“Hot as hell?” Her voice is rough. Raspy. I close my eyes and replay the words on a loop, memorizing everything about her. All those Texas sayings that mean nothing and everything at the same time. Her smile. Her rich, sultry laugh. The way she bites her lip right before she comes.
Nothing’s changed. After tomorrow, I’ll never see her again. Whatever we do now…tonight…is for the last time.
My muscles feel like Jell-O, but I manage to pull up my briefs and stagger into the kitchen. Running warm water over a dish towel gives me a moment to think, but it’s not until I return to the living room and swipe the cloth gently over her thighs that I feel steady.
“This is important to you, ain’t it?” she asks. Her hand covers mine. “Takin’ care of me after?”
“Yes. It is.” I ball up the damp towel and toss it onto the concrete in front of her fireplace. “Why does it make you uncomfortable?”
“No one’s ever tried…” Her eyes shine, a single tear threatening to spill over. “But even if they had, I would have stopped them. I ain’t good at this.”
“At what?”
She shrugs into my flannel, then finds her panties. “Bein’ with someone. Trustin’…anyone.”
We’re the same. More than I thought—definitely more than I want to admit—but maybe that’s why we found each other. If only that were enough to keep us together.
Her phone buzzes twice, pulling a sigh from her lips. “There’s a whole lot we need to talk about, but doin’ it naked...ain’t a good idea.” She tosses my jeans at me, then levels me with a hard stare. “I’ll put on a pot of coffee. Don’t leave.”
Without waiting for a reply, she gathers up the rest of her clothes and stalks into the kitchen.
Kiki watches at me from the couch as I tug on my pants. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you tried to trip me.” The cat meows once before he rests his head on his paws and starts to purr. “Thanks,” I add. “Make sure you watch out for her, okay?”
I don’t expect an answer. I definitely don’t expect him to jump down and pad into the kitchen. Raelynn starts talking to him, her voice softer and a little higher pitched than usual. I’m glad she won’t be alone anymore. Even if I do wish I were the one moving in.
Warm air flows from the ornate vent on the wall. A few seconds later, Raelynn’s startled, “Holy shit! You…fixed it?” makes me grin.
“What else was I supposed to do while I waited for you?” I take the mug she hands me and wait for her to sink down onto the sofa before I grab a seat next to her.
Her smile fades, and she stares into her cup. “Nash? Or…should I start callin’ you Nathan?”
My mug wobbles as I take a sip, and hot coffee burns my tongue. After I choke it down, I swallow the lump in my throat. “Nathan died a long time ago. Even if I could bring him back, I don’t know that I’d want to.”
“Why did…he…die?”
“It’s better if you don’t know.” We’re swimming in dangerous waters with this conversation. Any hope she’d let me have my secrets dies when she sets her coffee cup down hard enough the table rattles.
“We are not doin’ this again. You don’t need to protect me, Nash. Not when I’m tryin’ to protect you!” The fire in her eyes would be enough to convince me she could—if I didn’t know just how ruthless the DeLuca family could be.
“You can’t. No one can.”
Raelynn jerks to her feet and holds out her hand. “Come with me.”
“Where?” I don’t know why I’m asking. My fingers are already linked with hers, and I let her lead me up the stairs to her bedroom. “Not that I mind another round, but—”
“We ain’t here so you can hang your hat on the door.” She sweeps a handful of dresses and shirts to the side of her closet, then presses on the dark wood wall. It pops open to reveal a space big enough for a person to hide in. And…is that metal lining the panel?
I didn’t even think to come up here while I waited for her. Though if I had, I might have taken off for Idaho immediately.
“When I told you about this earlier, you asked who the hell I was. I’ve been tryin’ to tell you ever since.” Moving the clothes to the other side of the closet, she presses a finger to the lock on a five-foot-tall safe. Inside are two large black bags, half a dozen pistols, four rifles, and several stacks of cash.
“Holy shit.”
A few wisps of hair have escaped her braid, and she tucks them behind her ear as she locks the safe and starts to pace. “Protectin’ people is my job, Nash. I don’t work for West at the dojo. I work with him—and a whole mess of other folks—doin’ K&R.”
“I should know what that means…”
“Kidnap and ransom. We save people. From some of the worst som’bitches in the world. The guy who brought us all together, Ryker, is retired Special Forces. Same with Ripper. West and Wyatt were SEALs. Inara and Tank were Army Rangers. Graham did a stint in the Coast Guard. Wren’s the best hacker in the world. And that’s only the team we have in Seattle.
