There wasn’t much in this world that Garrett was good at, but he was good at what he did. He couldn’t settle down and get a desk job without going bat-shit crazy. No matter how he felt about Ridley at the beginning, if she clipped his wings—intentionally or not—he’d end up resenting her.
So those were the options of any potential relationship with them—either she’d hate him or he’d resent her so much it might as well be hate. Even if they’d managed to find a successful balance, each mission brought the risk of him never making it home again. Not exactly the stuff happily-ever-afters were made of.
And if for some miraculous reason it did work? He’d already seen firsthand how a relationship could be going great for decades and then go down the shitter in a single day. And that alternative was even worse than the other.
He should walk away now. Rent a car and drive down to where Z’s headquarters were in Baltimore. Catch a flight to spend the rest of his vacation on a beach with a drink in his hand. Do anything except dial Ridley’s number and put the phone to his ear…like he was doing right now.
Her sleepy voice was the best thing he’d heard all day. “Hello?”
“I was wrong before.”
There was a long pause, and he could all too easily imagine her blinking completely awake and checking her phone. “Garrett? What are you talking about?”
“I was going to let you go. I’m not the right man for you—I never have been.” The more he spoke, the more his intentions solidified. He set aside all his worries about the future, because there was one truth that drowned out all the others. “But this thing between us isn’t finished yet. Now that I’ve had a taste, I’m not letting you go until I take you.”
“What?”
“I mean to have you, Ridley.” In every way imaginable.
“You’re going to, what, seduce me to satisfy your curiosity? Get a little something before you bounce out of town for God knows how long? Fuck you, Garrett. I’m not your plaything.”
“But you want to be.”
“You’re insane.” She hung up.
He grinned as he unlocked his apartment door and stepped inside. He kicked off his boots and dropped onto the oversized couch, stretching out. Then he dialed Ridley again.
The phone barely rang once. “What do you want now?”
“You.”
Chapter Four
Ridley stared at her ceiling and cursed herself for being an idiot enough to answer the phone. Again. No one called this late unless they were up to no good, which was why Garrett’s voice was growling through the line in her ear. She contemplated hanging up again, but couldn’t quite make herself push the end button. She was still stewing over what he’d said in the first call. He wasn’t done with her? Well, he didn’t get to decide to pick her up or throw her away, depending on his mood. “I’m pretty sure stalking is illegal in all fifty states.”
“Harsh words. Are you feeling…stalked?”
Now that he mentioned it, she was starting to have some serious sympathy for the fluffy animals that froze when faced down with a hungry wolf. “Did you call back for a reason or are you just trying to get your asshole quota for the day? Maybe you’re going to tell me again how you’re not the man for me?” He wasn’t. She knew that. But hearing him say it and then go on to basically declare that he’d seduce her? It was enough to have her blood pressure rising dangerously.
“I’m not the one who decided it’d be a good idea to strip naked and put herself at the mercy of whatever man walked through that door.” Before humiliation could take root, he kept going. “Though I’m fucking glad you did. Do you know how many times I’ve pictured you exactly in that position? The only difference was that your mouth was around my cock in my fantasies.”
Her body went cold and then hot, her nipples tightening at the thought. Even though she told herself not to, she pictured exactly what he described. Would he be naked? She sure as hell hoped so. To have all that golden skin laid out, to look up his body and see his face go tight with pleasure, pleasure she was giving him… She clenched her thighs together, but it didn’t do anything to quell the ache already building between them. Stop it. You’re playing right into his hands. “Just because it’s a fantasy of yours doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
“You’re right.”
I am? Ridley wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that he agreed with her so quickly. Relieved. Definitely relieved. That was the correct response. “I know.”