Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

January 30 th

1:08 A.M.

Home was one of the best words in the English language.

In any language really.

Cassie had never really understood why people spoke about their homes in an almost reverent manner. As a child, her home had merely been the house she lived in where she spent almost all of her time studying various lessons from an array of tutors.

There was no downtime, no time for play. If she watched TV at all it was for educational purposes. The same went for reading. Fiction was not on her approved reading list, and besides between lessons and practicing the many instruments she played, there was no time for fun anyway.

Her one little bit of rebellion had been hacking her iPad and downloading a Kindle app. She set herself up with a credit card her parents knew nothing about and used it to buy herself eBooks which she would read under the covers at night when she was supposed to be sleeping.

It was about as far as she ever went rebellion-wise.

There was just no time to be disobedient and wild. Her parents had trained her from a young age to believe she had to do something meaningful with her life. She had been blessed with an intellect that most people could only dream about, and if she didn't use that to the best of her ability, she was wasting her life and was a complete and utter failure.

A lot of pressure to place on a little girl's shoulders.

But the dutiful child that she had been, she'd worked hard in her studies. Gone to college and got every single degree they had put on the list for her. Their pride when she was offered a job at Prey as a teenager had made her think for one moment that they were actually proud of her not just of her brain.

That naivete had been snubbed out on that same day when she heard them bragging to all their friends, and she finally realized they would never see her as anything other than the genius baby they had designed.

In the end, that hadn't turned out to be such a bad thing.

Finally, over trying to make them see her as a real person, Cassie had turned her focus to her new team, and over time, Prey had become her found family. She'd bought her own apartment and created her very first home, and she even allowed herself the occasional time off to spend writing, drawing, or hanging out with her friends.

Life was perfect.

Well mostly.

Only sometimes she did get a little lonely.

"You ready to break out of here?"

Cassie startled at the sound of the voice, lost in thought as she'd been, and that morphed into shock when she saw who had just strolled into her hospital room like he owned the place.

It was Luis.

What was he still doing here?

Of course, she was grateful—not even a strong enough word for it—to him for saving her life tonight, but she didn't understand why he was still there.

Even if he felt somewhat responsible for her since he'd obviously been the one assigned to watch over her, and that was why he'd insisted on riding in the ambulance with her, it didn't explain why he had stayed.

Once Prey was here there was no need for him to stay. The guys had it covered, and even if he had been assigned to continue watching her, he could have just gone back to her place and parked in the apartment parking lot or something.

Why was he here?

Was it as a favor to Tate or something?

They were on the same SEAL team, and she knew they were friends. But the few times she'd met Luis and the other guys on the team it hadn't seemed like Luis had liked her all that much.

Probably because she never made a very good first impression.

Too shy.

Too awkward.

Too unpracticed in social situations.

Because she was a genius, people always expected her to be perfect at everything. And that was fine for the things she'd studied, and yes, she usually picked up new skills fairly quickly. But socializing had never been something she'd done much of. The only friends she'd ever had were the people at Prey and that was different. They respected her because she knew what she was doing, and out of that respect had grown genuine friendships.

"Can I take your silence as an indication that you'd rather spend the night here in the hospital?" Luis teased.

When he smiled at her like that, she felt … confused mostly.

Confused and that warm and fuzzy feeling was back.

It settled in her stomach, but it didn't just stay there. It spread out throughout her body making her feel all tingly.

And the warmth was becoming warmer until she felt almost … hot?

Couldn't be an infection. There were cuts and bruises littering her body but there had been no time for infection to settle into them. Plus, they'd all been thoroughly cleaned by a friendly nurse, the couple of deeper ones stitched or glued, and she'd been given a shot of antibiotics just as a preventative.

"Uh, no, I don't want to stay," she told him, a little surprised that her voice came out a little breathy like she'd just done her morning run.

"Could have fooled me, princess," he drawled.

The nickname registered, and she realized he'd called her that back at the lab as well. Why? They weren't friends, barely even acquaintances, and he didn't even like her. Nicknames were a term of endearment and there was nothing … endearing … between them.

"Why are you calling me princess?" Cassie demanded, feeling guilty when her voice came out a little harsher than she'd intended, but this man left her … flustered.

"If the shoe fits," he said vaguely, shrugging like it should be obvious.

Only it wasn't to her. She was no princess. Her parents had been wealthy, and she'd had access to everything that came with that money, but it wasn't like they'd showered her with gifts. They loved her, she knew that in their own way they truly did, but their reasons for having a child were not the same as most people's.

Shaking off the discombobulated feeling, she asked, "Who's driving me home?"

"You're looking at him."

"Wait, you are? Why?"

"Babysitting duty, princess," he added pointedly, throwing in a smirk that should have irritated her—and it did—but instead just made her feel hotter.

"Right. Sure. I guess I thought after you almost died tonight, too, someone else would be watching me the rest of the night." Although she had a mild concussion, she'd talked the doctor into letting her go home, promising that someone would be right outside, and she could call them if there were any problems. Maybe not the smartest idea, she could pass out and fall and injure herself worse, but she needed to be alone in her safe place to dissect and process the events of the night.

"Nope, you're stuck with me." The way Luis said it made it sound like she wouldn't want him watching over her, but that was far from true. Just because he didn't like her didn't mean it was mutual. She liked him just fine, equally as much as the other men on Tate's team, although none of them ever made her feel too warm and too disconcerted.

Maybe it was just because he was the biggest of them. Or because even though he was a playboy, usually lighthearted and joking around, flirting with everyone—well, not her, but everybody else—his dark eyes were always so intense.

"I don't mind you watching over me, Luis," she told him.

Surprise flitted through those intense eyes of him, but then it was gone, and he was smirking again. "Happy to hear that, princess. Because I'm not going to be just sitting in my car outside your building."

"Huh? What do you mean? Where are you going to be?" Had the plan changed and Athena Team was going to be moved to a safehouse. So far, they had decided against it since the mole was already inside Prey, which meant any safehouse was already compromised, but after tonight's events, and what she remembered the mole had said on the video, it was possible Eagle and the guys had decided something needed to change.

"I'm going to be staying with you inside your apartment," Luis informed her.

She just stared back.

He had to be lying.

Or joking.

He liked to joke and goof around.

"You're not … serious … are you?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Like the plague."

"But … you can't … I don't … nobody … I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse," she said as firmly as she could while also trying not to sound rude.

"Not up for debate, princess. Like it or not, you just got yourself a roommate."

She did not like it.

Not one little bit.

Her home was her space. It was private, where she curled up and allowed herself to relax and spend time writing and drawing. If he was there, he'd see what she did in her spare time, that she wasted it on frivolous activities instead of being productive.

If he learned that about her, he'd look down on her and think worse of her than he already did. Her brain was a gift that had to be utilized, that should be her priority, not fun and relaxing. If the truth came out about her then everyone would see she was a fraud.

January 30 th

2:12 A.M.

She was fuming.

It was adorable.

And infuriating.

Luis hated that he even cared that she didn't want him staying with her badly enough that she'd called her boss and gotten annoyed when Eagle told her it wasn't up for debate. Still, like the persistent little thing that she was, she'd then called Owen "Fox" LeGrand, the leader of the former SEAL team who had taken over running Prey's West Coast offices when they retired from the navy.

When she'd gotten another resounding no to her request not to have someone stay inside her apartment with her, her cheeks had turned red, and she'd huffed. He could tell she wanted to express her anger, but like the good little soldier that she was, she shoved it down and resigned herself to her fate.

Even with her huffing and puffing and sulking in the passenger seat of his car as he drove to her apartment, he was still irked.

And he hated that he was thinking the word irked rather than something more like himself.

Why did this woman have to bring out every one of his old insecurities?

Usually, he avoided even asking what a woman's job was if he was only planning one night with her. If he was planning a fling, he usually dated women with more working-class jobs. Intelligent women made him feel inferior, but not for the reason most people would expect.

It wasn't because he was sexist.

Women had to be the tougher of the genders when you threw in how they survived childbirth, multitasked like pros, and dealt with a whole lot of sexism in the world while still kicking butt. Luis was uncomfortable around smart men as well. It wasn't the gender it was the IQ and the fact that it reminded him of how badly he'd struggled in his early years of schooling and the horrendous results of his frustrations with himself.

Now he was stuck with this genius of a woman who clearly didn't like him even if earlier at the hospital he'd thought for a moment that maybe she didn't look down on him the way he thought she did. And he cared that she looked down on him.

He shouldn't but he did.

What Cassie thought shouldn't matter one little bit.

She was the friend of a friend's girlfriend, not much of a connection, and not anyone who should matter. So why couldn't he stop picturing her naked and writhing beneath him?

Thankfully, they had reached her building, and as soon as he parked the car, Cassie unsnapped her seatbelt and reached out to open her door.

"Uh-uh, princess," he said, reaching over her to hold the door in place. "You're under my protection, that means you follow orders."

"You're not my boss," Cassie said, and her eyes narrowed at him.

"Cute that you think that, princess. But when it comes to your safety, I am your boss. You wait for me to get out first and come around and open your door for you. You stay behind me, you stay close, and if I tell you to do something you do it without arguing with me. Got it?" When it looked like she still might argue, he added, "Unless you want to get blown up again?"

Deflating like a balloon, Cassie sagged in her seat. Shadows danced in her wide brown eyes, and he almost felt bad for taking out the fact that he felt inferior when he was around her, on her when she'd had such a rough night.

Almost.

Because in the end, everything he'd just said he would have said to anyone he was guarding, not just a woman who made him remember a time in his life he'd much rather forget.

"I guess you're right. Sorry for not being at my best tonight. I guess so much has happened and old … insecurities are rearing their ugly heads," she whispered.

What insecurities could this woman possibly have?

She was a genius. Her life had been full of possibilities. Anything she wanted was within her grasp, all she had to do was reach out and take it.

Unlike some of them who had to fight for every scrap they'd ever gotten.

Feeling childish for holding past issues that had nothing to do with Cassie against her, Luis forced himself to let it go. All he had to do was keep her alive, he didn't have to like her to do that.

Or crave her.

And that was the crux of his problem. His attraction to her drove him crazy because she represented everything he'd wanted as a child, and yet she didn't seem to get how amazing it was that her brain could do anything she wanted it to. It was a gift that shouldn't be squandered, and to Cassie's credit, she hadn't.

"Insecurities have a way of doing that," he admitted, allowing himself one small moment of vulnerability to match hers.

The smile she shot him was grateful, and it sent a bolt of lust shooting through his body, urging all his blood to rush south.

Before he could do something embarrassing and get a hard-on Cassie couldn't help but notice, he climbed out of the car and scanned the dark parking lot as he rounded the car. There were no signs of movement, no hairs standing up on the back of his neck to indicate he was being watched, and no rolling in his gut to warn him something bad was going to happen.

Confident they were safe for now, he opened Cassie's door for her, and she climbed out. Her small wince didn't pass without notice, and he knew she needed to get inside and into bed so she could get the rest her body needed to start healing. Just because she'd been lucky tonight didn't mean she wasn't covered in bruises, cuts, and a couple of first-degree burns.

The walk into her building and the ride up to her floor were uneventful. When they got to her apartment and she pulled the spare key she'd borrowed from one of her friends out of the pocket of her scrubs, he snatched it from her hand before she could insert it in the lock.

"Hey!" she said, looking up at him in surprise.

"What part of I'm the babysitter here did you miss, princess? I go in first and sweep the place."

"Sweep it?"

"Not with a broom, princess," he said with a laugh at the confusion on her face. She really was adorable, and her lack of training when it came to anything outside of her lab only made her cuter.

And he should absolutely keep thinking of her as cute and adorable, so he remembered there was a ten-year age gap between them. Maybe that would help him keep his thoughts from wandering to this woman naked in the bedroom, spread out before him like a delectable buffet he couldn't wait to touch and sample.

"I'm going to check no one is in there."

"Oh. Right. I should have known that. Sorry," she mumbled, her cheeks tinting pink with embarrassment.

Taking the key from her hand, Luis ignored the small tingles that shot up his arm from the brief contact and tucked her behind him as he opened the door. "Stay here," he told her as he closed the door behind them and walked through the apartment.

Other than the open-plan living, kitchen, and dining area at the front of the apartment, there were two bedrooms, a bathroom and an ensuite to the master, and a study. He knew the layout of the apartment because he'd studied it before they came here, making sure he knew what exits they could use in an emergency, so he knew that the door he found locked was to the second bedroom.

Since it was locked from the outside, he knew nobody was in there, but still, his curiosity couldn't help but be piqued.

"All clear," he said as he re-entered the living room to find his charge standing right where he'd left her. At least he knew she could follow orders even if she didn't like it.

"You can't sleep in the spare bedroom," Cassie blurted out.

Irritation rolled through him rather than attraction this time, the way she said it like he was just the hired help irked him. And there he went getting annoyed by his word choice all over again. Wasn't that he'd planned on sleeping in a bed anyway, he was there to watch over her, not for a sleepover. But that she thought he wasn't even good enough to sleep in one of her bedrooms really rankled.

"Wasn't planning on it, princess ," he added a bit of bite to the nickname this time and her cheeks weren't from pink to flaming red. "I'm here to keep you alive, I'll be sleeping on the couch. Don't worry, your precious spare bedroom won't get tainted."

"I didn't?—"

"Got to bed, Cassie," he ordered, pulling out his phone like he had something more important to do and turning his back on her.

He heard her sigh, and then her footsteps as she walked out of the room, and only when she was gone did he move to the couch and sink down onto it, resting his head in his hands.

How exactly was he supposed to survive living in an apartment with a woman who simultaneously made him feel like the loser who had made so many bad decisions and almost gotten his little brother killed, and feel like he was going to die if he didn't press his lips against hers and kiss her like he'd wanted to since the first time he met her?