by Jen Talty
“You needed to cry. Just next time, you might want to do it outside of the shower. I personally like the back corner of a closet. Or in my car in a deserted parking lot.”
She laughed. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but you can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious.” He set his mug on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed. “You still look really pale. Mind if I touch your forehead and the side of your face? I just want to see how cold your body still is.”
“You’ve seen me naked, so why not.” She shrugged, giving him a weak, but playful smile.
“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t look.” He placed the back of his hand on her cheek. Still cooler than she should be but warming up little by little.
“Not really, but thanks for trying to be a gentleman.” She reached across him and set her mug next to his. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess.”
“I would have been dragged in anyway the second your dad hired us to protect you.”
She yanked the towel from her head. Her wet, dark hair landed across her chest, curling at the ends. The shoulders of his sweatshirt fell two inches too low on her frame. She had dark circles under her eyes, not a stitch of makeup on her flawless skin.
She had to be the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. She had a sweetness in her smile, but her dark eyes gave way to one badass woman. Any man who got tangled up with this filly would be in for one hell of a rough ride.
“I have to believe that Monty’s death is somehow related to my brother’s murder/suicide. I just don’t know the connection.”
“Since we’re awake, let’s take a look at the computer. I’ll bring it in here.” He should have suggested they go out to the kitchen table because climbing into a bed next to her could prove to be a huge mistake. The only rough ride he wanted these days was on his horse, and even then, an easy gallop would be just fine. His days of thrill-seeking and having wild women were over.
“I also have a letter. It’s in the bathroom,” she called.
“I’m on it.” He found the letter and gathered up her clothing that she’d left on the floor, trying to ignore the tiny lacy thong he tucked into her pants. “What’s this letter all about?”
“I don’t know. My brother sent it. It came the same day I found my apartment ransacked.”
He set the computer up on the center of the bed before folding over a pillow. He needed to keep a safe distance. She was now a client and off-limits. His job was to protect her, not take her to bed. He’d help her figure out what happened to her friend and why someone broke into her place, but after that, he’d shake her hand and say goodbye.
“Are you up for this?” He palmed her thigh just above her knee, giving her muscle a little squeeze.
Yeah. That’s keeping his distance.
“I need answers.”
He turned on the computer. The screen flickered and then asked him for a password. He pulled his phone from his back pocket. “Hey, Siri, call Dustin.”
“Why are you calling him? I could give you a dozen or so passwords to try.” She held a clump of wet hair in her hands, twirling it around her fingers in an intoxicating dance.
“Because he can get our IT person, Trisha, to access this remotely. Had the cops not been so suspicious of us, Bear would have taken it. But we didn’t want to risk you ending up in jail.”
“I appreciate that.”
“What’s up, Kick?”
“I need Trisha to hack this computer.”
“She’s coming down with Arny and Bear. They will be there shortly after sunrise, so I would suspect they are already in the car.”
“Thanks, man.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m guess they will be here in about an hour.” He closed the computer and set it on the nightstand. Now there was nothing between them but air. That certainly wouldn’t force him to stay on his side of the bed. “Can I read the letter?”
“Sure. But if it doesn’t make sense to me, I can’t imagine it would make any sense to you.”
He scanned the words on the page, but he found it difficult to focus. His eyes burned from lack of sleep, and his mind couldn’t make heads nor tails out of it. “You mentioned you thought your brother was back on drugs.”
“He’d been acting weird, so I figured it could be that, but then after spending a little bit of time with him before the playoffs, I changed my mind on that. But then I worried maybe Asia went back to gambling.”
“What about her father? Does she have a relationship with him?”
“Nope. She cut all ties. And to my knowledge, she hasn’t spoken to him in years, but again, she’d been acting so off, so she could have reconciled with him.”
“Your brother mentioned in the note that things aren’t as they appear. That’s pretty cryptic.” He folded the letter and placed it on top of the computer. “It seems like your brother was telling you to go see Monty.”
“I know and that makes me even more suspicious of how my brother died.”
“Why?”
“While he always liked Monty, he was thrilled that I broke up with him. Karl told me that I was changing. Becoming like Monty by staying at home with him all the time. Karl even said I wasn’t taking care of myself like I used to.”
“Did your parents approve of Monty?” he asked, not sure where he was going with this train of thought.
“Not really. Again, they thought he was a good man, but his anxiety always interfered with our relationships with other people. But I don’t think Monty’s mental state has anything to do with this.”
“I agree,” he said. “Tell me about this playhouse and pirate ship.”
“It’s crazy. We wanted a fort to play in, and my dad essentially built us another house. Well, the house was more for me and the pirate ship more for Karl, but we shared both. The damn things are huge. I mean, the ship is bigger than this cabin. It has a mast and a plank. Under the plank, my dad put a mesh net, knowing we’d want to jump.”
Kick swallowed. He hadn’t had such an extravagant childhood, but his father had done everything in his power to make sure his children had what they needed and more. They might not have had a mansion for a tree fort, but they had built, together, a barn where Kick learned to birth his first mare. “When was the last time you or your brother were home?”
“Before the playoffs.” She shifted, rolling to her side and tucking her hands under her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered closed. “We took a walk out to the playhouse. My dad built a farmhand housing unit near it, so I don’t understand why Karl mentions either of us having children because my dad lets all the kids who live on the farm use it. I don’t doubt Daddy did work on it, but neither him or my mom are in any hurry to have grandchildren.”
“They weren’t excited about Asia being pregnant?”
She swiped at her eyes. “We all were, but it was unexpected, and I worried Asia was using my brother for his money.”
He could understand that concern. His siblings hadn’t taken a liking to Eliza Jane, and they, too, worried about her intentions. “We have only an hour or two before the cavalry arrives. Let’s try to sleep during that time.”
“I don’t think I could,” she said, her eyes still closed. “Can we watch one of those movies of yours?”
“Sure thing.” He’d hoped by the time he returned, she’d be fast asleep. But instead, she’d turned down the sheets. He paused in the doorway, not sure if he should be so bold and climb under the sheets or fold them back.
It wasn’t that cold.
He opted to leave them as they were, but he didn’t pull the covers over his body.
“Can I ask you a question?” She tilted her head, exposing her silky-looking neck.
“Sure.”
“Why’d you leave the military and join the Brotherhood Protectors?”
No one asked him that question. At least no one that knew him because they all knew what had happened and accepted him anyway. Now, he could answer it one of two ways, and
neither one would be a lie.
“I was injured during a raid.”
“Bear had to retire because of something similar,” she said as she snuggled closer, staring up at him with those damned sexy mocha-chocolate eyes that melted his heart into a puddle for someone to stomp on. “What happened to you?”
“My team and I had gone into a building to save an innocent young girl. Five minutes in, the enemy set off a bomb on the other side, and the building collapsed. A cement wall landed on my body. It was two days before they got me and what was left of my team out.”
“And the girl?”
He inhaled sharply, remembering the young girl’s mutilated dead body that had been hung in the courtyard of a small town as a lesson to everyone else that if they dared to help the Americans, their fate would be similar.
The damn thing had been a setup from the beginning. That child’s life was damned, and he went against a direct order, putting himself and his men in the line of fire. Even if his body had recovered fully, he believed he was lucky he got out with an honorable discharge.
“I’m so sorry.” Cassandra wrapped her arms around him and brought her lips to his temple.
He froze.
“Oh. I shouldn’t have done that.”
He yanked her wrist before she could move away. “It’s okay. I don’t talk about it often because I made a mistake.” He had no idea why he felt the need to tell her the entire ugly truth. Most of what had happened had been covered up so deep in the military that even those who were in the know had started to believe the ‘official story.’
“Mistake? How?”
“This young girl came to us with intelligence regarding our target. Shortly after, I was given an order to return to the extraction point by a certain time, no matter what. I was ready to follow that order when someone took the girl in the middle of the night. We managed to find her in a small village, but it was all a setup. The girl was murdered. I got my legs broken. Dustin was mangled so badly, no one thought he’d walk again. And two of my men died. I’m solely responsible.”
She pushed his computer aside and palmed his cheek. “What would have happened to the girl had you not gone after her?”
“She would have been murdered for talking with me and my team no matter what.” Gently, he took her hand and kissed it. “But my men wouldn’t be dead. I put them at unnecessary risk. Something I won’t ever do again.”
“They entered the military knowing the risks. They put their life on the line every day. I bet they would have begged you to go try to save that girl had you—”
“Now you sound like Bear.” Kick had heard it a million times. Even when he signed his discharge papers, his CO had told him that he’d done the right thing and that his men didn’t blindly follow his orders because not a single one of his men questioned his decision.
But why would they? He was their commanding officer.
“Take that back.” She poked his shoulder. Her smile sucker-punched his good senses.
“You’re a dangerous woman, Cassandra.”
“Why is that?” She inched closer.
“This isn’t a good idea. We’re both tired. You’re grieving. I’m supposed to be protecting you, not kissing you.”
“Our lips aren’t touching…yet.” She pressed her body against his, pushing her knee between his legs.
He should stop her, but he couldn’t move. It was as if she were a cobra and he was lost in her spell. “We’ll both regret this in the morning. We’d be using each other, and that wouldn’t be right.”
“Who gets to decide if it’s right or not? We’re two grown-ass adults, and come on, I might have been preoccupied back in Florida, but I did notice you ogling my ass when we boarded the plane.”
“That was then.” He rested his hand on her hip, letting his fingers fall dangerously close to her round, succulent butt. “Now I work for your father, and he’s not a man I want to—whoa.”
She jumped to her knees, tossing his sweatshirt across the room, exposing her perky breasts. Her nipples hardened in the cool air. She tossed her leg over his body, straddling him.
He groaned, digging his fingers into her flesh. “This is—”
“I’m not asking for anything other than this one night. But if you tell me you don’t want me, well, then—”
“Stop talking.” He reached up, cupping the back of her neck and drew her lips to his. Their tongues met with a fiery passion that only two strangers could ignite. His pulse hammered through his body. His mind wanted to slow things down. His heart begged him to walk away.
His body desperately wanted to know her in the most intimate ways.
Her fingers scraped at his chest as she removed his shirt. He grappled with her sweatpants, yanking them to her ankles.
Her skin glowed like lightning bugs in the morning light.
Inhaling sharply, he tasted the passion that filled the air. He sprinkled kisses across her tight stomach while his hands kneaded her firm breasts.
She wiggled under his touch. Soft moans filled his ears, making him dizzy with desire. When it came to Cassandra, he’d lost all control. He blinked, trying to bring things to something that resembled lovemaking and not raw, wild sex. Not that he didn’t like that either, but she deserved better. She deserved for him to worship every inch of her body. He should be dazzling her with soft, gentle touches. Not kicking his jeans to the floor and climbing on top of her like an animal.
Her fingernails dug into his shoulder blades. Her legs fell open.
“Please,” she begged, her hips grinding against him with the same desperation.
“Cassandra,” he whispered, shifting to his side. He twisted her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He smiled as the hard nub tensed.
“Two can play that game,” she murmured. Warm fingers wrapped around his length, stroking gently.
He hissed. “That’s not going to help keep things slow and make it last.”
“Slow is overrated and as long as you get me there, who cares how long it lasts?”
He growled. “You’re a wild filly; anyone ever tell you that?”
She flipped him to his back. The bed bounced. He shifted to a sitting position, but she shoved him back down with force and glided him inside her. Her warmth wrapped him like a wetsuit.
“Cassandra,” he whispered behind gritted teeth. Everything but her blurred. He circled his arms around her waist, wanting to ease her onto her back and control the pace.
“I want it like this.” Her palms covered his pectoral muscles. Her long, raven hair tickled his skin. She grinded her body, sending him over the edge.
He gripped her hips, rocking her back and forth, feeling her squeeze around him until her body shuddered.
“Kick,” she cried. “Oh my, Kick.”
His toes curled as he lost all restraint. She dropped her body to his chest, still quivering as his climax took hold.
Every time he opened his eyes, the room spun. His lungs burned for oxygen as he tried to heave in a couple of deep breaths. Her chest collided with his as she let out a long sigh.
It took a good ten minutes before he caught his breath. She lay on top of him, her hair sprawled across his torso. Her fingers danced on his chest.
The sound of gravel being kicked up from heavy tires caught his attention. “Can you see out the window?” he asked.
She lifted her head. “Shit. My father’s here.”
Chapter 5
Cassandra clutched the covers to her chin. “I didn’t expect them so soon.”
“Me neither,” Kick mumbled as he held the sheets around his waist. “I can’t find my underwear.”
“Just put your jeans on and get the hell out of here.”
“Right.” He dropped the sheet and hiked up his pants and tucked in his shirt. “I’m going to the kitchen to start breakfast.”
“Because that says we didn’t just have sex.” She took the wad of clothing he handed her, only her bra had gone missing.
Must b
e hanging out with his underwear.
“Once Bear and Trish are done with his sweep, they will be barreling in through that door. What I suggest is that you haul ass to the bathroom. Your hair is still damp, so it’s not far-fetched that you were—”
She held up her hand. “You sound like a man who regrets what just happened.”
He paused at the bedroom door with his hand gripping the handle. He lowered his chin and raised a brow. “I don’t regret being with you for one second. I don’t, however, want to get caught with my pants down the first time I meet your father. And I certainly don’t need to be harassed by Bear, Trisha, or anyone else I work with. Now. How do you like your eggs?”
“Over easy.” She tilted her head and batted her eyelashes, letting the sheets pool around her waist, exposing her bare breasts. Growing up, she’d always pushed the envelope. It wasn’t an adrenaline junkie thing, though she had that issue as well, but she enjoyed seeing people squirm. She also refused to make apologies for being herself. She was as stubborn as a mule, fiercely independent, and she never liked answering to anyone. Making up her own rules had been her downfall growing up. It’s amazing that she was allowed to be a parole officer, but her father thought it was perfect since it might actually keep her on the right side of the law.
She’d never broken any major laws. She wasn’t that much of a crazy teen, but she really enjoyed bending and manipulating the rules. Probably one of the reasons why her clients couldn’t get away with anything. She knew all the tricks in the book.
Kick groaned. “Like I said, you’re a dangerous woman.” He slammed the door shut.
Her heart hammered against her chest. If her father picked up on the attraction between her and Kick, he would either turn into an overprotective asshole and get Kick fired.
Or. And more probable.
He’d be playing matchmaker. Kick lived in Montana, and there was nothing her parents wanted more than for her to return to the farm and marry someone in the farming business. A big, strong man to take care of their little girl, who they taught to fend for herself.
