Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(83)

“I’m f*cking crazy about you, Faith.” He crushed his chest to her breasts. “You’re all I think about now.”

Her arms wound around his neck and she rubbed her nose against his in a sweet gesture of affection. “I’m crazy about you, too. Tell me something, Ten. When you’re my bodyguard, are you going to protect me from all invaders, foreign and domestic?”

He felt his lips curl up in a genuine smile. She made him so freaking happy. “All invaders. Every single f*cking one. This belongs to me.” He stroked against her and then felt his face soften. “I’ll protect you with everything I have, Faith. Everything I am. I will rule you in the bedroom, but you should also know that I am your slave.”

He started to pull off the robe she was wearing. It was her only clothing because she rarely wore any around him. Her body belonged to him and he didn’t want it covered. He wanted to be surrounded by her beauty, her feminine loveliness. He began to reveal her soft skin when he heard the door slam open.

He sprang up to his feet, his hand going for a gun that wasn’t there.

The men walking into the room didn’t have the same problem. They were well armed.

Faith gasped and he moved quickly to get her behind him. Damn it. His SIG was in the nightstand. He hadn’t wanted to scare her by leaving it out in the open, and he had no place to put the damn thing in his pajama bottoms.

Adrenaline flooded his system. “Faith, you stay behind me. Is that understood? When you get the chance, you run and go find Theo.”

“I’m afraid the younger Taggart has already fled the building, Mr. Smith,” a deep voice said.

Ten felt his whole body tense as Senator Hank McDonald strode in. He was wearing a business suit, but there were boots on his feet. He was backed up by two more guards carrying serious hardware.

Someone in the London office was going to get his ass kicked.

“Dad?” Faith tried to move from behind him.

Her father’s face softened marginally. “Hey, sweetheart. I need to talk to you and I would rather do it without the interference of a rogue former CIA operative with a grudge against me.”

Shit. Shit. And more shit. “Faith, I need you to listen to me.”

There were suddenly four guns pointed straight at his head.

“Dad, what the hell is going on?” Faith asked. “And who is Mr. Smith? This is my boyfriend. You got his files. His last name is Graham. Timothy Graham, though his friends all call him Ten. Could we please stop with the extreme fear tactics? I know you like to say you’re a protective father, but this is a bit much.”

She still didn’t understand. And he wasn’t sure there was anything he could say at this point. He’d waited too long.

Her father shook his head. He was a barrel-chested man in decent shape, but then he didn’t have to spend much time in the gym since he seemed to have a small army around him. “This man’s name is Tennessee Smith. He was a CIA operative until he sold out his country. I was the one who brought him down. Now he’s using you to get to me.”

“That is the single most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Faith said. “Have the goon squad put the guns away and let me get dressed. I know you don’t appreciate my lifestyle, but I’ll be damned if you treat a man I care about like this.”

He could practically feel the rage vibrating off her. Would she turn that rage against him when she discovered he’d lied? Was there any way to get the hell out of here? He could make it to the balcony, but he didn’t trust her father not to hurt her in the crossfire.

“Faith, darlin’, I need you to know a few things.” Ten hated that he couldn’t look at her, but he had to keep his eyes on the snakes that surrounded them. They could bite at any moment.

Faith’s hands were on his shoulders. “Ten, we can pack and be out of here in no time. Since my father’s hospitality is lacking, we’ll go to the resort for the night and then head home in the morning.”

“You won’t go after you see the evidence, baby girl.” Her father shook his head in seeming sympathy. “I’m so sorry he brought you into this. If I’d known, I swear, I would have had this bastard assassinated. How dare you bring my daughter into this, you traitor.”

“He’s not a traitor. He was in the military.” She kept trying to move, to get around him.

His gut took a dive. The next few minutes were going to be the hardest of his life. He did the unthinkable. He turned his back on the guys with the guns, leaving himself utterly vulnerable, but he had only seconds to make her understand.

He cupped her cheeks. “Faith, I love you. I’ve never loved anyone before. I’ve never said those words to another woman in my life, but I love you. Please believe me.”

Her body went still. “Ten, what’s going on?”

If he brought her into this, her father could kill them both. If she believed Ten, her father would have no choice, and he’d already proven he didn’t mind killing the ones he loved. He’d murdered her mother because she’d been planning to divorce him. What would he do to a daughter who could threaten his career?

Sometimes choosing her meant walking away. Meant sacrificing himself.

“I love you, Faith. It might have started out as a job, but I love you.” He stared at her, praying he could memorize every inch of her face. So much time he’d wasted. He wished he’d met her years before, but he wouldn’t have trusted this feeling then either. Sometimes he wished the cold had taken him when he was a baby. Now he was glad it hadn’t because this love for her was so f*cking warm. He was warm for once in his life. “I hope you can forgive me.”