Page 31 of Kane (Ghost Ops #4)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Daphne was reeling inside. Outside, she was the picture of calm. Or so she hoped.

She’d finally gotten through Kane’s barriers.

And she wasn’t exaggerating when she told herself it was the best sex of her life.

Of course Kane knew his way around the lady bits.

Not that he’d done much more than fuck her with his massive dick, but he’d known how to do it. Not every guy could say that.

She was wrecked from that encounter, and not only because of the physicality. She’d been too wet to be really hurt by anything they’d done, but her body knew it had just weathered a cyclone. Happily weathered, she might add.

Willing to do it again. She’d decided not to let him know that, however. Something told her to play it cool, maybe even hard to get, and Kane would keep coming back for more. Or so she hoped.

She was also reeling from what he’d told her about his marriage.

She’d hurt for him when he’d said his wife had an affair, and she’d been angry too.

Angry at a dead woman for making choices Daphne couldn’t fathom.

Kane was, at his core, protective and loyal.

At least he was with his friends. And he was honest with the women he dated when he really didn’t have to be.

A lot of men wouldn’t be so honest, but not Kane.

He set expectations, even if she gave him hell about it being sexist thinking that women couldn’t want the same thing he did from the encounter.

She thought of him returning from a deployment and being confronted by his wife’s infidelity. By her lies.

When Daphne thought of her own lies, her chest squeezed tight. It wasn’t the same thing, and she had no choice, but she didn’t think Kane would appreciate knowing she wasn’t who she said she was. That everything about her was a lie.

He was waiting for her in the living room when she reemerged from the bathroom, having cleaned herself up and put on her shorts again.

He looked broody as he stared out at the remnants of the storm, the leaves and twigs that’d been blown everywhere, and she wondered if he was about to give her the I’m-sorry-but-we-can’t-do-this-again speech.

Instead, his gaze slid over her with raw appreciation. Thank God.

“Best not look at me that way at the Dawg,” she said, sashaying over to where he stood, telling herself to be bold and confident.

He hooked an arm around her waist and tugged her against him. Then he dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her until her body started to melt. So far, so good.

He steadied her when he let her go. If he hadn’t, her knees might have collapsed.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“Does it have to be for anything?”

“No. But you spent so long pretending not to be interested in me. Guess I expect that Kane to reappear.”

“Genie’s out of the bottle, babe. At least with us.”

She caressed his cheek because she could. “I know this is temporary. I can’t imagine what you went through, and I understand why you don’t want to fall in love again.”

He pressed his hand to hers, holding it against his face. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Sunshine.”

Her heart squeezed. “I know that, and I appreciate it. I’m fine.”

She wasn’t fine, not really, because everything about Kane Fox only made her want him more.

She wanted to be the one who soothed him, held him, spent time tangled in the sheets with him.

She wanted to talk to him endlessly, and she wanted to be the one he turned to when he needed someone to listen to him or just be there for him.

“You ready?” he asked. When she nodded, he held the front door for her and then ushered her to the passenger side of his SUV. “No sense taking two vehicles when you’re coming back here tonight. And I’ve got the cameras for the security system in the back. I can install it after dinner.”

“Or tomorrow,” she said, sliding a hand to his crotch and caressing him. Why not be bold? Why not take everything she could get? “In case you’d like to screw me on a bed instead of putting screws into the wall.”

She loved the look on his face, the need reflected there. And his growl as he said, “I can do both, Sunshine.”

They didn’t talk about much on the way to the Dawg, mostly the weather and the way the storm had blown through and left downed branches and bits of debris.

The decorations for the Independence Day celebration were a little tattered as they headed into town, but the committee would no doubt be out in force tomorrow, fixing and replacing as needed.

The parking lot was full when he turned in and found a spot on the outer edge. It was still daylight, but that didn’t stop Kane from leaning over, hooking a hand behind her neck, and fusing his mouth to hers for a kiss that had her worried about her panties again.

“What was that for?” she asked when he let her go.

He gave her a cocky grin that hitched her heart. “Because I could. Because I don’t have to pretend I don’t want to anymore. At least with you.”

She couldn’t stop the goofy smile that creased her face. “I’m glad you aren’t pretending anymore either.”

They didn’t hold hands as they crossed the parking lot, but she was very aware of him beside her, of the way his fingers skimmed over hers as they walked, the way they went to the small of her back as she went up the stairs in front of him.

When they walked into the Dawg, a cheer went up from their table. “Finally,” Rory said. “I’m starving.”

She was sitting beside Chance, clearly taking time off her feet and letting others handle the bar. Extraordinary for a Friday.

“I’m sorry,” Daphne said, guilt flaring that they’d kept a pregnant woman waiting. “You should have ordered.”

“Don’t listen to this woman.” Chance looped an arm around Rory and pulled her closer. “She just polished off half a basket of cheese sticks. She is not starving.”

Rory stuck out her tongue at him. “You do not know that, Studly McStudmuffin. Because you didn’t get knocked up, I did. I could eat a big slab of beef with some au jus sauce and a basket of yeast rolls.”

“Lucky for you it’s Friday,” Chance said before kissing her forehead.

A bolt of envy took a path through Daphne’s heart. Getting laid was one thing. Having someone love you and protect you and want nothing but the best for you was something even better. She would never get that with Kane. He wasn’t capable of it, thanks to his wife.

Anger flared deep inside but she smashed it down. What good did it do? The woman was dead and gone, and Daphne had no right to judge her for her decisions when Daphne had never spent a moment in her shoes.

But she wanted to judge her. Wanted to hate her for causing a good man so much pain.

Hard to hate someone who’d been murdered for her mistake, though.

Kane pulled out a chair and waited. It took Daphne a second to realize it was for her. “Thank you,” she murmured.

Rory and Emma exchanged a look as she sat. Callie joined a moment later. Daphne’s face grew hot as she glared at her three friends. They arched eyebrows. She arched hers back.

Rory waggled hers and bumped Emma. Daphne rolled her eyes, but the heat in her cheeks didn’t diminish.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Alex groaned, his gaze on something at the back of the building. Daphne turned her head, along with everyone else who wasn’t facing that direction, in time to see Diana Corbin and another man walk in. This man wasn’t one she’d seen with the FBI agent before.

He was good-looking, lean, with a look that said he was in law enforcement too.

Daphne recognized those types because she’d been trained from an early age to notice the tells.

The way someone’s eyes methodically catalogued a room, looking for entrances, exits, and vulnerable positions.

Looking for trouble. Enforcers had their own way of behaving.

Military and law enforcement another. It was in how they observed the room, how they carried themselves.

Enforcers had firepower, legal or not. Law enforcement and military usually had ingrained skills and a sense of duty.

Her gaze slipped to the pretty FBI agent.

There was something about Diana Corbin that made Daphne’s insides tighten.

She always felt as if the woman could see right through her.

As if she knew something wasn’t right but didn’t really care because it didn’t affect her current case.

But if Diana had any idea who Daphne really was, her priority list might change.

Something Daphne wanted to prevent at all costs. The FBI had sniffed around Crescent City Armory and The Diamond Queen before, but they’d never found anything to bring her father down.

The memory card in her bag at the range had the potential to be explosive. She wondered what someone like Diana could do with that information. It was enough to bury her father and Jackson, but only if nobody in the FBI was on the take and willing to turn a blind eye to the O’Malleys.

But how to know who was good and who wasn’t? Even if Diana Corbin was a good agent, once the New Orleans branch got involved, things could change. Probably would change. And Daphne would have gambled and lost.

“Looks like she’s not coming over,” Callie said. “Maybe she’s on a date.”

If Daphne hadn’t been looking at Alex at that very moment, she might not have seen it. That subtle tic of his jaw, the hardening of his eyes. He always looked exasperated by Agent Corbin, but was he attracted to her too?

Daphne glanced at Diana and her companion.

The woman was beautiful in a classic way.

She wasn’t gorgeous in the way that made you do a double take, but she had that tall, elegant manner that drew eyes.

Her hair was always smooth, always pulled back in a ponytail or a low bun.

Tonight it was loose, hanging about halfway down her back, a pale glossy blond that she’d parted in the middle and tucked behind her ears.

She also had a red lip going, which wasn’t typical.