Chapter 29
Callum
Lucy sits me on the lip of the bathtub while she fusses about searching for first aid supplies. All while her wetness dries on my face.
I’m torn between apologizing—knowing full well that I’ve crossed yet another line—and pushing her down on the marble countertop across from me to pleasure her all over again.
I’ve only tasted Lucy Marlow once, but I’m pretty sure I’m addicted to her tiny moans and sweet flavor.
I’m so fucked up. She’s under my protection, and I just spent the past few minutes eating her out like a starving man.
People are counting on me to do a job, but the only instructions I’m following lately come from my cock.
I should feel guilty for what just transpired. And I do. But I don’t regret it. Not when I reflect back on the way her face scrunched up as she came, her little sighs afterward, and the tension in her thighs around my ears.
As far as I’m concerned, Lucy is mine, and I’ll fight anyone who claims otherwise. Even Shane, because fuck him. I doubt he cares about Lucy’s safety. He just wants the crypto wallet.
I understand why Darren, Veronika, and the Kings didn’t disclose Lucy’s sex trafficking experience.
That wasn’t their business to tell. Still, they could’ve at least warned me.
I’ve been a super-sized asshole because I had no idea what Roguilin did to her.
I treated her like a spoiled, attention-seeking brat because they couldn’t just give me a damn hint regarding the truth.
And now I know that Lucy’s dirt on Roguilin is more than just the wallet, more than just her kidnapping. Cracking down on international sex trafficking is big business for New York politicians and lawyers.
Her testimony alone is probably enough to send that sick fuck to prison for life. But that’s only if I don’t slit his throat first. If I have anything to say about it…
Lucy returns to the bathroom. “Let’s get that shirt off.” A small orange first aid kit clatters onto the counter.
Wait. That’s the kit from my duffel bag.
“You went into my bag?”
“It’s an emergency.”
If anyone else had dug through my things, they’d be halfway to the grave already. But Lucy touching my belongings somehow doesn’t bother me.
I shake my head. I’ll deal with that revelation later. “I told you, I’m fine.”
“Shut up. I’m helping you whether you like it or not.” Lucy refuses to take no for an answer, her soft hands disappearing beneath the hem of my shirt and gently drawing it up toward my head despite my protests.
Just lifting my arms sends sharp, blinding stabs through my shoulder and chest. Even I can’t mask this amount of pain.
Lucy slants me a knowing look and grabs for the nearest towel to mop up the blood drying on my skin.
While the injury seemed too small to worry about earlier, I may have exacerbated it during our recent intimate activities. If so, I sure as shit didn’t notice.
I relent, allowing her to clean and bandage me without further complaint. She putters back and forth in the bathroom, tending to me with surprising gentleness. I try not to stare at her bare ass and pussy, but I’m fighting a losing battle.
She seems to have forgotten she’s half naked.
Either that, or she’s come to terms with the fact that she’s mine for the taking now.
Whatever the case may be, it’s only a matter of time before I finish the job and fuck her beautiful body properly.
Lucy’s hair falls in loose waves around her face as she fusses over my shoulder. Her dark eyes hold me captive.
After a few minutes, I huff a laugh. “Why model? You’d make such a great action hero. Perfectly able to do your own stunts and clean yourself up after.”
Lucy smiles, shaking her head a little. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I just wanted to escape my own head. You know, go big or go home.” She swipes my shoulder with alcohol wipes.
I swallow a curse as a burning pain travels through my skin-deep wound. “So you did it for the publicity.”
“Sort of.” She exhales thoughtfully. “I didn’t really have a goal, but you’re not wrong.”
“Gorgeous and a shrewd businessperson.”
She stays quiet, refocusing on bandaging my shoulder.
But even as her brow furrows, her cheeks flush pink. The way her tongue pokes out from between her lips may be the cutest thing I’ve ever witnessed.
A new realization smacks me in the face.
Lucy Marlow matters more to me than the money I earn protecting her. More than the loyalty I feel toward the men who hired me.
At this point, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the crypto wallet. If she has it, she damn well deserves it.
The only thing that worries me is her safety.
Roguilin’s people obviously suspect she has the wallet. And while Shane Gallagher’s more decent than Viktor and his ilk, I still can’t be sure what the head of the Irish Kings might do if thwarted in his efforts to claim it.
I’ll need to contend with that at some point. But for now, I want to revel in the sight of Lucy standing before me.
I’ve never relaxed with anyone the way I have with her. As a result, I’m sorely tempted to confess the covert objective I was given along with the mission of guarding her. If I tell her the truth, and she just gives me the wallet, everything will be so much easier.
“Lucy—”
“Thank you for saving me today.” The sincerity in her voice shuts me the hell up. “But I wish you wouldn’t do that in the future. Put yourself at risk like that.”
My face pulls in what I’m sure is a hideous scowl. “What are you talking about? My job is to keep you safe, even if it costs me my life.”
“I know, but…” She swallows, her eyes flicking around the room before returning to me. “I don’t want to see you hurt. Ever again. Not because of me.”
Oh, god. She suckers me right in the heart.
She doesn’t want to see me hurt?
What happened to the woman who was willing to mace me from three inches away? Who forced me to sleep on her living room floor in the hopes that I’d quit my assignment from pure frustration and physical discomfort?
The change is night and day. I can’t deny that I appreciate this new, sweeter hellcat.
“Lucy, you know I can’t promise you that. If you’re in danger, I’ll—”
“And please don’t…monitor me behind my back.” Her eyes brim with tears. She swipes her arm over them quickly.
Oh, hell.
Guilt pulverizes me.
She continues, oblivious to my regret. “I hate it. It’s invasive.
Makes me feel violated. Having my privacy pried into like that reminds me of my worst moments growing up in foster care.
And it reminds me of my abduction. Every time someone has controlled my movements or decided what information I should have access to, it’s always been for their benefit, not mine. ”
Damn. Once again, no words exist in the universe to convey the depth of my guilt.
She sniffs, grabbing a tissue off the bathroom counter. “I know that’s not the case with you, Callum, but…just be up-front with me next time. And I’ll do my best not to keep things from you either.”
The weight of my actions crashes down on me like a glass ceiling. If I don’t tell her about the crypto wallet, she’s going to think I betrayed her. Of course she will. Because every second that passes that I keep my mouth shut, I’m breaking her trust.
Now is the time to fess up. Though I recognize that, the words refuse to come.
If Lucy discovers my secret agenda, one I’ve had this whole time, after everything we’ve been through, after what we just did…
First, I need to work on curbing my asshole tendencies long enough for her to trust me. For real. Once I’ve established that baseline, then I can be honest with her about my additional assignment.
Or maybe by that time, I’ll have discovered a way to dig myself out of this mess.
I nod, even though it’s all a lie. “You’ve got a deal.” A stupid, selfish, ugly lie.
The smile she returns nearly destroys me. That dimple. The adorable little divot may as well be a black hole for my heart.
I shove aside the reality that I’ll hurt her again, because for now, I just want to keep her close and safe.
As she pats the last bandage in place and starts to clean up, I clear my throat. “Is it my turn to make a request?”
“What is it?” Her back’s to me again, and her ass is calling my name.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” I don’t recognize the vulnerability in my request until the words hang in the air between us. “I just want to—”
“Yes.”
Her instant agreement sends a cool wave of relief over my body, so potent I feel it in the soles of my feet.
What if she’d said no? The disappointment might’ve killed me.
Instead, she gathers my hand in hers and slowly leads me back to the bedroom. I kick off my dark jeans while she finds a pair of silk pajamas. The initial clamber is awkward, but we manage to get under the covers of this massive bed, maneuvering our bodies until we’re close enough to touch.
I pull her into my embrace the way I did earlier, holding her to me. But when I reach over to the nightstand to switch off the light, she stops me with her soft, sure voice.
“Don’t.”
I leave the light on and hold her tighter.
Not long after that, Lucy falls asleep in my arms. I’m exhausted and ready to conk out myself, but sleep takes longer to find me.
An awful voice in the back of my head nags me, promising that sooner or later, this will all blow up in my face.