Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“You are a powder keg who thinks he’s suddenly a comfy couch, but you are going to blow up, nephew, and when you do that shrapnel of yours is going to go everywhere,” Ian returned. “And she’ll stand there and take it because she’s far stronger than you’re giving her credit for.”
Kyle stopped and turned to his uncle, well aware they had an audience but unable to shut the conversation down. “I know how strong she is.” Was he fucking this up, too? He didn’t want to fight with his uncle. Ian wouldn’t do anything to hurt him or Mae. He believed that. He couldn’t have known how this would turn out. “But I don’t think she’s a field operative.”
“I don’t either. She would need an enormous amount of physical and mental training. But, Kyle, you can’t keep her cooped up. She’s going to want to test her skills, and that means working in the field from time to time. She was good today. The stabby part didn’t have anything to do with the op. And it happened close to her yoga studio and the bakery. Are you going to try telling her she can’t do those things anymore?”
He hated it, but there was a part of him that responded to logic. “No.”
Ian relaxed back like he knew the worst had passed. “Then don’t run in there like an angry, possessive bull. She didn’t yell at you when you broke your foot, and that actually was part of the job.”
“I didn’t get stabbed. And she totally yelled at me when I got back from Argentina. Like psycho yelled at me. She’s got some crazy eyes.”
“You thought she was hot, didn’t you?”
He felt his lips curl because he totally had. She’d given him hell but she’d been upfront about it, and it had been impossible not to see that tirade for what it was—caring, worry. “She might think I’m hot for yelling at her.”
“You made the choice to put yourself in danger, asshole,” his uncle pointed out. “She was walking down the street after she finished a non-dangerous job and tried to stop someone from being murdered. Don’t be an ass. Go down to the shop and buy her flowers and promise to take care of her.”
But he really wanted to yell.
He sighed because his uncle had a point.
When he finally made it into her room, it was with flowers in hand.
“Hey, spicy girl,” he said when she held out a hand to him.
“Hey.” Her eyes filled with tears, and he realized she’d held this emotion for him. She’d been smiling and holding it all in, playing her part in the op. Now he was here and they could be real with each other. “I was so scared.”
He sat on the edge of her bed and leaned over, looking into those eyes and happy his uncle had kicked some sense into him. “I was, too. Don’t get stabbed again.”
He let his lips touch hers and knew it was almost time.
Chapter Six
Kyle could still hear her even an hour later. They’d been standing in the office of the BDSM club known as The Reef, and everything had seemed normal. Well, normal for them since they were on an op trying to figure out if a billionaire tech god was connected to the group called The Consortium. Up until that moment, he and MaeBe had been a-okay. They’d even made plans to take a brief vacation after this op was over. He was taking her to…he didn’t want to think about it or talk about it because it was dumb and cutesy…Disneyland. She’d never been and they were here in LA, so he was indulging his sub.
Not quite his sub. Not yet, but after he’d spent a day indulging her inner child, he would spend that night right here in The Reef, and he’d already quietly reserved a privacy room.
And then they’d met with Kayla Summers. It was a pre-op meeting to let them go over what would happen when Deke Murphy and his client/ex-girlfriend/current bed buddy, Maddie Hill, brought the aforementioned billionaire, Nolan Byrne, and the mysterious Jane to the club.
Kyle didn’t like Jane. Something was off about her, but he couldn’t tell what. He would know more tonight, but he had bigger problems this afternoon.
MaeBe was pissed. Or hurt. Or both. Or she was just tired of waiting for him.
He shouldn’t have to talk if he doesn’t want to. And it’s not right of her to make him. There are things that are personal and private.
He’d been talking about Deke and Maddie. Deke didn’t want to discuss what had happened to him during his military days. He didn’t want to focus on the past. Kyle understood that. The future was the only thing that mattered.
Not in a relationship there aren’t, MaeBe had replied quietly, her eyes on him. Or at least there shouldn’t be. I’m sorry. I’m with Maddie. There shouldn’t be secrets between people in love. There should be trust and intimacy. Your partner should be the only person in the world you tell everything to. The good. The bad. The ugly.