13
“Boss.”
Austin jerked awake. For a split second, he didn’t know where he was.
“Are you sick?”
He looked at Decker, standing in the doorway, fully dressed in military gear.
Reality hit Austin all at once—Turks and Caicos, Titus Security, training day.
Everly.
“Boss?”
“Yeah.” He started to sit up and realized he was naked, so he propped himself up on his elbows. “Everything okay?”
“That’s my question.” Decker was frowning at him. Austin didn’t blame him. He never overslept. Never missed an appointment.
“I’m fine. Just… What time is it?”
“Seven forty-five.”
“Shit.” He rubbed his eyes.
“The guys are ready to go.”
Jesus Christ. He wasn’t acting much like a leader today. “Okay. I’ll be down in five.”
“Meet you at the vehicles.”
“Wait,” he called after Decker as his brain started turning again. “Give me a security update.”
“No sign of the other two guys. We swept town last night. Eric hasn’t turned up, and Ramon is still unconscious. We’re still working on a connection to Seaver. It’s not direct. I’ve assessed other threats, but they’re tangential and highly unlikely. I have two guys staying here with the girls, and Cody’s going to camp here today as well. Everly’s completed asset map is in your email.”
Austin sank back into the bed. “Thanks, Deck.”
When Decker retreated from the bedroom, Austin vaulted from bed and tore open the closet, dragging out his fatigues.
But while he dressed, brushed his teeth, and ran wet hands through his hair, his mind tortured him with flashbacks of his night with Everly. The curve of her spine against his chest, the supple flesh of her ass grinding against his groin as she fisted the sheets and pushed back to meet his thrusts. The slap of skin. The silky feel of her hair between his fingers as she took his cock deep into her mouth. Whispered moans. Their threaded fingers and tangled limbs as they’d finally fallen asleep together.
It was no wonder he’d overslept. The woman had seriously altered his reality last night.
Austin’s blood was pumping in all the wrong places as he jogged down the stairs and stepped into the kitchen.
The chef they’d hired was clearing the table. The middle-aged man offered Austin a smile. “I packed your breakfast, sir. You can eat on the way.”
“Thank you.” He glanced out the doors to the patio and the pool. “Do you know where my daughter is?”
“I think she’s on the beach with her nanny, sir.”
Austin jogged past the pool and down the stairs that led to the white sand and the crystalline blue-green waters of the Caribbean beyond. He found Bella and Everly at the waterline, building a sandcastle.
He trudged through the sand in his boots. Ty wandered the beach on the right. Mark on the left, each with an M4 slung over their shoulders. As he approached, Everly looked up. She wore a bikini top and shorts. Her skin was smooth and tanned. Strands of her dark hair had escaped her braid and blew in the breeze.
“I thought you’d be gone by now.” Her tone was all-business as usual, exactly as she’d promised it would be last night.
“Running late,” he told her, crouching beside Bella. “Wanted to say goodbye.”