Harper lowered her head and gripped his hands tight. She held on for a long moment. He tried to think of something to say that would make the raw tension in her body go away. Then she let go and moved her hands under his coat to rest on his shoulders.

“Apparently I will live,” Harper said, her voice a little stronger as she lifted her head and slipped his coat off. “For now. But let’s just make sure about you.”

He heard the soft thud as the garment hit the tiled floor, and her surprised gasp. He looked down at himself, seeing what all the fuss was about. His T-shirt was liberally ripped and had a few slices on the side from a bullet’s graze. He wasn’t sure whether that had happened while on the bike or in the facility. The pain had just kind of run all together.

Strong hands pulled at the hem of his T-shirt, drawing it out of the waistband of his jeans. The fabric brushed against his bruised skin as she pulled it up and over his head.

Another loud gasp reached his ears, and then she whirled away from him to open the shower door and turn on the water.

A light film of dried sweat coated his skin, and angry red marks dotted his rib cage, just waiting to color and bruise. Sticky smudges of blood were caked in some of the hair on his chest.

On his right side, he saw the ruptured flesh from the gunshots that had ripped through his clothing and grazed his body. Luckily, he’d twisted the right way at the right time to avoid the lethal fire. The bleeding had long since stopped, but the skin was torn on the surface and tingling. It definitely looked worse than it was. He hoped she saw that, too.

“I don’t know much in the way of dressing gunshot wounds,” she said, rallying, as she turned around to face him after she checked the water’s temperature with the back of her hand. “But, I do know that a hot shower always makes the aches go away.” Sweeping her hand toward the burgeoning steam billowing from the open shower, she gave him a saucy wink and stepped toward the bathroom door to leave him. “At least it does for me.”

“Then why don’t you join me?” That damn wink had made his stomach flip.

Her eyes hooded slightly, and she gave him a low, throaty chuckle in response as she pulled the door shut behind her, leaving him alone among the warm vapors.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Damn, the woman knew how to flirt. She knew how to kiss, too. He wondered whether he’d ever get to find out just how much else she knew how to do.

Shaking his head and chuckling, he unwrapped the brand-new bar of soap on the counter. Rome removed the rest of his clothes, a few grunts escaping with the effort, and stepped inside the hot shower. He closed the steamed-up door, sealing the hazy heat within the eight high walls of glass.

Standing completely still, he reveled in the constant torrent of hot water raining down onto his beaten body. He lathered the fresh-scented bar of soap in his hands and then ran it across his solid chest and abdomen, stinging his cuts.

But Harper was right. The aches and pains seemed to flow down the drain like the frothy bubbles from the soap, reviving his strength and clearing his head. He turned slow circles in the wide stall, soaping every inch of skin, and then just allowed the water to rinse it away.

Setting the soap on a corner ledge, Rome braced his hands against the misty glass wall in front of him, bowing his head under the spray and closing his eyes.

Images flashed behind his eyelids. His mind raced with the dark thoughts of the facility. And the experiments. And the men who continually tried to kill him and Harper.

And Jeff.

That’s what hurt the most. More than any of the bruises that covered his flesh, it was the stark betrayal he felt inside from learning Jeff was the one who orchestrated all of this. The one who had Bobby Kane murdered because the scientist had found out what a bastard Jeff was.

Damn him. Rome had never really trusted his boss, but he’d always figured they were on the same side. Yet Jeff had twisted Rome’s single failure into a sick experiment that killed more people than he ever had and hurt Harper beyond repair. Now more than ever, he wanted to make the bastard pay for what he’d done.

The hot water pounded the back of his neck, seeping warmth into his beaten body. With great effort, Rome cleared his mind, not even wanting to deal with it all right now. The only thing he wanted at this very moment was outside the bathroom door. He knew he should fight the attraction, given they had a limited future at best, but he couldn’t fight the way she’d planted herself into his soul.

Everything else in his head washed away and the only thing that remained was Harper. He could imagine the shower door opening, steam whirling as she stepped inside to share the cozy, misty space behind him. Her strong swimmer’s hands gliding over his wet shoulder blades and slanting around to spread across his chest.

Rome pulled his hands away from the walls. Standing up straight, he felt his lower body tighten in response to his vision of Harper naked, her sleek wet breasts pressing against his back.

Keeping his eyes shut, he ran his hand down his solid stomach to slide over his hardness. Closing his fingers, he stroked himself slowly again and again as the shower spray soaked his body and the fantasy of Harper flooded his mind.

A heavy groan rumbled behind his back.

His eyes snapped open. His moving hand stilled. Looking down, he saw her hands clawing across his chest. Shifting his gaze over his shoulder, he saw her stirring green eyes were searing into his. Hungry and primitive.

It wasn’t a vision. Harper was really here. In the shower. Wanting him, too. A sharp desire spiked through him, igniting his entire being.

One of her hands slid down to cover his and resumed the unhurried stroking. Rome kept his stunned gaze locked on hers while the motion continued, setting fire to his blood. He watched her eyes darken as his breath hitched with the sensations radiating from their joint movements.

Her tongue poked out slightly, licking her lips, sending a powerful shiver through him. He was near bursting when she suddenly stopped the caress. A deep groan escaped him as she pulled him around to face her, a sultry smile creasing her gorgeous face.

Rome had to admit that he was more than a little nervous of what he hoped was about to happen. He’d never made love to a woman like Harper. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with her. She was so sure of herself. He wasn’t. It had been a while, and he’d always had to lead. But following her was something he thoroughly wanted to experience.

He watched her flaring green eyes fill with a playful yet sexy glint. Then she pushed him back a step and bent down to kneel on the smooth, tiled floor of the shower, facing him.

The shower spray pelted her slicked-back blonde hair as she moved closer, clutching his behind with one of her strong hands. The other hand gripped his thigh, kneading the muscles there.

Running his hand through the wet strands, he guided her to his thick hardness. She went willingly, running her tongue and lips along his shaft as though licking a Popsicle on a hot summer day.

Rome shut his eyes and tipped his head back, holding on to her head while she took him in and out of her mouth, over and over again. The breathtaking pressure built to unspeakable levels as he neared an earth-shat-tering release.

Then she stopped.

He opened his eyes to see Harper standing in the wet haze, raising her lengthy arms to grasp the top of the shower walls and spreading her legs while she stood, inviting him to take her.

There was absolutely nothing in the world he wanted more.

Raking a thorough glance over her long, athletic body, he marveled at the perfection of her sleek muscles and womanly curves. As in a dream, he raised his hands to brush his fingers across the hardened points of her breasts, amazed by the groan his touch elicited. He did it again, smiling at the identical response.