Gage gave me a hard look before turning to Ruby. “Make a place for our guest.”
She eyed us both with a raised eyebrow, then snorted. “Yes, Gage.”
I took a step forward, walking into his space until his rigid stance softened enough for him to put his hands on my waist. “Just give her a chance, okay? She seems like a good person, babe.”
“Isn’t that the problem, Ry?” He glanced at Ruby, checking to see if she was paying attention to us. When she walked into the dining room to set the food on the table, he looked back at me and lowered his voice. “Having an FBI special agent with morals watching my every move is pretty fucking risky.”
All I could do was nod because he wasn’t wrong. “Alright, I get it. We’ll be careful, just like we always are.” I glanced pointedly in the direction of the dining room, where Ruby was bustling around the table, getting it prepared for dinner. He clenched his jaw as he looked towards the housekeeper.
“You’re right,” he conceded. “We just have to be extra careful. Remember, keeping secrets from a housekeeper and an FBI agent trained to observe are two very different things.”
I raised my hand and gripped the back of his neck. “I will do everything in my power to protect you and your family, Gage. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”
“I know you won’t, Ry.”
Fuck, that deep voice with those blue eyes staring at me. Everything about him made me ache. I ran my fingers through the short, dirty blond hair at the back of his neck and took him in. Just like the first time I saw him, even when we were just friends trying to survive boot camp, my belly tightened with need.
“I fucking love you, man. You know you’re the only one I’ll ever need,” I told him quietly.
Gage cocked his head, way too perceptive. “You’re it for me too, you know that. But explain.” He ran his eyes over my face, reading every secret, every truth. I could never, would never hide anything from him. “There’s something you’re not saying.” He got quiet again before suddenly pulling his face back from where we’d been only a scant couple of inches apart.
“Just hear me out,” I began softly. “Special Agent Parker?—”
“What the fuck, Ry?”
Before he could pull away from me completely, I reached out and grabbed his arm above the elbow and yanked him back around. I was pretty much the only person on the planet who could get away with manhandling Gage, aside from his female relatives. But even I received a fierce scowl.
“Whatever you are about to say, fucking save it, man. Absolutely not. My answer is a big, fucking, emphaticno,” he snarled, his eyes darkening to a deep midnight blue. He pulled his arm out of my hold, and I let him. I just crossed my arms over my chest and watched him pace in agitation in the middle of the kitchen. He hadn’t even noticed how Ruby came back into the room and was paying more attention to us than the dishes she was supposed to be placing on the table in the dining room.
“After all this time, you’re going to pull this shit?”
“We talked about this, babe,” I reminded him in a calm tone.
“Yeah, when I thought it would never happen!” He stopped and eyed me, his eyes almost cold. I had rarely seen him look at me the way he was at that moment. Gage could be a stone cold killer with emotions sealed behind a foot-deep steel wall. I’d seen him act that way with countless others, but not with me. I knew that bringing this up could piss him off, but I didn’t expect that level of anger. “You like her,” he accused, pointing at my face.
I smirked but shook my head. “No, Gage. I don’t know her well enough to like her.”
“Then why the fuck are you even bringing this shit up?” he asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
I walked over to him and wrapped both arms around his shoulders. Leaning into him, I nipped at his jawline lightly. “Because,” I said as I tilted my head to nip at the other side before licking across his bottom lip. His eyes lost some of the icy coldness, slowly heating back up as he watched me seduce him. “For the first time since meeting you, I actually felt something. Nothing solid,” I reiterated, “but something. She’s beautiful. Anyone who enjoys a female form would think so. But there’s something more. I like the way her mind works. The way she was able to get into the mind of the killer as she was profiling him was impressive.”
Gage rolled his eyes even as he finally reached out and put his hands back on my waist again. “That’s her job, Ry. If she can’t get into the mind of a serial killer, then what good is she to the FBI?”
I shook my head. “It’s more than that. I don’t know how to explain it,” I sighed. “I sense there’s something more. Hunting serial killers is more than just a job she learned in a classroom. There’s… passion.”
He snorted at my words. “Passion to hunt serial killers, yet you bring one onto my ranch and sit her at my table. What the fuck do you think she would do if she ever found out that there’s a killer right under her fucking nose, Detective Nakamura? Do you think she’ll ignore it and pretend she doesn’t care?”
I shrugged. “Maybe if she fell in love, shewon’tcare.”
“You’ve lost your goddamn mind, Ryu,” he said, just as a knock came from the front door.
I backed away from Gage. “Maybe,” I agreed. “Or maybe I’m seeing clearly. Just remember, I will never let anything happen to you.” I eyed him, letting him see my truth. If we let SpecialAgent Parker in and she betrayed us, I would kill her myself before she could hurt Gage or anyone else.
Chapter 9
Parker
The large, wooden door with the frosted glass and crystal pane opened soundlessly. It was a gorgeous door, just like the rest of the house. I tore my eyes away from where I’d been admiring the craftsmanship to offer a small smile to Detective Nakamura.
