Ripped

by V. J. Chambers

  Oh, fuck, what I wouldn’t give to lick those droplets of water off him.

  I shook myself. “Yeah. You’re lucky she didn’t know who you were, I guess. She would have blabbed that all over the news too.”

  “Well, it’s probably a good move, actually,” said Cade, using another towel to rub his hair dry. “Right now, everyone thinks it’s a farfetched story and they’re dismissing it. If she actually turns up dead, then it’ll give credence to her story. So, she probably just saved her own life.”

  “You think so?” My heart surged.

  “I do,” he said. “I can actually check with my contact if you want.”

  I nodded.

  He smiled at me.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Anytime.”

  We gazed at each other.

  “Was the shower, um, okay?” I said.

  “Warm and wet,” he said, raising both eyebrows at me.

  I flushed.

  He started to towel off his shoulders.

  Holy fuck, the ripples in that man’s chest… I turned my head sideways.

  He was still grinning at me. He started to move more slowly, like he was putting on a show for me. “Are you staring at me?”

  I tried to look away, I really did. “No.” I was staring at him.

  “Like what you see?” He ran his tongue over his teeth.

  I tried to keep my breathing even. But I couldn’t. And I seemed to be drawn closer to him, like a magnet. I took small steps in his general direction. “You’re just… you’re very… bare.”

  He laughed low in his throat. “Which is a good thing?”

  “It’s not horrible.” I stopped, less than a foot between us. I lifted my hand and placed my fingertips on his stomach. So firm and warm and flat. I gasped a little.

  His voice was deep. “You’re very clothed.”

  I let out a little sigh. “But we can’t…”

  “Can’t what?”

  I looked into his eyes. “This thing with us, it’s not a good idea.”

  “Maybe not.”

  We gazed at each other.

  He swallowed. His voice was soft. “I’d like to see you naked, love.”

  My whole body started to feel tight.

  “I’d like to touch you everywhere.”

  I ran my fingers down to the place where his towel was tucked in. “That doesn’t sound horrible either.”

  His face dipped down. He gazed into my eyes.

  I shut mine.

  And his lips found mine, urgent and hot and sweetly demanding.

  I opened to him, let our tongues dance together.

  His hand left my cheek and traveled down to settle at the small of my back. He pressed me tight against him.

  His skin was still wet. I felt it through my clothes. I grabbed his arms and traced the bulge of his biceps. He was so nicely put together. Having a guy like this kissing me, close to me, wanting me— I liked it. I couldn’t deny how much I liked it.

  My door opened.

  We both froze.

  “Well,” said a voice that I had distinctly hoped never to hear again. “You two really are having a hard time keeping your hands off each other, aren’t you?”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Cade

  “Ice,” I growled, ripping away from Shell to confront him.

  He sized me up and smirked.

  Okay, so I was only wearing a towel. That maybe made me seem a little less threatening than I might have otherwise. I drew myself up anyway. “What are you doing here? We had a deal.”

  Ice pointed at Shell. “She’s seen my face. I can’t let her live.” He grinned, and his whole face was lit up with an insane delight.

  Shell stepped back, shaking her head. “But that’s only because you’re in my apartment. Without your damned mask.”

  I shot her a look. “Don’t worry about it. I will take care of this.” I turned back to Ice. “Let me put on some pants—”

  “I don’t think so,” said Ice, and he grabbed Shell by the arm.

  Fuck. That was not cool. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about this girl, but I couldn’t let anything happen to her. Maybe it was only because I hadn’t finished having sex in all the positions and locations that I wanted. Maybe it was only that.

  I hoped it was only that.

  Because if it wasn’t…

  But Ice was yanking her out of the bedroom, and there was no time to think about it.

  I darted back into the bathroom, where my clothes were piled on top of the toilet. I grabbed my gun, and I rushed back out into the bedroom, one hand holding my towel in place, one hand holding the gun.

  They were gone.

  “Ice, this is stupid!” I yelled, and there was panic in my voice. “Let’s just talk.” I rushed out into the hallway in time to see him dragging her into the living room.

  I dashed up the hall, raising my gun and colliding with the both of them. I put the barrel at the back of his skull.

  He stopped, stiffening.

  “Let go of her,” I said.

  “You have a gun on me, Cade?”

  “Let go of her,” I repeated, my voice low and serious.

  “I thought that you weren’t going to kill me.”

  “Maybe I changed my mind.”

  “Because of her?”

  “Because you’ve got bad breath,” I said, angry now. Why did he have to make this into a thing? He was only here because he was a sore fucking loser. “Because I don’t like gingers.”

  “Hey,” said Ice. “I am not a ginger.”

  “Shell, is he a ginger?” I said.

  She looked at me like I was crazy. She was terrified.

  “My hair is auburn,” said Ice.

  “Whatever,” I said. I cocked the gun. “Let go of her.”

  “I don’t see why you won’t just work with me here.” His voice was desperate, full of longing. “We could do it together. I would share her with you. I’ve always wanted to kill with someone else, and you’re the only one—”

  “Let go of her!” I was screaming.

  Ice let go of her. He pushed her away, sent her stumbling into the living room.

  Shell collided with the arm of the couch. She gripped it for dear life.

  “Now take the gun away,” said Ice.

  I lowered it.

  Ice turned. “What’s so special about this one?”

  “It’s not about her, it’s about you,” I said. “You broke our deal, and you act like it doesn’t matter.”

  “Oh, bullshit, Cade. You and I have been friends for a long time, and some girl would never come between us.”

  “We aren’t friends.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you won’t follow my code, and I can’t be part of that.”

  He folded his arms over his chest. “Your code? Really?”

  My fingers twitched around the gun.

  He sneered. “Your code only locks you in a cage. I want to set you free.”

  “You want to use me, just like you use everyone else. You aren’t capable of friendship.”

  “Oh.” He stuck out his lower lip. “Did I hurt Cade’s widdle feelings?”

  I raised the gun, pressing it into his forehead. “Don’t mock me when I’m holding a gun, dumbass.”

  Ice grabbed the barrel, holding it in place. He grinned. “It’s probably not even loaded.”

  Truthfully, I hadn’t checked. I should know, but Shell distracted the fuck out of me, and all I could think about when I looked into the past was how badly I’d wanted her and—damn it.

  Ice laughed.

  I almost pulled the trigger, just to find out. But that would make a fucking mess of Shell’s apartment. I lowered the gun and took Ice by the arm. I dragged him across the living room and took him out of the apartment.

  I was still in my towel.

  A couple of Shell’s neighbors were walking by. They eyed me, and then looked away.

  I hid the gun behind my back.
“You’re leaving, Ice.”

  “Sure,” he said. “I’ll go.”

  I shook my head at him. “But this is war between us, isn’t it?”

  He shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be. Give in. Do what you’ve always wanted to do. I know you, Cade, and a girl like that? You would love to kill her.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” I snapped, but maybe I said it too fast. Maybe I wasn’t sure.

  “Then I guess it is war.” He backed away, giving me a mock salute. “See you around, buddy.”

  I glared at him, watching him go.

  When he was out of site, I backed into the apartment and locked the doors.

  * * *

  Shell

  I couldn’t stop shaking. I kept flashing on the moment when Ice grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the bedroom, away from Cade. I had never been so afraid for my life. Even when Cade grabbed me, had the gun to my head, I hadn’t been…

  Well, that was probably because I was too busy being really fucking attracted to him.

  So, what did that mean? Did that mean that if a guy was easy on the eyes, I was totally willing to let him try to kill me?

  No, it couldn’t be that. There was something that I’d felt from Cade, a sort of vibe. I didn’t necessarily believe in that sort of thing, but I knew that I got a completely different vibe from Ice. A bad one. I couldn’t explain it, but I always trusted my gut feeling, no matter how unlikely it seemed. I felt that feeling in reverse with Cade, and I trusted it. I trusted him.

  He was standing inside the door to the apartment, still only wearing a towel.

  Before Ice had stormed in, we’d been about ready to have sex.

  I wondered if we could go back to what we were doing. I mean, Cade was a bad guy and all, and there were things that the two of them were saying to each other that I didn’t like… But I watched the muscles in his back ripple as he rested his head against the door, frustrated. And I couldn’t remember anything except for the fact that I really wanted to see the rest of his bare body.

  “We need to get out of here,” he told the door.

  Oh. Okay. I guessed that we didn’t have time for some rough footage, then.

  He sighed. “I’m sorry about this, but you’re not safe here. He knows where you live, and I can’t leave you here.”

  “You were going to leave?” I said in a tiny voice.

  He turned around. “You didn’t want me to leave?”

  “Well, I mean… before he showed up, we were kind of…” I bit my lip.

  “Yeah.” His voice dropped several octaves and his gaze swept my body.

  We stood there for a minute, and the air between us felt electric.

  He took several steps closer to me, still staring at me. “I can’t leave you alone, because you’ll be safer with me. Wherever I am.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. That didn’t sound bad to me. At all.

  “But I have work to do.”

  “Work?” I breathed. “As in…”

  He nodded slowly.

  “Oh,” I said.

  He closed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. His lips found mine.

  I twined my hands around his neck and kissed him back.

  His lips left mine to travel over my jaw. “If I was just going to go on my own this evening, we could spend the afternoon doing this, love.”

  I sighed, tilting my head back to give him access to my neck.

  He trailed kisses down my neck. “But if you’re coming with me, you’re going to need something to wear.”

  I was getting shivers. I wanted him to keep kissing me forever.

  He nibbled my ear lobe. “So, we’re going to have to go shopping.”

  I pulled back. “Shopping?”

  He gave me a lopsided grin. “Unless you have an evening gown in your closet?”

  “Evening gown? I thought you were going to kill someone.”

  “I am. And this job requires evening wear.”

  “I can’t afford—”

  “My treat obviously.”

  I blinked. Well, I hadn’t thought about it, but I guessed that killing people probably paid pretty well. Still, everything seemed surreal. An evening gown? Right after I’d nearly been killed? And now that it came down to it, why was I all over him when I had all these questions about who and what he was. I pulled away. “Why did he say that stuff to you?”

  “What stuff?”

  “About killing me together?”

  “He’s crazy, that’s why.” Cade abruptly stalked down the hallway, back to my bedroom.

  I went after him. “But you? You’re totally sane?”

  “Completely.” He was out of sight, but his voice carried through the doorway.

  I walked into the bedroom, but I didn’t see him. I walked towards the bathroom. “And I’m just supposed to take your word for that?”

  He was shutting the door. He held it open for a second. “You can stay here if you want. I’ll go, and then if he shows back up here, you can take your chances.”

  “I’m not—” I licked my lips. “Look, obviously, I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Are you?”

  “But why are you doing it? Just to get between my legs?”

  “That already happened.” He slammed the door in my face.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Shell

  When he came out of the bathroom, he was dressed, and he wouldn’t even look at me. It wasn’t that he was in a bad mood. On the contrary, he was probably more animated and easy-going than usual. It was as if he was going to wipe away any tension or fear out of our situation by sheer force of will.

  I wondered if this was how he coped with what he did. Just forced himself to change the subject and be cheerful.

  He immediately got on the phone. “Hi, Joanie,” he said in a light voice. “Oh, I’m doing great, and how are you?”

  Why was he calling a girl named Joanie?

  “Did she really? Boy or girl?” he asked the receiver. He paused. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Tell her congratulations…. Listen, I know this is short notice, but I’d like to come by this afternoon… No, no, I’m not looking for a suit.”

  “Are you calling a store?” I said. “You call stores? You don’t just go?”

  He held up a finger to me, listening to his phone. “No, Joanie, I don’t need anything like that. I’m not looking for me.” He paused and then laughed. “Yes, she does happen to be of the female persuasion. She’s got very classic looks. You’ll have a ball picking out things for her.” He laughed again. “I know you do, and I appreciate it.”

  I glared at him. Who was he? What contract killer did this?

  He looked at me. “What size are you?”

  I made a face. “You know, that’s kind of rude to ask.”

  He sized me up. “You want me to guess?”

  I sighed. I told him.

  He relayed the information to Joanie on the phone. “If possible, could we have at least ten when we get there to just look at? And then we might have you get some more depending on what direction we go.” He waited. “That would be fabulous. Definitely. And no, I don’t think it’s too early.” He hung up, still smiling.

  I just shook my head at him. “Where are we going?”

  “Nordstrom.”

  “You shop there?”

  He just smiled.

  I gaped at him. It was like I didn’t know him at all. Actually, I guessed that really was accurate. Despite the amount of time I’d spent with him, he really was a stranger to me.

  “Well, you ready to go? They’re waiting for us.”

  I looked down at my clothes. “I feel like I should change.”

  “You’re just going to take them off when you get there,” he said. “Come on.” He gestured with his head toward the door. “Besides, you look great.”

  I looked around at my room. “When are we coming back?”

  He sighed. “Well, that I don’t know.�
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  “I need to work tomorrow at the restaurant,” I said.

  “No way,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll have to call in and tell them I can’t come.” I twisted my hands together. “Any idea how long we’ll be gone?”

  He shook his head. “Not really.”

  I sighed. “And… damn it, I was supposed to have a strip up today.” I looked at my computer.

  “A strip?” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “A comic strip, you perv.” I sighed.

  “Oh, right,” he said. “You do webcomics.”

  “I need to do it,” I said. “It will only take me about an hour or two. I sketch with my Bamboo tablet.” I pointed.

  “On your laptop?” he said.

  I nodded.

  “Bring it along,” he said. “You’ll have an hour or two after we get the dress. But I have to say that your priorities are a little skewed, love. You’re in fear for your life here. How important is a comic strip?”

  “Tell that to my subscribers,” I said, grimacing.

  * * *

  Shell

  I had never tried on so many dresses in my life. Even when I went shopping on my own, I usually got tired after six or seven tries. If I hadn’t found something by then, I went for whatever I liked the best, rather than wandering through the store looking for something else to wear.

  I’d never been shopping with someone assisting me in this way, who would go and pull dresses for me based on what she thought would look good or on the suggestion of either Cade or me.

  “I want to see her in something red,” Cade was saying as I preened in front of the mirror in my eighteenth or twentieth different fancy dress. “Maybe something off the shoulder.”

  Joanie handed me a glass of some kind of expensive champagne—which was apparently what Cade had said that it wasn’t too early for.

  I took a sip. The champagne was going to my head, and I felt floaty and happy and warm. This was probably the best shopping experience I’d ever had.

  “Red?” I said.

  He looked at Joanie. “She’d look good in red, right?”

  Joanie nodded. “Oh, definitely. She’s got the coloring for it.”