cousins will make sure your friends are always protected.”
“Okay,” I answered, knowing there were a thousand more questions on my tongue. To prevent being kicked off of the sexiest ride I had ever been on, I decided to keep my questions to a minimum.
After a paused moment of listening to their swift and light tracks, I tighten my hold on Tywin and laid my head against his back like we were a long-time couple.
“Are you okay?” he asked, glancing back.
I lifted my head with a big shit-eating grin on my face. I had locked myself around the man so tightly that I was able to spot the small earpiece in his ear. The sight of it answered a few questions on how the cousins were communicating.
“I’m fine. Just enjoying the ride,” I finally answered him.
“Good,” he replied, so low I almost missed it.
Was he enjoying this close encounter as much as I was? The idea had me grinning and squeezing him to me even harder. He hadn’t complained about my behavior, so I relaxed into the tight strength of his muscles and his warmth that wrapped around me like a thick wool blanket. I loved the way my body flowed into his. Not in a raunchy sort of way, but more sensual like we were connecting on a level above my comprehension.
Way too soon, I spotted the top of a structure coming into view, reminding me of why we were trekking through the woods in the first place: the mass murder, shoot out, car chase, and the fact that someone was hunting Desiree. Tywin was the perfect distraction I’d needed to allow my mind to mend after the torture Khane had just put it through.
We stepped onto the porch of the safe house, a large cabin surrounded by the woods with mountains in the distance. The sadness of having to dismount Tywin surfaced, making my shoulders slump and my head droop. I forced the emotion away by distracting myself with the view. A single narrow road weaved through a thick crowd of trees and disappeared from sight as it curved along the path.
Tywin gripped my arms and eased me down, not letting go until my feet were firmly planted on the wooden porch. I sensed his eyes on me while I tightened the knot on my robe and waited until Khane taught Desiree how to open the door that was high-tech for a cabin.
When Tywin reached and planted his hand in the small of my back and nudged me to stand in front of him, I didn’t even attempt to hide my grin. I loved the way this man took care of me and hated when he dropped his hand. We continued to stand so close I remained wrapped in the warmth of his relaxing heat.
Dammit. Why did that damn door have to pop open so soon?
4
Tywin
There weren’t many people I liked right away, but I liked Patrena. The notion was a strange one because I liked her from the first moment I had spotted her weeks ago having dinner with Mecca and Desiree.
Since that night, I had checked in on her at her apartment and a few times at the outreach facility where she worked. Work kept her away from her friends enough that she thankfully, hadn’t been in any danger until today.
I didn’t enjoy the aspects of dating, because the messiness of a relationship was something I didn’t have an interest in dealing with at this point in my life. I was content with my non-messy approach to hooking up that involved getting our needs met and never having to see each other again. That way, there weren’t any questions, concerns, and feelings to worry about.
Patrena didn’t appear to be the sort of woman who would go for a one-night stand, so there was no need lingering on the prospect.
Once we stepped inside the safe house, I marched over to a wall panel and pressed the notch that would release the computer equipment. The ladies watched the floor shift apart and lift a portable workstation. They were getting a peek into my world where tech was as dangerous, if not more so, than a gun.
“Ladies, I’ll go and find you something to wear,” Khane announced before heading into one of the bedrooms. If Khane thought I didn’t see his reactions to Desiree and the way he watched her, he was crazy.
As soon as I had the laptop fired up, I contacted my man, Rhino, who gave me access