“It’s nothing. I’m safe.” He dragged her back into his arms, enjoying the feel of her warm, soft body. He felt the threads of his reserve break. He loved her. Wanted to possess her, no matter what he had to do to keep her right where she belonged. Some would call him egotistical for wanting to own her, but she was his lifeline and she surely owned him too.
They held each other for a while. Not saying anything.
Then she broke the connection, but not completely. “Where’s Lindsay, Egan? Please tell me she’s okay. Did you get her out of there?”
Standing, he stretched his arms high above his head. “Yes. She’s with Pao and we’ll speak to her once I’ve had a few hours of sleep.”
“What about Finley? Mom? Pao told me not to make any calls until you said it’s okay.”
“It’s already taken care of. I sent one of my team to take them to a safe location.” He yawned.
“A safe location? Mom will never agree to that.” Her expression dropped.
“I called and she didn’t cause a fuss. They’re with Justice now.”
“Where are they?” She dropped her feet to the floor.
“Trust me, they’ll be safe with Justice.”
“I should be with them.”
He sat down next to her and took her hand. “Listen, they’re safer where they are, for now, until we can figure out what the hell’s going on. I know it’s hard to wait, but we need to get some rest.” Seeing the concern in her expression, he realized she had every right to be confused and upset. In his career, he was used to dealing with missions that left him on unsafe ground, but Novah liked things stable. He stretched out on the couch and patted the available space beside him. When she narrowed her gaze in hesitation, he chuckled. “Get your head out of the gutter, sweetheart. Let’s lay here and we can talk for as long as you need to.”
He saw something in her eyes that he hadn’t seen in a long time. Relief. She crawled beside him with her back pressed against his chest. Her firm bottom snuggled into the spoon of his hips. Although not his intention, his body came to attention, but as much as he wanted her, right now he needed to comfort her in a way that didn’t involve sex.
Threading his fingers in her soft mantle of hair, he massaged her scalp, just how she liked it when she was stressed. “I know you’re worried about Finley, your mother and Lindsay but I promise you, they’re safe. I wouldn’t let anything happen. You can call them tomorrow and see for yourself.”
“Are we safe here?” Her shoulders stiffened slightly, but when he moved his fingers to her neck and rubbed the muscles she relaxed again.
“Yeah.”
“I believe you.”
He lifted her hair and twirled the strands around his knuckles then let them drop back. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You should know that by now.”
There was a long, aching silence that stretched between them. “I’m sorry, Egan. I got us into this mess, but I didn’t know what to do.”
“Novah, you did the right thing. I couldn’t have left Lindsay any more than you could have. You followed your instincts. In the morning we’ll find out everything the woman knows. We’ll put a clear picture on all the mayhem.”
He moved his fingers to her tight shoulders and kneaded. A soft moan escaped her.
When he stopped rubbing, she rolled over to face him, looking up at him with angst in her expression. “What will this mean for you and your team?”
He gave a quick shrug. “Fuck if I know the fallout yet, but I don’t want you to worry about that shit. I always land on my feet, you know that. The bigger question, what will this mean for Langley’s career?” He couldn’t stop staring at her because she was so damn beautiful, even though he knew how worried she was. He traced her soft cheek and then smoothed the area right under one eye with his thumb.
“I worked for him. How could I not see what he was really like?”
“A lot of people are good at pretending to be something they’re not.” He relaxed his head on the cushion, feeling the fingers of sleep massaging him inside.
“What about you, Egan?” She touched a finger to his bruised jaw.
“Me? What you see is what you get.”
“I’m referring to you ending your military career. You loved that lifestyle.”
With a chuckle, he responded, “I liked feeling useful and making a difference in the world. It’s an indescribable feeling of going into war-stricken countries and seeing children devastated from hunger and their terrible environment, begging for a scrap of help. They were caught up in the ravages of war, used by adults to fight the enemy. Damn, it’s a disaster in some places of the world and we’re here, living in a bubble.”
“Do you regret retiring?”
He held her gaze. “Up until six hours ago, no.” Seeing her frown he tapped the tip of her nose. “I’m kidding. This feels normal to me. That’s why I can grab some sleep. You should too.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, nuzzling his nose against her neck. “My God, this is what I miss. Cuddling and snuggling. Is that weird when a man likes this?”
Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, but it was enough for now. “You always did like snuggling. Most men want to have sex and then roll out of bed.”
He allowed his eyes to drift close. “Oh, like you
