But then she remembered. The war was long over. She wasnat a teenager anymore. She was old and tired. The victim of a kidnapping.

Thunder roared again.

But she wasnat too tired or too olda"or too much of a victima"to fight back. She nudged Amy awake. aPlay along with me,a she breathed to the little girl, who nodded, her brown eyes instantly alert and ready for anything. God bless her.

The electrical storm was putting their captors on edge. How recently had they experienced a rain of bombs in their war torn country? Eve could sympathize with their discomfort. She herself had sat out bad storms in the bomb shelter until well into the 1960s.

She knew the wisest course of action would be to sit tight. To not make waves. To not give the Bear and the others any additional problems.

But Eve knew they were running out of time. She saw the way the woman looked at them.

She had to take this chance.

She caught the Bearas eye. aAmy has a terrible stomachache,a she told him, having to raise her voice over the sound of the rain pounding down onto the roof. aPlease take us to the bathroom before she has an accident.a Amy gave a very convincing sounding groana"just the smallest sound.

The Bear didnat look happy, but he moved toward the other men, talking and gesturing back at them in a low voice.

Eve knew they were deciding whether or not to go to the woman with her request, or to simply take them upstairs on their own.

Amy made another small sound, a gagging sound this time, and the decision was made. Take them up to the bathroom now. Quickly.

The Bear led the way, and Eve moved as fast as she could on the stairsa"which wasnat fast enough for the young man, who actually picked her up and carried her the last ten feet. Thunder roared again, and he nearly dropped her. Poor boy. She wasnat completely up on her recent history, but he had to have been just a child when the worst of the last civil war had rocked his country. Head probably been ten when the bombs started falling, and they hadnat stopped for close to four years.

She squeezed his arm reassuringly, but he scowled. aBe fast.a She knew that this poor boy was probably going to kill them. All he needed was the order, and he would end their lives without a great deal of thought.

But she wanted him to think. She wanted him to struggle. aThank you, young man,a she told him with dignity, granting him dignity, too. aFor your kindness and compassion.a aBe fast,a he said again.

She limped after Amy, down the hall and into the bathroom, shutting the door tightly behind them.

Amy was smiling.

Eve put her finger to her mouth, cautioning silence.

aHelp me,a she whispered, motioning for Amy to join her in the tub.

The window was unlocked, and she pushed against it, testing it, finding the places that had the most give.

aPut your hands here and here,a she whispered to the little girl. aWhen I say now, push up. Not out. Up.a Amy nodded her understanding, and Eve positioned her own hands on the window, waiting . . .

Lightning flashed, right outside the window, and Amy pulled back, startled.

aNow,a Eve said, aware that Amy was no longer there. But the thunder had already started to roll, drowning out all other sounds, and she pushed with all her might.

The window groaned, and then Amy was back, pushing with her. It gave with an enormous creak thata"please, Goda"was masked by the thunder.

As wind blew the rain into the open window, Eve looked at the door, bracing herself. But the Bear didnat come bursting inside, demanding to know what they were up to.

Eve looked out the window, tempted to leave right then and there. The rain was relentless, making the roof slippery and wet. But that same rain would mask the sounds of their footsteps.

aAmy, quick,a Eve said, ready to do it.

But the Bear thumped on the door. aTimeas up!a aJust another minute,a Eve called. They wouldnat get far if he came into the bathroom after them and found them gone. In fact, theyad be like ducks in a shooting gallery. He could pick them off at his leisure from the open window. It wasnat as if head have to guess which way theyad gone.

Eve left the window open, praying that no one would see it from the ground, praying that theyad have another chance to get up here and make their escape.

She pulled the curtain across the tub, but it moved in the wind.

Taking Amyas hand, she opened the bathroom door only the smallest possible amount and slipped out, closing the door tightly behind them.

The Bear frowned, and Eve pinched her nose shut, shaking her head.

Yes, it smelled in there.

It smelled like fresh air and freedom.

Obediently, meekly, she limped back down the stairs after Amy.

Sam was floored.

There was no doubt about it. Alyssa was far more drunk than head thought. Head tossed that ridiculous challenge out as a joke. A clever six-year-old wouldave seen that he was baiting her. But instead of laughing in his face, she fell for it.

He looked down at the handcuffs that locked them together. Oh, shit. Now what?

Now he was supposed to spend the night cuffed to a woman he craved more than oxygen.

She was looking a little uncertain now, too. As if shead just realized what shead done. As if she werenat comfortable with their arms and hands so close together. As if the reality of the warmth of her forearm brushing against his was more dauntinga"and dangerousa"than shead imagined it would be.

He didnat look at her, couldnat look at her, praying that shead back down, that shead get the keys and unlock the cuffs. It still wasnat too late for her to admit that this was a ridiculous, dumbass ideaa"that neither of them were going to get a lick of sleep tonight.

aMove over,a she ordered, and he shifted obediently to the right side of the bed, realizing with growing dread that she was going to play this out. Right to the end.

An end that would no doubt see him deada"either from frustration, or because she would kill him when he finally fell asleep and forgot where he was and who he was with, and why he shouldnat touch her.

aLook, Alyssa,a he started. aItas occurred to mea"a aThis isnat a problem,a she told him with the earnestness of the extremely inebriated.

Yeah, she was drunk. And if she came onto him and he didnat gently push her away, he would be a total asshole. Head be scum, dirt, excrement. Head be worse than excrement. Head be toxic waste.

I think this might be a problem for me. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but as he watched, she kicked off her sneakers and snuggled back against the pillows, her shirt stretched tightly across her breasts. His hand was two inches from her thigh. Maybe less. His mouth went dry, and all his warnings and cautions stuck in his throat.

This was going to be torture, but sick bastard that he was, he couldnat bring himself to make it stop.

Sam turned off the light so at least he wouldnat have to watch her lying there.

She sighed, just a small sound, but it was nearly enough to shoot him through the roof.

He prayed for God to send a little more self-control in his direction. And donata"please, Lord Jesusa"let him start thinking about sex. Donat let him think about Alyssaas incredible body naked beneath him, straining to receive him, hot and sleek and gorgeous. Donat let him . . .

Too late.

Shit. Shit.

aOh, God,a she said, sitting up, tugging his hand with her, panic in her voice. The metal cuffs bit into his wrist, but he welcomed the pain. aWhy is the room spinning?a Uh-oh. aHavenat you ever had the bed spins before?a he asked.

aNo. Bed spins . . . ?a Man, she really was new at this. A complete innocent.

aItas normal,a he told her. Shead just had another whole glass of whiskey not more than fifteen minutes ago. Maybe when it kicked in, it would knock her out and she would sleep. And maybe in the morning, when she woke up in his bed, shead accept the magnetic attraction that raged between them and . . . aJust . . . try to ignore it.a Her voice shook. aI canat.a aSometimes it helps if you leave the light on.a Except, if he turned on the light now, shead have a hard time not noticing the fact that in the past ninety seconds head managed to become completely aroused.

And that would go over really well.

aTurn it on,a she said. aPlease?a Oh, hell. Worst case scenario, shead be offended. Shead remove the cuffs and never speak to him again. Best case scenario, shead look down at him and smilea"the way shead smiled in his dreams and . . . No, no, no, donat think about that! That was only going to make it worse.

Sam reached and turned the light back on, shifting so that he was on his side, facing her, one leg slightly up. Another version of the best case scenarioa"maybe shead be too drunk to notice the giant hard-on he was trying to hide.

Except now he was stuck lying here, facing her. Watching her.

He laughed aloud.

Alyssa frowned. aWhatas so funny?a aJust . . . everything. Itas funny. Weare handcuffed together. Thatas funny. Iam completely . . . Well, trust me, itas funny.a aHaving these bed spins isnat funny.a She sank back against the pillows, turning slightly to face him, her eyes anxious. aI donat like it.a He didnat either. He didnata"and he did. Part of him liked this way too much. She was looking to him for answers, for help, for expertise. When had that ever happeneda"outside of his wildest dreams?

He shifted slightly so that he was holding her hand, lacing their fingers together. aSometimes it helps if youave got someone to hold on to.a She hesitated, but it was only for a second before she clung to him tightly. For someone with such slender fingers, she was impossibly strong. aThanks.a She just lay there then, as time ticked painstakingly slowly past, gazing at him with her big green eyes.

aYou, uh, want to talk?a he finally asked. aSometimes it helps if you just kind of talk yourself out.a Sex also helped, but he wasnat going to tell her that. aIf you lie there, trying to sleep, thatas when the room really spins. But if you donat try to sleep, if you talk and just let sleep kind of sneak up on you, itas not so bad.a Somehow he managed to smile at her. He hoped it looked reassuring.

aMy mother used to hold my hand at night if I had a bad dream,a Alyssa said. aShe used to sit on the edge of the bed, and just be there, you know?a Her voice turned wistful. aShe came in every night and kissed us on the forehead. God, it would make me feel so safe.a aMy sister, Lainey, did that for me,a Sam admitted. aProbably the same way you did for your little sisters.a Her eyes filled with tears. Oh, hell. Bad mistake, mentioning her little sisters. She was drunk, and here he was giving her a reason to turn into a crying drunk.

Sam changed the subject, fast. aHey, have you met the new guy yet? Mike Muldoon?a Alyssa nodded, also obviously eager to take their conversation in a different direction. She spoke carefully, enunciating extra well to compensate for the alcohol raging through her system. aYeah. Well, yes, but not really. I mean, Senior Chief Wolchonoka"a She took some extra time with the difficult name. aa"introduced me, but I didnat get a chance to do more than say hi before Muldaur ran away.a aMuldoon. And yeah, heas shy.a aMuldoon. Right. Muldoon. Is he for real? Or is that shy thing just part of an act?a aOh, heas real. He actually says gosh.a aReally?a She smiled, thank God, her almost-tears forgotten.

Sam didnat think he could bear it if she started to cry. He wouldnat be able to keep from pulling her into his arms, and then head be in big trouble.

aHonest to God,a he told her. aHeas got the vocabulary of an altar boy. aGee whiz, senior chief,a a he imitated Muldoonas voice.

She laugheda"victory. aNow I know youare making that up.a aSwear to God. Heas from upstate Vermont or Minnesota or maybe Idaho? I forget.a aVermontas slightly different from Idaho or Minnesota, Starrett,a she pointed out.

aNot really. See, thereas Texas, and then thereas the other forty-nine states, all interchangeable. Muldoon comes from small town Americaa"real small town. Someplace caught in a time warp. With a population of less than a thousand. Where children address their elders as sir or maaam, and the F-word isnat uttered even in back alleysa"let alone in mixed company. Where women stay home and clean and bake apple pies anda"a aYeah, thanks. I liked it right until you got to that part.a aAnd menas jobs are to provide for their families and keep their wives barefoot and pregnant and in those kitchens, baking applea"a aYeah, yeah, yeah,a she said. aAre you in therapy? Because clearly you have some kind of fixation.a She was teasing him, smiling at him.

aIam not saying I approve of it,a he countered. aIam just giving you a report on Muldoon. Youare the one who wanted to know. Personally, I think itas unnatural. You know, I find myself watching my language around him, wanting to protect his innocent little ears. I swear, itas like having George Baileya"you know, from Itas a Wonderful Lifea"join the team.a She laughed again. aI think George Bailey would be a great addition to any team.a He snorted. aSpoken just like a woman. Whatas wrong with you, Locke?a aNothing,a she countered indignantly. aConsidering I am a woman.a A woman who was lying next to him on his bed, handcuffed to him, her hair spread out on the pillow, her breasts full against her T-shirt . . .

Sam yanked his gaze back to her eyes, forced himself to smile, to keep his voice light despite the sudden five hundred degree temperature increase in the room. aYeah, I kind of couldnat help but notice.a Too late for keeping things lighta"the mood had already shifted. And Alyssa wasnat smiling anymore. She was looking at him with those ocean green eyes, with an expression on her face that head never seen before. She was looking at his shoulders and his chest, his stomach and . . .

Sam shifted his legs, lying even more on his side. God damn, she was looking at him as if she wanted to touch him. Was it possible . . . ?

aThis is really weird, isnat it?a she asked quietly, looking back into his eyes.

He nodded. Cleared his throat. Ached for her. Forced another smile. aWhy donat you try closing your eyes again?a She closed her eyes immediately, and he instantly regretted not suggesting that she kiss him. Would she have done that as obediently, too?

aGood night, Sam.a Maybe it was because she called him Sam. Maybe it was because she looked so young and vulnerable, lying there with her eyes tightly closed. Maybe it was because he was just flat-out insane. But on a complete and total whim, he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead, just like her mother used to do.

It wasnat planned. It wasnat thought out. It just seemed like the right thing to do at that one particular moment in time.

Honest to God, the last thing he expected was for her to reach up with her free hand and catch him. To put her arm around his neck, and hold him there, his face inches from hers, her fingers skimming across his shoulders, her touch impossibly, wonderfully intimate.

aThat was nice,a she said. aThank you.a Her mouth was right there, right therea"that mouth head dreamed about for years. And he couldnat stop himself. He kissed her again, just as gently but on the lips this time, brushing his mouth across hers.

aThat was even nicer,a she whispered, and smiled. At him.

It was all over. Right then and there. Battle lost. Surrender was inevitable and immediate.

She was drunka"drunk enough to handcuff herself to him. He knew that. And he was scum, excrement, toxic waste.

Because he kissed her again, kissed her anyway. Not so gently this time, with his lips completely covering hers. And when she opened her mouth to him, welcoming him, he didnat hesitate. He took all that she offered and more, drinking her in, like a man all but dying of thirst.

She tasted like the best whiskey head ever had in his lifea"sweet and sharp and incomparably intoxicating.

He could feel her fingers in his hair and on his back as he kissed her longer, harder, as she kissed him just as hungrilya"hot, deep, delicious kisses that promised heaven was just a few heartbeats away.

She made a sound that was half laughter, half frustration as, when she tried to pull him closer, the handcuffs got in the way.

It was long past the time she should have pushed him over to his side of the bed. It was long past the time she should have gasped and come to her senses, long past the time she should have been using words like mistake and shouldnat and stop.

Instead, she wrapped one of her legs around him, pulling him against her. Tightly. So that there was no way she couldnat notice how completely turned on he was. There was no amount of alcohol that would have kept the hard trutha"as it werea"hidden from her now.

And it was only then that she stopped kissing him.

Sam was ready to pull back, ready to apologize, ready for damn near anything but the way that she smiled up into his eyes.

aOh my,a she murmured. aIs that for me?a He laughed at thata"he couldnat help himself. And the sound of her laughter wove its way around him, too.

aYou are one amazing looking man, you know that?a Alyssa told him, pulling his head down so that she could kiss him again.

He knew what he should do.

He should put some space between them and make sure she knew what she was doing. Instead, he found her breast first with his hand, filling his palm with her softness, then with his mouth, drawing hard on her, right through both the cotton of her T-shirt and her bra.

She was on fire. She was lightning in his arms, arching up against him, opening her legs. If she hadnat had on her jeans, he could have pushed his way inside of hera"just like that, he could have slid home.

aDo you have any condoms?a she gasped. aPlease tell me you have condoms.a Okay, so maybe she wasnat quite so completely drunk after all. If she were able to think clearly enough to ask for condoms, she couldnat be that drunk, could she?

aBedside table, top drawer,a he told her, and got a beautiful smile in return.

She was struggling to get out of her jeans and Sam tried to help, but the handcuffs made it close to impossible. aMaybe you should get the key.a aWhat?a she asked, kicking her legs free. aSet you loose and risk having you run off somewhere? No way.a It was a joke. She was making a joke. She knew damn well that he wasnat going anywhere. There was nothing in this world short of a call from his CO telling him to mobilize that would make him leave her right now. Not a million dollars, not all the best friends in the world.

Her panties were white, but there was nothing conservative about them. He slipped one finger under the edge, but she laughed and pulled away, kneeling on the bed beside him.

aBesides,a she added, athe cuffs really work for me.a She wiggled her eyebrows at him, then reached out to touch him, grabbing hold of him right through his shorts. aThis really works for me, too.a She was laughing again, and he caught her mouth with his in a burst of pleasure and happiness that was so intense he was nearly blinded.

He pulled her shirt up over her head, only to realize he couldnat get it past the handcuffs. It hung there on her arm, and she laughed again. She laughed even more as she dragged his shorts down his legs and his erection sprang free.