Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Calder
I t’s dark by the time I finish everything I need to do to cover our asses. Easton and Keir have to handle way more than I do, so East calls a car for me and Briar.
Since we’re headed to Virginia tomorrow, we need to stop by my apartment and pack my bags, but I don’t think Easton mentioned that to the little omega. I let it ride because she’s visibly exhausted. I’m sure she assumes I had to stop to get my stuff since I’ve been staying at Easton’s house.
And I will be tonight.
I felt like an asshole not inviting her in with me while I packed, but I live with my grandparents.
Or rather, they live with me.
I grew up dirt poor.
My mom wasn’t expecting to die in childbirth, but shit happens. My grandparents were already old. They didn’t necessarily want to take on a newborn, but they did, and they loved the hell out of me.
They still do.
That’s why I worked my ass off to make something of myself.
Now I take care of them in return.
But I knew if they spotted Briar, we would never be able to get back out the door. They’d probably start asking when the wedding is, but that’s because I’ve never brought a woman home.
I’d need to date one to bring her around, and although it’s hard for people who meet me now to believe, I didn’t always look like this. I was picked on mercilessly when I was growing up. Not just because we didn’t have money or nice things. I was tall as hell, skinny as could be, and I’ve always been weird.
My IQ might be off the charts, but that never helped me learn how to interact with kids my own age. Having no parents to take me to school activities didn’t help. I was the weirdo who was more adept at having conversations with the teachers or other parents than the students in my grade, but I survived.
A whole lot of people have it worse than I did. And my hard work paid off in the long run. Easton pays me more than enough to take care of myself, Grandma, Pop, and their medical bills.
My grandma sends two huge trays of food back with me. Somehow, she loves Easton. It’s weird, but he’s not a threat to her and maybe she can sense that. Grandma knows I’ll be away, and she wanted to make sure we have a hearty meal before heading out. My grandparents are used to the fact that I sometimes have to go on missions, but describing the trip we’ll be taking as one might have been a stretch of the truth.
Easton made the call that we would be heading to Virginia to back up Arden and his team. That chick they’re into is about to have a baby, and they need someone watching their backs. More than that, there’s a package on its way to Blacksburg that could have exactly the kind of ammunition we need to take Briar’s brother down. If nothing else, we can use the files to negotiate some type of meeting with Titus Manzo.
Depending on how that goes, Easton will make the call to decide if it’ll be a tentative peace agreement or the kind of op where the teams clean house.
Logically speaking, it’ll probably be the second option.
Either way, we got a lucky break by learning there is information out there that we can use to negotiate Briar’s freedom…even if the rest of the day was kind of a clusterfuck.
And while we’re away, Easton is having the office redone. It’ll be a solid way to cover any DNA we may have missed when disposing of Jameson.
Easton had one of the guys bring food to the office earlier, but Briar didn’t eat more than three bites.
I’m concerned when the same thing happens with the food my grandma sent. Briar nibbles, but she’s clearly not interested. Afterward, she heads up to her room for a shower.
Easton told me to keep eyes on her at all times, but I’m thinking there’s an exception for showers and bathroom visits.
I use the opportunity to take a quick shower of my own in the bathroom attached to the bedroom I always stay in when I sleep over.
Cool air floods the shower as soon as I cut off the water, but I ignore it, pulling back the shower door and snagging the towel I left out.
I swipe at my abs but freeze when I spot Briar sitting on the counter just a few feet away.
“This house is really big, and I got scared. Please don’t make fun of me,” she says, keeping her eyes on mine.
My heart melts.
She had to be terrified to seek me out for safety. If she wants someone locked out of their financials, I’m her man. If she wants to plant a false digital trail, I could do that too. But I’m not the most imposing guy. I mean, I got in shape because Easton wouldn’t hire me if I wasn’t physically prepared to watch someone’s back in the field. I’m still not built like Keir or East, and I never will be.
Briar is in a giant T-shirt that probably belongs to Keir or Easton. I have no idea how it came to be in her possession, but it looks good on her. The top is slightly see-through from where her wet hair made the material transparent, and I only remember I’m nude as my dick begins to thicken.
Goddammit.
I drop the towel to cover my pelvis. “I would never make fun of you. Do you want to wait in the bedroom while I pull on my sweats?”
Her eyes finally leave mine, dancing down my chest and back up again. She nods and pushes herself off the counter until her feet hit the floor. “I’ll wait in your bed.”
That makes my cock act even more of a fool. I’m not sure what alternate universe I fell into that the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen wants to cuddle in bed with me, but I figure I’m due some good in life.
“I forgot you wear glasses.” Briar’s eyelashes flutter as she smiles at me from across the room. “They’re nice. I mean, they make you look really handsome.”
If that’s the case, I won’t bother with my contacts ever again.
She lies on the edge of my bed with her arms crossed over her chest, and everything that makes me an alpha screams at me to pounce.
“I figured out the TV,” she says, gesturing to the wall. “Could we watch a movie or something?”
“Whatever you want.” I cross the room and come to a stop at her side. I expect her to move to the middle, but she doesn’t budge.
Okay, so, I could walk to the bottom of the bed and crawl up.
Or I could climb over her.
I opt for the second option and sincerely regret not bringing boxer briefs with me when I hopped into the shower. The thin material of my sweats doesn’t do shit to keep my dick in place, and it slides over her thighs when I don’t hold myself up high enough.
Even the quick process of climbing over her seems to flood my nose with her scent. I fight with the comforter to climb under as a distraction.
Briar holds herself up on her forearms, lifting her legs and maneuvering under the blanket with me. I pull it up, tucking it around my chest as she does the same for herself.
My head hits the crazy number of pillows, and I turn to face her. “What kind of movie were you thinking about watching?”
I’m not expecting the almost panicked look that crosses her face as her eyes widen.
She shrugs, making her hair bounce around her breasts. “I’m not picky. You choose. I’ll like whatever you put on.”
I frown.
Something niggles at my mind, but it’s hard to tell if it’s true.
Since my grandma and grandpa have completely different tastes in movies and TV shows, they have an every-other-night system where they swap out who has control of the remote. When I was little, I used to say it would be fair to vote, because I never much cared for what Grandma picked, but my grandfather taught me that two-against-one voting wouldn’t fly.
Based solely on what I know of Briar’s life as Bianca, I’m wondering if she wasn’t allowed to voice her choices or opinions. Or maybe she was taught to capitulate to whatever her husband wanted.
I’ve heard all about how that culture works.
I just want no part of it.
“Well, I’m indecisive as hell when it comes to picking something.” I chuckle, bumping my shoulder against hers. “We will be here all night if it’s up to me to decide. I’ve been known to scroll for hours, watching the trailers, but falling asleep before I can choose.”
“Oh.” She twists to grab the remote. “That’s okay.” She places it between us. “I don’t care, as long as you let me snuggle close. I’m freezing, and it’s been a long day.”
My chest gets tight.
I’m sure it has.
She watched the guys dispose of Jameson—at least the initial cleanup.
“How about a holiday movie?” I suggest.
The last thing she needs before going to sleep is horror or some action movie that features a bunch of death and fear.
“That’s perfect.” Briar turns on her side, scooting closer and burying her feet under my thigh. Her toes are frozen, the cold radiating through the material and into me.
I slide my hand down, wrapping it around her foot. “Holy shit, woman. You are freezing.” Snagging the remote with my other hand, I click around, finding some small-town Christmas romance and get it started before stretching my arm over her head. “In order to combat hypothermia, I’m going to need you to lie right on my chest.”
That was smooth, right?
Dammit.
I’m so bad at this that it’s actually ridiculous. I’m not that nerdy kid that no girl would look twice at.
Briar is out of my league, though.
She still grins bashfully as she wiggles her face to rest on my bare chest. “You know, I went looking for the thermostat, but this place is huge. I would have bumped the heat up to like seventy-five, but this is much more enjoyable.”
My chest puffs up with pride. “For me too.”
“Do you think we’re going to end up arrested for murder?” she asks in barely more than a whisper.
I snort. “Fuck no. First of all, you did nothing wrong, and Easton’s lawyers are skilled. Second of all, this is far from the first time we’ve had to clean house. I know it’s stressful, but don’t let it get to you. East knows what he’s doing.”
She nods, running her fingers over my scar. “Holy shit, Calder. What happened here?”
“Uh…” I sigh and shrug simultaneously. “A projectile from a bomb.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, it happened while I was overseas,” I admit. “I’ve got smaller ones all over my arms and torso, but that was the big chunk. It went right through my vest. I earned a medical discharge while healing, but I’m not complaining. Serving isn’t something I regret. It was just a lot different than the picture the recruiter sold me.”
That explosion is also why I have to wear my glasses on days when the headaches hit, but I keep the details simple.
“I’m sorry,” she says softly as her fingers skim over the puckered and raised skin. Thankfully, I’m not particularly self-conscious about the hideous scar. The doctors promised it would get less noticeable over time, but I’ve accepted that they lied.
“We’ve all seen some shit,” I say, tightening my hold on her lower back. “I survived.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d live through the wedding.” Her warm breath fans over my pec as she exhales. “I had never seen anything like it. One second, I was staring at the priest, trying not to pass out, and the next… It was pure pandemonium. There were people everywhere. Bullets flying. Blood sprayed all over my face, and I was so out of it that I didn’t even know if it was mine.” She goes quiet for a few long seconds as I debate if I should say something. I soothe my hand up and down her spine and give her another few moments to decide if she’s done talking about it. “Thorne, that was one of Avan’s enforcers… He was undercover for the DEA. He found me hiding behind an overturned table. I’ll never forget the way his hand hovered in front of my face. My mind was such a mess that I didn’t understand he was offering to help get me out. I was just waiting there for one of them to pick me off.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. No one knows how they’ll react until they find themselves in that same position.” They’re not just pretty words either. Sure, I want to comfort her, but I saw people who had the same training I did freeze when it came down to it. And that’s not to say they were bad guys or that they didn’t take the training seriously. The human mind is complicated. Sometimes there’s too much chaos and the danger is so high that you get too overloaded to react.
“Keir took me to the shooting range before we made it to the office.” Her tits push against my side as she snuggles closer. “I’m going to ask him to keep training me. Maybe do some self-defense classes or something.”
“I’ll go with you,” I offer as the intro music plays.
“That would be a fun date,” she says, climbing over onto me fully.
My cock jolts at the friction. “Shit, sorry about that.”
Her face rolls around my chest as she laughs. “Do you want me to pretend I’m offended you’re attracted to me? Because it would be hard to fake that.”
The naughty little thing rolls her hips, grinding my shaft against my pelvis. Her hands land on my chest, and she stretches up, planting a quick kiss on the edge of my lips.
It’s not enough.
My fingers dig into her ass cheek as my other hand palms the back of her head.
I tug her closer, moving to capture her mouth.
Honey and coconut fill my nose as her plush lips meet mine.
The gentle grind of her hips as her tits rock into my chest is the most incredible sensation.
Fuck me.
This would be perfect without her shirt and my sweats in the way. My fingers dig into her hair as she slides her tongue around mine.
She’s kinda bossy as she rocks over my length.
It’s hot.
I like her taking the lead more than I would expect, but it’s convenient, especially since I have even less experience than she does.