Into the Fury (BOSS, Inc. #1)(76)
“You’re all right.” He sat down in a chair at the table farthest from the pool and settled Val in his lap. “You’re safe, honey. We’re going home tomorrow. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Hysterical laughter threatened again. She finally managed to stop crying. Dragging in a shaky breath, she sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“That’s right. How could I forget? We’re going home tomorrow. Back to Seattle—where another maniac is lying in wait to murder us. Everything is going to be just great.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
By the time the chartered jet landed at Sea-Tac Airport, Ethan had given up any pretense that he and Val weren’t in some sort of a relationship, Carlyle and the rest be damned. He was staying with Valerie Hartman until the riddle of Delilah’s murder was solved and the models were completely out of danger.
All he had to do was convince Val.
They were riding in the back of the limo, one in a line of private cars that were waiting when the models arrived at the airport.
“There’s something we need to talk about,” Val said before he could broach the subject. “We might as well talk about it now.”
“All right, go ahead.”
She released a slow breath. “I know you’re still worried about my safety, but this . . . this bodyguard thing can’t go on forever. You said yourself we were going home and everything would be okay. Byron Mahler is no longer a threat. The tour is canceled. The models are no longer in the media spotlight. I can’t live under house arrest for the balance of my life.”
“You aren’t under house arrest. You have personal protection. So does Bill Gates. So does Lady Gaga. A lot of people do.”
“Well, I’m not one of them. I need to get my life back in order, and that doesn’t include spending every minute with an armed guard.”
His jaw tightened. “That’s the way you think of me? As your jailer?”
Surprise flickered in her eyes. “No, of course not. I didn’t mean it that way.” She reached for his hand, held it between both of hers. “I’ve never met a man like you. I’ve never felt the things you make me feel, but . . .”
“But what, Val?”
“But that’s just it—I don’t know! A man in your line of work . . . I don’t know how I feel about that. I still have a contract to fulfill with La Belle and now David Klein. I have online classes to finish. I’ve got a part-time job waiting at the animal clinic, then school in a few more weeks. I don’t know where this relationship could possibly go, and I don’t think you do either.”
He clamped down on an urge to show her exactly where it could go—straight back to bed. But maybe she was right. Maybe he didn’t have everything completely worked out. And clearly he had his hands full with Hannah and Ally.
It didn’t mean he was anywhere near ready to end things between them.
And it didn’t change the fact that he needed to keep her safe.
“Look, Val, Mahler didn’t kill Delilah—we know that. Nothing about the two cases matches up. Someone else killed her, and that means your life could still be at risk.”
“You said her killer was a pro. That’s some kind of hit man, right? That means it was personal. Someone wanted her, specifically, dead.”
“That’s only a theory. Just because the guy was thorough doesn’t mean he couldn’t be as crazy as Byron Mahler. It doesn’t mean he couldn’t be lying in wait, getting ready to take you out or kill one of the other girls.”
She fell silent. Her big blue eyes searched his face. “You really think the killer might come after me or one of the other models?”
He reached toward her, cupped a hand beneath her jaw. “That’s the thing, baby. I don’t know. Until I do, I need to be close enough to protect you.” He didn’t tell her he’d nearly gone out of his mind when he’d realized she was locked in a room with the crazy son of a bitch who had raped and brutally murdered Mandy Gee.
That it still haunted him that he hadn’t been there when she’d needed him most.
He tipped her head back and settled his lips very softly over hers, began a gentle persuasion. He wasn’t beyond using sex to get what he wanted. One thing he knew: Val liked sex and she liked it with him.
Ethan deepened the kiss, kissed her until she moaned into his mouth. If the car hadn’t been so close to the duplex, he might have had the driver raise the privacy partition and taken her right there on the seat.
Instead, he eased a little away, kissed the side of her neck, dropped slow kisses along her jaw. “I’ll give you as much space as I possibly can, all right?”
She slid her hand behind his neck and pulled his mouth back down for another steamy kiss. Her lips were soft and moist and he was rock hard. Ethan bit back a groan.
The limo pulled up in front of her house. Steeling himself, he ended the kiss and shifted his erection into a more comfortable position.
The driver opened the door. “We’re here, Ms. Hart.”
Ethan climbed out of the car and made a quick check of their surroundings. His Jeep was parked in front of Val’s garage, where his brother had moved it for him.
Seeing nothing but a woman out walking her dog and a man riding his bicycle beneath the trees overhanging the street, Ethan helped Val out of the limo while the driver took their suitcases out of the trunk.