The further away from town we got, the more excited I became. Not that it would’ve mattered if he’d taken me to one of the lesser stores closer to home, though the thought of Nikki’s smug face if that had happened, would’ve probably sent me over the edge. But since we were this far out, I took a guess that we were headed for the best mall in the area, a place I’d only ever dreamt of.Is it normal to be this nervous over a mere shopping trip? There were so many questions running through my head, not least of all the question of what he would think of me if I showed too much excitement here. Would he see me as a gold digger? Would my excitement send the wrong message? Is this a test? Am I going to fail?I could imagine Nikki’s snide remarks about earning my keep or some such drivel, and it gave me a pain in my tummy. I wish I knew more or had more time to navigate these things in my head. I’d already acted like a rube when he bought the phone, but I did do better with the earrings. Dang
She’s like a blank canvas, and just like that first day, I was reminded once again just how much she reminded me of mom. It was so uncanny the parallels between those two. Small-town girl down on her luck, running from a hard life and falling ass over heels into the lap of luxury. Of course, mom had a bit more baggage, and as beautiful as she is, she was nowhere near my sweet-faced little innocent, but they were close enough in every other way. Life truly is stranger than fiction. I’d run away from this town with mom many moons ago, and now here I was back for the first time and had fallen for someone who reminded me so much of my past.There was one glaring difference between them, though, outside of the obvious, that there was no child and no wayward husband to escape. Mom had left innocence behind a long time ago by the time we left, whereas Silla was as green as the hills.Her innocence was both touching and troubling at the same time. Here, her unassuming nature was fine, but bac
It was almost impossible to keep up with her while keeping an eye out for our would-be follower. Even knowing that the others were around somewhere didn’t give me any relief because I couldn’t leave her care in anyone else’s hands. So, I ended up being dragged from one end of the mall to the next until she was damn near ready to drop.I didn’t complain, though, and let her do her thing as she seemed to come out of her shell more the longer we were there. I did have a few moments where my heart beat like a twelve-year-old cheerleader’s when she slipped her hand in mine without thinking while prattling on about something or the other.I don’t know why, and I’m almost certain it has something to do with falling in love, but her reactions were making me almost weepy. It was obvious that she’d never done this before, that even her friend Chantal had more experience with this, a simple thing like shopping, something I thought every young girl her age was an expert at.Chantal had given up he
I took his measure without saying a word, using my senses to see if I could pick up on anything about him. When Law told me that he was here, I can’t say that I was too surprised, and when they explained how it had happened on the way here, my respect for Lyon and his squad grew tenfold.“Hmm, I guess there’s no doubt that you’re her dad.” Barring some slight differences on the masculine side, the guy was the spitting image of Silla. “You wanna tell me why you were trying to buy your own kid?” He’d better have a good reason for that one or senses or not; he was going to get a fist to the face.“I wasn’t, not really; I was after Calhoun. Would you believe it if I told you I had no idea she was here? That this was all just a twisted coincidence, or fate maybe?” He twisted his lips and shook his head with a wry look on his face.“I don’t follow.” I felt myself relax because, well, he wasn’t giving off any kind of danger signals. In fact, he was cool as a cucumber, given the situation, whi
What a day. I stood next to the bed, looking down at my loot with my arms wrapped around myself as I relived every moment of it. I was still on such a high from the day that I wasn’t even too put out by the fact that Gabriel was not here at this moment. I’d envisioned myself being brave enough to do a little modeling show for him, but who am I kidding? I would’ve no doubt flaked right out. Still, imagining it had a lot of perks.There was a lingering warmth in my tummy left over from the time we spent together on our impromptu shopping spree. Not because of the things he’d bought or how much money he’d spent on me, which, to be honest, is still mind-blowing, but more because of the way he’d coddled and babied me to bring me out of my shell all day.I didn’t know that someone whispering in your ear in public while envious bystanders looked out could be so exciting. Or the way he’d looked at me sometimes while trying to convince me to get something he thought would look good on me, that
Even without his words, I would’ve felt his need as it pressed hard against me. The look in his eyes was a new one, it reminded me of a predatory animal stalking its prey, and yet I felt no fear. I wanted whatever his eyes were offering. My insides turned to liquid, and I could feel heat gather between my thighs and spread to my tummy, where a sweet, slow-burning ache began. My knees quivered and would’ve given out if he wasn’t holding onto me.His hands felt twice their size when they landed on my hips, and when he started sliding the dress up slowly while looking into my eyes, I was sure I would faint. “Oh my!” I sighed or moaned; I’m not sure which, those words into his mouth as his lips came down to cover mine.It was too much, my senses were overloaded, and my heartbeat was out of control, and yet I found that I could take more even though I almost died when I felt the warmth of his hands on my butt, and then he squeezed, and I tried to climb him. I have got to stop this embarras
Condom! That’s the thing that was screaming at the back of my mind. But it was too late now because I’d already cum deep inside her. I looked down at her now, brushing the hair back from her face as her eyes came back into focus while we both fought to breathe.I was still lodged inside of her with no desire to move until I remembered why I had come in search of her in the first place. I didn’t want to tell her like this, so I talked her into taking a shower with me where I took her again because I couldn’t help myself, but when we stepped out of the shower, and I dried us both off before wrapping one of her new robes around her, I was out of time, no more stalling.I didn’t realize how scared I was to tell her until I sat her down on the side of the bed and found myself pacing back and forth in front of her. “Is something wrong?” The tremble in her voice had my head coming up and around to look at her. I don’t know why or how, but I could almost read her mind. She thought I was going
It made more sense, in the long run, to talk to Celine first before Teddy showed up. After her illness, the shock might be too much, so I talked both Silla and Starks into letting us break the news of his return first; then, he could show up after, and they could both tell their daughter their story together.The brave girl who’d insisted she meets her dad right away disappeared the closer we got to the hospital later that day, she became nervous and clingy, but her nervousness was a blessing in disguise because Lyon insisted on having us followed even though we were certain that it was Starks who’d been following us before and there was no one else to look out for. I can’t say that I fault him for his over-cautiousness. It’s probably something I would’ve done myself in the same situation. The fact that he was leaving soon probably had something to do with him wanting to dot all of his Is and cross all of his Ts.The more I see of him and his men and the way they do things, the more i
This is insane. I thought I had it under control, but I didn’t expect the night to be like this. It wasn’t because of all the people that were here in the arena, though it had to be at full capacity, which was around two hundred and fifty thousand people, give or take about ten. No, what was bothering the hell out of me was the fact that my girl was in the middle of this shit. I didn’t think it would bother me this much, especially since I knew that there was no danger here, that the whole tunnel thing was the only thing going on, and the other players had already been taken down, but I couldn’t shake it off. I had this feeling like the feeling you get when someone has you in their crosshairs, but you don’t know which direction they’re in. It could be a case of transferred anxiety because Lyon has been ranting and raving since he got here about some shit going down. It was hell trying to hide my thoughts and feelings from Silla, who was happier than I’d ever seen her. Part
Lieutenant Morgan was more excited about the tickets than even I expected. She was so distracted that that excitement led to her being the one who invited me to tour the tunnels. I didn’t have to use my well-rehearsed speech to talk her into anything. It was so easy I almost grew suspicious until I remembered that this was just like the woman I know. She had no reason to suspect me of anything, and with my clearance, she’d see no issue letting me on site. But as we walked and talked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else seemed to know her as well. Namely Lyon’s daughter. But how was that possible? I’m pretty sure the kid never met her in the flesh. While she talked about how excited her kid was going to be I was looking around for anything that would give any indication that there was more going on here and saw nothing. Not that I didn’t believe Lyon, I did, but that’s how good the operation was. We hopped into a golf cart, and she drove deeper into the tunne
“Where did you go? Did you have fun?” I tried not to sound too much like I was grilling her, but Flanagan and Quinn had me a bit paranoid with the things they’d said about their women and the shit they got up to. Not that I expect Silla to do any of those things; my little innocent is too sheltered for that. But there are other issues at hand. Like the fact that I’d only just started to convince myself that with Sam out of the picture, she was no longer in any danger, plus the fact that the mess I’d just waded through was geared toward kids, so she wasn’t in any real danger here. But I don’t know why I get the feeling that the guys are holding something back. I think Lyon might have told them to ease me into it, which begs the question of just how much worse it can get. I still have no idea what it is that they want me to do in the tunnels or even if I’d actually get the chance. Just because I’m military doesn’t mean they’ll roll out the red carpet, especially if they’re using
I guess Flanagan was wrong after all because the places the women drove to just seemed to be the usual tourist traps. They did take a little detour on the way back, but it seemed to be a more scenic route, something anyone might do when visiting a new place. It can’t be overlooked the fact that the mountains here are some of the most beautiful in the country. “I guess they did only go for a joyride after all.” I made the distinction out loud when I saw Flanagan and Quinn mapping the route they’d taken. “It’s good that you think that.” “What do you mean?” “Not sure yet; I’ll let you know when we figure out what they’re up to. I have to get this information to Lyon.” He reached for his phone while I went back to what I was doing, feeling at ease for the first time in hours since she left. Every once in a while, one of my boys would make a sound of disgust from across the room, but since I’d already given them the option to bow out, which they all refused, I saw it a
“What’s wrong boss? Something bothering you?” Mace asked me quietly as I watched the door where the women had just left. “No, it’s not that.” I couldn’t give him an answer because I didn’t know what it was that was making me twitchy about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure if it was my natural sixth sense or my new overprotectiveness where she was concerned. It didn’t help that Lyon’s men didn’t look too settled either at the idea of their women going joyriding in the middle of an Op. Maybe that was it. This whole situation has left me feeling more bereft than my first firefight. I’d rather dodge bullets in the desert than deal with this evil shit that I’d been pouring over for the last few hours. How anyone could deal with this shit day in and day out and not lose part of themselves is beyond me. It's only been a few hours, and my skin is already starting to crawl. Now, I’ve always known that men can be evil monsters; I’ve seen some of the worst they can do to each other, or
Shit, blast and damn. How do I leave her behind without hurting her feelings? She’s so dang innocent; I was sure a rebuff, though not meant to be one, would hurt her feelings. Was I ever this innocent? No, but some of my new sisters used to be when we first met, so I know the signs. I was thinking hard about a plausible excuse when she clapped her hands across her mouth and looked at me like she’d committed a crime.“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I just got so relaxed with you two; it’s like we’ve known each other forever. I didn’t mean to overstep; I’ll just go back to the room and leave you two alone.” She rambled off the words before starting to walk away, and both Kelly and I had to stop her. Okay, this one might be more sheltered than the others, and it almost broke my heart. Over the last couple of years, I’d come to recognize the signs of past trauma in women, and she had a boatload. “No, you didn’t overstep. I was just worried about how your man would r
This is happening. Things have been moving really fast in the last few days and the honeymoon was over. True to his word, Lyon had sent in a crew, or squad as he calls them. Two couples, the men seeming just as anxious as I was, having their women close to this shit. I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to do this, keeping the women in the dark, I mean. But I needn’t have worried because Quinn and Shane knew exactly what they were doing when it came to that part of the Op. Silla, I was happy to see, was only too happy to make two new friends, and these women must’ve taken classes or something because they had her hooked in no time at all. I’d barely seen her interactions with Chantal back at the house, but it was good to see that she played well with others. There was no cattiness among these women and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between these two, Arianna and Kelly and Nikki. It’s been days since I even thought about her, but I guess I figured one headach
I looked these people up when I had a chance, and I have to say, Lyon and his kid do get around. I wouldn't have pegged him for the type, but then again, what do I know? Silla was all but jumping out of her skin with excitement ever since I mentioned their names, but I have to count that as a plus since it kept her even more in the dark about what was really going on. I brought my boys up to speed on things later that night once she'd knocked herself out after playing Rodeo Queen on my dick. At least the news knocked the disrespectful smirks off my team's faces, and they switched gears from sticking their noses in my shit and got down to the business we were there for. "I'm only telling you now because it's been finalized on their end. When Lyon called earlier, it was just an idea they were playing around with, but now, apparently, it's a done deal. Here's the thing…" I filled them in on what Lyon had shared in his latest phone call, i.e., the fact that this Ryder person's past con
Penance, it has got to be. I can't come up with any other reason for me to be dealing with this mess right now. I've always prided myself on being at the top of my game in any given situation, but this shit has thrown me for a loop. For what has got to be the first time in my adult life, I find myself in a situation that I'm not completely in control of. Right now, I should be focused on the job; nothing is more important than that, at least there didn't used to be. But now, even with the danger I was sure was here, given the Intel we'd collected so far, all I could think about was her. And not even in a sexual, I wanna jump her bones every time I see her kind of way, but more like how can I put her in my pocket and keep her safely away from all this shit type of thing. It's not something I expected, not to this degree anyway, and no one ever told me that these things could happen, and if they had, I'd have said not to me. But I am living it, so it's real, and that brings me back t