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“What?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. I’m just enjoying watching you.”
“You like looking at me, sailor?”
“I’d like looking at you a lot better if you were naked.”
She gathered the two lead ropes in one hand and splashed water at him, causing him to dance away from the river’s edge. Finn came out of the water, leading the two mules on one sideand wrapping her arm around his waist with the other. He stopped and picked up two pieces of dried wood.
“Do I dare ask what those are for?”
“To upend your boots on so they’ll dry better overnight.”
“Are you planning to get me out of my boots, sailor?”
“And everything else you have on,” he said as they reached the rock overhang and returned the mules to the area they’d set up for them. He watched her place the things they’d used to eat close enough to the fire, they would dry. She glanced over at him but seemed to become shy when she saw he was watching her intently.
“What’s bothering you?” he said as he walked over to her.
“This. You. What’s going to happen tonight, tomorrow, for the rest of our lives. It’s just a lot, Croft.” She pulled away as he reached for her. “I don’t know much about you. Hell, I don’t even know your full name, and I’m letting you order me around, rearrange my life, and tell me how things are going to be.”
Snaking his hand out, he caught her arm with surprising strength and drew her to him.
“First, you don’t pull away from me… not now, not ever. Second, I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know. Third, what’s going to happen tonight is pretty much the same thing that’s going to happen every night, every morning, and whenever else I’m horny. I’m going to fuck you until your screams are reverberating all up and down the canyon. Fourth, I’ve been pretty clear about me. I would remind you that I’m not the one who’s been lying from the day we met and before that to the company she hired. And last, William Emerson Crofton, Junior. My family calls me Billy, which I hate, and Emerson isn’t any better, so from the time I entered Annapolis, I’ve gone by Croft. Anything else?”
“You’re not going to spank me?” The relief in her voice was almost palpable.
“You don’t think you deserve to get spanked for slipping out of our bed, creeping out of the room, and running off, pretending to be some kind of fucking superhero? I won’t lie to you, Finn. I’m going to blister your ass when we get topside, but I need you to be able to ride out of here, so I’m going to settle for just fucking you so hard, you’ll remember why you fell for me and which one of us is calling the shots.”
“But, Croft, I could help…”
“And you will. You can be the most help staying where I know you’re safe and going for backup if I don’t get back on time.”
“He’s my brother,” she said stubbornly.
“You’re my woman,” he said heatedly. “That, Finlay Reid, tops all other concerns. Finn, seriously, I need to know you’re going to do what I tell you.”
“You think he’s dead, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t think they’ll kill him until they have this flash drive. That’s why you’re taking it with you.”
“No. They’ll kill you and Christian both if you don’t give them what they want,” she cried.
“Given what you said, this isn’t the first rodeo for these clowns. They know what they’re doing. I wish I could tell you I’ll bring Christian back tomorrow, but I won’t lie to you. I’ll be shocked if he’s even there. Tomorrow is about them knowing you aren’t in this alone, that you have hired a professional team with a solid reputation to represent you. The firm has already established when we negotiate, we represent the family or the individual. We don’t give a rat’s ass if the hostiles ever get apprehended. Our only concern is bringing the hostage home safe and sound. If we can do that by paying them whatever asking price we settle on, we’re good. We’ll hold up our end, but if they fuck with us, if they kill the hostage or us after we’ve paid in good faith? We will rain a level of hell down on them they never knew existed.”
“Why don’t I know all this?” she asked, fascinated.
He grinned. “Because we’re that good. All the firms that offer K&R insurance know who we are, and most have us on retainer. A lot of guys at Interpol and law enforcement know as well. As I said, Mac has been very successful.”
“Croft?”
“Yes, babe?”
“Will you take me to bed and fuck me?”
He laughed. “On one condition.”
“Seriously? Now you want to negotiate?”
