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“My pleasure,” I murmured, my voice thick with desire. There was also a promise in those two words. A promise that she’d see me again, and then the pleasure would be all hers.
Phoebe’s cheeks filled with a pink blush, letting me know she wasn’t immune to the crackling electricity between us. I winked at her, and she ducked her head as her brother and I climbed into the SUV.
As we drove away, I glanced in the rearview mirror to see her still watching the vehicle. I knew I wanted her, but right then, I realized I’d bit the dust along with my teammates.
Phoebe was mine.
* * *
It was wellafter dark when I returned home, and for the first time since I moved into my condo, I felt how empty it was with just me there. I’d only moved off base six months ago, but I was certainly glad I made the change since I intended to have Phoebe permanently moved in with me as quickly as possible.
I lay in bed for a long time, making plans for the next day. Grabbing Phoebe after work and kidnapping her didn’t seem like the smartest idea…no matter how appealing it sounded.
Dinner was a safer bet. I’d take her out, and we could get to know each other. I wouldn’t push her, but I could still hope that we’d end up back at my place, burning up the sheets.
Eventually, I fell asleep, but my night was restless because I kept waking up hot and bothered by dreams about Phoebe.
The sun was barely cresting the horizon when I gave up and padded into my bathroom to take an arctic shower.
My cell was ringing when I stepped out, and I wrapped a towel around my waist before hurrying out to the bedroom.
When I saw who was calling, I sighed. A mission.
For the first time since becoming a SEAL, I found myself wishing I didn’t have to go.
After receiving my orders, I called a friend who put me in touch with Jonah Carrington, who owned one of the best security companies in the world. He agreed to have eyes—female eyes—on my girl while I was gone. To protect her, of course. And to make sure no other males got anywhere near my Phoebe.
1
PHOEBE
Staring up at the brick building in front of me, I started to have second thoughts about coming here. It had been almost a full month since I’d last seen my brother, but I was still so angry with him over the trouble he had brought to my door because of his addiction. Paul had hurt me so many times before, but the pain had always been emotional—never physical. And none of my friends had suffered because of anything he’d done until his latest mess, getting in so deep with a drug dealer that he’d come looking for me and found Sage, my best friend, instead.
She had also been my roommate until she moved in with her new husband. As happy as I was for her, having her move out had sucked. I tried to look on the bright side, though. At least something good had come out of her being accosted by a drug dealer since she met Arrow when she fled our apartment.
Heaving a deep sigh, I grabbed my phone to call Sage. I had told her where I was going this morning, so I wasn’t surprised when she picked up on the first ring. “How is Paul?”
“I haven’t seen him yet. I’m still sitting in my car, wondering if I made the right decision coming here today.” Pinching the bridge of my nose between my index finger and thumb, I heaved a deep sigh. “I’m not sure I’m ready to face him when I haven’t forgiven him for what happened to you.”
“Stop worrying about me and focus on what you need to do for yourself.”
This wasn’t the first time Sage had encouraged me to get over what had happened to her because of my Paul’s actions. She had somehow moved past everything when I hadn’t been able to do the same. Probably because she had Arrow’s support through it all while I only had my parents—whose loyalties were divided between my brother and me.
They’d already been up to visit him and had urged me to do the same. I knew they meant well, but I wished they could see my perspective a little more. “I’m not sure what I need, except for Paul to get his crap together so he isn’t pulling our family apart anymore.”
Sage’s tone was gentle as she said, “Arrow checked in with his friend when we got back from our honeymoon to see how Paul is doing. From what he told me, it sounded as though he’s making good progress.”
“Yeah, when he called to ask me to come up, he sounded better than he has in a really long time.” I let out another sigh. “But I’ve been here before, hoping for the best when he’s in rehab and then being disappointed when his sobriety doesn’t stick. I’m not sure I have it in me to do it all over again.”
“You need to give yourself more credit, Phoebe,” she chided. “You’re a lot stronger than you realize.”
Her encouragement was exactly what I needed to push through my fear. “You’re right. I can do this.”
“Of course, you can. Now quit stalling and get in there.”
After we said our goodbyes, I tucked my phone into my purse and climbed out of my car. The next hour passed in a blur as Jacob, Arrow’s friend who ran the rehab, walked me through the progress Paul had made so far and explained that he was going to stay for another thirty days.
“He really agreed to that?” I asked, stunned since he’d always been ready to leave the minute his time was up whenever he’d gone to rehab before.
