by Katie Reus
Cheeks flushing, she glanced down at her empty glass. “I think someone drank all my wine.”
He snorted and she met his gaze again.
“Fine, you’re right. I can’t know for sure, but I’m pretty positive those men tonight targeted me because of my father. Warren Hollingsworth.”
Blue shook his head, not recognizing the name.
Mina half-smiled. “I doubt you’d know his name. Most people don’t. It’s mainly known in scientific circles. He’s incredibly wealthy and very paranoid, which is part of the reason I’ve distanced myself from him in the past couple years.”
“What does he do?”
“Now he mainly funds projects not deemed worthy of further research because even if a cure is discovered, the financial payoff isn’t worth it.” There was a note of pride in her voice, so clearly she respected her father.
Blue nodded. “Because the pool of people affected by whatever the disease they’re trying to cure is too small for big business to give a shit?”
A ghost of a smile played across her lips. “Exactly.”
“You said ‘now’, so did he always just fund projects?”
She shook her head and for a moment he couldn’t tell if she was going to continue. She idly played with the stem of her wine glass for a long moment. “No. He’s truly brilliant and has discovered multiple cures for what we’d consider modern diseases. And while his name would mean nothing to the public, to pharmaceutical companies and the government, he’s made of solid gold. He still tinkers, as he likes to call it, in his lab, but these days he likes to back underfunded projects and play with investments. I swear whatever he touches profits. He just has a gift for making money.”
Blue knew he should be focusing solely on the threat still out there, but he wanted to know more about Mina. Wanted to know what made this sensual woman tick. “You two are close?”
She laughed, the harsh, bitter sound emanating from her a stark difference to the laid back woman he’d gotten to know in the last few hours. “I’m his greatest disappointment.” At that, she looked away, staring out onto the street below. There were no tears, but a resigned sadness emanated from her and he wanted to take back his question.
It was late—or early, depending on how you looked at it—and only one or two people strolled by every few minutes as the bars were starting to close down. “I can’t imagine you being a disappointment to anyone.”
Her gaze snapped to his, narrowing as she watched him, as if she was gauging his sincerity. Then she shrugged, the action jerky. “Yeah, well…anyway, short answer to your question, I’m pretty sure I’ve been targeted because of his wealth. It wouldn’t be the first time. I’ve already called his head of security and left a message apprising him of the situation.” She glanced at her cell phone sitting on the small table. It hadn’t buzzed or rang since they’d been out on the patio. “I’m surprised he hasn’t called me back, but it went straight to voicemail so they might be on a plane. I’ll try again in the morning.”
“So why no police?”
“They can’t do anything except maybe place a guard on my building. But if I fill out a report, all my personal information will eventually become public. Trust me, it’s happened before. I’ve tried so hard to make a normal life for myself here and until I hear back from Ivan—that’s my father’s right hand man—I’m not involving the cops. I have a state of the art security system, a gun and…a panic room.”
Blue’s eyebrows raised. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s small and not something I’d want to stay in long term, but if the alarm goes off, it’s good enough to stay in until the police arrive. Seriously, I’m not oblivious to the potential danger, I just know that filling out a silly report will do nothing to protect me. When I moved here I wasn’t stupid enough to shun my father’s money. I used it to buy a safe, secure place so I could paint. Just because I’d put distance between us didn’t mean would-be criminals would care and that I’d suddenly not be a target anymore. I’ve been using my mother’s maiden name and living a very low key life.” He could hear the desperation lacing her words.
She didn’t want to give up her life and he couldn’t blame her. He was also pretty certain she’d been targeted before from her tone. Whether stalked or actually kidnapped he couldn’t be sure unless he asked. He would, but later. Right now he’d pushed too hard and the knowledge wouldn’t affect his ability to protect her so he held off on asking.
Blue scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced out at the street again with a critical eye. He’d been scanning people coming and going all night with more than just Mina’s people-watching curiosity. So far no one had stood out above the rest as potential threats. “I’d like to stay the night,” he said bluntly, turning back to face her.
Her eyes widened for a moment. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it. “You mean, to protect me?” she asked, frowning.
He nodded even though he wanted to do a hell of a lot more than simply protect her. “I don’t like this situation.”
She didn’t contemplate it long before she nodded. “I should probably tell you no. This isn’t your problem, but…I’d feel safer with you here. You can have my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
He was shaking his head before she’d finished. “I’ll stay on the couch.”
She just made a ‘hmm’ sound in her throat as she stood, as if she wasn’t going to let that happen. Mina was a little bossy and oddly enough, he kinda liked it. He knew that would never extend to the bedroom—he just wasn’t wired that way—but he loved her attitude. “I’m going to grab another bottle. Unless you’re tired now?”
He wondered if she was intentionally changing the subject, but he shook his head and stood. “I’m good, but I’ll grab it. You sit.” The urge to take care of her even in a small way was so great it stunned him.
“Blue—”
“Call me Alex, or Alexander.” He wasn’t sure where the words came from, but suddenly he wanted to hear his given name on her lips.
“Okay, Alex.” She stood there almost nervously and when her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, he got hard. Just like that.
He’d been struggling all night to keep his growing need for her at bay, to shove it ruthlessly back down. Most of the time it had worked because he’d been so caught up in conversation with her, but now in this stillness, with just the two of them…fuck. When she took a step forward, as if to close the small distance between them, his entire body tightened in need, his cock pressing against the zipper of his pants. But just as suddenly she sat back on the lounge chair.
Glancing down at her clasped hands, her dark eyelashes fanned her flushed cheeks. “Thanks for getting the wine,” she murmured.
Fighting the disappointment that punched through him, he headed through the sliding glass doors to get another bottle of wine even though he’d rather be kissing every inch of her sweet body. He should have just fucking kissed her. It was clear she wanted him.
But Mina was different than the women he’d been with in the past. Back in college and his short pro ball days, women had wanted him for the status he could give them. And he’d been absolutely fine with that. Then in the Marines sex had been purely about release, about relieving the tension and stress during combat. He’d never even thought about anything long term with a woman and had purposely searched out women on the same page as him.
Mina…she was special. She was the kind of woman he could see something real with. And that scared the shit out of him.
* * *
Mina stretched out on her king-size bed, staring at the ceiling. After a couple more hours of talking, she and Alex had both decided to crash at four in the morning. The only time she ever stayed up that late was when she was painting and couldn’t tear herself away. Even when she went out with friends she was usually home by midnight.
But she hadn’t wanted to stop talking to Alex. Finally her body had won out though and she’d been forced to admit how exha
usted she was. After showering and changing into pajamas—which she’d worn only because he was in her home—now she was wired again. Okay, maybe not wired so much as turned on and unable to sleep.
In the shower she’d tried not to fantasize about Alex. There had been such a vulnerability to him when he’d asked her to call him by his first name, as if he’d surprised himself. The more she’d tried to not think about him, all she’d been able to envision was him pinning her against the slick, tiled wall. Him taking her on the soft rug in her bathroom. On the hardwood floor of her bedroom. Or bent over the end of her bed… Clearly she was beyond sexually frustrated and Alex’s presence was only exacerbating it. When he looked at her she knew he wasn’t seeing dollar signs. No, he just saw her as a woman. A very desirable one.
The past few months she’d been edgy and needy and while she knew what the issue was she hadn’t met a man she’d wanted to get naked with. She’d always had to be careful about who she got involved with in case they were targeting her for her family’s money. Here she hadn’t been worried much about that, but most of her friends were either women or gay men and the setups her friends had tried had all been wrong. Usually because they’d been artists and she didn’t want to date a male version of herself.
Now an incredibly sexy, sweet and impossibly masculine man was sleeping on her couch and all she wanted to do was invite him to her bed. It was certainly big enough for the two of them.
Since she didn’t think she was brave enough to march out there and ask him to join her, she slid her hand underneath the front of her light cotton pants until her middle finger slid over her pulsing clit. She hadn’t bothered with panties, maybe because she’d known this was inevitable. Hell, why was she even fighting it?
As she imagined what it would look like to have Alex crouched between her spread thighs, his face hovering over her pussy, she began stroking her clit. She didn’t even need to bother with her vibrator or any penetration. Just imagining what it would be like as Alex kissed her from head to foot, as he stroked his hands and mouth all over her body was enough to make her soaked for him.
Barely minutes later she was coming against her hand, not surprised by how fast her orgasm hit. It wasn’t nearly as intense as it would have been with Alex pumping inside her, but it took the edge off. Rolling to the side as her pleasure surged through her, she buried her face against one of her pillows and let out an uncontrollable groan. As she came down from her high, a soft knock against her door had her guiltily yanking her hand from her pants.
“Mina, everything okay?” Alex asked quietly.
“Fine.” Crap, why did her voice have to sound all high-pitched and guilty?
“I’m out here if you need me.” His deep voice rolled over her, making her nipples tighten even harder.
“Okay, thanks.” Though she wanted to tell him that she did need him in her room, she couldn’t find the words to ask him in. She’d seen the hunger in his eyes but he could still reject her. And waking up to him tomorrow if he did turn her down—no way she could deal with that. She was such a coward.
Instead of being brave, she grabbed her pillow and shoved it over her face so he wouldn’t hear her groan, this one a mix of frustration and self-disgust.
Chapter 6
Blue leaned against Mina’s countertop, watching the sausage in the frying pan sizzle as he talked into his cell phone. He’d already made a few phone calls this morning, trying to get them in before Mina woke up. “You sure you don’t mind?” he asked his friend Carter, the last call he should need to make until after he’d talked to Mina about his plans to keep her safe.
The other man just grunted. “Don’t even ask that… So is this Mina as hot as Zoe?”
Blue gritted his teeth at the question even though he knew his friend meant nothing offensive by it. Last week when he’d had to leave Zoe to help her brother and the Red Stone team out by watching Jordan during an op, he’d left Carter guarding Zoe. And the man hadn’t been able to stop talking about how hot she was ever since. “Mina’s off limits,” he growled.
There was a short pause. “So this is more than work?”
“It has nothing to do with work.”
“Oh. Shit. All right then. Yeah, just come by when you can and we’ll get you guys set up. One of us will scope out the place, see if anyone turns up. Just text me the address and I’ll head over in the next hour.” Chris was Carter’s brother and even though they worked well together the two men couldn’t be any more different. Carter was a player whereas Blue wondered if Chris even dated.
“Thanks, I owe you.” As he set his phone on the counter, he heard faint movement coming from the hallway.
A moment later Mina stepped into the kitchen, looking bleary-eyed, rumpled and good enough to eat. Her dark hair hung loosely around her shoulders and the green fitted T-shirt she wore let him know she wasn’t wearing a bra. As her nipples started to get hard, he forced his gaze from her breasts to her face and found her staring at his bare chest.
Instinctively he patted his flat stomach and inwardly smiled when her gaze darkened and raked over his chest and abs. “I took my shirt off to sleep but I can put it back on—”
“No,” she quickly cut him off then cleared her throat as if embarrassed. “I mean, do whatever makes you comfortable,” she muttered before ducking her head and heading for the full pot of coffee on the opposite counter.
He liked that he had an effect on her because she sure as hell had one on him. She was all he’d been able to think about last night. He’d finally drifted off with thoughts of her naked and writhing underneath him only to wake up with an uncomfortable hard-on. He’d had to think of shitty things to finally get it to go away.
“You didn’t have to cook,” she said as she pulled a mug down from one of the cabinets and poured herself coffee. The woman had so many different flavors to choose from so he’d gone with the breakfast blend.
He shrugged. “I wanted to. Did you hear back from your father or his security?”
Leaning against the counter, mug in hand, she frowned as she shook her head. “No and that’s not like either of them. I called my father this morning and it went straight to voicemail too.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I made some calls to a few contacts about your situation.” With the brazen attack still fresh in his mind, he hadn’t been able to sit back and do nothing. Even if Mina kicked him out of her life, he’d had to involve others. Too much time was passing since the attempted kidnapping and he didn’t want to lose any leads.
At his words, she straightened against the counter and set her mug down. He could see the flare of hurt in her gaze, but he shook his head before she could speak.
“Not to the police. People I work with and a couple guys I served with who live down here. What happened isn’t going to be made public and the cops aren’t going to be involved as of yet.”
The tension in her shoulders lessened some as she leaned back again. “Okay. So who exactly did you talk to and what did you tell them?”
“I let my boss know everything about the attack. Red Stone has a lot of resources for this kind of thing.” In addition to private security they also had a small branch dedicated to hostage negotiation when wealthy individuals didn’t want to involve the authorities. Their success rate was almost perfect.
“One of the Caldwell brothers?” she asked, sipping her coffee, her eyes more alert now that she was waking up.
He nodded. Last night they’d talked about his job and she’d known enough about Red Stone Security that it surprised him. It didn’t now that he understood her father had used Red Stone in the past. “Harrison. I told him who you are, what happened and the sensitive nature of the situation. No details of you and the life you’ve built here will be leaked to anyone.”
“Why didn’t you just wait until I woke up to ask me?” That hurt flickered in her gaze again, like a punch to his gut.
Blue turned the stove off and moved the pan to the side before turning to fa
ce her fully. “We went to bed late and I wasn’t sure when you’d wake up. I wanted to get everyone in the loop as early as possible.” And he hadn’t been sure if she’d even say yes. He’d figured he could just do it then ask for forgiveness later.
She rubbed a hand over her face and slightly shook her head. “Okay, so what did your boss say?”
“They’re looking into high profile kidnappings from the past year that fit a similar MO and one of Red Stone’s security specialists will be looking at CCTVs in the city to see if they can dig up anything from around the time of the attempted kidnapping.”
“That’s smart… But why are they doing this? I haven’t hired them or anything.” She frowned, eyeing him warily.
Blue had figured this question would come and went for total honesty. “I can’t be positive, but Harrison is a businessman. I think he’s hoping that by helping you it will secure more contracts from your father. As soon as I told him your last name he was all over this.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. Even if she didn’t hire Red Stone, she’d pay them for services rendered. “At least you’re honest.” She took another sip and he let her digest everything before moving on. After a moment she spoke again. “I’d thought Ivan would have called me back by now with instructions on how to proceed but he hasn’t. With Red Stone involved…what do I do now?” she asked and he could see the tension returning to her shoulders.
“Until and unless Red Stone is officially hired they’re not getting overtly involved for legal reasons, though they’ll continue to work in the background gathering information. But if you’re willing, I’d like to stay with you in an unofficial capacity until your father’s security contacts you or until you make a decision about your security. And I don’t care if you hire a company other than Red Stone, until whoever came after you is found, you need protection.”
Her eyes narrowed a fraction as she watched him. “And you’re just doing this out of the goodness of your heart?”
