Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
D eming was still celebrating with the people. Instead of killing the defendants who were part of the insurgency, Deming had insisted on testifying in open court and letting the jury decide their fate. The verdict was returned in minutes. The men were guilty and sent to jail to await sentencing in accordance with the law.
Parties in honor of Deming and Crusina had broken out all over the country. Warrick and Cassidy had reported back to Beaumont and their mission was now complete. They’d joined the celebration and eaten traditional Crusina food that men and women simply began carrying outside and setting up for the celebration.
Music filled the street. People were dancing. Kids were running around laughing. It was a side to her job that Cassidy had never experienced. It solidified why she did what she did.
“I have to get off my leg,” Warrick told her after dancing in a large circle with fifty other people.
Cassidy looked over to see Deming holding Dasha’s hand as they danced with another large group and nodded. “I’m ready to go too. You were great today,” Cassidy told Warrick as they began to walk toward their hotel.
“You too. You scared me to death though. But I should know better. You’re practically bulletproof.”
“Putting down an insurgency has nothing on a Davies family dinner,” Cassidy joked. She laughed when she saw Warrick’s look of disbelief as she put her key into her door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” Warrick said, continuing to walk to his room several doors down.
Cassidy flipped on her lights and looked longingly at the bed, but there was no way she could go to sleep. She might be physically exhausted, but mentally her mind was hours from slowing down. That, and she was filthy.
Cassidy stripped off her clothes, letting them fall to the floor at the foot of the bed and trudged into the bathroom. She closed the door and turned the shower on hot. Steam quickly filled the small bathroom as she sent some texts to her family and friends back home.
The water felt blissful. She groaned out loud as the warm water helped soothe the bruised muscles where she’d been shot. Piper’s nanotech clothing had saved her yet again.
Cassidy scrubbed the dirt and sweat from her body before resting her head on the white subway tiles and closing her eyes. The hot water slid down her back as she let her mind wander. It didn’t wander far. It went straight to the shadows and to the man in them. That low, deep voice of his seemed to vibrate through her body. The way he kissed her had changed her whole world. Never had a man just taken what he wanted from her before. Not that she was submissive, but he wasn’t intimidated by her either. They matched each other’s passion both during the fight and during that kiss.
Cassidy turned off the water and wrapped the towel around her. Now, how did she go about finding him?
Cassidy opened the bathroom door and froze. The lights were off. They’d been on before.
“Hello, sweetheart. Miss me?”
It hadn’t taken him long to pick the lock to Cassidy’s room. After their talk and then that kiss, there was no way he was stepping away from her. He had known she was dangerous. He hadn’t realized she was a danger not only to his heart but to his quest for revenge. He could too easily fall into blissful distraction by Cassidy Davies and forget about his own mission.
It was a risk he was willing to take. He couldn’t stay away. So, he’d entered her room, turned off the lights, and waited for her. Cassidy had opened the door to the bathroom with her wet hair combed back from her face and dripping down her shoulders. She was in nothing but a small white hotel towel clinging to her scrumptious little body. It took all his willpower to stay seated with his ballcap pulled low over his eyes.
“Sweetheart?” Cassidy asked, stepping farther into the dark room that was now partially lit up from the bathroom lights. “And what should I call you? I’m not calling you Boogeyman.”
He smiled. He should have known once he showed himself to her, he wouldn’t be able to step back. She was too much fun. “I don’t care what you call me so long as you call me yours. Come here.” He patted the small ottoman in front of his chair.
He sat back and waited. What would she do? Would she try to detain him? Would she turn on the lights? Would she kiss him again? Or would she shoot him? She could do anything, which is what had him coming back to watch her time and time again.
Cassidy finally made a decision and stepped away from the light and into his shadows. She was so close to him. Her knees brushed the inside of his thighs as his larger legs bracketed hers as she sat facing him. “You want to be with me, yet I don’t know your name or why you’re here.”
“I know how you taste. I know the feel of your body against mine. I know when you’re about to make a move on an adversary. I know which gun and which knife you prefer. I know more about you than I know about myself, which is how I know you were thinking of me when you were in the shower. Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’re not alone. I’ve been thinking of you too.”
“I should take you in,” Cassidy muttered. But by the way her chest was rising a little quicker, he knew she had been thinking of him and their kiss.
“But you won’t. We’re both after the same thing. You just don’t know it.” He saw Cassidy glance at the bed and grinned again. “Okay, we’re both after the same two things, but sex can wait.”
He would have sworn she frowned and that made him grin larger. “I can wait,” Cassidy said, leaning forward, her towel slipping to reveal the swell of her breasts. “Can you, honeybunny?”
He moved so fast that Cassidy barely had time to react. He had her hands pinned to her sides as the knot of the towel tugged free and gravity became his best friend. Cassidy sat with the towel pooled on her lap, her breasts heaving as her breathing had quickened. “I liked it better when you called me babe.” He should have been a gentleman and looked away, but he didn’t. Instead, he soaked in the vision that was Cassidy. Big blue eyes, pretty blonde hair, a perfect handful of perky breasts, a trim waist, and a headbutt that men would be jealous of.
He grunted as her forehead smashed into his nose. Or at least she would have if he hadn’t ducked at the last second letting his hat absorb the brunt of the impact.
“Why were you in Keeneston helping Kale, pookie?” she asked, yanking her hands free and leaping to her feet.
Bless the saints because her towel hit the floor and Cassidy stood in all her naked glory in front of him. She moved to throw a punch, but he grabbed her hand, yanking her to him even as he stood up. She slammed into his chest and he hugged her to him. Damn, the feel of her warm, damp bare skin under his hand had his hands moving to try to feel all of it. Cassidy was an addiction.
“To watch your back. I heard about the call to arms and I knew you’d be there. I also knew the threat Panther posed. I wasn’t going to let you fight it alone.”
She wiggled and he groaned. Cassidy froze when she felt what she’d done to him. She inhaled sharply and he made the mistake of dropping his hold on her when he went to kiss her.
Cassidy grabbed his shoulder, yanked him down, and slammed her knee into his thigh, barely missing his very hard package. “Thank you, but I didn’t need help, dumpling.”
“Just like you didn’t need help in Iran?” he asked, kicking out and taking her leg out from under her. Cassidy tried to recover, but pinwheeled her arms, and fell back against the bed. “Trying to get me in bed, sweetheart?”
Cassidy rolled to her side as he moved to the bed. “You were in Iran, lovebug?”
“Both times,” he told her as she reared up and wrapped her legs around his waist. She yanked him forward until he fell toward her. However, Cassidy was fast. She rolled to the side with her legs still wrapped around him.
He fell onto his back on the bed with Cassidy now straddling him. Not that he was fighting back now. He loved her in this position.
“I could get used to this,” he said, grinning at her and giving her ass a squeeze. Until she balled her hand into a fist and tried to punch him in the face. He blocked the punch, grabbed her waist, and flipped them over until he was on top of her. “Damn, you’re perfect.”
“How long have you been following me, muffin?”
“France, three years ago,” he answered instantly.
“Why didn’t you just introduce yourself to me? Why hide?” Cassidy asked the million dollar question. One he wasn’t ready to give yet.
“I knew it would be over when I touched you. I can’t get distracted. I have my own mission, sweetheart. One of revenge.”
“Against who?” she asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’m pulling the threads, I’m shaking the tree, and I’m trying to get to the end game. I have a feeling though, your end game and mine might be the same. The man who was after you today... he’s not from Crusina. He wanted you to join them. Doesn’t it remind you of something? A group that wants to run things their way?” Cassidy frowned. He could see her thinking, but she didn’t answer.
“I think they used Deming to get to me,” Cassidy finally said.
He nodded, running his finger over her soft cheek. “I do too, sweetheart, and I don’t like it.”
“So,” she said, looking at his shadowed face. “You’re going to what? Protect me?”
“Sweetheart, you don’t need protection. You’re a force all on your own. But, I’ll watch your six.”
“You’re military,” she said suddenly.
“Maybe, maybe not. Depends.”
“On?” Cassidy asked.
“If you find military men sexy.”
Cassidy laughed. The movement made his hips shift and hit her in just the right spot, which stopped her laughter and turned it into a pleasurable gasp. Her eyes shot to where his were hidden in the darkness. His breathing hitched and she knew he’d felt it too. It was crazy. She was naked, pinned to the bed. She should feel frightened but she wasn’t. She knew she could get free if she wanted, and she didn’t want to. He somehow made her feel... safe.
“This is crazy,” she whispered.
“I know,” his deep voice whispered back as his hand cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed her bottom lip, yet he never pressed for more.
Cassidy remembered all those missions. They were missions where the tide could have quickly turned against her, but she’d somehow made it out alive. It was because of him. Because he’d had her back.
But it was what he’d asked her about the situation sounding familiar that really had her mind racing. “You think they’re back, don’t you?”
He knew instantly she’d changed the subject. “I don’t know. What I do know is this started during their time, but will end during mine.”
“I can help,” Cassidy found herself saying.
“I can’t put you in that position, sweetheart. It’s too dangerous and it’s not your battle.”
“You don’t think I can handle myself?” she snapped.
“I know you can, but that doesn’t mean I want you to have to. Unfortunately, we might not have a choice. We’ll find out soon if someone else approaches you. I hope they don’t.”
“What do we do now?” Cassidy asked after a moment of silence.
She saw his teeth flash in the darkness as he grinned. “I have an idea or two.”
His hand tightened against her cheek. Thank goodness, he was going to kiss her again. She thought she was going to die from longing as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. This time when he kissed her, it started off slowly. Also, this time, the second the kiss turned hot, their whole bodies were into it. Her hands ran down his muscled back as their hips fell into a rhythm that mimicked his tongue in her mouth. She was breathless with want when all of a sudden his weight was gone.
She blinked her eyes open and found him standing by the door. “Sexy dreams, sweetheart.”
Cassidy scrambled up and ran for the door the second he closed it. She yanked the door open and saw the flash of a foot heading down the staircase. She was about to run after him when two things happened. One, she remembered she was naked. And two, her phone rang.
Cassidy’s heart was causing serious issues. It was clouding her judgment, but maybe it wasn’t her heart. Right now, she was so sexually frustrated that she answered the phone with a sharp, “What?”
“Hi, honey. It’s Mom.”
“Mom! Oh gosh. Sorry. Long day. What’s up?” Cassidy asked, moving to get dressed.
“Draven and Addison had their baby! A girl. Draven’s sent his big jet for all of us to go to Bermalia. There’s a huge celebration the day after tomorrow that he invited us all to. Do you think you can make it? Deming is invited too. I saw the good news today. I’m assuming you had something to do with that.”
Cassidy glanced at the door. “Yes, but I had some help. I’ll ask Deming in the morning, but I bet he’ll be staying here to stabilize the government and solidify his role as president. I should be able to leave tomorrow morning and meet you in Bermalia.”
“Wonderful! Love you, honey.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Cassidy disconnected the phone and crawled into bed. She shouldn’t want a stranger. She shouldn’t want someone with a reputation like the Boogeyman, stupid name that it was. But she did. Badly. The question was what was she going to do about it?
He could still taste Cassidy on his lips. He could still feel her body against his. It was the sweetest torture as he lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, thinking of her.
The knock on the door had him grabbing his gun and slowly approaching the door of the hotel he was staying in. “Yes?”
“Delivery.”
He looked out the peephole to see the receptionist holding two boxes. He tucked the gun into the waistband of his boxer briefs and cracked the door open.
“These were just delivered and were marked urgent. I’m sorry to have woken you.” She handed him the two boxes.
“Thank you,” he told her before closing the door and locking it.
He took the boxes to the small bistro table and set them down. He opened the first one and was hit with the smell of apples and cinnamon. He peeled back the covering to find an apple pie with a note lying on it.
I’m so thankful you look after my granddaughter as well as you do. You’re a good boy. Please join us in Bermalia for the celebration of the new heir so that I can thank you. My granddaughter will be there too. The note wasn’t signed, but attached to it was an invitation to the baby’s celebration.
What the hell? How had Cassidy’s grandmother found him? Did that mean she knew his identity? It had to. He couldn’t go. He couldn’t risk his revenge.
He opened the second box and found a pound of beef jerky along with a note.
Come to Draven’s if you want the girl. There are too many other guys sniffing around my granddaughter and you love her.
No invitation was attached.
You love her .
Shocked, he stared at the note. He did love her. He had for years. But how did Cassidy’s grandparents know that? And if they found him, it was only a matter of time before others did. The more he was around Cassidy, the bigger the target she’d become. There was no way he could go. No way. Right?