The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(73)

“It’s comfort food, little one. It’s a chicken pot pie.”

“I don’t like that.” They always tasted like cardboard and bland soup.

“That’s because you’ve never had one from scratch.” He set the tray down and climbed onto the big bed beside her. He cut into the pie and held out a forkful. “Open.”

Her mouth was open before she thought about it. He’d used that Dom voice on her. Grace was about to close her lips when the taste swept across her tongue. Her eyes closed in decadent surrender.

She could hear the satisfaction in Sean’s voice. “See. It’s very different when you use fresh ingredients. And the pastry is my mother’s recipe.”

Grace gave in. She took the fork from him. He seemed slightly disappointed, but gave it up. He was such a mass of contradictions. He was a big, strong warrior who knew how to handle a gun and make a piecrust from scratch. He was a Dom who took such loving care of her, but had thrown her to the wolves.

She mustn’t ever forget that last part.

Sean poured her a glass of wine. Grace reached for it and then remembered the last time he’d served her. Something about that night didn’t sit right. That night she’d had exactly two glasses of wine and passed out. Grace knew she wasn’t a heavy drinker, but she’d spent enough time at happy hour to be able to handle some wine. She slid a narrow glance at Sean. “Is this one drugged, too?”

He flushed. Grace was pretty sure he didn’t do that often. “No. I won’t ever do that again, Grace. I promise. If it helps, I thought I was protecting you at the time.”

Grace took a tentative bite of salad. She didn’t really want to eat, but she had to keep her strength up. She had to walk back into the lion’s den in the morning. “Not really.”

She set the fork down as the events of the day washed over her again. How could Kayla be dead? How the hell could Kayla, sweet, vivacious Kayla, have met her end in an alley? Tears welled up.

Sean swept the tray and all its contents off the bed in an instant and was back to her, his strong arms pulling her to his chest. He cupped the back of her head, his fingers sinking into her hair. “Oh, baby, it’s all right. Go ahead and cry. I’ll take care of you.”

It was easy to sink into his warmth. She let her hands wrap around his neck as he pulled her into his lap. She was wearing someone’s, probably Sean’s, old T-shirt. It was enormous on her, coming to her knees. The material rode up, allowing Sean’s big hand to cup her knee. His nose nuzzled into her neck. There was nothing inherently sexual about the touch, just two people who were intimate taking comfort in closeness.

Grace sobbed against him. She let herself go. She cried for Kayla and all that she had lost. She had been so young. She cried for herself, for losing Pete, and then Sean. She cried because she’d been strong for so long that it felt good to let go. Grace cried for Matt, who was so lost. And she cried because she was so scared. What Mr. Black wanted her to do was to put her life on the line without any training or know-how. She was going to play a game she didn’t even know the rules to, but there was no backing out now.

All the while, Sean held her close, sometimes murmuring soothing words in her ear, sometimes just rocking her against him. After a long while, she heard the strong beat of his heart as she began to come back to the world. He was a solid, warm body to cling to. She knew what she should do. She should push him out. She should be strong, but she seemed to have used all of that strength up accepting Black’s offer.

She was going back to work tomorrow, but not as Matt’s admin. That was now her cover. She was going back in as a spy.

“Grace.” Sean’s voice was soft and close to her ear. They were curled around each other like puzzle pieces. “Let me get you out of here, baby. I can get us by Ian’s security. We’ll get in the car and just drive. I have some money saved up. Let me take you away. We’ll drive for awhile, get new IDs, and then we can go anywhere we like.”

“I thought you were under the impression I was guilty as sin.”

His turnaround had been surprising. Ever since they’d come in from the rain, he’d been much more tender with her. It was unnerving. She preferred the righteously angry Sean to this man who treated her like she was made of glass. It was easier to hold herself apart from him.

Sean’s blue eyes grew soft, and he ran his hand through her hair. Everywhere he touched, she felt the connection to him. “I was an idiot, baby. My only excuse is you knocked me on my ass. I’ve never been in this position before. It threw me for a loop. I’m much more used to people lying to me. It’s the nature of the business.” He was quiet for a moment and seemed to come to a decision. “You know the scars on my back?”

She nodded. She’d intended to kiss each one when she’d thought they were just lovers. She’d wanted to run her lips across all the places he’d been hurt. Without thinking about it, her hand went to his shoulders where she knew some of the large, silvery scars started to wind their way down his back.

“I got those in Afghanistan. My CO, who I trusted more than anyone besides my mother and my brother, sent me and two others on a mission to this small village just outside of Taliban-controlled territory. We caught an IED ten miles from the village. I’m the only one who survived. Turns out we had bad intelligence. The Agency didn’t take credit, so my CO got called up. He tried to pin it on me and the two men in my unit who died in the explosion. He tried to say we didn’t have authorization to be there. He claimed we stole the Humvee and were going on a drug run. It happens. I was court-martialed. Ian found evidence that proved I was just following orders and, well, he also has some pretty badass connections in that world. Needless to say, I was exonerated, but it didn’t exactly boost my trust in my fellow man. Three months later, Jake and Adam got busted for f*cking the wrong person…at the same time, of course. They were good soldiers. They got set up. The army was my life at that point. Then there was my dad, he walked out.” Sean sighed and shook his head. “What I’m trying to say, Grace, is that I’m not a man to take things at face value.”