“Do you want me to check your room out?” he asked, clearing his throat.
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t think there was anyone there. I just woke up nervous. Thanks, though.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah what?” I was getting rather distracted now, since his eyes had grown very hot.
“Yeah,” he repeated. He was clearly rather distracted too.
I stepped forward, suddenly wanting to feel his body, his strength, his passion. I ran a hand down his chest over his t-shirt.
I heard him grunt, and his whole body grew tense. “Sweetheart,” he began. “We weren’t going to do this.”
“I know. That was the plan.” I drifted toward him, my nerves from before somehow heightening my response to him now. I raised both arms to wrap around his neck. “We should create some distance between us so this doesn’t happen again.”
“Right.” His hands cupped my bottom, pressing me against him so I could feel his arousal. “Distance.”
“We should start distancing ourselves right now.”
That was the last thing said before he kissed me.
The kiss was deep and urgent immediately, and it awakened a hunger inside me. Soon, I was clawing at him shamelessly, my tongue dueling with his. He lifted me with his hands cupping my ass, and I wrapped my legs around him. He carried me back into the bedroom, and I pulled him down on top of me as soon as he lowered me the mattress.
We undressed each other hurriedly, the desire too intense to go slow. It was like we were starved for each other, and my mind was a thick, heated blur of need as I ran my hands up and down his smooth back and firm ass.
Then he was rolling on a condom and was settling between my legs.
“Remember,” I said breathlessly, bending my legs around his hips. “Don’t get too close.”
“Right.” He slowly pushed himself inside me, my body fitting itself around his length. “Not too close.”
He kissed me again, and I held him with my arms and legs, and we built up a fast, pleasing rhythm together, our bodies knowing exactly what they needed from each other. Eventually, I broke the kiss, turning my head to the side to suck in air, and Cole started to grunt as his motion got more urgent.
I felt the pleasure deepening, and I arched up into it, my whole body shaking until the pressure finally broke. I cried out, and then gasped in satisfaction as I felt him coming too.
We held on to each other afterwards, our bodies relaxed and replete, and he pressed little kisses against my neck—which I loved.
They felt tender, as if he still wanted to give a little more.
But the afterglow couldn’t last forever, and eventually Cole sat up and seemed to shake himself off, as if he’d remembered who he was and what he was doing here.
“It was bound to happen,” I said, heading off whatever he was going to say. “Don’t beat yourself up. We both wanted it. It didn’t compromise you or anything else.”
He gazed at me for a long time. “I’m totally compromised when it comes to you.”
He was looking sober, brooding, but I couldn’t help but like the sound of those words.
I didn’t like the sound of the words he said next, though. “It can’t happen again.”
I told myself not to be disappointed. He was still trying to be professional, but I was sure he wanted me as much as I wanted him. And I was also sure that there was more here than sex.
“Okay,” I said with a little smile. “Whatever you say.”
It was definitely going to happen again.
***
The next morning, Sebastian stopped by to talk to me, to see how I was doing.
At least, that was what I thought his purpose was, until he added, “And, just some advice, don’t get too close to Cole. It’s not a good idea.”
My eyebrows arched sky high. “Excuse me?”
Sebastian’s face twisted, with some sort of conflicted feeling. “Don’t get me wrong...he’s a great guy. You know he’s one of my best friends. But I see how you’re looking at him, and I don’t think that would be smart.”
I frowned deeply. “Because he’s not at my level in some way?”
“Shit, of course not. You know I’m not that sort of snob.” He paused. “You don’t know him like I do. Cole’s a great guy. But he’s...he’s had a hard life, and he doesn’t let himself get close to anyone. Ever. You’ll only end up getting hurt.”
“I’m a grown-up, Sebastian, and I’ve been around the block. I can decide who I date, and I can decide who I screw.”
He looked uncomfortable as he raked a hand through his hair. “Look, I was just trying to help. You’re my friend, and I can’t help but worry. He’s...he’s different from you.”
“Yeah. Right. He’s different.”
I was sure Sebastian meant well, but it was very irritating kind of advice to get, so I just walked away from him.
I turned around a corner and almost ran into Cole. I really hoped he hadn’t heard the conversation.
Ten
Cole
Three days later, and I was ready to punch something.
Or someone.
Fucking Sebastian.
I heard his conversation with Evangeline the other day, and it took an act of iron will to not haul off and kick his ass right then and there. But I decided to be the bigger person. To let it go. Besides, it wasn’t like he had said anything that I hadn’t already suspected.
That didn’t make it hurt any less to actually hear it out loud.
But now? Honestly, I didn’t even know why I was here, since Seb had been sticking to Evangeline like glue. He claimed that he was hanging around to be helpful—he was watching over Evangeline so I could focus on what was going on around the set and get a good look at the list of potential suspects that Malcolm and I had finally come up with.
Right.
I believed that as much as I believed in the tooth fairy. Seb was sticking around to make sure I wasn’t getting too close to his precious little Evangeline or sneaking into her bed.
And believe me, it was a daily battle not to.
The woman was pure temptation. She didn’t even have to do anything more than look at me, and I was hard as a rock and ready to throw her over my shoulder and take her to bed.
Which was why I didn’t look at her when Sebastian was anywhere nearby. He’d catch that look in a heartbeat, and then I’d have to deal with his bullshit.
Or should I say more of his bullshit.
One of the great things about starting the agency with the guys was that we were all independent. I mean, we were partners, but we all worked alone. Sure we’d conference call and occasionally call in to get advice, but for the most part, we each worked our own cases.
Until now.
And it was pretty damn insulting.
The whole reason for me being forced to take this case rather than Sebastian in the first place was because of the conflict of interest angle. Well, what the hell happened to that? Now all of a sudden there was no conflict for him?
Bullshit.
I got it. I did. I wasn’t good enough for someone like Evangeline. I came from the wrong side of the tracks. I had a criminal history. I’d been homeless, and I almost killed my own father.
And I killed my best friend.
So yeah, I got it. I could see where Sebastian was coming from. To a point. Over the last two years that we’d been doing this, I had to sit back and listen to him, Levi, and Declan talk about how they had gotten involved with clients and, to be honest, none of those were appropriate hookups.
For crying out loud, Harper was Gavin’s sister! That alone should have stopped Levi in his tracks. The fact that her life was in danger should have sealed the deal on him keeping his distance. But did he? No.
Ali was a suspect on Sebastian’s case. A suspect! For all any of us knew, she was some lunatic who was aiming to kill the guy who had essentially ruined her father’s life. Yeah, like that was a smart hookup. That had Fatal Attracti
on written all over it.
And Declan? Well, that was just stupid. Don’t get me wrong, I thought that Kristin was amazing. She was incredibly sweet, and her daughter was cute as hell. But Declan was having a hard enough time keeping his head above water teaching the first grade, and he went and started banging one of his students’ moms? What the hell? Granted, his case was the only one with a legitimate time clock, but still.
The point was, out of the three of them, we all should have been looking out for Harper out of respect for Gavin and we didn’t. Sure, we were all shocked at how Levi was chasing after her, and we razzed the shit out of him on more than one occasion, but none of us stepped in to stop him.
So why me?
Which was exactly what was playing on a constant loop in my head to the point of madness. Evangeline was shooting a scene on location in a grimy downtown park—which was hell to keep secure—and Sebastian was standing right out of camera range. Next to him were two of Malcolm’s guys and the director’s assistants—Matt and Janelle. Matt was on the top of my list right now because the guy practically salivated when he got within ten feet of Evangeline.
And then there was yesterday’s incident.
I still couldn’t believe we didn’t just haul the kid’s ass in and consider ourselves done. Evangeline was shooting a scene, and Seb and Malcolm were both standing watch. I wanted some time to do a little research on some of the names we were narrowed down to. Matt was sitting off by himself—right across from Evangeline’s trailer.
And if that wasn’t suspicious enough, he was reading. Not that reading was anything to get crazy about, but he was reading a book on animal anatomy.
That piqued my curiosity.
“What are you reading, Matt?” I asked mildly as I approached, but my expression definitely gave away how I was feeling.
The kid looked about ready to wet himself. He scrambled to his feel and held the book behind his back. “Oh...um...I’m...I’m taking some classes at the community college. I...I want to be a veterinarian.”
My gaze narrowed and I stepped in closer. “This is kind of an odd career choice for someone looking to be a pet doctor.”
He looked down at his shoes. “Yeah...well...this kind of work is easy for me. I only recently decided to look into veterinary school.”
“Can I see the book?”
Matt’s eyes were wide when he looked up at me. “See it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Can I see it? I often wondered about how vets learn all about different animals.” I held out my hand and waited. “I’m sure someone who goes through any kind of medical school would have to have a pretty strong stomach. They’d have to cut open animals and deal with blood and guts just like they would with humans.”
Matt paled. “I...I suppose.”
“Have you ever?”
“Ever what?”
“Cut open an animal?”
Now he was a little green. “N...no. Like I said, I...I just started taking the classes and...”
I heard the director yell “Cut!” and before I could say another word, Matt excused himself and ran off toward the set.
Malcolm’s only job was to keep an eye on the kid.
There wasn’t much going on today for the movie other than this scene, so I knew I could take a few minutes to step away and make a call. I gave my surroundings a final look and walked away to the trailer Malcolm had been using. It was half the size of the one Evangeline has, but it would do.
“Hey, man. What’s up? Everything going okay?” Levi asked as soon as he answered the phone.
“Yeah. It’s fucking great,” I murmured.
“Christ,” he sighed. “Now what?”
“I want you to tell Seb to leave.”
Silence.
“Levi?”
“I heard you. Okay, tell me why.”
“I resent the fact that he’s here. I was forced to take this case because he was busy, it was a conflict of interest...and everyone trusted me. Well...clearly none of that’s the case anymore because he won’t leave. I can’t do my fucking job because he’s constantly looking over my shoulder and questioning my every move.”
“I’m sure it’s not...”
“It is,” I interrupted. “I’m serious, Levi. I’m tired of this shit. I don’t interfere on any of your cases, or Declan’s or even Sebastian’s. I don’t step on anyone’s toes and I certainly don’t fucking go around treating you all like a pack of moron’s or say anything when you’re sleeping with someone involved in a case or—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Levi snapped. “You slept with Evangeline?”
Shit. “Not the point, Levi. I’m just saying is it’s time for Sebastian to leave or I’m leaving. The two of us aren’t needed here. If he thinks he can do a better job and find this psycho, then more power to him. I’ll gladly step down. Hell, I’ll gladly step down from the company too, since I’m clearly too incompetent to do my job.”
“Okay, hold on. You’re getting ahead of yourself here and not making any sense. You want to quit the company? Since when?”
Yeah, since when? “It’s just obvious that I’m the weak link here. If it weren’t for the Marines, I wouldn’t be friends with any of you guys. I’m not like you. And I’m tired of being made to feel like I don’t measure up.”
“And you came to this conclusion all because Sebastian is helping with a friend?” he asked flatly.
“Partly. I’ve known it for a long time. I just think that it might be best for everyone if Seb just officially took over here, and once we go to D.C. and hear the findings on Gavin that I just go out on my own.”
He made a non-committal sound, and then I heard the baby crying in the background. For a minute, Levi must have put the phone down because I heard him talking softly to Harper before coming back on the line. “Sorry about that.”
“Not a big deal.”
“Um...here’s the thing. No.”
“What? No? What do you mean ‘no’?”
“I think you need to get your panties out of their knot and quit pouting. No one thinks your incompetent, and no one thinks they’re better than you. And that shit about us not being friends if it weren’t for the Marines is bullshit! I think you’re using some sort of reverse snobbery here, and you know what? Now I’m insulted. How do you like that?”
“Seriously? That’s your theory?”
“It’s no more ridiculous than yours,” Levi countered.
“Just...just get him to leave. If you truly trust me...if all of you trust me...then get him to leave.”
“Cole, seriously man, his being there is more out of some sort of misplaced sense of obligation to his family. It’s not about you. It’s about—”
“Then I’m done,” I snapped. “I’m...I’m just done, Levi. There’s my offer. Take it or leave it but if Sebastian stays, then I’m leaving. He can work with Malcolm. We finally have a decent list of suspects and he can just take over.”
“Dammit! You’re not being reasonable! This is business, Cole. You can’t take this shit personally. You just need to...”
“Did any of us come and check up on you when you were protecting Harper?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m just saying...she’s Gavin’s sister. We all knew her. Her life was in danger too. Did we all come around and set up camp in your living room and make sure that you were doing your job and keeping your hands to yourself?”
“Is that really what this is all about? You’re pissed because Sebastian is cock-blocking you?”
“Shut the fuck up! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Are you sure that you know what you’re talking about anymore?” Levi stopped and sighed loudly. “Look, if you want Sebastian gone, I’ll make the call.”
“Thank you.”
“Under one condition.”
“Mother fucker,” I hissed under my breath.
“There’s no more talk of you leaving the company. We’re friends, Cole. More than that. We’re brothers. All of us. Got it?”
My chest tightened. How many times had we all said that to one another when we were deployed and were missing our families, our friends, our lives back home? “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I got it.”
“Okay then. Good.” He paused. “And for the record, Cole? I get what you’re saying. Back when it was me and Harper? It was wrong for me to sleep with her while she was under my protection.” He gave a small chuckle. “The only problem was that it was completely out of my control. I couldn’t deny my feelings for her. And if you or Seb or Declan had stepped in and tried to interfere? Well, I probably would have put up one hell of a fight. Sort of like what you’re doing now.”
“Look, it’s not just about sleeping with Evangeline.”
Levi chuckled again. “You keep telling yourself that. Yeah, Seb’s there when he said he wouldn’t or couldn’t be, and he’s pretty much fucking with your head. But the reality is that he could be a real help to the case.”
“All he’s doing is standing guard. He’s not talking to anyone—except Evangeline—and he’s not helping me or Malcolm with squat.”
“Ah, so he really is just there to cock-block you,” he said and laughed again. “I’ll make the call, Cole. You’ve got my word on that. But do us both a favor?”
“What?”
“If you’re just looking to get laid to pass the time, find someone else to do it with and stop complicating this case.”
“I’m not—”
“But if you’re really into this girl,” Levi continued, ignoring my words, “then explain that to Sebastian so that he can leave with a clear conscience. Please. Can you do that?”
“Can you guarantee that he’s not going to come at me like I’m some low-life degenerate who isn’t good enough to lay a hand on his friend?”
Another laugh. “I’m not sure I can guarantee that, but I’ll see what I can do.”
He hung up before I could argue with him any further.
***
“Dude! What the hell?”
I looked up from the notes I was making while Malcolm and I went over the events of the day to find Sebastian angrily staring down at me. “Problem?”
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