Sweet Seduction Stripped (15 page)

We stood there, in the bathroom, him dressed, me naked, and just held on to each other, not saying a word. I'm not sure how much time passed, but it was Ric who broke the silence.

"It took five years for me to face my past."

It was my turn to still, to not breathe.

"I was in the Army. And even though I was injured, I wasn't discharged immediately. I had to still attend debriefs and see their psychologists, all the while despising every single thing they stood for. Dying a little more each day I was forced to be a part of it. When they finally let me go I ran as far and as fast as I could from anything to do with the military. Ended up in Bali. A more disorganised place you could not find. Nothing like the Army."

I couldn't believe he was telling me this. Just opening up and spilling his tormented past out. I thought him brave. I thought him incredibly strong. I wanted to tell him. But I was concerned he'd clam up, realise his mistake, and shut down.

I needed to know. I needed to understand what had led him to kill that unarmed man, even though I knew it would kill me a little inside.

I needed to know.

"Nick found me there," he went on. "I half believe he hunted me down. He says he was on his way back from the States and just stopped off for a holiday." Ric laughed. "Nick Anscombe does not take holidays. Well, he didn't. Now he's got Eva he's been to Nashville twice and not done anything but sit in bars, drink beers, and watch his cowgirl sing. But anyway, he found me. Hauled my arse back with promises of a job where I could make a difference but never have to answer to The Man."

He sighed, pulled me closer, rested his cheek on the top of my head. "It had been four years since my discharge. I was a wreck and it took concerted effort on Nick's part to get me back into shape, let alone to handle a gun, but he did it. He threw code at me, he gave me state of the art electronics, and he made me accept that I was who I was because of where I had been. What I had experienced.

"I have my issues, Amber. Sometimes all I feel is pain. It's all I think I know. But without the Army I wouldn't be the hacker I am today. Without my time in a prisoner of war camp I wouldn't have a passion for helping people in need. Without my regrets I wouldn't strive to be a better man. My past shapes me, but it does not define me."

He pulled back, placed a thumb and forefinger under my chin and tilted my head. Green held me trapped, a prison I willingly walked into.

"The past twenty months have shaped you, made you grow into the beautiful, capable, extraordinary woman I see before me right now. Two years ago you were twenty. I was twenty-nine. We might have taken one look at each other and thought, no thanks."

I doubted that, I really did, and I suspected he did too. But I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

"And now we've met," he added. "And it was the right time, we were in the right space inside our heads. It's our moment, the only moment we may have ever had for us to connect. Don't regret your past, accept it led you to me, and me to you."

Wow. Just... wow.

"OK, sweetheart?" he asked, soft green staring into my very soul.

Stripping me bare.

Was I OK?

Yes. I was more than OK. I was with my Ric and it was our moment in time.

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'm so OK."

Ric had a limp. I don't know why that surprised me. I knew he had a bad leg from his imprisonment and torture. I knew it had flared up again because of the fight with Jaxon. I knew all of this, but when he led me from the "safe room" out into the hallways of ASI and limped, I almost cried again.

He was in pain and it was all because of me.

"Stop it," he growled, as he saw me glance at his left leg for the umpteenth time. "It's not your fault."

"You're a mind reader now?" I accused, as I followed him to God knows where in this rabbit warren of a place.

"I just know you, Dancer. And you're beating yourself up." He stopped outside a doorway with a loud amount of chatter within. "Remember," he whispered, facing me now, one hand cupping my good cheek. "You've been in my fantasies for three years. I've hoarded every scrap of information you gave over that time up here." He tapped his head twice. "And I never forget."

I smiled. And wondered if he had picture perfect recall too.

"Every scrap, huh?" I teased.

He crowded me back against the wall. Large frame blocking out everything else, hands landing on either side of my head. He ducked his face down, amusement evident in his eyes.

"Every. Single. Thing," he whispered huskily.

I swallowed. Sometimes Eric could be so intense, with a contrasting hint of humour underlying it all. It was a strange combination. But, oh boy did I loved it. My body loved it. I melted right there, in the hallway, surrounded by him.

He made a sound in the back of his throat and then his lips were crushing into mine. The mint of his toothpaste mixed with the taste of this man made me lose all semblance of modesty. I was crazy for him, I realised. In such a short amount of time.

But then, we'd actually known a part of each other for years and somehow it made the walls you would normally construct around your heart come tumbling down.

His hard body pressed up against me, every ridge and dip moulding to the soft curves of mine. His tongue delved deep and deeper, tilting his head so he could get deeper still. I swear he was trying to eat me from the inside out. My fingers dug into his shoulders, as one of his hands fisted in my hair, the other cupped my butt cheek, then slid down my thigh and lifted my leg to wrap around his hip.

In the next instant I'd climbed him, settled in on his waist, ankles crossed just above his rear, hungrily taking everything he gave. God, I could have died right then, I was already in heaven. He rocked into me, against me, rubbing in all the right places. I knew if we didn't stop I'd come. I didn't care to stop. I wanted more. Right there. Right now.

And it was obvious that Ric was definitely on the same page. Both of us making desperate little sounds, our fingers moving with fervour, our tongues dancing and tangling with need. I felt the hand not in my hair slip under my borrowed blouse, then find its way unerringly to my breast. I was wearing one of my new High Street demi-cup purchases, amused to find Ric had kept my gift bag from when we met at Sweet Seduction. It was easy for him to pull the bra down and release my nipple for his attention. And attention he gave it.

Pinching, rubbing, gripping, soothing. Driving me insane.

I made a sound. An erotic, sensual, hungry sound... and someone cleared their throat to our side. Ric didn't stop immediately. I was sure he'd heard them like I had, but he purposely cupped my breast, giving it a reassuring squeeze, as he slowed the kiss down from flaming to just hot and then finally to warm and comforting and tender and sweet.

I was breathless when he pulled back, my eyelids half closed, my lips feeling swollen, my chest rising and falling under his still gentle hold. His hand had not moved, but his face pulled back and he looked down at me in what could only be called pure male satisfaction.

I turned my head to see who he was so pleased to stake his claim in front of and found several different guys standing in the hallway just watching.

OK. I'd expected one. The throat clearer. But, three, four, five,
six!
Six guys all standing around watching. How long had they enjoyed the show? Heat washed up my cheeks, replacing the warmth of lust. I was happy to display my body, but I was not an attention seeking slut.

"Um," I said, chewing on my bottom lip.

"Hi," one guy said. He had the most amazing salt and pepper coloured hair with striking features in his face. The young, athletic façade looking stunning with that shade in his hair. And quite unexpected.

My gaze skipped off him as another guy said, "How're you doing?" This one, just as big as salt and pepper, with broad shoulders and a tall frame, looked Asian, maybe Japanese in heritage, but had a completely Kiwi accent.

I moved on from his cute appearance to the next guy, who literally stole all my attention for a split second. He smiled, as he said, "Welcome to the madhouse," which made his blue-blue eyes light up and draw me in. He was the only one dressed in a suit. An expensive suit. The others were all in black jeans and t-shirts, laden down, like Eric was now, with various weapons and gadgets on their belts.

"Now
that
was entertaining," another guy drawled, this one I recognised from Sweet Seduction. Blond hair swept off his face, mischievous glint in his deep blue eyes, clothes too tight to be legal, showing off an awesome body any woman would have drooled over. I hoped I was better than that. But who knew, at present I think my mouth was gaping.

The fifth guy was Māori and I had the unusual sensation that I'd met him before, but I couldn't place all that bulging milk-chocolate brown skin. He didn't say anything, just leaned back against the wall of the hallway, several feet away, watching the scene play out. He didn't
need
to say anything. This man had menace written all over him, from his Tiki tribal tattoo on his arm, to the way no one got in his space.

The others were all fairly well crowded together, but the tattoo-guy took up his own spot in the hallway and then some.

All of them had presence. All of them looked buffed and ready for action, although the suit wearing guy looked more like he was ready for action in a boardroom, but they all carried themselves as if they could flick a switch in a second and become someone else.

Threatening, powerful, and still staring.

This had only taken a few seconds of observation while receiving their greetings, but it felt like I'd walked into a different world. One that seemed too familiar, but I fervently hoped was nothing like the world I'd just escaped. Chills washed down my spine and I shivered in Ric's embrace. I'd lowered my legs to the floor, but he remained pressed up against me, his eyes on my face, not the threat of the men.

"We're about to have a late dinner, Amber," the final guy in the group said. He stepped out from the others and held his hand out to shake. A normal, friendly greeting. But still I hesitated. "I'm Nick Anscombe, and this lot are part of my team." He threw a nod over his shoulder to indicate the men now at his back.

I accepted his hand tentatively and shook.

"Except the uptight one in the suit," he added. "He's my brother, but don't let the threads fool you. He frequently plays bodyguard when his wife lets him."

"Genevieve doesn't have to let me, Nick," suit guy said.

"Yeah," Nick replied, releasing my hand and stepping towards the door at our side, where I noticed the chatter within had stopped. "Like any of us believe that."

The rest of the guys all started chuckling as the one in a suit, Nick's brother, coughed out a good humoured laugh. One by one they all passed us, nodding their heads in further greeting and smiling widely, showing off amused and surprisingly friendly grins.

I'd initially felt overwhelmed and a little scared, if I was honest. But as they all walked past, taking their too big for the space presences with them, I realised I'd relaxed at Nick and his brother's  banter, and actually felt calm.

Or that could have had something to do with the way Ric hadn't left my side and even now was softly stroking his hand down my back in a soothing gesture.

When they all disappeared inside the room and the chatter returned to an unbelievably loud level, Ric said, "You OK?"

I nodded, still biting my lip.

"They're harmless. Well," he added with an amused grunt, "except when they're doing their job. Then they're lethal. But you couldn't get a better group of men to have at your back. Even Dominic."

"Dominic?" I asked, wanting to keep him talking and not eager to walk in that room where I could hear female voices as well as the deep bass of the men.

Or maybe Ric's voice just soothed and I desperately needed to keep listening.

"Nick's brother. The suit. He's a lawyer, married to Genevieve, or Gen. She owns Sweet Seduction and her brother is Jason. He must be in control, because he wasn't with the guys just then."

"Ah-ha," I murmured, as he kept going.

"Jason's living with Katie, Nick and Dom's sister. Ben was the Māori, his partner is Abi, who also works for ASI. Then that just leaves Adam, who you saw at Sweet Seduction, and Brook and Koki, who you just met."

I guessed Koki sounded Asian, and that meant Brook was salt and pepper guy.

"There's more people here, though," Ric continued, and I realised he was giving me time to settle before leading me through that door. Like he'd done earlier, he was talking almost nonsense, but it was calming and grounding, and I was sure he knew it. "Finn and Drew will also be here, from Dominic's law firm. As well as Kelly and Lucas from Sweet Seduction. Kelly's with Drew, just so you know. Then Eva, Nick's fiancée. You'll be able to pick her out straight away, she's cowgirl through and through. That might be it, but who knows. We have a large extended group of friends and family and Nick may have called them all in by now, if he thought they weren't safe."

He paused, then must have decided to go ahead, because he added, "We're still in lockdown."

"Lockdown?"

"The bomb threat. Harding." He didn't say anything else, he didn't need to.

"You look after a lot of people," I commented.

"Yeah, we do. And we've added your father to that list."

My hand went back and rested against the wall behind me, as dizziness suddenly entered my frame.

"He's OK," Ric rushed to advise me. "Still in the hospice and under guard. Harding won't be able to get anywhere near him, security is tight."

"Jaxon has a pass to that hospice," I pointed out urgently. And he had already threatened my dad.

"Sweetheart," Ric said, moving to hold my shoulders, steadying me, but also bringing his face in front of mine so I could see the sincerity in his next words. "It's been revoked. He cannot enter the premises."

"How? I haven't had a chance to sign anything yet."

"We got lucky," Ric said, voice low but even, countering the warble of panic in mine. "The hospice you've got him in is one of ours."

"Yours?" I asked, shocked.

"We beefed up their security a while back for Eva's dad. Did it pro bono, established an understanding with them. It's linked back to ASI control, monitored, locked down when needed. And we've just flicked the switch, put them at red alert."

"Red alert," I whispered, my limbs numb, my brain about to shut down.

"Highest security level. No one gets in without permission. Everything is monitored by us."

I nodded, but my stomach felt queasy, my hand rubbing the empty hollow in my gut. My poor dad, what on earth would he be thinking?

"I think you have done more than enough damage for now, Eric Shaw," a throaty woman's voice said from my side. "Give the poor girl a moment to comprehend all of that."

I turned and met the stunning blue eyes of a dark haired woman, glamorously dressed in a navy tailored skirt and crisp white blouse. She smiled and it lit up her face and made her literally shine. Dazzling.

"I'm Katie, darling," she said, wrapping her arm around mine familiarly. "And I'm claiming you as mine."

Ric growled, but it didn't sound serious. Katie shot a beaming smile at him over my shoulder.

"So grouchy," she complained. "And here I thought, darling," she whispered in my ear, "that he'd
never
leave that control room. We all owe you our deepest gratitude," she exclaimed excitedly, as she started leading me through the door before I could protest. "We'd tried everything to entice the beast out of his cave, but clearly we lacked a certain panache. Now you," she added, giving me a little look up and down as we entered the room proper, "have panache written all over that beautiful face. I can see we're going to become fast friends."

I couldn't help it. She was so exuberant. Charming, but full of fun. I smiled at her grin, just managing to stop myself from laughing out loud. I liked her, I decided. And I loved the clothes she wore. Elegance wrapped up in a little temptation; the skirt above her knee, the blouse she wore revealing a small but well presented cleavage. Heels I could so rock. I realised the jeans and shirt I was wearing were also hers. Ric had said the clothes in the tote he'd given me, other than the gift bag with my High Street lingerie purchase, was from someone called Katie. And this was her.