She couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her brother’s body fall. Felt the kick of her gun as the bullet left the chamber. Saw the blood, felt the darkness of death enshroud her.

She’d finally found her brother only to end up killing him to save the man she loved. If it wasn’t so damned painful, she might laugh. She was living her very own Shakespearean tragedy.

What she had told Grey was the truth. Hill Reed, killer and purveyor of all evil things, had told her about her brother that night. Though the manner of Reed’s death had already been planned, she had come close to ending him in a different way. He had been the one to teach her how to shoot. It seemed only right that he should reap the rewards for all those painstaking lessons.

Of course, she hadn’t done anything of the sort. Killing him in that manner would have completely spoiled their cover story. Minutes after Reed’s death, his body had been wrapped and then loaded onto a van, ready to be transported thousands of miles away from Dallas. She also knew she would likely have hesitated at the last minute. If she had, Hill would have sensed that hesitation, and she would be dead instead. Hill Reed had never hesitated when it came to a kill, not even for someone he’d raised as a daughter.

She shifted slightly and felt Grey’s arms tighten around her. She could have lost him. The fact that she had killed her brother to save him was the epitome of irony and the very definition of karma. But just because that was what she’d deserved didn’t make it any less painful.

“Can’t sleep?”

A wave of heat swept through her at Grey’s sleep-gruff voice. No matter what the circumstance, Grey could move her unlike anyone else. She wanted nothing more than to sink into his arms and forget the world.

“Do you think what happened was karma?”

“Don’t, baby. Don’t go there.”

“You have to admit it seems fitting. I took your parents, and now the only family I had left is dead because of—”

“Because you saved my life.”

She rolled over in his arms and buried her face against his warm, hard chest. “Losing you would have destroyed me.”

“Just as losing you would do the same to me.”

She smiled against his skin. “We’re joined at the hip…we two.”

“Like two peas in a pod.”

“Macaroni and cheese.”

“Chicken and dumplings.”

“I’m a vegetarian.”

“Then you can be the dumpling.”

She laughed through the threatening tears. This was an old game. Silly and frivolous, but it brought back good memories. She needed those memories tonight.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

“I’ve been here, waiting for you.”

“You know why I had to leave.”

His hands, large and more lethal than anyone could imagine, were gentle as he pulled her away from his chest. Even though it was still dark, the outline of his body was sizable and should have been forbidding. But it had been a long time since she’d been afraid of Grey. She knew he would never physically hurt her, even in his most fierce anger.

“After Reed’s death, yes, I understood. But you were away too long this time.”

“I didn’t plan to come back.”

“I know that, too. I just don’t know why.”

“Because I—” Articulating something that she barely understood herself was beyond her ability tonight.

“Can we talk about it tomorrow? Can you just hold me tonight?”

“Of course. Whatever you want.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. Grey’s tenderness was a well-hidden secret. Many people knew about his quest for justice and his resolve to protect the innocent. No one other than she knew about his gentleness and his romantic heart. His occasional silly side could have her in stitches. Multifaceted and fascinating, Grey Justice could infuriate her one moment and melt her heart the next.

The tears began to roll, and she didn’t try to stop them. She rarely cried. In Hill Reed’s world, showing vulnerabilities had equated to weakness. She had learned to control her tears. Grey was the only one she had ever allowed to see them.

Sobs built up until, finally, she let go. Burrowing into his warmth, she allowed the sadness to wash over and through her. For almost two years, she had focused on identifying and finding her brother. Just because she didn’t remember him didn’t mean she didn’t want to meet him, get to know him. The moment his eyes, so very much like her own, had met hers, she had seen their emptiness. He had become a soulless creature, like so many of Reed’s students. Could she have reached him? Saved him? She would never know.

“Shh. Irelyn, darling, I’m here. I’m here.” Grey’s soothing voice broke through, and she realized she was saying Grey’s name over and over.

“It’s so silly to cry over something I never even had. I just…” She shook her head. “I wanted to give him the same chance you gave me.”

“I know, baby. I wish you could have, too.”

“Let’s not talk…not tonight.” She put her mouth on his. “Tonight…just tonight. Let’s be us again. Irelyn and Grey. Let the world disappear.”

She could feel the controlled strength in him as he growled, “You’re not too sore? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. You couldn’t.” Her mouth pressed hotly against the warmth of his naked chest. “I’m empty without you.”

Propping himself up on his forearm, he said softly, “Then let’s see what we can do about that.”

Grey started out slow. His body, hard and throbbing, urged him to ignore everything other than the need for release. It had been so damn long, and he had missed her, missed this, so damn much. None of that mattered now. Irelyn was in his arms where she belonged. She needed him, his comfort, his strength. He would give her whatever she desired.

Gently, he kissed her neck, her face, tenderly exploring, always moving. Irelyn was a passionate, generous lover, but tonight he wanted her to lie back and let him give her the pleasure she deserved. He wanted the shadows in her eyes to disappear. He wanted to ease her heartbreak.

When she tried to put her arms around him, he pressed them down. “Let me love you, darling. Close your eyes and relax. Let the world fall away.”

He could feel the tenseness in her as she fought her natural instincts. She wanted to give, participate. He’d gladly accept her participation another time. Tonight was for Irelyn, for her pleasure. He wanted her to take.

Skin, hot and silky soft, fragrant from her shower, tasted sweet against his tongue. He started with a trail of kisses down her long, slender neck, then moved down her body, stopping at succulent sweet spots, nipping and licking. Gasping out breaths of arousal and need, Irelyn arched her body on a cry as he covered her nipple with his mouth and suckled hard. A hundred years, or a thousand, would never be enough time to spend making love to his beautiful, sexy temptress.

“Grey…I need…”

“Shh. I know what you need. Let me give you that.” His mouth moved lower, loving her needy sounds. Her hands caressed his head, her fingers combing through his hair as she urged him on. He circled her belly button with his tongue, whispered against her warm, taut stomach. “I’ve missed you…your taste.”

“Missed you, too. So much.”

When he moved lower, she opened her legs with a welcoming sob. Glorying in her scent, her taste, Grey kissed then gently lapped at her. When he felt the surrender as her body gave itself up to the pleasure, he allowed himself to indulge. Thrust after thrust with his tongue until her body stiffened and she cried out his name.

He held her for a long while afterward, listened to the soft sounds of her sleeping, treasuring her.

Irelyn put herself at risk more times than he cared to remember. Most of the work she did with the Grey Justice Group involved strategic planning and training. She was an invaluable member of the group, and they missed her expertise. But Irelyn never felt like she was doing enough. From firsthand experience, she knew about abuse and neglect, of injustice. She often took it upon herself to right those wrongs, in her own way. He aided her when he could, always supporting her need to do more. But tonight, he could have lost her—that had come home to him more than at any other time. If he had, his life would never have been the same. Did she know that? Did she have any idea what she meant to him?

Exhausted in mind and body, he felt himself finally drifting off and tightened his arms around the warm woman beside him. She was home at last.