“Do you have any idea how much I’ve thought about you this last year, wishing I could get my hands on you? Wishing I knew how it felt to kiss you?”
Ava’s lips were swollen, and he saw that her cheek had turned the prettiest shade of pink where his whiskers had rubbed against it. Her eyes were downcast, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“Look at me,” he said, and she did. “Have you thought about me, Ava?”
She took a deep breath and bit her lip. “Tabon, you can’t just do this.”
“I can’t ask if you’ve thought about me?”
“No, I mean…just because Quinn ‘put us together,’ doesn’t mean I’m your date. You can’t just kiss me, or drag me away from the wedding, or... kiss me.” Ava looked behind her, making sure no one was paying attention to her raised voice.
Her eyes bored into his, and he met her gaze, waiting for her to say more.
“I’m the one that can’t do this,” she finally said.
“Can’t do what?”
“I can’t have sex with you, Razor, and just walk away tomorrow. I’m not a hook-up kind of girl—”
“You know you’re feeling the same thing I am.”
“No,” she said, pushing away from him. “I’m sorry if I misled you or gave you the impression that I was yours for the taking. I’m not. I had too much to drink that day, and…other things were on my mind. If you want to know the truth, I barely remember meeting you—”
He grasped her nape and covered her mouth again with his, wanting to force her lips apart with the tip of his tongue. Instead, he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you earlier when I switched our seats. I thought…hell, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I spent four years with a man who humiliated me every chance he got, and I vowed I would never allow anyone to do that to me again.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Razor,” she said as she walked away.
The thing he hated most, of everything she’d said, was that she’d called him Razor. No one called him Tabon, and that was his choice. But when she did, it felt right. Why did he love the way it sounded on her lips?
5
“Gentlemen,” said Doc, approaching him and Gunner later when the wedding reception was winding down. “Come with me.”
They followed Doc and Merrigan to the cottage they’d booked at the resort, and saw Striker standing right outside.
“I’m sorry about the timing, but this couldn’t wait.”
Once inside and seated, Striker laid it out for them.
“Ava McNamara is a witness in the upcoming trial of her former boyfriend.”
Razor’s head spun. He’d known it was Ava who would be needing their protection. “What did he do?” he asked.
“A whole slew of crimes, but we’ve got him for insider trading, money laundering, and investment fraud.”
“Wait a minute. All of this is under FBI jurisdiction,” said Gunner. “Why is the agency involved?”
“There are a couple of reasons. First, we believe someone from the FBI is in on it. Secondly, we have evidence that the scope of the organization he works for is far-reaching.”
“Meaning what, exactly?” Razor asked.
“Internationally.”