Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan

Author:Juno Rushdan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Vienna, Virginia

9:56 p.m. EDT

Holding a bag of Chinese takeout, Cole picked the lock to Maddox’s door. The pungent smell of shrimp lo mein and Peking duck prodded him to hurry. Fifteen seconds.

Yep, he was just that good. In truth, it was his Z-wave gadget doing the work, but after the shitty day they’d had, he was taking the credit.

He set out the containers of food in the kitchen and rummaged for a wine bottle opener. Bingo. Of course she had one. He opened a robust bottle of Brunello and searched for a decanter. Score, yet again.

Candles strategically placed in the living room sat untouched, collecting dust and purely decorative, but he lit them anyway. He slipped off his jacket and holster, aching to scrub off the grunge from the day.

Using her shower would smack of presumption. But the wretched smell of his body offended his own nose, and the last thing he wanted was to turn her stomach during dinner.

She might kick him out, had every right to, but he sensed she needed him and maybe he needed her too. Exactly what for, he wasn’t certain.

When she disappeared on the train with Novak, he’d almost lost his mind. The thought of that creepy animal hurting her or—good God—worse had filled him with a terrifying sense of loss and an overwhelming need to hurt the Ghost.

Swallowing his taste for violence, he kicked off his boots and stripped.

Being in this grinder of danger and the revolving close brush with evil had a way of clarifying one’s priorities. He didn’t come to Maddox’s place for sex, though a physical release after a hard day would be nice, and she was the only lover who kept pace with his appetites and satisfied him on a level that’d have him sounding like a Hallmark card if he examined it deeper.

Years ago, she’d always been eager to have him, to experiment sexually, which had just been the icing. The cake had been her generous heart and sense of adventure, how she didn’t care he came from dirty money and made him feel as if he could walk on water when she looked at him with that sparkle of awe in her eyes.

And she had really loved him, so much it’d left him breathless.

There was no way back for him and Maddox. Might not be a way forward either.

All he knew was to heal their wounds, they needed the salve of remembering what it was like to belong to each other. They’d found that for a dazzling moment in the parking lot. The intensity of it, the searing heat, the soul-deep comfort had startled him senseless.

They needed that feeling again, a sense of connection, but this time without the physical. She had a tough, grueling job and after such a rough day, he wanted to show her tenderness and the warmth of being there at her disposal.

To give her whatever she needed—a decent meal, a glass of wine, a hug, an understanding ear to listen to her frustration over losing Novak, even space and some alone time.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.