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  The stairs leading up to the loft were narrow, metal, and open to the street. Not ideal, but again, someone couldn’t sneak up on them easily.

  A row of hibiscus plants stood against the white plaster building, silent sentinels.

  Aiden glanced around, but didn’t see anyone watching. He bent and searched the first pot for a stone, but came up empty. The third pot yielded the key.

  “Come on.”

  Madison trudged up the stairs. There was a long, red mark where she’d slid on the floor after being hit, and every now and then she cradled her left arm to her chest. The woman was something else.

  He unlocked the loft and did a quick sweep of it. Close to fifteen hundred square feet, there was a kitchenette, a full bath, and a bed big enough for four people. If he had to guess, this was someone’s party pad.

  “I’m going to go get us some food. Will you be okay here by yourself?”

  Madison knelt next to the bathroom wall, near the bed. She had her gear laid out, and another bag in hand.

  “Yeah. Is it okay if I clean up?”

  “Go ahead. I’ll lock the door, but if you hear anything—”

  “I’ll call you. I know the drill.” She stood, one side of her mouth hiked up in a lopsided smile.

  “Good.” He crossed to her and pressed a quick kiss to her lips, as if it was what he always did.

  Madison sucked in air. He turned away from her. Maybe he shouldn’t take such liberties with her, but touching her, kissing her, they felt natural. Right. If he had to stop he should just turn over her safety to someone else, because he couldn’t stop himself.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Aiden left the loft, locking it up tight, and put space between himself and Madison. His mind continued to stray back to her.

  What was he doing?

  Hadn’t he told himself in the beginning that Madison didn’t need him in her life? At least not romantically. Something had changed yesterday. He couldn’t put his finger on what, but there was a point, when they’d stopped for a moment in the parking lot, where he’d accepted that keeping his hands off Madison wasn’t going to happen. But even then, he’d thought last night would be enough.

  He’d been wrong.

  Aiden had spent the day peeking at his phone to see if she’d texted him back, reliving the night before—not to mention that morning.

  He was well aware that tense situations breed heightened emotions. Which was why he’d always avoided getting involved with a client beyond what was strictly necessary. But Madison was different. He wanted her and enjoyed the hell out of spending time with her, but the most responsible thing to do would be to shut the door on this relationship. Leave it at scorching-hot sex.

  The restaurant a few streets over was doing a healthy amount of business, mostly to locals since the waitstaff barely spoke English. He played it safe and ordered a couple burgers.

  Aiden ducked outside while he waited and put in a call to CJ. The phone rang twice.

  “Caused enough trouble yet?” CJ asked.

  “I didn’t start it. We need to stop Canales. I was thinking we could call in the DEA. You know the local field agents, don’t you?”

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  “Also, and I know you aren’t going to like this one—”

  “What?”

  “Call the police chief. This detective is breathing down our necks. I don’t care what you have to tell him, but he’s got to back off.”

  “Shit. You want some fries with that too?” CJ sighed. “I’ll have Kathy get on the horn to the DEA. They like her better than me. The cops, they aren’t going to be happy about this. I’m just warning you, the chief is probably going to shoot straight with Matt. That means he’ll know.”

  The fewer people who knew about their operation, the better. But some things couldn’t be helped.

  “Do it,” Aiden said. A waitress stepped out of the restaurant, holding a bag of takeout. “I’ve got to go. Food’s ready.”

  He tipped the waitress and checked his watch.

  Half an hour.

  It wasn’t long, but with two people now after them, it was longer than he wanted to leave Madison alone.

  OMW, he texted. He hit the sidewalk at a brisk pace, juggling food and drinks.

  His phone didn’t chime once all the way back to the loft. By the time he unlocked the doors and let himself in, he was concerned.

  “Madison?”

  No answer.

  He put the food down on an island that ran the length of the kitchenette.

  “Madison, you here?”

  Her gear was still spread out, and everything perfectly in place.

  Aiden pushed the door to the bathroom open and his heart leapt into his throat.

  Madison lay in the tub, head tipped back and face turned away from him. The water was hazy.

  “Madison!” He choked out her name, going to his knees, reaching for her. She turned toward him.

  She blinked several times, her eyes heavy. He wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her toward him.

  “What’s wrong?” She sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest and rubbing her knuckles across her eyes.

  “You didn’t answer your phone. I was calling your name.”

  “Oh, sorry. I took a shower and then I must have dozed off.”

  He glanced down at the rest of her. Yeah, she was naked, and the murky water didn’t do much to hide her lush curves and inked adornments from view.

  “What’s in the water?”

  “Epsom salt.”

  “Oh.”

  That made . . . perfect sense.

  * * *

  Madison hugged her knees closer to her chest. She hadn’t been able to resist the huge tub after her shower. It was easily big enough for several people to soak at once, and she had it all to herself.

  “Are you okay?” Aiden’s stare was, in a word, intense. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her since rousing her from her unintended nap.

  “I’m fine.” But she might not have been if it weren’t for Aiden’s quick driving and his friends. That was a reality she didn’t want to think too hard about.

  He sat down on the tile next to the tub, leaning against the side.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Sitting here.”

  Why? How was she supposed to respond to that?

  “Talk to Matt again?” he asked.

  “Uh . . . no.” What did Matt have to do with anything?

  “Does he call you often?”

  Matt was the last thing she wanted to talk about with Aiden. Things with the detective were odd at the best of times.

  “He calls me every couple of days, sometimes more. I don’t answer half the time.”

  “When you don’t answer, does he call again?”

  She stared at Aiden. “Yeah.”

  “He’s stalking you.”

  “Stalking? What? I wouldn’t call it that.”

  “Then what would you call it?”

  Why was he being so aggressive about Matt? What did the cop even matter?

  “I don’t know. Doing his job? Or at least that’s what he thinks he’s doing. That’s what it was. Now it’s . . . I don’t know. Odd. It’s not always about my ex, it’s, ‘Let me protect you,’ and shit.”

  “Protect you from what?” Aiden spoke slowly and there was a note in his tone, a deadly one that made her want to remain perfectly still.

  “Dustin, I guess.” She shrugged. “Why are you so upset? What is it you call what you’re doing, sticking to my ass like glue?”

  “We are working together on this.” Aiden pressed his lips together and stared at her for a moment. “Did he try to protect you tonight from me?”

  Yes . . . but she hadn’t felt as though she needed it.

  Aiden’s lips compressed into a tight line and a fire lit in his gaze.

  “He did, didn’t he?” Aiden pressed.

  “Yeah, okay, so what?”

  Aiden
glanced away. She stared at his profile, trying to sort out exactly what was going on. She hadn’t wanted to tell him about Matt because the detective wasn’t in her life by choice. They weren’t all that dissimilar, but it was in how they interacted with her that they differed. Matt pressured her. Aiden urged her. It was a slight difference, but if she ever accepted Matt’s help she’d be putting her head through a noose. Aiden believed he would actually rescue her from it, though he might break all the rules. On paper, it was Matt she should be turning to for help, but in reality, she needed someone like Aiden. They weren’t too dissimilar, good men, good intentions, good-looking....

  He was jealous.

  Aiden of the panty-dropping smile, sizzling gaze, and tantalizing muscles . . . was jealous.

  Was that even possible?

  Apparently it was.

  “I’ve never accepted Matt’s help,” she said.

  Aiden didn’t reply.

  “He’s a great detective, and I’m sure he means well, but anything he would do only puts me more at risk. He can’t help me if I don’t give him something on Dustin, and even then, he can’t promise it’ll be enough.”

  “But I can?”

  “You said you could.”

  “Is that why you fucked me?”

  Madison blinked at him. Her mind did not work in the same ways his did. The connections he saw, the patterns, they weren’t how she saw the world.

  “What? No.” She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. Did he really think she’d do that? After everything they’d been through and all that she’d told him? His suspicion stung and an ache throbbed deep in her chest. “Last night had nothing to do with anything, except you and me. If you can’t accept that’s what it was, then maybe I need to leave.”

  “What happened last night?”

  “Uh, I’m pretty sure you were there.”

  “Yeah, but I’m asking you what happened.”

  “We had sex. What do you call it? Tactical spy shit?” Pinpricks of pain started behind her eyes. She was going to cry, damn it. She hated crying, but she’d allowed herself to be vulnerable with him, and now he suspected her? “I’m not doing this.”

  She yanked the stopper out of the tub and hauled herself upright, turning her back on the man she’d thought she was growing to care for. A towel hung ready for her on a hook. She wrapped it around herself and knotted the ends between her breasts. She took deep, calming breaths.

  “Madison.” His hand wrapped around her arm. Why was he always so warm? It soaked into her skin, down to her bones.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  She tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but he was too strong. Aiden tugged her toward him and she sloshed through the bathwater, turning to face him. His brows were drawn down and his lips curled into a frown. He cupped her other shoulder, steadying her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. Plain and simple.

  The apology caught her off guard. She stared at him, as if she might will him to say more.

  “Sorry for what?”

  His hold gentled and he slid his hands around to her back.

  “Being an ass.”

  “That’s a start.”

  His lips compressed once more.

  “For fuck’s sake, Aiden.” She pushed at his chest but he wrapped his arms around her, bringing them closer, the side of the square tub hitting her shins.

  He didn’t speak, didn’t refute what he’d said. Instead, he bent his head and rested his forehead against hers. First he was jealous of Dustin, now suspicious of her, what next?

  “It’s hard to trust,” he said quietly.

  “I thought we established that already. You have to take a risk.”

  “I take a lot of risks.”

  He was a great driver. Former soldier. She could see the nature of risk written all over him. But trusting someone intimately, opening up, that was another kind of risk. One she fell into far too easily, while someone like Aiden struggled with it.

  “I’m not going to allow you to accuse me of trading sex for your protection.” Or cheapen what had been a beautiful memory.

  “That was wrong.”

  “You think?”

  “I said I’m sorry.”

  “For being an ass.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That doesn’t quite cover it. I think accusing me of screwing you with ulterior motives is a bit more extreme than being an ass.”

  “You’re right. I was out of line.” He sighed and slid a hand higher, above the towel, splaying his fingers over her back. “This isn’t how any of this is supposed to go.”

  “You said that before.”

  “I know. It’s just . . . different. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  He was jealous and unsure of whatever this nameless relationship they’d forged was supposed to be. She got that. When he rolled out of her life, she was scared of what would happen to her. Not physically, but emotionally. She was a serial monogamist who had a problem with falling in love. Always had. And here she was, tipping over the edge, about to fall for the most unavailable man she’d ever met, and there wasn’t any stopping her.

  Aiden cupped her cheek and she let her eyes drift close. Whatever happened between them was already building momentum. She couldn’t stop it, and why would she? Being in his arms made her feel alive. At the very least, he would burn away the touch of any man who came before him. It might be a while before she was able to love after him, but maybe, just maybe, this was what she needed.

  He tipped her chin up and in his usual style, gave her every opportunity to turn away. For a few seconds she stood perfectly still, her hands on his chest, eyes closed. She felt his breath on her mouth. She curled her toes on the slippery tub and relished the pitter-patter of her heart. The anticipation, wanting him, it was one of the best things about their attraction.

  Finally, his lips brushed hers in a quick graze, a quick peck, but he came back setting his mouth against hers.

  She fisted his shirt, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. He wanted to think this was fake? That the passion they’d shared wasn’t real? She’d show him how hot they could burn.

  Madison wrapped her arm around his neck and lifted up on tiptoe, trying to get closer. Her foot slipped across the bottom of the wet tub and she hit the edge with her knees. She cried out as pain shot up and down her legs. Aiden’s grip around her waist was the only thing keeping her upright.

  “Shit.” She hissed. Her already abused knees ached. Bruises on top of bruises. Lovely.

  “You okay?”

  She sat on the edge of the tub and rubbed the angry red mark. So much for passion.

  “Yeah.”

  “This tub is trying to kill you.”

  Aiden bent and scooped her up in his arms in one easy move. Madison gasped, but held still. He walked sideways through the door with her and took her to the bed. He knelt next to her and ran his hands over the marks. The skin seemed to have split a little, but she wasn’t bleeding and she’d suffered far worse injuries simply walking around the boat.

  “I’m fine,” she said. He made her extend one leg, then the other.

  “Will you be quiet and let me make sure?”

  She clamped her lips together. He cupped the back of her knee, letting the joint bend. It didn’t hurt or twinge, but his touch was pleasant. Warm. He slid his palms down her calves and she stopped breathing.

  By all rights, she could still be angry with him. But what was the point? He’d admitted he was wrong, and guys did stupid things when their feelings started up. Their time together was short. She didn’t want to waste it being upset, when they could spend time in much more pleasurable ways.

  “Do you think I’m going to live?” she asked.

  Aiden rested his hands on her knees, his gaze traveling up her body until their eyes locked. The way he stared at her, it made heat crawl up her neck and cheeks.

  “I’d say you’ll pull through.”

  The muscles in her thighs turned to r
ubber and her knees parted.

  Aiden reached around behind him and pulled his gun out from under his shirt. He set it on the nightstand with a heavy thunk, never once looking away from her. The weapon scared her, but then again so did he. He couldn’t change who or what she was, but that same person made her feel safe. He turned her on. Made her want things.

  Oh what the hell?

  Madison took his face in her hands. He tipped his chin up, lips parted. She swooped down and kissed him. She shoved her fingers through his short hair and pulled him closer. Aiden leaned in, parting her knees until he knelt between her legs, arms around her waist. Their tongues tangled. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Desperation blossomed inside of her, she wanted him. Needed him with a fire she’d never before felt.

  Aiden’s hand slid up her stomach and between her breasts, forcing the ends of the towel apart. She lifted her head, staring down at his hand splayed across her stomach, the towel on the bed, leaving her naked. For a moment, neither moved. He stared at her, she stared at his hand.

  Her nipples tightened, due to either the cool air or her heightened state of arousal, it didn’t matter. He leaned in closer and blew a hot breath across her left breast.

  “I didn’t really get to play with these last night.” Aiden cupped her breast and kissed the outer curve, over the top and along the inner swell.

  Madison let her head drop back, focusing on the feel of his mouth, his heated skin. He splayed one hand against her back and the other plumped her breast from the bottom. She planted her hands on the mattress to keep herself upright. Warmth pooled low in her stomach and her pussy clenched. He licked her nipple, once, twice, then wrapped his lips around the hardened bud and sucked.

  She gasped as sensation shot through her body.

  He switched breasts, rubbing the flat of his tongue against her sensitized skin while his fingers plucked the abandoned nipple, rolling it between his fingers.

  “Oh. Oh!”

  Her arms buckled and she sank down to her elbows. He kissed her stomach and she quivered, almost afraid to breathe.

  Aiden lifted his head, staring up her body. She felt the graze of his hand on her inner thigh a second before his fingers slid through her folds. He rumbled something in his throat and thrust a finger into her. She gasped and curled her leg around him while he slid in and out of her.