Rules In Blackmail. Nichole Severn

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СКАЧАТЬ of the Alaskan wilderness. Together. “You don’t have to do all this work yourself, you know. I can help.”

      “You’re more than welcome to...” His mouth went slack as though he couldn’t get enough oxygen. Probably couldn’t. Freezing temperatures didn’t discriminate against SEALs or lawyers. Mother Nature treated everyone equally.

      “Are you okay?” she asked. “Sullivan?”

      They’d crossed at least two and a half miles of heavy snow and growth, maybe more. She was tired and couldn’t feel her toes, but her instincts urged her to get to him. Now.

      Sullivan doubled over, dropping his gear before he collapsed onto his side.

      “Sullivan!” Jane discarded the duffel bag and lunged toward him. Her feet felt like frozen blocks of ice, but she fought the piling snow with everything she had. Hands outstretched, she checked his pulse. Weak. “No, no, no, no. Come on. Get up.”

      Gripping his jawline, she brought one ear to his mouth. Still breathing. Would anyone hear her out here? “Help!”

      Sullivan Bishop was a SEAL, for crying out loud. This shouldn’t be happening. He’d trained for situations exactly like this. Her heart beat out of control. She dived for the duffel bag he’d been carrying. Food, more guns. There had to be a—

      “Yes!” She ripped the first-aid kit from the bag, fought to break the seal on the space blanket, then covered him completely. The hand and foot warmers were easier to open with her stiff fingers, but they wouldn’t be enough. One look at Sullivan’s normally full, sensual pink lips said she was running out of time. She had to get his body temperature up before hypothermia set in, but the blanket and a few warmers wouldn’t cut it.

      “You are not allowed to die on me. You hear me? I can’t do this without you. You’re going to listen to my voice and wake up so I don’t have to carry you.” Scanning the thick trees ahead of their location, Jane narrowed in on a clearing. And across that? A small cabin set into the other side of the trees. Had to be Sullivan’s safe house. Had to be. If not, they’d at least have some protection from the elements while the owners called for help. “You’re going to make me drag you there, aren’t you?”

      She didn’t have time to wait for an answer. Leaving the duffel bags, Jane fisted her numb grip into his jacket and pulled. The snow eased the friction underneath him as she hefted Sullivan toward the clearing, but her strength gave out after only a few hundred feet. She collapsed back into the snow, fingers aching, heart racing. Hours upon hours of training kept her in shape in the army, but this? This was different. And the security contractor at her feet wasn’t exactly a lightweight. “Come on, Sullivan. Think lighter thoughts.”

      The trees passed by in a blur. She couldn’t focus on anything but shoving one foot back behind the other. Minutes passed, hours it seemed, and they hit the clearing. Only a few hundred more feet and faster than she thought possible, the heels of her boots knocked against the steps leading into the cabin. She tried the door. Locked. Pounding her fists against the door, she listened carefully for movement, but no one answered. In a rush, she searched for a fake rock, anything that would get her inside. She hunted around the bushes and flitted over something that was most certainly not natural: a key taped to one of the thick branches. Shoving the steel into the dead bolt and turning, she sighed in victory.

      Heat enveloped her in seconds, thawing her fingers in a rush until they burned. No time. She spun back to Sullivan and slid her grip under his arms. An exhausted groan broke free from her lips as she hauled him inside. Fire. She had to start a fire to get him warm.

      “Almost there. Hang on.” Throwing off her coat, Jane ran toward the fireplace and got a small fire going. She’d add more to it in a few minutes, but right now, Sullivan’s wet clothes and his own sweat were doing his body more harm than good. She stripped off her coat, socks and jeans, staring down at the peaceful expression settled across his strong, handsome features. Then it was his turn.

      “Sorry, Sullivan. You might hate me even more after you wake up.” Crouching at his feet, she untied his boot laces and unbuttoned his pants. Jane hefted her own shirt over her head, adding it to the pile of clothes at her feet. Tugging him up into a sitting position, she stripped him down to nothing. “But it’s going to save your life.”

       Chapter Three

      Dying hurt like hell.

      Heat blistered along his forearms, neck and face. His entire body ached in places he hadn’t thought about since his SEAL days. He hadn’t been on active duty for over a year now, but Sullivan still trained as though he were. Had to be ready for anything his clients might throw his way. Even the beginning stages of hypothermia. Damn it, he should’ve known better. Groaning, he cracked open his eyes, stomach still rolling. A fire popped a few feet from him.

      At least he knew where he was. The cabin was sparse: one bedroom, one bath, a living room and small kitchen. He mostly came out here when he wanted to be alone, needed to get away from people, the city or both. No neighbors, no one to encroach on his business. And he’d never brought anyone here before. He’d kept this place under his mother’s maiden name in case he’d needed a safe house. It couldn’t be traced back to him if Jane’s stalker—or anyone else—had the inclination to investigate. But how in the hell did he get here?

      Sullivan raised his head. He wasn’t alone.

      Endless amounts of warm, smooth skin stretched out beside him under the heaviest blanket he kept on hand in the cabin. A head of black hair rested against his right arm. Jane? He had to be dreaming. Skimming his fingers across her shoulder blade, he sank into how very real she felt. Nope. Not a dream. But why would she... The lapse in his memory filled almost instantly. The last thing he remembered was the look on her face as he...collapsed. Terrified. Hell. Had she dragged him all the way out here on her own?

      Her shoulders rising and falling against him in a slow, even rhythm said she was fast asleep. He couldn’t have been out for long. An hour—two, tops—from the amount of moonlight coming through the front room window. He’d messed up out there, but her sultry vanilla scent spared him a few ounces of guilt. It dived into his lungs, and he took a deep breath to keep it in his system as long as possible. His heart rate dropped to a slow, even thump behind his ears. He closed his eyes, all too easily seeing himself burying his nose in her hair for another round.

      Nope. Not the time and definitely not this woman.

      Sullivan shifted his hips away from her backside. If Jane woke up now, there’d be no hiding what was going on downstairs in that moment. His brain might have control, but with the expanse of soft skin along his front, his body had other ideas. He scanned the living room and spotted his clothes hanging from fishing line around the open rafters by the fireplace. He’d gotten out of some real complicated situations in the navy. There had to be a way to unwind himself from this warm, coldhearted woman without waking her.

      He leveraged his weight into his toes and stretched out his arm. A soft, guttural moan worked up Jane’s throat. Something primal washed through him. He froze. There was a stalker on the loose and he’d nearly died out in the wilderness, but all Sullivan could think about was what he wouldn’t give to hear that sound again.

      She shifted against him, wrapping her leg around him as though she sensed he was trying to escape. What the—

      The breath Sullivan had been holding crushed from his lungs. He settled back where he’d been, pressed right against her, his front to her back. СКАЧАТЬ