She was going to miss this, and him, and there was nothing she could do now to stop it from happening. He would be leaving Earth to be Nightheart’s errand boy. Their paths would diverge, and there was no way to stop it. Vee rushed from the room, escaping into the bathroom, and dove under the shower before her tears had a chance to fall.
He’d know if she was crying. He knew everything.
Who am I kidding? I’m going to more than miss him.Vee wiped her face even as the water fell upon her. She didn’t want any evidence of her tears to show.
The door to the bathroom opened. “Vee?”
“Yeah?”Please go away.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine! Just needed a shower.”
The stall door opened, and Cypher stepped in. Naked and powerful, he filled the space, and she willed her heart to numb. His eyes met hers as the water drenched them both, and he cupped her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him. Warmth rushed through her, alongside a terrible aching yearning.
“You can’t hide from me,” he said.
“I wasn’t hiding.”
His lips twitched. “Tomorrow will be fine. I promise. We’ll be fine.”
She blinked.He thinks I’m worried about tomorrow?In a way, she was, but her worry was overshadowed by the thoughts of losing him.
He’s my first.He’d ruined her for all other men. No one could possibly compare to the hero who stood before her, who blocked the water from landing on her face from above.
“Yeah.” Vee forced a smile. “We’ll be fine.”
Cypher’s eyes flashed, numbers coursed across his pupils, uncannily beautiful, and her heart wrenched a little further. She lifted her hands to grab his wrists. He leaned down and kissed her, and she rose on her toes to meet him even though her heart was breaking.
Long and slow, and full of adoration, she relayed her feelings into the kiss.Love. She tried to tell him she loved him. She couldn’t say it. She didn’t have the courage, at least not yet. But she did everything she could to show it.
Her lips softened beneath his, and their tongues met as they took turns teasing and playing, discovering each other under the cloak of steam. Fresh and thirsty, she drank all she could from him, and she was so very thirsty.
When he pulled away, she was weak with dehydration.
That night he didn’t make love to her despite her efforts. She opened herself up to him, curled around his large body, and he did nothing more than kiss her. Vee had no idea how to take it—she just kept her tears welled up inside. She needed him inside her, but he wouldn’t have it.
She lay awake in his arms until Bees cried for breakfast and the following day began.
He’s already gone.
21
Cypher tugged on his jacket, double-checking the firearms secured to the vest—two guns small enough to be hidden but powerful enough to get the job done lay beneath it.
Whether it was to warn, to maim, or to kill.
The assault rifles, snipers, and even his star magnum remained behind. If his beast couldn’t do what a gun couldn’t, then he didn’t deserve to be a Cyborg.
In the back of his mind was his first acquisition from the EPED.
It was his first job from Nightheart, sent to him from Mia, who had become Cypher’s contact instead of Vee’s. Mia was the contact for all the Monster Hunting Retrievers who worked for the EPED.
He escorted Vee from theRepossessedfor the first time since they arrived weeks ago. His back tingled as she stepped off the ship, his hands clenched at his sides. She was leaving his den, and his bear didn’t like it.Hedidn’t like it.
Cypher went on full alert, scanning the airfield.
Having Vee all to himself had healed parts of him he didn’t know were broken. He’d never looked forward to being near someone until her, and now that she was always around, he’d grown used to it. The more time he spent in her company, the less he wanted to return to his isolation.
