Read Online Operation: Midnight Guardian by Linda Castillo - Free Book Online Page B

then her slacks. Her bra and panties were wet as well, but there was no way he was going to remove them. Covering her with the blanket, he then dragged the bunk closer to the fire so she would get maximum heat.
    He hung her clothes over the back of a chair and set it next to the hearth for quick drying, then set to work removing his own wet clothing. He had begun to shiver, which was a good sign. His body was coming to life, trying to warm itself and raise his body temperature back to a normal level. But even with the fire blazing, the temperature inside the cabin was below freezing. If they were going to recover enough to walk out of there under their own power, he was going to have to do a hell of a lot better.
    Aside from the fire, the next best source of warmth was body heat. As much as he didn’t want to think about crawling onto that cot with Mattie Logan when they were wearing nothing more than underwear, he knew it was the smartest thing to do. Not only for him, but for her. Her body temperature was dangerously low. Warming too quickly could shunt cold blood from the surface of the body to the internal organs, causing shock. Body heat was the perfect solution.
    Shivering uncontrollably, he lifted the blanket from Mattie. She was lying curled on her side. Trying not to notice her beauty, he bent and touched her shoulder with the back of his fingers. Her skin was cold to the touch, but her lips were no longer blue. He checked her pulse, found it slow. Too slow, he thought.
    Decision made, he climbed onto the cot and lay down behind her with his body spooning hers. Pulling the blanket over both of them, he wrapped his arm around her torso. He willed himself not to think of her in inappropriate terms, but his body had no such reservations.The mattress smelled moldy, but it was the scent of rosemary and lemon that filled his nostrils as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.
     
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    Mattie woke to blessed warmth and the sensation of a muscular male body snugged up against hers. Her first thought was that she’d just wakened from a very bad dream. She was back in her condo in D.C. She’d finally slept with Daniel. But none of those things explained why every part of her body ached. Or why the wind was howling and snow was battering the windows with the force of tiny missiles.
    The urge to shut her eyes again and snuggle closer to the warm—and evidently aroused—male body was powerful. But as the fog of exhaustion-induced sleep lifted, the events of the past twenty-four hours flooded back into her brain. The crash of the prison van. The cold-blooded murders of the U.S. Marshals. Running for her life in hostile mountain terrain. The manwith icy blue eyes carrying her through blizzard conditions…
    Mattie sat up abruptly. The ramshackle room was cold despite the embers glowing in the hearth. Then she noticed she was wearing only her bra and panties, and as far as she could tell the man lying next to her was half-naked, as well.
    She scrambled from the cot, taking the blanket with her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
    Cutter instantly awoke and sat bolt upright. His eyes darted first to the door, then to her. “Judging from the look on your face, not what you’re thinking.”
    Mattie couldn’t help it. Of their own accord, her eyes flicked down his body. He was wearing a shirt, but it was open. She saw a muscular chest covered with swirls of black hair; a six-pack stomach that was flat and rock hard; long, athletic legs. He wore navy boxer shorts, and she couldn’t help but notice he filled them out the way a man ought to fill out boxer shorts.
    Banking the thoughts that were crazy at a time like this, Mattie glared at him. She’d heard of male members of law enforcement taking advantage of female prisoners. The thought hadalways disgusted her, frightened her if she wanted to be honest about it. Even though she didn’t know him well, she couldn’t imagine Cutter