Mine - HelenKay Dimon Page 0,56
time tomorrow they would be out of here. Rick could send all the men he wanted to watch over them. They’d be staring at an empty cabin.
“What?” She said the word nice and slow, as if trying to figure out his plan.
Gabe didn’t see a reason to make her guess. They were talking about her life. Her safety. “We’re leaving here.”
“That sounds better than hanging around depending on your brother for help.”
“That’s not happening, ever.” Even before the fight Gabe didn’t operate that way. He’d long moved past the time when he needed his big brother to swoop in and take over. In fact, the idea of it pissed Gabe off. As an adult and successful businessman, he was in charge. Always and completely.
“Any chance you can pick a beach area next time?”
Tempting, but Gabe already had a destination in mind. “We’re going to my house.”
She stilled, every muscle frozen in place. “The fake one in Maryland?”
“The real one in Virginia.” The words came out before he could mentally weigh the pros and cons and find more cons. Taking her breached his personal vow to keep his work world and private world separate. Truth was, bringing her to his most sacred place, the house he shared with Brandon when he wasn’t off at college, meant something. He didn’t want to examine what, he just knew it was the right answer.
And the things they could do in his big bed. His feelings for her went beyond sex, but the fantasy had been working in his head. He looked forward to the live version.
She sat down hard on the armrest of the couch. “You often take people you’re protecting to your private home?”
“Never.” He slipped off his coat then kicked off his boots. The move gave her a little extra time to process, which she seemed to need since she just stood there.
Her eyes finally narrowed. “Why me?”
The simple answer popped into his head and he said it. “You’re special.”
She shook her head. “I’m not.”
Damn it, someone did a number on her. Her idiot father or some loser she dated. Somewhere along the line she’d learned the lesson that she didn’t matter except for what she brought to the job. Even that got trounced by the men in her office who insisted on taking credit for her ideas. He’d seen the evidence in the research file he complied for this job and heard about the annoying tendency during his talks with Eli and Bast about her.
“I’m going to show you.” Not that she lacked confidence. She just funneled it all to the CIA and her abilities there. Not to who she was as a woman. And that part of her appealed to him on a very primal level. “Do you remember what I told you around the time we got to Montana about liking to be in charge?”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
“Right.” He didn’t believe her. Her eyes and the faint color on her cheeks said otherwise. “I’m going to tie you down.”
“There’s no headboard.”
Always so practical, but interesting how she’d already done the math on that one. “I’ll improvise.”
Her mouth broke into a sudden smile. “You’re not going to watch the door this time.”
He liked this side of her, playful and sexy. When she let go and allowed this part of her personality to come out it was pure magic.
“The only thing I’ll be looking at is you.” He started unbuttoning his shirt. “Consider it a good-bye gift to the cabin.”
“Does the sex end in Montana?”
She had to be kidding. “No.”
He didn’t even want it to end in Virginia. That was the problem. The way she wound her life around his without even trying. Maybe without intending to.
Scary shit.
She nodded, clearly unaware of the thoughts in his head. “Good.”
“Take off your clothes.” This time he wanted to see all of her, take all of her. It would whet their appetites until he got them back to Virginia. “All of them. I want you naked.”
She didn’t fight him. Her fingers went to the hem of her sweater. She lifted it up and over her head. Shed the bra next. Her body trembled in what he hoped was excitement as she moved. The flush of her skin suggested yes. So did the way her nipples stood in stiff peaks.
The temptation to touch her, run his hands over her while his mouth went to work tasting her, kicked strong. He held it off. This time he would give her pleasure the way he needed