Читать книгу Woman Of Innocence - Lindsay McKenna - Страница 8

“Morgan, are you awake?”

“…Umphh…”

Laura smiled softly as she gazed at her dozing husband. Thin streams of moonlight filtered into their bedroom on the second floor of their log home. She could smell the scent of pine as a breeze gently blew the diaphanous white curtains beside their brass bed. Snuggling up against his back, she moved her hand in a gliding motion around his rib cage. Though the comforts of living had put a few extra pounds on Morgan, he still worked to maintain the strong, athletic build he’d had as a young man.

Placing her palm against his darkly haired chest, she reached up and placed a kiss against his naked shoulder. “Are you awake?” she repeated.

Morgan stirred. He forced his lids open. Feeling Laura’s small hand against his chest, over his heart, he lifted his own hand and pressed it against hers. “I am now.”

She laughed a little breathlessly and kissed him as a reward. “I know you had a hard day. I should have talked to you about this earlier.”

Morgan liked the feel of Laura’s silky nightgown. The way it flowed against his nakedness made him very aware of her feminine curves. Moving carefully from his side to his back, he brought his wife into his arms. She nestled her blond head into his shoulder, her brow pressed to his jaw. Ever since her kidnapping years ago, the trauma she’d suffered, Laura had changed. Not that Morgan could blame her under the circumstances. He, too, had been changed when he and his wife, as well as their eldest son, Jason, had been victimized during the incident.

“What are you worrying over?” he rumbled as he pressed his lips to her thick soft hair. Inhaling deeply, he savored the sweet scent of kahili ginger that she’d washed her hair with earlier that night, before they went to bed.

Laughing a little, Laura eased away just enough to catch his sleepy looking eyes. Warmed by his sensitivity to her needs, she whispered, “How did you know I was worrying?”

One corner of his mouth moved upward. Her eyes shone with warmth and love—toward him. Squeezing her shoulder gently, he rasped, “Why wouldn’t I know? We’ve been married a long time. We know one another pretty well at this stage, don’t you think?”

“Even at two in the morning you have a sense of humor.” She grinned a little and kissed his jaw. The sandpapery quality made her lips tingle as she sank against him.

Sighing, Morgan said, “Only for you, believe me.” He’d lost count of the times he’d been awakened by a person on duty over at the Perseus headquarters about a mercenary mission. No, he savored a good night’s sleep. Morgan also knew that since the kidnapping, Laura had kept a lot of her emotions in, and had lost some of her childlike spontaneity. Over time, he’d learned how to read her when she internalized things, and he tried to stimulate conversation with her, to find out what was going on inside that intelligent head of hers. Tonight was one of those nights, he realized. Laura rarely woke him up like this. He wondered if she was worried about one of their four children. Jason, their firstborn son, in particular, who was going through a very rough time the last couple of years as a maturing teen.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked quietly. He felt her hand range across his chest, her touch always wonderful. Savoring the feel of her slender, feminine body against his own, he moved his fingers across her shoulder.

Closing her eyes, Laura sighed. “It’s about Jenny.”

His brows drew downward. “Jenny? My assistant?”

“Yes.”

All sleepiness left him as he wondered why Laura needed to discuss the woman who worked for him at Perseus. “What about her?”

“You know how much we both like her,” Laura began.

“Yes…” Where was this leading? Normally, Laura didn’t discuss business at 2:00 a.m. with him. She helped out occasionally on hiring people for Perseus. Otherwise, she had her hands full with their four children, devoting her life and time to them, not Perseus. “She’s become like a fifth child to us,” Morgan agreed.

The fact that Jenny had a lot of Laura’s own traits hadn’t escaped either of them. With her short blond hair and pixie face, Jenny looked more like one of their children than Morgan’s secretarial assistant. Jenny had been abandoned at birth, given up for adoption, and she still didn’t know who her parents were. When Laura had discovered that fact, she’d automatically extended a hand to the young woman of twenty-four, and made her a part of their extended family. Morgan didn’t mind. Jenny was a superb worker, highly intelligent, and had graduated from Bryn Mawr in the top ten percent of her class. She had a degree in psychology, and spoke three foreign languages fluently. Jenny was no ordinary secretary, by a long shot. She was, literally, Morgan’s right-hand person at Perseus. Everything that went on, Jenny knew about. She was reliable, trustworthy and hardworking.

“You know her birthday is coming up in a week? She’ll be twenty-five?”

Rubbing his face, Morgan muttered, “Oh…no, I forgot. Damn…It’s a good thing you reminded me.” He made it a point to remember the birthday of every one of his employees. But Jenny kept the list for him, and knowing her as he did, he realized she’d never tell him her birthday was coming up! She didn’t like to take the limelight or have anyone make a big deal over her. She was almost a shadow, a behind-the-scenes player in all respects.

Laura nodded her head. “A senior moment, sweetheart.”

They both laughed. Now that Morgan was in his mid-fifties, he had found out that his memory wasn’t what it used to be.

“I have a special gift in mind for her,” Laura said enthusiastically. “And that’s what I need to talk to you about.”

Raising his brows, Morgan said, “Okay…whatever it is, get it for her. She treats you like the mother she doesn’t have. You don’t need my okay on it.” He felt Laura laugh and she hugged him.

“Don’t be so quick to agree, Morgan. The ‘gift’ I have in mind is unusual and does require your approval.”

“You’re up to something….”

She laughed liltingly. “You’re slow, Trayhern. Must be the time of morning I woke you up.”

He grinned and squeezed Laura, placing a kiss on her smooth brow. Morgan treasured these special moments they shared. They didn’t have many, not with four kids and the demands of Perseus hanging over their heads all the time. “Why is it the man is always the last to know?” he teased back.

Laura kissed his cheek and then sat up. The sheet fell away and pooled around her hips. She saw the glimmer in Morgan’s dark blue eyes and reached out and skimmed her hand across his massive chest. “That’s why you guys needs us girls around.”

Catching her hand, he pressed a kiss to it. “Okay, I give. What’s going on?” He liked the way the pale peach silk nightgown with the deep V-neckline revealed her slender body. Even after carrying his four children, she was as beautiful and desirable to him as ever.

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Uh-oh…now I am in trouble!”

She giggled and met his smiling eyes and cockeyed grin. Despite Morgan’s overwhelming workload, when he was with her, he was more like a little boy than the serious, conservative military tactician that he was. With her, he let down his walls. He trusted her. He loved her. “Yes,” she whispered wickedly, “I think you are….”

With a sigh, he struggled up into a sitting position. Leaning against the cool brass headboard, he held her hand in his. “Okay, what have you planned for Jenny’s birthday?”

Laura lost her smile and turned slightly, her knees brushing against his thick, hard thigh as she met and held his glimmering eyes. The moonlight was bright, contrasting starkly with the deep shadows in the room. Morgan’s face was square and large. Even in the moonlight the scar on his face stood out, a constant reminder of that fateful day during the Vietnam War so long ago.

“You know how desperately she daydreams of going on a mission with a mercenary.”

Morgan groaned. “Laura…”

She held up her hand. “Hear me out, darling.”

Groaning, Morgan rumbled, “That’s all it is, Laura. She daydreams. She knows she can’t go on a bona fide merc mission. She’s not trained for it.” Scowling, he added, “Jenny is smart, bright, resourceful and creative, but she’s not merc material. I can’t put one of my men at risk to fulfill some romantic dream she has about this business. You know that.”

Sliding her hand along his jaw, Laura whispered, “You’re overreacting, darling. Remember last week, how you mentioned to me that you have a level one mission coming up in Agua Caliente, Peru? You said you needed to assign someone to interview Major Maya Stevenson’s Apache pilots for that top-secret mission that will be going down in Mexico. Jenny’s a psychologist. Who better to interview and help select the right three women for this? A level one assignment means no danger. Why couldn’t you assign Jenny to go along? Make her feel like she’s doing something important? Let her undertake the interviewing and choose the pilots. I really think if you’d do this, she’d lose her romantic visions of the business. As it is now, that’s all she talks about—to be part of one of your merc teams.”

Groaning, Morgan closed his eyes. “Laura…”

“Morgan, it’s a little thing, but it’ll mean so much to Jenny.”

Opening his eyes, he regarded her shadowed face and absorbed her warm, pleading look. She knew he wouldn’t refuse her. He never did. How could he? Loving Laura was his whole life. Their children were proof of that, and their love had deepened and gotten even better over the years. She was his best friend. And she rarely took advantage of their bond as she was doing now.

Morgan knew that Laura felt deeply for Jenny’s plight as an abandoned child. Laura had a habit of bringing in strays all the time. There was that stray kitten down at the grocers, starving, its eyes nearly matted shut, that she’d brought it home and nursed back to health. A pigeon had been hit by a car and was lying on the side of the road, and Laura had stopped and picked it up. She’d put a splint on its broken wing and nursed it back to health. Now that Laura had released it, the dumb bird made its home on the rail outside their bedroom door. Morgan wasn’t very happy about that. The bird messed everywhere.

Morgan’s mind ranged over the many animals Laura had rescued over the years. And he had to admit, if he was honest, that she had rescued him, too. He was a stray. He’d been abandoned in every way possible, yet, she’d opened her heart and her life to him, without question.

Morgan wouldn’t make Laura beg. He respected her too much to play that kind of game. He saw that her velvety eyes were filled with love toward him. Sighing, Morgan squeezed her small hand in his large one. “Okay, okay! So who’s available to go on this mock merc mission?”

Laura released a breath of air, leaned forward and threw her arms around his broad, warm shoulders. “Thank you, darling.” She gave him a quick kiss on his mouth and said, “Matt Davis is coming in from Bosnia tomorrow. He’s been on a level four mission, and I would imagine he’d like something a little safer and quieter.”

Morgan arched one black brow. “Davis? Baby-sitting Jenny? Oh, brother, Laura. That is not a match made in heaven. That’s like putting oil and water together.”

“He’s the only one available,” Laura said, biting her lower lip in thought. “I’ve met him several times. He’s very nice. Good-looking too. And single.”

“Is this all for Jenny’s benefit?”

Laura laughed. “It doesn’t hurt that he isn’t married, Morgan.”

Giving her a dark look, he growled, “You aren’t matchmaking again, are you?” Laura had a penchant for that.

Her mouth twitched. She saw Morgan’s dark, assessing gaze on her. “Me? No. Go look at the database yourself. There’s no one available except Matt. I’m sure if you explain to him the reasons for his being assigned, he’d go along with it. He’s got a soft heart.”

“Humph. I’ve got to have a soft head to think he’d agree to it. I’m going to have to do a helluva lotta talking to get him, Laura. He’s thirty years old and he will not like baby-sitting a rookie. Hell, Jenny isn’t even that.” Running his fingers through his black hair, he grimaced.

“Matt knows Spanish. And this is a Spanish-speaking mission,” she reminded him. “And Jenny knows Spanish. She won’t be a problem. Besides, she plans all the missions with you and Mike Houston. Just because she hasn’t spent any real time on a mission, she knows how they work. I think if you tell Matt why, he’ll gracefully capitulate and do it.”

“I’m not so sure….” Morgan wasn’t. “Grace is not his middle name.”

“More than anything,” Laura said, “please don’t let Jenny think this isn’t an important mission. Let her think that she’s really contributing—that she’s the best person for the job.”

“I can’t let Jenny think we’ll do this again, Laura. She’s not qualified and trained in military maneuvers.”

Holding up her hand, Laura said, “I agree. Tell her that it’s her birthday and that you felt she could handle this mission. You can make it perfectly clear that there will never be another. I really think that if Matt gives her a taste of a real mission, without the danger being there, she’ll quickly lose that romantic veneer she’s put on mercs and missions in the future. Maybe she needs to go on a mission, experience it, simply to help her to understand the rigors and stresses on our people. It could help her be a better assistant as she plans these missions with you and Mike.”

Nodding, Morgan muttered, “You’ve got sound arguments. Maybe we should put her on a safe mission. I could suggest to Matt to ham it up a little for her benefit. Level ones are usually boring as hell to a merc.”

Laura sighed. “You’ve got the right idea, Morgan. I feel this will work out to everyone’s advantage. Jenny will fulfill her dream. You’ll get an assistant back that understands mission planning more fully.”

Chuckling, Morgan said, “Matt’s the only one who isn’t going to benefit from this trip.”

“Mmm,” Laura murmured as she moved into Morgan’s arms, “Matt’s a big boy. Somehow, I think he’ll roll with the situation. Jenny is cute. And she’s no dummy. He’ll find out very quickly just how smart and resourceful she is.”

Morgan smiled, pressing his wife closer to him. As she leaned down, rubbing like a feline against him, he murmured, “Let’s set business aside now, shall we?”

Laura laughed gently and placed her lips against his smiling ones. “I like waking you at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, Trayhern….”

As her lips glided against his, he felt her smiling. Her body was warm and sensuous as he wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah,” he growled, “no interruptions…”

“No phones, no faxes…”

“No children coming in and needing something…”

Sighing, Laura whispered, “Just the two of us…. Let’s take advantage of it, shall we, darling?”

“I need a special favor from you, Matt. Have a seat.” Morgan gestured to the leather wing chair that sat at one corner of his massive bird’s-eye maple desk in his private office within the Perseus complex. The merc, Matt Davis, assessed him critically with storm-gray eyes as he sat down.

“A favor?”

The door to Morgan’s office opened, interrupting the two men. Jenny came in, bearing a silver tray with coffee, cream, sugar and those delectable Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They were Morgan’s downfall. Luckily, Jenny had put only two on the tray—one for each of the men. Laura had given her strict instructions not to serve the usual half dozen anymore, or Morgan would eat more than his fair share.

“Come in, Jenny,” he murmured. “You can set the tray on the desk here.”

Matt rubbed his eyes tiredly. The little blond-haired assistant gave him a cheery good-morning smile, as she had when she’d let him in to see Morgan for his appointment. Her blue eyes sparkled with such life. She brushed by him and he caught the scent of a very faint fragrance; maybe lilacs? He dismissed his distracting thought. Right now, all he wanted was a week or two off and some deep, sound sleep. Still, those large, expressive blue eyes of hers got to him. They reached inside of his armored heart and touched him as if he had no defenses in place. Damn. How could that be? She was all of maybe five foot two inches, and probably weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. She was built like a bird, Matt thought, and she looked fragile. Like she might break if someone glared at her or said a bad word in her presence. Yet she was all bubbly, light effervescence. Sunshine in their dark hole of a business, he mused. Maybe that’s why Morgan had hired her: she brought light to the murky world they lived in. Matt couldn’t blame him. Jenny was attractive without being a raving beauty. It was her eyes and that constant, soft smile on her full mouth that were her greatest attributes.

“Thank you, Jenny,” Morgan murmured as she was about to pour coffee into the delicate white china cups. “We’ll do it.”

“Sure…” Jenny nodded and turned. As she did, the toe of her sensible brown loafer caught the scarred, dirty hiking boot Matt wore.

“Oh!” The cry tore from her lips as she staggered forward, off balance, her arms flailing outward.

Matt saw her trip. Instantly, he was leaning forward, his arm outstretched, to grab her. He was easily able to catch her as she reeled in his direction. In seconds, her light form was in his arms, her shoulder against his chest.

“You okay?” he asked as he righted her and sat her on her feet. Matt saw her cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Morgan had come halfway out of his chair when he saw her trip, but from where he was, he couldn’t have helped her, anyway.

“Oh yes…sorry! I’m so sorry, Mr. Davis….” Jenny quickly leaped away from him. She nervously smoothed her tan slacks and gave Morgan a regretful look. “I’m such a klutz. I’m okay, Morgan. Really.” And she held out her hand to stop him from coming around the desk. The look on his face was one of genuine concern. She loved her boss so much. He treated her as an equal, not as some dumb, airhead blonde.

“You sure?” Morgan asked, halting.

“Very sure.” Flustered, she ran her fingers through her thick, short hair. “It’s just me.” Flashing Matt Davis a slight smile, she said, “Thanks for saving me from totally embarrassing myself.”

Matt couldn’t help but smile back. She was such a sprite. More like sunlight dancing on the choppy waters of life than an ordinary woman.

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured, and reached for the coffee.

“I’ll leave you now,” she said and hurried out of the room.

Morgan picked up a Krispy Kreme doughnut. “You know, these doughnuts are the best in the world.” He eyed it like a jeweler eyeballing an expensive diamond.

Snorting, Matt poured them coffee. “You eat ’em. I don’t need the sugar today.”

“Humph, I don’t, either, but…Sure you don’t want the other one?”

Davis grinned and sipped the hot, fragrant coffee. “Positive.” He patted his hard, flat belly beneath the white cotton shirt he wore.

Morgan bit into the doughnut, a look of absolute pleasure crossing his face. “This is one of life’s little gifts,” he sighed as he enjoyed every bite. “When I heard they were going to have a Krispy Kreme come to Philipsburg, I knew I was in heaven.”

Davis chortled a little and sat down, sprawling his six-foot-two-inch length out again, the coffee balanced between his hands. “Better you than me. If I eat bread products of any kind, I gain weight right off the bat. In our business, we don’t need that riding against us.”

Patting his middle, Morgan said, “I’ve got about five pounds here I don’t need.”

“Yeah, well you’re in your fifties and I’m thirty. Big difference.” Matt grinned.

Good humored, Morgan took the second doughnut and sat down. He ate it with the same slow satisfaction as he had the first one. “This will be our secret. Laura thinks I’m getting one a day.”

“Our secret,” Matt agreed with a lopsided grin.

Dusting off his hands on the white linen napkin from the tray, Morgan picked up his coffee and sauntered back around his desk. “Now,” he murmured, “I have a favor to ask of you.”