Suzanne Brockmann - The Unsung Hero

SUZANNE BROCKMANN

A Troubleshooters, Inc. Novel

Book 1

Published by Silhouette books

America 's Publisher of Contemporary Romance

For the brave men and women who fought for freedom during the Second World War.

My most sincere and humble thanks.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

JUST KICK ASIDE the laundry, Kelly had said.

It seemed easy enough in theory. Execution, however, was slightly more difficult.

Because it seemed to Tom as if most of the laundry that was scattered about the room was underwear. Lacy, silky, completely feminine underwear.

It was on the bed, on the floor, on the chair in front of the computer, spilling out of the open top drawer of Kellys dresser.

Sure, there were jeans and shorts and T-shirts, too. But he had those things in his own laundry hamper. He was used to them. He could kick that aside, no problemhe had many times in his own room. But the bras and panties and pantyhose... Yikes.

And when he had actually tried to push the laundry gingerly aside with his foot, a pair of green satin and lace panties had caught on his sandal, the fabric decadently cool against his bare toes.

Kelly Ashtons underwear.

That alone would have been too much to deal with. But when hed leaned over to pull the green lace free, hed found out something he wasnt sure he wanted to know.

Kelly Ashton wore thong panties.

Tom sat at her computer now, head pounding, slightly nauseated from dizziness, breathing in the ghostly fragrance of her perfumes and lotions, still slightly shocked. Jesus, he didnt want that image in his headKelly in her underwear was bad enough, but Kelly wearing that?

Forget about his head injurythat image alone was enough to make him dizzy.

And it was definitely not what he wanted to be thinking about when he had dinner with her tomorrow night, God help him.

Kelly Ashton had asked him to have dinner with her.

Down boy. It was only dinner.

Or was it?

Hed assumed that whipped cream comment shed made this morning had been a joke. But what if shed been only half kidding? What if she truly wanted...

Dont go there, dirtbrain.

Kelly Ashton probably wouldnt have agreed to let him use her computer if shed known that hed sit here, ogling her underwear, imagining her naked and locked with him in heart stopping, gymnastically energetic sex.

Or maybe not energetic sex. Maybe sex with Kelly would be pulse-hammeringly slow. Devastatingly lethargic. Like one of those pseudo-erotic, black-and-white fragrance commercials on TV. Except there would be nothing pseudo about it. He would surround himself with her infinitely slowly, losing himself in her body as surely as he lost himself in her eyes. It would be the kind of sex where just one touch, just one of her fingers trailed lightly down the length of his arm, would be enough to push him over the edge and...

Christ, he had to get out of here.

Because that wasnt going to happen. Not tomorrow night, not ever.

Even if she wanted it, he was in no position right now to begin anything with a woman like Kelly Ashton. Hed spent his entire life avoiding women like herthe sweet, the innocent, the nice women who deserved lasting, committed relationships with gentle, caring menand Kelly was their queen.

But, sweet God, he wanted her. Hed always wanted her, even when it was illegal to want her. Back then, it was easy. If he had touched her the way hed wanted to touch her, hed go to jail. It was bad enough that hed kissed her. Hed banished himself for that, forcing himself to face the hurt in her eyes as he left without any real explanation. Afraid to be alone with her, hed written a note. Im sorry. I cant do this. Hed said nothing about her being too young, nothing about his fear that hed be swept away by passion if he so much as faced her again.

He could still hear her whisper, Meet me later tonight. In the tree house, when he closed his eyes.

Hed wanted to. God, he had wanted Kelly more than hed ever wanted anyone or anything. But his passion had terrified him. Hed taken only the time to scribble that note and put it where shed find it before hed taken off on his motorcycle, riding hard and fast until hed run out of gas, until hed stranded himself far from home.

Until there was no possible way he could make it back to Baldwins Bridge that night, to meet Kelly in her tree house.

But he was back in Baldwins Bridge now. And she wasnt too young any longer. No, now the risks were far less well-defined, and mostly emotional.

But they were no less dangerous, because it was Kellys heart hed be risking.

As Tom waited for the printer to spit out the second of his pictures of the Merchant, he glanced around Kellys room, trying to ignore the underwear.

Her bed was unmade. It was a colorful jumble of flowery sheets, an antique four poster complete with a blue canopy that matched the window curtains. It looked comfortable and cool, and he longed to crawl in, to soothe his aching head by closing his eyes and sinking back among her sweetly fragranced pillows.

Like a reverse Goldilocks and the three bears, hed be there when she got home and...

Well, there you go. If he ended up getting kicked out of the Navy, he had a future writing scripts for porno flicks.

Jesus, what was wrong with him that he should be completely unable to stop fantasizing about Kelly this way? And the truly stupid part was that she wasnt just some low-wattage babe hed spotted in some trashy bar. The truth was that he respected Kelly. He admired her. She was brilliant and bright.

Back when they were both in high school, hed loved to talk to her, to watch her brain work. She wasnt afraid to disagree with him, although always politely, of course. She was one of the nicest, sweetest, kindest people on the face of the earth.

His instincts should have been to protect her, to revere her, to worship her from afar. To hold her in esteem, as she deserved to bethe way he did his grandmother, Mother Teresa, and Julie Andrews.

Sunlight streamed in through the curtains, through the French doors that opened onto a narrow balcony. It was pretty enough to look at, but completely idiotic when it came to Kellys personal safety. Any fool could climb up to the balcony in half a second. And the locks on the French doors were bush league. A four-year-old could have kicked them in.

Tom made a mental note to go back to Home Depot, get some proper locks. Dead bolts. After all, he wasnt going to be in town forever.

Surely she knew. So why, then, had she asked him to dinner?

She was still attracted to him. Hed have to be a fool not to see it. But if he was a bad candidate for a love affair this morning, this afternoon he was even worse.

The fear that had grabbed him when hed seen the Merchant at the Home Depot had lodged in his chest, solid and unmoving. What if he was crazy? What if he started seeing terrorists everywhere he went? What if, because of this, he really did have to leave the Navy?

Now, more than ever, he had to keep Kelly at arms length.

But now, more than ever, Tom wanted to lose himself in the sweet comfort of her arms.

God, he wanted her. And if she wanted him, how the hell was he going to keep turning her down?