Hennessey's Handler (Protect and Serve #4) - Pandora Pine Page 0,40
back. The warmth of his skin radiated against my fingers. He was solid muscle. “You caught me off-guard is all. I thought you were trying to find a gentle way of letting me down. I didn’t expect to hear you say you wanted us to be together.”
Hennessey was silent but had dropped his hands from his face.
I used that moment to move around to his front. I set my right hand on the side of his face. His whiskers tickled my palm. “I’ve enjoyed every second we’ve spent together. Well, except for the tense bit when we were searching for Lola, but even that showed me how much you love your family. I don’t know what the hell is going to happen with Stan, but I’m sure as hell not going to let him stand in the way of whatever is building between the two of us.”
“You think we’re building something?” Hennessey reached for me, pulling me closer and closer.
I nodded. “It’s small and only made of Legos right now, but it’s there and growing.” As were the sparks of attraction pinballing through my body.
Hennessey chuckled. He leaned toward me, his eyes slipping shut in the last second before his lips landed on mine.
My hands wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me. I didn’t want a little peck on the lips, I wanted everything he had to give me. His full lips nibbled my own while his erection dug into my stomach, hot and heavy. This was heaven.
With a sigh, Hennessey pulled back from me. “I guess this means you’re willing to give this thing a try?” He sounded almost shy.
“None of us know what tomorrow will bring. I’m sure as hell not walking away from you because of one man with an agenda.” I pulled back from Hennessey. “What I don’t understand about his plan for revenge is that Stan was guilty.”
“What do you mean?” Hennessey’s left hand gripped my hip as if he didn’t want to let me go.
“I could understand wanting revenge against you if he’d been innocent of the charges. I read the Florida papers about the case. The evidence against Stan was irrefutable. He did the things he was accused of doing. I’m not a legal scholar, but I think the prosecution could have gotten a conviction against Stan without your testimony, especially since the jury was made up of members of the U.S. military.”
Hennessey nodded. “Everything you’re saying is true. Testifying was part of the deal I made with the prosecution so I wouldn’t face charges of my own, even though I was innocent. A case could have been made that I was the one who altered the evidence logs since my credentials were used.”
I frowned. “He still has no right for coming after you. Stan did this to himself. He served his time and now he’s free. I don’t understand why he’d want to risk his freedom by coming after you.”
“I don’t get it either. During the investigation and then the trial, I used to plan what my life would be like when it was over. My top priority was to hug my parents and go out for ice cream. Those were the first two things I did when I came home. After that, I figured out how to move forward. I wanted what happened in Miami to be as far in my rearview mirror as it could get. Maybe Stan doesn’t feel the same way.” Hennessey shrugged. “I’ll go grab the steaks before I end up making a meal out of you instead.” He pecked a quick kiss against my left cheek before walking into the house.
By letting Hennessey kiss me, I was agreeing to be in this for the long haul. Every second I spent with him was better than the last. If I had to put up with some bullshit from Stan, then so be it. There was no way he could keep up his plan for revenge for forever. Sooner or later, he was going to pack his bags and go home. All we had to do was wait him out.
15
Hennessey
My phone dinged with an incoming text message, waking me out of a sound sleep. With one eye cracked open, I rolled over to look at the clock. It was half-past three. No good news ever came at that hour of the morning.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I grabbed my phone. It lit up with the first part of the message from Kennedy.