I heard. Good luck. I do hope you recover the painting. It should be in a museum. Maybe I’ll drop by the Hutton soon.”
It was hard to hold a grudge. Haven reached over and touched his hand with hers. “If you do, I’ll give you a private tour.”
Rhys shifted her chair out and grabbed her hand. They said their goodbyes and left.
In the SUV, the tires squealed as Rhys pulled out. He drove fast, but with a quiet, confident ease she found sexy.
“I need to call Vander and plan the recovery mission,” Rhys said. “We don’t have much time to pull it all together.
Haven nodded. “I’ll—”
“You are not taking part in this. And you aren’t going to talk me into it this time.” His voice was as hard as steel.
“I wasn’t going to.” Okay, maybe she was. Still. “I was going to say that I’ll leave this to the experts, since I don’t have badass in my DNA.”
Rhys shot her a look that said he didn’t believe her for a second.
Chapter Seventeen
It was still dark when Rhys woke Haven.
He stroked her hair. She’d finally fallen asleep in the early hours after being restless for most of the night, worrying about this morning’s mission.
Yesterday, he, Vander, and the rest of the Norcross team had spent the entire afternoon, planning. They’d left nothing to chance, and Vander always had more than one contingency plan.
Rhys had finally brought Haven home for dinner. She’d been nervous and twitchy, playing with her food. He’d ended up going down on her on the couch, before carrying her to bed and exhausting her in other ways.
But she’d still been restless.
Now, in the murky light of early morning, he kissed the back of her neck. She shifted, still naked, and pressed against him.
His cock went hard, and desire licked through his veins. He kissed her shoulder and she made a sexy purr.
Need swelling, Rhys pushed her onto her belly and straddled her. He palmed her ass, kneading the soft flesh. Then he shifted, rolled on a condom, and thrust inside her.
She moaned his name.
“Take me, baby.” He started a rhythm of steady thrusts, her body shaking with each one.
Her hands twisted in the covers. “Rhys.”
He pulled her hips up, and leaned over her. He covered her, protected her. She was his to cherish. His to keep safe.
He bit her earlobe. “Falling hard for you, Haven.”
She made a sound and whispered his name. She thrust her ass back against him.
He slid a hand under her. “Feel how you take me? How you’re stretched around my cock?” He found her clit and strummed. She let out a harsh cry and her pussy rippled on his cock. “Come for me, baby.”
Her back arched, and her head flew back against his shoulder. As she came, he kept powering into her, and then with a groan, he came hard inside his Haven.
Rhys dropped to his side on the bed, and pulled her close. She clung to him. Once his breathing evened out, he pressed a kiss to her temple.
“I have to go, angel.” He needed to shower, get ready, then meet Vander and the others. They wanted to be prepped and ready well before six am.
“Okay, Rhys,” she whispered.
He kissed her again, then climbed out of the bed. Maybe when this was over, he’d take her away. Maybe to the beach, or a cabin in the mountains. They could stay in bed all day long.
Rhys quickly showered and dressed.
When he exited the bathroom, he found Haven in the kitchen. Her hair was still a tangled mess, and she wore one of his T-shirts. It looked way too sexy on her.
“Coffee.” She pushed a travel mug across the bench. “Bagel is in the toaster.”
“Thanks, babe.” He sipped the coffee.
She circled the island and moved in close. “You be careful.” Her hands moved down his chest. “Come back to me in one piece, Rhys Norcross.”
He took her mouth with his. She kissed him eagerly, and he felt the touch of desperation under it. All he could do to reassure her was to get this over with as soon as he could.
Rhys was winning against the walls Becker and life had forced her to build. She hadn’t freaked when he told her that he was falling for her.
It wouldn’t be long, and Haven McKinney would be all his.
“You stay here,” he said. “Doors locked, alarm set. Don’t leave for any reason. Ace is running comms for us from the Norcross office. You get spooked, you call