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I feel his mood darken a bit, so I change the subject. “We have a wager. Time for shots.”
“Okay, Angel, you first.” He lifts his hand, palm up, and tips his head at me, his mood lightening once again.
“No, at the same time.” I want this to be over before I embarrass myself any further. I should’ve known I couldn’t hold a candle to the women he probably flirts with. He’s just being kind to me. Most likely he just feels sorry for me and the way those other guys had snubbed me. I bite my lip as I try to think of something smart and mature to say for a toast.
“To angels in dark places,” he says before I can come up with anything.
My lips tip up at his toast, then we both tilt our glasses and swallow at the same time.
“Not so bad, is it?” I ask when I notice he doesn’t hack at the taste like some locals do.
He leans forward next to my ear. His breath skims along my skin and my heart skips a beat as goose bumps surface on my arms.
“Angel, Jack Daniels was my grandfather’s drink of choice,” he whispers in my ear.
“Okay…so I guess the joke is on me.” I laugh in an attempt to cover the desire of wanting to jump into his arms.
“Next shot, Angel.”
I can do this.
“To being safe and bringing our loved ones home.” It’s the perfect toast, because not only do I want this man to be safe, but my brother is out there somewhere fighting this war too.
He swallows his shot quickly, then just watches me as I tip my shot up and down it. A drop of liquid hits my lips and I lick it off. In the next moment, his hand wraps around the back of my neck and he pulls me into his body. His lips begin to caress mine. I gasp from the intense feeling washing over me, and he takes advantage and plunges his tongue inside my mouth. It slides across my own tongue, dancing an erotic dance, which causes my body to react. My breasts heave against his chest, and my core softens. His other arm wraps around my waist, pulling me in closer. I slide my arms up his t-shirt clad chest, then his shoulders, and I pull myself even closer to him. Our bodies mold together like they were always meant to be together. I want to feel him imprinted on my skin, but he suddenly pulls away, and we’re both left struggling for breath.
“Angel, come with me. We’ll only have tonight, but I want you.” He kisses my ear, and I shiver. I want him, and I want this too, but I know I can’t. I’m just not that kind of girl.
I look up into eyes that have deepened in color with his desire for me. He wants me just as much as I want him. I feel his cock through the denim of his jeans, and I want to climb up his body, but again, this isn’t me. I let my hand relax from his shirt and start to pull away.
“I can’t, but if you ever meet someone named Duncan Preston, tell him hello from his midget and to be safe. Goodbye, Lieutenant. This has been one pleasure I will never forget. Please be safe yourself.”
I pull out of his arms as he stares at me in shock, and turn to move as fast as my weak legs will carry me to my flatmates, who are beckoning me from the door. I grab their hands and pull them out of the pub.
The whole time, I can’t stop thinking about how much I want that man. I want to turn around and rush back into the pub and take him up on his offer. I want more of those kisses, more of his large hands holding me.
I begin to wonder if I’ll ever feel like that again. If I’ll ever feel so consumed by the desire for a man the way I did for him.
Chapter One
Ana
June Outside Dundee Scotland
It’s been three months since we settled here in Scotland. The property Maya purchased includes a manor and individual cottages, allowing everyone in Securities International to scatter around the compound yet remain close by and safe. Timothy and Ian share a cabin by one of the lochs. Raul and Derek are in the carriage house. I’m currently staying in the manor with Maya, Duncan, and Daddy until the renovations are complete on the cottage I picked out, then my baby girl and I will have a beautiful home…if I can keep us both safe.
My life has completely changed since that night in the pub. I’ve changed. Six years is enough time to alter anyone, but not even I recognize the person I’ve become. I moved to London as planned, and got my degree in interior design and art. Then soon after, I met Jonathan—my now estranged, sadistic husband. I never saw my Lieutenant again…until last December, when my brother, Duncan, and Maya invited me to lunch.
I knew then I was risking Jonathan’s wrath that day by just having lunch with my own brother and my best friend. But Duncan had wanted me to meet his former captain, who was now his boss and owner of Securities International. Joshua Donovan. My Lieutenant. The only man to ever make my blood boil by just the mere thought of him.
All those old feelings resurfaced, and I instantly wanted him again. But it was too late for us…for me. I was married and living in a nightmare.
I didn’t want Joshua to know how much he still affected me, so I’d pretended I didn’t know him. I could see the shock on his face when he saw me, but thankfully, he had followed my lead and pretended he didn’t know me either.
That lunch ended with me rushing out of the restaurant and escaping into the memories of Lieutenant and Angel. I had detoured back to the same pub where Joshua and I had first met, instead of heading straight home. And I sat there in my unbuttoned mid-length trench coat and unwrapped leopard print scarf, nursing a drink.
The scarf was the only thing that had any color, any semblance of the old me. Jonathan had controlled so much of my life by that point. He would never allow me to wear any bright colors; my wardrobe had consisted of taupe, gray, or tan. And never anything that showed off my body.
I remember worrying my little act of defiance might get my daddy or Duncan hurt. I already knew I would be punished, there was no doubt about that. I wanted out! I wanted a real life, my own life again. Filled with terror and excitement, I lifted my phone to call Maya for help. But before I could even pull up her name, Jonathan was there, violently pulling me from the pub.
