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Reed and Sawyer had a rugged charm that was compelling. Wondering what it would be like if they didn’t keep their promise and leave her alone, she felt a naughty shiver shoot through her body. But despite Reed’s wicked talk and Sawyer’s steamy stares, she believed they would be true to their word and give her privacy.
Chapter Seven
Reed sat on the sofa next to Sawyer. They’d popped in a movie, his all-time favorite John Wayne flick True Grit, but strangely it wasn’t holding his attention. Something else was. Actually someone else was, and she was taking a bath on the back porch right now. Nicole was more than beautiful—she was drop-dead gorgeous. Tough, too. She had more guts than most men he knew.
God, this wasn’t good.
Sure, one day he and Sawyer would choose a woman to share. He’d known that his whole life. Destiny was special that way. Actually, it was the women who were special that way. A lone mortal man couldn’t even come close to giving what these angels deserved. He’d seen what a loving family could be in his mother and two dads. Dad Gene and Dad Gilbert had doted on their mom with such joyous abandon. It had been such a loving sight to behold. Before the plane crash he’d even believed he and Sawyer would one day find a woman to love. Before. But he knew the risk now that letting your heart take the lead over your head would do. Pain, crushing and horrific. He’d been fifteen when his parents had died. He wasn’t a child anymore. He didn’t want to ever risk that kind of hurt again. Ever. There were two people in his life that he allowed himself to love. His brother and sister—Sawyer and Erica. There wasn’t room for anyone else. Once Sawyer and he were ready to settle down, he would agree to a new wife so that they could add to the Coleman name by making babies. He would be happy to have fondness for the woman they chose, but not love. Love meant ceding his control.
But why the fuck couldn’t he stop thinking about her? Every second since she’d been with him and Sawyer—from the moment she’d walked into the playroom in Phase Four to now, on the back porch behind those goddamn sheets washing her naked body—his mind wouldn’t back down and latch onto logic. Damn it, I need to get a fucking grip.
He refocused his attention back on the television. The movie was at the part where John Wayne’s character was on the horse looking down at Robert Duval’s character—Ned Pepper, who was calling him fat.
Now, I can settle into this.
“What are we going to do about Nicole?” Sawy
er asked, jerking him out of his resolve to concentrate on the movie instead of their guest.
“What about her?” he snapped.
“She’s stubborn. I’m thinking we can get her to stay put another day, maybe two, but no more. She’s in real danger. You know Jason. He wouldn’t have asked us to keep an eye on her if she wasn’t. He’s too practical and too by-the-book to do that normally.”
“That’s true. Jason doesn’t veer from his convictions.” The sheriff had a clear sense of right or wrong and he’d suffered from his unbending nature. He’d lost Phoebe because of it, and his brothers had never really forgiven him. The four of them were beginning what looked to be a serious relationship when Jason, just a deputy at the time, caught Shane with drugs. Mitchell and Lucas had begged their brother to go easy on Shane, but Jason had refused. His hard-boiled testimony got the book thrown at Shane, who received the most severe sentence allowable for a first-time offender. Phoebe hadn’t been able to forgive Jason for sending her brother to jail.
Sawyer shook his head. “I can’t believe the Russians might be coming back to Destiny after all that happened with the Stones.”
Remembering Jason’s words about Nicole being in the center of a deadly mess got Reed’s guilt to crawl out of the shadows and chilled his blood. He’d been so wrapped up in his own crap, making sure he didn’t fall for her, that he’d forgotten why she was here in the first place. That was what happened when someone like him let his emotions get the better of him. Time to kick logic, which he could understand, into a full-on gallop.
“She needs us, Reed.”
“Of course. That’s why she’s here.”
Sawyer shook his head. “I’m not talking about you and I being her bodyguards. I’m talking about the hurt she’s carrying. Can’t you feel it every time you look at her? Her pain is deep and heavy. She’s been carrying it for some time.”
God, he never understood how Sawyer could see so deeply into people, especially women. But even this seemed more than his normal sixth-sense bullshit. “What are you talking about? ESP? You don’t have it. We have a job to do and that’s what I plan to do. Case closed.”
Sawyer glared at him. “Damn it, Reed. Don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Fuck, you know what I mean. You’re pulling back for some reason. Stop it.”
“And you’re jumping in with both feet, aren’t you?” He had to try to snap Sawyer back to reality. “Need I remind you she’s from Chicago, not Destiny? She has a life, a job, and who knows what else back there. She mentioned knowing what kind of club Phase Four was but that doesn’t mean she’s into BDSM or has the slightest notion what the life is really about.”
Sawyer smiled. “I knew it. You’re into her, too.”
“Wrong,” he lied. “You’re no mind reader.” But clearly Sawyer was. Fuck.
“Deny it all you want, bro. I can tell.” Sawyer grabbed the remote and muted the movie. “You might be right though. She’s not from here. Chicago might hold more for her than Destiny. All true. BDSM? That’s always been your thing more than mine.”
“Bullshit. Now who is lying?” Sawyer spent just as much time at the club as he did. “You enjoy it as much as I do.”
“And you enjoy a revolving door of subs.”
“So?” Reed liked to play. Why was that a problem?
“Why?” Sawyer asked.
