by Cynthia Eden
“There’s a lot of money involved in this play,” Dex continued grimly. He scanned the hallway to make sure no nurses or doctors were close, then he added, “Enough money to make people turn on their own mothers, much less prick bosses like you, Eric.”
“Thanks so much,” Eric muttered.
“And why the hell did you have that homicide detective there?” Dex wanted to know. “Layla Lopez doesn’t work for you—”
“Despite my attempts, no, Layla doesn’t work for me. But with cars exploding and shit hitting the fan, I thought it was good to keep a law enforcement professional—someone I trust completely—in the loop about what the hell was happening.”
Dex’s brows climbed. “You still feel good about that choice? Or are you wondering if Layla might have decided to trade Vivian for a couple of million dollars?”
Chase heard Vivian inhale swiftly. “That’s what the price is for me? A few million?”
Chase actually suspected it was higher, but he didn’t want to worry her even more so he didn’t say—
“Oh, since you can decode all the names and locations of the agents, I’m sure it’s way more,” Dex readily told her because he seemed to be in an over-sharing and I’ll-terrify-Vivian mode. “There’s probably going to be a feeding frenzy over you. Do you really think an attack squad like the one that converged on the safe house goes after just anyone?”
“Stop fucking scaring her,” Chase ordered as he took Vivian’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Stop it now.” Dex was getting on his last nerve.
“She should be scared.” Dex pointed at Vivian. “She should be terrified because there is no one she can trust. With that much money on the table, everyone she meets could be the enemy. She needs someone to have her back, but hell, the team I hired just got knocked out—one of them taken—and I’m not sure the others left at Wilde are on the side of the just and righteous. There is no one she can count on in this mess, and she needs to understand—”
“I understand perfectly.” Vivian’s voice was flat. “I don’t need you to break things down for me. My vision is crystal clear.”
She looked so fragile in the green scrubs. So heartbreakingly beautiful.
“And you’re wrong, Dex,” Vivian added.
“No, no, I don’t think I—”
“I do have someone I can trust. Someone I can count on to have my back in this nightmare.” Her gaze turned to Chase. The green scrubs made her eyes seem even greener than normal. “I trust you,” she told Chase.
“Uh, he’s the man who lied to you,” Dex pointed out. “Did you hit your head in the crash and forget that?”
“He’s the man who saved my life. He’s the man who fought to protect me. He’s the man I trust completely. The only person I trust right now.” She squared her shoulders. “He’s also the man I hired to find the people who were framing me, so, yes, we are still most definitely a package deal. Wherever I go, whatever happens next…” Vivian licked her lower lip. “Will you come with me?” she asked Chase.
Like she had to ask. He brought their joined hands to his mouth. Pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I’d like to see anyone try to keep me from you.” A package deal? Hell, yes, they were. He’d be her shadow wherever she went. The people after her would not hurt Vivian.
“My chopper is waiting outside.” Eric’s low voice cut through the silence that lingered a little too long. “Chase, why don’t you let me take you and Vivian to a secure location? Me. Not the pilot who was here before. You know I can fly that baby in my sleep. I will keep the new location quiet, no matter what.”
Chase knew that he would. Getting to a secure location would be step one. Vivian needed a safe place to rest because she had to be dead on her feet. Dawn wasn’t far away. When dawn came, the hospital shift would switch and more people would be swarming into the building.
Time to go.
“The fewer people who know where you are, the better,” Eric added.
“So you do think you have a leak at your company.” Dex pursed his lips. “I’m assuming you’ll investigate the hell out of that shit.”
“Just like I know you’re investigating the hell out of the people who work for you.” Eric’s retort was immediate.
“Yeah, about that.” Chase rolled back his shoulders. “When you do your investigating, Dex, I’d sure as hell recommend that you start with Luc Coderre.”
“Luc?” Dex’s brows shot up. “I’ve known him for years. He’s a respected operative. He’s got a case-closure success rate that is astronomical. He’s—”
“He’s a suspect. At the top of my list. You also need to double check on the building manager at Vivian’s place, too.”
Vivian jerked in surprise. “Jacob? Why Jacob?”
“Because of means and opportunity, both for him and Luc. They both came to your place. They were both close to you. And as for Jacob, hell, the man owns the building, Viv. He’s not just the manager. Wilde discovered that when we were digging. His background seemed like BS to me and—” Chase broke off. He’d seen the faint flickering of Dex’s eyes. “Sonofabitch. Is Jacob one of yours?”
“Awkward.” Dex coughed. “Technically, yes, he was an operative. He’s not any longer. While Vivian was still going through the interview process, I wanted eyes on her, so I arranged for her to find a place in his building.”
“Still going through the process?” Vivian shook her head. “I had the job.”
Chase rocked back onto his heels. He was figuring out more and more of this mess. “You had other plans for her, didn’t you, Dex?”
Dex shrugged. Glanced at his watch. This time, he was actually wearing one around his wrist. “This party should get moving along. Can’t stay here forever. I’ve got bad guys to track. Bait to put out. Lives to destroy. You know, my usual morning routine after coffee.”
And Chase had to get Vivian out of there. But first, he grabbed Dex’s arm when the other man tried to hurry past him. He leaned in close and whispered to Dex, making sure that his voice didn’t carry to anyone else, “You use her as bait, and I will put a bullet in your heart.”
Dex’s head turned toward him. “Is that a promise?” His voice was louder. It was apparent he wanted the others to hear his response.
“Absolutely. Find another option.”
“You volunteering?”
“Yes,” Chase gritted out.
“Chase?” Vivian touched his shoulder. “I want to get out of here. Can we please just go?”
Dex gave him a hard smile. “I’ll be in touch.”
“I’m sure you will be.” Chase let him go. Then he scooped Vivian into his arms.
“What are you doing?” She wrapped her arm around his neck. “I can walk. I didn’t even need stitches on the cut near my ankle. I don’t need you to carry me!”
“Yeah, I get that.” He did. One hundred percent. But what she didn’t get… “I need to hold you.” He stared straight ahead. Eric had run up in front of him and was holding the door that led to the stairwell. They’d go to the roof. Get the fuck out of there. “I need to hold you because I am barely keeping my control.”
“Chase?”
Talking to Dex had been a huge effort. Not driving his fist into a wall had required major self-control. Not hunting down those bastards who’d wreaked havoc at the lake and destroying every single one of them? Well, Chase still planned to do that. But first…
Vivian comes first.
“You’re the only thing keeping me in check.” His voice was raw. His hold on her too tight as they hurried for the roof. “I need you close.” He paused, and his head turned toward her. “Help me to stay in control.”
“I’ll help you,” Vivian promised. She put her head down on his shoulder.
And he could breathe. And he could keep his control.
Just for a little while longer.
Chapter Sixteen
The view from the top floor suite was killer. She could look out over the city and see for miles. Miles and
miles. They’d gone back to Marietta, back to one of the swankiest hotels there. Eric had landed the chopper on the roof of the building. They’d gotten inside with a minimum of contact—no doubt due to Eric’s connections—and now she was locked in tightly with Chase.
“Wilde has access to a lot of secure facilities around the US. I thought this one would work well for you because of the views.” Chase motioned toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that let her see the sunrise. “After you’ve had a chance to rest and we can regroup, we’ll make plans for a different location. This is just temporary. I think it would be better if we got you out of the state. Maybe even sent you to one of the islands that Eric has used before on top secret assignments. Only his inner circle knows about those locations, and you will be safe there—”
“Will you come with me?”
His jaw hardened.
“Or do you plan to send me away while you set yourself up as some sort of lure for the bad guys?”
He stalked toward her. “How did you hear that part?”
“One of my thirteen secrets? I can read lips, and I read yours when you leaned in close to Dex.”
Chase stopped right in front of her. “They took my friend. I have to get him back. That means I’ll have to do some bad things. Means I’ll have to break some fucking rules, but I will get Merik back. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s my pain in the ass.”
“I can help you.”
Chase shook his head. “They took him as a way to get to you. That’s why you need to be far away. So they can’t get to you. We remove you from the equation, then we take them down.” A muscle flexed along his clenched jaw. “I know you need to crash, but I’m not sleeping in a different room.”
Her heart sped up. Was he saying…?
“I’ll sleep on the floor next to your bed. If someone manages to get past the security here, then I will be in the same room with you. They will literally have to walk over me in order to get to you.”
She turned away from him. Made her way to the bedroom. When she opened the door, a massive bed waited for her. Had to be a king. With what looked like silk sheets. “There’s plenty of space.” Her head turned toward him. Chase had followed her. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor.”
“Trust me, I do.”
She almost reached for him, but stopped. Scrunched up her nose. “I think I smell like a lake.” She was pretty sure she’d swallowed way too much of the lake when she’d been—
No. Stop it. Don’t go there. “I need to shower.”
He pointed to the bathroom. “I’ll be waiting in front of the door.”
He was taking his guard duty very, very seriously. She nodded. “That’s an option.”
A furrow appeared between Chase’s brows.
“Or you could get in the shower with me. You’re still wearing your lake-soaked clothes.” Though Eric had sent them new clothes. He’d ordered clothing from the shop in the lobby and gotten the materials discreetly delivered.
The furrow between Chase’s eyebrows deepened. “Did you just ask me to shower with you?”
“Yes, I do believe I did. I mean, if you’re going to watch me, you can’t very well do it from outside of the door. You don’t have x-ray vision. Besides, you do need to shower, too.”
“If I see you naked in a shower, I’m done.”
“Done?”
“I want to fuck you.” Oh, his voice had gone guttural again. Sexy. “I’m riding out a wave of fury and adrenaline, and I’m doing my best to keep my control. But you—without your clothes, gleaming wet in a shower—that will shred the last bit of control that I have. I want you. I need you. And you don’t want me to—”
“You’re wrong.”
His blazing gold gaze seemed to burn her.
“You said I don’t want you.” She shook her head. “I do. I also think it’s fine for that control of yours to break. You see, I have this friend, and he recently told me that adrenaline rushes can be extremely hard to handle.”
“Huh.” A pause. “A…friend?”
“Well, I’m working out exactly what he is.” Friend was the wrong word. He was so much more. “But he had a rough night. So did I. I happen to think we could both use some help coming down from the rush.”
He didn’t move. “So that’s what this is about? Getting rid of the rush?”
“No.” She began to strip. “It’s me, inviting you to shower with me. It’s me, saying I want you because I do. And then it’s you, making the choice about what you want.” Vivian exhaled. “You don’t have to keep your control for me.” She stood before him, completely naked. “Because I don’t have any control of my own left.”
Then she turned and walked into the bathroom. He’d follow her or he wouldn’t. She yanked on the water and the spray filled the huge walk-in shower. After she stepped inside, Vivian left the shower door open behind her, just in case—
A warm, strong hand curled around her shoulder. “You’re the only thing I want.”
He’d stripped. Her gaze slid over him. Took in the broad shoulders. The abs for days. Then going down, down to the heavy, thrusting length of his cock.
“Here, let me help,” Chase offered in that rough, growling voice that made her ache even more. He reached for the soap. Lathered it and began carefully rubbing her breasts. Sliding his fingers over her nipples as he put the soap on her with tender, delicate strokes.
Her breath shuddered out as she grabbed for the soap, too. She filled her hands and then was running her fingers over his body because she wanted to touch him. Every single inch of him. His mouth met hers in a hot, drugging kiss even as the shower water pounded down on them. She savored the kiss. Loved it. Got drunk on it. She was pushing onto her toes to get closer and closer.
His mouth tore from hers, and he kissed his way down her throat. Vivian moaned his name and tipped back her head for him. Steam filled the air. The glass doors fogged up.
His hand slid between her legs. She widened her stance, and one long finger thrust inside of her. One, then another.
He stretched her. Filled her. Pulled his fingers out and thrust back inside as he—
“I can’t fucking wait.” He kissed her again. Drove his tongue into her mouth. Tasted her. “I need a condom. Dammit, I need—”
“I’m covered and I’m clean.” Her nails bit into his shoulders. She wanted him then. She kissed him again. Sucked his lower lip. Bit.
“I’m clean.” He pushed her back. Lifted her against the wet, tiled wall. Held her as if it was the easiest thing in the world while his cock lodged at the entrance of her body. “I want in.”
She wanted him in. No more waiting. She wanted—
He sank into her. Drove all the way inside and her nails scratched across his shoulders as Vivian held on as tightly as she could. He filled her, stretched her, and she sucked in desperate gulps of air as her body fought to adjust to him.
“Easy.” His hand slipped between their bodies. His fingers rubbed over her clit. Caressed and stroked. “I’m not moving, not until you are ready. God, baby, you are tight.”
Or maybe he was just super big. Almost too big. But what he was doing with his fingers felt good. No, great.
He kissed her again. Thrust his tongue into her mouth even as he kept working her clit, and she felt her hips rise because she wanted more. Wanted the friction, the force, the driving power of sex.
“That’s it. Fuck, yes…”
Her eyes opened. She stared into his gaze, and she saw it—the exact moment when he lost his control.
His stare blazed at her. The gold was so bright and hot even as his expression was locked into savage lines of lust. “Hold on,” he ordered roughly.
She was. Her legs wrapped around him in a never-let-go grip.
He drove into her. Pounded into her with hard, powerful strokes, and every single plunge of his cock had her aching for more. Wanting more. Everything. Her hands flew over his slick back. He was driving into her, stretching so deep. He was al
l she could feel. All that she wanted and she was—
Coming.
Already.
Her sex squeezed around him as she cried out his name. Her right hand flew off him and grabbed blindly for the handle she’d seen on the wall. She gripped it as the pleasure poured through her.
But he wasn’t done. Not even close. He sank into her again. Drove into her again, and she felt him coming inside of her. A hot rush of release. Her eyes opened so that she could see his face in that wild moment.
And then, she couldn’t look away.
Savage. Powerful. Perfect.
Sexy.
He kissed her. Stayed buried in her even as he stepped out of the shower. Her legs were still wrapped around him. Her arms were now clinging limply to his neck. Sex between them had been…wow.
He lowered her to her feet. Grabbed a towel and tenderly patted her dry before he yanked the towel over his own body.
Her toes curled into the plush rug. Now that the crazy haze of passion had cleared, she felt a bit uncertain. Moaning, panting sex in the shower wasn’t normally her style. “Did you know that bathrooms can be the most dangerous room in a home?”
Chase stilled with the towel half-way over his chest.
“Each year…” Her voice was husky so she cleared her throat. “ERs get packed with people who have injuries while in the bathroom. Over two hundred and thirty thousand people go to the hospital each year because—”
“I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t hurt ourselves while we were fucking in the shower.”
Her lips pressed together. She nodded.
He dropped the towel. Advanced on her. “I wonder how many people have sex in the shower each year.”
Her mind went blank. “I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s a lot.”
His mouth kicked into a half-smile. “Something tells me that it is.” His hand lifted. Curled under her chin. “I was right.”
She wanted his mouth again. “About what?” Now her voice had gone straight breathless.
“Sex with you—one time with you—was never going to be enough for me.”
“It’s not enough for me, either,” she whispered.
