“No.” Celia’s voice was quiet, but very firm. “You don’t owe me anything, I promise you that.”
Ava finally let Celia go. Her husband, Mark, who had a habit of staying protectively close to Ava, came to her side.
Celia squared her shoulders and peered at the assembled crowd, and it truly was quite a big group. Sullivan looked at them all, trying to see them from a stranger’s perspective. He and his brothers all looked alike—dark hair, green eyes. Tall and strong. Ava—she had long, dark hair and the McGuire eyes—but she was delicate. Physically, anyway. Inside, the woman had the heart of a lion.
The other women there were all beauties in their own way. Beauties and true forces to be reckoned with. They’d each had a time battling to save the men they loved. Nothing had stopped them in their fight.
Jennifer was sleek and polished. Scarlett was glowing, her hair hanging over her shoulder in a braid. Elizabeth was wearing jeans and a loose T-shirt. Her smile for Celia was warm and welcoming. And Dr. Jamie, the vet who’d married Davis, brushed off her hands—she’d probably been out working with the animals earlier—made her way to Celia and offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Celia took her hand. She still looked a bit overwhelmed, but she didn’t appear ready to bolt. “And it’s nice to finally meet all of you.”
Did the others note that little slip of finally? He was betting some of them did. Celia seemed to catch herself, and then she turned a horrified glance on Sullivan.
He just smiled. “Celia isn’t a client.”
She still had her spine ramrod straight. Her expression had turned back to that calm mask. She had—
“She’s the woman I owe my life to.”
Celia shook her head.
But he nodded. “So, yeah, Ava, the family is in her debt. We all owe her.” He caught Celia’s fingers in his and brought them to his lips. He kissed her knuckles, not caring at all that others would see the move. He wanted them to see it. Celia was his, and he was more than ready to fight for her. “But no one owes her more than I do.”
* * *
“CELIA JAMES IS at the McGuire ranch.” After delivering that message, his caller hung up the phone.
The ranch. He should have known. It seemed oddly fitting, as if the journey had come full circle.
Such a bloody start in that place. He’d thought that he was ending a nightmare when he left that ranch. He hadn’t realized that the McGuire children would be as much of a nuisance as their parents.
They’d just kept digging.
Why hadn’t they let the past die? They could have all moved on. All had a chance at happiness.
But no...they just hadn’t stopped. And the trail of bodies had lengthened as the past was unraveled.
Now more would die. The body count would keep coming. It would be tragic. One of those tales that people read about and shook their heads and muttered sadly about what a loss it had all been.
The attack would need to look like an accident, of course. There would be less suspicion that way. A fire would work. Maybe a few well-placed bombs. He knew all about planting explosives. You just had to set your device in the right spot.
And if he moved carefully enough, he could make that happen. He could create a big blaze that would take out the McGuire ranch...and those unlucky enough to be caught inside.
Maybe some would escape. He’d have to be ready for them. Eventually, he’d get them all. It was time to end this story. Time to stop sweating and worrying that the secrets from his past would be uncovered.
He had a job to do, and he’d do it.
The key...the key would be Celia. Celia James. All the intel he’d gathered on her indicated that she’d always been so good at following orders.
Except when it came to Sullivan McGuire.
But everyone had to have a weakness...and for Celia, Sullivan was that weakness.
So does that mean you’re his weakness, too?
He was about to find out.
Chapter Six
She pretty much ran into the guesthouse. As soon as Sullivan shut the door behind her, Celia exhaled on a rush of relief before she spun to face him.
Sullivan leaned back against the door. “Was it really that bad?”
No, it hadn’t been bad at all. His family had been welcoming. Kind. They’d opened their home and been so grateful as they talked to her.
Now that she considered things more...maybe it had been bad. Maybe it had been hell. Because I wanted to belong there with them. “You made them think we’re still involved.”
He shrugged.
And then he yanked his dark T-shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor.
“Sullivan!” His name emerged way huskier than she’d intended. She swallowed and tried again. “What are you doing?”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Really, baby? I’m stripping.”
He was. His hands were on his belt.
“Why?”
He’d unhooked his belt. “Because I’m going to make love to you.”
Her heart pounded against her chest. “Your family—”
“They’re not going to bother us. I told them you were up for most of the night. A true story, by the way. And that you needed to crash.” He hadn’t lowered the zipper. Not yet. He walked to her, those jeans hugging his lean hips. His six-pack abs tempted her far too much. “You can crash with me.”
She put up her hands and wound up touching his warm, strong muscles.
“You said you wanted me,” he reminded her.
Celia didn’t need that reminder. “I never stopped.” Did he think that just because they’d been miles apart, he hadn’t been in her mind? Her dreams? There had been plenty of fantasies that left her aching for him.
“Baby, I’m pretty sure I’ll go insane if I’m not with you now.” His eyes darkened as he stared at her. “It’s been too long.”
Her breath hitched. “But what happens tomorrow?” Were they just going to walk away after this? One night and then goodbye?
“Whatever you want to happen.” His head bent as he pulled her toward him. His lips feathered over her neck. Right in that spot that she loved. “Anything you want.”
He was what she wanted, and she wouldn’t pretend otherwise. Her hands slid over him, moving across those faint scars, but then she pushed against him. There was something she needed to do.
Instantly, he stilled. “Celia?” His head lifted.
She smiled up at him. “I missed you, Sully.”
His face softened.
She pressed a kiss to the scar near his heart. He sucked in a sharp breath.
“Baby...”
“Did you miss me?” She kissed another scar, moving down his body. She wanted to kiss every wound that he had. She wished she could take away the pain. Make the past better—for them both.
But she couldn’t go back.
Instead, maybe they could go forward, together.
“I missed you more than you’ll ever know.” His words were rough, almost guttural, and the emotion in them had a surge of warmth spreading through her.
She’d never wanted another man the way she desired him.
Sullivan pushed her to the edge—and beyond.
She kissed another scar. Her knees hit the floor before him as she tried to get closer. The scars—there were so many of them and—
“No.” In a flash, he’d lifted her up into his arms. “If you touch me anymore like that, I’m done.” His voice made her shiver. “I can’t go slowly this time. I have to be in you. I need you.” He kissed her as he carried her through the house. Deep and hard and hungry, his mouth took hers. She loved his kiss. Celia ached for him.
In moments, they were in a bedroom. They fought with her clothes as they both tried to toss them away. Then she was in just her bra and panties.
He ditched his shoes and dropped his jeans beside the bed. He stood there for an instant, staring at her.
She certainly looked her fill at him. He was
heavily aroused, a big, hulking form near the bed. His eyes were so very dark now, the green almost completely gone. A faint red stained his cheeks as he stared at her and asked, “How did you become even more beautiful?”
He’d always made her feel beautiful, when they were in bed together and when they weren’t. She lifted her arms toward him.
He touched her, and she was surprised to see that his fingers were shaking. “Sully?”
“I want you so much.” His hand fisted. “I don’t think I can hold on to my control much longer. I should seduce you, caress every inch of you...”
She rose next to him. Kissed his neck. Licked along the line of his racing pulse. Then she bit him, a light, sensual nip. “You can do all of that,” Celia whispered to him, “next time.” Her hands slid over his back. “But this time, I don’t want to wait, either. I just want you.”
He kissed her. Not gently. Not tentatively. Instead, he took her mouth with a wild need that she eagerly met.
His hands slid down her body. He pushed her legs apart and then he was touching her. Sliding his long, broad fingers over her sensitive core. She arched against him even as her nails scraped lightly over his arms. She wasn’t looking for seduction. She wanted the wild ride that came with him. The pleasure that swept her away from everything else.
But he’d bent over her and now he took her breast in his mouth. Licking, kissing, driving her crazy even as his wicked fingers kept working the center of her need. Her muscles locked and her breath heaved out. “Sullivan.”
He moved between her legs. She felt the broad shaft of his arousal pressing against her and she pushed her hips toward him.
“Protection.” His hands locked around her hips. “Baby, I’m sorry, I didn’t bring anything—”
“I’m covered and I’m clean.” She didn’t want to stop.
His gaze held hers. “I’m clean, too.”
Then it would be this way. Flesh to flesh. The way it had been the night they married. The night so much had changed.
Still holding her stare, he sank into her. The pleasure wasn’t easy then. Easy didn’t apply at all. It was as if a volcano went off inside her, and all the desire that she’d held back for so long just exploded. Their bodies moved in perfect tune, a fast, hard rhythm. The bed was squeaking, she was panting and every glide of his body had her wanting more.
Wanting everything.
Deeper. Harder. Faster.
They rolled across the bed and suddenly she was on top of him. His hands locked around her hips as he lifted her, again and again, and the pleasure slammed into her. She could only gasp out his name and hold on tight as the release consumed her.
But Sullivan wasn’t done. His grip was steely on her as he surged into her, deeper and ever stronger. She fell down against his chest, kissing him, and he rolled them across the bed once more, maneuvering so that he was deep, so very deep in her core.
When his release hit him, she felt the warmth deep inside and it set her off again, aftershocks that had her shivering and holding tightly to him.
And when it was over, when her heart wasn’t racing in her chest any longer, she lifted her lashes and stared into his eyes.
Part of her had wondered if it would still be as good with him. Maybe she’d turned their past into something more than it had actually been.
But...no.
It was still as good. No, it was even better.
“I missed you,” Sullivan confessed as he turned to curl his body around hers.
Her hand lifted and pressed over his heart. And I missed you.
How was she supposed to walk away from him again?
* * *
THE SUNLIGHT FELL onto the bed, sliding over the red of Celia’s hair and turning her skin an even warmer gold.
Sullivan studied her for a moment, his gaze slowly trailing over her face. Her eyes were closed, her full lips parted in the faintest of smiles. Part of him—such a big part—wanted to just stay there with her. To forget everything else.
But...
But someone was trying to kill Celia, and that wasn’t going down when he was near. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her temple, and then, moving as quietly as he could, he eased from the bed. Sullivan grabbed his clothes and slipped into the hallway.
He dressed quickly, then left the guesthouse, making sure to secure the place first. The sun seemed too bright outside and every step that he took away from Celia felt wrong.
But he needed to work. He was going to get his brothers to call in every single favor they were owed. Someone had to know something about the person after Celia. Because if it wasn’t a hitter from the agency, then just who wanted her dead?
When he strode back into the main house, he saw that the group had disassembled. Only Mac was still there—Mac and Davis. Mac turned toward him and asked, “Did Celia get settled?”
“Ah, yeah, I got her settled right in.” He cleared his throat. “She’s sleeping now. She didn’t get much sleep last night—not with us spending so much time trying to figure out where that shooter had gone.” After firing at the medical examiner’s office, the fellow had vanished without a trace.
Davis grunted. “Mac was bringing me up to speed on all that happened.”
Sullivan lifted an eyebrow. He was sure Davis had been learning plenty. Sullivan crossed his hands over his chest and studied Davis. Of all the brothers, he’d always thought he, Mac and Davis were the most alike—not big on trust, and far too well acquainted with suspicion. “You think I don’t know what you did?” Sullivan asked him. “I know, because it’s exactly what I would have done, too.”
Davis didn’t move from his position on the couch. He sprawled there, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“You dug into her background, didn’t you?” Sullivan guessed. “Probably as soon as you left us on that bluff.”
Davis rolled one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Is it so wrong that I wanted to know a bit about the woman you married?”
Sullivan’s back teeth ground together. “We don’t need to make her any more of a target, so I’m hoping you used some discretion when you started prying.”
“Monroe Blake.”
The name was familiar, but...
“We were SEALs together, and I happen to know that he joined the Special Activities Division a while back.” Davis inclined his head toward Sullivan while Mac just watched in silence. “I called Monroe because I wanted someone else’s take on your lady. No offense, but you’re not exactly unbiased in this situation.”
“I sure as hell hope you can trust the guy...”
“I saved Monroe’s hide a time or ten, so he owed me.”
Owing someone didn’t equal trust.
“And he saved me,” Davis added quietly. “When he should have just hauled butt and gotten out of there. He walked through the fire for me.” His voice was flat. “So, yes, I trust him.”
Sullivan’s shoulders relaxed a bit at that revelation. “And what did he have to say?”
“A guy named Ronald Worth is in charge of the division.”
Yeah, he already knew that. Ronald had been there during Sullivan’s unfortunate employment. All hell had broken loose, and he’d rather thought that Ronald would go down with the ship. He hadn’t. Obviously, it paid to have friends in high places.
“According to Monroe, Ronald had been grooming your Celia to be his replacement. She was the shining protégée who was supposed to take over when he retired.”
Your Celia. He wanted her to be his again.
“Only Celia seems to be gone out on some kind of mission right now, or at least, that’s what good old Ronald is telling the others.”
“And your contact didn’t have any qualms about sharing this information with you?” Suspicion pushed inside him.
“I didn’t ask for her location. I didn’t ask him to disclose any top-secret intel. I just asked Monroe for his take on your Celia.”
Sullivan waited.
Davis s
tared back at him.
The guy loved to push buttons. Brothers. They could be such damn pains. “And that take was...?” Not that it mattered. He knew Celia.
“Dedicated. Brutally smart. And willing to go to any extremes to protect her team.” Davis scratched his chin. “Though there were some rumors swirling about her when my buddy first joined the division. She’d gone in, risking her life, in order to retrieve an agent suspected of turning on the group. Seems she walked straight into hell.”
Sullivan’s gaze cut to Mac. “I thought she just drove the getaway car,” he gritted out.
Mac shrugged. “Not quite. She was there with me, every step of the way, helping me to battle the men who had you. She’s the one who begged you to live when we found you lying so still in that pit, and Celia was the one—standing right there—who heard you say that she was the enemy. That she couldn’t be trusted and you never wanted to see her again.”
He could hear his own heart pounding. Every breath became painful. “I loved her.” He rasped out those words. They were hard to say because he’d held them in for so long. But it was past time for him to admit the truth.
“I fell for her,” Sullivan continued quietly. “Hard and way too fast. Love wasn’t supposed to be like that. I wasn’t supposed to think about her every moment. I wasn’t supposed to need her that much.”
A frown had pulled Mac’s eyebrows down low.
“I saw Mom and Dad. They loved each other. It wasn’t dark and frantic. Their love was steady. Strong.” The way he’d thought love should be. “I was out of control with Celia. I hardly recognized myself at all. I couldn’t let her go—I wanted to tie her to me in any and every way possible.” It had been that way from the beginning. Hell, he hadn’t even joined the CIA out of some big desire to help his country. He’d done it for her. To be close to Celia.
“So you married her,” Mac murmured.
He nodded. “Trust wasn’t easy for me. Not with our parents’ deaths and then...so much was happening. We weren’t getting anywhere with the investigation and I—” He expelled a rough breath. “There were double agents in our group. I was set up. Taken down. My location was known as soon as I stepped foot off that plane. They knew so much about me...”