“I was so sorry to hear about your father. How awful all of this must be for you.”
Nicky returned her embrace. “Thanks. It’s so good to see you again.” Wrapped in Grace’s one-armed hug, Nicky squeezed the hand Devin extended to her. “Both of you.”
Rhy scooped a sleepy Alex from the backseat and rounded the vehicle. The sweet scent of apple pie and little boy flared his nostrils as Alex snuggled his face against Rhy’s throat.
“Grace, Devin, this is Rhyder McLean,” Nicky introduced.
Rhy shook the hand Devin offered then repeated the process with Grace. “A pleasure.”
Devin cocked his chin in the direction of the SUV rolling to a stop several yards away. “Lyndsay?”
“Yes.” Rhy met Nicky’s suspicious frown with a steady stare. “I called ahead. You didn’t think I was going to walk us into a situation blind, did you?”
Whether Nicky glowered because he’d gone behind her back to speak with her friends or because of his apparent distrust of them, Rhy wasn’t sure and didn’t care. This went beyond the growing attraction between them, or even her innocence. Senator Hawley had hired him to do a job, and he didn’t take that lightly. He arched a brow, daring her to make an issue of his precautions.
She didn’t get the chance.
Grace laughed and squeezed her shoulder. “God save us from alpha males.” The cheeky grin she tossed at her husband proved Devin’s censorious scowl didn’t concern her. “Come on inside. It’s freezing out here.”
Grace led Nicky up the porch steps. With Alex tucked to his chest, Rhy fell in beside Devin as Lyndsay brought up the rear.
A half-smile quirked Devin’s lips. “God save us from intrepid females.”
“Amen,” Rhy grumbled.
Lyndsay’s deep chuckle sounded in the darkness.
“We heard that,” Grace called over her shoulder as she and Nicky disappeared inside.
Once Alex was settled in a bed on the second floor with Lyndsay in the adjoining room, Nicky and Grace joined Rhy and Devin in the kitchen. Rhy studied Nicky’s face as she declined a cup of coffee, settling instead for a glass of water. Though still pale, much of her earlier visible tension was absent, or hidden.
She sat in the chair beside his and waited for Grace to take a seat across from her before speaking. “Now that we’re here, I’m not sure this is such a good idea.”
“We’ve been over this, Nicky.” Grace selected two sugar cubes from the bowl in the center of the table and dropped them into her mug. “Devin and I both agree this is the best place for Alex until this whole mess is dealt with.”
“I don’t like putting you in danger, or your kids.” Nicky shook her head as if unable to voice all her concerns.
“And we don’t like the idea of you being in danger. We couldn’t help you two years ago, despite wanting to. We can now.” Grace shot Devin a quick smile. “The ranch is practically a fortress. We’ll be fine here. The kids will be safe. I wish you’d reconsider and stay here, too. Let Mr. McLean handle your ex-husband.”
Rhy rested his elbows on the table. “It’s good advice, Nicky.”
“Jonathan wants revenge on me.” Nicky wrapped her restless fingers around her water glass. “If I stay here, it’ll only be a matter of time before he shows up.”
“And we’ll be ready for him when he does.” Confident anticipation gleamed in Devin’s hazel eyes.
“No. I won’t take that chance. I’m counting on you to keep my son safe—to keep your wife and children safe. I can help you do that by taking myself away and drawing Jonathan to me.”
“There are thirty-five men working the ranch.” Devin rolled his shoulders. “I like those odds against a man like Everson a lot better than just the two of you.”
Nicky’s gaze cut to Rhy at the proof he’d filled Devin in on their plans.
“Six.” Rhy quirked a brow. “A team I trust with my life is already in place at the cabin and will remain in the shadows until Everson shows.” He expected an argument for involving Global Shield without telling her. It was an argument she’d lose. He wouldn’t take chances with her safety any more than he would Alex’s. Nicky surprised him by dipping her chin in a silent nod of agreement.
She turned to Devin. “Jonathan Everson is an evil man. If he thought he had to lay siege to the ranch to get at me, he’d bring an army with him and do a lot of damage in the process. We need to draw him away from here.”
“And we’ll be ready for him when he shows up,” Rhy echoed Devin’s earlier claim.
“Let me get this straight. You’re going to set yourself up at the cabin like a tethered goat?” Grace’s thinned lips said she didn’t like the idea.
Rhy stiffened and started to object to her categorization, but Nicky rested her hand on his arm to silence him.
“I don’t like the idea of putting myself out there any more than you, but I’ve been living in fear of this man for years.” Nicky lifted her fingers from Rhy’s arm and heaved a soft sigh. “My father died trying to protect Alex and me. I’m through hiding.” She pulled a packet from the back pocket of her jeans.
Rhy stared at the folded papers she slid across the table. Grace picked up the stack with a question in her eyes.
Nicky sighed. “If anything happens to me, please see that those papers get to Senator Hawley and his wife in Washington. They’ll make sure Alex is taken care of.”
A hot scorch of helpless rage flared to life in Rhy’s gut, and he slowly rose to his feet. He slapped both hands flat on the table in front of Nicky and leaned in. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
Nicky held his gaze as a plea for understanding darkened her eyes, but she didn’t back down. The damn woman sat there, calmly asking for her friends’ help as if she were stepping out for the evening and not preparing for the eventuality of her death. He uttered a vicious curse, and the muscles of his back and shoulders bunched as he shoved off the table and straightened.
“Nothing is going to happen to you!” he repeated in a near snarl before he stomped out the door at the back of the kitchen.
Nicky stared after Rhy. Surprised at the violence of his reaction, her heart gave a little skip at the passionate fury in his eyes before he’d left. He was a proud man who took his promise to protect her and Alex seriously, but his reaction to those papers was far too intense for a man concerned only with doing his job.
What that meant, Nicky wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t help the bloom of warmth heating her belly. As they’d tucked Alex into bed, Grace had exclaimed her happiness that Nicky had found a keeper in McLean. Nicky hadn’t known what to say to her friend. The physical attraction between them was as strong as it had been from the first moment they met, but somewhere along the line, the attraction had become more than just physical, at least for her. She hadn’t allowed herself to consider just how much more.
As for McLean and his feelings, she simply didn’t know. He wanted her. He’d made it more than clear he found her attractive, but would a man like McLean react to the situation they found themselves in so furiously if physical attraction was all he felt? She didn’t think so, but she no longer trusted her instincts when it came to an attraction to or from the opposite sex.
Nicky shook herself mentally. What did it matter? Jonathan was out there somewhere. As intriguing as the idea that McLean might return her feelings was, making sure her son was safe was all she could afford to think about now.
She rubbed at her left temple. Nothing like having to produce your will to a roomful of people, on the off chance your psychotic ex-husband managed to kill you in the coming days, to give you a headache. Nicky offered her friends an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry.”
Grace leaned across the table to squeeze her hand. “Don’t be. This situation would leave anyone feeling raw. You’re entitled to be a bit on edge. Both of you.”
Devin leaned his elbows on the table. His big hands cradled his coffee mug. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m glad McLean will be
with you. According to my sources, there are few men more suited to the task ahead and none more respected than him and his team at Global Shield.”
Nicky nodded, appreciating Devin’s vote of confidence, though his recommendation wasn’t necessary. Her confidence in McLean had grown right along with her feelings for him. The truth was, she’d trust him with her life. Her shoulders jerked on an inward laugh. Hell, for all intents and purposes, she already was, or would be once they put their plan to draw Jonathan to the cabin in action.
Nicky indicated the papers in front of Grace with a bob of her chin. “Thank you for taking care of that.”
Grace nodded solemnly.
The chair legs scraped as Nicky rose to her feet. “I guess I’d better go talk to him.”
She didn’t have to go far. McLean stood just beyond the archway to a small enclosed garden. Hands on his hips, his broad shoulders bunched with tension, or fury, he stared into the darkness.
Chapter Sixteen
The door behind him opened and closed, and Rhy tensed. Gravel crunched beneath boots and marked movement. Nicky stopped at his side. He kept his eyes trained on the darkened hulk of a large barn in the distance, unsure of his reaction if he were forced to witness the acceptance of her possible death in her beautiful eyes again.
“I wasn’t questioning your ability to keep me safe.” She spoke quietly at his side. “But I don’t have the luxury of relying on positive thinking. I need to be sure Alex is okay, no matter what happens.”
Rhy turned his head to glare at her. “Is that what you think? That you hurt my feelings? Jesus, what an ego you must think I have.”
The confusion clouding her features as she stared up at him made him snort in disgust. “I know you trust me to help you bring Everson to justice. You wouldn’t still be here if you didn’t.” Frustrated rage poured from his body in waves. “You would’ve gone off on your own without anyone to help you, and those papers…” He pivoted and flung an arm out toward the kitchen door. “That last will and testament you gave your friends would be all Alex has left of you!”
Nicky flinched but kept her chin high. “Do you think it doesn’t gall me to have to consider the possibility Jonathan might be successful in his desire to destroy me? I’ve known for five years I’d have to face him sooner or later, and when I did, one of us would lose. For Alex’s sake, I’ve done what I could to make sure the confrontation came later rather than sooner. I’ve simply run out of time, but thanks to you, I’m no longer alone. With your help, there’s a chance I might actually survive, and those papers won’t be necessary.”
With his help? Christ. If not for him, she wouldn’t be in this mess. Not today anyway. Still, she had a point. A confrontation with Everson would have come eventually, and the thought of her facing him alone chilled Rhy to the bone. He clenched his teeth until they ached. “They shouldn’t be necessary at all.”
“No, they shouldn’t.” Nicky glanced away and sighed. “But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life is rarely fair.”
The calmness of her voice, as though they discussed some mundane occurrence of life instead of the possibility of her death, threatened to snap his control. He glared at her perfect profile illuminated in the soft light of the garden lamps. The top of her head barely came to his chin. She was so slight, so fragile-looking, yet a will of steel lay beneath the delicacy.
He wanted to shake her. Rage at her for the blind courage she carried so stubbornly on her slim shoulders. He wanted to tuck her away somewhere safe until he could rid the world of anyone and anything that might hurt her. He needed to tear something or someone apart. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option at the moment.
He couldn’t wreak havoc with his hands, but he could feed the hunger clawing at him with every breath. He could act on the red-hot need that had dogged him from the moment he’d held her that first night. Easing his fingers around the slender column of her neck, he slid his thumbs under her chin and lifted her face.
A flare of trepidation flashed in Nicky’s eyes as Rhy lowered his mouth to hers, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Somewhere along the road he’d lost his objectivity where it came to the General’s daughter and grandson, and in the process, he’d begun to feel again. To care again.
He was in big trouble, but he just didn’t give a damn. Not when her mouth softened beneath his and she whimpered.
Distress or acceptance? He wasn’t sure.
With a low growl, he tucked her into his shoulder and fed the hunger he’d been fighting since he’d first laid eyes on her. He sank into the warmth of her and let his anger and dread at the threat of Everson getting his hands on her pour into the kiss.
Knowing he was making a mistake was no match for the surge of pleasure that slammed into him and threatened to bring him to his knees. He tightened his arms, crushing her close. When Nicky slid her hand over his shoulder to grip the back of his head, all thought of mistakes and consequences disappeared. She pressed closer, and the gentle shudder of her body stroked him down to his soul.
Rhy’s senses clamored for more, and he deepened the kiss. Her mouth opened to accept his tongue. Taking full advantage, he pillaged the sweet, honeyed flavor of her. Every straining muscle in his body clenched painfully as her tongue twined about his, and she turned to fire in his arms.
Warning bells clanged in his head, but he couldn’t heed them. Not anymore. Yes, she was a client, but she was innocent of any wrongdoing. In an odd twist of fate, she’d brought the light of life back to his darkened soul, and he was through fighting what she made him feel.
Pleasure, compelling and overwhelming, drove him forward. Whatever issues remained between them, they didn’t matter. He needed her in a way he’d never needed anyone. Certainly not the coldhearted woman he’d foolishly married. The softly curved body pressed to his told him Nicky wanted, if not needed, him just as badly.
Rhy burrowed his hand beneath her sweater to ride over her hip to her rib cage and reveled at her shiver. His fingers rose unerringly to cup her breast, and he rasped the ball of his thumb over the tightly beaded nipple straining at the silky material of her bra. She jerked and arched into his wide palm.
The blood left his head in frantic race to his cock as he slid his free hand downward to cup her bottom. He flexed his fingers into the soft denim of her jeans and arched her against his thrusting hips.
As if the many problems and restrictions of their situation had been ripped away, he moved against her in blatant need. Like a healthy animal calling out to her in a primal, purely physical language, he ground his erection against her lower belly, and she readily answered his plea. Lifting on her tiptoes, she wriggled her hips, and a low moan rumbled in his chest at the sweet friction that wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
The universe contracted until only the woman and the surge of thrill racing through him existed. There was no garden, no chilly breeze, and no ranch. There was no ex-husband, no brother to avenge, no deception to explain. No last will and testament. There were only the soft curves and warmth of her sleek body, the heady taste of her mouth, and the slim arms clinging to him as if she would fuse their two separate forms into one molten being.
Distant male laughter pierced the absolute silence, and the universe snapped back into place with jarring intensity. Rhy snarled at the desperate sense of loss. Nicky shifted in his arms and broke the kiss. Like mysterious gems, her sparkling eyes burned like green fire as she met and held his gaze.
“Damn. I need to have you, Nicky, but…” His growled statement sounded rusty, thanks to the harshness of his breathing. He lifted his head and surveyed the darkness around them before his gaze returned to hers.
Dropping her forehead to rest against his chest, she slid her hands from his hair to his shoulders. Her fingers flexed on the heavy muscle beneath his sweater. A shaky sigh rattled in her throat. “I know.”
Regret swamped him as he withdrew his hand from her breast. His fingers brushed over the cool skin of her belly before h
e smoothed her sweater back into place. Chest swelling on a deep breath, he rested his chin on the top of her head. He loosened his hold but couldn’t bring himself to release her. Not yet.
“You know where this is leading,” he murmured quietly.
“Yes.”
“It will complicate things.” Especially once he’d told her the truth. Would she let him explain? And once he had, would she understand? Now was the time to tell her, but until her ex-husband was dealt with and Rhy could be assured she wouldn’t react to the truth by doing something stupid, like running off and facing Everson on her own, he couldn’t take the chance.
But damn it. He wanted nothing more than to take on those complications. The way she continued to cling to him said she would as well.
She dug her fingers into the material of his sweater and nodded her agreement.
Wrapped in the quiet chill of the night, neither broke the contact until a sudden gust of cold wind sent a shiver rippling over Nicky. Rhy cupped her chin in his palm and lifted her face to brush his lips over hers in a gentle kiss.
“You’re cold.” He released her and stepped back but slid his hand down her arm until he could wrap his fingers around hers. “And we have plans to make.”
If Nicky had any illusions that the pending complications they’d agreed upon in the garden would alter his plans, Rhy shattered them first thing the next morning. “Stubborn woman.” Beyond aggravated, Rhy dumped the remains of his coffee into the sink and turned on her. “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone in the cabin and watching from close by.”
She shot him a glare but stood firm. “Jonathan is more likely to show if he thinks he’ll face me alone.”
Irresistible Deceptions Page 14