Maria screamed and brought her hands up in front of her face. "Don't shoot," she cried.

"Maria?" he asked, dropping the gun to his side. "What are you doing here?"

"I...uh...was looking for Becky."

"Why are you hiding? I just about shot you."

Standing up, she shrugged. "You scared me, jumping out of bed like that." She wasn't comfortable with lying, but what else could she do? Squealing on Becky wasn't an option. Did he find her? "Have you seen her?"

"Not for a while, but then I've been sleeping," he said, waving towards his almost naked body, except for his black boxers. He looked like he could bench press her a hundred times over, muscles showing in all the places on his body that on hers just looked like blubber. Who did he think he was, Arnold Schwarzenegger?

"I'm sorry," she said, stepping out of the bath with his help. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"It's no problem. Let's go track her down."

"No," she said, albeit a little more sharply than she meant to because his eyes narrowed a fraction. "I don't want to be a bother. Go back to bed."

The last thing they needed was for him to come along and learn that they stole his pants. Maria swallowed a chuckle. They were so bad. They'd become small time pant thieves. "I'm up now. I might as well help."

"Okay," she sighed. "Why don't you check the kitchen? I'll go this way." She pointed in the opposite direction. If they were going to follow through with their plans, she had to send him on a wild goose chase. He started to walk down the hallway with his gun in hand. "Nathan?"

He turned to look at her. "What?"

"You can probably put the gun away."

Looking down at the weapon in his hand, he said, "Oh, right."

Given that he had a gun and wielded it like a pro, she was even more certain that he was a spy. Turning he went to step into the room and Maria froze. Oops. What if Becky was still in there? It was too late to say anything though. She could only hope that she found a better hiding spot than crawling around the bed.

Maria breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped back out of the room, none the wiser. When he disappeared out of her line of sight, Maria slipped back into the bedroom.

"Becky?" she called quietly.

"Under here," came her muffled voice.

Kneeling down, Maria looked under the bed and found her friend lying flat on her stomach. "He's gone, but come on, we gotta go."

Becky grabbed his pants and the girls took off down the hall in the opposite direction from Nathan, ducking into the basement of the cabin. Both of them leaned over, resting their hands on their knees, breathing hard.

"That was so close," Becky giggled.

"I nearly peed my pants when he pulled that gun on me."

Her roomie's jaw dropped. "He had a gun?"

"Pointed it right at my head. Not something I ever want to come face to face with again." Maria shivered. What if he had been the type of person to shoot first and ask questions later? The look in his eye was that of a hunter, someone of military precision. No hint of fear or worry lingered anywhere on his face. "Okay, let's do this. Empty his pants."

Becky stuck her hand in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet and then proceeded to empty the rest of his pockets on the basement floor. The passport-like wallet was thin, like a normal passport would be, and it was sitting beside his official wallet.

"Do you want to do the honors?" Maria asked.

Picking it up, Becky flipped it over in her hands. The outside was a dark navy blue with no special emblem on the cover. Upon opening it up, her eyes widened.

Becky turned it around to reveal her discovery to Maria. There on the card was a red and gold crown with a blue star and square-like emblem underneath. The I.D badge read, 'Canadian Security Intelligence Services,' and it had a picture of Nathan. He apparently worked in the Special Forces Division as an intelligence officer.

"What the hell? He told me he was a salesman for S.P Printers." Becky hissed.

"Girls," said a voice from behind them, making them jump and screech.

They grabbed the stuff shoving it behind them and then looked up at the interloper. It was Sylvester, followed by a very perturbed looking Nathan. Becky stood up and confronted him after their shock at being discovered disappeared.

"Why the hell did you lie to me," she cried, throwing the passport booklet to him. As soon as he caught it, she tried to shove her way by Nathan, obviously intending to storm off, but he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

And then wearing only his boxers, he carried her up the stairs as she kicked and screamed. Maria went to follow them to offer her friend some support, but Sylvester blocked her. "Let them go."

"But-"

"You don't need to worry about anyone else's butt right now, but your own."

"Why my butt?"

"Because I have things I wanna do to it," he said. "That don't include an audience."

"Well, that's going to have to wait. We just found out that he works for the government and has been lying to her all this time. I don't trust him."

"He's a good guy. Let them sort it out." He reached out to take her in his arms.

Backing up, she said, "Wait. Did you know about this?"

It was the only thing that could make him more relaxed about this than her. "I had my suspicions when we rescued you guys, and then when he flashed his badge to the cops earlier. I didn't see it clearly, but I knew something was up."

Maria slapped his shoulder. "And you never told me?"

Instantly, he threw her up on his shoulders, like Nathan had done to Becky and carted her up the stairs.

"Hey, put me down," she said, smacking his back. "I'm mad at you."

"Shush," was all he said.

She had always dreamed of being carted off caveman style, but not when she wanted to glare at him and be mad at him. His hand crossed over her butt was making the woman inside her wake up again and this was the one time she wanted that side of her to be asleep.

"You should have told me," she said as he wandered down the hallway to their bedroom.

"It wasn't my place to tell. And I don't gossip or snoop, like you two lovely ladies."

"If he would have told her the truth, we wouldn't have snooped."

Stepping into the room, he swung the door shut behind them before putting her down. "If I was him, do you know what I would do?"

Maria looked up and their eyes locked. His eyes were swimming with fiery desire, the dominant twinkle that never quite disappeared from their earlier interlude. The heat in his gaze lit a fire deep in her loins. Why did his intensity spark such a reaction inside her? Was this why people got so caught up in this world? The excitement, the adrenaline? It had quite the powerful kick that she wasn't ready for.

"What," she asked, her voice squeaky like a mouse.

"Get her to take off her pants and underwear and then have her lay across my lap while I tan that hide red."

"Hey, you already spanked me earlier."

"That was a sweet and gentle teaser, baby. But no, that's not what I'm going to do to you. You were her accomplice. I have something else in mind for you."

"Oh dear," she murmured, taking a step back.

"I'm going to tease you until you beg me to let you come and then tease you some more. And guess what?"

"What?"

He walked over to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I'm very good at teasing."

"Gee, I wouldn't have guessed," she replied wryly.

Walking by her, he went over to his backpack and dug out the rope this time. Four pieces of nylon rope, same length, and a blindfold. He really came prepared for this outing she thought with a start. What other things did he have in that treasure trove?

He spun the blindfold around his finger. "And the best part is you won't even see what I'm going to do."

Maria's heart leaped into her throat and her eyes darted towards the door. But before she could put her feet into motion, he tossed the rope around her like a lasso and spun her towards him, wrapping it around her.

"You ain't going anywhere, my pretty lady," he said, pulling her flush against him. "I have plans for you."

Her arms were pinned to her sides and she could not fight back, unless she kneed him in the crotch, but somehow she didn't think that would go over too well. The ache between her legs was growing with each passing second and his parts were growing as well, his erection pressing against her lower belly.

It didn't take much to arouse him. He was like a teenage boy in that department. His excitement made her wet. Having only one set of underwear was making this particular mini vacation a wee bit uncomfortable. Wrapping the rope around his palm to release his fingers from its confinement, he undid her skirt, letting it fall to the floor.

The back of his fingers brushed the front of her underwear, feeling the stubble of hair behind it. "When I get you home, I'm going to shave you."

Shaking her head rapidly, almost making herself dizzy, she said, "Uh, no you're not. You aren't getting anywhere near my crotch with a razor."

"I've done it before," he said, backing her up towards the bed.

"You've got some crazy ideas there, bub," she said as her butt hit the mattress.

"Just wait until you see what else I have in store for you." He removed the rope, her shirt, and her bra. When he dropped his hands temporarily, she went to dart for the door, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. The bulge in his pants pressed against her backside. "And where do you think you're going?"

"To the bathroom," she said quickly. It's been a while since she's used the facilities, and she figured he'd believe that excuse. She really wanted to find Becky and see if she was okay. The house was quiet so they couldn't be arguing too loudly, but she felt bad for abandoning her friend and needed to know she was okay after their discovery.

"No you're not," he said, kissing the nape of her neck.

She rolled her head, giving him better access as she raised her arm and wrapped it around his neck behind her. The brush of his lips against her skin heated her insides, making her forget about her one mission, leading her into another.

Could she make him forget about teasing her and get right to the point? Turning in his arms, she reached for his pants, but before she knew it, he had the rope tied around her wrists and he was lifting her up onto the bed like she was a paperweight.

Soon her hands were tied to the bedposts, and her ankles were, too, after he removed her underwear. Her legs were spread apart, making her feel like a starfish on display. Leaning over her, he covered her eyes with the blindfold.

"Now, I have you right where I want you," he whispered huskily in her ear.

His warm breath made her shiver with delight. She loved his deep sexy dominant mode drawl, making her think of what a guy would sound like on a sex line...not that she ever called one. Really she didn't.

He stopped touching her momentarily, moving back off the bed, leaving her laying there naked. The only thing she could hear was a rustling of a backpack. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"You'll find out."

---

A/N

It would appear Sylvester can't keep his hands off her. *lol*

Thank you so much for reading the next chapter. I hope you will take a moment to hit that little star and vote for my chapter, and if you could leave a comment, letting me know what you think, that would be awesome.

Happy long Thanksgiving weekend! Next chapter will likely be released on Monday.