The Spy (King’s Security #3)

Chapter 25

25

FIONA

I buried my face against Zeke’s strong chest, my own full of mushy emotions that I hadn’t experienced… well, ever. I simultaneously wanted to protect Zeke from everything while also curling into the fetal position and letting him take on the world for me. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I knew that I never wanted it to end.

Zeke took my hand and led me to his car—the silver hatchback that I hadn’t thought was a good fit for him. Maybe I’d been wrong. I’d believed I knew all sorts of things about Zeke, but in reality, I’d had no idea who he truly was. I did now.

He helped me into the passenger seat and drove us to my apartment building. I had to admit, while I was grateful to be going home, I was a little disappointed not to finally see his place. We’d learned so much about each other over the past few days, but I still didn’t know where he lived. Hopefully, he’d take me there soon. I had a feeling it was his sanctuary .

He parked outside and stayed alert as we took the stairs to my apartment. I unlocked the door and entered hesitantly. It was clear the police had been through. Things weren’t where I’d left them, and a few of the kitchen drawers stood open, their contents emptied onto the counter, but on the whole, it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. Zeke’s fingers threaded through mine and I held onto him as we checked the other rooms. The bathroom had hardly been disturbed, although my bedroom was another story. My drawers were open and had clearly been rifled through. I shivered. I knew the police were technically the good guys, but I still felt the need to wash everything before I wore it again.

I opened the spare room door last. The paintings that had been resting against the wall were laid out on the ground, facing up. I scanned them one by one, then frowned and counted them. There was one missing. It took only a second for me to realize it was the copy of the Degas. My breath caught. Of course the police had found it. The question was, why hadn’t they leaned harder on me because of it? The painting would have given them more ammunition to use against me.

“It was destroyed,” Zeke said softly.

I turned to him, surprised. “What was?”

“The painting of the girls dancing.” He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “The police never even saw it.”

The breath gusted out of me. “Thank you.”

“You don’t mind?”

“No.” I kissed him chastely. “I’m just relieved I don’t have to worry about it.”

He shrugged. “It was a potential problem, so I took care of it.” He grinned roguishly. “That’s kind of what I do, Fifi.”

I groaned. “Please never call me that again.”

“It’s cute,” he said.

“It makes me sound like a poodle. ”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. I shot him a look. We both knew he couldn’t deny it.

“I need to shower,” I said. I hadn’t showered for nearly two days now, and during that time, I’d worked up plenty of nervous sweat.

“You do that, and I’ll get you a drink,” Zeke said. “Wine?”

“Or…” I leaned into his embrace. “You could join me.”

He looped his arms around me. “I’m not going to say no to an invitation like that.”

“I’m too tired for sex,” I warned, not wanting to get his hopes up.

“I know.” He didn’t seem to care. “I just want to feel you against me, skin to skin.”

I swooned a little but tried not to let it show. His ego didn’t need any fuel. I returned to the bedroom and took a fluffy robe from the closet. I hung it over the hook on the back of the bathroom door, turned on the shower, and shed my clothes on the tiled floor. Once steam was rising, I stepped under the water and closed my eyes, enjoying the sense of all the grime of the past two days washing off my skin. I heard movement behind me, and a bare chest pressed against my back. Zeke pulled me into the shelter of his body, and I melted against him, finally able to fully relax.

He kissed the side of my neck, spending extra time behind my ear, the tickle of his facial hair making me shiver. He reached for the body wash and pumped it into his hand, then, gently, he started to wash my back. My eyes prickled with emotion as he took his time rubbing the knots between my shoulder blades and tracing the indentations on either side of my spine. Nobody had ever made me feel so beautiful or so cherished.

When he was done with my back, he turned me to face him and kissed me tenderly before repeating the process on my front. He lingered over me as if he was getting as much enjoyment from the simple act of touching me as I was. By the time he finished, I was languid and mellow. I filled my palm with body wash and returned the favor, working my fingers over each of his pecs, the muscles of his abdomen, and his strong shoulders. His gaze was intense as it followed my every movement, but it wasn’t sexual. It was as if he simply couldn’t bear to look away from me.

We stayed beneath the water until it started to run cold, and then dried ourselves. My limbs were heavy as I donned the robe and we headed to the bedroom.

“Stay?” I asked, repeating my earlier question.

His lips curved. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

My insides were warm as I removed the robe and got under the covers. Zeke joined me, wrapping himself around me from behind and nuzzling the back of my neck. His hand rested on my stomach and I could hear the soft whisper of his breath. My mind was fuzzy with pleasure, and I was so blissed out from our shower together and from being held in a way I’d only ever dreamed of that I fell asleep quickly.

As I drifted into dreams, I could have sworn I heard him murmur, “I love you, Fiona Ryan.”

FIONA

This time, when I woke, Zeke was still spooning me. A smile stole across my face. Who would have ever guessed that the badass super-spy was a secret snuggler? I pressed back against him, enjoying the heat of his body and the peaceful rhythm of his breaths. And was that an erection ?

“Stop moving,” Zeke grumbled. “You’re too sexy. My poor cock can only take so much.”

My smile widened. Was he utterly ridiculous? Yes. But I loved it.

I wiggled against him slowly and purposefully. “All right, woman,” he growled. “You asked for it.”

He rolled me over and pinned me beneath him. I beamed up, not in the slightest bit concerned about dealing with whatever consequences he had in mind.

An hour later and freshly showered, we made breakfast together. I’d need to make a run to the shop since I didn’t have much here, but at least the coffee was divine. As was the way Zeke smiled across the kitchen counter at me, as if we’d been doing this forever. An ache of longing filled my chest. I wanted that with him so badly. Years of waking up and making sweet morning love, followed by breakfast and tackling the day together. It felt good to have someone on my team. Someone to laugh with, and who I knew would tease me mercilessly when the opportunity arose but would also be my staunchest, most stalwart defender.

“Are you going sappy on me?” he asked, the soft look in his eyes telling me that I wasn’t the only one affected by this.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t call him out on it.

When we walked into the office soon after, I wasn’t surprised by the attention I received. I’d been expecting it. But I hadn’t expected the way Stephanie from the front desk ran across the foyer as soon as we left the elevator and hugged me tightly, or the way nearly every person we passed stopped to let me know they were happy for me—or to express outrage and disbelief at what I’d been through. My smile grew steadily as we made our way closer to my desk outside Ronan’s office. I’d thought he’d be waiting, so I frowned when I had to knock on his office door.

“Come in! ”

I opened the door and peeked in. My jaw dropped. The conference table was covered with food, and people were squeezed into every corner of the room. I spotted Willow and Sage near the front, right before Sage launched herself at me and wrapped me in an embrace. Willow joined her.

“We’re so glad you’re okay,” Sage said.

“Thank you,” I choked out, hardly able to speak past the emotion lodged in my throat. My vision blurred as I looked around, seeing Kade standing behind Sage, Ronan near his desk, and each member of the team who’d been our backup squeezed into the space—many of them already munching on snacks.

My gaze fell on Terry, one of the guys on Kade’s team. He was leaning against the wall, one arm looped through a crutch, with a moon boot on his foot. “What happened?”

He winced. “I had a disagreement with a car.”

I gasped. “I’m so sorry!”

Kade had mentioned someone being hit, but he’d said the injuries were minor, so I hadn’t given it much thought.

“It’s just a sprain.” Terry grinned. “It means I get to sit on my ass for a couple of weeks while it heals.”

“Let me know if you need any help.”

“I will.” He smiled, his teeth white against his darker skin.

“But if you just want someone to play nurse, find your own woman,” Zeke warned. “This one is taken.”

“Ooh.”

I didn’t hear who said it, but several faces turned toward Ronan—no doubt to see how he’d react to his assistant dating his business partner.

He sighed. “I’m with an employee myself, so I don’t know what kind of reaction you guys expected of me.”

There was scattered laughter and the tension lifted.

I did the rounds, talking to each person who’d been kind enough to be here for me, and exchanging hugs with a few of them. I thanked everyone who’d helped and indulged in a slice of delicious cake that Kade’s mom had made. At one point, someone handed me a glass of sparkling wine, and I sipped, enjoying the fizz and tang. Once the office had emptied of everyone other than the directors and their partners, I flopped onto a chair.

“Thank you all,” I said. “This was really lovely.”

Willow grinned. “It isn’t every day you’re cleared of being an art thief.”

I snorted. “Thank God for that.”

If no one ever suspected me of as much as stealing the last pastry in the box ever again, I’d be happy.

“I have something for you.” Sage passed me an item wrapped in tissue paper.

I weighed it in my hand. It was heavier than it looked. Carefully, I removed the layers of tissue. Beneath it lay a translucent white crystal shaped and polished to look like a love heart. It was just the right size to sit in the center of my palm.

“It’s selenite,” Sage explained. “It’s a purifying crystal. It’ll help you clear out any lingering negative energy.”

I smiled. It was just such a her gift. “It’s perfect.”

She sent me a sweet smile.

I cleared my throat. “Thank you all for going to bat for me. You have no idea how much it means to know you were all on my side.” I lowered my gaze to my hands so I wouldn’t tear up, but the sight of that beautiful clear heart made my lip wobble. “This could have been a total nightmare. I mean, as it was, it wasn’t great, but without you, I’d have been lost.”

“We’re just glad we were able to help,” Ronan said gruffly.

“You did more than that.” The fact that they’d been there with me through thick and thin meant more than words could say.

I felt an arm loop around me and I turned into Zeke’s embrace.

Kade chuckled. “I have to say, I never thought I’d see the day that happened.”

I laughed, the heaviness I’d felt dissipating. “Me neither.” I pressed a kiss to Zeke’s cheek. “I was blind about what was right in front of me.”

“But now you see what a catch I am?” Zeke teased.

I pulled away and smoothed my hair into place. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

Then I wandered through the office door over to my desk, from where I had a clear line of sight to the others. I sat and switched on my computer.

“Fiona.” Ronan’s tone was wary. “You know we don’t expect you to work today, right?”

“I want to.” Being back here felt right. As if everything was finally right with the universe again. The phone rang, and I picked it up. “King’s Security. This is Fiona.”