Piper stilled. Her head tilted to the side, and total awareness wandered down her freezing spine. "Huh?"

He smiled. Slow, dangerous, and way too gentle. "Clothes. Wet. Discard."

Smart-a.s.s. She shook her head. "I'm not taking off my clothes." Her instant sneeze may have negated the power from her voice.

He glanced around and reached for a threadbare quilt from the sofa. "You can put this on, but you're taking off the wet clothes. I'm not allowing you to catch pneumonia and die when you're my responsibility."

"I'm not your responsibility." The words popped automatically to her mouth, which went dry as she took a good look at him. The wet shirt molded way too defined muscles in his torso, and even displayed the impossibly hard ridges of his abdomen. Tight jeans encased powerful thighs. His thick hair was slicked back, leaving the stark contours of his handsome face on full display. The purplish lump above his right eyebrow only served to make him appear even more dangerous.

s.e.xy as h.e.l.l.

And the bad guy. Definitely the bad guy.

Except he didn't seem like a bad guy, and while he'd been using his body to shield her from rocks in the river, he hadn't felt like a bad guy. He kind of felt like a bada.s.s hero.

He c.o.c.ked his head to the side. "What in the world is going through your head?"

"I'm not getting naked." Although seeing him naked held certain appeal. From an artistic standpoint, of course.

"You are." His jaw may have been made from rock. "We both know I could have your clothes off you in seconds, so I'm giving you a chance to control the situation here."

Warmth spread through her abdomen. Oh, she didn't think he'd meant the words as innuendo, but her body didn't care. Naked. With that amazing specimen of a male. She'd seen his strength and his stamina. Suddenly, her face burned.

His gaze gentled. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." She reached out and grabbed the blanket. What in the h.e.l.l was wrong with her mind all of a sudden? Make that her hormones. "Turn around."

He snorted. "I've seen naked women before."

Oh, she could just guess. "Turn the h.e.l.l around."

With a suffering male sigh, he turned around. And shoved down his wet jeans.

She gulped. Wow. Great a.s.s. Tight, hard, and perfectly masculine. Apparently he had no trouble getting naked in front of her.

But why would he? The man was perfection. She bit back a moan as he shrugged out of his briefs.

Take off the shirt. Take off the shirt. Take off- Good Lord. He took off the shirt. Hard muscles rippled as he yanked the wet cotton over his head to toss next to the fire. Scars of different sizes punctuated his impressive back. Round scars, long scars... probably knives and guns.

She swallowed. Something sad, something so d.a.m.n feminine in her wanted to kiss his hurts. To smooth the pain away. No matter the mistakes he'd made, somebody had harmed him badly. More than once. "You said my father raised you with brothers, and he said he recruited you at eighteen and gave you soldiers as brothers-who you betrayed."

His back stiffened. "I've never betrayed my brothers."

It sounded so much like Jory was telling the truth. "I don't know who to believe."

"I know, baby." He sighed and stretched. "I'm sorry."

So was she, and even the thought of doubting the father she'd always wanted to know flushed her with shame. But Jory didn't seem to be the cold-blooded killer her father had described. She had to get some answers. "How long you been a soldier?"

Jory turned around, eyebrows raised. "My entire life."

It probably felt that way. Three scars from what appeared to be bullets marred his chest but somehow had missed the intricate tattoo right above his heart. "Pretty. What does it mean?" she asked.

"Freedom," he said, his voice a low rumble.

Heat flared again to her face as she tried to keep eye contact. She would not look lower than his chest. Or abs. "Not shy, are you."

"Nope." His grin turned charming into something lethal. "Your turn."

She was a grown-a.s.s woman. A computer genius, and she'd certainly seen a nude man before. Yet her hands shook, and her eyes actually stung with the need to look lower.

Do. Not. Look. Lower.

Holy f.u.c.king s.h.i.t. She looked lower. The guy was built. Really, really, really built.

As if sensing her perusal, his c.o.c.k perked up.

Oh G.o.d.

Her gaze flew to his face. Humor lit his odd gray eyes, and he barked out a chuckle. A totally comfortable, making fun of himself, male chuckle.

Her heart thumped-and warmed. "You have got to put something on."

"I'd love to put something on," he murmured, his voice lowering to hoa.r.s.e and hot. Those eyes darkened to the color of the storm clouds outside, lit within from heat. A whole lot of heat.

A shiver wandered down her spine, and her thighs softened. She ignored her traitorous body and rolled her eyes. An impish part of her would love to take him by surprise and agree, but he'd no doubt meet her halfway, and then she'd be in a pickle. So she went for defensive, unable to keep her lips from twitching. "Knock it off."

"I can't seem to help it." Good humor creased his cheek. Yet he sighed and turned to rummage through a cupboard near the fireplace. Seconds later, he'd wrapped a worn flowered blanket around his hips.

He should've looked ridiculous, yet the feminine cover-up just enhanced his wildness.

And something wild lived in Jory. There was no question.

A part of her, one that she'd tried to tame with logic and computer science, perked up. Temptation to meet his wildness with her own warmed her core and softened her thighs.

His gaze grew predatory, as if he sensed the battle waging inside her.

Her heart beat hard enough to speed up her breath. The storm raged outside, while the fire crackled inside. She swallowed, trying to control herself. Enough of this silliness. "Turn around."

He turned around, once again revealing his warrior's back.

The man embodied danger, and she had to keep that foremost in her mind. Most serial killers were s.e.xy and charming, too.

He snorted.

s.h.i.t. She'd said that out loud. Her fingers cramped when she shoved off her wet clothes, hurriedly wrapping the rough blanket around her. Why did he make her feel like a b.u.mbling innocent? "Um. Okay. I'm not a virgin for Pete's sakes." She mumbled the last.

He laughed again as he turned to face her.

She frowned. "You heard that?" How in the world? She'd mumbled so quietly she couldn't even hear her voice, and yet he'd somehow heard her? Supersonic hearing wasn't possible, was it?

"Yes. I'm not a virgin, either. Was that an invitation, by any chance?" Boyish hopefulness curved his lips.

h.e.l.l. There wasn't anything boyish about the man standing strong and sure, the fire lighting him from behind. "No." Her nipples hardened in pure denial to her words. "Not a chance."

His gaze penetrated her, and a long shiver wound down her spine. His gaze darkened. Yeah. He'd seen the shiver. d.a.m.n it.

"Are you sure?" he rumbled.

Her voice trembled. "Yes."

"Okay." He reached for her discarded clothing to lay out near the fire.

His acquiescence sounded temporary somehow.

As she shoved away s.e.xual desire, the cold took over. She tried to bite her lip to prevent her teeth from chattering. Tremors shook her shoulders, but her feet remained planted. To get nearer to the fire, she needed to get closer to Jory, and the safest spot for her right now was on the other side of the sofa.

Finished with his task, he turned to survey her, more heat in his gaze than from the fire. "You're still cold."

She shook her head. "Keep your cliched a.s.s on that side of the sofa."

He smiled and reached over the back of the couch.

She couldn't help her smirk. No way could he get the leverage to lift her. n.o.body was that strong.

So when he wrapped strong hands around her arms, she didn't struggle. Then he lifted her. She yelped as she all but flew over the back of the couch to impact his corded chest.

So much heat enfolded her, she forgot all about the cold. Her breath caught, and her body began to hum.

Turning, he dropped onto the sofa with her cradled in his arms.

She gaped. "That's not normal strength."

"You don't weigh that much." He settled her more comfortably on his lap.

"Hey." She wanted to punch him, but so much warmth came from his fit body that she had to fight the urge to snuggle right in. Or turn and straddle him. Her mouth actually watered with the need to run her lips across his unbelievable neck. Strong cords tempted every taste bud she had.

The fire heated her other side, catching her between two infernos. With the storm outside, the fire's glow inside added a surreal intimacy to the moment. If she forgot herself, if she let go of suspiciousness and reality, she could jump right into the heat.

He snuggled her closer, and her eyelids dropped to half-mast. Maybe she'd been more chilled than she'd feared, because she was completely losing control.

"Just relax, Piper. You're safe." His breath brushed her hair, and her body went on full alert. Full, s.e.xy, sitting on a hard male alert.

Her lips almost touched his bronze skin. "This is unbelievable."

"I like it."

She breathed out. "I'm sure. Don't tell me. You imagined us in a romantic cabin with a storm outside-both of us nude and warming up. You're kidding me, right?"

"That's not how I imagined us." His lips barely grazed her forehead. The husky tenor of his voice caressed her, zinged right through her, and landed hard between her legs. Right where she wanted him to be.

She knew better. Yep. She totally knew better, but she asked anyway. "How did you imagine us?" Then she held her breath. G.o.d, she truly was a moron.

"Under the stars, you on your hands and knees, me taking you from behind."

Her nervous system sparked alive, while her chest hitched. The image smashed into her brain, vividly alive and vibrant. Desire flushed through her to heat her s.e.x. "I, ah, didn't expect you to be graphic."

"Sometimes honesty is graphic." He shifted, the powerful muscles in his chest moving against her back.

"This can't happen, Jory." Sitting in his arms, warmed by the fire, it was difficult to keep a grasp on reality.

"I know."

His easy acceptance spiked down her spine. "You kidnapped me, and you're my father's enemy." Yet confusion swirled through her brain. Not her body, though. Her body was all in right now, hungering for the man holding her so tight. "I'm sorry." Why did she apologize? Maybe because reality sucked, and she wished for a fantasy. With Jory. She so had to change the subject, and she had to uncover the truth. Any truth, because too much wasn't adding up. "You said you have brothers. Are you the oldest?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm the youngest of four."

She blinked. "If that were true, I'd be surprised. You're so in control of everything."

His laugh rumbled through her. "Then you should meet my oldest brother, Mattie. Talk about in control."

She played with a loose string on the blanket still covering her. "You also said that my... the commander... raised you?"

"Yes. They created us and raised us as an experiment-as soldiers. My first kill happened when I was thirteen. A drug overlord in a jungle that doesn't even exist any longer."

Her chest hurt with the idea of his childhood-real or imagined. He sounded like he was telling the truth, but he was trained, right? Though how could she be this attracted to him otherwise? "Is that true?" she whispered.

"Yes."

He sounded so truthful, but how could that be? "I don't understand. The military doesn't just create people."

"I don't think the commander has exactly worked within the military guidelines his whole life. He really is the one who had the chips implanted near our spines." Jory let out a low groan when Piper wriggled to get her balance on his hard groin.

She stilled. "Um. Sorry." How could he be telling the truth? "If they created you, why were you in a cell?" Even half turned on by the impossibly hard body surrounding her, she felt nausea spiraling through her stomach. Could it be true?

Jory brushed his lips across her forehead in a gesture far more comforting than she'd ever received from her father. "We escaped five years ago. Blew up the Tennessee compound and got loose-even went to Disneyland for a week."

Her mind spun. "I can't take all of this in. It doesn't make sense."

Jory's large hand cupped her head and pressed her into his neck. "Try to get some sleep. I'll head over and secure a cell phone from the fishing cabin in a couple of hours when the men there pa.s.s out."

She lifted her head to face him. "I'm not sure whether or not to believe you."

"I know." He smoothed the hair from her face. "I don't blame you."

Then why did she feel so d.a.m.n guilty? Her gaze dropped to his lips. Full and sensual, she already knew the kind of electricity they could generate.

"Piper?" he asked.