Atone (Recovered Innocence #2)(30)

“Okay.” Her expression is a lot brighter than it was when I first walked into the office.

Maybe I will be okay. How can I not be, with Cora and Vera on my side?





Chapter 14


Vera


I arrive at the agency office a few minutes early. My head finally stopped pounding, but my stomach still isn’t happy with me. I missed a lot of things as a teenager, but getting wasted and hungover isn’t among them. I wonder how Beau is feeling. He looked worse than I felt when he slipped out of my room. He didn’t think I was awake, and I was too sick to move, let alone say a proper goodbye.

The receptionist is at her desk, typing on her computer. She looks up and smiles.

“Hi. I’m here to see Beau.”

“Let me see if he’s ready for you.” She goes down the hall and then comes back with Beau trailing behind her.

“Hey.” He gives the receptionist a glance as though he doesn’t know how to greet me with her around.

“Hi.” I hold out my hand and we shake like we weren’t naked the last time we saw each other.

A corner of his mouth tips up. “Come on back to the office.”

I follow him down the hall. As soon as we’re in the room he shuts the door and backs me up against it. His mouth comes down on mine. The kiss is gentle, yet full of the goodbye we should’ve had this morning and the hello we should’ve had in the reception area. He lifts his head and looks down at me. There’s too much in his expression, and then he blinks and it’s gone, as if it was never there.

“I got you something.” He pulls a package of earplugs out of his pocket.

No guy has ever gotten me a present before. It’s not flowers, but it’s thoughtful and so totally Beau that the backs of my eyes sting. No guy has ever made me cry for a good reason. I’m speechless. It’s stupid to get so choked up at such a simple and sort of self-serving gift. I feel ridiculous. To hide my overreaction, I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him. He reacts immediately, hauling me up against him with his big hands on my ass. All of the fire and spark from last night is back, only a thousand times more intense without the dulling effects of alcohol. His mouth is incredible. The things he does with his teeth and tongue. Oh, my God.

His hands are everywhere and yet not where I want them. He grinds his growing erection against me and stars spark behind my eyelids. I moan and he does it again…and again. He palms my breast, making my nipple hard, and rolls it almost painfully. The sound I make is part whimper, part plea. I want more. I need more. I picture him hiking up my skirt, pulling down my panties, and driving into me while I wrap my legs around his waist. As soon as I have the thought, his hand is up my skirt, his fingers skating across the damp crotch of my underwear.

“Jesus,” he breathes against my open mouth. “You’re so f*cking wet.”

“Are you going to finish what you’re starting?”

“I can’t.” He slips a finger into my panties. “Not here.” He strokes into me and has to wrap his other arm around me when my knees buckle. “I could get in trouble.” His thumb rubs my clit and I bite down on his shoulder to keep from crying out. “Maybe even fired.” His fingers are f*cking magic. “If I get fired, I can’t help you.” I open my legs wider for him. “You want me to help you, don’t you?” I nod. “I like helping you.” He does this thing between my legs that makes my head drop back. His mouth covers mine to catch my scream as I come.

I’m pinned to the door by his big body. He’s got a hand in my underwear and a hand on my tit and he’s kissing me like he can’t get enough of me. I’m boneless.

When he lifts his head he smiles at me. “I really like helping you.”

“I really like your help.”

He fixes my skirt and straightens my blouse. “You can’t say I don’t finish what I start.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Here.” He retrieves the earplugs I dropped on the floor and hands them to me. “You might need these.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“I might start something again later.”

“I hope you do.”

He gives me a quick kiss. “Let me show you what I found.” He moves the other chair around to his desk like he did before, so I can sit next to him at his computer.

My legs are a little wobbly as I follow him across the room. He notices and gives me a self-satisfied smile. This guy is going to be trouble for me. I can’t put him in a hidden pocket and take him with me if I suddenly have to run. What he seems to want from me won’t fit in my day-by-day, temporary lifestyle. If I disappear, how would he handle it? With his skills, he’d probably try to find me, and that could be just as dangerous as what I’m running from—for him and for me. I’m making a mistake here, letting him in. I shouldn’t have let it get this far.

“Will you promise me something?” I blurt out.

He turns to me in surprise. “What?”

“If I’m suddenly…gone…you won’t try to find me.”

“Are you in danger? Did something happen?”

“No. But if it does I might not be able to say goodbye. Are you going to be okay with that?”

He sits back in his chair. His hands are loose in his lap, but the rest of his body tenses. He considers my question, his blue eyes laser-focused on my face. There’s not a lot of room here for negotiation. I have to know he’ll let me go if I run. Self-preservation is and has to be my top priority. I can’t let what’s happening between us change that. My life depends on my ability to make a move at a moment’s notice. Especially being this close to where it all started.