“Did you need to get that?” I tilted my head toward Dane’s phone where he’d abandoned it on the coffee table, screen side down. I wasn’t sure who had texted him, but it was clear that his mood had shifted, and he was looking a lot less happy than he’d been just moments earlier.
“No, I don’t. It’s Stubbs wanting to know when I’ll have the plans for Chameleon, since he’s not happy with my response explaining that these things take time.” He sat down on the sofa, by my side, and pulled out his laptop—even though I knew damn well that one of these rooms was likely dedicated to his office. I had no doubt he likely had one hell of a setup going, with multiple screens and machines ready to power through any hacking scenario Dane might put it through.
“I’ve been working on getting you the plans, you know. I swear, I’m taking your problem seriously.” Or rather, the FBI was working to put together a version of the plans that could be traced through a back door, and would allow us to track down who this was sold to. Given that this was military technology, I had no doubt they’d alter the plans enough to keep them from being viable, and to keep any real technological advances from being shared.
My only worry was that Stubbs might hold Dane responsible if they figured out the alterations to the plans before the FBI or CIA had the chance to arrest Stubbs and the buyer.
“I really do appreciate your help with this, Rae.” He sounded so sincere—and I felt like such a shit for setting him up like this. But this was my job, and this could very well mean getting Stubbs out of Dane’s life once and for all, not to mention making the world just a little bit safer.
I just hoped it didn’t all go to shit, since my feelings for Dane were getting harder and harder to ignore, despite everything he’d put me through.
We spent the next few hours trying to track down who was behind the illegal project, and though we were able to eliminate a few of the suspects on my far-too-long list, trying to accomplish this remotely was hard. I sat back, my shoulders cramped from hunching over to stare at a screen. “Maybe once I have you inside GTC as my assistant, we’ll have an easier time finding the info. It’ll give you access to a larger portion of the GTC database.”
“And if there’s something I don’t have access to, well...” He shrugged, his smile lighting up his hazel eyes. “It should be pretty easy once I’ve got access to most of the network.”
“Not as easy as you think. Just don’t get caught, Dane. I don’t know who we’re dealing with or how dangerous they might be.” I’d never forgive myself if Dane got hurt because of a situation I’d put him in—especially when he was completely unaware of the FBI’s involvement with this issue. And the truth was, he’d likely help me if I’d simply asked and been honest with him. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell him and risk it all.
He knotted his fingers with mine and brought my hand to his lips. “Don’t worry about me, love. I can take care of myself—and I swear, Avery... I can take care of you, too, if you let me.”
It would be so easy to just give in to what was between us, because Dane was doing one hell of a job tearing down my walls, and I was doing a really crappy job of rebuilding them. Yet, even if I wanted to let him back into my life, could I really do that without coming clean about my connection with the Feds—past and present?
And then there was the other part of me that was still angry that he’d derailed my life for these last four years. We’d had plans together...we’d wanted to get married...wanted to start a family. But all that got flushed down the toilet the moment Dane cheated on me.
And it still fucking hurt, damn him.
Tears stung my eyes—and of course, Dane immediately noticed, pulling me into his arms, and holding me to him. And fuck it—I let him, knowing he was the only one who could truly heal me.
I didn’t know what sort of shift had just occurred inside me, but whatever it was unleashed the floodgates, so there was no holding back the tears. And though Dane held me, running a soothing hand down my back as he rested his cheek atop my head, he didn’t burden me with questions about what was bothering me. He didn’t need to.
I hated showing him how vulnerable I was when it came to how he made me feel, but it didn’t matter. He already knew me too well—just like I knew him.
As if mourning all that had been lost between us, I cried myself dry of tears, until it felt like I was nothing but a hollow shell. And in the end, he was still there, holding me in his arms and murmuring comforting words into my hair as peace finally settled over my soul.
By the time I found the wherewithal to sit up out of his arms, I was sure I looked like hell warmed over. Yet he simply cupped my face in his hands and kissed the tears from my cheeks before nuzzling me. And then his lips were catching mine in a slow but passionate kiss that felt like he’d poured his very heart into it.
It was as if our time apart evaporated, along with the heartache he’d put me through, and I found myself kissing him back, throwing all caution to the wind, desperate for him to make me whole again. Our kiss deepened, my arms slipping around his neck as he pulled me into his lap, so I now found myself straddling his cock. My hips rocked against his length in search of some relief, the feeling only intensifying when he gripped my hips and pulled me down to him, increasing the amount of pressure on my clit and his cock.
Fuck. It’d been so long. Four years to be exact, since I hadn’t slept with anyone else in the time we’d been apart. And though a part of me was still worried he’d break my heart again, it was a chance I had to take, since I’d been miserable for far too long, and didn’t think I could go on without him.
Either way, there was no hope of me putting a stop to this now, not when our kiss deepened and he lifted me up into his arms. He carried me to his bedroom, as I nipped at his ear and neck, refusing to overthink this. This was no longer about right or wrong, smart or stupid. It was about a primal hunger that needed to be satiated so that I could maybe get on with my life.
And maybe this was exactly what I needed—to be with him one last time so that I could finally walk away.