Page 92 of Hushed

She wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t have to laugh so hard.

He reached out and pinched her nipple, effectively turning her giggle into a sharp gasp. When he had her attention, he tangled a hand in her hair and tilted her head back for a searing kiss.

Kissing this woman was becoming one of his favorite activities. In fact, his entire list of favorites had been taken over by her.

He’d never met a woman he was willing to completely uproot his life for. But he would do it for her. The thing is, she would never ask.

And somehow that made him want to do it even more. But there was time to think about that later. Right now, he needed to spend the next couple hours before he had to take her to the airport, showing her just how important she was to him.

When they approached the security checkpoint exactly two hours later, there was no doubt about his feelings, and she looked up at him with adoring eyes as he bent to kiss her goodbye.

“Security will be waiting for you as soon as you land. Do as they tell you and don’t argue.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He traced her collarbone with his index finger and thought about what it would be like to put his collar there. Would she be open to it? Submission was still a new concept for her, it might not even be on her radar as something she wanted.

Asking in the shower that day might have just been curiosity on her part.

“Where did your head go?” she asked, reaching up to cup his stubble covered jaw.

“I’m just imagining the future with you,” he said with a wink. “Starting with the immediate future of you getting your ass back here tomorrow night so I can show you off to my friends.”

She grinned and lifted up on her tiptoes, snaking her arms around his neck. “I can’t wait.”

After another kiss, she walked through the checkpoint, and Gage leaned against a pillar, staring at her until she was out of sight.

Being this taken with her was a distraction, but a welcome one he didn’t realize he needed. He hated letting her go, but loved knowing that she would be back with him in twenty-four hours.

As he walked back to his truck in the short-term parking garage, his mind drifted to the night almost fifteen years ago when Reggie made him promise to keep her safe.

“I’m all she has, Gage. What the fuck am I supposed to do with a teenager?”

Gage put a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “You’re going to do what you always do and complete the mission. Right now, that’s getting her through high school and into a good college and being there while she grieves for your parents. And the other guys will be here for you.”

Reggie’s head drooped, and Gage felt sick for him and the loss he’d suffered. “I’m grateful to the entire team. They’ve been great these last two weeks. But I have to be honest. I don’t trust any of them the way I trust you. So, I need you to promise me something.”

A knot formed in Gage’s stomach, but he wasn’t going to let his brother-in-arms down. “Name it,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“If something ever happens to me, I need you to finish the mission, and take care of her. I don’t care if it’s tomorrow or in ten years. Just promise me that I can go to my grave knowing she’ll be cared for.”

The weight of what he was asking hung like a millstone around his neck. But he nodded. “Consider it done. But we all know you’re not going out any time soon. You’re going to die a pervy old man in the nursing home.”

Reggie let out a short laugh. “You might be right. But I still need to make sure she’s taken care of.”

“She will be. Always. You have my word.”

That was the day he’d started funneling cash into Reggie’s bank account to put away for his sister. Gage never dreamed the day would come that he had to live up to his promise to Reggie. Now he couldn’t imagine a world without Kenzie, and in some ways, he had Reggie to thank. How did he enjoy what he’d found without it sounding like he was grateful for his friend’s death?

Chapter 18

Kenzie

“Maggie, I’m on my way up to your apartment now.”

“You got here fast,” the woman said, choking on a sob. “I’m a mess, but I’ll unlock the door.”

She rolled her shoulders as she climbed the stairs to the fourth-floor walk-up that Maggie lived in. It wasn’t in the best part of town, and she would hear about that from Gage later, but he would have to get over it. Her friend needed her.

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