The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(51)

Adam winked at her, his light happiness buoying her spirits. “You should do what he says. He likes to be in charge.”

Adam leaned over to kiss her cheek but lightly brushed her lips instead. He pulled back almost shyly. He was probably embarrassed he’d missed her cheek.

“Good night, Adam.”

“Adam!” Jake barked at his lover, his tall form rigid in the moonlight.

“Now I’m in trouble. Goodnight, love.” He didn’t seem worried as he joined the larger man.

Grace sighed and closed the door. She turned the locks and walked back into the living room. Loneliness weighed on her. Despite her early attempts at forgetting, Sean’s presence had clung to her all evening. Adam and Jake had carefully avoided the subject of her love life. They had talked about Jake’s brothers and his artist parents. They had talked about the office and movies they liked. And everything brought her back to Sean.

Pete’s picture on the mantle caught her eye. It was a picture they had taken on their trip to Hawaii shortly before the car accident that had taken his life. Grace pulled the picture down and tears clouded her eyes. She didn’t even have a picture of Sean. Grace put the picture back and silently went to bed.





Chapter Twelve


“Tell me he didn’t kiss her.” Even from a distance there was no mistaking that motion. That f*cking bastard Adam was at it again. Sean felt a need to race across the street and beat the living shit out of one of his oldest friends.

“Calm down.” Liam shook his head. The van that served as a surveillance station was already cramped, but he pointed to the video feed from outside the van. Jake was stalking down the street toward them. “It’s like Grand Central Station in here. Why am I here?”

“Because it’s your shift,” Sean said absently.

She had kissed Adam. Grace had stood there, not a day after he’d left, and kissed Adam.

Liam sat back in his chair and regarded Sean with a frown. “None of us needs to take a bloody shift. You won’t leave. You need to go home and take a shower. Your stink alone should alert the world we’re here.”

Sean growled and opened the door to the van. Jake climbed inside. His hands were already out in a conciliatory fashion. “Just hear me out, Sarge.”

He’d like nothing more than to get his hands wrapped around Adam’s throat. He could feel them there even now. It would make him feel infinitely better to choke the life out of someone. He’d spent the entire day following Grace around, skulking in the shadows while that f*cker held her hand. While Sean had spent the last twenty-four hours with a hollow place in his stomach, Grace had sure moved on fast. She hadn’t even spent one single night mourning him. She’d gone to work and hadn’t skipped a beat. She’d been at happy hour like he’d never existed. She’d smiled and laughed, flirting with Adam.

“Where’s Adam?” Sean was surprised at how evenly the question came out of his mouth. A coldness was settling around him.

“I left him in the car. I thought I should keep the two of you apart for awhile.”

Bitterness filled Sean’s brain. She’d let another man kiss her the day after he put a collar on her. He’d been wrong, and Ian had been right. Sean sat back in the small chair that barely contained his bulk. His knees were practically up to his chin. First she’d followed Evan Parnell this afternoon. That was suspicious in and of itself. He’d called that in and had Eve working on the Parnell connection. Now she was romancing yet another agent. And he was beating up his team over her.

“It’s fine, Jake.” Sean forced himself to nod. He had been played like a fool. It was time to get a little bit of his pride back. “Someone needs to stay close to her. Might as well be Adam. Tell him she likes a little bite of pain.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “I certainly will not encourage him. Look, I know you’re pissed off, but he’s having some trouble. His dad is dying and none of his * brothers will let Adam in to see him. Adam’s got it in his head that he’s lost his family, and he wants to make a new one. I swear he has a f*cking biological clock. We’ve always talked about finding a woman for the two of us, but now he’s obsessed with it.”

Sean shrugged. In his head all he could see was Grace standing there as Adam kissed her. She hadn’t shoved him away. She hadn’t protested that she didn’t want him. She’d accepted his kiss. How much more had she accepted from him? “Dude, seriously, I don’t care. I told you like I tried to tell Ian, it was an act. She’s hot, I’ll give you that. And she’s very submissive. She’s exactly my type, but she’s too old for me. If Adam doesn’t mind the age difference, good for him.”

Jake shook his head. “Bullshit.”

It was a word he was getting used to. There was nothing to do except push through. “Believe what you want, man. I’m heading home. I need to get some sleep. I have to follow her around tomorrow. Hey, do me a favor and have Adam move this little relationship of theirs along. If he’s sleeping with her, I won’t have to pull so many hours.” The thought of Adam in her bed made him see red, but he plastered what he hoped was an easy smile on his face.

“Hey, Sean, maybe you should ease up.” Liam had a halfway serious look on his face. He had one ear bud in his ear and offered the other one to Sean. “Why don’t you listen in? She talks to herself a lot. You could learn a thing or two about her. I’ll be honest, I’ve started to come around on her.”