Claiming Felicity (Ace Security #4)(17)

“Your brothers know about this?”

“Not yet, but I’ll be talking to them too. Bottom line is that if she doesn’t feel safe, she’s not safe.”

Cole nodded. He didn’t look happy, but for now he seemed to be following Ryder’s lead. He’d take it.

“What are you doing here?” Felicity asked Ryder harshly as she came up to the two men.

Ryder didn’t let her prickly attitude faze him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him. He kissed the side of her temple and said, “You’re here, so I’m here.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to push his hand off her waist. With no luck.

“I’m working.”

“I see that,” Ryder said.

“Cole, Mr. Hunt could use your assistance with the weights. I can take over here.”

“Sure. Later, Ryder.”

“Later.”

As soon as Cole was out of hearing range, Felicity turned to Ryder. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“I saw you guys. You were intimidating Cole. Stop it. You can’t act all he-manny around my friends.”

“He-manny?” Ryder asked with a laugh.

“Stop laughing at me.”

Ryder’s smile disappeared in an instant. “I’m not laughing at you. I would never laugh at you, love. With you, yes. But not at you.”

The uncertainty in her eyes almost did him in, but Ryder held her eyes with his, hoping she saw the sincerity in them.

She sighed. “I just . . . I need that money.”

Ryder moved then. Put a hand on either side of her head and leaned into her. “No, you don’t. You don’t need to run. I told you before, and I’ll keep saying it as often as you need me to in order to truly understand it. I’m going to fix this for you.”

“You can’t.”

“I can. And will.”

Tears welled up in her eyes as they stared at each other. As much as it hurt Ryder to see the tears in her eyes, he took solace in the fact that she didn’t yank herself out of his grip, but she didn’t lean into him either. She would. Eventually.

“I need to go and talk to my brothers,” he said.

She dug her nails into his biceps. “Not about me.”

“Love, they need to know.”

“No.” She shook her head wildly.

Not thinking, only wanting to reassure her, Ryder leaned forward and caught her lips with his own. She stilled under him and gasped. He was only going to give her a small kiss, but couldn’t stop himself from taking advantage of her shock. His tongue surged into her mouth, and after only a small pause, she hurriedly twined her tongue with his.

Ryder groaned at the first taste of her. He could taste the coffee she’d had that morning as well as a hint of her toothpaste. He wanted more, way more, but standing in the foyer of her gym wasn’t the time or place.

He reluctantly pulled back and grinned at the look of lust in her eyes. He much preferred that to the fear he usually saw. He pulled her forward and kissed her forehead. He held her to him for a moment. Then he eased back and said, “I know it’s hard letting people in, but I’m not going to run up and down the streets of Castle Rock with a sign that says, ‘Felicity Jones is in trouble.’ These are your friends, love. My brothers. I know you’ve been dealing with this by yourself for a very long time, but you aren’t alone anymore. You agreed to let me help you last night.”

“But . . . I didn’t . . .” Felicity stopped and took a big breath. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

“We won’t.”

“You don’t understand,” she protested.

“I do. More than you know. He hurt people you were close to in the past, didn’t he?”

Felicity nodded. The terror was back in her eyes. Ryder wanted nothing more than to replace it with passion again, but there was time for that later. “He’s met his match with me, love.”

“He killed my mom. I don’t have proof, but I know it was him.” Her words were tortured and whispered.

“Fuck,” Ryder said, then brought her into his embrace. Her reasons for wanting to run and not put anyone else she loved in jeopardy suddenly became crystal clear. He didn’t press for details because he sensed how difficult it was for her to share even that little bit. Hopefully later she’d feel more comfortable in telling him more. For now, she just needed comfort. His comfort.

Ryder lowered his head so his lips were at her ear. “I’m so sorry, Felicity. So sorry. But that’s all the more reason for me to end this. You know who I am, what I’ve done. I told you last night. So trust that he’s not going to hurt me. And if I tell my brothers, Grace, Alexis, and Bailey won’t be hurt either.”

Felicity pulled back and looked up at him. She didn’t say anything for several seconds. Finally, she nodded. Once.

That was all he needed. “Good.” He kissed her forehead once more, then stepped away from her. “Stay here. You’ll be safe here with Cole.”

“You talked to him?”

“Some. Not a lot.” Ryder knew she wanted to protest, but she bit her lip instead and nodded. God, the trust she gave him was intoxicating and humbling at the same time. “I’ll be back for lunch.”