Reaching up, she touched his chin lightly, turning his head so he looked at her. “I’m glad you did what you did. You saved my bacon from the very real fire it was being roasted over. Patrick deserved no mercy after all he’d done, very happily I should mention, or what he planned to do had you not arrived when you did. You got the job done and saved my ass in the process, that’s a huge win-win for me.”
He just grunted and brushed a kiss to her nose. Which tickled, yet felt absolutely perfect to her. Only Vincent could pull something like that off.
She needed to get this all back on track. Quickly. Before she made a fool of herself, or rather more of a fool beyond blubbering all over him. With that in mind she blinked her eyes a couple of times before focusing on him. “So, what does all this mean?”
“It means, Rhonda Delacour, I want everything with you. I want dates, kisses, lots of horizontal naked mambos, talks that last all hours, and the right to hold you whenever I have the need, or urge.”
Well, there went her resolve not to blubber. Bursting into tears she put her hand on his cheek as his eyes went wide in sheer, male, horror.
Chapter Ten
His brain slammed the door.
His nuts went up into hiding.
His entire body went tighter than any time he’d faced down a bomb.
Vincent didn’t do tears well, on anyone. On Rhonda, though, he felt… Shit, he didn’t know what he was feeling, except for terror. There was definitely a lot of terror.
He needed to get her to stop crying, now. Going with his gut instinct, he kissed her. Which very well may have been a huge mistake, given how fast his entire body ignited. Cupping her jaw gently, he tipped her head to a slightly better angle, supporting her the entire time. Vincent didn’t push for more, didn’t take the kiss any deeper. He wouldn’t hurt her.
When he was sure the tears had ended, or hoped they had anyway, he lifted his head. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted and damp. Smiling, he brushed his lips over hers lightly and drew back a little more. He waited as her eyelids fluttered a moment before lifting.
“No more crying, Ro.”
Her lips slowly curled, and a mischievous look came into her eyes. “If it gets you to kiss me, I’ll fucking let the tears loose anytime I can.”
What the— Narrowing his eyes, he stared at her a long time. He was trying, rather desperately, to figure out if she was yanking his chain or not.
Eventually, she rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “You’re going to burn your pretty little brain out thinking that hard, Vincent. I’m just messing with you, mostly. I was serious about more kisses though. Whenever you feel like dropping one on me, go for it.”
Well that was okay by him. Smiling slowly, he pressed a kiss to her lips gently. “So that’s a yes then?”
“To the dating and such?”
He gave a nod, watching her carefully as she seemed to weigh the options. She didn’t say anything for a long time. Long enough that he got antsy.
“I think I can get on board with dating you, Vincent Bradley. You’re a damn fine catch after all. Are you sure that you really want to get mixed up with me though? After all, I have a mobster for all intents and purposes on my ass, who really wants me dead.”
“Ro, he’s not going to always be after you,” he said softly. Stroking his thumb along her cheek, Vincent rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “We’re going to figure a way out of the mess, get you your life back to normal, and then you and I are going on a real date.”
“What sort of date?”
“One where you actually have to dress up,” he told her.
Her laugh widened his eyes. His head lifted to watch as she shook her head. “You do realize that means you need to dress up as well, right?”
“I think I can manage it. I do own more than just jeans and tee’s you know.”
“I do know. I’ve seen you all gussied up.”
“Tamara’s photography showing,” he murmured. “I remember you being all gussied up too. Nearly swallowed my fucking tongue when I realized who it was I was lusting after.”
“Do tell,” she said with a hint of purr to it.
“Uh, no,” he said. “I’ve already admitted more than I’m comfortable with currently.”
“What if I told you I was lusting after you as well, hated myself for it, but it’s the truth nonetheless.”
Okay, that did surprise him. “Do tell,” he countered.
Sighing, Rhonda scrunched up her nose.
Damn, that was cute as all get out.
“I spotted you at the showing, stalked you for a while because I couldn’t see your face. I needed to know who it was that had my body humming. You bent over to rescue a woman’s shawl and fuck me, I nearly orgasmed right there. Then you turned. I practically dove behind the nearest potted plant in horror.”
“Gee, thanks,” he said sarcastically.
“Come on, Vincent. It wasn’t like we even liked one another then. I was in a panic, trying to figure out why I wanted to strip you naked and lick you up when I could barely stand being in the same room with you. It made me take a long, hard look at myself and re-evaluate more than a few things in my life. Like the fact I can be one hell of a raving bitch.”
“Ro...” he said. It was an automatic protest. He couldn’t have stopped it if he’d tried.
“It’s the truth and we both know it. I’m not going to make excuses, but I think part of it’s the fact that I work in a male-dominated field. The need to prove myself to be better, harder, more of a dick than any of them is why I do it. Unfortunately, it bleeds into my private life, and you’ve been on the receiving end more than once. I’m sorry for that.”
“Ro...” he protested again.
“No, I mean that sincerely, Vincent. I was fighting the urge to tear your clothes off, and I was a bitch to you. Why you kept coming around, poking at me, I’ll never understand.”
“Because I was fighting the same urges with you. All I wanted to do was throw you over my shoulder, starting at that art showing of Tamara’s, and then every other time you opened your mouth. I had a lot of scorching fantasies involving your mouth. All of which ended with me in an icy shower.”
“Really?” she whispered. Doubt, uncertainty, and something more danced in her eyes.
“Really. Ro, I’ve been fighting this thing as much as you have. I’m also a guy, so we tend to revert to our cavemen tendencies in such situations. Which meant facing you down every chance I got until I wore you down.”
“Which you did,” she said. A smile was teasing her lips now, but doubt still lingered in her eyes.
“Which I did. You let me in, Ro. Not far, but enough to let me see the real you. I didn’t want to scare you off so I never pushed. I figured, maybe in time, you’d let me in further. And you have,” he whispered. Brushing a slow kiss to her lips, he sucked on her full bottom one for a moment, then lifted his head.
Licking his lips, he slid his hand down to rest over her pulse point. “Let me call Shawn. I need to know what he’s got on his end before we make the call to move. It’ll take us a bit of time to get back to the city, but he has to be at least mostly ready for us.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay. Tell him I’m getting antsy, will you? Maybe that will motivate him a bit to get his ass in gear.”
“I seriously doubt he needs motivation, Ro. He wants this done with just as much as we do.”
“Well, make sure he knows anyway.”
“Yes ma’am.” Getting up off the sofa, he went to the kitchen for the call. While he wouldn’t keep anything from Rhonda, Vincent also knew better than to give her too much information at once. No need to get her wheels spinning madly for no reason. He’d tell her what he found out. No real choice there. Woman would kick his ass if he didn’t. Didn’t mean he couldn’t tone it down a little, right?
Chapter Eleven
Rhonda hated waiting, for anything. All she could do in that moment was twiddle her thumbs, metaphoric
ally speaking of course. Damn cast didn’t exactly give her a lot of options. It made a great paperweight, but not much else. Sighing, she stared down at the hunk of plaster and tried to remember how much longer she’d have it on for. Another week? Two at the most unless she was off on her calculations. She could hear the low rumble of Vincent’s voice. She even knew why he’d decided to make the call to Shawn in the kitchen.
Not that she’d let him get away without telling her every, last, single detail. He might think she didn’t know his reasoning behind keeping the call private. Poor man, so deluded in thinking she didn’t know what he was up to. Always trying to protect her, like she was some sort of shrinking violet that would crumple at a bit of pressure or stress. Didn’t really matter, she’d get everything Vincent, and his buddy, Shawn, talked about, out of him in time. Even their plans to keep her cosseted away, and off of Moreau’s radar.
Shaking her head, she sipped her sweet tea. Men.
He was gone for maybe ten minutes. She couldn’t read his expression when he returned, which usually meant something wasn’t right in his world.
“Shawn’s got three safe houses lined up for us.”
The relief was instantaneous. “When are we going back?”
“We’ll leave tonight,” he said.
He was leaving something out. She could feel it. She didn’t press though, for the moment. “We’d better get some sleep then, or you should at least. I need to call my captain and have him pull the files. Will Shawn be going to get them?”
“No, he’s going to send Trent to pick everything up. Your boss will need to call Shawn when everything is ready.”
Taking his cell from him, Rhonda dialed her captain’s number. Resting her forehead against Vincent’s jaw, she listened to the phone ring. When her captain picked up, she identified herself and explained what she needed, gave him Shawn’s information and got off the line as quick as she could manage after getting his word he’d see to it.
“He’ll gather them once everyone’s out on the streets for the night. He thinks he should have it all together by the morning,” she told Vincent as she handed his phone back over.
“Good.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her closer. “Let’s go and have a nap. I need some sleep, and you definitely do.”
She couldn’t argue that. Nodding, she moved off the sofa and to the bedroom. She let him help her into the bed before shucking her sweats. Rhonda had one of his shirts on, had been using only his shirts to sleep in since she’d gotten mobile, so it was more than long enough to act as a sleeping garment.
Settling onto her side, her casted hand resting on a spare pillow, she smiled as he eased in behind her. When his arms slid around her, cradling her close, Rhonda let out a small, happy sigh. Now this, this she could get used to. His body heated her entire backside, wrapping her up in a warm cocoon, and quickly proving just how tired she really was, she drifted off.
****
Dark had fallen before Vincent got them on the road. They’d slept a solid six hours. Obviously they’d both needed it. He was tense though, likely would be until the situation was resolved. Not that she blamed him. She wasn’t exactly feeling ready to go running through the streets doing cartwheels.
An oldies station provided background noise, just enough to muffle the sound of the tires on the asphalt, but not so much as to prevent conversation. Neither of them talked, though. She didn’t know why he wasn’t, but she honestly didn’t know what to say.
Not the first time she’d been stumped for a topic to break the ice. But this was different. Their relationship dynamics had changed. Something she was grateful for, yet it left her feeling mildly awkward around him.
Rhonda did not like that feeling. It was Vincent for Christ’s sake. They’d hated each other while lusting after the other person, apparently. Then they’d become friends, and now... Shit. Now they were going to be more. So much more.
She truly couldn’t wait for that next step. Yet, at the same time, she was extremely nervous about taking the leap. What if it didn’t work? What if it destroyed them? What if, what if, good God—what if?
“I can hear the hamster having a meltdown over there,” Vincent’s voice broke into her turbulent thoughts.
Snorting out a laugh, Rhonda rolled her head on the seat back to look at him. “I’m just having a mini-freak out, nothing to worry about really. I tend to have them on a semi-regular basis around you.”
He shot her a quick look, his brows drawn down in a frown. “That sounds like something to worry about, Ro. What has you freaking out?”
“God, where to begin?” she muttered.
“Uh, how about with what started the freak out?”
“Right, that.” Shit, should she tell him? She had to. He likely had similar thoughts, right? Maybe. God, she didn’t know. Heaving a sigh, she studied his profile in the low light from the console. He really was the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on. She’d always been able to admit that, to herself anyway, even back in the days he’d been nothing more than a pest getting under her skin.
“Come on, Ro. We talk all the time, this shouldn’t be an issue for you. Just talk to me, sweetheart.”
Right, she could talk to him. He was correct, they’d talked all the time, discussing everything under the sun and often getting into arguments. Nothing overly heated, just good-natured ribbing and harassment.
“I’m worried,” she said softly.
“What about?”
“Fucking everything up between us.”
“You do know that it takes two people to be in a relationship right? Which means that it takes two people to fuck it up. One can definitely try their damnedest, but as long as the other person isn’t willing to give in, they can work anything out. We’re going to have bumps along the way. I’m not delusional enough to say we won’t. But you and I can work through it, together.”
“I screwed up my one and only relationship.” Damn, it sucked to have to admit that, but she was trying to be honest with him.
“How?” he asked. He shot her another look, this one questioning in nature. “How did you screw it up, Ro?”
“I pushed too much,” she muttered.
“Explain that.”
At the sharpness of his tone, she bit back the sarcastic remark about not being one of his Marine buddies. Taking a deep breath, Rhonda pushed her annoyance away. “In the beginning it was good, we were young, in love, enjoying life. At least, I was. Hell if I know what the fuck he was doing. We were living together, with one other roommate. It was college, so the more people we had living there, the cheaper the rent, the more money we had for other things.”
Vincent gave a nod when she paused, but didn’t say anything. She was grateful, she really didn’t like talking about that time in her life. Tamara knew of course, but no other.
“John and I studied hard, partied harder, and had a huge circle of friends. It was great. The last year of college our roommate moved out. His time in college was done so off he went out into the big, bad world. Ended up working for an investment banker. Doing really well for himself the last I heard, married with three kids and a huge house. Everything he’d ever dreamed of. Anyway, it was just me and John living together after that. At first it was perfect, more time to ourselves, no worries about being interrupted, able to do what we wanted, when we wanted, all without concern about pissing off our roomie.”
“That changed though, didn’t it?” Vincent asked softly.
“Halfway through the first semester that year. I didn’t even know what it was at first, it was so fucking subtle. I wasn’t attending nearly as many parties. It was my final year so I had harder classes, more to learn and study. One night I came home from my job to find a party going. It irritated me a little that he’d planned this without at least giving me a heads up. John explained it all away. That it had just cropped up, it was a celebration for one of our school-mates who’d gotten an offer from some big corporation. The school-mate in question
only had that semester to finish before he’d be on the job market and to get an offer while still in school was huge and worth celebrating. I said nothing about the party, but told everyone to give me a few minutes to clean up.”
Vincent shifted slightly, his hands clutched at the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
“We only had one rule in our apartment, the bedroom was off limits to anyone. We have a spare room then, since our roommate was gone, so we’d lifted the ban on that room. Our room still was banned from everyone. Period.”
“Someone was in there,” he guessed.
“Uh, yeah.” Rhonda let out a choked laugh and groaned. “Now it’s kind of funny, but at the time I was pissed off and it marked the end of our relationship. Not officially, but it was the straw that apparently broke my camel’s back. In our bed was a fucking orgy. I don’t even remember how many bodies were there, but they were all naked, and all having sex. I went ballistic. Anyway, long story short, I blew up at John and from there out according to him, I was overly critical of everything he did. He broke up with me and tried to toss me out of the apartment. Only hiccup was, it was in my name so the landlord gladly threw his ass out for me, along with his stuff that may or may not have been in boxes at the time. The landlord even changed the locks on my door for free. Said he felt bad for me.”
“Fuck that,” Vincent growled. “The douchebag was looking for an excuse to either get you under his thumb or have you break it off with him. The ex, I mean, not the landlord.”
Rhonda rolled her eyes at that as he continued.
“The fact he had to break it off shows he was desperate to get out, that you weren’t working fast enough for whatever his time table was. It was the last year, Ro. He likely figured he had to get all his sowing done then. If you were being critical, sweetheart, it was with good reason. So don’t go there. Besides, we’re adults, not a couple of teenagers on the cusp of adulthood. If you have a fucking issue with me, I expect you to just step up and say so.”
Dangerous Lines Page 6