He walked in and laid her down, pulling the covers back. He didn’t pull them up right away. She was naked and vulnerable and perfectly happy to be so. He’d gotten her there.
So why was he so fucking restless?
Her pretty blue eyes opened, and she looked up at him. “Hi.”
The need to run was riding him hard. He was torn between the need to fuck her again and the need to get as far away as possible.
But he had a job to do. He gave her what he hoped was a gentle smile. “Hey, baby.”
He climbed in beside her. She rolled right over and cuddled up next to him, her hand on his chest. She was plastered against him, her hair tickling his skin. She was everywhere. He could feel her skin, hear the breath from her chest, smell the sex that still coated her pussy. His cock twitched even as she started to fall asleep.
He hadn’t slept next to anyone in years. He didn’t cuddle and have breakfast the next morning. He didn’t do the boyfriend thing.
He couldn’t go to sleep. Fuck. Half the time he woke up screaming. How the hell was he going to explain that? Was she going to buy that he had construction nightmares?
She sighed a little and turned in her sleep, freeing him. He’d thought he would fuck her all night, but this was too much to handle.
He rolled out of bed and got out of her bedroom as quietly as he could. He couldn’t breathe in there. She was too close. The sex hadn’t felt like a fucking op. He’d forgotten why he was there, his whole being focused in on her body and her pleasure.
She’d been so sweet. She’d fought him, but when she’d decided to submit, she’d done it beautifully. He was pretty sure he’d die one day with the taste of her on his lips, the feel of that tight cunt gripping his cock. She’d been so tight, tighter than he’d ever had before, and once she’d given over, she’d been hotter than hell, her breasts bouncing as she rode his cock.
Liam took a deep breath. The sex hadn’t been the problem. The sex had been the best he’d ever had. He wasn’t going to lie about that. The sex had been amazing, and he wouldn’t wait long to have her again. He would be inside her tomorrow, but not until he’d gotten control of himself. That was the problem. When he’d been inside Avery Charles, all he’d cared about was her. There hadn’t been a mission. Thomas Molina hadn’t mattered. Eli Nelson hadn’t mattered. All that had mattered was getting inside her as far as he could go.
Avery Charles didn’t even know his real name. She’d never heard his real voice except those few moments when he’d forgotten and he’d just wanted to be himself.
Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he found his jeans and stepped in. His phone. He needed his bloody phone. He could hear the thing buzzing. A text was on the screen. Adam’s code number. He didn’t have names on his phone, just code numbers to let him know one of the team was trying to get him.
Open the door if she’s secure. Need to talk.
Liam moved carefully after grabbing her keys off the dining room table. He picked up his shirt and shoved his feet into his boots. He needed a good excuse if she got up. He could go grab something from the store down the street. He checked in on her bedroom. Moonlight filtered in. The sheet had slid off her slightly, exposing one breast. Her nipple was pink tipped and erect. She turned as though looking for him, but she settled back down.
If she was his sub, he would make sure she never wore clothes when they were alone. She was worried about some scars? He didn’t give a shit. They were just a map of her survival. She was so gorgeous that she needed the scars or she would be too perfect.
He stared for a minute. Why hadn’t he seen her beauty from that first moment? Oh, she’d been pretty, but without her clothes she was stunning.
The phone in his hand vibrated again, an impatient thing.
He closed the door to her bedroom and made his way to the outer door, sticking close to the wall so the wood didn’t make a sound under his feet. He unlocked the door, and there was Adam leaning against the opposite wall just standing there waiting for him. He put his fist up.
Silent. He wanted Liam to remain silent. What the hell was going on?
Adam opened the door to the apartment he and Jake were sharing and motioned him to come over. Liam didn’t want to leave her. Not if something was going down, but he needed to know. And he needed to make a copy of her keys anyway. He locked the door behind him and followed Adam inside.
Jake looked up from the computer on the table. “Dude, shirt?”
“If you wanted me to get dressed, you should have said so. I got out of bed to answer this little call of yours.” He tried to play it cool. He pulled the T-shirt over his head.
“That didn’t take long,” Adam said. “Is she asleep?”
“Yes. She’s secure.” She was the type who slept at night because her conscience didn’t keep her awake. She was the type who deserved a man who didn’t run away after he was done fucking her.
“Is she all right?” Adam asked. He held up a hand to stop Liam’s immediate reaction. “I only ask because I’ve spent some time with her. She’s very sweet and really naïve. She isn’t used to having sex.”
He didn’t like to hear it described that way, but there it was. It had been sex. Nasty, dirty sex with a woman who didn’t even know who she was really sleeping with. Would she welcome Liam O’Donnell into her bed? He doubted it. Liam O’Donnell was cold and he used a woman. He didn’t cuddle up to her and protect her.
So why had it been so natural to shield her on the escalator? Why had he already trained himself to know when her leg was going to give so he could catch her? She was a little reckless with that leg. She seemed perfectly willing to take a dive, but she didn’t have to because he was there to catch her.
Lee Donnelly was there to catch her. Liam didn’t give a shit.
Yeah, not even he was buying that lie anymore. “Avery is fine. Now what’s the problem?”
Adam looked like he wanted to argue, but luckily Jake took over.
“I just got a call from Ian, and he’s a little worried about Avery’s apartment. It looks like we’re not the only ones tracking her phone,” Jake said.
Fuck. Someone was watching her. “Molina?”
Adam shrugged. “Probably, but we’re not sure. I’m working on it. You understand that if she’s involved in this it would make sense that her phone is bugged. Every one of Eli Nelson’s contacts probably has an eye on them.”