartment to get the keys. She pulled plates, silverware and glasses out of the cupboard, set them on the table, then glanced around her stark apartment with dismay. What she wouldn’t give for a little background music. Unfortunately, she’d left her previous apartment in a hurry and hadn’t bothered to take her small sound system with her.
Time to purchase a new one, then. Another small step to getting her personal life in order.
Reese hung up and eyed the spread of steaming white boxes on the table with glee. If he noticed the barren walls and lack of interior decorating of her living space, he didn’t comment. “Looks great.”
“Dig in,” she invited. Her eyes widened as Reese heaped food on his plate, taking a sampling from every single container. He still wore his flight suit from work and she wondered where on his lean frame he would put all the food.
When she spooned sweet and sour chicken and broccoli onto her rice, her appetite returned with a vengeance.
“I was hungrier than I realized,” she admitted a few minutes later, taking a break from her meal.
Reese’s brown eyes darkened as his gaze met hers. “Lately, it seems I’m hungrier than I realized, too.”
There was no mistaking his meaning. Samantha’s hand froze halfway to her mouth and a big drop of sweet and sour sauce plopped on the table beneath her fork. She swallowed hard and dabbed at the spot with her napkin.
Tension shimmered between them. Oh, boy, she was in over her head. Way over. The silence was deafening.
Until her doorbell buzzed loudly. She started, her fork clattering to her plate.
“Must be Vince.” Reese nonchalantly stood, as if he hadn’t tried to singe her with his heated gaze. “I need to give him your keys.”
“What? Oh, uh, sure.” She fumbled with her purse until she fished them out and handed them over. Damn, she hated feeling like a green medical student at her first autopsy. She was almost a board-certified emergency medical physician. About time she acted like one. She was in control of her life and planned to stay that way.
In a matter of minutes Reese had given Vince her keys with instructions to call him in the morning on the status of her car. Vince left with a cheerful wave. Sam resisted the urge to call him back.
Reese shut the door behind him. “So, where were we?”
“We were eating a friendly dinner.” She added a little emphasis to the word “friendly.”
“Of course.” He returned to his seat. “Everything tastes wonderful.”
“Yeah, I slaved all day over a hot stove.” Sam rolled her eyes and pushed her plate away. “Thanks for calling Vince to take care of my car.”
“No problem.” Reese ate until he’d cleaned every last speck of rice from his plate. She couldn’t remember when she’d enjoyed watching a man eat. Reese might consider himself adventurous but Denis had quirky tastes when it came to food. He would only eat certain things prepared a specific way. And more often than not he’d claimed she’d done it wrong.
Whoa, enough of those thoughts. Sam stood and began to close the boxes that still contained food. “You’re going to have to take these leftovers with you. I’ll never be able to eat all this.”
“Yum, breakfast.”
His wide, innocent gaze didn’t fool her in the least. They weren’t going to share breakfast. Her gaze narrowed. “I’m sure there’s enough here for your breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
“I bet you’re right.” He caught her hand as she placed a box in the original bag. “Thank you, Samantha.”
She went still, caught off guard by his obvious sincerity. “For what?”
“For sharing dinner with me.” His thumb lightly stroked the back of her hand.
“You’re welcome.” Sam needed to sit or, as God was her witness, she’d fall flat on her face. Reese slowly stood, still claiming her hand. When he stepped closer, she sensed his intent and told herself to step back, out of reach.
Her feet didn’t listen to her brain’s feeble command. As if she were a puppet dangling from a string, she watched him lean toward her. His mouth brushed hers, lightly at first as if testing the water, then, when she didn’t pull away, he kissed her again.
Deeper. Hungrily. His mouth possessed hers. Heat flared, hot and needy. She wrapped her arms around his lean waist. Before her head stopped spinning he abruptly ended the kiss, dragging his hands from her shoulders to her arms. She reluctantly let him go.
His voice was low and husky with desire as he stepped away. “I’d better go, while I still can.”
No, her body screamed in protest. Yes, her mind insisted.
He’d almost made it to her door before she stopped him. “Reese.”
He swung around to face her. “Yeah?”
“I…don’t think I’m ready for a relationship.” The words came out in a rush, but it was only fair to warn him. As wonderfully nice as he was, this thing, whatever it was between them, couldn’t go anywhere.
His smile was crooked. “I know. Me neither. Except I think it’s too late.”
“Too late?” What on earth did he mean?
“I don’t seem to have a choice where you’re concerned.”
Her dismay must have shone in her eyes, because he quickly smiled. “Hey, there’s no need to panic. Just promise me one thing.”
“If I can,” she hedged. Her fingers curled around one of her kitchen chairs for support. She didn’t give promises lightly. Not anymore.
“Promise you’ll let me help keep you safe, at least for the next few months until you finish your training at Lifeline.” His gaze turned somber. “As a friend, Samantha, if that’s what you prefer. Once you graduate from training, I’ll let you go.”
Madness. What he’d proposed was sheer madness. She wasn’t in any real danger other than some of the routine risks of her job. The last thing her heart needed was to be tangled up with another man. Even more, she couldn’t afford to give up her newfound independence. Reese had no idea how much he was asking of her.
“I don’t know if I can,” she confessed.
“Just think about it. I’d never ask for more than you’re willing to give.” He opened her apartment door. “Goodnight, Samantha.”
She didn’t want him to go, but forced herself to stay where she was, far too tempted to reach out to the man whose strength drew her as much as the glimmer of sorrow in his eyes. He was long gone before she answered in a quiet voice, “Goodnight, Reese.”
Reese didn’t remember much about getting home. He hadn’t had any wine but he felt light-headed and fuzzy as if he’d drunk several bottles all by himself.
He could still taste Samantha on his lips. Could see the wide, dazed expression in her eyes when he’d lifted his mouth from hers. With a groan he stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, his lower body hard and aching.
Cripes, he wanted her. In a way he hadn’t wanted a woman in a long time. She wasn’t ready for a relationship. A rusty laugh strangled in his throat. Hell, he could relate to that. But he’d told her the truth. He’d sworn not to get involved, yet here he was, tangled into knots over a tiny redheaded flight physician. Tumbling headfirst into what certainly resembled a relationship, pitfalls and all.
With an effort he pulled himself away from that line of thinking. Samantha wasn’t ready for a relationship, so he’d honor the terms of his proposition. He simply wanted her to be safe, at least while she was flying in his care.
Surely they could remain friends, at least until she’d finished her training.
He must have drifted into sleep at some point during the wee hours of the morning because when he abruptly opened his eyes, bright light poured through the window of his bedroom.
Blinking, he peered outside. The temperature was probably well below freezing but the sunlight sure gave the impression of warmth. A perfect day to spend outside. And on his day off, too. What would Samantha say if he proposed a little outing?
The ringing of his phone distracted him from thoughts of Samantha. Praying there wasn’t some problem at Lifeline, he warily picked up the receiver. “Yeah?”
“Reese?”
“Hey, Vince.” He relaxed at the sound of his friend’s voice and padded to the kitchen. “What’s up? Don’t tell me you’ve already looked at Samantha’s car?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.”
“So was it the battery? She thought it might need to be replaced.” Reese tucked the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he could dig the leftover Chinese food out of the fridge. He never minded eating leftovers, although they would have tasted far better if Samantha were here to share them.
“Sort of.”
Reese frowned as he opened the cartons. Vince’s tone was weird, evasive. “What do you mean, sort of? Samantha’s car trouble is either a result of a defunct battery or not.”
“The battery is defunct all right. Although not by accident.”
A shiver of dread slithered down his spine. “Someone messed with her battery on purpose? How can you tell?”
“Gee, maybe by the round indentations made by a hammerhead where it smashed her battery? Acid leaked all over, creating a hell of a mess.”
“A hammer.” Reese sank into a chair, tunneled his fingers through his hair. “I bet her ex, that damn Markowicz, wrecked her battery on purpose.”
“Yeah, that’s my assessment. What’s the deal? Do you know this guy Markowicz?”
“No.” But he’d sure like to. The flower delivery had been annoying but basically harmless. Smashing a battery with a hammer turned the violence up a notch. “Can you fix it?”
“Yeah, shouldn’t be too bad. I’ll have to replace the battery, of course. Cleaning up the interior where the acid leaked all over will be the hardest part. Can’t tell you for sure what parts the acid may have ruined until I dig into the engine.”
“Do what you can.” Reese toyed with the carton of Chinese food. His hearty appetite had seemingly vanished. “Send the bill to me.”
“Sure thing.” Vince hesitated. “Do you want me to call Samantha so I can tell her what happened?”
“No, I’ll do it.” His stomach clenched at the thought. “Just work on getting her car fixed as soon as possible.”
“Will do.”
Reese hung up the phone. First, he’d shower then go over to find Samantha. There wasn’t going to be an easy way to soften this blow. Better if he told her in person.
His hair was still damp from the shower when his doorbell buzzed. Wearing only his jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, he crossed to the intercom. “Who is it?”
“Samantha.”
“Come on in.” Surprised, he pushed the button releasing the lock on the outside door. What had brought Samantha over here? Had she somehow found out the news about her car from Vince?
He opened his apartment door, watching her walk down the hallway toward him. Like him, she was dressed casually in blue jeans. Although she wore a bulky jacket, he could see she wore another of those turtleneck sweaters, this one in bright green.
Maybe he had a weird neck fetish.
“Good morning. Did you walk over from your place?”
“Yes, it’s not far.” Samantha didn’t smile at him—in fact, her pretty brow was furrowed in a frown. “I came over to get Vince’s phone number. I should have asked for the information last night, before you left.”
“Come on in.” Reese gestured for her to come inside. “I already spoke to Vince.”
Her frown deepened. “That’s very nice of you, but I’d rather take care of this myself. It’s my car. I’m sure I can arrange to get it repaired.”
Well, hell. What had caused this change of heart? Reese stood awkwardly in his bare feet. “Are you hungry?” Stalling, he turned back toward the Chinese food he’d left on the table. “We can eat breakfast.”
“No, thanks.” Samantha remained where she was, standing near his doorway as if she’d bolt if given half the chance. “If you’d just give me Vince’s phone number, I’ll be out of your hair.”
He didn’t think she’d appreciate knowing he liked having her in his hair. And in his apartment. Better not to think of how fantastic she’d look in his bed. Dragging his thoughts away from that scenario, he noticed her firm stance at his door. With a sigh, he realized she wasn’t going to make this easy. “Samantha, there’s no easy way to tell you, but your car trouble wasn’t an accident.”
Her wary gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”
“Sit down. Please,” he added, when she didn’t move.
“Denis did something to my car, didn’t he?” She crossed her arms protectively over her chest.
“Yes.” Reese couldn’t see the point in lying to her. “He smashed your battery and it leaked acid all over your engine. I authorized Vince to do the repairs. He’s going to get your car fixed as soon as possible.”
“You authorized Vince to do the repairs?” Her voice was dangerously soft.
He didn’t understand her strange reaction. Why wasn’t she more worried about her ex’s tendency to violence? Instead, she seemed annoyed with him. She had been happy enough with his help last night. “Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”
“No, you won’t.” Samantha glared at him, fury spiking her stormy gray eyes. Wow, had he ever seen her angry? “Give me Vince’s number. I don’t need people like you taking control. I’m better off taking care of things myself.”