Nix. (Den of Mercenaries Book 3)(39)

Since the other three weren’t as open, it was all the more clear that they avoided certain topics with her—they were being considerate of her traumas. She had been thankful at first, then she had wanted them to treat her as they would anyone else.

Fang was the first to comply though she learned all too quickly that it may not have been her best idea. It seemed his goal was to make her blush.

And usually, he accomplished that.

“Bit rude, no?” Fang asked as he tossed a towel over his shoulder. “Here I am putting in all the work and you’re thinking about another man.”

“By work, you mean making me hate your existence?”

She had spent the last two hours down in this basement working out with him and he took it entirely too serious. By morning, every muscle in her body was going to be sore.

Fang scoffed. “I’ve been going easy on you.”

“This is what you consider easy?”

“Of course—right now I’m not trying to kill you. This is the easiest you’ll ever have it.”

Sometimes, Fang had a habit of getting serious when she least expected it—like whatever switch inside of him that kept that smile on his face turned off for a moment. Not for the first time, she wondered about him—about the others as well.

They were all so close, the four of them, yet they all seemed just a little bit broken.

As quickly as she thought the mood had sobered, Fang was smiling again. “Unless you ask Aidra—I think her answer would be different.”

“I think I’ll pass.”

He laughed in good humor, then motioned for her to resume her earlier position.

After another hour of squats, weights, and overall sweat-inducing activities, he finally deemed their work done and let her go. Now, the only thing she wanted was a shower and a bed.





Chapter Twelve





Everything had changed.

Not that Kit was complaining.

From the moment she had invited herself up to his room, she made a regular habit of it, and he found that he rather enjoyed showing her how good it could be.

He was f*cking insatiable for her—to the point that even when he was in the middle of business, his thoughts still drifted to her and the nights they spent together.

Before, he had been able to come and go with little problem. Now, he was finding it harder and harder to leave her.

The crescent moon hung heavy in the night sky when Kit ventured from his bedroom in the wee hours of the night for the basement where his pool was located.

There were trios of lights that were inlaid within the pool, but he rather liked the dark stillness, almost like he was willingly falling into the abyss.

The pool, itself, was a rather cavernous affair, one that he had spent a fortune getting installed, but he hadn’t minded the expense considering how much time he spent down here.

Circling around to one end, Kit tossed his shirt aside and dove in, drawing in a breath before the heated water engulfed him.

From one end to the next and back once more, he pushed himself as he always did when his thoughts were cluttered, pushing himself to exhaustion, if only until the chaos in his head quieted.

But as he reached the end, his feet landing on the wall before pushing himself off again, Kit just caught sight of Luna at the edge of his vision as she came down and ventured over to one of the poolside chairs.

“That was thirty-two, I think,” she said once he finally came to a stop, that silky brown hair of hers spilling over her shoulder as she leaned toward him. “Pretty good.”

“It was nothing.”

“Maybe for you, but since I don’t know how to swim, anything more than one is impressive to me.”

His head tilted to one side, he brushed water out of his eyes as he asked, “You don’t know how to swim?”

“I could say that I never got the chance, but I’ve never been thrilled about swimming in water where I can’t touch the floor with my feet.”

Kit laughed. “Would you like to learn?”

“I’m not really dressed for it,” she said with a wave of her hand down to the clothes she wore, or what little there was.

There was a natural sensuality to her—the way she held herself, and the curves he doubted he would ever get tired of—because he was sure there was nothing about her sleepwear that should have held his attention for as long as they did.

It was the woman inside them.

“You can always take that off.”

Her lips parted in surprise, her gaze shooting over to the staircase that led up to the main house.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “no one is going to come down here.”

Fang was undoubtedly busy with Aidra, and the others were gone into the city to do whatever they pleased.

With careful fingers, Luna tugged at the strings of her shorts until they were loosened enough that she could slide them down her legs before letting them fall at her feet. The top was next, the material pulled over her head in one fluid move and dropped.

Dragging his gaze up, he took his time as he followed the curves of her hips, the indent at her waist, and high breasts he was already picturing without the sports bra she wore.

“The water is heated,” he told her as he gestured for her to climb in.

But she didn’t dive in, instead sat at the edge before dipping her toes in. “I’m not jumping into anything where I can’t see the bottom.”