The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(72)

Fuck, he’d dug a hole with Adam, too. Adam had wanted to wake her up and ask her about it. Jake had been the one to work him into a froth over the situation. And now he’d gotten Ian involved. Jake had called Ian after he’d listened to the message on Serena’s voice mail.

What the f*ck was he going to do if Ian put a stop to the op?

“Go and get dressed, Serena. And I swear to god, I will hunt you down if you leave this house. The alarm is on, so if you try to hustle out a window, I’ll be on your backside before you can get to the gate, and I won’t give a shit if you call the police later.”

Her smile was a nasty little thing. “No problem, Jake. The cops think I’m a publicity-seeking whore, too. I think you’re safe. Let me go change. I have a few things to say to my ex-agent.”

He stepped out of the way, satisfied she wouldn’t run.

Not now, at least.

She disappeared down the hall, and Adam stepped up.

“She didn’t know about it.”

“I know.” Jake wasn’t sure how the f*ck he was going to get out of this. He’d been brutal, his past informing his present in a way that almost ensured he had no future.

“She’s never going to forgive us.” Adam turned away. “I’ll go get the car ready.”

He walked out like a man who had already given up. Serena was a woman scorned.

But none of that could compete with a man on a mission. He wasn’t going to give up. Yes, he’d f*cked everything up, but Serena was too important. He had a f*cking future, and it was with her. He wasn’t going to allow his past to hold him back one second longer. He stared down the hallway, something opening up inside him. For so long he’d been closed off, maybe for most of his f*cking life, but Serena had brought in the goddamn sunshine, and now he craved it.

He’d screwed up, but he wasn’t going back to the dark. He would have the life he wanted, and it was only possible with her.

He waited, a lion on the prowl. No matter what, he would have his prey.





Chapter Fifteen


Serena felt hollowed out, like someone had decided it would be a good idea to take an ice cream scooper to her insides. Or like one of those Russian nesting dolls. Yes. That was better imagery. She was like the largest of the dolls, a hollow thing who was only good harboring the smaller dolls which contained all of the great things about her. Someone had opened her up and broken her insides, and now she was a useless, futile thing.

Yes. That was good imagery. She could use that.

The floors ticked by, and she realized this was the rest of her life. Living inside her head. Deciding how best to put emotions to paper because that was going to be the only way she ever felt anything again.

Maybe she was the drama queen.

“How is your wrist?” Adam asked solicitously. He had been deeply polite, avoiding eye contact and anything that might be controversial. He was the bodyguard, and she was the client. There was nothing more.

“I’m fine.” It hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d made it out to be. She doubted she would bruise. It was nothing compared to the ache on her insides.

Adam and Jake she could almost handle. After all, she’d known deep down that they wouldn’t really stay. Men like them didn’t end up in permanent relationships with women like Serena. They found trophy wives when they were ready to settle down. In some ways, it just spared her the pain for later.

But Lara was another story.

Jake pulled her arm into both of his hands. Serena tried to pull away, but he had her by the elbow and the palm, turning her forearm over and inspecting her skin.

“Stop it.” She didn’t want him to touch her. It felt too nice, his callused hands on her skin. It reminded her of how it had felt to be in his arms.

“No.” He traced a finger over the light chafing on her wrist. “I think she’s fine. On the outside. We did a number to her on the inside.”

Adam simply watched the floors go by.

“He’s going to be the difficult one,” Jake said, his voice almost conspiratorial. What the hell was his game now? When she didn’t reply, he merely carried on the conversation as though she had. “I know. I’m surprised, too. I’m usually the obnoxious *. I don’t like this whole ‘being the moderator’ thing, but I guess compromise is key in this relationship.”

“There is no relationship, Jacob. The relationship died about a half an hour ago when you called me a whore.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t call you a whore, baby. I mentioned that you would make a good slut. A whore takes money. A slut just loves sex, and you really like sex.”

Asshole. When had he decided to try to get back into her good graces, and why would he bother? Was he afraid his boss would get pissed off? She was pretty sure Ian Taggart was about to tell her she was on her own. Lara had lied to him, too.

Were Bridget and Chris in on it? She didn’t know if she could handle it if they were. She would really be all alone in the world.

“Can I have my arm back?” Serena asked.

His thumb made little circles over the pulse at her wrist, a tiny touch that threatened to send shivers right through her. It reminded her that she might not have loved sex before, but after Jake and Adam, she was an addict. And she would just have to go cold turkey because she wouldn’t fall for their line of bullshit again.