Page 42 of Isla by Any Other Name

“Umm,” she stretched her arms above her head, her body illuminated by the light coming from the bathroom. His body reacted to her beauty. Stop, we need to be on the road. No fooling around, he chastised himself. She was so beautiful, and her body fit his like she was made just for him. He knew it would be a while before they could be intimate again, but that didn’t stop him from craving her. He would just have to be happy with the knowledge that they loved each other.

“I like when you call me by my name,” Isla said, smiling.

“I try so hard not to,” said Mitch. “I try not to even think your name. It’s not professional—” He brushed his hand on her cheek. “But neither is anything else we’ve done in the past twelve hours.”

She pulled him down to her for a kiss.

“Do you think you can be ready to go in fifteen?” he said. “I need to go to the office and turn in the key and I’ll be right back.”

“Ten minutes,” she said. “I’ll be ready.”

Mitch smiled down at her. “Put the extra lock on and don’t answer the door unless I tell you.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Mitch hurried to turn in the key and stopped for some of the not-so-bad-looking coffee at the breakfast bar. His good arm held the coffees in a carrier. He knocked on their door with his bad arm, feeling the stiffness of the obliterated muscle there. He’d been shot before—he knew the deal. He’d need physical therapy.

“Molly, open the door. It’s me.”

“You have to answer a question first,” she said from the other side of the door. “So I know it’s you.” She was trying to be serious, but he heard the play in her tone.

“What’s that?”

“Do I have a birthmark and if I do where is it?” she asked.

“Yes, you have a birthmark. It’s on the inside of your left thigh.”

He heard the lock click as she opened the door. “Very observant. You may enter.” She smiled.

“Found it when we were on the way back from Philly. Very sexy,” he chuffed.

He walked in and put the cups on the dresser before pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless.

“Mitch, we can’t.”

“I know,” he said. “I just wanted one more kiss before we got back to the compound. Who knows how long it’ll be before we have the opportunity again?”

“I hate not being able to scream I love you from the mountaintops.”

“When this is all over, that’s what we’ll do,” he said as he grabbed the bags.

The trip back to the compound was uneventful. Hours on the backroads, hand in hand. They pulled up to the gate an hour before sunset. Mitch rolled down his window and pushed the speaker button. “Hey, it’s me. Open the gate.” The gate opened and Mitch pulled into the yard. They parked in the garage and he said, “It’s good to be home. Hopefully, we can breathe now.” He got out and came around to open the door for her before he grabbed their bags with his good arm.

Colt was waiting at the top of the garage steps. “Welcome back. Any trouble?”

“No trouble, not that I could see anyway. What about you?” Mitch asked as he followed Isla into the kitchen.

“We did—played cat and mouse for an hour outside of Hilton Head, but we finally lost them. After that, we didn’t have any problems. We stayed on the country roads all the way here and there weren’t any tails we were aware of. So far, so good. Sal and Nick have been here the whole time along with two other agents, all good here. Nothing suspicious. They wouldn’t expect us to come back in this direction.”

“Good,” Mitch said. “Molly, why don’t you go upstairs and unpack? It’s been a long day.”

Isla turned to go, but then turned back. “Colt, did the doctor send over antibiotics? His shoulder looks good, but he needs to take the antibiotics as a precaution. I don’t want it to get infected.”

“Yep, the antibiotics are on the counter next to the sink. The doctor said she’d be here in the morning to check on you.”

“Great,” said Mitch. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me at six.”

He slumped into his bed, sore and tired. And alone.

He was getting too old for this.