by Avery Gale
The first tears breached her lower lids and raced down her chin. Leaning forward, Rafe kissed the salty drops away and then rested his forehead against hers. “One step at a time, Peach. I promise to take this one step at a time. But I want something from you in return. I want you to promise to tell me if you’re feeling insecure or if something we’re doing frightens you. Relationships in the BDSM world are almost always stronger than those of our vanilla counterparts because communication is such a huge part of what we do. You’ll never be punished for asking a question—as long as you do so respectfully.”
He saw her sag in relief and took that as his cue to move things along. Setting her up on her feet, he stood and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Come on. I’m beat. Ryan is going to have to do something about the deplorable conditions of the doctor’s lounge if he expects me to work out of that facility. Swear to God, I’ll build my own wing if that’s what it takes to get a decent nap. I’m certain their mattresses are something they picked up at a five and dime store.”
Reagan’s giggle made froze him in his tracks. When he turned, her eyes widened in concern. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, Peach. Quite the contrary. I think that’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. I’m going to make it my goal to hear it as often as possible.” This time his lips locked on hers and went from chaste to scorching in a heartbeat. When he finally made himself pull back, they were both panting. “Fucking hell. You undo me.”
Rafe was leading her down the hallway toward the master suite when she suddenly stopped. “This isn’t the way to the room where I left my overnight bag.”
Facing her, Rafe cradled her face between his large hands. “No, it isn’t. I know I told you that you could have your own room. Is that what you want, Peach? Or would you rather sleep in my arms?”
Reagan was so surprised by Rafe’s question she couldn’t do anything except blink her eyes as she tried to wrap her mind around the implications. He hadn’t said anything about sex. Had he changed his mind? Maybe her insecurities were too much of a turn off? Or maybe he only wanted her to sleep beside him in case any medical issues came up during the night?
“Peach? I asked you a question, and I expect an answer. You’re overthinking this. I can see it playing out in your eyes. Make no mistake, I want to fuck you so badly my dick feels like it’s seconds away from exploding.” Her eyes dropped to where his cock strained against the denim of his jeans. “Yes, take a good look, Peach. That’s what you do to me. But I’m not ruled by lust. You and I are both exhausted. We need sleep, and that’s what we’re going to do. Holding you will help me sleep, and I think it will help you, too.”
She nodded, her mind numb, and the reality of her situation started to sink in. This man wasn’t asking for anything except the opportunity to hold her as she slept. No one had done that since she was a small child. Her body reacted before her mind realized she was moving. Reagan stepped forward to lay her cheek against Rafe’s chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’d like that very much. You’re right. I’m tired, and I can’t imagine how spent you must be.”
Relief swept through her when he closed his arms around her. The hug was comforting rather than sexual, and that was enough to calm her fears. She hadn’t had sex with anyone in a very long time, and the thought of breaking her dry-spell when she was weaving on her feet from fatigue almost sent her into a tail-spin. “Come on.”
She let him lead her into his bedroom and gasped when she spotted a couple of her dime store trinkets sitting on the bedside table. “Our friends obviously knew I wouldn’t want you sleeping anywhere else.” She heard the amusement in his voice, but there was a sublayer of affection, too. As he stripped out of his own clothes, Reagan realized for the first time she was naked. Holy cannoli, how had she forgotten she’d been completely bared to his gaze?
She heard him chuckle across the room and looked up to see him watching her. “Just realized you weren’t wearing anything, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I can’t believe I forgot.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m thrilled. That level of comfort tells me a lot.” He studied her so intently she wondered if Mountain Mastery was filled with mind-reading Doms. “Sweetheart, I hope you don’t play poker.”
What? Poker? “No, I was never very lucky at cards.”
Rafe head fell back as he laughed. Reagan might have been insulted if the sound of his hearty laugh wasn’t so genuine. “No, Peach. Luck has very little to do with success in poker, but that wasn’t what I was referring to. I meant you don’t have a poker face. Nothing is hidden. Your honest emotions are a siren’s call to a Dom like me.”
Reagan tilted her head to the side, trying to make sense of what he was saying, but she was just too tired to sort through it. Shaking his head, he crossed the distance between them. Walking her backward until she felt the bed behind her, he used a hand on her shoulder to sit her on the edge of the mattress. “Lie back before you fall asleep on your feet. We’ll work it all out in the morning.”
The light went out a second later, and even though she heard him moving around the bed, she was asleep before he joined her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she was wrapped in warmth and sweet words were being whispered against her ear, but she slid into the darkness before she could make sense of what the words meant.
Chapter Twelve
Koi stood by fireplace in Karl and Tally’s home, watching the flames dance over the logs. He’d let himself in a half hour ago, enough time to slip the take-out he’d picked up into the warming oven and start a fire. Karl was in his home office, but the glass door was closed so he hadn’t interrupted what sounded like a heated phone conversation. Koi didn’t know who the good Senator was talking to, but it was obvious he was pissed as hell about some detail of his upcoming trip. He’d tried to tell Karl it was a fool’s venture and entirely too dangerous, but so far, the other man still planned to go.
Tally rushed through the front door, her arms laden with books and bags. Shaking his head, he moved to where she was struggling to slip out of her wet shoes. “Ma poupée, why didn’t you tell me you had things to carry in? Why must women be so stubborn?”
“Stubborn? Me? Surely you jest!” Her laughter filled the room, and Koi found himself laughing along with her. How long had it been since he’d enjoyed a woman’s teasing—other than his sister, Kodi, of course? She’d been the light of his life since the moment his parents walked in the front door with her in their arms. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d enjoyed a casual conversation with a member of the opposite sex.
“She’s as stubborn as they come. Never asks for help, even when it’s blatantly obvious she needs it.” Karl’s voice behind Tally made her shriek.
Jumping, she spun around clutching her chest. “Holy fucking hell, you scared ten years off my life.”
“And you, my lovely sub, just bought yourself a swat for each of those years. We’ll take care of that after dinner. You have five minutes to freshen up. You can begin by stripping here.” Koi watched Tally’s cheeks flame, but she didn’t argue, quickly shedding her clothes and then making her way down the hall. Karl looked at him and grinned. “Damn, she couldn’t have set us up any better. I hope like hell she never learns to curb her foul mouth. Although I must admit, lately startling her is about the only way to shake the word ‘fuck’ out of her.”
Koi laughed and shook his head as he carried her packages into the kitchen. Setting everything on the breakfast bar, he started pulling the food from the oven. “Let me guess, she has trouble shedding her independence when you return home.”
“That’s putting it mildly. Tally is brilliant. Those aren’t just the words of a proud husband, either. The woman’s I.Q. rivals Phoenix Morgan’s. She sailed through school, college, and medical school. She was well on her way to becoming the hottest surgeon in the D.C. metro area when we met. One trip to my home state and she fell in love.” Koi could see the regret in Karl
’s eyes when he quietly added, “I don’t know how I’m going to break it to her that she’s going to move back.”
When a door closed at the end of the hall, Karl shook his head, and Koi let his questions go. If everything he’d heard about Tally was true, it was going to be very difficult for her to fit in with the elitists who controlled the social networking in Washington, D.C. In Koi’s experience, those women were ruthless in their exclusivity. They didn’t welcome newcomers. Those sharks would scent Tally’s inexperience like blood in water. Fuck, they’d shred her until there was nothing left of the wide-eyed beauty who’d just stepped into the kitchen.
Her braided hair and freshly washed face made her appear even younger than she was. His heart clenched thinking about Karl throwing her to the wolves. Koi was aware of Tyson’s political aspirations, but he didn’t understand why the other man was willing to let his personal ambition trump his wife’s happiness. Looking at Karl, Koi nodded to the food he’d set out. “You might want to tie a towel around your lovely sub. Chinese food can be messy, and I’d hate to see her burn those beautiful breasts.”
“We’ll feed her. It’ll be a good chance for her to practice obedience.” There was suddenly a thin strain of venom in Karl’s voice that set Koi’s nerves on edge. Tally was clearly surprised, as well, her eyes widening before dropping to the floor. Koi had been told the Tyson’s marriage was rock solid, but he was beginning to wonder how much their mutual friends really knew about Karl and Tally Tyson.
Phoenix Morgan studied the video playing on the large monitor in his office then turning his attention to where his brother sat beside him. Brandt swore under his breath, “Fuck. There’s not much question what’s going on.”
“I’d say she’s been doing this for a while since she seems to have forgotten about the security cameras.”
“She’s probably more pressed for time now that she doesn’t have Reagan to pawn her work off on. When I interviewed the other employees, almost all of them mentioned Kelsey’s ability to shift the burden of her work to her coworker.”
“Why didn’t any of them speak up?” It was bull shit like this that made Phoenix grateful he’d never worked for anyone other than friends and family. Hell, he didn’t even do tech work for anyone he didn’t like—he didn’t need to.
“They preferred dealing with Reagan. Un-fucking-believable. Selfish bastards claimed they liked Reagan better, and since she was easier for them to deal with, they stood by silently as she did Kelsey’s work as well as her own.” Brandt sighed and shook his head as he replayed a section of the video. “Serves Kelsey right that she is now doing both jobs alone.”
“Actually, being forced to do her own work is probably putting a serious kink in her little enterprise—and not the good kind of kink, either.” Phoenix watched as Kelsey scrambled to hide what looked like a boot box when she heard someone approaching.
“I don’t want to know how you got this, do I?” Brandt glanced his way, and Phoenix grinned.
“I have a contract to provide technical support for the freight company. I’ll claim I was tweaking their system out of the goodness of my heart, and when I discovered her nefarious activities, I contacted the local authorities.”
“But no one is going to believe that. Everybody knows you spend every spare minute with my sweet niece or inside your wife.”
“Says the pot to the kettle. Can the choirboy bull shit; I already know about your late afternoon visitor yesterday.” Phoenix’s mocking laughter had Brandt shaking his head.
“Small towns are a pain in the ass.”
“Not this time. Joelle called Calamity to babysit, but she was out on a vet call. Caila called Coral, who was in Missoula with Mom. Coral called me looking for Aspen, who is still out of the country.” Calamity was the Morgan brothers’ nickname for their younger brother Kip’s wife, Caila. She’d grown up on the ranch bordering their own and had been considered part of the family long before she’d married the youngest of Dean and Patsy Morgan’s five sons. Coral was married to Sage, Brandt’s oldest brother. Since Coral had been the first “sister” to join the family, she held a special place in all of their hearts.
“Jesus H. Christ. Who babysat?” Brandt often forgot about the Morgan grapevine even though he’d once sworn even Uncle Sam didn’t have a comm system faster than his family’s.
“Yours truly. There isn’t much I won’t do for my sisters-in-law. And, well, Joelle is really special.”
Brandt grinned at his brother. “Thanks. She and I needed the time alone. And her visit was a very pleasant surprise. Coral keeping Jezzi overnight was a gift straight from heaven.”
Brandt’s transparency surprised Phoenix. He seemed amused, but not surprised by the flabbergasted expression on Phoenix’s face. Brandt had been an entirely different person after he left the SEALs. His last mission had been a complete cluster fuck—losing so many teammates had decimated him. His physical injuries had healed quickly, but the survivor’s guilt and PTSD had steamrolled him. He’d locked himself away in his anger and guilt; in the year before Joelle became a part of his life, he’d alienated his friends and tried desperately to push his family away. But Joelle had changed everything. She’d pulled Brandt from the dark place he’d retreated, and their parents and brothers all worshipped her for it.
“Maybe it would be easier to get the warrant if a small video clip was sent to you anonymously. Hell, if the newspapers in New York and Washington can use anonymous sources, seems only right that you should be able to do the same.”
Brandt shook his head and chuckled. “You really need to stay off Twitter.”
“Remember, you learn more from people who disagree with you. They force you to think through your opinions.”
Brandt moved to the door, still shaking his head. “Another reason you should avoid all social media. You’re already too fucking smart for your own good.” Phoenix had been hearing that sentiment his entire life, but he’d never been impressed with his Mensa level I.Q. In his opinion, being smart was a small part of the battle. Being smart without being motivated was like owning a fancy car but refusing to put fuel in it.
“Uncle Brandt, you aren’t supposed to say that word. Mommy says it’s bad. Even Daddy gets in trouble for that, and he’s the boss of the whole world.” Phoenix grinned at Brandt’s contrite expression. There was nothing like being chastised by a four-year-old with the brass of a twenty-four-year old.
“You’re right, Charity. I’ll try to do better.”
“Splendid.” Brandt’s eyes widened, and it took all Phoenix’s control to not laugh out loud. Charity Morgan was already testing off the charts and made her way to Phoenix’s office anytime she could give her mother and sisters the slip. Sage and Coral’s triplets were all adored by their parents, aunt, uncles, and grandparents, but Charity had always gravitated to Phoenix. Faith shared her Uncle Kip’s love of animals, and Hope wanted to be a singer like Aunt Josie. Charity was already writing code and had recently helped Phoenix create a children’s treasure hunting game. If the game was successful, the little girl’s college education would be paid for before she finished grade school.
“To what do we owe this pleasure, Charity?”
“I only need sixty seconds of your time, Uncle Phoenix.” Brandt’s eyes went wide, but Phoenix kept his expression bland. If he gave her the slightest hint she’d surprised him, Charity would add a layer of drama, which always made it even more challenging to determine the real issue. When he nodded, she stiffened her spine as though she was getting ready to speak to the masses. “Is your system sluggish?” What the hell? This time he couldn’t hold back his shock as he glanced at Charity in surprise.
“There are specialists who can have it running at peak performance in no time. I wrote down the eight hundred number. You can make the call, and they’ll have your system purring like a fine tuned you’re peeing motor.”
“You’re peeing? Darlin’, I think you mean European.” Brandt’s correction earned him one of
Charity’s famous death glares. That particular expression had been known to send her Dominant father into orbit.
“That’s what I said, Uncle Brandt. Please try to keep up, dear.” Phoenix lost it. Charity was definitely spending too much time with their mom, and Sage needed to keep her from watching late night infomercials. Phoenix was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his cheeks, but the combination of arrogant former SEAL and precocious preschooler was too much. Damn, he loved his family.
Pacing his office like a caged tiger wasn’t getting Dick Merrett any closer to a solution. He needed to put an end to his obsession with Reagan Walsh once and for all. At this point, he wasn’t even interested in keeping her for himself. He just wanted to fuck her out of his system and then shut her up—permanently. Turning to his computer, Merrett signed in to his personal travel account and booked a flight and rental car.
The foolish woman who’d called him trying to extort money would need to be dealt with as well. Listening to her try to bull shit her way around him was laughable. He’d spent his entire career working with inmates. There wasn’t a story, excuse, or angle he hadn’t heard. Becoming hardened was just part and parcel for someone in his position. He deserved respect, even if it was from some bimbo in Bum-fuck, Montana. He’d teach her a lesson in protocol and the error of forgetting the significance of the chain of command. She’d think twice before she pulled that shit again.
He’d spent the past few days learning everything he could about Kelsey Jones and the company she worked for. He’d even stumbled on to an article in a tech magazine that talked about the small freight company’s efforts to upgrade their security system. The article was five years old, but he doubted the small carrier had done any further upgrades. Getting in wasn’t even going to be a challenge. Leaning back in his chair, he looked out over the prison facility compound and smiled. Damn, he’d set that bitch Reagan up perfectly. The inmate who’d attacked her was still enjoying the special favors he’d garnered, and the local county attorney hadn’t even bothered charging him since the guy was currently serving multiple life sentences. There’s nobody more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose.
