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“If only you knew, babe,” he said, drawing a fingertip from her temple to her jaw.
Sex was usually controlled by Harry, the same way everything was. That was why they’d never be able to do it again.
“You don’t have to tell Harry you sullied his little girl,” Tess said, letting go of his pocket to take his hand off her face. “I support your decision.” Rising from the bed to stand up, she felt the warmth of his body and wished she could sink herself into it, into him, but that wouldn’t be fair. “Olympus wins. I won’t try to compete with it. I won’t put you in the position of choosing between me and your integrity.”
With her beer in hand, she turned to walk away.
Daire’s fingers tangled in her hair when he caught her cheek to draw her back. “Everyone is better when they have something to fight for,” he said, looking her in the eye. “You are my something… Little Red. You’ll always be my something.”
“So much for being easy,” she said on a sigh. “Kiss me, Agent.” Laying her arm on his chest, Tess pushed onto her tiptoes. “It’ll be our last, so make it a good one.”
Admitting the end wasn’t easy. Pain actually bedded itself deep in her gut as his mouth touched hers. She wanted his kiss. One would never be enough. But it was all they had left.
THIRTY-EIGHT
A WEEK WENT BY WITH Daire on her floor at night and training all day. They didn’t talk in the night anymore. Tess could almost feel him inside her when she closed her eyes and breathed in his proximity. Several times she’d thought about slithering onto the floor and pressing herself against him. Her hands could wander, her lips might seek his, and then… It wasn’t fair to think like that. Her promise not to put him in that position was honest. She couldn’t compromise him. Wouldn’t.
Except living in the same room meant sharing the same space again, just like in the Beast. Sure, there was more of it between the bedroom, closet, and bathroom, but that didn’t stop their scents mingling in their joint territory. It felt like theirs… like they were something together.
Daire felt it too. He didn’t say it, but that awareness kept him from going to bed at the same time as her. She’d go up to bed while the men were jeering each other in the kitchen after dinner. Even if she wasn’t tired, Tess would go to the room and soak in the tub or read. No matter what, she’d be in bed with the lights off before he came in and locked the door behind him.
Harry didn’t want her to go out of the house on her own. With the guys training and them being in the one place, he granted her the right to have things delivered. He gave her a credit card with an alias that she was to use when placing orders over the phone or requesting samples.
Daire was the only one allowed to check the mailbox or receive deliveries. The guy had plenty to do without worrying about checking her numerous packages for anything suspicious as well, but he never complained.
Designing and sewing clothes gave her a distraction. She might never get a chance to sell any of the outfits if she couldn’t go to stores who might sell them for her. Still, Tess kept on doing what she knew.
Sitting at the dining table, Tess finished up with her latest creation. A cocktail dress of the sexy, slinky variety.
Standing, she held the dress up, admiring the shimmer of the fabric. Garrick came striding past the fireplace. When he spotted her, he came to a swaying halt.
“Pandora,” he said.
She was getting tired of the guys always using her code name. “Mr. Garrick, we don’t usually see you out of your office before dinner.”
No one was in the kitchen cooking, so she didn’t think they were approaching meal time.
“I was looking for your father.”
“He’s out with the guys. They’re doing one of their runs,” she said, draping the dress over her arm to retrieve the small metallic cylinder from next to her sewing machine. “I know because he gave me this panic button.”
Garrick smiled. “He’s protective of you. He always has been.” Strolling closer, his expression became something more serious. “Forgive me for noticing, but I haven’t seen the two of you talking much.”
“Harry and me?” Tess shrugged. “He’s busy.”
“Yes,” Garrick said, the smile he offered was placating at best. “I just always assumed if he got the chance to… Losing Carrie must have been difficult for him, for both of you.”
Not her favorite topic of conversation, especially with someone she hardly knew. “Yes.”
“She was his weakness. Always was. Sherwood knew it too.”
Tess frowned. “Sherwood?”
“Zeus,” he said. “Ulysses Sherwood… We use code names because it—”
“Detaches you,” she said, stroking the fabric of the dress. “I know.”
“There was a time we were friends, all of us. Olympus was a huge undertaking. All three of us walked away from everything we were before, we gave ourselves to the cause.” Something she knew all too well. “When your father met your mother… He saved her life. We were unaware he continued to see her… They met in secret… I found out later that Harry didn’t know your mother was pregnant until she was almost at term. When you were about six months old, Harry left the Olympus Beta compound… he completed his mission and returned to base only to disappear an hour later… Ares was beside himself, no one could calm him… Hades was gone for eighteen months. Sherwood and I, we knew it was unlikely Harry had been victim to any terrible fate… Sherwood got to the bottom of it… He tried to control it, tried to minimize your mother’s exposure.”
