I'm Yours (7 page)

“It’s nice to have the flexibility I
guess.”

“Sometimes I think you’re too hard on me, but
then I realize you’re even harder on yourself. You need to give
yourself a break too. I have a huge family. You know that. Most the
time I leave early because someone always needs something. I come
in late for the same reason. Hell Kara, I don’t even go on dates
during the week anyway.”

She looked down at her plate and began to
push her food around rather than eat. He hoped that gave her
something to think about. He wasn’t going to tell her he was saving
himself for her, because he hadn’t. He’d done his damnedest to try
to find someone else. Someone he wanted even half as much as he
wanted her, but he hadn’t found anyone. He didn’t understand what
gave her the right to act so high and mighty when she’d turned him
down enough times to get him to stop asking. He didn’t want to
fight. Fighting with Kara was some sort of defense mechanism with
him. When they fought, his attraction bumped down a few notches to
bearable.

“Are you done with your dinner,” he
asked.

“Yes. I was thinking if we find a store and
get some lunchmeat, we can take extra bread from the continental
breakfast and make a sort of sack lunch then we’d really only have
to spend money on dinner.”

“That will work. And if we have leftovers
like we will tonight, we can fill the ice chest and have those for
lunch as well. Will you be OK if I run to the restroom real quick
before we head out to find a store?”

She nodded as the waitress came over with
their check. Kara paid the check with some of the cash she had and
as she was leaning down trying to count out the tip, she felt a
breeze slip past her as someone entered the restaurant. Kara didn’t
think anything of it until she heard their Slavic accents.
Suddenly, she froze in her seat and kept her face down and pulled
the check up to cover her face as she snuck a peek.

The guys were short but very bulky and hairy.
She turned and pretended to dig through her purse for something,
hoping they wouldn’t even notice her. Were these the same guys who
had been shooting at Ian this morning or the ones that beat him up
last night? She couldn’t understand what they were saying, but when
she heard them speak Ronan’s name, she hugged her purse to her body
and tried to walk slowly and casually to the hallway that lead to
the bathroom.

Kara could feel the panic rising up in her.
Most of the time, she could control her anxiety but sometimes
things escalated faster than she could calm herself. She couldn’t
control it and she’d fallen apart in front of Ian a few times.
Though he had been understanding, she had still been mortified when
it was over.

She had to calm herself down or she wouldn’t
be able to tell Ian about the men and she’d end up creating a scene
in the restaurant. That would just draw more attention to her and
put both her and Ian at risk. Trying to take deep breaths, she
stood outside the men’s bathroom hopping from foot to foot. When
she couldn’t handle the pressure anymore, she started banging on
the door to the men’s room.

“Hey buddy, there are multiple stalls in
here, no need to knock the door down,” Ian said as he swung the
door open. “Kara?”

Just as she was getting ready to take a
breath and tell Ian what she’d seen, Kara heard one of the men
speaking Slavic approaching the hallway. She had to do something.
They had to hide. She knew the men hadn’t recognized her, from
behind at least, so she pushed Ian back into the darkest corner of
the hallway. When he looked at her like she was crazy, she pulled
his face down to hers and began to kiss him with all she had.

When Ian had stepped out of the men’s room to
see Kara holding her purse to her chest like a security blanket, he
knew something was off. Here eyes had that panicked look he’d seen
in them only a few times before, when she’d had a full blown
anxiety attack. He lifted his hand to her arm, ready to pull her
out of the restaurant as quickly as possible when she’d backed him
into a corner and pressed her tongue into his mouth. Who was he to
argue? If this would calm her nerves, he was more than willing to
kiss her right back.

Her body was plastered to his and this time
she had him pressed against the wall. He couldn’t hold back the
groan when he felt her peaked nipples press into his chest.
Wrapping his arms around her, one hand cupped the back of her head
and the other held her hip. Even though she’d allowed him to kiss
her before, he never imagined that Kara would instigate a hot
make-out session. He figured he’d be the sexual aggressor pretty
much from beginning to end. Ian was perfectly comfortable in that
role, he liked it even, but he could get used to Kara coming onto
him.

Knowing how much the woman loves to control
situations, he shouldn’t really be surprised that she would press
him against a wall just as he had with her. His hand on her head
slid down her back since she was in full control of the angle of
the kiss as she cupped his head with both hands. When his fingers
slid down, down her back and reached her luscious ass, she sighed
into his mouth. Hell yeah! He could really get used to this side of
Kara. He used his grip on her bottom to pull her up onto her
tiptoes and he bent his knees just a little to get her right where
he wanted her.

In the back of his mind, the fear he’d seen
in her eyes still niggled at him, but Ian couldn’t bring himself to
pull her away and ask her about it. He couldn’t even bring himself
to care that they were in a public restaurant. Kara was plastered
against him and that right there had short-circuited his brain. She
had changed shirts, but was still in the damn leggings so it was
almost as if Ian was touching her bare skin.

When he had the angle perfect, Ian pressed
his aching erection into the apex of her thighs. Ah fuck! He could
tell that they’d be a perfect fit when they came together. The fact
that they would come together was no longer a question. He was
going to strip every scrap of clothes from her and explore her body
with his tongue, it was just a matter of when.

As his thoughts turned to exploring Kara’s
body, Ian tried to pull back a little so he could kiss his way down
her neck, but she had a death grip on his head. He wanted to taste
her skin as he moved his way down to her stellar tits. Just as he
was about to protest her tight grasp on his head, he heard two men
walking down the hallway speaking…Slavic.

Shit! Well, that explained Kara banging on
the men’s room door and panicked look in her eyes. She’d seen the
men come into the restaurant and had come to warn him. Ian knew
exactly when the men saw the two of them making out in the dark
corner because the tone of their discussion changed and one of them
even chuckled. The other guy told them to “get a room” as both men
stepped into the bathroom.

As soon as the door swung closed, Ian
reluctantly pulled away from Kara and dragged her further down the
hallway and into the kitchen. Everyone was so busy they didn’t even
notice the two patrons sneaking out the back door. Ian pressed Kara
behind him as he leaned out and checked in all directions to make
sure the coast was clear.

“Kara, love, you were amazing! That was such
quick thinking. How many men were there?”

“F-four. Oh God Ian, I was so sure they’d
found us.”

She hugged herself tight to his chest and he
smiled a little as he smoothed his hands down her back to comfort
her. He knew he needed to get them out of there, but he closed his
eyes for just a moment to savor Kara, seeking comfort in his
arms.

“What did they say? Did they see you?”

“No, they didn’t pay any attention to me. I
couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I heard Ronan’s name and I
started to panic. Do you think the hotel room is safe?”

“I don’t know. Let’s get in the car. I want
to call Ronan.”

“O-OK.”

He could feel her body vibrating with fear
and panic. Ian quickly led her to their car and he pulled out of
the parking lot. Wanting to scope things out, he drove around their
motel once to see if anyone was waiting for them. Kara kept a death
grip on his arm as her eyes shot all over the place. It was killing
him to worry her like this, but even if they changed motels, they
needed to gather their things. They couldn’t afford to keep
replacing everything. As he parked in the back of the motel parking
lot, Ian called Ronan.

“I thought we agreed on four hour intervals
bro.” Ronan answered.

“Yeah, well we saw a couple of your Slavic
friends. They’re a little too close for comfort. I was wondering if
you’re keeping tabs on what they’re up to.”

“They’re fucking idiots, running around like
chickens with their heads cut off. They’re wondering how I could be
back in Chicago, which of course is the result of mistaken
identity.”

“Well, I’m not sure the place we chose to
stay is safe. I want you to stay on the phone with Kara while I run
up and get our things out of the room.”

“No!” Kara protest. “Ian, we can leave the
stuff. Let’s just go. They could be up there waiting for us.”

“Kara, we can’t afford to keep replacing
things.”

“Ian, it’s a bunch of clothes from Wal-Mart,
that stupid suitcase full of stuff is not worth your life.”

“Hand her the phone Ian, let me talk to her.”
Ronan said. “They don’t know you’re there or Quinn would have heard
something. Go get your stuff.”

“Ronan wants to talk to you,” Ian told her as
he handed her the phone.

“Ian, please don’t go.”

She pulled on his sleeve to keep him in the
car. There was such a beseeching look in her beautiful blue eyes.
She refused to take the phone at first, but finally relented. She
didn’t let go of him as she pressed the phone to her ear. After
listening to Ronan for a moment, Kara shook her head. It warmed his
heart that she was so concerned about him. Ian ran the back of his
hand down her cheek.

“Are you worried about losing me, love?” he
asked quietly.

“I…”

“I’ll be right back, Kara. Keep an eye out
and if you see anything suspicious, let Ronan know then hang up and
call the police, OK.”

It took her a moment, but she finally
swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded. Ian put on his hat and
sunglasses, even though the sun was beginning to set. He made sure
to take a route to their room where Kara could see him the whole
way. Ian crouched down, pretending to tie his shoe and took his gun
from the ankle holster. He stepped up to their door and stopped to
listen.

When he didn’t hear any movement within the
room, Ian slid the keycard into the slot and opened the door. He
pointed the gun into the room before entering. He didn’t see
anyone, but he checked the bathroom as well just to be sure. Once
he was sure no one was there, he tossed everything that was theirs
back into the suitcase and zipped the sucker up as fast as he
could.

The money for the room was gone and that was
bad enough. He’d call in the morning to check out, that way if the
men asked about them with a description, it would tie them up for a
little while at least. Looking out to make sure no one was waiting
for him to leave the room, Ian made a quick exit. He kept his gun
hidden, but in his hand. As he approached the car, he could tell
Kara was yelling at Ronan.

Quickly, Ian opened the door and threw the
suitcase in the back before slipping back into the driver’s seat.
He could see it was taking a lot of effort for Kara to keep herself
calm. Her nostrils flared in anger as she listened to Ronan. Ian
had seen that look often and it was usually directed straight at
him.

“He’s back safe. I have to tell you Ronan, I
know you’ve roped Ian into some crazy things in the past, but this
is ridiculous. I know you wanted him to watch your back sometimes,
but I never, not once, thought you would put his life in
danger.”

“Kara!” Ian said as he wrenched the phone
from her hand. “I’m safe bro,” He said into the phone.

“She sure is passionate about your safety big
brother.” Ronan chuckled. “I always knew you had a thing for her,
looks like the feeling is mutual.”

“Then you can just back the fuck off.”

Ronan was laughing outright now. “I won’t
count this as an interval call, so I’ll chat with you again
in…about an hour and a half.”

“Sounds good.” Ian said before disconnecting
the call.

“How come you can tell Ronan to back off, but
I can’t tell him to not get us involved in his mess?”

“Kara, you were making him feel guilty. It’s
not like he recruited me for this mission. He’s in as much danger
as we are at this point. In fact, he’s in more. Us, we might be a
means to get to Ronan, but they want him dead. Last thing I want is
for him to feel like he can’t call on me if he needs backup.”

“I hate his job! I hate that it puts both of
you in danger.”

“Normally, I’m in no more danger than any
other person. This is a fucked up situation, love. Ronan’s cover
has been so blown, who knows if he’ll be able to go undercover
again anytime soon. We just need to get through this and protect
Ronan.”

“What about you? Who’s going to protect
you?”

“I’m supposed to be protecting you, a
grá.”

“It’s not me they want Ian, it’s Ronan and,
by default, you.”

No way in hell was he telling her that this
would put her in more danger if they were caught. If these goons
did catch up with them, they’d either think Ian was Ronan or they’d
use him to get at his brother. Kara was of no value and with people
like this, that just made her a liability. They wouldn’t think
twice about shooting her and leaving her for dead. The thought made
his blood boil and his stomach lurch.

He couldn’t let anything happen to Kara.
Sure, Ronan was the reason they were in this mess, but if she
didn’t have Ian as a partner she also would have been safe. He
never imagined he’d be the one to put her in danger. The thought of
backing away from her when this was all over flitted through his
mind. He was just selfish enough to admit that he’d rather protect
her from any future threats than have to walk away from her.