Chapter 28
POLANCO
Eric couldn’t sleep.
Vega had allowed him to speak to the head of security, and there were guards all across the grounds, but even that did little to calm his nerves. Every time he closed his eyes, some strange sound would wake him up.
Eventually, he decided it just wasn’t in the cards tonight.
He glanced at the clock and was irritated to see it was three in the morning.
Pulling on a pair of sweats, he walked down the estate halls.
A little way into the home, the walls gave way to a large open second-floor porch.
Eric reasoned it was a good place to smoke another of Vega’s expensive cigars and lay down to watch the stars.
North Carolina didn’t have skies like this.
The stars here blazed with a clarity he hadn’t seen since his deployment overseas.
He missed his team. Under normal circumstances, Eric checked in with them regularly, but with the Nine hunting them, ditching his phone had been necessary. Security trumped sentiment.
Eric settled into a large recliner, struck a match, and with the cigar clenched between his teeth, murmured, “This one’s for you boys.”
Over twenty years out of the service, he was forty-five, and his teammates were all grown men. Some with families.
Except for the occasional Club Shale fling, Eric never dated. There wasn’t enough time. He needed most of his energy to focus on Adria.
Adria.
Eric’s gaze flickered a few windows over, noting he wasn’t far from her room. The boys could protect her. He didn’t need to watch over her as much as he used to. Hell, she could take care of herself.
Eric drew on the cigar, letting the smoke pool in his mouth.
Rolling the flavor across his tongue—earthy and complex.
Cedar and dark chocolate flavor hit him, and he savored it like a fine whiskey rather than drawing it into his lungs.
Vega’s collection was exceptional, the kind of luxury that reminded him just how far he was from those deployment nights.
He wanted to enjoy the night sky, but his thoughts drifted to the future more lately than he liked to admit. With Adria getting closer to the Winters crew, Eric found himself routinely pondering if things worked out between them, what happens to him?
His friend Sage said that all dogs get put out to pasture sooner or later. But Eric wasn’t quite ready to hang up his hat and get off the ride.
Movement above him caught Eric’s eye. Instinctively, cigar still in his mouth, Eric put his hand on his gun. But as his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw two pink heels fall, clattering to the ground from the balcony above.
He relaxed his hand on his gun, put out his cigar, and moved his body so he was hidden in the shadows.
Two bare feet appeared, before a perfect little ass with lace pink underwear came over the railing.
Daniela.
She was wearing a much-too-tight skirt that rode up provocatively, especially as she was shimming down the railing. With her torso over the stone, her arms came up and wrapped around the ledge. Eric watched as she lowered herself down.
Arms above her, hands gripping the level above him, her shirt rode up, exposing the underside of her perky breasts and Eric had to adjust his stance.
She gave a light swing with her legs before dropping silently onto her tiptoes.
He saw her glance around, fixing her clothing.
Something about this girl had him feeling positively feral. When she came in for dinner, her scent hit him like a punch to the face; cinnamon and raspberries.
He wanted to hunt that scent.
Visions of her bent under him, wet and panting, right before he set her free in the woods, chasing her, finding her on scent alone.
Eric pressed his fingernails into his palm, breaking him free of his fantasies.
Daniela turned her back to him, and Eric had to stifle the growl that he felt welling up in him.
Seeing her back to him, seeing her making herself such easy prey, had him teetering on the edge of losing control.
“A little late for a midnight stroll,” he said, his cock twitching as she jumped.
Eric shuttered his expression before coming out of the shadows to greet her. Years of training meant she wouldn’t see any of the heat that was radiating just beneath the surface.
“What the fuck do you care?” she snapped.
Eric’s eyes ran across her oh-so-spank-able ass, before answering her. “You’re not going out dressed like that.”
Was that what he had meant to say?
She glared at him, but he didn’t miss the flush breaking out on her cheeks.
Whether he had meant to say it or not, now that the words were out there, Eric was sure he would follow through.
Daniela put her hands on her hips. “What makes you think I give a shit what you think?”
Turning, she moved to the edge of the balcony, and put her hands on the railing.
It was the second time she had turned her back on him, and she was about to learn why it was a bad idea.
Silently, he made his way to her as she hoisted a leg over the railing, intending to drop to the ground, just as she had done from the floor above.
Grabbing her wrist, he used her own body weight against her.
Daniela twisted, falling into him, a soft yelp coming from her full pink lips before Eric wrapped a hand around her mouth, pulling her back into him.
He could feel her heart hammering in her chest.
“I imagine,” he said, voice low in her ear, “that you are out at this late hour because you want to avoid detection.”
She tried to elbow him in the ribs, but he held her still. Her ass pressed into his hips and he tried to ignore the soft flesh pressing into his growing erection.
“That means you want to avoid unnecessary sounds.”
Taking his hand off her mouth, Eric spun her around to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, but the look she gave him was pure hatred.
“Now you are going to go back to your room, and go to bed, or I am going to throw you over my knee and spank you until your cries alert some of the guards.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said, her voice changing to an icy tenor.
She was better than he could have hoped.
Not responding, Eric just stared at her. His face a mask.
Half of him wanted her to march upstairs and stay far away from him for the rest of their time here. The other half of him was screaming for her to stay, his hand itching to change that cold tone of hers to a pile of pleading want and need.
When she realized conversation time was over, she hesitated in front of him.
Nothing about Eric’s face would convey that he was being anything other than truthful. And after Adria’s conversation with Vega, he doubted her father would even care.
Daniela’s eyes flashed through a variety of emotions but settled on a petulant loathing. She gathered her shoes and marched past him into the house.
Good girl.