Running Hot by Helenkay Dimon Read Free Book Online

shooting would begin. Bullets and noise, and Ward knew they’d be outnumbered. So, he had to get the jump now.
    Raw energy thrummed off Tasha. She hadn’t moved, but the air around her changed, as if charged with electricity. “We should go.”
    â€œToo late.” In a few quick moves, Ward had a gun tucked behind Tasha’s back and one in his least favorite place for a weapon, the front of his pants. A knife sat in his pocket within easy grabbing and throwing range. That weapon would be his last defense. If he reached for that one, he’d likely do it on the way down.
    â€œWhat are you—” Her gaze flew up to meet his.
    He knew the second she picked up the shuffling sound. Emotion drained from her face, and her eyes met his. Something subtle in the way she moved and the stiffness across her shoulders suggested she’d flipped into battle mode.
    He nodded, trying to telegraph the need for her to play along and, if necessary, shoot around him while using his body as a shield. He needed to believe she handled a gun half as well as she did a needle full of that junk to knock him out.
    â€œDon’t fight me.” That was all he got out before he put the only realistic plan into motion.
    An iguana scurried into the brush as Ward pushed her back deeper into the tree. Footsteps thundered around them, and he lowered his head. His mouth covered hers right before something crunched behind him. He tried to concentrate on the sounds of the forest area and the incoming attack party, but her mouth had his attention zapping.
    Her lips were soft, and the kiss hot. He strained to listen, to keep his mind on the job, but the kiss sucked him under. She tasted as good as he suspected she would. Her fingers slipped into his hair, and her body brushed against his.
    Lips touching with his hands on her hips. He kissed her once, faster than he wanted, giving into the need that had been building in his gut since the first time he met her.
    Blinding heat rocked through him, then he wrestled his control back. They could not do this. Not here. Not with the audience he felt watching them through the trees.
    â€œHey.” A male voice, sharp and demanding.
    Ward broke away from her. Ignored her swollen lips and the clenching of her fingers into his biceps as he glanced over his shoulder, playing every inch of the interrupted angry boyfriend.
    â€œThis is private . . .” Ward saw the two men step into the small clearing Tasha’s tree hacking had created. His gaze went to their assault weapons and then back to the men trying to sneak a peek at Tasha from behind him. Fury rushed over him, but he hid it under an act of wide-eyed surprise. “Oh, wait . . . what . . .”
    The taller of the two gestured with a lift of his chin. “What are you doing out here?”
    Like a well-timed machine and without a word of direction, Tasha slipped the gun out of his waistband. Ward felt it brush against his skin; then it was gone. Now he could turn around without either getting shot or having to draw. There was still hope to diffuse this situation without bloodshed.
    He did just that. With hands raised and wearing the frown of a tourist confused by having weapons flashing for him to see, he slowly turned to face the two unwanted visitors head-on. “Exactly what it looks like. I’m spending some time with my girl.”
    The shorter man stared at Tasha. Without a signal from his brain, Ward moved to shield her. If the way she knocked him out earlier were any indication, she could handle this situation. But that didn’t mean he liked some asswipe dressed as a bought-and-paid-for soldier of convenience gawking at her.
    â€œYou’re in a restricted area,” the taller one said. He kept his finger off the trigger, but it was right there.
    Tasha slid the gun into the back waistband of Ward’s pants, then her hands went to his shoulders as she peeked at the men in front of her.