AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“When did the three of you meet?” she asked, pulling multiple items off a rack and folding them over her arm.
“Five or so years ago, I think.” The years had all gone by in a blur after I left the SEALs. “We were trained together, and the company we work for determined that our personalities worked well with each other.”
“Huh. Interesting.” Her face lit up, and she picked up a pink dress, adding it to the pile growing on her arm. “You three are all very different.”
“I know. But that’s what makes us work.” I shrugged, extending my arm to take the load off. She placed the clothes over it. “Three pieces supporting each other. Filling in the gaps that we have within ourselves.”
“I love that.”
That mysterious look came into her eyes again, but it was immediately followed by a look of happiness. She beamed up at me, that big, genuine smile that she never used to give me lighting up her face. I rarely smiled, but I couldn’t help but let the corners of my mouth quirk up.
Maybe she hadn’t disliked me for a while. Maybe we just needed some time to understand each other.
Harrison, Cody, and I had been together on a lot of assignments, but none of them were quite like this. Like someone was filling a spot between the three of us that we hadn’t realized was there—her.
CHAPTER14
Cody
Not touching Taylor the way I wanted to was a pain. Even a hand on her shoulder felt like I was telegraphing everything that we’d done and how we felt about each other. Or at least how I assumed we felt about each other. But Taylor wasn’t the kind of person to fake anything, so my assumptions were probably spot on.
We hadn’t had the chance to talk about that night yet, though it had been living in my head since then. Taylor on her hands and knees. Her hot, wet mouth. The bliss on her face as she came. Sandwiching her between Harrison and me afterward.
We really needed to, but her schedule was packed, and Ethan was always around. It wasn’t that Harrison and I were keeping what had happened from Ethan. It was just that we didn’t know how to define it because it wasn’t just sex.
I sighed, looking out of the window of the car and running my hand through my hair. It was getting long, but I didn’t have the time to get a decent cut. Taylor seemed to like it, anyway, which made me put off heading to the barber even more.
Harrison glanced at me in the rearview mirror, and I shrugged. I was sure he was tired of holding in our secret, too. And tired of not being able to have a repeat night when Taylor was right there, a door over.
We stopped in front of the Bailey Corporation offices. Taylor had to meet with Neil about her finances again, to my annoyance. Neil rubbed all of us the wrong way, but we hadn’t come up with a firm reason why. It was just a gut feeling, and after doing this for several years, my gut feeling about people was usually on point.
I was Taylor’s main guard today, so I followed her inside. She said her hellos to everyone as we went up to the conference room where she’d met with Neil before. Neil was inside, looking at his phone and frowning. His expression brightened when Taylor came in, his eyes flicking over her body just long enough for me to feel irritated.
If I was in the mood to give him the benefit of the doubt, I would have assumed he was looking at her outfit. But I wasn’t in that mood.
“Hello, hello,” Neil said. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too.” She hugged him.
Neil looked at me, an indiscernible look in his eyes. I took a step closer to sit, and he stepped back, almost reflexively.
“I’d like to speak to Taylor about some very sensitive matters,” he said, his tone dripping with condescension. As if I didn’t deal with people who handled very sensitive business all the time. “Would you mind giving us privacy for just a minute or two? I know your protocol, but surely we can bend the rules a tiny bit.”
I locked eyes with Taylor, who lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
“It won’t take that long,” she said.
“Okay. I’ll be right outside.” I started toward the door, and Neil was right behind me, as if he couldn’t wait for me to get out.
I stepped just outside of the door. It clicked shut, but the circulation of the air conditioner made it pop open just enough for me to hear inside.
“Is everything okay?” Taylor asked.
“With your finances? Absolutely,” Neil said, his voice low. “But I’m concerned about your bodyguards.”
My eyebrows shot up.
“What about them?” Taylor’s voice was filled with confusion. “They’re doing an amazing job, and I really like them.”
