Page 60 of These White Lies
Brady tosses my sex toy onto the bed, forgotten, and reaches for me. “Shit. I’m sorry. I forgot?—”
“My fault,” I give him a weak smile.
“Let me check your stitches.” He reaches for the hem of the sweatshirt, and I bat them away.
“I’m fi?—”
Brady scowls.
“Good. I’m good, I promise. It’s already better,” I lie, but he looks so concerned, I’m not adding to his guilt.
I meant what I told Sera earlier. It was my fault that I got injured. I should have listened to him and his instructions instead of letting pride overrule my common sense.
“ETA, Boss? Rhodes’s deep voice sounds from the hall.
“Five minutes,” I answer for Brady. “My suitcases are in the closet under the stairs. Can you bring them up?”
He frowns. “Just grab what’s essential.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back here.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. Not at the thought of being away from the house, but because I don’t know how long it will be until I have my life back.
Brady’s gaze bounces between my eyes, and then he nods, calling “five minutes,” over his shoulder as he heads for the stairs.
It ends up taking ten, but to his and his team’s credit, they don’t rush me or look annoyed, and soon I’m being hustled back across the grass. Brady is so close I can feel his chest brushing against my body. The heat emanating from him is incredible, and I want him to put his arms around me again.
Trust me to develop an inappropriate and intense attraction during the literal worst time in my life.
My eyes catch Brady’s gaze just before he closes my door. I don’t know what the expression is on my face, but he looks at me with a quizzical look for a minute, then an answering heat dilates his eyes. He shakes his head hard and shuts the door.
Oh, shit. I amdefinitelycatching feelings.
When we get back to Elite, Brady carries my bags up to my room.
“I need to grab some stuff from my place,” he explains, and I feel my smile slip. “It’ll be an hour, an hour and a half at most. Traffic should be light at this hour.”
“Right.” I force my lips to lift farther, but the idea of him leaving is unsettling.
“Rhodes and Vincent are downstairs,” he assures me. “They won’t let anything happen to you. Sera is here, too, in case you need something.”
“Are you saying your sister would let something happen to me? Maybedosomething to me?” I tease, trying to shake my unease.
“My sister?—”
“I was joking, Brady. Relax. She’s your sister, I trust her.” It’s a stretch, but the look on his face tells me it’s what he wants to hear.
“Sera is extremely competent, but she’s never done protection work. Back when it was just me and her, she might join me if I needed a woman, but mostly she’s always handled research and background. She’s not trained to…” His words trail off.
“Kill people?” I joke, but Brady doesn’t match my smile. “Oh, shit. Really?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.” He cocks his head and smirks. “Still want to ask that question?”
I don’t even hesitate and nod eagerly. “Absolutely.”
He throws his head back and laughs, his chest heaving. “You never cease to surprise me, Firefly.”
He’s still laughing when he reaches the door, but panic grabs at me. “Hey, Brady?”
