[English] HOT SECRETS (Bí Mật nóng bỏng)

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Lauren responded by reaching for his mouth with hers again. This time he didn’t stop her. At first he didn’t move, and for the briefest of moments, she felt nervous about her actions. But she’d come this far last night, tonight. No way was she backing down now. Instead, she pressed into him, wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her tongue across his bottom lip in a sensual move that, to her delight, made him moan.

Suddenly, he was devouring her mouth, kissing her as if he were trying to possess her. And God, she wanted to be possessed. Her hands went to his waist, and she tried to pull him closer, but he wouldn’t move. He nipped her bottom lip and pressed his cheek to hers. “Dinner first,” he said and this time, he sounded hoarse, his voice raspy with desire. “Then… we’ll talk.”

She jerked back and he laughed. “You have a real thing about talking, don’t you?”

He kissed her. “Get your purse and let’s go eat. Wait. I mean please go get your purse so we can eat.” He grinned. “I did say I’d work on the bossy thing.”

She laughed. “Yes. You did. And good thing you added that ‘please’.” She turned on her heels, and headed to the bedroom, thinking that she might let Royce give her an order or two under the right circumstances, under the most pleasurable of circumstances. She smiled and snatched her purse, heading back to where Royce waited, looking forward to both dinner and what came after dinner in a way she hadn’t looked forward to anything in a very long time.

***

Thirty minutes later, with her arm linked with Royce’s, Lauren walked into the door of "Eden" and stopped at the hostess booth. Her gaze traveled the dimly lit restaurant, decorated in rich green colors with plants running around high ledges that lent to the tropical-island ambiance, that Royce said he couldn’t wait for her to try.

“It’s such a cool place,” she murmured after he put their name on a list.

“I thought you’d like it,” he said, but before he could continue they were greeted robustly by a friendly thirty-something couple, with a baby on the way, who not only obviously knew all three of the Walker brothers well, they owned the restaurant. With energetic, friendly conversation surrounding her, and Royce frequently touching her, Lauren felt a new kind of warmth fill her. She was realizing the significance of his actions. He’d brought her to a place that was so clearly a part of his life, after he’d taken her to his apartment and invited her to be nosy.

“Let me get you two a table,” Shannon, the wife, a pretty, petite brunette, every bit of eight months pregnant, said before she grabbed two menus and motioned for them to follow her.

“Don’t let Royce get out of line, Lauren,” John, Shannon’s husband a tall blond who looked more lethal weapon than the lethal chef she’d been assured he was, warned. “Bust his chops freely. You have my permission.”

Lauren laughed and exchanged a look with Royce who quickly explained, “I call him ‘Shannon whooped.’ He doesn’t like it.”

Shannon rubbed her belly. “Oh, he likes it.”

Lauren laughed again, pretty sure her cheeks were going to hurt if this night continued as it was, something that normally only Julie and a rare girls’ night out, could do for her.

Shannon led them down a hall to a private dining area and circular booth, waving them forward. “Our VIP seat.” Once they were seated, Shannon placed the menus on the table. “Enjoy.”

Lauren reached for her menu, when Shannon’s gaze caught on her wrist. “What a gorgeous watch.”

“Oh,” Lauren said, wondering why she’d worn the darn thing. “Thank you. A gift from my father.” And that recognition of her father she’d just delivered, was probably why he gave her the flashy diamond studded piece of jewelry, she thought. The gift, the many gifts, weren’t about her at all. They were about making himself feel, and look, like he cared, even if his actions said otherwise. A point driven home today quite clearly. She’d left his house obviously upset, claiming to be sick, and he hadn’t even called to check on her.

Royce’s hand slid to her leg under the table, and her gaze met his. Her chest tightened at the understanding in his expression, at the awareness that somehow, she’d let emotion seep into her reply to Shannon in a way she normally would not, and he’d noticed. The sincere concern she saw in his eyes touched her, while the contrast it held to the insincerity of her father’s gift clawed at her.

“Well it’s spectacular,” Shannon said wistfully and glanced at Royce. “Give me one of those as a gift and we’ll talk about me working at Walker Security.”

Royce chuckled. “None of those in my arsenal, but I have a desk and sturdy chair with your name all over them.”

She snorted. “You really don’t know the way to a girl’s gun, I can promise you that.”

A waitress appeared with a bottle of wine. “From John,” the woman said, and set two glasses in front of Royce and Lauren.

“I’ll leave you two to enjoy,” Shannon said and smiled at Lauren. “Nice to meet you, Lauren. Maybe next time we can chat more.”

A few minutes later, Lauren and Royce sipped a rich, sweet red wine, each having ordered a pasta dish. “What was all that about Shannon’s gun and your desk and chair?” Lauren asked.

“The restaurant is really John’s baby. Shannon’s an FBI agent I used to work with, and a damn good one, at that. We’d be lucky to get her for Walker Security. And it would be a safer job for her too, which is why John wants her to leave the agency. I can control what jobs she gets and watch her back. And I can make sure the job doesn’t destroy her family. The Agency won’t do that.”

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“Do you ever regret leaving the Agency?” she asked, sipping her wine.

“Not once in two years,” he said, but she didn’t miss the sudden flex of his jaw muscle or the tightness of his voice. “I had some bad stuff go down at the Agency and by the time it passed, I was one foot out the door.” He sighed and tapped his fingers on the table, as if drumming out tension. “Right about the time I was contemplating leaving the agency, Blake lost his fiancée in an undercover ATF mission. He was ready to go vigilante and there’s no good in that. I needed something to distract him, a way to keep him under thumb, and Walker Security was born. Truth be told, I suspect Blake’s walk through hell was the real reason Luke went civilian. Otherwise, I think he would have been a career Navy, like our father was career Army.”

“Did they ever catch the person who killed Blake’s fiancée?”

“No,” he said. “That particular Mexican drug cartel leader is still alive and well, and deep underground, but not ever out of Blake’s mind. If he finds him, he’ll go after him. I never kid myself about that.”

She studied him a moment. “And you and Luke will be there with him.”

He gave a sharp nod. “Making sure he doesn’t end up dead or in a jail cell for taking the guy out.”

Heaviness settled in her chest. “And your father?”

“What a lifetime of combat couldn’t do, cancer did. We buried him three Christmases ago. My mother lives in Jersey and is thrilled to have her boys nearby. She was yet another reason Walker Security made sense.”

“I was a teenager when breast cancer took my mother,” she said, emotion thickening her voice. “Seventeen when my father married Sharon.”

He didn’t say he was sorry or ‘oh how horrible’ like most people and she knew why. He knew it didn’t help; he knew from experience that “I’m sorry’ sometimes managed to open a raw nerve. “And Sharon has been like the Energizer Bunny. She just keeps on staying.”

She smiled. “The evil Energizer Bunny.”

John appeared at the table with a cordless phone in his hand. “There’s a call for Lauren.” Her gaze went to Royce’s, her stomach suddenly rejecting the few bites of bread and the wine she’d just enjoyed. “No one knows I’m here. I didn’t even know where we were going before we got here.”

John arched a brow and covered the receiver. “Muffled voice, and car horns in the background. Sounds like a payphone to me.”

She sighed. “It’s probably a reporter.” She reached for the phone. “They’ll just keep calling if I don’t take it.”

John handed her the receiver and she immediately put it to her ear. “Hello, this is Lauren.”

The sound of a clock ticking echoed through the line for a mere few seconds, before a dial tone replaced it, and Lauren felt a chill race down her spine. Her hand began to tremble with the understanding that these feelings she’d been having of being watched weren’t her imagination, nor were the calls pranks. Which meant someone had watched her tonight, followed her to Eden.

Royce reached for the phone, and Lauren let him take it from her hand, barely aware of him listening to the dial tone or disposing of it, until his hand slid to her face. “Tell me what just happened.”

She wet her lips. “The clo… ” She swallowed the dryness in her throat, her hand going to his wrist. “Ticking clock.”

He studied her several long seconds, then pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re okay. We’ll take care of this. I’ll take care of it.” He leaned back and looked at her, trailing his fingers down her cheek. “Give me a second.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed, then snagged the cordless and looked through the call log.

“I’m at Eden with Lauren,” he said into his cell. “She just got a call we need traced.” He read off the number and then barely a second later, said, “That’s what I thought.” He hung up. “Payphone, but Luke’s headed over there to check it out anyway.” She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off, “Don’t even think about telling me he doesn’t have to. He wants to and so do I.”

“Is this when you tell me to call the police?” she asked.

“If I did, would you?”

She shook her head. “No. It would end up all over the papers and I can’t deal with that, Royce. Not on top of everything else and not when that might be exactly what this person wants.”

“Who are you trying to convince?” he asked. “You? Or me?”

“I don’t think I have the reasoning skills right now to convince anyone of anything, which makes me wonder if that isn’t the idea. Someone wants to rattle me before the trial.”

“We could make a list of what this person’s motivations might be,” he said. “And of all the things I’d put on that list, you picked the one that makes you feel better, the one that makes you feel like you aren’t in danger.”

“Are you saying you think I am?”

“I’m saying that refusing to accept that you might be is danger in and of itself. You know that. Your job has allowed you to see what people are capable of.”

“You aren’t making me feel better.”

His hand moved down her hair. “I’d rather make you feel safe.” He brushed his lips over hers. “Let’s get out of here.”

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***

Half an hour later, Lauren stood at the door of her apartment, Royce by her side. He leaned in and kissed her. “Let me check it out before you go in.”

“I’m feeling pretty good about the bodyguard routine right now,” she said. “Feel free.” She pressed her key into his palm and then watched while, instead of entering, he felt around her doorjamb.

She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the wall, knowing all too well that he was looking for some sort of trip wire or surveillance equipment. It was overkill, she told herself, suspicion and caution built into his blood by a lifetime in law enforcement that he was incapable of fighting. But deep down, caution felt right, and that meant something was very wrong.

The minute he opened the door, his gaze dropped, he squatted then stood, having retrieved an envelope. “Does your doorman allow people to just come and go?”

Lauren stepped toward him, reaching for it. She half expected him to resist. “No. You’ve seen how he hovers.” To her dismay, her hands shook, yet again, as she fumbled with the seal and opened the envelope. Inside she found a single sheet of paper that appeared to be a calendar.

“Today’s date is marked off,” Royce observed from over her shoulder. “Any idea what it means?”

She shook her head. “No. Should I be touching it? What about evidence?”

“There won’t be any,” he said, as if he were sure.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she let him take the piece of paper from her hands. The envelope slipped out of her hands onto the ground.

Drawn to Royce’s strength, she studied his profile as he examined the calendar. His jaw was tense, his eyes probing and intense. He bent down and picked up the dropped envelope, inserting the page back inside.

When he spoke, his voice was unaffected. He seemed calm and collected, so very unlike her right now. “I need to check out the rest of the apartment.” He reached out and smoothed a piece of wild hair behind her ear. “Stay put.”

It wasn’t a question, and though taking orders normally wasn't her cup of tea, it suited her just fine if it meant she didn’t have to go inside alone. She nodded and leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling exhausted. The adrenaline high from her initial scare was wearing off to be replaced with stark fear.

***

Royce waited to pull out his gun until he stepped inside the door. He didn’t want to upset Lauren any further, and right now, things that wouldn’t normally bother her, might. She was just that rattled, and that sensitive.

He searched the apartment, all the while aware of the leaden feeling in his gut. Gathering his thoughts, he stood in the bedroom, giving himself a minute before returning to Lauren’s side. He wasn’t sure what weighed on him more heavily, Lauren’s safety or the fact that he knew she didn’t give trust or control easily, but she was giving it to him. No, no, the thing that weighed the most heavily was knowing he was bound to hide the secret pact with her father until this blew over. Part of him even wondered if he could simply never tell her, but he discarded the idea, knowing all too well that he’d end up captive to her father, and even more so, to guilt. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a loud breath. Then he heard Lauren’s voice. “Royce?”

He holstered his weapon before responding. Walking into the living room, he found her looking nervously around the room. "Woman,” he said, “I thought I told you to wait.”

She bristled. “You took forever. I was worried.”

He smiled, unable to help himself. The idea of her worrying about him wasn’t such a bad one. "You were, huh?”

Her brows knitted together. “Why are you smiling?”

In several long strides, he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her close. “Because I’m not used to anyone worrying about me. I’m not leaving you tonight you do know that, right?”

“Promise?”

“Promise. I need to make some phone calls and talk to the doorman though. You do whatever you do at night, and I’ll finish up as soon as possible.”

***

An hour later, Royce sat at Lauren’s kitchen table, and ended a final call with Luke, having confirmed the phone booth was in Time Square, and had been swept for fingerprints. He pushed to his feet, more than eager to join Lauren in the living room where she’d snuggled under a blanket in a red silk robe to watch a True Crime show he’d tried to convince her to change to something else, but she’d refused.

Royce rounded the couch to find her fingers curled under her chin, her eyes shut, her breathing heavy. He smiled. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been so good at putting a woman to sleep. But the adrenaline rush from the fear, on top of limited sleep the night before, had clearly worked a number on her. And never before had he found himself just watching someone sleep, so lost in taking in every delicate line and curve of someone’s features. He shook himself and bent down to kiss her, stroking his hand over her fiery hair.

He flipped off the television, kicked off his boots, and slid onto the couch behind her. She sighed and snuggled that perfect round backside of hers to his front, and dug deeper into her pillow. Royce smiled into her hair and made a silent vow. If he was going to be forced to keep a secret from Lauren to keep her safe, then he damn sure was going to make whoever was messing with her feel the pain he was going to.

***

Dirt Diver sat with his booted feet kicked up on the wooden surface of a cookie-cutter hotel desktop, a smile on his lips. The monitor in front of him displayed an image of Royce Walker acting like a watchdog to Lauren Reynolds, camped out by her couch as she slept. He snorted. Royce Walker and the Walker brothers. Like they could stop him from getting to her. Like anyone could stop him from getting to her. He liked that the brothers were bad asses by most people’s standards, his included. He liked it a lot. That meant Lauren would feel protected, safe, secure. That meant that when he reached inside her world and sliced it to bloody hell, she’d feel as gutted as she’d made him feel. As she’d made so many people before him feel. That meant she would know just how lethal he was, just how ready he was, just how good he was. The bitch would know his name before this was over. Oh yeah, she’d know his name and she’d know why he’d come for her. No one, not even Royce Walker and his piece of **** brothers, were going to protect her.

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Chapter Eight

Lauren woke to the phone ringing. Blinking, she eased up on her elbow, realizing she was still on the couch and the light streaming through her blinds said it was already Sunday morning. She glanced down to find the blanket from her bed on top of her. Any pleasure at knowing Royce had done something so thoughtful, so intimate, faded with the incessant ringing demanding her attention.

Behind her, she heard the phone lift, her home phone, and reality hit her. It was her caller again, her... stalker. She hated that word but that’s what this was starting to feel like. She sat up straight, her breath lodged in her throat. The next few seconds felt like eternity, as she waited to see what would happen, but there was only silence, until Royce hung up the receiver. Almost instantly, as if he’d already had someone on the line, he spoke into his cell phone, or so she assumed, “Yeah I know,” he said in a low voice. “Too short to trace. And yeah, whoever it is has to know I’m here since they knew she was with me last night. And yeah, I know what that means.” He ended the call without a goodbye. She sensed rather than heard him heading in her direction.

Lauren’s fingers curled into the blanket as she waited for him to join her. “I woke you up,” he said, rounding the couch to sit down next to her. “Sorry about that.”

“I heard the phone ring,” she said, turning to him, aware of him as a man despite her distress, aware of how their legs melded together, of his smell, spicy and male, both arousing and comforting. “And I heard you say that whoever the caller was knows that you’re here and ‘yeah you know what that means’. What does that mean?”

“I should have stepped into the hall,” he said. “You didn’t need to hear that.

“Yes, I did. I don’t want to be coddled, Royce. I want to know what I’m dealing with.”

He considered her a moment, and then nodded. “Fair enough. No coddling.” He reached up and brushed hair from her eyes. “The call was a taunt that was, in my professional opinion, and Luke’s as well, meant to tell us that whoever this is believes that he, or she, is untouchable. But you know from your job, as well as I know, that they all think that they’re different than the other guys. That they really aren’t untouchable. You know that.”

“You really don’t think this is just someone trying to scare me, do you?” she asked, knowing she’d pressed him about this before, but unable to stop herself from doing so again.

“You can ask me that same question framed every which way you can think of and it’s always going to be the same,” he said. “I think it’s better to be safe than sorry. And you have experience and good instincts or you wouldn’t be good at your job. No matter what I say, you know what you feel. Don’t ignore a gut feeling. I learned that the hard way a very long time ago. So I’ll ask you now and probably again, what do you feel?”

“I don’t rattle easily, and I wouldn’t have slept if you hadn’t stayed with me. That’s not me. I see a lot of nastiness and I’ve learned to compartmentalize it outside my job.”

“You have to,” he said. “Believe me, I know. And I’m here.” He slid his hand under her hair, around her neck, “And not just because of these threats. I’m here because I want to be.” He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, and a shiver of pure need slid down her spine.

“I’m glad you are,” she whispered, unsure what was happening to her, between them. She’d never felt so consumed by a man’s presence, so completely drawn to him.

He ran his hand down her hair. “I might have woken you up but I do have morning gifts.”

She laughed. “Morning gifts? Hmmm. Please tell me its toothpaste because I shouldn’t have just kissed you.”

“Better,” he assured her. “I called the corner deli and they delivered donuts.”

“You had donuts delivered and I didn’t hear the door but I heard the phone? Now I’m questioning my survival instincts.”

“I was smart enough to step in the hallway to make the call and then have the doorman text me when he was bringing them up. I wanted to ask him a few questions anyway, so I made it worth his while. Cash and donuts buys a lot of information. A little trick an ex-cop taught me.”

She laughed, liking that he shared those insider jokes with her, but somehow didn’t seem a part of the insiders at all.

He pushed to his feet. “Stay put and I’ll bring them to you.”

Lauren smiled as he headed to the kitchen, and wondered if he even realized when he gave orders. Somehow, she didn’t think so, and was odd considering what she knew of herself and her dislike for bossy people, she found it endearing rather than irritating. And this wasn’t an order she intended to follow. She threw off the blanket and rushed towards the bedroom and her bathroom.

Not five minutes later, Lauren had brushed her teeth and hair, and washed her face, before returning to find Royce sitting on the couch with donuts and coffee for them both laid out on the coffee table.

“A girl could get used to a big brawny man attending to her caffeine needs every morning,” she said, joining him and sitting down beside him again. She reached for the coffee mug and inhaled. “The only thing better than caffeine in the morning is sugar.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he said. “And you just happen to live down the road from one of the best donut makers in the city.”

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“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said, opening the bag and pulling out a chocolate glazed variety, to take a bite. “Hmmm. Okay. Pretty darn good.”

He leaned in and kissed her, licking his lip afterwards. “You had icing on your mouth.”

Lauren felt her cheeks heat, and pretty much, her entire body, too.

“I’m staying the rest of the weekend.”

“What?” She asked in surprise at the announcement and then immediately set her donut on a napkin he’d placed on the table and shook her head in rejection. “You don’t have to play bodyguard, Royce. The building is secure.”

“And yet you wouldn’t have slept if I hadn’t been here last night. I’m staying with you or you’re staying with me. I’d rather stay here so I can evaluate what is going on with these threats in your environment and whether they are likely to continue. But,” he pulled her close, his lips lingering above hers, “I’d welcome the opportunity to have you in my bed.”

“Royce,” she said, trying to think past the warmth spreading through her body. “You’re impossibly”

“Bossy. Yes. I know. But I’m going to fight you on this one and I’m not going to apologize. I told you to listen to your gut. And my gut tells me to keep you close.”

“I don’t want you to babysit me, Royce.”

“Apparently I’ve not been clear. You interest me, Lauren Reynolds, like no other woman has in a very long time. I want an excuse to stay with you. Now, I just need to hear you say you want me to stay.”

She did want him to stay but he confused her, sent her mixed messages. “Where did you sleep last night?”

“I didn’t.”

“You didn’t sleep? Were you that worried about these calls?”

“I dozed off leaning against the couch at some point,” he said, dodging the question.

She studied him a long moment, reading between the lines of his many mixed messages. He was worried and he wasn’t someone to worry without cause. He thought she was in trouble and no matter what his motivation, his duty, or his interest in her, it mattered to her that he was here for her.

She brushed her hand over her cheek. ”You can’t stay with me if you’re not going to sleep. You have to be exhausted.”

“I’m not promising either of us are going to get any sleep.”

Heat and nerves collided inside her at those words. She wanted Royce, and yet, she was way over her head with him, inexperienced and vulnerable, two things she didn’t like to feel. She was too drawn to this man and it scared her.

“How about we go to my place so I can shower and change and pick up some things?” he asked, continuing. “Then, we can hunker down here and watch a movie, or I can beat you at tic tac toe. I don’t care what. Anything that will get your mind off this mess.”

“I have work I need to do,” she said, “but... yes. Okay. I think it might do me some good to escape a bit.”

“Perfect. So let’s eat this bag of donuts and you can do whatever women do in the morning to get ready, and we’ll take off.” He released her and reached for the bag and they turned on the news and chatted. But any relaxation Lauren felt ended quickly as a media clip of her and Royce, rushing from the hotel flashed on the screen. Then another of the crowd gasping as something was thrown all over them.

Lauren was glad she’d just finished off her donut. She was no longer hungry. “He wants attention,” she said, without looking at Royce. “He got it.”

“He?”

She glanced at him. “Gut feeling.”

“Ah,” he said. “Well. It’s all over the news. Why not file that police report?”

“Someone throwing alcohol at us is in the news,” she said. “My phone calls are not. And you and I both know the police will do less than what you’re doing and someone will blab. This kind of thing feeds copycats. I don’t need to invite that kind of attention to me, or anyone in a similar position on a tough case.”

“Are you confident this is about the case?”

She inhaled and let it out. “I don’t know. I have ticking clocks and one day marked off a calendar. How do I know what that means? Logic says it’s this case though. That’s all I can go on.”

“Do you have your files on your computer? Can you go through them and make a list of the most likely suspects?”

“Royce, you were FBI. Is there even one of the perps you took down that would send you a Christmas card?”

“No,” he said. “But I know the ones that were the most vicious and the most likely to lash out. We need to start there.”

“I have my files.”

“Then when we get back here, we’ll go through them. We’ll get this behind you. I promise.”

Lauren wasn’t one to lean on other people, but in that moment, she was secretly far more thankful for that promise than she was willing to admit to anyone, even him. And not because she didn’t appreciate his efforts. Because she knew that if she let him know just how rattled she was, if she admitted it to him, she’d have to admit it to herself. The way she compartmentalized the bad stuff that came with her job didn’t work that way. There was an order to the way she dealt with things. She had to maintain control. Not Royce.

***

Several hours later, Lauren shivered as she stepped off the elevator and into the corridor outside her apartment. “Well, we didn’t beat the rain,” she said, shivering from the cold droplets that lingered on her black jeans and red t-shirt, as well as her hair. “I hope the sandwiches we walked two blocks for are worth getting wet over. I’ve never tried this place.”

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She scooped her keys from her purse. Royce’s cell phone rang and he dropped his overnight bag on the ground, and Lauren took the bag of food from him so he could answer it.

He held his phone and punched the ‘answer’ button as his gaze dropped to the bottom of the door. He answered the call with, “I’ll call you back,” then ended the connection and stuck his phone back onto his belt.

Lauren’s gaze settled on the envelope on the ground and she knew that had to be what he was reacting to, and she was downright chilled to the bone now. “We’ve only been gone a few hours. There have to be security cameras.”

“There are and they showed no evidence of anyone but us at your door in the past few days. Let me have your keys.”

Lauren set the bag on the floor and handed them to him. He took them and checked the door over before opening it and grabbing the envelope. “Stay here.”

“Right,” she said stiffly. “I’ve got the drill down. You go. I wait.”

He tilted her chin up with his finger. “I’ll make this go away, Lauren. I promise.”

“Keep saying that,” she encouraged, confessing more than she should, more than she told herself just hours before that she would, but unable to stop herself. “It helps to hear it.”

***

After Royce searched the apartment, he found Lauren in the hallway and gave her the ‘all clear’ to come inside. Standing at the kitchen table, he showed her the calendar sheet he’d already pulled from the envelope with an ad***ional day marked off. This time there was a message made from cutout letters.

Lauren frowned, reading it. “The countdown continues.” She shook her head. “There’s no ending date for me to have any idea where this is headed. It’s making me crazy.”

“When you see that paper and hear the ticking clock, what’s the first thing, or things, that comes to your mind?”

“This case. It’s a death penalty case. Well, there is this other...” She pursed her lips. “No. Never mind.”

“What?” he asked. “Say it. It’s better to look at all options than not.”

She leaned one hand on the table. “I hesitate to bring this up because I was second chair, but my first death penalty case, a guy named Sheridan, goes to execution soon.”

“When?”

“Ironically, two weeks after this new trial begins but it’s been stayed several times. It could easily be again.”

“Who was the first chair?”

“He’s dead, natural causes.”

Royce stiffened at that news. “You’re sure it was natural?”

“Not only did the man practically inhale his weight in grease every day, the phrase ‘smoke like a chimney’ was created in his honor. He had a heart attack. It’s a reach but it’s what came to my mind on several occasions, so there it is.”

Royce grabbed his phone and punched in Luke’s number, before giving his brother the Sheridan execution and case to research. He asked Lauren a couple of questions for Luke and then ended the call.

“I hate that your brothers are being bothered with this,” Lauren said, her hands on the back of one of the chairs. “I hate you’re being bothered with this. I know you have work of your own to deal with.”

“They don’t question what I need any more than I question what they need. We have each other’s backs.” He pulled her against him, her h*ps to his, his arms around her waist. “And I have yours.”

Her hand settled on his chest and he doubted she knew just how much her touch scorched him, how much she affected him without even trying. “You barely know me,” she argued.

“But I want to, which means keeping you safe so I get the chance.” She shivered and he ran his hands down her arms. “Why don’t I start a fire before we eat? I noticed you have wood.”

“I’d like that,” she said. “I think I’ll go throw on some dry clothes.” She started to turn and paused. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I do.” She hesitated. “Just... I do.” She rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

Royce knew she meant to make it a quick kiss and then escape, but she was tiny and soft in his arms and felt more perfect than anyone had in a very long time. It tormented him to know he was deceiving her but he shoved aside the reality he’d eventually have to face and wrapped his fingers around her neck, holding her to him. His tongue pressed into hers, stealing one sweet taste before he murmured, “Hurry back. I’m hungry.” And if she wasn’t clear that he wasn’t talking about sandwiches, she would be soon.

Chapter Nine

Royce watched Lauren disappear into her bedroom, thinking about the senator’s insistence that she would dismiss a threat, and put herself in harm’s way. Sure, he saw her caution about overreacting, but he couldn’t blame her in the role she was in with the DA. Most importantly thought, she wasn’t under reacting either or pretending nothing was wrong. The senator clearly knew something he wasn’t saying, something he didn’t want Lauren to know.

Royce headed to the front door and unzipped his bag and replaced his wet Yankees t-shirt with a dry white one on his way to the door. He had Luke on the line the instant he was in the hallway. “Senators can’t give stays of execution,” Royce said. “I get that but”

“They can influence them,” Luke finished for him. “I’m already on it. I’m trying to find any connection between the senator and the Sheridan case, be it past or present, or both.”

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“You mean I’m trying,” came Blake’s voice in the background. “And I’m already on it. Apparently, you’re taking all the cre***.”

Luke grimaced at Blake’s comment and continued speaking to Royce. “As you can see, I’ve recruited help. While Blake works the Sheridan angle, I’m working on anything and everything the senator has touched in the past year. Are you going to tell him about the phone calls and the calendars Lauren is getting?”

“Not yet,” Royce said. “Let’s see what we come up with first.”

“Exactly my thought,” Luke agreed. “This whole secrecy thing just doesn’t add up.”

“Agreed,” Royce said, glancing at the caller ID as his phone beeped. “Speak of the devil, the senator is calling me. Text me when you find something out.” He ended the call and flipped over to the next. “This is Royce.”

“Update, son. What is happening with my daughter?”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to find out,” he said. “And it would be easier if we told her what is going on.”

The Senator grunted. “Absolutely not.”

Royce ran a hand through his hair. “She is going to hate us both when she finds out we didn’t tell her.”

“Then don’t let her find out,” he said bitingly. “Where is she now?”

“She’s safe.”

“Translate that to a detailed assurance.”

“I’m with her, out of her hearing range.”

“Well done,” he said. “I’ve got to head to a meeting. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

“Have you?” The line went dead.

Royce dropped the phone to stare at it in disbelief. Damn it to hell, he’d hung up. And without one single question about the progress on finding out who was behind the letters or what the lab had found out. More and more, something didn’t add up.

***

Lauren returned, having dried her hair, dressed in black sweats, a tee, and slipper socks, to find Royce stoking a fire that seemed to be on its way to a nice blaze.

He rotated on his heels from where he squatted, apparently hearing her approach, his gaze hotter than the fire, as it traveled a path up and down her body and settled on her t-shirt. He laughed, a deep rumble from his chest. Damn, she loved his laugh. “Lawyers have more fun?” he asked.

“Julie got it for me since I always tell her blondes have more fun. I told her the shirt proves nothing.” She motioned to the kitchen. ”I’ll grab the drinks. I’m starving.”

A few minutes later, they both sat on the floor with their laptops at the ready, their Reubens on plates. The fire crackled and rain splattered on the window in heavier taps.

Lauren took a bite of her sandwich and sighed. “Either it’s good or I’m just really, really hungry.”

“It’s good,” he agreed. “I haven’t had one of these in a long time.” He opened the container with his cheesecake and took a bite. “It’s good, too.”

“I’ve never seen anyone eat dessert with their meal instead of after.”

“It’s better than before, right?”

“I suppose it is,” she agreed and found herself considering him a moment. “You know, you really aren’t what I expected.”

“You’ve said that before the other night and then fell asleep. This time you’re not getting out of an explanation.”

“You’re just... different.”

“Different from other men you’ve known? From the politicians you work with?”

“Everyone else around me. I’m surprised you took the state advisor job. It doesn’t seem like you to want to deal with the politics of things.”

“I tolerate the politics, because I’m able to influence decisions that impact the safety of the public. I worked some pretty intense post 9/11 FBI operations. I don’t ever want the people of this country, this city, to see 9/11 happen again. And as I suspect you have done, I made the decision to grin and bear what I had to, to make an impact, or at least try. Frankly, I‘m shocked you aren’t working for your father’s law firm.”

She took a sip of her drink and set it down. “My father is all about money and power. That’s just not who I am. It wasn’t who my mother was either. Looking back, I think she chose to be a professor over a practicing lawyer to avoid the differences between her and my father.” She opened her cheesecake and took a bite. “Oh, that’s good.” She shoved her sandwich aside.

“Now look who’s eating out of order,” he teased.

“I ate half my sandwich,” she said. “That’s enough for me. You want the other half?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he said and grabbed her plate, setting his now empty one aside and then surprised her by asking, “Didn’t I read you were engaged at some point?”

Her fork stilled in her mouth a moment, before she nodded and set it down, her gaze fixing on the orange flames of the fire. “Yeah. I was.”

Royce slid a finger under her chin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“You're not. It’s just not a happy subject.”

“He hurt you.”

“I caught him in bed with another woman.” She held up a hand. “And don’t do the sympathy thing. After I was over the initial shock of his betrayal, I was actually relieved.” Lauren turned to face him, leaning her elbow on the couch, her legs curled to her side. “I wasn’t happy with him. I knew long before we broke up that he didn’t want me. He wanted control of my father’s law firm. By him taking it, I didn’t have to deal with my father’s nagging for me to take over.”

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“He hates it,” she said. “And he really hates this case I’m about to go to trial on, because the defendant is playing the battered woman card and I’m being painted as a monster. He’s been getting hate mail and phone calls over it.”

“Have you seen any of the mail?”

“I don’t want to see it. I get plenty of my own. It’s part of the job. But that’s just it. It’s my job, not his. I’m helping victims fight for justice and that feels good. I hope my ex stays with my father’s firm forever and the two of them live happily ever after making tons of money. That’s not what motivates me.”

“Wait. Are you saying he still works there?”

“My ex and my stepbrother are controlling partners.”

“I’d have kicked his ass and wiped the floor with him and then thrown his stuff out the door with him. I can’t believe your father let him stay.”

“It’s business.”

“It’s family.”

Her chest tightened. “Not everyone has the kind of bond with their family you seem to have.”

He studied her a long moment and then pushed the table away from them. He scooted back to sit beside her, his back against the couch before pulling her legs over his lap. Awareness rushed through her, and something else, something warm and right, like she’d never felt with another man.

“I owe you an apology,” he confessed, his hands settling on her legs.

“An apology?” She laughed. “For eating my sandwich? For being bossy by nature? Because I can’t imagine what else you have to apologize about at this point in our short relationship.”

“I judged you by a stereotype before I met you. I thought you were the pretty, spoiled senator’s daughter. And now, more than ever, I not only know how unfair that was, I know how much it eats you alive.”

“Thank you,” she said, moved by his honesty. “I appreciate that more than you can know, but if you’re apologizing for your assumption, then I have to apologize for mine. I thought you were an arrogant ladies’ man. Single, good looking, in your thirties, with two different women at two different functions I saw you at.”

His chest expanded with an inhalation before he exhaled. “I haven’t been much on serious relationships but I was engaged once, right when I joined the agency. It was the wrong time, the wrong situation, and I was the wrong man for her. I was high on my job, and she wanted me home, when I wanted to catch the next bad guy. The deeper and more dangerous my work became, the more I saw the writing on the wall. You put bad guys behind bars, they become your enemies and you become dangerous cargo to the people you love.”

“Well, I guess I’ve proven I’m dangerous cargo,” she said, a shiver chasing a path up her spine. “And I guess being alone is a small price for fighting for the innocent.”

“You're not alone now,” he said softly, brushing his fingers down her cheek, sending a tingle of electricity through her body. “I’m here and no one is going to scare me away.”

“Have you met my father?”

He laughed. “Not even your father.”

“We'll see about that one.”

“Yeah,” he said. “We will. I’m not going anywhere unless you make me.” He turned to his side to face her. “I know I said this before, but I’m going to say it again. I’m not here because of the threats. If they didn’t exist, I’d still be here, if you’d have me. I’m here for you, Lauren. I’m here because there is something about you I can’t escape, and I don’t even want to try.”

The rain pelted against the windows, the fire crackled in the fireplace. Electricity sparked in the air, intimacy thickening with it. “I’m glad you’re here, and not because of the threats.” She hesitated. “Okay, maybe I’m a little glad you’re here because of the threats. I’m rattled, Royce. I don’t know why; it’s not like me, but I am. And I wouldn’t tell anyone else that, but I am. And I feel like I can tell you that without it becoming everyone else’s knowledge.”

“You know what I think?” he asked, lowering his head slowly, his breath warm, teasing her with the promise of intimacy. “I think you need something else to think about.” His lips touched hers, a soft caress that traveled her nerve endings. Her ni**les tightened, and heat pooled low in her belly.

Nerves fluttered in her stomach, with the awareness of where this was going, but his tongue, his hands, his touch, drew her deeper into the fog of desire. She lost herself in the moment, savoring the feel on him, a soft sound of pleasure escaping her lips as his tongue swept against hers. He deepened the contact and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hand traveled her back, scorching her with heat, melding her closer. She could feel the desire expand between them, consume them, and leave her with only him.

Chapter Ten

Royce pulled Lauren into his lap to straddle him, the V of her body pressing against the thick ridge of his erection. He wanted this woman, wanted her like he had not wanted in a very long time. Wanted in a way like he’d never wanted. Her hair was soft on his face, and that damn vanilla and honey scent was driving him wild. So much of what she had told him had twisted him in knots. Her ex cheating on her explained the insecurity he’d seen in her, the fear of intimacy.

He drank her in, kissing her, making love to her with his tongue, and vowing to be the man who showed her just how ***y she truly was.

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“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against her mouth. “And your ex was a fool.”

“Royce, I”

He swallowed her words, working his hands under her shirt to her soft skin, not allowing her to reject his words, showing her how much he meant them. She reached behind him and tugged loose his hair, twining her fingers into it. Her touch was like silk and fire at the same time, soothing him even as she ignited his hunger. He touched her, filled his hands with her high, full br**sts and shoved down her bra to tease her plump ni**les.

She shifted on top of him, arching against his ****, and he moaned with the ache and pleasure that crashed into him. He tugged at her shirt. “Take it off.”

She leaned back and stared down at him, and he saw vulnerability wash over her face. He wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled her mouth to his. “You. Are. Beautiful. And I want to feel you next to me.” He reached over his head and tugged his shirt off, trying to make her feel more comfortable by undressing first.

Her gaze swept his chest, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “You’re beautiful,” she said, her hands splaying over his pecs, his arms.

He kissed her, hard and fast, caressing her sides, her br**sts, before easing her shirt up again. “Take it off. Let me feel you next to me.”

She pulled it over her head and tossed it and he cupped her br**sts, teasing her ni**les even as he unhooked the front clasp of her bra.

Her lashes fluttered, her hands covering his. He rolled her to the ground and eased her legs apart, settling his h*ps between her legs and going down on top of her.

Their eyes locked and held, the connection, the desire he felt with Lauren, expanding inside him, feeding a possessive need to pleasure her, to protect her, to hold her. He kissed her, trailed lips down her neck, taking his time until he lapped at one perky nipple, and suckled.

The soft sound she made, the twine of her fingers in his hair, worked a number on him. His zipper stretched, his c**k throbbing uncomfortably. He lapped at the other nipple, scraped it lightly with his teeth, and then began a downward path to dip his tongue into her belly button, skimming her pants down her legs. He raised to his knees and pulled them off.

He smiled as he traced the dark triangle of hair, dipping his fingers between her thighs, and caressing the silky wet proof of how aroused she was. “No panties?”

She lifted up on her elbows, her cheeks flushed, pleasure etched on her face as he dipped a finger inside her, stroked her. “I don’t like panty lines,” she murmured.

“I hear ya,” he said. “Panty lines are a bitch.”

She laughed, her br**sts jiggling with the action. Damn, she had nice br**sts. High and full with pretty pink ni**les. He pulled her sweats off her feet and took her socks with them. And why the hell her pink painted toenails seem to make him hotter and harder, he didn’t know. It was just Lauren. Everything about her turned him on.

He leaned in and kissed her clit. “Be right back.”

Royce sat up and yanked off his boots, then stood and made quick work of getting rid of the rest of his clothes, but not before he yanked a package of 3 condoms from his pocket.

She stared at it and he knew immediately what she was thinking. “I don’t walk around with condoms for easy access.” He tore one free from the package, reached down, and pulled her to her feet. “Blake shoved it in my hand as I was leaving the building. He’s a smart-ass, but for once I’m glad.” He tugged her to her feet. “You don’t want the floor. Carpet burn is a bigger bitch than panty lines.”

She laughed, and the soft, silky feminine sound was music to his ears. He settled onto the couch with her straddling him, his c**k between them. He grabbed the condom. She covered his hand with hers. “Let me.” Her other hand wrapped his shaft, tightening around it, and her gaze dropped.

He let go of the package. “As much as I’m a guy who enjoys a woman’s attention to his ****, if you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to forget why I need that condom.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her head and kissed her. “I need to be inside you.”

She tore open the package and glanced up at him before rolling it over his ****. “Now, come here,” he said, the instant it was in place. He framed her h*ps with his hands and lifted her. She guided his c**k to the slick heat of her ***, and pressed him inside her.

White-hot burn rushed over him, at the feel of her taking him, sliding down his length and taking all of him. When she’d taken him all, he fought the urge to move, to thrust, to take.

He kissed her, tasted her, devoured her, inhaled her. She tangled her hands back into his hair, her tongue dancing with his, and he felt her give herself to him. Felt the moment when she forgot everything but this, now, them.

Royce pressed her down against him and then thrust. She gasped into his mouth and arched into him. Slowly, they began to pump until wildness exploded in him, in her. They were moving faster, harder, hands everywhere, anywhere, and he still couldn’t get enough of her.

“Lean back, baby,” he said, wrapping an arm around her back and flattening his hand on her chest. “I got you.” The angle tightened her grip on his shaft and let him see her body, her face. “That’s it.” He caressed her breast, suckled her nipple, and then thrust hard into her. She moaned and held onto his hand as he began a steady, hard pump in and out of her, watching her br**sts bounce, her expression shift with the pleasure, the need.

She gasped and leaned forward, stiffening in his arms a moment before her tight, little *** grabbed hold of him and spasmed, milking him right to release. A low hot throb expanded in his c**k and then shot his release from his body.

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They collapsed together, skin slicked with sweat, her face buried in his neck. Long seconds passed and she didn’t move. He knew she was feeling shy, or embarrassed. Damn, he was going to have to fix that. He rolled her to her back on the couch and leaned over her. “I don’t know if three condoms are going to be enough. We might need a store run because if you think I even came close to getting enough of you, you’re wrong. But for now, I’m going to get rid of this one.” He snatched his shirt from the floor. “And because I know you are about to scramble to get dressed, put my shirt on. It’s less effort for me to take off of you later.” He leaned in and kissed her. “And that was an order you won’t get an apology for.”

***

Lauren awoke naked, on the floor with a comforter underneath her and a heavy arm over her back. She inhaled the spicy male scent of Royce and smiled to herself. She was on her stomach, and she was pretty sure that was because Royce had refused to let her get dressed, so he’d trapped her there.

You need to be as comfortable with you being na**d as I am, he’d told her.

I’m very comfortable with you being naked, she’d replied.

Her gaze fixed on the red glow of a fire not tended for a good while. The darkness of the room was lightening, as if the sun was replacing the moon. And unfortunately, as much as she wanted to savor this moment, Mother Nature called.

She tried to inch out from under Royce’s arm.

Royce pulled her back against him, rolling them both to their sides. “We aren’t ready to get up.”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Close your eyes and you’ll forget.”

She laughed. “No. No. That’s not going to happen.”

“You're sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well, damn,” he said. “I guess I have to let you up then.” He released her and she crawled and grabbed his shirt. He smacked her on the backside and she yelped, drawing a low, ***y chuckle from him.

Lauren stumbled groggily to the bedroom, surprised to see the clock read ten in the morning, until she heard a rumble of thunder. It was still storming. She went to the bathroom and her phone beeped in her purse. Five missed calls from Julie. It rang again in her hand. Lauren shoved down the toilet seat and sat down.

“Yes, my diva darlin’,” she said. “I am alive.”

“You can’t not answer your phone when you have this big case going on and all kinds of public anger. I worry about you.”

“Royce is here. I’m fine.”

“Rewind. What? He’s still there?”

Lauren laughed. “Pretty sure the answer is ‘yes’.”

“Honey, you know how to make up for lost time and bad exes. I so will not keep you from your play toy but I expect gossip and lots of it. Lunch. We are so going to lunch on Monday.”

“Lunch.”

They ended the call and Lauren sat there a moment, thinking about how easily she’d said ‘Royce is here. I’m fine.’ The truth was she was better than fine. Or maybe she wasn’t. She pushed to her feet and stared at herself in the mirror.

“Don’t fall for him,” she murmured. “You can’t fall for him.” She was vulnerable right now, recovering from the past, and perhaps in danger, and she knew it. She was turning Royce into her knight in shining armor, and she knew all too well, that was a fairy tale that didn’t exist. She inhaled and let it out. Royce was all man, all ***, and hard masculine beauty. He made her feel ***y and empowered. This had to be about *** and nothing else, or she’d get hurt. She pushed off the sink and nodded, heading towards the living room with one thing on her mind. She was going to have more ***. No. She was going to f**k.

***

Royce was sitting on the couch, watching the news when Lauren returned, stepping in front of him and pulling his shirt over her head. His mouth went dry and his c**k stood at attention. “I should remind you we’re out of condoms.”

“We’ll improvise.”

She went to her knees and wrapped his c**k with her hand. He thickened and pulsed in her palm. She licked the head. “Any complaints so far?”

“You can lick me, suck me, pretty much do whatever you want to me, sweetheart. I’m all yours.”

Her gaze met his, a fearless look in her eyes he’d not seen before, that he registered as trouble. Something was going on in her head, and he had to find out what. But she sucked his head into her mouth and he forgot exactly what the problem was. Suddenly, there was only the suction of her mouth on his ****, the drag of her tongue around him, up and down. Her long silky hair teasing his stomach and thighs. The edge of near orgasm, and the final, deep draw of her mouth that took his release from him.

The instant he was off the high of one of the best damn blow jobs of his life, he reached for her and pressed her down onto the couch, settling on top of her.

“What was that?”

“I think they call it”

“I know what they call it. I want to know what is going on in your mind right now. Why you came out of the bathroom a woman on a mission to give me a blow job.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You damn sure do.”

“No, I don’t.”

He slid down her body, and lifted her leg to his shoulder. “Here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to take you to the edge of orgasm over and over until you tell me what just happened in that bathroom.” He suckled her cl*t into his mouth.