Page 79 of Justified Fear

Sixteen

It took Ryan a few minutes to recover.Once he did, he realized he had just collapsed on Keely like a freaking oaf.

He leaned up, balancing himself on his forearms.Her skin was shiny with perspiration, some of her thick waves sticking to it.She was a bit of a mess and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Are you staring at me?”she asked, her husky voice wrapping around him.She didn’t open her eyes, but her mouth curved up into a smile.

Ryan knew he could play it off, make a joke, but he didn’t want to.At that moment, he wanted to be brutally honest.

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

Her golden eyes blinked open and, there…right there.He felt it to his soul when she looked at him.Just like that first night.

“Did you hit your head?I’m a mess.”

“No.You’re you.”

For a long moment, she didn’t respond, but slowly, her mouth curved into a smile.“That’s one of the sweetest things anyone has said to me.”

He kissed her nose.“Be right back.”

After a quick trip to the bathroom to throw away the condom, he hurried back and slipped into bed.She had snuggled under the sheets, so he joined her.She immediately rolled over and into his arms.

“See, I was quiet,” she whispered against his skin.

His mouth curved.“You were.”

Before she could respond, a vibrating sound filled the air, and he realized it was his phone.With a sigh, he went in search of it and found it in his pants.Pulling it out, he grimaced.Seth.

“Boss, what’s up?”

“It seems we’ve found Ray once again.That kid has nine lives.Anyway, Alpha got the call.They’re bringing him in, but Tamilya called me to say Ray insisted your woman isn’t safe.Chad knows that she’s in a safe house.”

“Fuck.”

“I think until we know for sure, you need to bring her into headquarters.Once we question him, we’ll have a better handle on what is happening.”

“Got it.”

He hung up and looked over at Keely.She was sitting up and watching him carefully.All the happy glow she’d had just moments before had disappeared.

“What’s going on?”

“We found Ray, but he’s saying Chad Brothers knows you’re in a safe house.Seth thinks it’s best to bring you in.”

She nodded and slipped out of bed.He wanted to ignore the world, to take her away from all of this and shield her.It was something new for him.He had always been a protector, but he’d never really zeroed in on one person specifically.

“What?”

He shook his head.“We have a lot to talk about, but it can wait.We need to get to headquarters.”

He dressed as fast as he could, then, with another kiss, he headed back out into the living room.

“I heard from Charity already,” Emily said.He noticed the other agents were geared up and ready to go.“Let’s hope this is the end of this insanity.We’re leaving Aaron here just in case that asshole shows up, although I doubt it.”

“You don’t think he found out where we are?”

Ian shook his head.“No.We just bought this apartment last month and had it set up.This is the first time we’ve used it.Everyone who lives on this floor works for Dillon.No one leaked this information.”