by Diana Gardin
Instead of answering, I wrap my hands and start warming up on a speed bag. But as my body becomes coated with sweat and my heart rate increases, the same gorgeous face keeps running through my head.
Sayward Diaz is under my skin, and I have no idea what it’s gonna take to get her out.
As the workday winds down, my head is swimming. Not because I’m overwhelmed with the work. No, this shit is coming as naturally to me as breathing. Even though I thought I’d lost my heart for it, keeping people safe is what used to drive me to wake up every single morning. When I lost that, I lost a part of myself.
After today, I feel like I have at least part of that back.
I lean back at my new desk, in a large open room where all the security specialists at NES have workspaces, one thumb drawing across my stubbled jaw as I stare down at the plan Grisham and Jacob have sketched out. We’ll basically be functioning as Sayward’s bodyguards for the two days we’re in Colombia.
“How much danger do you think she’s really in? If the man who originally threatened her is dead?” I throw the question out to Ronin and Teague, who are leaning over the plans with me.
Ronin’s eyes narrow. “Not sure. You never know with these crime families. It seems that one vendetta can be passed down from generation to generation. Especially if the son has a suspicion.”
I know he’s thinking of the recent past, when his fiancée was taken by an organized crime family here in Wilmington. “Yeah. No one there has known where she is since she left Colombia? Jacob has managed to keep her hidden all this time?”
Teague nods. “Yeah. He and his wife weren’t doing well at the time, and they ended up divorcing, but I think another reason he placed her with another family was because he didn’t want anyone to connect them in case Pablo ever found out who really killed Suarez. Jacob was just keeping her as safe as he possibly could.”
Leaning back in my chair, I commit the plan to my memory. “Tomorrow we’ll talk about what we’re bringing with us?”
Knowing that we have only a week to prepare, I want to be as ready as possible. This will be my first mission with NES, and the desire to prove myself gets stronger with every hour I’m here.
When I was first offered this position, I thought it might bring me back to the dark place I worked so hard to crawl out of when I ended my military career. I didn’t think I’d want this.
But I can’t deny the fact that I do.
We all walk toward the lobby, and the rest of the team is standing just outside Jacob’s office. As we walk past another open door, I glance in and notice Sayward leaning back in her chair behind her desk, her gaze aimed out the windows. Being that the NES building is directly across the street from the ocean, I can imagine the view is something to look at. But something tells me her mind isn’t on the pretty sight in front of her.
My steps falter, and I end up pausing right in front of her office door. Something in my chest twinges, and I inhale as thoughts swirl through my head.
I’m guessing she hasn’t seen her dad in years, but when you lose a member of your family, that shit hurts. No matter how much distance has been put between you.
“You doing okay, beautiful?” Maybe I’m supposed to be thinking about her as one of the team instead of paying attention to the fact that she’s a goddamn knockout.
But I find that really fucking hard to do.
Her hazel eyes, so damn clear and full of all the things she doesn’t say, turn on me. “I’m fine.”
Jacob appears at my side in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. “Quittin’ time, Sayward. I’ve assigned Lawson Snyder as your security detail for the next few days while we’re still in town.” He sidesteps me into her office, and for some reason I follow, standing just inside the door.
Sayward scowls, and stands up from her desk. Her hands go to her hips, and there’s a sassy flare to her stance that makes a small grin tug on my mouth. “I don’t need a detail. Plus, Marcos is staying at my place.”
Marcos? Who the fuck is Marcos? Then I remember that Jacob mentioned the fact that her brother showed up here last night to tell her about her father.
Jacob stands firm, his expression unwavering as he squares off with Sayward. I’m learning pretty quickly that they have a father-daughter type of relationship. He speaks slowly, enunciating each word. “Your brother isn’t trained to keep you safe. Lawson Snyder is.”
Her eye roll makes Jacob set his jaw, and my gaze ping-pongs back and forth between the two of them.
Then some dude I haven’t met yet pushes past me. There’s no uniform at NES, but all the guys who work here dress casually, in clothes they’re comfortable in. This guy is no different, except he wears his T-shirts too fucking tight. The black fabric stretches over biceps that he must spend six hours a day working on.
His head is shaved like he’s still military, and his light brown skin is only a shade darker than Sayward’s. His voice is a deep murmur as he walks up to Jacob and stands too close to Sayward.
“Ready to escort her home, Boss Man.” He glances down at Sayward. “You ready to go?”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I’m striding forward before she can get a word out. “I’ll be her security detail.”
Sayward turns her big eyes on me, wide with surprise, while Jacob faces me directly. Lawson looks me up and down, and if he isn’t careful I’m going to end up showing him exactly what he can do with his cocky-ass attitude.
Jacob’s tone is half-suspicious, half-amused. “I already gave out this assignment, Blacke. You aren’t needed here.”
The hell you say.
I aim for a respectful tone of voice. “Sir, with all due respect, I’d really like this assignment. It’ll give me the chance to prove myself until we leave for Colombia. And I…personally…want to see to it that Sayward is safe.”
I don’t even know where the words come from. I only know they’re true.
Sayward’s bottom lip disappears between her teeth at the same time her expressive eyes narrow, and if it’s even possible, Lawson sticks his broad chest out even farther than it was before.
The sight makes me want to grin, but I keep my face blank.
Jacob scrutinizes me while he thinks it over. Sayward taps her sneakered foot.
“Is anyone listening to me?” she snaps. “I. Don’t. Want. Security.”
Ignoring her, Jacob makes a decision. He gestures to Lawson. “Sleuth, you can return to your team. You have your hands full right now anyway. We’ll keep Sayward with Blacke.”
An irritated expression ghosts across Lawson’s face when he glances at me, but he nods at Jacob and leaves Sayward’s office.
She groans in frustration and walks to her desk. Shutting down her laptop, she stuffs it into her backpack and brushes past me.
“Coming?” she grinds out through gritted teeth.
Jacob’s lips twist in what I can only assume is his best imitation of a smile. Damn, the dude is gruff as fuck.
“Good luck.” He keeps his voice low. “She better be in one piece tomorrow morning.”
He pats me way too hard on my chest, but I don’t flinch. Instead, I turn and follow Sayward out the front door of NES.
She walks straight to my big, red truck. I unlock it before she pulls the door handle, and she climbs up. Her stiff, robot-like movements indicate she’s still pissed, so I let her do it all by herself and climb into the driver’s seat.
I pause with the keys halfway to the ignition. “Where’s your car?”
She keeps her gaze aimed out the windshield. “My brother has it. I let him drop me off this morning so he wouldn’t be stuck at my condo all day.”
I start the big engine.
“How’d you know which car was mine?” I ease out of the NES lot and head down the road.
Sayward glances at me. “I’m a hacker, Bennett. I know everything about you.”
Her tone is blunt and unashamed, and I swallow hard.
“Don’t know how I feel about th
at,” I admit.
She shrugs. “Don’t really care. It was my job to research you before you were hired.”
“You take your job pretty seriously, don’t you?” I keep my eyes on the road, but I’m very aware of the woman sitting next to me.
“It’s all I have.”
Her tone is so low, so full of truth, that I study her profile out of the corner of my eye while I drive. “I can relate.”
I can feel her eyes on me. “Yeah, I guess you can.”
Silence stretches out between us, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s actually kind of nice. I’ve been around people who can’t shut the fuck up, so Sayward is a change of pace that I can really appreciate.
When I make a left turn, Sayward turns to face me. “Where are we going? You should have made a right to get to my apartment.”
I keep my gaze glued to the road, my voice easy. “Gotta stop by my bar first. I just want to check in with Kandie, make sure everything’s running smooth.”
After a beat, Sayward speaks up again. This time, her tone is curious. “Your bar?”
My hands tighten just slightly on the wheel. “It is now.”
She doesn’t say anything else, and I’m grateful for that. The last thing I want to do right now is talk about the fact that I’ve now lost the only other person in the world who gave a shit about me.
No matter what Mickey said, I know he left so he could die in peace. Without anyone hovering over him. Without anyone having to watch him weaken and wither away. It’s the kind of man he is.
But damn if it doesn’t hurt like hell.
When I pull up in front of The Oakes, Sayward and I exit the truck and walk in through the front doors. The place is steady, but not packed, on this weekday night. I glance around as we walk toward the bar, and everything looks like it’s in order.
“Head above water, Cotton Kandie?” I ask her with a playful wink.
She leans over the bar, her black corset top accentuating her curvaceous figure. “Do I know you?”
I lift a brow. “Yeah…I’m your boss? That’s something you shouldn’t forget.”
Beside me, Sayward snorts. Kandie glances at her, and a wide grin almost splits her face.
“Oh, you brought the pretty one back. Should we do another lip-lock, honey?”
When I look at Sayward, eyebrows flying up in shock, she’s actually blushing. The sight throws me so off balance, I just stare at her with a stupid grin on my face. “What the hell am I missing here?”
She shakes her head, her thick waves swishing around her shoulders.
“Oh, you wish you knew.” Kandie grins and turns her back on us, getting a drink ready for a customer.
I turn to Sayward and tug on a strand of her hair. I just needed to touch some part of her, and something tells me her hair is the safest part of her to touch right now. “You got secrets, beautiful?”
She rolls her eyes, which I’m starting to figure out is her go-to reaction when she’s irritated or embarrassed. “If you only knew.”
Yeah…if only.
She looks up at me then, and I’m caught in those deep, deep eyes of hers. Her face is so innocent, yet there’s a wisdom there. I’m guessing it comes from everything she’s been through in her life. But as I take a step closer to her, drawn like a goddamn magnet, I’m also wondering how deep the innocence goes. She tips her head up to look at me, refusing to back down from our mutual stare, and the electricity growing between us, and my cock stirs to life wondering the same thing.
I have no idea what the fuck this is between Sayward and me. All I know is that it’s been happening, slowly, since the first time I saw her. And the more time I spend with her, the more I want to know. The closer I want to get.
And for a man like me, that’s dangerous.
8
Sayward
When Bennett speaks, it’s like I’m broken from the spell of those damn eyes of his. They’re all light and jovial, but when I look into them—really look—I can see the depths of darkness he’s trying to hide embedded in the silver flecks in his irises.
Or maybe he’s not trying to hide it. Maybe he’s just buried it down so deep he doesn’t dare pull it out and examine himself anymore. What happened two years ago…what made him unleash on the guy who ended up in the hospital? I know that anyone capable of losing it like that has scars so deep they’ll never heal.
I’ve never been violent, but I have bone-deep scarring of my own.
Is this what makes me feel so drawn to him?
Bennett inclines his head toward the back hallway. “I need to stop in the office and check on a few things. Then I’ll take you home.”
Without a word I follow him down the hallway. My eyes are glued to his tall, broad form. Muscles ripple and slide under his T-shirt as he moves and there’s a grace to his stride that most men don’t have. It’s like all his pent-up aggression is poured into efficient movements; nothing is wasted. When he enters his office, he drops down in the chair behind the desk. He moves the mouse around, studying something on the computer.
“Do you need help with that?”
The question pops out before I can stop it. I see someone sitting in front of a computer and I automatically want to be sitting where they are. It’s where I’m most comfortable.
But Bennett just chuckles, his clear blue eyes glancing up at me with amusement before he shakes his head. “No hacking needed here, superstar. Just boring bookkeeping and accounting.”
So while I wait for him, I walk around the office. The walls aren’t bare; they’re littered with maps and photos from places far away. I’ve only traveled to two countries, Colombia and the United States, so the exotic locations in the photos draw me in, keeping me transfixed. There’s a weathered map of the high terrain in Switzerland, and a photo of palm trees leaning toward one another in a photo labeled Abu Dhabi.
I’m not sure how much time passes while I’m completely engrossed, but I feel him behind me before he speaks.
This magnetism between us, or whatever it is, is unlike anything I’ve ever felt.
I’ve never been with a man. In my teenage years, I was way too awkward and socially inept to have dated. I didn’t go to college, so I didn’t have the opportunities for casual flings the way most women did.
But, in the span of time that I left the home of my guardians when I was eighteen and before I started working at NES about a year ago at twenty-three, I did freelance work—mostly hacking—for several small companies in North Carolina. Many of them were shady as hell and would pay me under the table. But I had access to computers, and my hacking skills became second-to-none. There was one man I worked for, who in order to turn a blind eye to what I was doing behind my screen, only asked for one favor in return.
It was something that was done in his office behind closed doors, and I became really, really good at it.
Sucking a man’s cock is like anything else. With research, you can become a pro. And he didn’t touch me, being that I made it a stipulation of the arrangement, so I was able to get the job done and get the hell out and back to my computer.
When I feel Bennett behind me, though, a rush of thoughts and emotions and feelings wash over me and I can’t pick one to focus on. My body flushes, my nipples tighten, my thighs clench together while wetness pools in my panties. My brain floats to a place where my lips are wrapped around Bennett’s cock instead of my old boss’s, and my body reacts.
Shit…is this what real attraction feels like?
Whatever it is, it makes me more uncomfortable in my own skin than I’ve ever been. And at the same time, I don’t want it to stop.
His voice is nothing but a murmur, too close to my ear. I tense as my skin heats to a dangerous temperature.
“Those were all taken or gathered by Mickey, the man who used to own The Oakes. He was in the army most of his life, and he collected a lot of things on his travels around the world. Then when I started working here, I added a couple of my own. I think that when I
travel with NES, I’ll keep the tradition up. I’ll bring back photos or maps just like he did.”
He’s not touching me, but I can feel the warmth of his skin, can practically hear his heart beating in that broad, solid chest of his. I close my eyes, trying desperately to grab my walls, build them up high enough that he won’t be able to get past them.
That’s what I do. I protect myself.
But I can’t seem to manage it when it comes to Bennett Blacke.
And that’s when it hits me.
There’s only one way to fix this situation.
I turn around, and he’s right there. But instead of backing up into the wall, I reach beside me and close the office door. Then I place both hands on his chest and push until he’s backed up against his desk.
His eyes go wide, but then quiet amusement makes his face light up. “What’s going on, beautiful?”
Beautiful. Every time he uses the nickname for me, I want to believe it.
“What’s going on,” I snap as my hands drop to his belt. “Is that I’m sick and tired of this tension that’s pulling between us. We need to eliminate it, and there’s only one way I know of to do that.”
Bennett’s expression loses all trace of humor. “Sayward—”
“Shut up.” I finish with his belt and the button on his jeans and yank down the zipper. Tugging his pants down over his narrow hips, I drop to my knees in front of him.
Now that I’m not looking up into his eyes, now that I’ve taken control, I no longer feel like I’m at his mercy. This, I can do.
It’s clear by the large bulge of the erection tenting his tight gray cotton boxers that he wants this. A surge of power hits me like a bolt of lightning, and my lips curve into a half-smile.
Pushing his boxers down so I can take a firm grip on his erection, I hear him hiss through his teeth.
God. He’s…huge. Bigger and thicker than the man I used to do this for. I’m not prepared for the size of him, but I should have realized that not all men are made the same. Fascinated, I lose myself a little bit as my small hand strokes his long, steely length. He’s as smooth as silk, but harder than stone.