Raw Redemption (Crossing the Line #4)(12)

She might have escaped her father, but she hadn’t escaped the one very important lesson he’d imparted. Trust no one.

Ailish had to get away from Henrik Vance.





Chapter Four


He’d expected her to make a break for it overnight. But as Henrik was quickly learning, Ailish had no intention of meeting his expectations.

From across the campsite, Henrik watched Ailish hang clothes to dry on the provided line, the secret smile on her face indicating she enjoyed the task. He’d wager she was humming. God, he wished he were close enough to hear which song. His mind started to conjure guesses, even though it would likely be a song he didn’t expect, knowing her.

Knowing her? Easy, man. He’d only been acquainted with the stats from her file until last night, and those surveillance notes had done nothing to give him accurate insight.

Caine O’Kelly was known for having an irrational, hair-trigger temper that usually led to people dying—often members of his own crew. Ailish’s decision to leave Chicago might have been impulsive, but she clearly knew how to play the long game. Was hanging laundry her way of sending a signal that she wouldn’t bolt?

Clever girl. Too bad he wasn’t buying it.

Henrik needed to be on his toes. In more ways than one.

So, the girl was a tease, huh? He’d never been teased. Not without immediate follow-through. If there was mutual interest in sex between him and a woman, they typically ended up sleeping together in short order. Not that he slept with armies of women, but when Henrik got the urge, he sought women who weren’t after anything serious. For a long time, that decision revolved around his job. The demanding hours and danger he faced every day.

Then Ailish had approached him in the park, opened her pretty mouth, and every belief he’d had went from dried cement to loose sand. Since that day, there had been no other women to speak of. Now here he was. A man aching for one woman, unable to have her. But kind of hoping she’d show him a little more of that teasing nonetheless. The verdict was in—he’d lost his f*cking mind.

Henrik needed to get his shit together before approaching the cabin. He’d taken his edge off last night in the backseat of his truck, winding her panties around the base of his cock and jacking off the remaining flesh. As his hand slipped up and down, he’d thought of Ailish answering the door in her underwear as she’d done, but this time she’d braced her hands on the doorframe and swayed her hips. Dipped low and eased back up, back arched to push her ass out. He hadn’t hit a peak that heavy in a long time, making him wonder if he didn’t mind a little teasing.

Even so, the day would be torture. Already the devil on his shoulder was urging him to bring her inside and see who could hold out the longest. Jesus. His job was to keep her safe, and that needed to take priority over his neglected johnson.

Get your head in the game, Vance.

Loins girded, Henrik climbed out of the vehicle and crossed the dirt courtyard to where Ailish was hanging a pair of smiley-face boxers. And humming the Addams Family theme song.

He opened his mouth to ask her where she’d managed to rustle up a Disney princess T-shirt, ugly boxers, and see-though underwear all in the same place, but she spoke first, without even looking at him. “I was wondering how long you were going to watch me.” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip as she turned. “Did you like what you saw?”

Fuck. Two seconds and his resolve had already waned. Focus. This is about her life. Men had already come after her. Henrik was the only object standing between her and the next ones. “Talk to me about breakfast, Ailish.”

“Pancakes, sausage…”

“Good. Do you have those things in your cabin?”

She clipped a sock to the line. “I have Cup Noodles and some beef jerky.”

After fifteen hours without food, Henrik’s stomach chose that moment to growl. Which made Ailish drop the clothespin in her hand, face lighting up like he’d just announced she’d won the Miss America pageant. Until that moment, he hadn’t noticed her black eye had been covered with some type of makeup. He was grateful, since looking at the injury made him ill. Had she done it more for his benefit? Or her own?

“Was that your tummy?” She leveled her disbelief at the body part in question. “I didn’t know they could be so loud.”

“I have a stomach,” he corrected. “Not a tummy.”

Ailish gave a low whistle. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re kind of a grump in the morning.” She went up on her toes, then back down. “I just thought of your pet name.”

“I told you I didn’t want one.” His stomach growled again, and she stifled a laugh with her hand. “All right. What’s the nickname?”

She stooped down to retrieve her box of clothespins and skirted him with a smug expression. “I’ll tell you when I’m ready.” Halfway up the cabin steps, she stopped and turned. “There is a diner about a mile from here, if you need to take care of the lion living in your stomach.”

“Only if you come with me.”

“Was there a please in there somewhere?” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I need you to say please, Henrik. I’ve been shuffled around and crammed into quiet rooms my whole life without one person asking me where I wanted to go. I want breakfast, too, but I’ll starve right here on these steps before agreeing without a please.”