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Chapter Twenty-One
Reid
“Holly, baby, what is it? Spit it out.” I listened to her soft humming and watched the way her eyes shifted right in thought. I want to take her right back to that bedroom, but I need her fire, her fight, and right now it’s not there.
“Who is Emily, Reid?” The question took me aback, and my insides momentarily seized. How much of my conversation had she heard? Every time I turn around, I’m making mistakes when it comes to this woman, and potentially compromising the case.
“The wife of a friend of mine.” I answered honestly.
“The friend…is that who you were on the phone with just now?” She brought her eyes back to meet mine. Interesting, Emily was bothering her, she was jealous. The thought warmed my insides and made me want to tackle her onto the bed like a caveman, which is weird. I’ve never felt this way about a woman before. I don’t know what to do with myself.
“Yes, it is.” I answered and took another step closer to her until our bodies were almost flush.
“The weapons?” She asked hesitantly, but she didn’t back away from my proximity. She isn’t scared of me, just curious.
“For work. I need them for work.” I didn’t elaborate, I can’t give her any more of my truths right now, not until I know more about our situation and her involvement in it.
She didn’t speak, but she nodded her acceptance of my answer, for now.
“You have cell reception?” Her lips turned up into a smile, and I knew I was out of the woods, figuratively, because we sure as hell are still in the middle of the woods.
“I do as long as that cable connects my phone to that black box there behind the sofa.” I lifted my chin and nodded towards the wicker sofa that sat behind us in the living area.
“Care to make a trade?” She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down with her teeth playfully.
“Oh, so we’re bartering now?”
“Come back to bed with me, and we can play a game. I might even let you tie me up if you play your cards right. In return, you let me borrow your nifty black cable so that I can contact the human world later today.”
I slid my hand under the fold of the sheet and onto her skin, gripping her hip and pulling her the rest of the way to me. “You know you can use anything I have whenever you damn well want, Holly. I take your body because you want to give it to me, not because you have to.” The words came out a little more harsh than I intended, but I meant them all the same.
I’m not the man you want to bring home to meet your mother, but for some reason I feel like I need Holly to know that I respect her. I’ve never cared before, but the deep pull in my chest to make her understand is forcing my hand. We might fight, and I might take, but it’s only because I know it’s what she craves. I can read her body; I understand the language it speaks without a single word.
“Oh, I know, I was just being polite. If you decide to take without asking, I know where you keep your explosives.” She shrugged as she smiled innocently, and in that moment, I saw the blood of a mafia princess as she pulled away from my grip, sauntering back into the bedroom, and I followed – the damn sway of her hips demanded it.
???
“I saw your backpack by the door, you really are planning to stay, aren’t you?” Holly absentmindedly drew circles with her manicured fingernails on my chest as we lay naked in the bed watching the sun’s full ascent into the morning sky through the window.
Two more times, I took her two more times this morning and am covered in dried sweat and in desperate need of a shower, but I can’t move. I’m entranced by the woman that lies next to me.
I thought that Victor Adkins had the power, I considered him my biggest unknown threat to this case, but it turns out Holly may be the most dangerous of them all. For years I’ve fought for the good guys, I’ve been a part of a team. But the foundations of my world are shifting beneath me with every bat of her long eyelashes against her delicate cheekbones. My loyalties are changing with or without my consent. It’s no longer good versus evil. She’s ensnaring me from the inside out, but how far am I willing to go to feed the hunger that is eating my soul?
“A few days at the least, as long as you stop threatening me with explosives.” I teased, hoping to lighten the mood and get out of my own head.
“Pot meet kettle. You’re the one that brought the guns to the gun show. At some point we have to get out of this bed and get some work done, no?” She sighed, the sound easy and relaxed.
“Tell me, what is on the agenda for the day?” I asked genuinely curious. I want to know the details of what Wilks has employed Holly to do out here. We’ve only gotten so much information from the paperwork and our inside channels. I know what Wilks' intentions are, but I don’t know what Holly believes she is doing here.
“Well, first things first, we have to venture into the haunted house. I was saving that gem for daylight hours. Oh, and I have a grocery delivery scheduled, so at some point I’m going to have to go out to the main road and pick up sustenance. I would have ordered more if I knew you were coming. But as it stands, we will have enough to survive for a few days.” I smiled listening to her talk. It’s so strange, I enjoy her when she’s fired up and pissed at me, and I enjoy her when she’s talking about groceries. The sound of her voice is becoming a comfort to me.
“Sustenance? You really did order groceries didn’t you? You do realize you have a vehicle here that is perfectly capable of transporting you to and from the city?”
“Yes, but I didn’t want to leave my design bubble, and driving back into Carlton will eat up half of my day. I need to be productive over the next few days and get everything in order for the fire claim, as well as set up contractors for the renovations. I only have a week to get everything lined up, and I have yet to step foot into the main house. However, central heating and cooling and a total electrical re-wire of both houses is going to the top of the list if this house is any indication of what’s going on over there.”
“I’m not arguing with you about that, this place could use with some air flow and high-speed internet, the satellite box out there only goes so far. I happen to know a guy that might be willing to make your life a little easier on the claims side, if you’re interested.” I curled my lip up into my signature half-smile, half-smolder and watched as Holly’s skin turned an adorable shade of pink.
“Depends, what’s he got to offer in return? The last claims adjuster I worked with was an arrogant asshole.” She rolled her eyes in exaggeration, but her smile was still there, playful.
