21. Frankie
21
FRANKIE
I followed Reath into his place. My face was tight and throbbing. I could see his back was tense.
“Sit.” He stabbed a finger at the couch.
“Reath, I’m okay. Is there any update on Lincoln?”
Reath stalked to the refrigerator and opened the freezer. Then he prowled back to me. He was almost vibrating with contained energy.
Looking at him made me forget my sore face. It made me remember what that chest looked like. And felt like.
Then cold pressed to my cheek and I jolted.
He sat beside me, holding the ice pack to my face. “There’s no word yet, but Linc is made of tough stuff. He’ll be fine.” Reath’s dark gaze focused on me. “You don’t like hospitals, huh?”
I shook my head. “I was very young when Dad was killed, but I still have flashbacks.” I met his gaze. “And sometimes, nightmares. A really long hall in an ugly green, my shoes squeaking on the floor, the beep of machines, the scent of cleaning chemicals.” I swallowed. “My dad in a bed, bandages covering most of his face. He was shot twice in the chest and once in the head. I didn’t believe it was my father at first. He’d always seemed larger than life, invincible. Mostly I remember my mother’s sobs.”
“Hey.” Reath’s hand closed over mine. “I’m here.”
“He ran into a firefight without waiting for backup. He didn’t need to. In fact, him joining the grocery store robbery caused more people to get injured and killed.” There was always a small kernel of anger under my grief. “But that was Dad, always running to the action. Jack’s the same.” They gave no thought to the people who cared about them.
Warm fingers brushed over my cheek, and I looked into warm brown eyes.
“I’m sorry you lost your dad,” Reath said.
“I’m sorry you never had one.”
“I was probably better off.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Frankie, I was abandoned as a newborn. Left in a box near a church. I almost died from exposure.”
I gasped. What kind of parents dumped their baby like that?
“No one ever came forward.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I have no idea who my mother or father were.”
He said the words with no expression. Like it truly didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“It’s in the past.” Then he looked at my face, at the swelling, and his features tightened. “You walked right up to the bad guy. Linc told you to run and—”
“They threatened to kill him. The guy in charge, I knew he meant it. I couldn’t just sit there and let a man die because of me.” I shook my head, lowering the ice pack. “He really meant it, Reath.”
“I know he did.” Reath pressed the ice pack back to my face.
I cocked my head. “You know who he is?”
Reath gave a tight nod. “He’s not a nice guy. His name’s Hugh Auclair.”
“You’ve…dealt with him before?” I could tell from his tone.
“When I was in the CIA.” A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“Ah, so you were a spy. I knew it.” I waved the ice pack at him.
He pressed it back to my face again, his hand warm on top of mine. His gaze moved over my face. “Looks like the swelling’s not too bad.”
“It was a glancing blow.”
“Any other injuries?”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not what I asked, Frankie.”
I sighed. “He punched me in the stomach.”
Reath’s jaw tightened, and there was a flash of something dangerous in his eyes. “Show me.”
I leaned back and pulled up the hem of my shirt. Well, technically his shirt. There were some bruises on my belly, but they weren’t terrible.
Reath touched my skin, and I bit my lip. He gently probed my midsection, and my skin suddenly felt so warm. I had tingles everywhere.
I remembered all too clearly his mouth on me, driving me wild. I squirmed.
“Does that hurt?” he asked.
“Um, no. Not really.”
His gaze flicked up to my face, then his expression changed. From concern to desire.
“Frankie… Dammit . Don’t look at me like that.”
“You’re touching me, and it feels good. I can’t help it.”
He gave a low groan.
“I’m not sure I should stay with you. I mean, this—” I waved a hand between us. “It’s a problem.”
“You’re staying with me.” He emphasized every word. Then he pulled me forward and the ice pack slipped from my fingers. I barely registered the slap of it hitting the floor.
I straddled his lap, and then Reath kissed me.
Oh . So good. He wasted no time sliding his tongue between my lips. I lost myself in the kiss. His lips and tongue played my mouth and had me moaning.
When he broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to mine. We were both breathing heavily.
“This doesn’t have to be a problem,” he said. “Attraction and sex don’t need to be complicated.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth. “You want to just have sex? No emotions, no entanglements?”
He nodded.
I tilted my head, about a hundred different thoughts and emotions running through me. But number one was the idea of having Reath Fury naked in bed. “I’m in. The ADAPT project will take up all of my time, even more so with these delays. I don’t want or need a relationship.” I smiled. “But I’m very pro-orgasms.”
He smiled one of his beautiful smiles and cupped my cheek. “We’ll see about orgasms later, when your face isn’t swollen.” He gently touched the edge of my sore eye. “Thank you for saving Lincoln.”
Warmth leaked into my chest. “You’re welcome.”
His big palms cupped my ass and squeezed. “But if you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I will punish you.”
“Punish me?” I was a little pissed, and a lot turned on. “I’m a grown woman, Reath. I make my own decisions.”
He squeezed my ass again. Hard enough that it stung a little.
“You’ve been warned,” he half growled.
I huffed out a breath. “I will never leave someone to die. That’s not who I am.”
Suddenly, he gave me a warm look. “I know. I guess I’ll have to work harder to keep you safe.”
My heart clenched. He said that like he’d step in front of a bullet, or risk his own life to save mine. “But you have to stay safe too, Reath.”
His brow creased. “You’re worried about me?”
“Yes. You and this Auclair guy have a history.”
He stilled and gave me a strange look.
“Has no one worried about you before?” I asked.
“Of course, my brothers.”
“But they trust you to look after yourself. There’s never been someone who just worries about you?”
“I don’t need that. I’m good at taking care of myself. And I’m very good at my job.”
He hadn’t had a mother or father. Maybe there had been a well-meaning foster carer somewhere along the line, but that had been temporary. No one who’d worried about him when he was a little boy, or a wild teen, or now, as a man.
“I’ll worry,” I said quietly.
He stood abruptly, then grabbed the ice pack, and pressed it back to my face. “I need to check in with my team.”
“They’re tracking this Auclair?”
He nodded. “And his accomplices. Plus, I want to question the man we caught in the park. See if he has anything useful to share.”
I rubbed my arms. “All right. And I’ll stay here?”
Another nod. “Colt is coming to stay with you.”
“As my bodyguard.” I sighed. I really wanted all of this to be over. “I wish I could do my work.”
Reath eyed me. “Soon.” Then he reached out and touched my hair. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”
“I’ll try, but no promises.”
Now he smiled, and again, it was a good one. Did he know how unbearably handsome it made him?
There was a thump of heavy footsteps on the stairs and Colt appeared. The bounty hunter had a scowl in place. Lucky the grumpy look worked for him.
Reath took a step back. “I’ll see you later.”