do that by motioning to Kara’s suitcase, taking the towel from the cabin attendant’s hands, and then led Kara to the lavatory at the back of the plane. The small room would be difficult to maneuver in even with the door open.
At the sight of the half-dried rivulets of blood down her neck in the bathroom mirror, Kara put her hands on the hem of her shirt. There were no words. She simply lifted the bloody shirt over her head and set it on the sink, revealing her creamy skin held in a black bra beneath, and took the towel from him.
There was nothing sexual about it and he took his gaze off of her while she cleaned up. His nerves were jagged, the effects lingering in his system. He took the offered shirt Victoria had pulled from the suitcase.
“Wine, Mr. Dunn?” His British attendant knew him well. He nodded, and she went back to her station.
“Can I have that?”
Kara’s soft voice drew his eyes up. That was a complete mistake. She’d removed all traces of the blood and he could barely see the thin, red line where she’d been cut. Essentially, she looked fine. Back to normal. Which meant she was standing in front of him with no shirt on.
“You’ve never seen breasts before?” She pulled the fabric from his hands.
“Not yours.”
His eyes followed every delicious curve until they disappeared beneath the shirt. He was such a bastard. She’d almost died and all he could do was lust at her. He sank down in a seat, resting his elbows on his knees, hands behind his neck. They’d be forever bound by this night, the night she’d killed someone. To save him.
He hadn’t heard her approach. She drifted over to him and lifted his head with her hands, and then she kissed him, the first time she’d initiated it. She kissed him so softly it almost tore his heart in two. His hands ensnared her waist, pulling her down onto his lap. She didn’t protest.
“Shawn,” she said. Her hollow voice filled him with concern.
“Are you all right?”
“I can’t tell. I feel… empty.”
He kissed her again. It wasn’t passionate or intense. He tried to make it about comfort, to show her she wasn’t alone. He was marginally aware that Victoria stood motionless at the edge of the partition with their wine, not wanting to disturb. So he reluctantly ended the kiss, a hand still buried in the soft hair at the nape of Kara’s neck.
She sipped the wine with a shaky hand while he put the bandage on her neck, and then he called Jason and broke the news. Juric was alive. People were looking for him, and those people believed he was after Kara.
“Where do we go?” Shawn asked Jason. “We’ll be on the ground in fifteen minutes. Should we come to you?”
“No, I can’t risk anyone following you here.” Jason hesitated. “Shit, you can’t take her to your place, either. It’s the first place Juric will look when he finds out an Osterhägen plane landed in Maastricht and then departed for Munich.” There was a sigh. “Take her to the corporate room at the Palace tonight. They won’t register her passport if you’re there with her, and I’ll send the backup team to meet you.”
The idea of sharing a room with Kara Hayward tonight was appealing, but it would satisfy a different need than usual. He didn’t want her to be alone after what had happened. Didn’t want her out of his sight.
“Can you keep her safe?” Jason asked.
“Of course.”
Shawn could picture the dubious expression on Jason’s face on the other end of the phone. “And does that include keeping her safe from your dick?”
-5-
The cut on Kara’s neck stung whenever she took a deep breath, like she just had. Go to a hotel with him?
Shawn’s gaze was soft and unassuming. “This is what Jason said was best. He was a US Marshal, so he knows how to keep you hidden.”
The landing gear rumbled in the belly of the plane as they drew closer to touching down. The severity of the situation must have wiped Shawn’s fear of flying clean away,
At the sight of the half-dried rivulets of blood down her neck in the bathroom mirror, Kara put her hands on the hem of her shirt. There were no words. She simply lifted the bloody shirt over her head and set it on the sink, revealing her creamy skin held in a black bra beneath, and took the towel from him.
There was nothing sexual about it and he took his gaze off of her while she cleaned up. His nerves were jagged, the effects lingering in his system. He took the offered shirt Victoria had pulled from the suitcase.
“Wine, Mr. Dunn?” His British attendant knew him well. He nodded, and she went back to her station.
“Can I have that?”
Kara’s soft voice drew his eyes up. That was a complete mistake. She’d removed all traces of the blood and he could barely see the thin, red line where she’d been cut. Essentially, she looked fine. Back to normal. Which meant she was standing in front of him with no shirt on.
“You’ve never seen breasts before?” She pulled the fabric from his hands.
“Not yours.”
His eyes followed every delicious curve until they disappeared beneath the shirt. He was such a bastard. She’d almost died and all he could do was lust at her. He sank down in a seat, resting his elbows on his knees, hands behind his neck. They’d be forever bound by this night, the night she’d killed someone. To save him.
He hadn’t heard her approach. She drifted over to him and lifted his head with her hands, and then she kissed him, the first time she’d initiated it. She kissed him so softly it almost tore his heart in two. His hands ensnared her waist, pulling her down onto his lap. She didn’t protest.
“Shawn,” she said. Her hollow voice filled him with concern.
“Are you all right?”
“I can’t tell. I feel… empty.”
He kissed her again. It wasn’t passionate or intense. He tried to make it about comfort, to show her she wasn’t alone. He was marginally aware that Victoria stood motionless at the edge of the partition with their wine, not wanting to disturb. So he reluctantly ended the kiss, a hand still buried in the soft hair at the nape of Kara’s neck.
She sipped the wine with a shaky hand while he put the bandage on her neck, and then he called Jason and broke the news. Juric was alive. People were looking for him, and those people believed he was after Kara.
“Where do we go?” Shawn asked Jason. “We’ll be on the ground in fifteen minutes. Should we come to you?”
“No, I can’t risk anyone following you here.” Jason hesitated. “Shit, you can’t take her to your place, either. It’s the first place Juric will look when he finds out an Osterhägen plane landed in Maastricht and then departed for Munich.” There was a sigh. “Take her to the corporate room at the Palace tonight. They won’t register her passport if you’re there with her, and I’ll send the backup team to meet you.”
The idea of sharing a room with Kara Hayward tonight was appealing, but it would satisfy a different need than usual. He didn’t want her to be alone after what had happened. Didn’t want her out of his sight.
“Can you keep her safe?” Jason asked.
“Of course.”
Shawn could picture the dubious expression on Jason’s face on the other end of the phone. “And does that include keeping her safe from your dick?”
-5-
The cut on Kara’s neck stung whenever she took a deep breath, like she just had. Go to a hotel with him?
Shawn’s gaze was soft and unassuming. “This is what Jason said was best. He was a US Marshal, so he knows how to keep you hidden.”
The landing gear rumbled in the belly of the plane as they drew closer to touching down. The severity of the situation must have wiped Shawn’s fear of flying clean away,
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