by Dawn Ryder
“You may…” There was a rumble from the drums. “Kiss your bride!”
The room exploded into a frenzy of cheers while Ginger felt her heart stop. Seriously, the damned thing just froze in her chest as another look she hadn’t seen before crossed Saxon’s face. This time it was a heated one, one that made her gasp and caused her heart to jump back into rhythm.
He’d wanted to kiss her. She’d gotten that right because now she watched as he let his professionalism go. She saw the same desire she’d been trying to keep hidden from him.
She saw the desire glitter in his eyes a moment before he held her steady and stepped toward her, using that solid grip to keep her in place. He tilted his head, perfectly angling it so that he could press his mouth against hers, but he didn’t rush the moment. He slid his hand around the side of her face, setting off a jolt of sensation that rocked her to her foundation.
She had no idea what she was expecting, only that the soft touch surprised her, because he wasn’t pushing her around. No, he was coaxing her lips into a response, teasing them with a gentle motion that made her tremble while he grasped her nape and kept her exactly where he wanted her. It was the perfect introduction to intimacy, one that melted her heart. Her lips parted, a little gasp escaping them as she trembled and reached for him.
“Come on … kiss her!” Someone yelled.
Saxon opened his eyes, their gazes meeting for a moment, allowing her to see the stunned surprise in his blue eyes before he looked over her shoulder and his expression tightened. A moment later, he was wrapping his arm around her, binding her into an embrace that was inescapable. His fingers tightened on her nape, sending a torrent of sensation coursing down her body with the skin-to-skin contact. But he didn’t smash her lips beneath his. She half expected him to, but he used that control she’d noticed in him, pressing his mouth against hers in a kiss that was demanding but not bruising.
It was soul shattering.
She twisted against him, not out of a need to escape, but the opposite. She was trying to get closer. His lips were moving against hers, pressing them apart as she reached up and gripped his shoulders, shivering at the feeling of having her hands on him. He was hard and hot and everything she craved at that moment. Nothing else seemed to matter. What were details compared to the way he tasted? She wanted more and rose up onto her toes to kiss him back, feeling more alive than she ever had.
She surprised him, she felt him quiver, just a tiny reaction that had the effect of tossing gasoline on the fire burning inside her.
But someone cleared their throat. Saxon lifted his head away, leaving her staring into his eyes when she opened hers. What she saw in those blue orbs stunned her. It was only a moment, but it felt like it lasted for an hour, leaving her knees feeling weak and her heart thumping so hard against her breastbone she wondered if it was going to end up bruised.
“Charming,” Bram Magnus said from beside them.
Saxon stiffened and sent his man a cutting look. “Your timing sucks.”
And with that comment, the bubble of bliss that she’d been suspended in burst, leaving her back in the grip of the riptide of reality.
What the fuck had she just done?
“Roof,” Bram said.
Elvis had opened the doors that lead to the strip but Saxon wheeled her around and took off through the casino. Ginger heard the crowd hooting at them and making colorful remarks about making it to a room, but it got mixed up in the wash of noise from the slot machines. A man in a suit was standing near an elevator, not allowing anyone to step into it. Bram flashed him a two-finger salute as they dove inside it and he punched the button for the roof.
“Got a helicopter,” Bram said as the elevator jerked and slipped into motion.
“Nice work,” Saxon responded.
“Glad you think so. It’s Dunn’s.” Bram’s lips lifted into a sarcastic grin. “So you can thank him.”
“It will be worth it,” Saxon growled as he plucked the star lily off his chest.
The doors slipped open, revealing Dare Servant. The agent was off to their right, using an air conditioner as cover. He was mostly behind it and had his gun leveled at the elevator. Ginger recoiled, but Saxon slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her through the open doors while she was still trying to absorb all the details.
“Where’d you find them?” Dare asked as he moved the gun. The agent didn’t actually put it away, he just stopped aiming it at them. He was on guard, his eyes covered by dark sunglasses.
“Getting married,” Bram offered with a flip of his hand.
“It beat joining Tyler Martin on the sidewalk,” Saxon growled.
Bram was already halfway into the pilot’s seat. “Agreed.” He held up a piece of paper before letting it slip into the seat beside him. “But you’re actually hitched, and it’s a sure bet Martin will pull her information off the net since you have an official license. Better get her family hauled in.”
“Shit,” Saxon grunted.
“That’s my line,” Ginger said right before Saxon gripped her waist and lifted her into the helicopter. She landed in a puddle of netting and fabric as Bram started up the rotor of the aircraft and it whipped up the wind. Saxon was climbing in beside her, so she scooted across the backseat, half falling into it in her haste.
Saxon was on his phone. “You heard me, they’re compromised. Pull them in now.”
Ginger bit her lower lip to keep back the protest. Her brain understood, even if she didn’t like it.
“My mom’s a pistol,” Ginger warned.
“I believe it,” Saxon had stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “You get it from somewhere.”
“In that case, your parents must be Spartans,” she said.
The helicopter lifted off, filling the cabin with too much noise for any further conversation. It left her looking at the pleased expression on Saxon’s face before he leaned toward her and buckled a harness around her.
* * *
“Your devotion to duty is admirable.” His section leader was smothering his amusement, poorly. Saxon had such a tight hold on the phone, he heard a crack and then cussed as he realized he’d broken the glass.
“I can get it annulled.”
“That can wait until after this case is finished,” Kagan said smoothly.
“Explain,” Saxon asked.
“We’ve got more important issues to address first. Like getting a judge and jury together for her to testify. With Carl Davis mixed up in this, I have a feeling that just might prove to be a challenge.”
“Right.” It was a solid truth, and he needed to focus. Tyler knew him, had trained him. It was time to deviate from his normal protocols and keep his damned mind off the fact that they were, in fact, married. “But it’s getting annulled.”
Saxon realized Ginger had paused in the doorway and heard him. It was just a refueling stop, a dot on the map in the desert, so there really wasn’t any place other than the tiny restroom for her to go. He liked knowing she was close. She was watching him with those autumn colored eyes, his words like a slap in the face. The tone he’d used was the worst part. He watched the impact, unable to take the words back.
It made him feel like a turd. No girl deserved to be scorned on her wedding day, even if it wasn’t a real wedding day.
Hell …
It was real and not real but that was the part that was making him feel like a turd. She’d rolled with the punches and deserved better than a situation that was nothing but a web of lies. Ginger Boyce was everything he’d first thought her to be, a good girl, one who deserved the best a man could give her while that same guy got up every day with the intention of doing even better. The struggle would be worth it because those eyes of hers would be full of love. Even now, he found himself struggling to look away from her because he just liked the view so damned much. She made him believe in things he’d written off as romantic dribble and that was a dangerous place to go because without a doubt, he’d crush her heart.
Not on his watch. He left the burner phone behind, determined to cut any connection between his team and the outside world.
* * *
Of course he wanted an annulment. That made total sense.
So why did it hurt?
Ginger fluttered her eyelashes and made sure she didn’t make eye contact with Saxon on the way back to the helicopter.
It didn’t really hurt. Her pride was just stinging, which she needed to get over immediately.
Her well-composed self-directed lecture didn’t really lessen the impact of Saxon’s words. He was pacing back and forth as he talked to whoever it was he reported to. Ginger moved back to the helicopter, intending to climb back into it. Saxon surprised her by ending his call and turning around to offer her his hand. She stared at his palm just knowing that she didn’t dare touch him or she was going to lose it completely.
Why was he the guy who could kiss her like that? Like every dream she’d had of the man who would one day show up and sweep her off her feet? Take her past the awkward reality of sex and into smoldering passion, maybe even to that thing known as making love?
Why him?
And why the fuck was she alone in the weird connection?
She started to climb into the helicopter. Unfortunately, her pumps slipped on the skiff, sending her nose-first into the seat. Ginger got snared in the fabric as she struggled to gain her footing.
Saxon lifted her up, proving just how much strength he had in that tight, hard body before he righted her and held onto her arm to help her get back into the dammed aircraft. She ended up in the seat, sitting in a disheveled mess of cotton fabric and netting. One pump was on the floor and she just left it there while she aimed her attention out of the window to avoid catching the glances Bram and Dare sent her.
The tension was thick enough to cut and as she’d noticed before, these men were keener than most. So of course they picked up on it.
Just … lovely.
Ginger felt her cheeks turning red as Bram started up the helicopter. She was not going to think about that kiss.
Nope, wasn’t going to happen, because she refused to pin her heart onto her sleeve or even her sexual libido. Saxon Hale wanted nothing to do with her? Fine. She would make sure she met the man in the middle and do her best to make it seem like she didn’t care.
* * *
Life wasn’t done with her yet.
Bram Magnus flew them down the state of California. Ginger was snapped out of her temper by the familiar sight of Cattle Creek. From the air, she did a double take, making sure she was really seeing her home town. Unlike a jet plane, the helicopter was at a lower altitude, allowing her to see the landmarks and buildings more completely.
The sight gutted her, leaving her fighting back tears until she slipped into sleep.
* * *
Kagan was done thinking. It was something Saxon had learned to respect but he started pacing as he waited for his section leader to inform him of what he’d decided.
“I’m going to let a little slack out on this case, let the details out on the hearing. You won’t be bringing her anywhere near it,” Kagan announced. “I want to see who has an interest in protecting the Raven.”
“The good presidential hopeful Carl Davis would be a very likely candidate if I were looking for men who could get someone like Tyler Martin a badge and a team of federal resources,” Saxon supplied.
“Tyler Martin has some pretty good friends. You might want to remember that.”
“Why do you think I’m still carrying the package?” Saxon used the benign word for “witness” but it didn’t seem to have any effect on just how much he wanted to kiss her again. “You want his head on a platter as much as I do.”
“True,” Kagan agreed. “It won’t happen if Carl Davis is shielding him. That’s more of a mountain to climb than we have resources for.”
His section leader didn’t care for it, either. Saxon heard it in Kagan’s voice, but he wasn’t stupid or short sighted. That was the reason Kagan was still alive.
“Carl Davis won’t be able to gain a lead with the voters without Marc Grog’s help. That’s the only reason for Carl to put Tyler on my tail. It’s a hell of a risk to be giving out Federal teams. Leaves a trail.”
“I’ve got people trying to dig it up,” Kagan confirmed. “When this case lands, it will rip the cover off Marc’s identity. Carl will backpedal away from him so fast, Marc won’t have time to avoid the wave. We’ve got to catch them just right or settle for only taking Marc Grog down.”
“And Tyler will suck up to Carl Davis as the bastard moves into the White House,” Saxon finished up.
Quitting wasn’t in his vocabulary, but logical thinking was, and he couldn’t avoid facing the facts. The data was clear but it was surging through him in a far different manner than he was accustomed to. There was a definite flare of determination that had nothing to do with duty. It was personal and becoming more deeply rooted by the second.
A whole lot of people who wanted to be part of Carl’s baggage train would be lining up to make sure Ginger never testified.
“Right, play time is over.” Kagan’s voice had turned hard. Saxon recognized the mission mode. It gave him a rush of satisfaction that was way out of line because logically, nothing was accomplished yet. In his line of work, you never counted actions until they happened. That didn’t seem to keep him from feeling like he’d succeeded in throwing up a shield around Ginger.
That pleased him.
It shouldn’t have, and he tucked the phone into his pocket with a frown on his face. He couldn’t get caught up in personal emotions. He wasn’t the guy for her. Normally he let facts rule his world, so he should be smart enough to wrap his brain around that one and hold tight.
But it slipped right through his grasp, leaving him thinking about the way she’d kissed him back. It sat on his brain like a live coal, just sizzling and burning a nice little crater for itself. Making itself at home.
He couldn’t allow that. He needed to scrape it off and let it settle into the bin of memories associated with missions that were all stored under the heading of “necessary actions.” Things he’d done to ensure the world was a brighter place.
Kissing her a second time hadn’t been a necessity.
Fine, he’d wanted to do that. It was the truth, and he knew that lying to himself was a one-way ticket to complications. So, he’d pulled Ginger against his body and kissed her the way he’d wanted to, and he hadn’t been disappointed.
That had been a conscious choice, one made with the best of intentions. He needed to focus on his motivations for that, for the dedication to duty that was the backbone of his life. Cold and hard? Maybe, but there was structure and solid foundation, too. With Ginger in his arms, there had only been impulse and reaction. He refused to adopt that as a mode of conduct, so he turned to look at his men, using their hard expression to find his balance. It was an operation, one he intended to succeed. So there weren’t going to be any personal entanglements.
“We’re in a holding pattern.”
Dare Servant nodded and looked around the cabin. “At least we’re doing it in style.”
They’d landed at one of Dunn Bateson’s properties. Located in the High Sierra Nevada, it was surrounded by timber. There was a river nearby, and the cabin itself was stunning. Built of large tree trunks, it had over four thousand square feet and every luxury a person could imagine. From the granite counter tops in the kitchen to the fixtures in the bathrooms, Saxon discovered himself wondering just what the hell Bateson did to earn the money he did.
Honestly, that wasn’t the question burning a hole in his brain when it came to Dunn Bateson. The guy had as many secrets as Kagan did. Greer McRae trusted him, and Greer was someone Saxon trusted. But Greer wasn’t on his team at the moment, which left Saxon wondering just how thick the ice was beneath his feet.
He felt like he could hear it cracking, and the reason wasn’t hard to deduce. Tyler Martin kne
w him. They’d trained together, worked side by side. Falling into routine was going to translate into a toe tag for him and his current team.
Saxon had more than his fair share of confidence, but Carl Davis was going to steamroll over him if he didn’t get a team together to take him down.
He just hoped Kagan agreed with him.
* * *
They were in the forest.
It was strange the way the air smelled moist, more inviting. Ginger had always loved the rain. She peeked through a set of blinds, looking out at the trees as a light rain fell.
There was a very male sound of disapproval from behind her. She turned and found Saxon Hale shooting her a disapproving look.
Only she wasn’t in the mood to be reprimanded. “I was peeking through the blinds. You don’t need to glare at me.”
“Innocent actions can have huge consequences.”
She let out a sigh and bit back the response she’d intended to make. Her wedding bouquet was lying on a table behind him, the thing looking sad and dejected. The sight of it soured her mood.
“Say what you’re thinking,” he pressed her.
“To what end?” she asked. “You’ve made it clear how much you hate being married to me.”
And she sounded way too upset about it. Saxon didn’t miss it. She watched him contemplate her, like he just couldn’t get a handle on her logic.
Well, at least they mystified each other. It was nice to know she wasn’t alone.
“Are you saying you don’t want an annulment?” he asked, sounding a lot more serious than her fragile emotions needed to notice.
She chickened out, looking away. It beat throwing herself at him.
Saxon wasn’t going to take it from her though. He moved closer, looming over her. Surprise zipped through her as she locked gazes with him as he closed the distance. Damn but there was a serious buzz that went through her when he was close enough to touch. Her damned heart was actually accelerating.
“Was it really necessary to shout at your boss the second you got on the phone about getting an annulment? In front of your men?”
