Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Of all the people on the planet, why did it have to be her?
Why couldn’t he quietly live the rest of his life without the entanglement of these…
feelings? Why couldn’t the universe leave him alone to do his penance in solitude?
But no, somehow he’d been gifted her, and it was the biggest curse and sweetest blessing he could have asked for.
This woman was killing him. At this rate, she’d get the job done in no time.
“This is hard for me,” he admitted.
Her eyes narrowed to slits, her pliant desire gone.
“Hard for you?” Her cheeks grew pink with anger.
“No one asked you to take this on. Okay, ignore that.” She raised her hand between them.
“I know my brother-in-law made you babysit me, but you didn’t have to—” She wriggled in his grip as he tightened it.
“It’s hard for me with you.”
She licked her lips. “That’s not much better, Zeus.”
He barked out a strangled laugh, then laid his forehead against hers. God, this woman.
“With how I feel about you, Vanessa.” He shifted, and his mouth found the soft underside of her jaw.
“It’s hard to control these feelings I can’t even name.
I want to lock you away in my beach house and never let you go.
But I also want to watch you chase your dreams. I want to see you succeed and shine.
But the thought of you being hurt kills me.
It fucking tortures me, night and day. I hate that I can’t be everywhere you are, keeping you safe.
” His eyes locked on hers. “I’d do anything for you, because there is no prison worse than a world where you don’t exist.”
Her hair fell in wild waves, like she’d raced across town to get to him, all because she thought he wasn’t coming with her to New York. He didn’t want to think too hard about what that meant.
“Did you really think I’d leave you now? Didn’t I promise I’d always protect you?”
Her gaze fluttered away.
“Eyes on me, princess.” When they returned to meet his, he said, “As long as I’m breathing, you’re safe with me.
I’m coming to New York, and anywhere else you’re going until we catch this fucker.
Even then, I’ll still be with you. I’ll go anywhere with you.
Everywhere. As long as you want me. Is that clear? ”
When she nodded, he eased back fractionally, but she followed him, closing the distance, clutching the front of his shirt like letting go hurt more than holding on. And God, he knew the feeling.
“Then why didn’t you stay last night? And why weren’t you there this morning?” Her expression was dark and…hurt.
His heart stammered. Blood roared in his ears as the truth settled.
He’d left her. All the hours he’d spent in this godforsaken office drawing up safety and security measures.
Another sleepless night pouring over contingency plans he thought would keep her safe.
All the fear he’d had that someone was still out there hunting her, but here she stood and the only one who was hurting her now was him.
When would he learn that distance from her wasn’t the answer? For either of them.
What a fucking idiot. His palms cradled her cheeks before he kissed her forehead. When he drew back, he pinned her with his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
Vanessa attempted to look away but he held firm.
“I shouldn’t have left. I thought I was doing the right thing. I—” Words faded into the rush of his emotions.
Vanessa used the opening to thump her fists against chest. “You’re such a jerk.” Her voice cracked when she said, “Leaving me alone last night was shitty.”
Her fingers curled, her nails pressing into his shirt and then his skin painfully, and he welcomed her anger. Deserved it.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” he murmured as he kissed her tears.
As complicated as it was—how he felt about her coupled with the work he must do to protect her—there was nothing else to say but that.
The lines were blurring rapidly, but he couldn’t afford to make these kinds of mistakes. She was too important.
“Don’t,” she sobbed, “ever do it again.”
Desperate for her, he found her lips, his tongue meeting hers.
Hands sliding down her cheeks and around her shoulders until their mouths tore apart, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“I won’t. I promise. Never again.” He kissed her temple, her hair, anywhere he could find.
“The safest place for you is with me. I’m sorry I forgot that. ”
For a long moment, they stood there hugging each other fiercely, and he wished he never had to let go. She was so fucking precious to him.
“Will you leave me again?” Her voice was muffled against his shirt.
“No.”
“Then I forgive you.” Her cheek lifted against his chest, and he knew she was smiling.
The lump forming in his throat tightened at how easily she’d moved past his fuckup, without hesitation or conditions. She deserved to know everything.
“I’m…nervous,” he admitted. “You going to New York, working in a city I’ve never seen, where I have zero control, is driving me crazy.
I need to know you’re protected, because—” Slowly, he drew away, jaw clenching as the memory twisted in his gut.
“He got inside your apartment. On my watch. He could’ve attacked you, or worse.
I can’t let him get that close again. I can’t let anything happen to you. ”
Frowning, she said, “That wasn’t your fault.”
“But it was. And the thought of something like that happening again is driving me crazy. I needed to clear my head, let off some steam before we left. That’s why I called Sean to meet me here this morning, not because I wasn’t coming with you.
” Communicating his thought process better was something he’d have to work on, but years in prison had made it hard to share his feelings.
“Being apart from you isn’t an option anymore. ”
She released a breath. “Okay then.”
Less than two hours later, they were in the air. Five and a half hours after that, they landed in New York.
Vanessa had been quiet for the entire journey, but she’d stayed close, and so had he. Even now, on the ride to the hotel, her head rested on his shoulder, his hand on her thigh, their bodies pressed together.
At the hotel, unloading the mountain of luggage turned into a full operation. Dex and the bellboy were left with that problem while Jordan checked the three of them in.
The event organizers allowed for Vanessa to have two private-security personnel, which was why he’d worked through the night preparing.
Organizing security when you had an army of people at your disposal, like he’d had in Portland, was easier than trying to keep the most important person in your world safe with only two bodies.
That left him and Dex, and honestly he wouldn’t have picked anyone else. The guy had no fear, a steady aim, and an eye he’d sharpened in prison while watching both of their backs. Dex was as good as three bodyguards.
After checking in, Jordan guided Vanessa through the quiet, polished lobby to the elevator, his hand on the small of her back the whole time.
The show venue was at the art gallery across the street. Close, exactly how he liked it.
The elevator let them out on the twentieth floor. He’d booked the corner suite for her, with a perfect view of the gallery below.
He tapped the key card and held the door open for Vanessa. Their luggage was already inside, and he trusted Dex had already done a sweep for hidden cameras and bugs.
“Your suitcase is here too,” she whispered.
“Yes, my single suitcase, containing everything I need for the next three days, is here.”
Her jab to his ribs was harder than expected, and he wheezed out a laugh. It faded when he caught the shimmer in her eyes.
“I’m serious, Jordan. You’re staying?”
Never breaking eye contact, he edged her backward, toward the wall until he pinned her there. “Yes, Vanessa, I’m staying. In fact, I don’t plan on leaving your side unless I absolutely have to. Every minute you’re not working, I intend to have you naked, in this room, on any and every surface.”
Her throat rose and fell as she swallowed.
“Against this wall.” He pressed his hips against hers.
Her breath hitched, breaking in to short, ragged pants.
One hand wrapped around the nape of her neck as he tilted her face to his. “In the shower.”
Her palms flattened against his chest.
He brushed his lips against hers. “Over and over and over, until you’re so full of me, it will take every muscle you have not to drip what’s left of me all over the catwalk.
” He gave her ponytail a tug and captured her mouth in the kind of kiss he’d been dreaming about since they left Portland. “Any more questions?”
She shook her head slowly.
Satisfied, he bent to give her a long, lingering kiss. “We’ll find a way to make this work, Vanessa. You and me. We’ll figure it out if that’s what you want.”
This time she nodded, her eyes growing wet. “It’s what I want.”
He nipped her nose. “Good, because I’m ready to admit it’s what I want too.”
Her dazed, heated look made him smile. She lifted her mouth to his for another kiss, but he shifted back.
“You’re expected at the fitting in twenty minutes.”
The smile that curved her mouth was nothing short of devilish. “I think you can give me what I want in half that time.”
Before the words even left her mouth, he scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed with a bounce. “Those are fighting words, princess.” He flicked the button of her jeans and tugged them off in one swoop.
She hadn’t been naked and writhing since Cannon Beach, and he was as desperate as she was.
Adding fuel to his fire, she lifted her knees and spread them wide. “If you want me dripping, Zeus, you better get started.”
With a growl of approval, he fell on top of her.