Wild Borders by Cheyenne McCray

HEP, Plague, Malaria, Typhoid, Cholera, TB…you name it.”
    Lani checked to make sure her recorder was running, forcing herself to take her eyes off Rick’s muscular chest and the dark triangle of hair that ran into the waistband of his jeans. “That’s something that never occurred to me,” she said, her eyes drawn back to him.
    He withdrew his gun from a holster at his back and placed the weapon in the cabinet, followed by a small canister, then locked the cabinet. “In Douglas, a few agents a year contract TB at work and someone always ends up sick. The last thing I want to do is bring anything home to my family.”
    “I see.” Lani chanced a glance at his face. “Why aren’t you wearing the green uniform that Border Patrol agents usually wear?”
    He gripped the back of a chair and eyed her with that intense blue stare of his. “I work intelligence, so I wear civilian clothing. It’s easier to obtain information when I don’t look like law enforcement.”
    “Ah.” She struggled to think of something to say, her brain seeming to have gone on vacation with him standing so close. Half-naked at that. “I-uh, I’ll have to pin you down for an interview.”
    He winked. “Darlin’, you can pin me down any time.”
    A hot flush seared Lani, and with Rick’s mother sitting next to her, she could think of no suitable reply.
    “Time to finish dinner.” Sadie chuckled and slid her glasses into a case as she stood. She settled her quilting materials into a corner and headed into the kitchen.
    Lani pushed back her chair. “I’ll help.”
    Her gaze followed Rick as he headed into the laundry room, noticing the powerful lines of his naked back. With a mental shake, she followed Sadie into the kitchen, trying not to think about how good Rick looked without his shirt on. Trying not to imagine what it would feel like to run her palms over his chest and down, down the flat of his hard stomach, down—
    Lani! She clenched her hands and took a deep breath. Enough of that.
    “What can I do to help you?” Lani asked Sadie.
    “Why don’t you peel the potatoes?” Sadie gestured toward several brown-skinned potatoes on the countertop, and then reached up in a cabinet filled with jars of spices. “Now where is the oregano…”
    Lani heard the washing machine start as she grabbed the potato peeler off the counter. She almost dropped it when Rick walked through the kitchen clad only in his underwear. He winked at her, but didn’t pause and went straight to the bathroom.
    He had one of the most gorgeous male bodies she’d ever seen. Hard, muscular thighs and calves. Powerful arms, and definitely a tight ass she could just bite.
    Lani blushed, realizing that Rick’s mom was right behind her. If Sadie hadn’t been there, she probably would have stood with her mouth hanging open.
    A while longer.
     

Chapter Five
    During dinner Rick sat beside Lani. The family chattered and laughed, but Lani could scarcely think with the hair on his forearm tickling her arm every time he moved. He pressed his leg to hers beneath the table, and even when she shifted in her seat he still managed to brush up against her.
    She was so turned on by the brief contact she could only pray that no one would notice her rigid nipples beneath her blouse. It was almost a relief when dinner was over and she could escape his constant presence.
    After they all helped Sadie clean off the table and straighten the kitchen, Trevor grabbed Rick’s hand and tugged him toward the back door. “Come on, Dad. Let’s show Lani my hideout.”
    “You game?” Rick asked, looking at Lani in a way that made her heart skip a beat.
    She smiled and shrugged. “Sure. I’d love to see your hideout, Trevor.”
    “All right!” The boy snatched her hand and pulled her and Rick out the door.
    She laughed and looked over Trevor’s head at Rick. “You have quite the dynamo here.”
    “You have no idea.” Rick’s dimple appeared when he smiled, and her stomach