Relentless (Benson's Boys Book 2)

by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

  He seemed to expect an answer, so she nodded. Her mouth was suddenly dry, but she resisted the urge to wet her lips. He didn’t need any encouragement, no matter how small.

  “Well”—he toyed with a lock of her hair—“knowing that, do you really think I’d walk away from the woman I love, just because she’s got cold feet?”

  “Cold feet?” Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. He did not just say that. “This isn’t cold feet. It’s reality. You seem to think I’m some sort of Disney Princess and I keep telling you that I’m more like Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good As It Gets.” She placed her palm flat on his chest in supplication, realising too late that the heat of his body burned through her defences. Before she could snatch her hand away, he covered it with his and pressed it hard against him. Trapping her. Surrounding her. Making it hard to breathe.

  She blinked up at him, wishing he was less handsome, less intense, less open about his feelings. Less everything. He overwhelmed her just by being him.

  “This can’t work,” she said. “You must see that.”

  “What I see is a beautiful, interesting woman who’s trying to throw away the best thing that’s ever happened to her because she’s scared.”

  Julia sucked in a breath. “Not scared. Realistic. We have no future.”

  He leaned closer, his musky scent enveloping her. “See, here’s the thing: you’re wrong. You aren’t thinking straight because you don’t see yourself properly. And to a guy like me, that isn’t a deterrent, it’s a challenge. I’m just gonna have to hound you until you see things my way.”

  “Joe! You can’t ignore what I’m telling you.”

  “I can if you’re talking garbage.”

  Julia wanted to stamp her foot and scream. He had to be the world’s most stubborn and infuriating man.

  “Jules.” He leaned in to whisper against her ear, making her shiver. “I love you. I’m not going to give up on you, or on us. It’s not how I’m made. I’ve got patience, baby. I’ll wait however long it takes for you to believe that I see all of you and I love every weird little inch. Consider me your shadow until you see reason.”

  “That’s stalking!” She pushed at his chest. Although admittedly it wasn’t much of an effort.

  “You say potato, I say potahto. I consider it perseverance.”

  “What am I going to do with you?” She wanted to lash out in exasperation.

  His smile was sensually wicked. “Oh, I can think of a few things.”

  Julia felt her cheeks heat. “Stop it. Even if I somehow miraculously managed to believe that you wouldn’t go running sometime in the future when you realise that I’ll never change, there’s still your job. You are the man who runs into a burning building. I’m the woman who runs away from it. I honestly don’t think I can cope with watching you leave time and again and never knowing if it will be the last time I see you.” She shook her head. “I can’t do it. I can’t.”

  “You know,” Joe said, suddenly very serious, “this gig isn’t forever. I never planned to work in the field long-term. It was one of the reasons I got out of the Marines. This kind of life is bad for relationships. For family.” His voice lowered, making her heart race. “And I want a family, Julia.”

  She forgot how to breathe. He couldn’t mean…?

  “I talked to Callum about moving into a training and project management role once we have more staff on board. So”—he stepped even closer until their bodies were touching—“you don’t need to worry about losing me every time I leave on a mission, because there won’t be any more missions.”

  Her eyes went wide. “I can’t let you give up your career for me.”

  “Babe,” he said against her lips, holding her gaze with a look that was searing, “don’t you know I’d do anything for you?”

  “You’ll resent me.” Her words a whisper against his lips.

  “Never.” It was a vow. “I want you more than anything. I’m not giving up on adventure, baby—I’m just starting a new one. With you.” He brushed his lips against hers. “If you’ll let me.”

  “Why won’t you listen to me? Why won’t you see reason? You’re driving me crazy.”

  “Good.” And then he kissed her.

  A slow, teasing, sensual kiss that stole her mind and left her breathless. When he pulled away, he rested their foreheads together.

  “Mine,” he declared. “You’re mine.”

  And then he walked away, heading for Callum in the corner of the room and leaving her weak-kneed watching after him. He moved like a predator, all lean muscle and powerful grace.

  “I remember that look.” Her gran broke into her thoughts and made her aware that she was standing mooning after Joe.

  “I do too.” Alice sounded wistful. “It meant someone was going to get lucky.”

  “Alice!” Julia felt her cheeks burn as she said to her gran, “Why won’t he listen to me?”

  “Because you’re talking rubbish, dear.”

  “No I’m not!” And she was seriously getting annoyed that no one would listen to her. “I know what I’m talking about. He’ll get fed up with my weird personality and he’ll hurt me. Why am I the only one who sees that?”

  Ryan, Elle, Alice and Patricia shared a look before they all said at the same time, “Because you’re talking rubbish, dear.”

  Ryan burst into laughter and Julia threw up her hands in disgust. There was no talking to any of them. They were all as pig-headed as Joe.

  Alice smiled at Elle. “I can’t thank you enough for coming for me.”

  “Anytime,” Elle said with a smile that was quickly replaced by horror. “I mean…”

  “I know what you mean.” Alice smiled back. “And I will definitely call Benson Security next time I need rescuing.”

  “There won’t be a next time,” Patricia said. “We’re going home to live staid lives, like two old biddies should do.”

  Alice gaped at her friend. “What about the treasure?”

  “To hell with it! Look at the trouble it’s caused.”

  “Exactly,” Alice said. “I lost a finger over it.” She held up her bandaged hand. “The least I should get in return is some Incan gold.”

  “What happened to giving away the treasure and publishing a paper on reading Incan textiles?” Julia asked.

  Alice waved her undamaged hand. “That was before I was butchered. I liked that finger. It was thinner than the rest and it had a nice nail. Now I have a gap in my hand where it used to be and I’ll never be able to look at garden shears again. In fact”—she turned to Patricia—“when I get home, I’m putting the house on the market and buying a flat on the Thames. One that doesn’t have a garden. But that’s beside the point. I need the treasure money to buy a new finger. I want one of those bionic ones I saw on TV.”

  “You saw bionic fingers on TV?” Ryan could barely keep the laughter out of his voice.

  “It’s a computerised prosthetic,” Alice told him, managing to look haughty even in her bedraggled state. “It connects with the nerves and takes messages from the brain. And it comes in an assortment of colours.” She looked back at Patricia. “I want blue, like Elle’s hair.”

  “Now that sounds like a fun replacement for your missing digit,” Patricia said, with her eyes on Callum as he whispered with Joe in the corner of the room. She turned back to Alice. “How about we talk this over after you’ve had a shower? You smell like the city dump.”

  She got to her feet and helped Alice up with her.

  “You’d smell too if you’d been living in a cell for about a million years. I had to pee in a bucket. Do you know how easy it is to miss the damn thing? My knees aren’t up to squatting all the time. There were days when I got into position and thought I’d never get out. Don’t even get me started on my bowels. I think I have hysterical constipation. You know, like hysterical blindness, where people go blind due to stress. Well, my bowels stopped working for the same reason.”

  “I really don’t need to hear ab
out your bowels,” Patricia said as she held open the door to the room she was sharing with Alice.

  “You’ll be hearing all about it in the middle of the night if we don’t get it sorted now.” Alice looked over her shoulder at Julia. “Julia, pet, can you order some prunes? And laxatives. And papaya juice.”

  “Papaya juice is for an upset stomach,” Patricia said.

  “You think my stomach isn’t upset?” Alice said as the door closed on the two of them.

  There was a moment of silence before Ryan said, “I need to get them together with my granddad and his brother. All they talk about is their bad hips and their toilet problems.”

  “If that’s me in forty years,” Elle said, “shoot me.”

  Once Patricia and Alice had disappeared into their room, Joe and Callum joined the rest of them. Joe’s look was a challenge. A dare for Julia to take him seriously. To take a chance on them. Julia looked away. She ached, torn as she was between trusting him and taking a chance, and the fear of being devastated all over again. Because she knew that getting over Joe Barone would be impossible. If he hurt her, she would remain broken for the rest of her life. How could he expect her to take a chance on that?

  Callum positioned his chair in the middle of the room. He was wearing a muscle shirt that flashed biceps, the likes of which should be illegal. But there was still a blanket covering his legs.

  “The member of the Lima team who took the copter back to Cusco for us, also took a message to our pilots. They’re going to bring the plane to an old military airfield outside Lima. It’s too risky to fly out of the international airport. Esteban is sure to be watching it. We’ve got about five hours until we need to be at the airport.”

  “I checked the surveillance cameras in Cusco,” Elle said. “Esteban and his mini army are still there.”

  “That doesn’t mean we should relax,” Callum said. “Esteban has people everywhere.” He looked at his team. “You did a good job—now get some sleep while you can.”

  “And showers,” Elle said.

  “Food first.” Ryan was already dialling room service.

  “You coming?” Joe held a hand out to Julia.

  “I can’t.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he told her. “You know where to find me.”

  With one last, wicked smile, he turned towards the room they should have shared. Julia’s heart actually hurt to watch him go.

  As he passed Elle, Joe stopped. “Before I forget, I have a present for you.” He dug around in his pockets and came out with a tiny Ziploc bag. “It’s from David. He said to give it your best shot.”

  Elle grabbed the clear plastic bag. She was bouncing in place with delight. “Is that what I think it is? It is! It’s a hair. With the root attached. DNA, here we come.” She gave Joe a hopeful look. “I don’t suppose he gave me a fingerprint.”

  “Not this time, crazy girl.” With a shake of his head, Joe headed into his room—but not before casting one last challenging glance over his shoulder to Julia.

  Chapter 29

  Julia lasted a whole hour before she gave in and crawled into bed with Joe. His scent and warmth engulfed her as she snuggled up to his side. She was weak. Plus, she was giving him mixed messages—telling him she didn’t want him one minute, getting into bed with him the next. Julia knew that made her a terrible person, but she honestly wasn’t playing with him. She was confused. She knew she should run from Joe, but she wanted him so very badly. It was an impossible situation. One with which he wasn’t helping at all.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” The sleepy huskiness in his tone was perfection.

  He rolled them to the side and pulled her back into him, spooning her—his front to her back. A heavy leg was thrown over her thighs and his arm fed around her waist. He nuzzled at the crook of her neck. She was surrounded by him. Trapped in his embrace. And she’d never felt safer.

  “Now this is the way I want to wake up every morning.”

  “It’s afternoon.” She didn’t even want to get into the thought of forever. It was too big, too scary, too risky.

  “Still feels like you belong here. There’s only one thing wrong. Why are you dressed?”

  “Because you need to get out of bed and I don’t need to get into it.”

  “Ah, but you’re already here.” He nudged her hair out of the way and nibbled at her shoulder. “Too many clothes, but I can work around it.”

  Julia got the impression he was talking more to himself than her. His hand slid under her t-shirt, up her stomach, to cup her breast. That was all it took for her to forget her objections to their relationship.

  He rubbed his thumb back and forth over her nipple as he made his way up her neck to her ear. The feeling of his breath against it sent her desire for him soaring. He teased her earlobe with his teeth.

  “You getting hot, baby? Something you need?” Oh, that seductive voice in her ear.

  Julia moaned her answer and pressed her hips back into him, feeling his hard length against the seam of her behind.

  “You know this can’t work between us.” Her voice was hoarse.

  There was amusement in his. “Seems to me it’s working just fine.”

  “You know what I mean. We have no future.”

  “Then this is what? Goodbye sex?”

  She couldn’t think straight. Her mind was overloaded with the messages coming from her body.

  “Yes,” she gasped, and he chuckled against her skin.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  The arm her head rested on moved, curving around her to play with the breast his other hand vacated. That hand moved slowly down her body to her jeans. He undid the button and pulled down the zip.

  “Please,” Julia said.

  Her eyes were shut tight. Her world had reduced to just this man and how he made her feel.

  “I’ll please you, baby. Tell me how to do it.”

  She felt his tongue trace the shell of her ear and almost lost her mind. She’d never known, would never have guessed, that she was so sensitive there.

  His hand dipped lower into her jeans. He found the elastic of her underwear and stopped.

  “Joe,” she said.

  He was tormenting her with his slow caresses. A devil. He was a devil. His leg moved so that his knee was wedged between her thighs. Julia held on to the arm that crossed her body as though it were an anchor.

  “Say the words. I want to hear Julia Collins say dirty words in that proper English accent of hers. Tell me what you want. Tell me in detail and I’ll give it to you.”

  She groaned her frustration. He was asking her to step right outside her comfort zone. Her cheeks were burning at the thought.

  “You can do it,” he whispered against her ear. “It’s only the two of us here. There’s no shame. I want you to do it. It will make me hot. You want me hot for you, don’t you?”

  “Yes!”

  His fingers slipped under the elastic of her panties, but stopped there.

  “Joe!”

  “Say it.”

  He pinched her nipple. Julia arched her neck, pressing her head back into him. He bit her shoulder muscle.

  “Please, please pet me. Please touch me with your fingers.”

  “Where?”

  “M-my clit, please, Joe.”

  With a growl, he slid his fingers lower. “You are so wet.”

  All she could think about was the feeling of his large fingers stroking her, coaxing her closer to the oblivion of ecstasy with every touch.

  She heard gasping and desperate moans. The sounds were so unfamiliar that it took a second for her to realise she was the one making them.

  “Need you.” His hand was suddenly out of her underwear, and Julia wailed in complaint.

  The next thing she knew, her jeans were being pushed down her legs, along with her panties.

  “Kick them off.”

  She did as she was told, managing to free one leg. It was enough. A strong hand on her thigh, bringing her leg up
and back over his. She instinctively arched her bottom back into him. She felt his hand guiding his hard length into her, and then he was filling her slowly. Inch by achingly solid inch. The hand on her breast slid into the cup of her bra to hold skin. His other hand spread low on her abdomen as his fingers found her clit.

  And she was lost for him.

  There were no coherent thoughts in her mind. There was only Joe and what he made her feel. His slow movements in and out of her seemed to fuse more than just their bodies together. He was breaking through all of her anxiety, all of her fears, everything she held back. He was tearing it all down, demanding all of her. Giving all of him in return.

  She heard his pants. Felt his muscles tense behind her. She was gasping now. Clawing for release. Moaning and begging. But he held her in place, his strength just another agonising tease for her senses.

  Close. So close.

  “Please!”

  “You want to come, baby?” he growled against her skin.

  She nodded. Desperate.

  “Then tell me you’ll give me a chance.”

  “Joe!” Was he insane?

  He nuzzled the side of her throat. “Tell me you’ll stop breaking up with me and give us a chance. Tell me and I’ll let you come.” He moved his hips, too slow to push Julia over the edge.

  She couldn’t think. She wanted it so badly, and he was using it against her.

  “Tell me,” he ordered with a nip of his teeth to her neck.

  “Fine! I’ll give us a chance. Now, please make me come!”

  He pinched her clit and she exploded, milking him for everything he had, feeding off the groans he made as he found his own release. In that moment, there was no Joe and Julia. There was only them. The kernel of hope that Joe had planted deep inside of her months earlier began to bloom, and she felt her fears fade.

  She wanted a future with this man. She wanted it so badly that the need overwhelmed the fear.

  And in that moment, a burst of absolute clarity flowed through her. She’d never had a choice when it came to a future with Joe. She just hadn’t realised it until then. It was never about what her mind decided. It was always about her heart. And her heart had made its decision months earlier.