Chapter 10 Skin Care

Magnum

My dick was still hard as steel, and I'd left her in the bed ten minutes ago. After talking to Vander, I went to the bathroom to wipe the glass shards from the floor.

My brother's girl. My brother's wife . Could not fuck her. Absolutely should not touch her. Completely off-limits.

But damn, her skin was soft as velvet, little moles scattered among golden hills and valleys. Those injuries did not belong on skin that pure.

The arch of her waist. Full, round breasts. And those fucking white school girl underwear. Really wanted to take her for a ride on the Magnum Machine. I'd bet she'd come alive under my skilled hands.

I lied when I said I didn't blame her. This was totally her fault.

She was the one who wiggled her hips. She was the one who whimpered and acted all cute. My dick was just reacting to it.

No matter what she did, I needed to stay in control. This whole situation put her deeply entrenched in the do-not-fuck category. Even if she didn't end up with Gavin, she was a virgin and probably couldn't handle me even for a second.

She was the type that you touch, she expected you to love her. The kind that wanted stability and a boring life. I did not bang those girls. I rarely came within talking distance of those women. My brother put me in proximity with this one .

Then my goddamn brother disappeared and left me with her.

He should've known better. What the hell was he thinking? I'd be finding out his lame answers as soon as he resurfaced or I tracked him down, whichever came first.

"Are you tired?" Her soft voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Still amped up." Both from the explosion and from being so close to her nearly naked body. How did she hide those curves all this time? I usually noticed stuff like that right away.

"Me too."

I chuckled. "Sure, you're a raging bull."

She hadn't moved from the spot I'd left her. She was still there on top of the covers with her hands tucked under her. She'd better not be touching those white underwear or hurting her arms.

In my bag, I found a black tee that was close enough to be considered clean and brought it to her. "Here. Put this on." I needed to see her arms and cover up the rest of her.

I turned my back and cleaned the glass from the floor next to the bed while she put it on. I tossed the towels in the trash before looking at her. "You ready?"

"Yes."

Damn, she looked cute in my tee. She was sitting at the top of the bed with her legs out in front of her, crossed at the ankles, her hands folded neatly in her lap. There were some new marks there, but not as bad as the first time I'd seen them .

Her gaze raked slowly up and down my chest and torso. Her eyes flared and locked on the trail of hair above the waist of my pants. I chuckled and rubbed it with my hand.

Drink it in, baby. Looks tasty. Don't it?

She gasped and looked away like she'd seen a ghost. Cute.

"Do you work out like all the time?" she asked.

"Most days I get a workout in."

She was trying not to look, but her gaze slowly came back to me and her toes wiggled. "Did it hurt when you got those tattoos?"

"Some more than others." I shrugged. She was very curious all of a sudden.

"Why did you get them?"

Good question. I pointed to my left bicep. "This one's the SEAL trident, stars for my fallen brothers. And this," I showed her my forearm, "a Mardi Gras mask from my hometown. This one's for my mom. She died when I was eighteen." I flexed as I turned, revealing the flowers on my other arm. "My sister Sylvie's favorite. And here," I shifted to show her my back. "Hurricane Katrina."

She listened quietly, total amazement on her face. I had to admit it was not unpleasant having her eyes on me. "Wow. Lots of life experience. I want to know the whole story behind each one."

"That's confidential and it's late. You should get some sleep."

"I'm all jittery." Her hands trembled as she reached up to push some loose hair back. "Keep hearing those gunshots you said weren't even there." She set her shoulders back and tried to hide her shaking hands, but I'd already seen it. "Let's talk more. I've always wanted a tattoo, but my grandfather was strictly against it."

I took a step closer to her and looked her over head to toe. "I'll tell ya somethin'. You got pristine skin right now, apart from the wounds from the glass that will heal, but I don't see no need to make it prettier with ink, so I'd vote for no tattoo for you if I had a say in it, which I don't."

"You think I have pristine skin?"

I chuckled and went to my bag to get a tube of unscented Vitamin E lotion. I found a green tee for me and slipped it on. Once I was fully dressed, I kneeled beside the bed and took her hand. "I do, and I don't like seeing these marks on it."

Her cheeks reddened and she looked down, but she didn't pull her hand away. "I like your skin too."

That sat nice in my chest. "Thank you. People don't think about it until you're downrange with trench foot or blisters. Healthy skin is preventative care." I placed a dab of the lotion on her wrist and started working it in. The divots weren't too bad. Just small impressions that would fade quickly. No broken skin or bruising. "You ever dated a Black dude before Gavin?" My thumb worked the lotion in small circles. She had such delicate wrists, and I hated that they felt good in my hands, like I was holding something precious and fragile.

She shook her head as she watched my fingers caress her arm. "I hadn't dated much at all because I was taking care of my grandfather and running the bakery. He was sick for years before the cancer finally got him. He put up a good fight." Grief tinged the corners of her voice as it grew softer .

"And what would he have thought of Gavin?"

She looked up at the ceiling and pursed her lips. "I don't know, honestly. We didn't really talk about it. I think he expected that I would marry someone Chinese, but I always wanted to be open about it. I didn't like limiting my future like that. But I grew up in the States and he didn't, so we disagreed on a lot of traditional things. I think he would've been resistant to Gavin at first, but eventually, he would've come around. What about your family? What will they think when they find out I'm Chinese?"

"They won't think anything negative about it. With our background, we've seen a lot of things, and we know good people when we meet 'em no matter what. They'll be shocked Gavin ended up with a girl as pretty as you but not that you're Asian."

She blushed and cast her gaze down again. So shy. "They sound like very nice people."

"We got our pluses and minuses." It wasn't long before her eyes were on my face, her pupils dilated and her mouth soft. Just like the first time I saw her, a vibrant heat oozed in my chest. A yearning, an unmet need. Lust. My dick was hard again, but I'd gotten used to that when I was around her. My physical attraction to her was my problem, not hers.

We were quiet for a moment as I worked the lotion higher up her arm to her elbow. Luckily the glass didn't hit her here. "Who owns this house?" she asked.

"You've got lots of questions all of a sudden." I released her right hand and started on her left. She was still wearing Gavin's cheap ring on her finger. A reminder that she was his but also that he'd treated her badly. She deserved so much better.

"I've told you a lot about me, and now you're finally offering up details about you. I want to hear it."

Fair enough. I'd purposefully kept things from her, but now she needed to know. "Alright. Knight Security owns it. It's a safe house. We have several of them throughout the country. It's just a secure place to crash or lay low while you're working a job or if you need to hide someone. It has state-of-the-art doors, cameras, alarms, windows. There's a panic room in the center that's even more protected."

"Interesting. So what if no one needs it? It stays empty?"

"Yeah. We have someone who manages them. Keeps them clean and stocked. Once a year, we do an inventory."

She leaned forward and her mouth dropped open. "Do you know how much rent is in LA? You could make so much money if you rented it out."

"We can't rent this place. Too many weapons stashed here."

Her eyes went wide, and she looked around the room. "I don't see anything."

"Exactly. Well hidden."

"Oh."

She was wearing a permanent jade bracelet on her left wrist, and I had to slide it up to work the lotion into her skin. "So speaking of Knight Security, I think it's time that we call in the team." I released her left arm, and she placed her hands loosely in her lap. The shaking had subsided, and her shoulder muscles were more relaxed. The marks were still there, but hopefully the lotion would help them recede quickly .

"Thank you. What does that mean, bring in the team ?"

I stood up from my crouched position and returned the tube back in my bag. "So far, I've only given Vander and Talon the essential info about what's happening with Kenny, so they can get started looking for Gavin." Her gaze watched me warily as I sat on the bed next to her. "They'd need to know everything including the details of the engagement with Gavin, the plan to hack Kenny, the threats on you, and whatever you know about him. We'd tell them the truth about what happened at the courthouse." Her brows drew together. I'd figured she didn't want anyone to know we'd faked the wedding ceremony.

"And then?"

"Then we'd decide on a plan as a team about what would be the best way to protect you, and if necessary, bring down Kenny."

"Bring him down? How? What does that even mean?"

"We'd look into him. Infiltrate his operation. Get enough evidence to turn him over to the feds to get a conviction. Right now it's looking like we could pin him for drug dealing, extortion. There might be other stuff."

She leaned forward and pressed her palms flat on the bed. "Really? I want to help."

"You can't help."

She moved to sitting on her knees, suddenly eager and excited. "No. I want to help any way I can. I want in on this, please. Please." She folded her hands like she was praying.

Cute, but no. Sorry, babe. "The idea is to get you out of danger while we take care of it. We're trained to handle this." I stood up and walked away from her. I needed some distance to think straight.

"I need to help. I can at least show you what I learned on the dark web. I know, I'll do the IT stuff."

"We have a tech team. You don't have to..."

"I want to be part of the team. I want to learn. Please. You don't understand. I lost everything when I lost my grandfather, and now this man is taking what I have left of him. It's not right. I hate feeling so helpless. I'm nervous and angry all the time." Her hands were shaking again, and all my work calming her down was going to waste.

I did understand. My sister had fought cancer and beat it, so I could imagine the pain of losing someone after a battle like that. "Alright. I'll talk to Vander about giving you access to the IT team."

"Thank you." She climbed off the bed, wrapped her little body around me, and squeezed in an innocent hug that my dick did not find innocent at all because she looked cute in my tee and it was not as long on her as I had hoped. The bandage on her knee both infuriated me and turned me on, and I was still charged from massaging the lotion into her arms.

I froze at first then patted her back in a very brotherly way. "Time to get some shuteye. I'll call the team Monday morning."

She stepped back and seemed surprised that we were standing in the middle of the room hugging. "Will you sleep in the bed with me?"

I laughed and turned away from her. "No, no. Not a good idea. I'll sleep on the couch. "

"Please. I'm scared, and it will help me sleep." Her voice was so honest, and I liked being close to her, even if it was a form of torture. I wanted to protect her, comfort her.

"Alright. You," I pointed at her chest, "under the covers."

She smiled and climbed under the bedspread and sheets. I lay down next to her with my back against the headboard.

"Why do you hate birds so much?" She turned on her side and snuggled her head into the pillow.

"I'll give you an example." I leaned back, raised my arms, and placed my hands behind my head. "The day I met you, I'd just flown in from... South America for a hostage rescue."

"Oh my gosh, really?"

"Yep, so we're in the jungle, all disguised perfectly, watching the target arrive in a convoy of vehicles. Everyone is armed. Vander is up in a tree next to me, I'm on the ground with my rifle aimed at the guards on her. The plan is to ambush. We have to be silent, and this fucking bird over my head starts cawing and making a scene."

She laughed. "What kind of bird?"

"I don't know. A big-ass parrot like a macaw or something. I wanted to shoot it, but Vander countermanded me. The fucking bird alerted the bad guys to our location. One of the combatants started walking into the bushes to investigate."

"Oh no."

"He didn't make it far."

"Did you kill him?"

I leveled my gaze on her. "And then the bird makes more commotion and another combatant starts walking up the hill looking for the first guy, and Vander repeats the command to hold. In other words, you may not shoot the fucking bird or the guy."

She giggled a soft rippling sound.

"So I didn't, but I wanted to. By the time our position was revealed and everyone was free to shoot whoever, the fucking bird was gone, and I never got my revenge. Shit like that happens all the time with birds. Birds got no chill when you're hiding in their territory."

Her giggles erupted into full-on laughter, and the bed jiggled. "None of that is true."

"It's all true. I don't lie." I crossed my arms and peered down at her with one eyebrow up.

"You lie. You lied so easily saying you were Gavin."

"I can lie when I need to, but I generally don't lie." I winked at her.

She blushed and looked away. "Well, that's good to know."

"You feel like you can sleep now?"

"Maybe." Her lips were pressed tight suppressing more laughter.

"Give it a shot." I patted her shoulder but kept our bodies pretty far apart. I closed my eyes and found myself smiling.

I hadn't noticed before, but when we were quiet, I heard the tapping of drops on the roof.

"What's that noise?" she asked.

"It's starting to rain."

"Oh. Sounds nice."

"Yeah."