And as far as her not being cut out for their world? She was stronger than Matt thought she was. No, Remy didn’t want her ever in danger again, but the way she’d reacted told him she could handle this life. She hadn’t fallen apart in Qu’rim at all. She’d weathered the storm and kept her head the entire time. She was small and mighty.
“I know what happened with Ben. I have no intention of hurting her. And as for our world? I think that’s her choice—but you should know that she was amazing in Qu’rim. Never once lost her cool—and there was plenty there to fall apart over. She’s levelheaded and smart. She can handle more than you think she can.”
Matt looked sheepish for a second. “Thanks for being a part of the team that got her out of there. I appreciate it very much.”
“You’re welcome.” They both knew Remy would have done the same for anybody—they all would—but a thank-you was never misplaced for a job well done.
“I’m pretty sure Ben didn’t plan to hurt her either,” Matt said, his mouth flattening in disapproval. “But then he did. So yeah, it worries me.”
Remy had a sudden urge to punch something. Whether he intended to or not, Matt was suggesting that Remy was like Christina’s ex-husband. That rankled.
“Dude, I have sisters. I get it.” Remy swallowed. “My twin was killed by her boyfriend. I know how it feels to be so fucking helpless it makes you sick, and I know how it feels to wish you could protect her from all harm.”
Matt’s expression had softened, his eyes widening. “Jesus. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
Remy blew out a breath. “I don’t like to talk about it, but I wanted you to know that I understand. I’m seeing your sister. I care about her. A lot. And I think she cares about me. I don’t know where this is going, but I want it to go farther and faster than she does right now. She’s cautious. She’s smart. She’s also broken, and I know every bit of that. I’m careful of her heart because I know it’s fragile.”
Matt’s gaze grew sharp. “Do you love her?”
There was a sharp stab somewhere in the vicinity of Remy’s heart. Love? How could he love her when he barely knew her?
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “This is still new to us both.”
Matt didn’t look happy about that. “She deserves the best.”
“She does.”
“Then I’d appreciate it if you’d figure out real fast whether or not that’s going to be you.”
Remy wanted to bristle at Matt’s tone—but how could he? Remy cared about Christina. But Matt loved her.
“Copy that, brother.”
Matt held out his hand. Remy took it. “I’m sorry about your sister. That fucking blows hard, and I know the words aren’t enough, but I mean them. I really like you, Remy.” He squeezed Remy’s hand just a little harder then. “But you hurt Chrissy, and I’m going to be all over your ass like a bad rash.”
Remy squeezed back. “Understood, Captain.”
Christina put down the phone and frowned. Then she dropped her head into her hands and took deep breaths to quiet her frustration. She’d been home for two weeks now. She’d spent the past seven nights with Remy, tangled up in his arms and lost in a world of intense pleasure.
They’d had no more uncomfortable conversations about relationships or where this was going. It just went. Every day when he called her, she answered her phone, her heart pounding giddily.
They made plans. Those plans usually involved some sort of takeout, her bed, and him. After work, he’d come to her house bearing food. She said she was willing to go to his, but he’d said hers was nicer. Plus he had a roommate. He shared an apartment with Cash McQuaid near the military base.
She liked Cash well enough, but she wasn’t going to go over there and stay the night with the other SEAL around. Since they all worked with Matt, it felt wrong to be so blatant about her relationship with Remy.
She smiled to herself. Relationship. There, she’d said it.
They were having one. The thought made her panic just a little bit, but she told herself there was nothing she could do. It was too late. She was in it now.
Which was where the frustration came from. She’d been back for two weeks, and she needed to fly to Houston. Then she needed to get back on the road. There was a company in Brazil she’d targeted for Girard Oil’s needs, and she had to go down there and start the negotiations.
Then there was Russia and the interesting maze of Moscow politics to navigate.
Once, she would have loved the challenge and the adventure. Now she just wanted to stay in DC and have a normal everyday life like everyone else.
But since she couldn’t put it off any longer, she’d buzzed her secretary and told her to make the arrangements for Houston and Brazil. The negotiations with Sheikh Fahd were finished, and she was still riding high from that triumph. It was time to forge ahead with her plans and acquire more business for the company.
She would tell Remy tonight, though she dreaded it. How would he react? He knew what she did, and she could no longer put it off just to enjoy long nights with him. She had a job to do the same as he did. And when Uncle Sam came calling, Remy wasn’t going to be able to put it off at all. So why should she?
She got through the rest of the afternoon, and then she went out to her car and got inside. The days were getting longer, but it was still growing dark around six at night and so it was dusk when she went outside. The parking lot was lit and guarded, so she wasn’t worried about anyone bothering her.
The trip home took around twenty minutes. She parked in the driveway and gathered her purse and briefcase before getting out of the car. Her phone dinged and she dug for it, smiling when she saw the text from Remy.
Pizza and you tonight. Be naked when I get there. 7 pm.
She texted a quick reply as she walked around the car and headed for the door. But she collided with something solid, gasping in surprise as two firm hands reached out to steady her.
Her stomach bottomed out as her eyes met those of the man holding her.
“Ben. What are you doing here?”
He was dressed impeccably in what she knew was a custom-made suit. Anger flashed through her then. He’d bought that suit with her money, just like he’d bought the Mercedes with her money. Ben had never had a pot to piss in. He’d seen her as a one-way ticket to fortune and fame as a politician. He was a brilliant lawyer, but he wanted more than a legal career.
His grip on her tightened. “I came to talk to you, Christina.”
She wrested free of him and took a step back. “I’ve told you there’s nothing left to say. We’re through, Ben. You need to understand that.”
“I don’t agree with you.”
Another wave of anger rolled through her. Dammit, she was so sick of this man trying to steamroll her. That’s all he’d ever done in their marriage. Told her what his opinion was and expected her to go along with it.
And she had, idiot that she’d been. Just so she’d feel like she belonged. So she wouldn’t lose him, because a wife was supposed to keep her husband happy. Gah.
“I don’t care if you agree or not. It’s over, and I never want to see you again. Now get away from me or I’m calling the cops.”
She held her phone up as a threat. But what he did next took her by surprise. He knocked the phone from her fingers and it tumbled into the grass. Then he grabbed her by the hair and jerked her forward.
She started to scream, but the cold barrel of a gun dug into her ribs and shocked her to silence.
“We’re talking, you superior little bitch. Like it or not.”
30
Remy stopped and picked up the pizza he’d called in before continuing on to Christina’s house. He was a few minutes late, but that’s because he’d had to help Cash extract a drunken woman from the hallway outside their apartment. Cash claimed he didn’t know her and that she wasn’t there for him, but Remy didn’t quite believe it.
No doubt she was another of those poor women who’
d taken one look at Cash’s Hollywood good looks and lost her ever-loving mind. Cash might have slept with her and forgot he’d done it. Or he’d just flirted heavily with the woman at a bar somewhere and then she’d stalked him until she found out where he lived.
Wasn’t the first time. Probably wouldn’t be the last.
Remy pulled into Christina’s driveway, his cock beginning to tingle with interest.
“Yeah, you know what’s happening, don’t you?” he said and then shook his head. “Jesus, talking to my fucking dick. What’s next?”
He grabbed the pizza and shut the door of his truck, clicking the button to lock it before he strode toward her front door and the heaven that awaited him behind it.
He nearly stopped on the sidewalk as he thought of her brother and the worry on his face as he’d asked if Remy loved Christina.
It was too soon for love. Too new and too raw. Not to mention he’d never actually been in love before, so he didn’t really know what it was supposed to feel like. Was it this tightening in the chest whenever he thought of Christina? Was it the rush of warmth that filled him when he held her in his arms and they went to sleep curled together?
Was it this need to be near her that made his skin itch and his brain jump until the moment he saw her again?
Maybe it was, or maybe he was just really into her.
He rang the bell. She didn’t come, but his phone dinged.
Come inside. I left it unlocked for you.
Remy frowned. He was going to have to talk to her about leaving the door unlocked. Yeah, the neighborhood was nice, but this was fucking Washington DC. You didn’t leave the door unlocked in DC, no matter where you lived.
Still, he turned the knob and walked inside, locking the door behind him because that’s the way he operated.
Waiting for you in the bedroom, baby. Hurry.
He chuckled, shedding the jacket he wore and tossing it on the couch. The room was still as sweet and girly as ever, but he liked it. It was like walking into a feminine lair filled with roses, lace, and silver tea sets. So ladylike. So Christina.
He didn’t know what a Cajun boy like him was supposed to do with a lady like her or why she’d even be interested in him, but he was damn glad she was. Maybe it was because she had Cajun roots herself, or maybe she just liked the tall, dark, and deadly type.
Whatever it was, he wasn’t questioning his good fortune at this moment.
He picked up the pizza and started up the stairs to her bedroom. Too bad the damn pizza was going to get cold before they ate it, but getting inside Christina would be so worth it—and it would be the first thing he did. He knew himself well enough now to know there was no way he was walking in there, finding her naked on the bed, and eating a slice of pizza first.
He’d fucked her as often as possible over the past few days, and it hadn’t gotten boring or routine yet. She was sweet and hot and sexy, and he loved making her moan. Loved the dirty words she said when she couldn’t help herself.
Usually happened when she was on the brink of orgasm or when she wanted him to do something he wasn’t doing yet—like licking her sweet pussy until she screamed his name.
He went up the stairs softly because it was a habit and went over to her door. It was shut, which gave him pause. Why shut the door if she was waiting for him? Then again, who knew what Christina was thinking.
He twisted the knob and the door swung open. She lay on the bed, totally naked, her flesh so pale and beautiful. She was wearing the pearls and her legs were spread—
A chill rolled through him as he took in several things simultaneously. First, her arms were behind her back and her legs were tied to the bedposts with what looked like scarves.
She wore a gag, and her cheeks glistened with moisture, her eyes wide and frightened. He dropped the pizza and prepared to fight, cursing because he wasn’t armed at that moment.
His weapons were locked away at HOT HQ because that’s what you did with them when you weren’t working. Fucking hell. He reached for the phone at his belt.
Just then, a man stepped out of the shadows, Christina’s phone in his hand—and a gun in the other.
“Hello, Remy. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Let her go,” Remy said, his voice a guttural growl Christina didn’t think she’d heard before.
Ben continued to point the weapon at Remy’s heart, and Christina squirmed on the bed, trying to work free from the restraints. But they were tight, and every movement of her body only seemed to make them tighter.
“Drop the fucking phone, asshole,” Ben said. “And shut up. I’m the one who does the talking here.”
Remy’s jaw tightened. He held his phone for a moment longer—and then he dropped it, tossing it so that it landed on the floor and slid beneath the dresser. She could just see it peeking out from beneath the cherrywood.
“There’s a set of handcuffs on the table by the door. Put them on.”
Remy did as Ben said, and Christina wanted to cry. He wouldn’t look at her, and that worried her. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure she wanted him looking at her. Ben had forced her to strip, and then he’d tied her up in as humiliating a way as possible.
Legs spread, hands behind her back so her breasts thrust forward. He’d pinched her nipples, stuck his hand between her legs. But there’d been no tenderness in his touch, no reality. It was almost as if he’d done it to prove he could.
His eyes had been dead when they’d met hers. She’d asked him not to do this, to think—but he’d told her it was too late for that. That’s when the doorbell rang.
“You’ve been naughty, Christina,” Ben said now, glancing at her while he kept the gun trained on Remy. “Fucking this guy every night. And wow, the things you say to him in bed—if you’d talked to me like that, maybe I wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere for some excitement.”
“You hypocritical asshole,” she snarled, but it came out unintelligible because of the gag. And then a chill slid through her as she thought of the implications of his speech. He knew what she said to Remy in bed?
Ben laughed as he came over to rip the gag from her mouth, his gaze still on Remy. It pulled out a few hairs that had gotten caught in the knot. Her scalp stung, but it was better than wearing a gag any day.
“You won’t need this anymore now that he’s here,” he said. “Couldn’t let you warn him, could I?”
“You okay, Christina?”
She looked at Remy and found him watching her now. Her eyes filled with tears. Happy tears that he was here and she wasn’t alone. Furious tears that she’d landed him in this predicament. She knew he was a badass, but how in the hell were they getting out of this one? He was cuffed, his hands hanging in front of his body, and Ben had a gun.
“Yes,” she said, because she knew he meant physical health. And she was fine as far as that went. Mentally, she wasn’t so sure. She was scared. And angry. So damned angry.
She glared at Ben. “How do you know what I say to him?” she demanded.
He laughed again. The sound was maniacal. Cracked. Oh God, what had happened to this man? She’d loved him once. He’d been normal once. Sane.
He was clearly not sane now. When had that happened?
“You can buy some interesting surveillance equipment these days,” he said. “Don’t even need to get inside to plant microphones. But you do have to get inside to plant cameras.”
He went over to the vase on her dresser where she’d stuck a few willow branches to remind her of home. Then he bent down and said, “Hello, Benjamin old boy.”
Christina’s heart turned to ice. He’d been filming her and Remy? Filming everything they did together? Oh dear heaven, what was he planning to do?
“This is a mistake, Ben. You don’t need to do this. Let us go and everything will be okay.”
Ben straightened again. “Let you go? I don’t think so.” He waved the gun. “I asked you to talk to me and you wouldn’t. I told you that we could start over, be t
he political couple we were meant to be. We could found a dynasty, Christina. But no, you had to go and get all hot and horny over this guy. You’ve ruined everything!”
“You ruined it, Ben, not me.”
His eyes flashed as he stuck his face on a level with hers. “Fucking whore,” he snarled. And then he lashed out and slapped her, knocking her head sideways and making her ears ring.
“Touch her again, asshole, and I will kill you,” Remy growled from where he stood with his wrists locked together. But he seemed closer than he had been before. Was he moving in the split seconds when Ben’s attention was on her?
Ben barked a laugh. “How? I’m the one with the gun. You aren’t superhuman, no matter how big and gorgeous you are, stud. A bullet through the brain will lay you out flat and put an end to any ideas you might have of stopping me.”
“You can kill me,” Remy said, “but you still aren’t getting out alive.”
Ben’s brows drew together at that announcement. Then he reached out to wrap a hand in Christina’s hair and jerk her toward him. He laid the gun against her temple, the barrel flush with her skin.
She closed her eyes and prayed that he wouldn’t pull the trigger. There was so much she hadn’t done yet. So much she wanted to do. If she died now, she would never see Remy again. Never know what it was like to kiss him one more time.
She snapped her eyes open and met his anguished gaze. Whatever she was to him, she was clearly important. That thought comforted her a bit. She tried to smile for him, her mouth shaking at the corners as she did so.
“She dies first,” Ben said. “Whatever happens. So think long and hard about what you intend.”
31
Remy’s heart beat so hard it was near to bursting. This was not how a Special Operator reacted to a crisis, but goddamn, seeing Christina smiling at him with a gun to her head made him desperate.
He wasn’t letting that motherfucker shoot her. He’d failed Roxie, but fucking hell, he was not failing Christina. He couldn’t.
Because if Ben shot her, Remy would die. He blinked as the realization hit him, but yes, he would die if Ben killed her.
Because he didn’t want to live without her. Because she righted his world and made him happy. He hadn’t been unhappy before her—but he would be now. Now that he’d had her, if he lost her—God, he couldn’t think about it.
HOT SEAL Lover (HOT SEAL Team - Book 2) Page 19