Protecting Lyndley (12 page)

Lyndley

Every time I looked at this man, I found myself falling further and further for him. The way his hands caressed my skin had me yearning for more. His eyes were piercing straight to my soul, and my heart beat every second just for him. I couldn’t believe that I had put this off and fought against it as hard as I had, because every time he touched me it was pure heaven.

The minute his lips left mine I felt empty. My eyes fluttered open and went wide with amazement. He slowly slipped his tux jacket off
, and then slow and meticulously unbuttoned his shirt. As he reached to undo the last button, I reached out and ran my fingers across his now exposed skin, pushing his shirt over his shoulders and down his well-defined arms letting it fall on the floor by our feet.

I stood back in awe. I had only seen him naked once before, but seeing him far away didn’t do this man justice.
He was absolutely beautiful. It was like his body was carved from marble. My eyes raked down his torso, and then back up to his piercing blue eyes that were still fixated on me. Before I had time to overthink the situation or change my mind, I quickly dropped my hand to his dress pants and undid them. They pooled at his feet, and I stood back as he kicked them towards the door.

I placed my
shaky fingers against his chest, and then let them slowly glide down his entire torso, tracing every muscle before I finally reached out for him. He let out a low moan as I gripped him in my hand. When my eyes came up searching for his, I found him with his eyes closed and his mouth dropped open just a tad. Without hesitation, I took full advantage as I lightly traced his lips with my tongue.

His hands flew up to
the sides of my face, pushing them back through my hair. With a light tug, I melted into him. He wasted no time leading me over to the bed. He whipped back the covers, and then carefully lowered me onto the mattress. He hovered above me, looking directly into my eyes, but never uttered a word. It was an experience I had never felt before. His gaze was intense and the tension in the room was thick with lust and need.

He was positioned at my entrance looking at me waiting for my reassurance, or at least that’s what I assumed. I lifted my legs, wrapping them firmly around his waist and my
arms loosely around his neck. Just in case he was still conflicted, I gently dug my heel into his backside slightly pushing the tip of him inside of me. My body stretched to fit around him as he pushed himself deeper inside. With every movement he let out low moans that were slowly pushing me to the brink.

When I opened my eyes to look at him, he was lovingly staring back at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but his lips covered mine instantly. We moved in unison for what felt like an eternity, and I never wanted it to end. My body was quivering as my walls started to clench around his length. My nails dug into his shoulder blades, and he gently bit down on my cheek as we both fe
ll into ecstasy.

His body pressed down on mine as we both lay there trying to catch our breath, and a small giggle escaped my chest. My hand flew up to my mouth to quickly cover it before he could think I was laughing at him, but it was too late.

“What’s so funny, princess?”

What started out as a small giggle quickly turned
into full-blown hysterics. “I’m so sorry, but you are literally squishing the breath out of me.”

He quickly rolled onto his side, facing me. “I’m sorry.”

I let my laughter die down before I answered him back. “No, it’s totally okay. I was just letting you know.”

“Lyndley, I have to ask you something.”

I turned into his chest, softly pressing my lips against his sweat-ridden skin. “Please don’t. I just want to be in
this
moment for a little bit longer.” He didn’t say another word, just wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to the top of my head. This right here was all I needed anymore.

~~~~~

I woke up a few hours later when the sun came through the window, heating up my still naked frame. Apparently I was more tired than I had thought, because I had fallen asleep bare ass naked and apparently alone. I glanced around the small hotel room, but Ky was nowhere in sight. I quickly pushed myself up off of the bed and tiptoed over to my bag of clothes, grabbing them and heading into the bathroom. More than anything else, I was in desperate need of a shower.

I took my time under the blissfully hot water, not wanting to rush my time alone. Unfortunately, that only lasted for a split second. When I heard the bathroom door open, I was elated to see his face. Part of me was secretly wishing he would join me in the shower, but he didn’t say anything and there was no attempt made on his part. When I stuck my head out of the curtain, he was standing in front of the small sink across from me, brushing his teeth.

“You need to hurry it up. We need to be out of here in the next twenty minutes. The other Marshal is expecting us.”

I
was flabbergasted at the tone of his voice. As much as I wanted to respond to his douchey attitude, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I knew what he was doing, and I wasn’t about to make him feel like a piece of shit too. So I just slipped back behind the curtain and finished washing up. When I shut the water off, I half expected to see him in the bathroom, but he wasn’t and the door was closed.

A few minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom to see him fully dressed and sitting on the bed waiting for me. I didn’t say anything to him and
had no plans to so. I walked over next to his feet and pulled out a clean outfit, and then headed right back into the bathroom. I didn’t come back out until I was damn good and ready. Needless to say, this did not make Ky very happy, but I was done caring at this point. If he was willing to treat me like a one night stand, then I was willing to do exactly the same.

It was a short car ride to where we were going. When we pulled off onto an unpaved road, I knew that we were definitely not staying anywhere close to town. About a mile and a half down the dirt road, we pulled up to a gorgeous farmhouse. The entire house was painted white and had bright red shutters on the side of each and every window. It was breathtaking.

As we neared the house, a man was making his way in our direction. I couldn’t get a clear view of him just yet, but he was extremely tall and wore a cowboy hat. The car came to a stop just short of the house, and the dirt billowed up around us concealing everything in sight for the time being. Once the dust settled, I exited the car and came face to face with a man who challenged Ky in the looks department, and one who had me at a loss for words.

“Hi there. You must be Lyndley?” His tall shirtless frame came into full view and I couldn’t help but swoon.

“Yes.” I looked up into his green eyes and my mouth dropped open ever so slightly. We stood there staring at one another as though we were in some kind of trance. Luckily, he broke the silence between us first.

“I’m Ruger. It’s a pleasure to meet ya, Lyndley.”

I urged myself to respond, but fell short. There was something about the man that stood before me that had my heart racing a million miles a second. It wasn’t until I heard Ky’s voice that I was brought back to reality. I glanced between the two men that looked as though they were about to start a pissing war, and silently laughed to myself. This new life was definitely starting to look up.

Ky

I wasn’t at all prepared for what happened when I woke up with Lyndley in my arms. There was an innocence to her that I instantly felt bad about mistreating, before I had even done so. Our night together was one for the books. I hate to use the word magical and sound cheesy, but that was exactly what it was, magical. Every touch, every feeling, every emotion I felt, felt as though I was feeling them for the very first time in my life.

She captivated me,
leaving every single piece of me hers for the taking. I hadn’t remembered falling asleep, but I woke up feeling far more energized than I had since this whole ordeal began. I made sure to cover her beautiful sleeping figure up before I snuck out to call our new contact and let him know we were on our way. Unfortunately, that phone call would put a damper on the rest of the day.

Ruger and I had known each other for quite some time
, and I knew that the minute Lyndley met him she would be sucked in just like every other girl. He was the complete opposite of me, and that right there put him ahead of the game. While I thought being a standoff asshole was what I needed to be towards Lyndley, I played it all wrong. Now she was going to get a dose of a true cowboy and a true southern gentleman. Man was I fucked.

I let Ruger introduce himself as I gathered our things from the back of the car. Little did I know that the two of them would be in an all out love fest by the time I made my way around to
them. They both stood there staring at one another when I approached. I wasn’t sure how to let them know that I was here, so I just cleared my throat hoping it was enough to get their attention.

“Oh hey, man. How are you?” Of course he had to be nice.

“I’m good. I see you met Lyndley?”

“We were just getting acquainted.” He gla
nced over giving Lyndley a coy smile.

“Awesome. Well, where should I put our things?” I couldn’t bring myself to look over at Lyndley at the moment, because seeing her reaction to Ruger was literally tearing me in two.

“Oh shit, here let me help you with those. Just follow me.” He motioned for both of us to follow, and I grabbed Lyndley’s arm to hold her back for a second.

“Hey, can we talk for a second?”

“I’m not sure there is much to say.” She muttered as she watched Ruger making his way up the front steps.

“Actually, there’s a lot to say.”

“Well maybe you should have said them this morning instead of running off like a scared little girl. I should’ve known better.” She was staring at the ground as she spoke and I knew she was trying to save face in front of me.

“Lyndley,
last night was…”

“ A
mistake, I get it.”

“Wait…what? That’s not what I was going to say.”

“Well I’m not real interested in what you
were
going to say. Let’s just go inside.”

I stood there watching her walk away, knowing that this might be the last time that I would be able to touch her. I had no choice but to give her what she wanted. If she wanted to pretend like last night didn’t happen,
then I was willing to let her do that. I didn’t want to force anything upon her that she obviously didn’t want. I pushed my way past her and made my way inside. I spotted Ruger in the kitchen, and took a second to fill him in on what had been going on.

“Hey, so here’s the update on the situation. The guy that I shot last night was Lorenzo
Gonzalez. He was apparently a hitman for the Nelson brothers. As far as we know he was in contact with Kristy Davis.”

“You mea
n head of FBI headquarters, Davis.”

“As in, that is her father.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah. Lyndley has had a pretty rough night. I’m not sure she has ever seen a
dead man, let alone witness a man getting murdered right by her side. She was quite shaken up, but she seems to be doing better now. Other than that not a whole lot to report. Tom just wants us to keep an eye out for anyone and anything that looks like it could be a threat.”

“Sounds good.”

Ruger wasn’t much for conversation, so I silently excused myself and headed in search of a bathroom.

“Hey, Wakely?”

“Yeah.” I turned.

“What’s her story? Better yet, what’s your guys’ story?”

“You can ask her about
her
story. As far as her and I go, absolutely nothing.” I turned as the front screen door slammed shut and I silently cursed myself for letting her hear what I just said. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“On your left. I’ll take your stuff up to your room.”

“Thanks.” I walked into the bathroom, slamming the door in the process. I took a little bit of extra time trying to overhear any semblance of a conversation that the two of them may have started up. Their voices were a bit muffled, but I definitely heard him ask her if she wanted to see the horses later. Man he was good.

When I emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, I looked around the house for the two of them, but they were gone. I let out an aggravated sigh as I made my way up the small staircase to find my room. As much as I hated myself for what I was doing to Lyndley, maybe it was better this way. In all reality, she deserved far better than what my broken self could provide.

Lyndley

Ruger walked extremely close to me as we made our way over to the stable at the far end of the property. It wasn’t making me too uncomfortable, but it was odd to have another man in such close proximity. After everything that Ky and I had been through lately, I was finding it hard to open up to anybody else, especially a male.

It wasn’t that Ruger wasn’t good looking, because trust me he was definitely something to look at, it was more that I didn’t know if I could
trust him. To top it all off, my heart was at odds with my brain and it was causing me to think about Ky even more. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was desperate for Ky’s attention. So much so, that I was willing to flirt with Ruger just to get a rise out of Ky.

“You okay over there?” Ruger’s voice cut through my internal battle and I couldn’t help but glance over at him with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. So how long have you lived here?” It was far more personal than even Ky and I had been, but a part of me felt like Ruger could if anything, be a friend.

“This farm has actually been in my family for generations, but I didn’t move out here until about two years ago. It was more of a necessity than anything.”

“How so?”

“Well, given the job that I do, it was just easiest to live in the middle of nowhere. Ya know?”

“I suppose.” I giggled as I caught sight of his eyes landing on mine. Maybe I was being too hasty, writing him off so soon. “So…how long have you known Ky?”

“Wakely? Man,
I’ve known him for a few years. He’s a really good guy, messed up past though.”

My head shot up in Ruger’s direction as he spoke the last part. Ky had told me once that his past was complicated, but I never imagined that it was a bad one. Apparently, I was sadly mistaken. I was intrigued to say the least, but I didn’t want to jump straight into questioning. Not only did I not want Ruger to feel used or put on the spot, I also didn’t want Ky to know that I was that interested in his story.

“Well…here we are.” Ruger was propped up against the fence to the stables, staring at me. “You ever ridden?” The way he was looking at me right now, had parts of me reacting against my better judgment and it scared the living hell out of me.

“I used to own a horse when I was little.” I spoke quietly and slowly as his eyes bore h
oles straight through me. I felt crippled under his gaze, but managed to make my way over to one of the horses.

“What kind?”

“An Arabian. My father gave it to me when I was ten. We had to keep him at the stables out in the country, but he made sure to take me to ride at least once a week.” I started getting choked up as I remembered my parents and the life I had lived before I was thrust into this one. I was trying to hold back the onslaught of tears when I felt Ruger’s hand on my arm.

“You okay, darlin’?”

I quickly nodded my head and started making my way back towards the house. “I’m just feeling a little tired. I’ll see ya back at the house in a bit.” I turned back around, trying not to run back to the confines of my room in this new place.

When I opened the screen door I half expected Ky to be waiting impatiently for me, but he was nowhere to be found. I cautiously made my way through the house, keeping a look out for anything suspicious when I felt a hand come down on my shoulder. I instantly jumped out of my skin and turned in the direction of the hand that had just touched me, ready to fight for my life if need be.

“Whoa, killer. Calm down, it’s just me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I smacked Ky across the chest, hard. “Are you fucking serious right now? I literally just had a heart attack.
What the hell is wrong with you?” I shouted before I turned to head upstairs.

Ky’s hand was quick to catch my arm before I could make it too far. “Lyndley, I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I turned to look Ky straight in the face. “It doesn’t even matter. Now please let me go.” His hand instantly dropped my arm, and I could see the hurt my words had just caused flash across his face. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but for some reason the tone of my voice conveyed something completely different. “I’m going to go lay down. Which room is mine?”

“You’re the second room on the left. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

Before I could respond, he was down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. I wanted to run to him and apologize, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. There was still a part of me that was extremely hurt by his actions this morning, and I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take for me to forgive him.

When I got to the room that Ky had said was mine, my jaw dropped open in shock. I hadn’t been aware of it at the time, but Ky had made sure to grab almost all of my things. The closet was full of my
clothes that hung in my other room, the blanket that had brought me comfort during my nights of weakness lay across the bottom of the bed, and my running shoes sat against the bathroom door. A wide smile formed across my lips as the sweet gesture slowly settled in.

As much as I wanted to lie
down, I decided to do something else entirely. Honestly, I was hoping that he would notice and want to come along with me. I pulled on my workout clothes and quickly slipped my socks on and tied my running shoes. I stood and made my way over to the bathroom that was connected to my room, to look myself over in the mirror. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and swiped some mascara across my lashes before I headed downstairs.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs staring into the living room where Ky sat watching
TV. I didn’t want to interrupt his time to himself, but I guess I needed to let him know where I was going. I walked over to the archway and leaned against it. I stood there waiting for him to notice me out of the corner of his eye, but he sat unmoving, wrapped up in whatever show he was watching.

“Hey.” I muttered.

He quickly turned in my direction. “Oh hey. Where ya headed?”

“I was going to go for a run. I’m assuming that you need to come with me?” At least that’s what I was hoping for.

“No, I think you’ll be okay. We’re far enough out in the country. Just make sure you tell Ruger where you’ll be running, seeing as he’s already outside.” Without another word, he turned his attention back to the television.

Was he serious right now? I would’ve thought that he would jump at the chance to be alone with me, but boy was I wrong. “Fine.” I half shouted as I walked out of the room, and then out of the house, slamming the door in the process. I quickly stretched my legs, and then made my way
to where I had left Ruger earlier.

When I approached him, he looked shocked at the fact that I was running. “What are you doin’?” He smiled.

“I’m going to run for a bit. Ky told me to tell you, so you could keep an eye on me.”

“Did he now? Okay, well don’t go too far. Try to stay close to where I can see you, please?”

“You got it. See you in a bit.” We both smiled at one another, and then I took off. I was looking forward to getting lost in my own thoughts. If there was one thing I had learned over the last twenty-four hours, it was to protect my heart more than anything else. At least I learned it now as opposed to later, after Ky had already broken my heart.