Chelsea, for her part, seemed determined to prove she didn’t need to breathe.
Finally, she took a step back and turned to Jesse. “How about you?”
Simon stepped into her line of sight. “No.”
“What do you mean no? He can’t speak for himself?”
“Not if he wants to live he won’t.”
Jesse wisely kept his mouth shut.
“So if I don’t do what you want, I don’t get a Dom?” Chelsea’s hands went to her hips.
Simon shook his head. “You don’t get him no matter what you do, love. He’s in training. If you want to get what you need, you’ll negotiate. I’m willing to give up one of my usual demands.”
“And I was willing to allow you to tie me down,” she shot back. “You have no idea how hard that would be for me.”
“Then I’ll make it easy on you. All you have to do is take off what little clothes you’re wearing and I’ll take care of you. No bindings. Everything else your way.”
Chelsea simply turned and started to walk away. Simon watched as she left.
“Damn it.” Charlie leaned back into him again. “Now she’ll be in pain. She has a couple of scars. Who around here doesn’t? I don’t get what problem she has with being naked.”
“Because you’re a dreadful exhibitionist.” Charlie didn’t mind walking around in her own gorgeous skin. It was one of the things that attracted him. “She’s more normal, you know.”
He looked behind him and Alex was taking Eve off the cross, his hands moving gently across her body, their deep connection a palpable thing. Because they loved and trusted each other. Because they were in this life together until the end.
He could stroke Charlie’s hair all he liked. He could sit here and play with her, but he would always be waiting for her to walk away again. He didn’t like the hollow feeling it left in his gut, but there was a part of Ian that had begun pushing him to take everything from this time they had. Once the shit with Nelson shook down, he would have to let her go. But for now he could take her. He could revel in her.
“I’ll ask Ryan to take care of Chelsea. He’s married. He won’t have any interest in seeing her naked.” Ian wasn’t sure why he was doing this. Typically, he would allow the sub to flounder until she properly asked for what she wanted. It was part of the process. But Charlie would be worried about her sister, and he needed her calm and collected for what he was about to do. Brighton would be watching. Despite the fact that Derek thought they were a new couple, he also had to know damn well that Ian wouldn’t scene publically with someone he didn’t trust.
Well, until tonight.
Derek walked up and sat back down, his face a mask of frustration. “I just got a call from one of my men. They found a dead body at the hotel across from your office. Seventh floor.”
That happened faster than he would have liked. “That’s terrible. You can’t even trust five-star hotels anymore.”
“Cut the shit, Ian. I know I’m not telling you anything new. The seventh floor sounds just about perfect for taking a shot at you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m keeping quiet for now. Give me something.”
He hated sharing. Sharing was for idiots, but right now sharing information would keep the woman on his lap from a likely waterboarding. Though she did look good wet…
Charlie wiggled in his lap, reminding him which part of his anatomy was actually in charge.
“We think the guy is Russian,” Ian offered. Sometimes offering up a little unimportant information could satisfy the authorities. “A man named Zhukov. He’s a known assassin. He’s professional, so you shouldn’t expect an unnecessary body count. The man in the hotel was unfortunate. He needed that specific room. I’ll try to stay off the street so he doesn’t do it again. I can send you a dossier on the fucker, if you like.”
“Why is he after you?” Brighton asked.
At least there was an easy answer for that. The key was not to outright lie. “I assume he’s being paid.”
Charlie let her head rest against his shoulder, but he could feel how tense she was. She understood the stakes, and he had no doubt that she would keep her mouth shut in this instance. She had a knack for self-preservation.
“By the man from the Fort Worth operation?” Brighton asked. “The rogue agent you’ve been pursuing?”
It was always better to let a person make their own assumptions. They tended to believe themselves, to feel smart for their deductions. “His name is Eli Nelson. He’s pissed at me for more than one reason. I cost him a very lucrative business deal a few months back. He knows damn well I won’t stop until I’ve crushed him.”
Not a lie in there. Just not the entire truth.
Brighton sat back, running a hand through his closely cropped hair. “I hate the spy shit. Give me a good clean murder any day of the week.”
“The good news is you totally have a murder on your hands now. You’re welcome.”
Dark brown eyes rolled. “I can’t solve that one, asshole. It’s going to be on my docket, and it’ll go unsolved.”
An unsolved case on his docket would hurt him. “Look, when I get this figured out, I’ll help you, okay? We can connect some dots and make sure this guy’s family knows why he was killed.”
Brighton’s eyes narrowed. “Or I can take you into protective custody. It would be the right thing to do. I can’t just let this guy run around. He’s killed once. He could do it again.”
“You could try. We’ll see if you have a safe house that can handle me.” Ian was well aware that his voice had gone positively frigid. “You know what will happen if you do that. This guy will disappear and he’ll resurface when I least expect it. Right now I know who’s coming after me. All you would do is waste months of my life, and I would lose the chance to make sure I’m right about who wants me dead.”
Brighton let his head fall back. “I should call the fucking Feds in. Hell, I should call in the Agency. They should be dealing with this shit.”
He couldn’t let that happen. The minute the Agency got involved, he would lose control of Charlie, and there were some places even he wasn’t sure he could get into. “I’m calling in that chip you owe me, Derek. For Kandahar.”