Page 17

Chapter seventeen

Aftercare

Gideon

S taring at Kylie’s sleeping form, I couldn’t believe what had just occurred.

I never imagined the depth of her passion. But Jesus fuck, it had been the hottest sex of my life. And it’s why I sat beside her, staring at her serene facade, feeling something besides rage and grief for the first time in months. She had been a revelation with her desire to submit. It made me want to explore her erotic depths. Discover just how far I could push her.

It was a heady thing.

When I’d gone to the gym earlier, it had been with the intention of flirting with her. To see if her interest lay beyond Axel. I had been so fucking hard watching her bend and twist her stellar body into poses.

But she had been watching me too through those inky lashes when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. I’d cataloged every expression, every line of her silhouette until they were burned in my mind.

It’s how I was able to catch her before she tumbled to the floor, not expecting that she would feel right in my arms. Or that she would look at me like I was a superhero. And fuck, I wanted to be—for her.

Yet I never expected her to taste so sweet or for it to go straight to my loins.

The vulnerability in her eyes had touched me. It made me yearn to protect her, not just for the length of this case, but for always. Although with my line of work, I didn’t do commitments.

But I could see myself committing to her.

I backed away. It was that, or I would slide beneath the covers and hold her while she slept. Except that was a level of intimacy for which I wasn’t ready. It blurred the lines of the case further. Being with her this way made it messy.

I wasn’t a fan of messy.

I preferred things orderly. It was easier to control. But that was my military upbringing and background talking. Both my dad and brother had been Marines too. Both were gone now.

I couldn’t, for one second, forget why I was here. And it wasn’t screwing the lonely widow.

Leaving her bedroom, I headed to the room I was using and didn’t stop until I reached the bathroom. I stripped and stepped into the shower. The memory of Kylie hovered. I couldn’t escape it—or her.

Regardless of how messy it made things, I wanted her still. The thought of taking her ass, of being the first man to breach that tight hole, made me hard as stone. Standing beneath the shower spray, I stroked my dick, remembering the way she looked on her knees, my cock pistoning in her snug pussy.

I’d taken her without a condom.

I hadn’t done that since my relationship with Olivia right after I left basic training. But that was more than a decade past.

It took sadly little time before I came. Naughty thoughts of Kylie danced in my head.

After I left the shower and dressed, I sat on the bed and called my superior at the agency.

“Gideon. About time I heard from you,” General Dan Blumfeld sagely stated. Dan had been a three-star general in the army until he was recruited into the Central Intelligence Agency more than a decade ago.

I liked the guy. He knew his stuff. And he didn’t mince words. I respected the hell out of him, even if he was Army. “Sorry, sir. There’s been more work getting a foothold established in this house than we originally projected.”

No fucking way would I admit that Axel and I had spent a portion of that time banging Carlos Vega’s widow. I could imagine the dressing-down Dan would issue before pulling me from this case. That couldn’t happen. Luka Santos needed to pay for what he did to my brother. I would ensure that motherfucker went down and take his entire organization with him.

Not to mention knowing what I now know about Kylie. How she was as much of a victim of the Santos crime syndicate as my brother. I refused to leave her defenseless.

“If this case is too much for your team, tell me now, and I will get a replacement in there on the double. We’re too close to let anything fuck this up.”

Not going to happen on my watch. This was my case. I’d be damned before I let him take it from me. “It’s not too much. But the house and grounds needed significantly more cameras and equipment to sufficiently monitor the house and surrounding grounds. Mateo has it well in hand with everything up.”

“Good. And Vega’s widow? Glean anything useful yet?”

“Not quite. Other than Mateo uncovering video footage of Carlos Vega beating his wife. And Mrs. Vega confirmed it. There’s no love lost over her husband’s death. I think we can use it and her to our advantage.”

“I didn’t see that coming. For all our intel, it appeared they had a happy marriage.”

“On the outside, when they were photographed away from the home, that’s precisely how it looked. But we’ve learned that wasn’t the case at all. I could have Mateo send you a sample.”

“That won’t be necessary. I trust your instincts. If you think you can sway her to our side and have her confess where her husband stashed those diamonds, then do it.”

“I’m not sure she knows. From what I’ve been able to gather, Carlos Vega ruled his home with an iron fist, and she was his arm candy. She indicated her husband beat her for going into his home office without permission.”

“Damn. That’s a shame. Do you think it’s a useless enterprise? Do we need to pull you out and approach this case from another angle?”

“No.” Because he wasn’t leaving Kylie. “Kylie Vega hasn’t messed with her husband’s office. I’ve got Chase in there now, combing through files. And Mateo has already started working on the man’s computer to access those records.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Keep me informed of any new developments. You get a lead on where those diamonds are stashed, contact me at once.”

“Will do, Dan. Talk soon.” I hung up because there was nothing further to say.

Until we got a lead on where the diamonds were stashed, or records, if there were any, of Carlos Vega’s clandestine activities with the Santos organization, I wasn’t leaving.

More importantly, I would never leave Kylie to fend for herself. Not after everything I learned. Not after touching her, and holding her in my arms, as if that was where she belonged.

Rising, I headed out to join Chase in Carlos Vega’s office. But Kylie was never far from my mind. Foremost was when I would get to feel her coming around my cock again.