Page 29

“G oddammit, Maddie. Why can’t you listen to me for once in your life?” He tunneled his fingers in his hair and kneaded his scalp. He loved his sister more than anything, but fuck, she drove him crazy sometimes.

“Because it has absolutely nothing to do with you. I’m an adult, Ethan. I can do what I want when I—”

“Yeah, I know.” His hand slid down his face in frustration.

Since she was fifteen years old, she’d been telling him she could do whatever she wanted.

Thing was, Maddie had done what she wanted from the day she was born.

She didn’t give a damn what anyone said, least of all her older brother.

“But you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You have a good job, keep it.”

Her laugh was thin, brittle. “You think this is what I want to do? Work in a bank? I’m bored out of my freaking mind. I get why you left the military and the FBI, it wasn’t for you. But you and I are different. I’m a lot tougher than you.”

Ethan grunted. Tough to Maddie meant being a badass and risking her life.

Tough to him meant knowing yourself better than the attractive attributes of a daring career.

She was tough as nails, he’d give her that.

She’d earned her black belt at thirteen, and had since practiced various levels of martial arts.

She was deadly, determined, hungry, and cocky as hell.

Despite all that, there was no way he was letting his little sister get into the FBI.

“You’re forgetting one thing, Mad,” he said softly. He kept his voice low, but one glance over his shoulder at Riley’s stiff back told him she was listening.

“And what’s that?” she said haughtily.

“I have connections with the FBI. And I can promise you, you will never work for them.” Silence fell on the other end, and that meant she was getting ready to come in for the kill. “I love you, okay? One day you’ll thank me,” he said, hoping to bring down the level of her fury.

“Screw you,” she spat.

The line went dead in his hand. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tightened his fist on his phone. He took deep breaths through his nose until his head stopped throbbing.

Ethan slid his phone in his pocket and turned around. Riley was in the kitchen, her slight frame moved gracefully as she packaged up the leftover food and stored it in the fridge.

“Who was that?” she asked as she turned to face him.

He groaned. “My sister.”

“You have a sister?” Her eyebrows rose.

He strode into the kitchen and stopped in front of her.

Her hands rested on his forearms.

“I have two. Maddie is the youngest and a damn hellion.”

Riley chuckled. “She can’t be that bad. How old is she?”

“Twenty-seven,” he rested his hand on her shoulder.

The black tank top she wore showed off the narrow indent of her waist and slender shoulders.

Her light denim shorts weren’t much longer than the ones she’d worn on the beach.

They hugged her luscious backside and highlighted her sleek, slim thighs.

Her blond hair tumbled in loose waves halfway down her back.

Need pulsed through him. “What did she do to upset you?”

The desire rippling through him made him want to end the conversation about his sister pronto.

“She wants to get into the FBI. I told her no. She didn’t take that very well.”

Riley’s eyebrow arched. “You told her no?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s hell…and she’s just a kid. Aside from that she could get killed.”

“A kid? She’s the same age as me.”

He shook his head. “It’s different, trust me.” Maddie was a loose cannon, and defiant as a bull, definitely not in the same field as a levelheaded twenty-seven year old. He bit the words back. As frustrated as he was by Maddie, he wouldn’t talk badly about her.

Riley’s lips rolled in. “But you know you can’t tell her what to do right? She’s her own person. If it’s hell, that’s something she needs to learn for herself.”

Ethan’s temper racked up a notch. He forced it down. Riley didn’t know Maddie, so naturally she would stick up for her. He traced his finger over the top of her shoulder, under the thin strap of her tank top, and back.

“Let’s not talk about my sister right now, okay?”

She nodded. His palms grasped her hips, and he turned her around. His fingers closed over her wrists and pressed her palms to the table in front of her, her butt snuggled against his groin. A groan sounded in his throat. She giggled and squirmed, but he held tight.

“I like this,” he breathed. He leaned against her back and brought his fingers to the back of her neck, stroking the satiny skin. She scrunched up her shoulders and choked on a laugh.

“Ethan, that tickles.”

“Mmm…but you’ll feel good in a minute.”

He loosened his hold and she turned around in his arms.

“Is that so?”

“Well, hell. I hope you don’t doubt that.” His finger traced the line of her top, dipping down into her cleavage and then over her breast.

She swallowed. Her throat bobbed beneath her delicate skin. He brushed her hair aside with his knuckle and pressed a kiss to her collarbone. Her head fell back and her fingers gripped his shoulders. Her breath sucked in as he moved his way up the column of her throat and across her jaw.

His palms gripped her thighs and he lifted her onto the table. Her mouth closed over his, her tongue hot and ready as it pushed through his lips. Her taste filled him and swirled over his taste buds. Electric currents shot down his nerve endings.

She pulled away and met his gaze. Her eyes were heavy, her cheeks flushed and soft.

“Ethan, you drive me crazy,” she murmured. A smile tugged at his lips. He took her bottom lip in between his teeth and sucked on it. Her legs tightened around his waist and the small of her back arched, pressing the denim over her crotch against his rock-hard shaft. Damn, he needed her. Now.

“I hope you mean in a good way.” His thumb hooked into the strap of her top and eased it down her shoulder.

She smiled against his mouth. “In the best way.” Her voice shook. Her hands tightened on his shoulders and she eased back. “But I was hoping we could talk before we get carried away.”

He dropped his forehead to hers and stifled a groan. She laughed and threw her head back, her body shook. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“You want to talk?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, you know, before we go damaging any furniture.”

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Her chin dropped and her laugh trickled to soft giggles. Her eyes widened in mock disbelief. “Me? What on earth do you mean? You came on to me, remember?”

“Yeah, and we’re just about to do it on the table and you suddenly get chatty?” He pinched the very top of her thigh, just underneath the cut-off of her shorts.

She swatted his hand away. “Ha. No way were we going to do it on the table.”

“Were too.”

She shook her head and straightened. “You’re crazy.”

His hand slid across her neck and cupped her cheek. Her emerald eyes sparkled with humor at him, the soft crinkle around her eyes warmed something inside him. Damn, he loved seeing her happy.

“You drive me crazy too…in the best way,” he whispered.

Her smile faded and her teeth caught her bottom lip. Her eyes never wavered from his. “Do you mean that?”

“Hell yeah, I mean that. Why would you think I didn’t?” He moved his thumb over the slight angle of her cheekbone. Her gaze lowered to his chest, and then slowly moved back up.

She shrugged and her big, doe-like eyes grew heavy. Her fingers trailed over his forearms in a slow cadence, bringing fire to his skin.

“Honey, you really have no idea the effect you have on me, do you?” He brushed a strand of her hair back and slid his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him when her eyes kept falling downward.

“Well, I know of one effect in particular.” Her eyes locked with his, and the intensity in her green orbs slammed into him.

He bent his head and repeated the motion with his tongue. She lowered herself from the counter and onto her tiptoes, her palm closed over the back of his neck and her mouth molded against his. A soft moan sounded in her throat.

He pulled away. “Well now, who came on to who?”

Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed at him.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” he said. He raised his shoulders in mock innocence.

“You’re evil,” she hissed. He bent his head and nipped her shoulder, earning him a laugh. The laughter vanished from her eyes and a soft smile replaced it. “Can I ask you something, Ethan?”

“Of course, babe. Anything.”

“Why did you leave the FBI? And what are your plans now?”

A weight settled on his chest. He rested his hand on the back of his neck and kneaded the muscle. He didn’t want to talk about his past, but dammit, he couldn’t shut her out either. Months had passed since he’d walked away from that life and still, he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do.

“Let’s sit.” He led her to the couch and pulled her onto his lap. Her ass nestled against his dick, bringing a dark fog to his mind. He ran his hand up her thigh, and that too, muddled his thoughts.

Christ.

“I left the military three years ago. It was horrific. That’s the only way I can describe it. I knew that I didn’t belong there, but I needed to protect and went about it the wrong way, I guess.”

“Protect? Now why does that not surprise me?” Her finger traced the line of his shoulder and drifted down his arm.

He caught her fingers, stilling her. He’d never get through this damn story if she kept touching him.

“Nate had left before I did and was working with the FBI. I needed a job, had all the requirements and then some, so I thought maybe it would work. That way I could still protect the innocent and crucify in a way that didn’t make me lose sleep at night. ”

“And it didn’t work, did it?”

He shook his head. “Nope. But this time, it was because my hands were tied by the law. Nate and I had busted a sex-trafficking ring a couple of years ago, and I nearly killed a man with my bare hands.”

Her gaze fell down to the hand that rested on her thigh, but instead of coiling away, she rested her hand on top of his.

Relief expanded in his chest. “Nate had to pull me off him. I got too emotionally involved. Fuck.” He breathed and shook his head.

“How the hell do you not get emotionally involved in something like that? I stuck it out as long as I could, but I hated every minute of it. I left a couple of months ago and to be honest with you, Riley, I don’t know what the hell I want to do with my life. ”

Tears shone in the corners of her eyes. She pulled his head to rest against her shoulder and stroked the back of his neck. The warm, sweet scent of her filled his nose, intoxicating him. His chin lay against her breast and he inhaled her aroma.

“How have you been doing this that long? How have you made ends meet?”

He snorted and pulled away. “That’s one problem I don’t have.”

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you mean. With no income…”

“My family is wealthy,” he shook his head. “Disgustingly so. I have a trust fund that I’ve never touched. I wanted my own career and to live off my own income, but when the shit hit the fan, I was grateful to have it.”

“Are you close with your family?”

He settled back against the couch. “Yeah, we’re very close.

My parents have never approved of my career choices.

They would have preferred I took after my dad and ran an oil empire.

Not my cup of tea. They were supportive, but had treated my career as if it was a hobby.

That’s what pisses me off the most. Maybe they were right. ”

Riley shook her head wildly. “Don’t think like that. You know exactly who you are and what you want. Maybe that’s not the military, and maybe it’s not law enforcement. But that doesn’t mean it’s something else altogether.”

His hands tightened on her hips. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about starting a private investigator business. I have a knack for hacking into computers and have a shitload of resources from the FBI. I’ve always been good at that kind of thing.”

Her eyes lit up. “That’s brilliant, Ethan. I think that would be perfect for you.”

A smile crinkled the skin around his eyes. “I have you to thank for that. The idea never even dawned on me until we started looking for Hanna.”

Her eyes darkened. Guilt swirled in his stomach and his mouth opened to take back the words. Fuck, he hadn’t meant to say it like that.

Her hand rose to rest on his shoulder, the muscle beneath her hand tingled. “I guess there really is a silver lining in everything, isn’t there?”

His shoulders relaxed. “And with this, I could start it anywhere. There’s nothing holding me back.”

Her soft laughter warmed his insides. “Even better.” She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his.

Heat shot through his body, scorching him. He turned her in his arms so she snuggled against him, her legs around his waist, her chest pressed to his.

Her mouth moved in a slow, careful pace and her tongue parted his lips and touched his. His dick hardened against the softness of her crevice. He moved his hands over the swell of her hips and locked them on her ass.

She moaned and arched against him. His body pulsated with need. Her hands folded over the base of his neck, pulling him hard against her lips. His tongue licked over hers, her heat and wetness surrounding him. He growled a curse, lifted her in his arms, and carried her to the bedroom.