Page 15 of Burn Bag (Owens Protective Services #31)

I rolled my eyes at the exaggerated request, but then, to my surprise, she turned to face me and her eyes drifted over my shoulder right before she fell to the ground with a thud.

“Oops,” I muttered. “I killed her. That’s not good.” I shoved my hand over my face, scrubbing hard to wipe away the alcohol. Christ, I couldn’t think straight this morning.

The woman popped upright, yawning loudly as she stretched her arms, scaring the crap out of me.

“What the fuck!” I shouted, tripping over my own feet. “I thought I killed you!”

She snorted, rolling to her knees. “Vaso…vagal syncope,” she mumbled, using the bed to get to her feet. “‘Member?”

No, I did not remember. In fact, there wasn’t much about the past…I didn’t even know how long, that I did remember.

“Can you get this off me?” she groaned, pulling at her dress.

I stumbled over to the nightstand and grabbed my pocket knife. “Just hold still. I’m not entirely sober.”

Or at all.

It took all my concentration as she sat in front of me as still as she could be with alcohol flowing through her system. Very carefully, I sliced the laces until they finally broke free and I was able to pull the rest through the loops.

“Oh, thank God,” she muttered, getting to her feet. The dress pooled in a white puddle at her heels, and what was left…

I swallowed my tongue as she stood in front of me in white lingerie with garters and ribbons…

fuck, it was sexy as hell. As she turned to face me, I let out a cough as I choked on my own spit.

Fuck, that bra…her breasts were pushed up in the sexiest corset I’d ever seen.

I wanted to rip it off her right now and have my way with her, but I didn’t even know her name.

At least, I was pretty sure I didn’t.

I didn’t dare stand. I was pretty sure my cock was already hard for her, but it was difficult to tell in my addled state. “Shower,” I muttered, telling myself what I needed.

“Coffee.”

She went her way and I went mine. I barely saw her grab a shirt off the floor before stumbling out of the bedroom while I headed to the bathroom. Cold water would clear my head and bring some clarity to whatever situation I was in.

As the water ran, I stripped out of my clothes and shoved them aside, then stepped under the spray with a shout. The cold did nothing to tame the beast raging down below. If anything, it only made the situation more uncomfortable.

I grabbed my raging hard-on and jerked it only a few times before I came spilling into my hand. Fuck, that was pathetic. But all I had to do was imagine her in that fucking lingerie and?—

“Stop it,” I hissed. “Fuck, get some coffee and clear your head.”

I quickly washed and then dressed in tactical gear, ready to take on the day. It didn’t matter that we were supposed to be on our honeymoon. I had a siren out there who would wreak havoc on my cock if I let her.

I was still half lit when I reached the kitchen, but at least I wasn’t still fogged up from the alcohol.

I could function, which was more than I could say about the woman slumped over on my counter.

Her chin was barely held up by the palm of her hand, and the drool sliding out of her mouth lent an air of drunkenness that rivaled anything I’d seen in the past. Just how much had we drunk last night?

I strode over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup, barely taking a sip before deciding it wasn’t nearly strong enough to get me through the day. I dumped out the contents of the coffeemaker and started over, making it three times as strong.

The woman jerked upright, snorting as she did so. Her eyes blinked slowly as she took in her surroundings, then she slumped over again, mumbling something under her breath.

I was about to start grilling her when I realized that was pretty much pointless while she was in this state.

She needed to sober up just as much as I did.

By the time the coffee was done, I had a plan in place.

After taking a few sips, I plopped the mug down and walked over to her, sliding my hands under her armpits.

“Alright, let’s get you showered.”

“Ugh, I don’t have the energy. ”

“Neither do I, but we have shit to discuss.”

She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and slumped against me, pretty much acting as dead weight in my arms. I tried walking with her over to the stairs, but it was a losing battle.

Her legs were flopping all around and her hand kept smacking me in the face from where it was draped over my shoulder.

Sighing, I hoisted her up bridal style, ignoring the irony of the situation, as I carried her upstairs, doing my best to ignore the way she looked in her outfit.

I needed to get her sobered up, but in order to do that, I really needed her naked, which was not going to happen.

She’d just have to shower with the lingerie on.

All she needed was the cold shock anyway.

As I was carrying her into the bathroom, I noted the ring on her finger again and tried not to let the feeling of disappointment wash over me. I’d think about the fact that she was not Emily later. For now, I needed answers, and that required this woman to be coherent.

Since she couldn’t hold herself up, I laid her on the shower floor and put the water on full blast. As expected, she jolted the minute the icy water hit her skin, screaming like a banshee.

I winced as my headache pounded, but pushed through.

The sooner I got her cleaned up, the faster she would be able to sort this mess out with me.

“Son of a bitch!” she shouted, wiping the water from her face as it continued to stream over her body. “Why the fuck am I sitting in a cold shower?”

“Because you’re drunk and need to wake up so we can talk.”

“This was not the marriage I was hoping for.”

“Me either, sweetheart.”

A noise from behind me had me sitting up straight. I turned around, sure I heard a cat meow, but there was nothing there. Shaking my head, I turned back to the woman and decided she was truly awake enough to figure this out with me. I shut the water and grabbed a towel just as I heard it again.

“What the hell?—”

“Shh,” I hissed, stepping toward the bedroom. I looked all over the floor, but there was nothing. Fuck, I had to be going insane. Maybe it was her phone that was making the noise. With one final look, I shook my head and stalked back over to the woman, helping her to her feet.

“Come on. Let’s get you dried off.”

“And peel off these things,” she muttered. “What am I wearing?”

“Lingerie,” I muttered, rubbing the towel over her body, which quickly proved to be an issue when her nipples pebbled in the corset and drew my attention.

And there went my cock again. It was unavoidable. She was literally a wet dream, standing right the fuck in front of me. How was I supposed to react?

“I need this off me,” she muttered, shoving past me.

Before I could stop her, she tugged on the garters, tearing the material as she started stripping. Belts flew, stockings tore, and that frilly underwear dropped, revealing her very naked, very sexy ass.

“Can you help me with the corset?” she asked, peeking over her shoulder.

Those fucking gorgeous eyes stared at me, tempting me as she batted them.

And she wasn’t even doing it to be sexy. She was just drunk and trying to stay upright and awake. But fuck if she didn’t look good doing it.

“Uh…yeah,” I said, stumbling over my words as I stood behind her and brushed my fingers down the back of her corset. “Fuck, this is a really bad idea.”

“Hurry up. My boobs feel like they’re being squeezed to death.”

I rolled my eyes. That was not helpful. All I wanted to do was strip her of this corset and spin her around, then suck on those pretty nipples I had seen in the shower through the lacy material.

But that wouldn’t do. Hell, I didn’t even know who she was.

I was pretty sure we hadn’t slept together. I would have remembered that part.

Well, possibly not, but based on the amount of clothes both of us were wearing when I woke up, it was highly unlikely we’d been able to do anything other than fall into bed.

Or, as it so happened, on the floor.

“Just rip it. I need this off,” she sighed.

My hand skimmed over the back of the material before I took it in both hands and tore as hard as I could.

The hooks ripped from the fabric and scattered all over the floor.

I swallowed hard as I stared at the creamy skin of her back, indented from the lingerie.

It must have been uncomfortable as hell to sleep in.

My hand slid over her skin without thinking, rubbing at the harsh red lines that marred her beautiful body.

Shaking my head, I knew I had to distance myself if I was going to get answers. I took a huge step back and cleared my throat. “I’ll be downstairs.”

Then I marched out of the room and told myself I was never going to look at her naked again. It might just be the death of me.