a kid. Not a single soul since I left that fucking house and never looked back.” I shove from the bed and bridge the distance between us, untangling those arms to place them on my waist. “Nobody knows. I don’t even think Benji told his wife.”
“I feel horrible.” She speaks into my chest. “I never should’ve said anything.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m sure you would’ve found out soon enough. I can’t keep shit from you.”
She sinks into me, her cheek to my shoulder, her warm breath on my neck. “Where are your parents now?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, my childhood never existed.”
“But from your childhood you became a protector. You became a SEAL—”
“I became a SEAL because it felt good to create havoc for the right reasons. To be someone who was the best of the best instead of a cowering little kid who made his brother take his beatings. They were the first family I ever had.”
“And then you lost them…”
“I did.” I shrug. “But I gained a new one here. These guys have my back, even though they act like pricks most of the time. This job wasn’t a hard transition, even though I never would’ve guessed it beforehand.”
“But you went from doing good to bad.”
“Did I?” I pull back to look down at her. “I saved you, after all. Doesn’t that make me a little bit good?”
She winces. “Yes. Of course it does. I didn’t mean…”
“Killing heartless criminal assholes isn’t something I feel guilty about. Sometimes people deserve more than a jail cell. I don’t lose sleep thinking about the bodies I’ve buried.”
She stares up at me for long moments of contemplation. No agreement. No response.
“Does knowing more about me make you feel any better, shorty?”
She swallows and swipes her tongue over her lower lip, the sight fucking tempting. “I’d be lying if I said no.”
“You sure I didn’t scare you?”
Her lips pull in a half-hearted smile. “Again, I’d be lying if I said no.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure to leave the closet open for you to dig through my skeletons. But I think it’s too early to chat about the work I do for Cole. I can see you’re uncomfortable with it.”
Her chuckle is breathy. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Okay.” I grab her chin, grazing my fingers over her soft skin. “I’ll do whatever you want. You only need to ask.”
I press my mouth to hers, eating up her faint whimper as she settles against my chest. The connection is soft. Slow. Exactly the opposite of what the blood rushing through my veins demands.
“How are you feeling about last night?” I ask against her lips. “No regrets?”
“None.” She deepens the kiss. “Only more curiosity.”
I keep the laughter buried in my chest. The agonizing, punishing laughter.
This woman is going to get me killed.
“I think it really helped me,” she continues between nuzzling pecks.
It didn’t help me one iota.
I’m fucking dying to have her. Dying trying to keep my restraint in check.
She sighs. “Will you—”
The slam of a door cuts her question short and drags us apart. The patter of light rushed footsteps lets me know this moment isn’t going to last any longer. The kiddie giggle only confirms it. The unmistakable squeal from my niece sends my dick into hibernation.
“I think the mini stampede means Tobias is here.” I drag my hands off her. “You should go say hello.”
She glances to the closed door, her lips parting.
“What are you waiting for?” I walk to my duffle, busying myself with pulling out a change of clothes. It’s not my business to intrude on her special moment, no matter how much I wish it was. We’re not at that stage yet. Maybe we will be one day. Who the fuck knows? But I’m not going to crowd her. “Go on. Enjoy the reunion.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t look back at the sound of her fleeting footsteps. I get dressed, pulling on old jeans and a shirt loose enough to hide the gun buried in my waistband.
I try not to focus on all the fucked-up scenarios potentially waiting for us, but it’s hard not to imagine the worst when the hits keep coming.
If Penny’s right and Robert is still alive, it’s not merely his revenge we need to worry about.
His ability to blow Torian’s secrets sky-high is more than a huge fucking dilemma.
None of us will be safe, now or in the future, if news of Luther’s arranged murder becomes public knowledge. And if that information is paired with the inside info that