Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1)(91)

“Scoot up.”

“Huh?”

“On the bed.”

She scooted back and pushed down the bedspread. He swept all the covers to the end and then slid in beside her, pulling her flush against his naked body. She rested her head on his arm and sighed.

It was blissful. Heavenly. He brought her thigh up to rest on his stomach, and she turned to look at him.

There were so many questions churning inside her. She nestled her head against his chest, and silence settled over them. Was this their last night together? Second-to-last?

He ran his palm over her thigh, and his tenderness undid her. Not long ago, she never would have suspected this side of him. Or that she could ever develop such a strong connection with someone in such a short time. It felt special. She could admit that to herself. But what did he feel? She wanted to ask, but the idea scared her. She’d never been afraid to ask tough questions, but this time she couldn’t find the words.

Brynn closed her eyes, fighting back tears. He stroked his hand up her thigh slowly, then back down again. And suddenly, the day was back, all of it, in horrible, vivid detail, and she pictured the shocked look on Hayes’s mutilated face as the paramedics lifted him onto the stretcher.

“Hey.” Erik gave her shoulder a squeeze. She looked up at him and realized her cheeks were wet.

“Sorry. I’m all weepy suddenly.” She started to sit up, but he pulled her back down, snugging her against his chest. “Sorry.”

“Don’t.”

“I don’t know why I’m like this.”

His hand stilled on her thigh. “Relief?”

“You think?”

“It’s a powerful emotion.” He resumed the stroking.

Relief. That was definitely part of it. And the release of all that fear that had been gathering inside her since she’d first learned of Jen’s murder.

But it was more than relief.

It was uncertainty. And a whole different kind of fear of what would happen now with Erik. After all this time—thirty-three years—she’d finally met a man strong enough for her. He was fierce and hard and loyal and full of integrity. And the way he made love to her so intensely took her breath away.

And he was leaving.

He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer.





ERIK’S EYES opened at 0600, and the gray light of morning was already in the room. Brynn was curled beside him, her breast pressed against his side. He pulled the sheet up around her shoulders and stared at the water mark on the ceiling.

He was leaving soon. Not tomorrow but soon. And he dreaded the coming conversation with her.

He wanted to opt out of the job. He wanted to ask Liam to get someone else for Hawaii and give him something local. Or even better, he wanted to take a week’s leave and spend every minute of it with Brynn.

He closed his eyes, cursing silently. When had he ever opted out of work? He hadn’t. He didn’t. That wasn’t who he was, and he couldn’t pick a worse time to change, given that he was already on the ropes. Liam had granted him a second chance, but Erik was under no illusions about his reasoning: he’d had a bad situation on his hands, and he’d needed skilled people. But Erik knew that if he dropped the ball again, he was history.

It was a sobering thought.

Or it should have been. But Brynn slid her thigh over his, and every work-related thought was replaced by this burning need that had been dogging him since he’d met her.

Would she be here for him when he came back? Erik traveled all the time, and she didn’t seem like someone who would wait around for a man. Erik was well aware that there were plenty of guys who would step in when he wasn’t around. Her ex. Ross. Danny Fucking Sheffield. The thought of her with any of them made him dizzy with jealousy.

Brynn moved again, and her eyes fluttered open. She gave a lazy smile. But it faded as she searched his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

Guilt stabbed at him. He needed to handle this. Soon. But he didn’t know how. Relationships weren’t exactly his area of expertise.

But he was a problem solver. That’s what he did. And he could solve this one, if he could get Brynn to trust him. That presented a challenge, though, because she was one of the least trusting people he’d ever met. She shifted onto her elbow and gazed at him with those blue eyes that were already filled with skepticism. She knew something was wrong.

Erik’s phone pinged with a text. He reached across her and grabbed it off the nightstand. He read the message from Liam, then scrolled through another one he’d missed.

“Hayes did okay last night,” Erik said.

“Oh, thank God.”

“I’ve got a wrap meeting at oh-eight-hundred.”

She tugged the sheet up. “A wrap meeting?”

“The team comes together to debrief, wrap up, address any loose ends.”

“I see.”

Something in her tone put him on guard. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Now she was the one lying.

She sat up and looked around. “I’ve got to be in court at eight thirty. You mind giving me a ride to the apartment?” She slid from bed and grabbed his rumpled shirt off the floor, keeping her back to him as she pulled it on.

“Of course. I’ll take you to court, too.”