Page 10 of Hard Asset

Chapter Three

The second he’d kissed her, he knew he shouldn’t make love to her. Every late night. Every inside joke. The sexual tension that had built over four years wouldn’t be sated in one night.

Fucking feelings. Jesus Christ. The moment her soft lips touched his, it confirmed his worst fear. He’d seen the way she’d watched him at the club, knew the moment he pushed her, she’d willingly submit. She’d come undone under his touch. He’d deliberately fucked her from behind, avoiding the surge of emotion he suspected he’d feel if he looked into her eyes.

He’d pulled his dick out and lifted Raine into his arms without saying a word. Although she attempted to shield her face, the tears trailing her cheeks told him that their relationship had transformed forever. She’d play it off as nothing but he knew their one-time friendship had been permanently replaced by a ravenous craving that wouldn’t be satisfied by a one-night stand.

Evan set her gently on the bed and returned to the bathroom to turn off the water. He glanced in the mirror and shook his head. Guilt teemed through him, as he was aware he’d crossed a line. Jesus fucking Christ, you’re an idiot. What if she was lying? Although his gut told him she was telling the truth, doubt crept inside his mind.

He shook off the thought and returned with a towel. As Evan approached, he smiled, finding her curled onto her side. His little badass spy had fought a three-hundred-pound thug but now hid from him. It wasn’t as if the intimacy hadn’t grabbed him by the balls, but if he’d learned anything in his lifetime, you had to man up and face your fears.

“Hey.” Her reddened eyes flashed up to him and she gave a small smile. Gently grazing the towel over her skin, Evan spoke as he dried her. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, her voice shaken.

“Raine.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re beautiful. Tonight, it was amazing.”

“It was unbelievable. I’ve never felt like that before,” she confessed.

“Come here.” Evan tossed the towel aside and lay onto his back. Sliding his arm underneath her, he cradled her to his chest. He stared up at the full moon through the ceiling skylights and sighed. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking…I don’t know…” She hesitated.

“It’s okay to be honest. We worked together all this time. Jumped too. Trust. It’s something we always had. I have to believe whatever you’re doing, you wouldn’t do it without giving it serious consideration. I’ve never seen you do anything without carefully weighing the consequences.”

“It’s just…I’ve only dated one other person from Emerson.”

Evan knew she’d dated his friend, Chase Abbott, well before she’d ever taken over as Emerson’s chief security officer. But he had insisted they were nothing more than friends and had gone as far as to encourage Evan to ask her on a date.

“Chase and I. It was never serious. We’re just friends. We definitely didn’t play openly at Club Altura. I’m not like that. Or at least…I don’t know. Maybe I am. Maybe you were the only one I wanted to play with.”

“But you wanted this tonight. Us.”

“For the longest time,” she confessed, raising her eyes to meet his. Raine sighed and laid her cheek back onto his chest. “What we just did… God, it was amazing. But you know I’d never be the one to initiate. And you…”

“You knew I didn’t date people at the office.”

“Yeah. People talk. And frankly, as much as I wanted this, to be together, I didn’t want to risk my job. I love working at Emerson. When this thing with Dom came along…I didn’t ask for it to happen. But I couldn’t ignore the opportunity to take him down either, to go after a few bad guys. My Dad was in the CIA. I may not have wanted a life of danger, but I’m not a coward. I love my country. So after I got involved with the Feds, I had to finish what I started.”

“Yeah.” Evan couldn’t commit to understanding a situation without having all the facts. Until she divulged everything, he couldn’t comment further. Saying he trusted her was as far as he could go.

“You don’t believe me.” Her voice faltered in disappointment.

“I want evidence. I want to know the name of the organization. I want to talk to them.”

“All I can promise is that I’ll ask them. You were in the military. These things…involvement with the Feds…I can’t just go breaking protocol no matter how much I want to tell you.” Raine pushed up on his chest and looked him directly in his eyes. “When this is over, I’ll tell you one way or another. I promise you. I swear to God I’m not lying.”

“Didn’t you ever want to play at Club Altura?” Evan changed the subject, determined to peel away her layers.

“Truth?”

“Yeah. Truth.”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I’m a prude. It’s just that, I don’t know. I just started going to the events a few years ago. I was working with you. And I just had this idea…that you and I, we’d had this connection. So it just felt like if I did that, if I had sex with someone else, like maybe that would say something to you.”