by Katie Reus
The man who’d shown up at her condo today was interesting. He was the same one she’d gone to see in Miami. So he obviously meant something to Jordan. And that was something that could be used against her.
Jordan was responsible for Curtis’s death, whether indirectly or not, so making her pay was necessary. Curtis had been the best brother in the world. He’d been everything.
The fact that hurting Jordan’s friend would be fun didn’t matter. She would suffer over losing him, then die. Figuring out exactly who her visitor was first though, was important.
After he left her condo, the tall man made his way through the city until he finally stopped around upper Duval Street. There was a private turnoff that was easy to miss because of the security gate. His car slowed then idled as a gate rolled back to reveal a courtyard and small cottage. The place might be small but with private, off street parking in this part of town—that place would be a pretty penny. And it didn’t look like a rental.
So either the unknown male was wealthy or he had friends who were. Which meant he likely did well for himself, too, because rich people didn’t hang out with poor people. His place in Miami had been very nice and the security sticker sign on one of his windows had indicated his system was state of the art. Not the standard companies most people went with.
He hadn’t been very interesting until now, but if getting to Jordan through him was possible, that’s the way it would be. Unfortunately the man had looked armed and definitely dangerous. A slight bulge under the back of his T-shirt had been visible when he’d been leaving the condo where Jordan was staying.
Likely a gun.
He could be a cop or law enforcement, especially with the easy way he’d broken into her place without a key. Seeing the guy in action and the way he handled himself would reveal more about who he was. And what his weakness was. Everyone had one.
At that thought, a plan started to form.
* * * * *
Vincent ordered himself to keep his shit together as he knocked on Jordan’s door. Six was early for dinner, but he wanted to see her. Hell, he hadn’t wanted to leave at all. When he’d arrived at her place earlier, he’d realized how bad her security was—translation, non-existent. The woman should be looking after herself better. Especially after she’d been in WITSEC. He didn’t care that she’d left the program and was supposedly out of jeopardy. She’d put a dangerous criminal behind bars.
He’d wanted to prove a point to her about how easy it would be for someone to break in, but then he’d seen her in that barely-there bikini and his brain had completely short-circuited.
Tan and fit with just the right amount of curves, she had the ability to make any sane man forget his own name. Not touching her, not tasting her, hadn’t been an option. Then when she’d admitted she hadn’t been with anyone since him…it had cracked his heart wide open.
He might have thought he’d come to Key West to get closure on what they’d had, but this new knowledge changed everything and he couldn’t deny it. While he hated that she had taken away his choice to go with her, she wasn’t some cold hearted woman who’d just left him with no regard for what they’d shared. Because for years he’d tried to tell himself she was, even when deep down he’d known something had happened to make her run. He just hadn’t imagined she’d entered WITSEC.
She’d made a sacrifice that most people wouldn’t have. And it made him respect her more. It also brought up all those feelings he’d been trying so hard to keep buried the last seven years. For a while he’d tried to lose himself in other women. It hadn’t worked. If anything, it had made him feel even more hollow. After having the real thing with Jordan, every other experience had left him wanting and made him hate himself just a little. Sure, everyone at work thought he was a player. He had been.
Not the past year though. He’d gotten tired of pasting on a big smile and looking for what he’d had with Jordan only to find it paled in comparison and regretting the whole thing the next morning. So many of his friends had started settling down with the real deal. Porter, Travis, and Kell—they’d all gotten hitched and were obnoxiously happy.
He wanted that too. When he’d been in the Teams, he’d always secretly envied the married guys. Well, the ones who were actually faithful to their wives. They always had someone to come home to. And wives who could tough out long separations like that—what sane man wouldn’t want a woman like that. But he wasn’t looking to just settle. Jordan had ruined him for any other woman and he hadn’t realized it until it was too late.
The door opened and all those thoughts—and everything else around him—disappeared as he found Jordan standing there. She wore a blue and white halter style dress that fell to her ankles. It hugged her breasts and hips perfectly, reminding him of what he’d been touching only hours ago. Her skin practically glowed with the soft tan.
Somehow he forced his gaze to remain on hers instead of devouring her body with his eyes. “You look beautiful.”
She seemed almost surprised by the compliment, but her cheeks tinged pink. “Thanks,” she murmured. “You look pretty good yourself.”
God, he used to love getting her to blush. Seeing her do it now sent a jolt of need straight to his cock. Just great. He ordered his body under control. Tonight he wanted to talk to her, to get to know her again before he jumped on her as he’d done a few hours ago.
Not that getting naked with her wasn’t a priority, because it definitely was. He just didn’t want to screw things up. The attraction between them was still potent, but he wanted more than sex between them. He wanted what they’d had before.
Something real.
They stood there for a long moment, just staring at each other and in her gaze he saw what he imagined was mirrored in his. Hunger and need. God, he felt as if he’d been starving for years and now he simply couldn’t stop looking at her. He wanted to memorize every inch of her face, her body, the way she bit her full bottom lip when she was nervous or turned on.
Like she was doing now.
Stop staring. Stop fantasizing. Yeah, his internal commands weren’t working so well. “You hungry?” he managed to rasp out, proud of himself for those two words.
At his question, her hazel eyes flared with need. But then she slightly shook her head, as if she realized he was talking about food. Which he was, sort of. “Yeah.” Her voice was as strained as his.
She stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her. After locking it, she turned to face him again.
He couldn’t help himself. Screw control. He had none. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips over hers and felt some primal part of him calm. She shuddered, softly kissing him back as her fingers barely grazed his chest. He could feel her holding back, too, as if she was afraid to clutch him too tightly.
Because if she did, they both knew what would happen. They wouldn’t make it to dinner or possibly off this front stoop.
Somehow he forced himself to step back. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed with arousal. Yeah, he understood that all too well. Swallowing hard, he took her hand and linked his fingers through hers.
Again, she seemed surprised by him, but he couldn’t help it. Staying away from her, finding closure…fuck it. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was going to rip his heart out again, but he was going to find out. Maybe he was a masochist.
“So where are we going?” she asked as they walked down the stone steps of the condo complex.
He shrugged. “I figured we could walk down Duval and stop wherever we wanted. Unless you had somewhere specific you wanted to go?”
“As long as we get seafood I’m happy. After living in the desert for so long, I want fresh seafood.” He could hear the smile in her voice without even looking at her.
As they reached the bottom step he glanced around the parking lot, looking for any threat. Doing that was just ingrained in him, but as he’d headed up to Jordan’s place he’d had the sensation of being watched. Having been in the crosshairs of a snipe
r scope more than once, he knew when someone was watching him. It could have been anything though. Still…
“What’s wrong?” Jordan’s strained voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Seeing concern on her face jolted him, made a protective need surge through him full force. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight. Thankfully she didn’t resist, just slid her arm around his waist and snuggled up next to him.
“Nothing’s wrong. Just being vigilant.” No need to get her worried after she’d lived in fear for seven fucking years. Especially since he wasn’t sure anything was wrong. Still, that feeling persisted at the back of his head.
She instantly relaxed against him, her body melding to his as they headed across the parking lot to the sidewalk. Her fresh vanilla scent teased him, reminding him of how many times he’d woken up with his face buried against her neck. Even in his sleep he’d wanted her surrounding him. “I’m glad you’re like that. I feel like I’ve been looking over my shoulder for seven years—is it okay that I talk about this stuff?” she abruptly asked.
“I want to know everything about where you’ve been.” And he did.
“Same here. I want to know about your job, your family, everything.” She seemed a little nervous as she said the last word, but he couldn’t figure out why.
As they headed down the small side street that would take them to the main road where all the restaurants, bars and clubs were, he kept his body on the street side.
“And I’ll tell you, but you’re up first,” he said.
“Well, after the first year of bouncing around to different temporary safe houses, I was placed in New Mexico. It was really hard at first. I…didn’t adjust well. But eventually I got a job teaching.”
“They let you teach?” He didn’t know everything about the WITSEC program, but he knew a little. And after Jordan had come to see him a couple days ago he’d tried to research as much as he could. From what he understood, they didn’t always let their entrants stay in the same field they’d been in because it made them easier to track. Especially if their field of expertise was narrow.
“Yeah. I didn’t at first, but I was finally allowed to. There are so many schools, public and private, it would be almost impossible to track me down that way. Plus I was vigilant about no photos of me ever being posted on the school website. I didn’t even take one with the volleyball team I coached. The first year they didn’t seem to understand, but my girls were amazing. I coached them from the time they were freshmen and by their senior year it was sort of a joke that the coach wouldn’t ever pose for social media photos.” The joy on her face when she talked about her team was vivid. And he was so fucking glad she’d eventually settled in somewhere. He still hated that she’d left without telling him, but the thought of her being miserable carved him up inside.
“So you taught the junior and varsity team?” She’d loved playing in college. She was too short to ever make a serious team, but she’d played at the beach anytime she could. And she’d looked damn sexy playing in her two-piece suits. Those images were seared into his brain forever.
“Yeah, the first two years it was the freshmen and sophomores. The varsity coach was retiring so it was like kismet. I just moved up with them and after they all graduated, I stayed with the varsity team. I’d already started coaching the incoming juniors anyway and I just love that age. Everything in life is so fresh and dramatic for them. It was fun watching so many wonderful young women heading off into the world, ready to take anything on.”
He tightened his grip on her shoulders as they sidestepped a street entertainer playing a guitar on the sidewalk. “You miss them.”
“Yeah. I’ve stayed in touch with those that I was close with. It’s been pretty freeing to be able to be honest with them now that they know my real name. But enough about me, how is it working for Red Stone? I remember how excited you were to get an offer from them. Is it what you hoped?”
He stopped at a small restaurant that had an outside patio and glanced at the glassed-in menu on the outside of the hostess stand. “I’ll tell you everything, but first, how does this place look?”
“Coconut shrimp, pan-grilled barbeque shrimp, lobster, seared tuna…I think I’m in heaven.”
The joy in her voice and on her face was so open, so real, it was a punch to his senses. He couldn’t believe he’d lived so long without her. With that thought, it brought up the reminder that she’d left him. He didn’t want it to make him angry, but it did.
“What?” Her smile fell and he could feel her start to emotionally pull away from him even before she tried to step out of his embrace.
Tried. Because he wouldn’t let her. It was like he physically couldn’t. Vincent tightened his grip and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s grab a table on the patio.” The sign said to seat themselves so he snagged two menus before they headed over.
He had to decide if he could let his own anger go before he took things further between them. He knew that. Figuring out how to do it was the tough part.
Chapter 4
Jordan couldn’t get over the fact that Vincent was sitting across from her. Over dinner they’d caught up on the last seven years. Of course it wasn’t enough, and she still wanted to know a lot more, but she loved hearing about his life. And she was glad he wasn’t dating someone at the moment. The thought of him with other women…no, she wasn’t even going there. It hurt too much.
“You ready?” he asked as he set the black bill pad on the table.
She’d tried to pay but he’d been almost insulted as he’d snatched the pad from their server. Even though she wished they could sit there all night and talk, she nodded. The night had to end sometime. She nodded and stood. “Yeah.”
“Maybe we can grab gelato on the way back. I remember how much you love it,” he murmured against her ear as he tugged her close to his side, his voice completely wicked.
At those words, her entire body went molten hot. Damn him and his memory. And damn him for turning her on with just a few words. Because she had no doubt that he knew exactly what he was doing. More than once she’d let him eat it off her body—and she’d done the same to him. “You have a very good memory,” she muttered, nudging him with her elbow.
He just wrapped his muscular arm around her shoulders and pulled her close once again. She’d missed that closeness, his warmth, and the way he always made her feel safe and protected. Vincent had never had a problem with displaying affection.
Now that the sun had set, people were out in full party mode. It didn’t matter that it was a Tuesday night; it was summer and everyone was here to let loose. The island music, the sound of laughter, talking and people just having a good time was infectious and relaxing. For the first time in a while she felt as if she could truly let her guard down. Well, almost. She wasn’t letting the guard around her heart totally down, but she liked being able to be herself. Especially with Vincent.
Lord, he was sexy tonight. Wearing simple cargo shorts and a T-shirt with some surf brand logo on the front, he looked good enough to eat. The shirt molded to all his muscles, showing off every sexy line and striation. Even his freaking calves were toned, delicious and so sexy she wanted to lick them. Calves should not be sexy. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t a SEAL anymore, the man was built. And pretty much every female—and quite a few men—had been checking him out all during their dinner. Not that she really cared since he hadn’t even seemed to notice. Of course he probably had, but he hadn’t let on.
At the beginning of the meal he’d seemed to almost pull back from her emotionally, but he didn’t have eyes for anyone else as they’d talked and ate. Not that he ever had when they’d been together. He might have been a player before her, but with her, he’d been devoted. She missed that more than she’d thought possible. She just hated the hot and cold vibe she was getting from him.
“I remember all the dirty stuff.” His voice was teasing and light as they strolled down the sidewalk.
She just bet he did because she did too. In explicit detail. “So…do you want to do anything else tonight?” Because she really didn’t want to spend the night alone at the condo. She’d come here to hibernate, to figure stuff out, but now that Vincent was in town she wanted to soak up every second she could with him.
He would break her heart. She knew that. Hell, she figured she deserved it. But she didn’t care. Not after living without him for so long.
“I can think of a lot of things I’d like to do,” he murmured, the words deep and raspy. The meaning behind them was clear too.
And didn’t that just make her nipples tighten almost painfully. She was wearing a thin bandeau bra under her halter dress and knew her reaction must be blatant. She risked a quick glance up at him, but he was looking around in that vigilant way she remembered. He was always on alert, always ready for danger.
Thank God for men like him.
Against her better judgment, she leaned her face into his chest as they walked and inhaled his spicy masculine scent. She didn’t care if she looked crazy; she wanted to roll around in that purely male essence. Vincent just brought out that primal, extremely feminine part of her and after living like a nun for so long, she wanted to find pleasure with him. Hours and hours of it. More like days and weeks and… nope, not going down that path. She couldn’t expect more than a few nights with him. Deep down she was pretty sure he’d never get over the way she’d left and while it killed her, she still wanted to take what he could offer. She wanted something to hold onto as she tried to figure her life out again.
His arm tightened around her as they turned at the next corner. “You’re killing me, Jordan,” he murmured, still not looking at her.
She wasn’t sure of his tone, and since he was still scanning their surroundings, she couldn’t read his expression. “How?”
He snorted softly before turning to face her and slowly backing her up against a high stone wall that hid a house. The way he moved reminded her of a skilled predator, as if he was stalking his prey. Of course she didn’t mind being his prey. Not when she had firsthand experience with the kind of pleasure he could deliver. Her bare upper back slightly scraped against the rough stone, but she hardly noticed.
