Intentional Risk (R.I.S.C. Book 4)

by Anna Blakely

  Derek nodded. “Thanks for stayin’ with her. I know I’ve been askin’ a lot from you two lately, but—”

  “We get it.” Mac gave him a drowsy smile.

  “And don’t worry.” Coop slapped him on the back. “I’m keeping track of all these favors. Gonna wait until I need something big and cash them all in at once.” He put his hand to his chin and thought a moment. “Or maybe I won’t. I might cash ’em in one at a time. It’d be like giving myself a monthly treat.”

  “I’d hold on to them if I were you,” Derek advised the other guy. “You ever find yourself in a situation like mine, you’ll need all the favors you can count. Trust me.”

  Something flickered in Coop’s eyes, and Derek caught the way the sniper almost glanced over at his partner before blinking it away.

  He smiled. “Nah. I don’t see that happening.”

  “What? You falling in love?”

  There was that damn flicker again, but Coop laughed it off. “After all the shit you, Trev, and Jake have gone through with your women? I think I’ll pass.”

  “Yeah, because what happened to those three women has been their fault,” Mac snapped at him in a hushed voice.

  Coop rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Christ, Mac. I never said it was their fault. All I said was—”

  The adorable but deadly sniper raised a hand to stop him. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter. I’m tired, and I’d like to go home.” She turned to Derek. “Keep me posted on what you find out about Porter.”

  “I will.”

  With a nod, Mac opened the door and left, not bothering to wait for Coop. The former Ranger looked at him and shook his head.

  “Do you see what I have to put up with?”

  Derek chuckled. “Better get going, or she’ll leave your ass.”

  Coop grinned. “Seriously, man. Glad you didn’t have to get into it with Porter.”

  “Someone did.”

  “Let me know what you find out about that. Catch ya later.”

  With shared nods, Coop left. Securing the locks, Derek took a deep, cleansing breath and heading to the bathroom to clean up.

  After a quick shower, he climbed into bed and curled up next to Charlie’s sleeping form. He hadn’t lied about watching her sleep.

  She was naturally beautiful, but there was more to it than that. Having seen her in the midst of a heartbreaking nightmare, Derek loved that lately, her nights had been filled with peace.

  That same peace was threatened last night when she woke up to find someone had been in the apartment. He could only imagine the fear she’d felt when she saw those cans arranged that way.

  It was that fear that had driven him to fly to New York to confront the bastard. Unfortunately, he didn’t get that chance.

  Derek had planned to force Porter to tell him how he’d pulled it off. The guy obviously couldn’t be in two places at once, so he must have done what Charlie said and hired someone to do his dirty work.

  His thoughts turned back to last night.

  Like Porter’s building, there were no cameras on the individual floors here. It was something Derek intended to change as soon as he got the chance.

  Then, there was the fact that there were no signs of forced entry. No obvious scratches on the lock...nothing. It was as if whoever came in had used a key.

  He made a mental note to check with the building manager tomorrow to find out who has access to the extra keys. He was also going to do a more thorough background check on all the building employees, looking specifically for any possible connection to Porter.

  “You’re thinking awfully hard over there.”

  Charlie’s slurred, drowsy voice broke through his racing thoughts.

  Derek smiled down at her. “Just thinkin’ about how lucky I am.”

  Rolling over to face him, she looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “How’d you manage to get back so soon?”

  He told as much of the truth as he could. “The job was a bust. Turns out I wasn’t needed. The problem was already taken care of by the time I got there.”

  God, I hate deceiving her.

  “They couldn’t have told you that before you flew out?”

  Derek huffed out a silent chuckle. “They didn’t know until right before I got there.”

  “So, what did you do, just turn around and come right back home?”

  “Pretty much.”

  She snuggled into him. “Well, I’m glad. I was worried about you.”

  His heartstrings tugged. “You know, we really haven’t had much time to talk about my job. What it entails.”

  “So, let’s talk.”

  He ran a hand down the back of her hair. “There are going to be times I’m gonna have to be gone. Sometimes for a few weeks, maybe a month.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “I can live with that.”

  A sliver of relief broke through, but he hadn’t really told her the worst part about what he did. If they were going to have any kind of future, she needed to know now, rather than waiting until something happened to him.

  “My job can be dangerous, Charlie. Sometimes we get hired out by Homeland to do ops that are a lot like the ones I did as a SEAL.” He swallowed. “You need to know what you’re signing up for.”

  She leaned up and kissed him. “It’s okay, Derek. I’m fully aware of what I’m getting myself into with you.”

  He rested his hand on the curve of her hip. “You are?”

  Charlie smiled. A little more awake now, she nodded. “I accepted the idea of being with a military man a long time ago. Also, the night you slipped your card into my pocket, I looked up as much as I could find on R.I.S.C. Granted, there isn’t a lot out there for public knowledge, but between what I found and what I’ve seen from you and your team, I pieced it together. Most of it, anyway.”

  “And you’re okay with it? With what I do?”

  She leaned up onto an elbow, her other hand caressing his bare bicep. “You help people, Derek. You rescue them. Protect them. How could I not be okay with that?”

  She’s fucking perfect.

  Cupping one side of her face, Derek pressed his lips to hers. She responded immediately, opening her mouth to let him in. They lay there, continuing to feast on one another until Charlie broke away. Slowly, she began leaving a trail of kisses down his jaw to his neck, and lower.

  Pushing him onto his back, she raised herself over him and continued her seductive path down his body. The locket he’d given to her—she hadn’t taken it off —brushed against his skin as she moved.

  When she got to the waistband of his boxers, she looked up at him and raised a brow. “These need to come off.”

  Don’t have to ask me twice.

  Lifting his hips, Charlie wasted no time pushing the material down his legs. After tossing them aside, she crawled back over him and settled herself between his thighs.

  “Not that I don’t love where this is headed,” Derek spoke on a strangled breath. “But you don’t have to—”

  His next words were caught in his throat when she ran her tongue from the base of his cock all the way to the tip.

  “Jesus, Charlie.”

  He looked down the length of his body to where she was. Staring up at him with those big brown eyes and a devilish grin, she asked, “You like that?”

  Derek nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

  “Then, I want to do this.” She licked him again, and he hissed out a breath. “I’ve wanted to taste you for so long.” Another lick. “So, just lay back and enjoy the ride.”

  Well, okay then.

  As instructed, Derek laid his head back down onto his pillow and gave himself over to her. “I’m yours, darlin’. Do whatever you want.”

  She smiled against his sensitive, swollen skin but then went right back to work, doling out the most wonderful form of torture he’d ever experienced.

  Teasing him with her tongue, Charlie ran it up and down his hard length, down around his delicate sack, and back up to the tip. Then, she did it all ove
r again.

  Derek could feel the bead of moisture he’d already released and knew once she really got going, he wasn’t going to last.

  He nearly shot off the bed when wet, molten heat surrounded his head, and she sucked him into her mouth as far as he could go. Her lips felt like hot velvet as they gently made their way down his length and back up.

  “Damn, Charlie,” he panted.

  Her only response was to suck him harder. She continued the excruciatingly slow slide, and when she got to the head, she did this little thing with her tongue.

  It was like some sort of flick and twirl combination that threatened to destroy him each time she did it.

  “You keep that up, I’m gonna end up comin’ in your mouth.”

  Charlie must have liked that idea because she began pumping him in and out of her mouth with a little more force. She sped up, finding that perfect rhythm, and when she added her fist, it was all but done.

  Derek put a hand on the back of her head, fisting her hair as he tried—and failed—to control his breathing.

  “Seriously, Charlie. I’m really close. Unless you want to—”

  She reached up with her free hand and cupped his tightening balls, effectively disabling his ability to continue speaking.

  The combination of what she was doing with her mouth, the friction of her tight fist, and her fingers gently caressing him between his thighs created the perfect storm.

  “Ah, shit,” he exhaled loudly. “Oh, Jesus. I’m gonna come, Charlie. I’m—”

  Derek exploded. His hips jerked, his muscles tensed, and his cock pulsed over and over as his seed shot into the back of her throat.

  Completely spent, he collapsed back onto his pillow. Still breathing hard from the most intense orgasm he’d ever experienced, Derek almost missed the satisfied look in Charlie’s eyes.

  She licked her lips and brought herself back up to her spot on the mattress.

  “That was fun.” She smiled wide.

  Derek barked out a laugh. “Fun? You damn near killed me.”

  She just shrugged. “Would have been a good way to go, though. Right?”

  He laughed some more and rolled on top of her. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  Before she could ask what he meant, Derek lowered himself between her thighs, ripped off her silk panties, and gave her the same, torturous pleasure she’d just given him.

  Several minutes later, when they were both satiated, Derek held her close and kissed her temple. Charlie fell back to sleep almost immediately, but he didn’t.

  Guilt from having lied to her kept clawing its way back in until finally, he knew what he had to do.

  Tomorrow, he was going to sit her down and tell her the truth about where he’d been tonight. He’d explain why he went there, and that he’d lied to protect her. To keep her from worrying.

  Trust had always been a big thing for her. Derek suspected it meant even more, now. As he held her tightly and closed his eyes, he prayed she’d find a way to forgive him.

  ****

  Chapter 20

  Dressed comfortably in a pair of ripped jeans and a long, white t-shirt, Charlie walked into the kitchen, inhaling the delicious scent of pancakes and bacon as she went.

  In a grey hoodie and jeans, Derek smiled at her from over his shoulder. “Good. You’re up.”

  It was silly, but for some reason, a well-fit man in a hoodie had always turned her on. Or, maybe it was just this man.

  “Wow. That’s quite a spread.” She eyeballed the food on the table.

  Derek had not only set the table, he’d also cooked enough food for an army. There was a platter of bacon, a small saucer with sausage patties, a bowl of fresh grapes, strawberries, and pineapple, and a bowl of scrambled eggs.

  “I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for, so I made a little of everything.”

  “Clearly.”

  Charlie pulled out a chair and sat as he brought over a steaming pile of fluffy pancakes.

  “Seriously, Derek. Who’s going to eat all this? And where’d you even get it?”

  He didn’t look concerned in the least. “Found a grocery store near here that delivers. I may have gone a tad overboard.”

  “You think?” She laughed. “You didn’t have to do this, but thank you. It looks delicious.”

  “Let’s find out.”

  Using a fork, he picked up the first pancake and set it on her plate. After giving himself one, they passed the other dishes around, taking what each wanted before settling in to eat.

  “Oh my gosh,” she mumbled around her first bite. “These are delicious. Where’d you learn to cook like this?”

  “My mom.”

  Charlie shook her head. “I don’t get how you’re still single.”

  “Already told you.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “I was just waitin’ on the right girl to come along.”

  A heated flush filled her cheeks, which was ridiculous. The man had seen every inch of her body. And the things he’d done to her...

  “You don’t quit lookin’ at me like that, all this food’s gonna go to waste.”

  Charlie picked up her fork and straightened her shoulders. “It’s your own fault, you know.”

  “Yeah?” He took a sip of his coffee. “How’s that?”

  Casually looking down at her plate she said, “If you weren’t so good at what you do, then I’d be able to concentrate on other things.”

  The sight of Derek laughing filled her heart. Taking it all in, Charlie wanted to remember him like this forever.

  With a sly smirk, he said, “You clean your plate, and there might be more of that goodness comin’ your way.”

  She raised a brow. “Pun intended?”

  They both laughed again. As they ate, she thought about what she wanted to say to him but wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject.

  Just tell him your idea, already.

  “So, listen.” Charlie sat her fork down. “I was thinking...and before you say anything, just hear me out, first. Please.”

  With an odd expression, Derek pressed his lips together and nodded. “All right.”

  “I know you don’t like the idea of me being anywhere near Caleb.”

  “I fuckin’ hate it,” he interrupted. Putting his hands up, he said, “Sorry. Go on.”

  She took a deep breath and continued. “Caleb runs his mouth a lot when he’s angry. He’ll blurt things out without even realizing what he’s saying. I thought if I could set up a time to meet him, I know I could get him to confess to—”

  “Charlie, there’s somethin’ I need to tell you.” Derek tried to interrupt, but she wouldn’t let him.

  She needed him to hear what she had to say. To see her idea could work.

  “I’d wear a wire. You could set that up, right?”

  Derek shook his head. “Yeah, I could. But you don’t—”

  “Great! So, I could wear a wire and get him to say what he’s done. You and Eric could be close by, so when he does confess, Eric can come in and arrest him. The police would be off your back, and Caleb would go to jail. We wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.”

  When a few seconds passed and she didn’t say anything more, Derek asked, “Are you finished?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded her head. “I’m finished. So...what do you think?”

  He reached over and grabbed the hand closest to him. “I think the fact that you’re willin’ to put yourself in harm’s way to protect me is one of the most unselfish acts I’ve ever known, and I love you even more for it.”

  “I love you, too, Derek. That’s why I want to do this. For you. For us.”

  “I know.” He gave her a small smile. “But, darlin’, there’s somethin’ I have to tell you.”

  “What is it?”

  Derek glanced down at their joined hands, the skin on his forehead bunching together as he hesitated to say whatever it is he was thinking.

  “Derek? What’s wrong? You’re starting to scar
e me.”

  “It’s about last night.”

  Her brow furrowed. “What about it?”

  “I didn’t actually go to—”

  The doorbell rang, interrupting what he was about to say.

  Derek cursed under his breath. “You expectin’ company?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Maybe it’s one of the team.”

  “Maybe. Stay here, just in case.”

  Derek pulled his gun from his waistband. It was something she was getting more and more used to seeing.

  She watched as he looked through the door’s peephole. His spine stiffened.

  “Who is it?”

  Derek turned to her, the look on his face grim. “The female detective I saw coming out of the room you were in the other night.”

  “Detective York?”

  Derek nodded. “And she has two uniformed officers with her.”

  Charlie shot from her chair and went to him. “Something else must have happened.”

  A funny look crossed his face as he cleared his throat. “Listen, Charlie. I—”

  Someone pounded on the door. “This is Detective York with the Dallas Police Department. I know you’re in there, West. Open the door.”

  “They’re here for you?” She looked up at him. “Why? You haven’t done anything.”

  “She probably just wants to question me about the fire.”

  With an odd expression she couldn’t quite place, Derek disengaged the deadbolt and opened the door.

  “Derek West.” Detective York held up a folded paper. “I have a warrant for your arrest.”

  Charlie sucked in a breath. “What?

  “What are the charges?” Derek asked calmly.

  With a smug look, the woman said, “You’re being placed under arrest for the murder of Caleb Porter.”

  The room spun, and Charlie’s knees gave out. She would’ve gone down had she not grabbed on to Derek’s arm.

  “Murder? Caleb’s...” She could hardly speak for the shock running through her system. “Caleb’s dead?”

  “His body was found in his car late last night by a New York police officer on routine patrol.”

  She nodded to one of the officers who reached behind his back and approached Derek.

  “New York,” Derek drawled. “That’s a little ways out of your jurisdiction, isn’t it, Detective?”