Wild Dirty Secret(82)

“We’re just worried about him. He deserves to have this go right. A real shot at happiness.”

“Well, I can’t be his reward, okay? That’s too much pressure, and I’ll fuck it up anyway. I’m just a messed-up girl with nowhere else to go. So don’t put that on me, like I can save him or something.”

The elevator door opened, and Luke stood there.

“I was just coming down to check on you guys,” he said, his face blank. I couldn’t get a read on how much he’d heard, if anything.

Major stalked past him. “Operation buy shit for your girlfriend is a success.”

Luke turned back to me. “See, he got the girlfriend memo.”

“Is he always so cheery?” I asked sourly.

“Actually, yes,” Luke said, sounding thoughtful. “That last was downright playful. For him, anyway. I think you amused him.”

“Oh, well, as long as the men are entertained, I suppose I have done my job.”

He speared me with a dark look before turning to my clothes, his clinical gaze raking over my body. “These look nice. Comfortable.”

“You’re wondering how my ass looks in these yoga pants, aren’t you?”

“And praying there’s a God.”

“I don’t know about God, but I’m feeling merciful.” I sashayed down the hall in front of him, letting him drink his fill.





Chapter Four





Back in the suite, the men all split up into separate bedrooms. We had a few hours before it was time to leave. We were supposed to be resting, but Luke was far too tense. He kept looking over the old schematics of the Barracks, even though our entry and exit routes were well laid out.

“Come here.” I patted the bed. “I’ll rub your shoulders.”

He hesitated before throwing down the papers and lying on the bed. I climbed onto his back, and he groaned.

I laughed. “I haven’t even started yet.”

His words were muffled in the sheets. “But I have.”

With gentle strokes, I rubbed some of the knots out of his shoulders and back. I knew his mind was on what we were going to do in a few hours, but I felt some of the worry leave his mind as the tension drained from his body. But like an electrical current, the worry seemed to flow from him to me. Our opening moves were pretty well decided, but what happened at the end? It seemed vague, which I had first assumed was because we couldn’t predict Henri’s reactions. Still, a question lingered.

“So assuming we get in quietly and you do arrest him. How are you going to explain that to your boss?”

It was quiet.

“Luke?”

“I’m not planning to arrest him, Shelly.”

Which meant… “I thought you were joking about shooting him on first sight.”

“I was. I’m going to talk to him first.” He struggled to sit up.

I moved off him. “You’re going to talk to him. And then shoot him. That’s…that’s…”

“Murder,” he supplied.

“Not legal. I was going to say that’s not legal.”

“I told you I’ve done worse than you thought.”

Despite his glib words, he spoke with a solemn intensity. This affected him deeply, his long-standing adherence to the rules not so easily discarded.

“If I arrest him, he’ll just walk. You know that. And even if by some miracle he ended up in jail, he would be able to organize things from there. At a minimum, that would mean putting a hit out on you, on Ella.”

“On you too.”

“I’ve spent twelve years of my life fighting for the law to take him down. It hasn’t. It won’t. This is the only way.”

The words were eerily familiar. This was the only way. Everyone wanted Henri dead, but no one had the guts enough to do it. Not Jade, not Marguerite. Not even me, only Luke. But I wondered how much it would cost him. I wondered where his breaking point was, and whether this was beyond it.

On impulse I pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. Feeling silly, I glanced up. His eyes glowed surprise and approval in the dim late-afternoon light. This close, I could see the gold-and-black striations through the deep green. I had a sudden premonition than this would be the last sight I’d ever see.

I shivered.

“Are you cold? Come lie down. We have a couple hours.” Despite his casual words, none of the intensity had faded. He observed me with an almost cruel glint in his eyes.

But I knew him better. He felt the same pull of fate, the same inevitability. It had always been coming to this.

I kissed him, infusing the touch with all the love I couldn’t say. I couldn’t be a proper girlfriend for him, but God, I could do this. I undressed him slowly, carefully, my dreams unfolding with each touch, my hopes flayed open with each caress. His body fit him perfectly—strong and lean. He had faced down immeasurable challenges but known hunger. I kissed and nipped and sucked every part of him I found beautiful, learning the ones that brought him the most pleasure. Then I settled between his legs and filled my throat with him, drank my fill of him, and soothed him softly until he fell into a loose-slung sleep. Only then did I feel comfortable in the nook of his arm, basking in the warmth of his satisfaction.