Completion - Chapter 227

I woke up first. It gave me a chance to admire Brack’s amazing upper body. His forearm half covered his face. I adored the muscles in that arm, probably too much. I wanted to lick each defined curve. The tuft of hair beneath his arm was sexy, too. Hell, everything about him was sexy. Unfortunately, the sheet covered my favorite erotic spot on his body. I decided to explore under the covers. Before I began my foray, I glanced at the bedside clock and groaned. I had twenty minutes before the detective arrived.

Brack’s sleepy voice surprised me. “I’ll make coffee. You grab a shower.”

He was excellent at reading my mind. “You’re on. There are frozen croissants in the freezer. I wish I had time to walk down the block and buy the detective donuts.”

“Haha, you think that offends cops? It doesn’t. We love sweet things.” He rolled over suddenly, held me in place, and bit my neck where it met my collarbone. It might leave a mark and I wondered what the detective would think.

I laughed as I untangled myself from Brack and stood from the bed. I gave an exaggerated sway to my hips as I went into the bathroom. It was Brack’s turn to groan. I showered quickly, dressed myself in one of my practice outfits, and followed the smell of coffee. Brack sat at my kitchen table looking entirely too yummy in his pants from the night before. No shirt, no shoes, and definitely no problem.

“Yep, your father will kill me,” Brack said looking up from my iPad.

“Don’t tell me you’re looking at the tabloids.”

“Twitter, Instagram- we’re all over the place.”

I shook my head. “You seriously looked at my Twitter and Instagram accounts?”

He gave me a little boy grin. “Like I would have my own?”

Now I laughed. “Point taken. What’s the damage?” I asked peeking over his shoulder.

He covered the iPad. “Grab some coffee first. You need a good dose of caffeine before seeing the worst.”

I grumbled but did as he said. I did need caffeine. I usually enjoyed half and half in my coffee, but I knew the stuff in the fridge had spoiled by now. I took some natural sugar from the cabinet and stirred a teaspoon into my mug. I pulled a chair close to Brack so I could see the screen.

“Ah hell, I look like you slipped me a date **** drug.” I took a sip of coffee and allowed the taste to help me overcome my mortification. My walk of shame pic was truly appalling.

“You’ll love this one.” Brack turned the screen toward me so I had a straight on view of a Twitter post.

@smutkisses O Stradmore tennis’s darling debutante seen after bathroom tryst with unknown sex god bitly.com/X2_LY8

I almost spit out my coffee. “I’ll find @smutkisses and force a tennis ball down her throat for the ‘debutante’ comment.” I clicked on the link and covered my eyes when I saw the picture of me and Brack. He had a bit of lace clearly hanging from his pocket. “Where is that thong?”

His lips quirked. “I have no idea. Maybe in the back of the town car.” His white teeth flashed into a full grin before going serious. He thrummed his fingers on the table and his eyes bore into mine. I knew I wouldn’t like what he said next. “These pictures will definitely have his attention. I realize that’s what you were trying to do by going to the nightclub.”

Ah, oh.

The doorbell rang and I could breathe again. I owed the detective an entire box of donuts for saving me. Brack stood before I could. I hadn’t noticed the gun in his belt holster on the hip he had turned away from me until now. Of course his bare chest had all my attention. I couldn’t help wondering where the damn gun was last night, though. He didn’t have it when I screwed him in the bathroom or gave him a blow job in the back of the town car.

Brack pulled the gun, turned the barrel downward, and bent over me whispering, “We’ll take this conversation up after the detective leaves. If not, you won’t be shaking your delectable ass on the tennis court today.”

He didn’t give me a chance to snap back a comment because he strode to the door, checked the peep hole, and let the detective in. Obviously, he didn’t care what the detective thought about his lack of shirt. Brack was such a contradiction. I swear he’d feel at home if someone threw him naked into a pit of lions.

Two hours later, I felt as if those imagined lions chewed me up and spit me out. When Detective Fuller first arrived, he requested Brack give us privacy. Not that it did any good. Brack had no problem informing Fuller that he wasn’t leaving my side. It surprised me when the detective acquiesced so easily. Brack didn’t interfere or even encourage me when I looked his way through the grueling interview. I felt like there were two detectives working in tandem with Brack being the silent partner.

Finally, Detective Fuller wound down and headed to the door. Brack closed it behind him, walked over, and gathered me against his chest. I desperately needed to schedule another meltdown. Until I found the time, Brack’s chest would do.

“This doesn’t get you out of our conversation.” He gave me a quick squeeze before pulling away and taking the chair next to mine. His I’m-not-happy look could almost rival my father’s. He didn’t give me more than the time to take a short breath before he started his lecture. “The last thing I want to do is burst your independent bubble, but here goes- you don’t have a chance in hell of taking this guy down alone. Three weeks of self-defense classes does not change that fact.” He held up his hand when I started to argue. “No, you need to listen to me. I didn’t train you so you could go one on one with this crazy fucker. Mack’s good. Damn good. I have no idea how he went down even with a Taser. Mack is still sedated, so I can’t ask him. Ty, or whatever the hell his name is, has no problem killing people and he’s damned good at it. He makes a plan and somehow stays one step ahead of us. That’s what we need to change.” Brack took my hand and brought it to his lips. I felt warm breath against that same hand when he spoke again. “We need him to come after me and I need to be ready for him. If I’m worried about you, I won’t have a chance. I’m tired of playing cat and mouse. In my operation, I’m technically the last line of defense. I guard the target.” He squeezed my hand tightly. “No more games.”

The eyes I loved had grown intensely hard. His shaggy hair no longer made him appear unkempt. He looked savage, and I couldn’t help the gulp of air I drew into my lungs at how much, even in the seriousness of our discussion, this man turned me on. I wanted to argue and tell him I was ready for my stalker. I wanted him to see the steel beneath my soft skin. The truth was hard, if not impossible, for me to admit aloudI was scared shitless. The wall I’d built by telling myself I could take this guy was made of tissue paper.

I leaned forward and kissed the fingers holding my hand before looking up into Brack’s steady gaze. “Don’t hide anything from me. My impulsiveness will get people hurt. If I know the facts, I’ll do everything you say.”

Brack stood suddenly and wrapped me into his arms. I was placing my life into this man’s hands. It felt right. But if I lost him, I would lose myself.

He gave me a brief kiss. Brief because I pushed him away. “Sit back down. It’s my turn for answers.” I would no longer be blind to who was guarding me and who controlled them. Brack answered each of my questions honestly.

We were now a team, even if he didn’t want it that way.