Savage Scheme (5 page)

Nick took in his appearance before he gestured toward the bar where he knew a glass of finely aged Scotch sat. Shaking his head, he followed his friend out onto the terrace where they stood and stared silently out onto the vineyard.

“Logan wants you in on the mission,” Nate told him softly, interrupting the quiet of the night. He smiled at his friend’s snort.

“Do I have a choice? Hell, you’re already here.”

“And after the mission?” he asked then, even knowing Nick would have his back no matter what lifetime Nate found himself in.

“I guess I could take a vacation from the vineyard,” he answered finally. It was Nate’s turn to snort. They both knew taking any mission with Savage Security was anything but a vacation. “And apparently my staff agrees.” Nate chuckled. He knew Nick ran a tight ship and he didn’t blame his staff for wanting to get rid of him for a while. Maybe a mission would ease some of the tension he saw in his friend. “Got anything we can use yet?”

“Not yet,” he admitted. A heavy moment of silence filled the air between them as Nate didn’t offer any further information.

“It may be none of my business...”

“It probably isn’t so I suggest you keep it to yourself,” Nate interrupted with a growl.

“Are you getting too close to the girl?” Nick forged on, ignoring the latent threat.

“I’m doing what I have to do to get the information we need.” He didn’t need to look at Nick to see that his eyebrows were raised in disbelief, maybe even a little surprise at the distant edge to his voice.

“You sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Have you ever doubted me before?” Nate didn’t need him to answer. He and Nick had an extensive history. One that included some of the worst times in both of their lives, one that would test any relationship yet he knew there was an unspoken, unbreakable trust that lay between them.

“No, can’t say that I have,” he admitted, resigned. “But I’ve also never seen you act like a virginal teenage boy with his first crush before either. Not even with Angela.” Nate shot him a hard stare at the use of his ex’s name.

“I was told to retrieve information no matter the cost. If that means getting her into my bed to get it, you’re damn right I’m going to do just that.”

***

Nick leaned against the railing and watched as Nate stormed off before turning his gaze out over his vineyard. He felt a smile hovering at the corners of his mouth. He didn’t believe a damn thing Nate said, even knowing his friend was desperately trying to convince himself of every lie he just spat out. He had seen them together in the orchard, the way Nate responded to her and her to him. He didn’t believe for a second that she was the mousy, plain woman that was described in her background check. What he did know was that his friend was in shit deep trouble with that one. And he couldn’t wait to watch him fall ass over heart - if he wasn’t there already. Chuckling to himself he walked back toward his bedroom and the willing woman waiting for him.

“What are you laughing about,” she asked as he sauntered through the door, unbuttoning his shirt. Staring at her with predatory eyes he didn’t bother to answer her question.

“What are you still doing with clothes on?”

Libby lay awake, her head still a little fuzzy from the amount of wine she had consumed. Turning to the empty side of the bed she stared at the clock. Nate had escaped the bed and had been gone for half an hour. She hated the doubts that were starting to creep into her head. They were her own stupid insecurities and she hated that at times like these they seemed to rule the sane part of her mind. Nate had just given her the best sex she’d ever had and as soon as he thought she was asleep he’d left her. Cold and alone.

She turned toward the sound of the bedroom door opening, staring at the man who prodded quietly toward her not wanting to disturb the night. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said, his voice low and laced with want.

“I thought you might have left me,” she admitted quietly. She had tried to sound teasing, but she knew it sounded exactly like what it was - vulnerability.

“Not a fucking chance.” He crawled in beside her pulling her into his side and it was the swamping relief that stole her breath for a short moment before she pulled her control around her. “I just wanted to tell Nick we were staying.” She nodded her head and snuggled closer into his warmth. Tightening his arm around her, his fingers found her hair easing the tension that was starting to coil throughout her body. “Talk to me,” he probed gently.

“About what?” she asked carefully.

“About the memories that you’re trying to push away right now.”

She had never met anyone that made her feel more comfortable than Nate, even in the short time they had known each other. It was the way he seemed to know her. He made her want to talk to him instead of freezing up and desperately searching for a new subject. She let out a long sigh, a part of her wanting to just give in and tell him. “I feel stupid even thinking that you weren’t going to come back. It’s just, what I’m used to I guess.

“My mom died when I was very young, I don’t even remember her really. I have one picture of her that I found and kept it for myself. She was beautiful, when you think of an angel, I swear her image is the definition of one. I tell myself she’s the one who gets me through life.” She had to laugh, realizing how ridiculous it sounded out loud. “And my father, well he wasn’t around very much. He didn’t even want me, my mom got pregnant and she refused to give me up. He was never a warm and fuzzy family man. My father’s sole priority is his business. It always has been and always will be. He’s not a nice man and even calling him my father now leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I guess I was lucky that he was never that interested in me even as a kid. I had bodyguards as my friends but even then they rarely paid attention to me other than to make sure I was being a good girl and abiding by house rules.”

“Sounds like a pretty lonely childhood.” She listened to his words carefully and appreciated the fact that she heard no pity in them. Pity was one thing she didn’t think she could handle from Nate. Her childhood had made her who she was and no matter how much hatred she had in her heart for a man she hadn’t seen in years, the one thing she didn’t want or need was pity. From anyone, especially the man she currently lay naked against.

“I’m not gonna lie. It was. But eventually I had Randall.” She smiled at the memories of the man who ended up saving her life and shaping her into one of what he called his best-trained soldiers. “He was my father’s right-hand man, his head of security. He ended up becoming my personal shadow at my father’s request. I guess he didn’t trust me even from a young age. But it was the best thing that man could have done for me. Randall actually paid attention to me, gave me a life, an actual childhood. Even if it wasn’t a traditional one, he gave me a purpose. James West, like I said, he isn’t a very nice man. All he sees is money and he will achieve it no matter what the cost, it doesn’t matter how disgusting and betraying.” Her words came out hard and bitter as she felt the bile rising in her throat at knowing exactly the man whose DNA she carried. She felt Nate’s calm wrap around her, his hands still playing gently in her hair.

“How did your mom pass away?”

“She drove her car off the side of a cliff. I was only two at the time. It was ruled as an accident but now I’m not so sure. From what I know of her she was such a kind woman, there is no logical reason for her death. The day was clear as were the roads. No one else saw what happened when there should have been at least one witness. I don’t know, I guess I’ll never know what really happened. I wish I could remember her. I try sometimes, to remember her smile or her smell, but I was too young. My father never remarried. I don’t even remember him ever bringing another woman home.” She’d never actually considered that fact before. Her father wasn’t home that often, usually attending business meetings, it was an odd night when he was home for dinner.  

“Do you still speak to your father?” The question was a fair one, she knew. But she had never spoken to anyone about James, hell, that was the most she’d ever divulged about her mother. She knew deep in her heart that her mother was murdered. She was ripped out of her life for reasons Libby would never know. But she did know who stole her mother from her. The man she carried only hatred for - James West.

“No. I haven’t seen him in years. Randall was able to take me away from him. You have to understand, my father, he’s a dangerous man who has even more dangerous friends. I don’t associate myself with him or anyone he knows. I don’t even know where he is.” And that was the first lie she told Nate. She knew exactly where her father was - overlooking the turquoise ocean view of his Barbadian mansion. It wasn’t that she had kept in contact with her father, on the contrary, if she never spoke to or saw the man again it wouldn’t be soon enough. He was evil through and through. But it was Randall that taught her to know exactly where he was, because not only was he the devil in disguise, he was a sneaky bastard, one that Randall and even she knew would be coming for her. It hadn’t happened yet, but it would. And Randall had taught her to be prepared.  

“Randall sounds like a great man. Where is he now?” It was the wrong question. She shouldn’t have been talking about any of this, she was so stupid. Randall had been the one to tell her to keep her secrets to herself, they could get her into trouble if she didn’t. The air around them changed and she knew it was because of her. Her entire body tensed as memories from the past assaulted her, tearing apart the heart she’d only ever let one man, one friend, the only father figure she knew touch.

“He’s dead.” And it was her fault. She carried the burden of his death, it wrapped around her like a comfortable blanket and she deserved it, all of it. Randall refused to tell James where she had run away to and he paid for it with his life. Blinking away the tears in her eyes she knew she needed to change the subject. Climbing on top of Nate, she figured distraction was the best possible way.

“Libby,” he started, obviously wanting her to keep going.

“I’m done talking for tonight, Nate.” She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. She felt his hesitation at first and she knew it was out of compassion, that he wanted to make sure she was okay. Well, she intended to show him exactly how okay she was. She revelled in the fact that his hesitation didn’t last for very long as his fingers tightened in her hair and he pulled her lips forcibly against his own. It was the heat of his groan that wrapped around her now, replacing the cold she felt moments before. She distantly heard him tear open a condom and slip it over himself before he lifted her and pulled her slowly and deliciously over top of him. She allowed herself to be swept away in it all. In the way only Nate seemed to be able to make everything disappear but him, them and whatever magnetism pulled them together.

Libby woke to the rising sun streaming through the window. She wanted to celebrate the small twinges of pain she felt from being perfectly loved last night. Nate’s arms tightened around her and she lay still not wanting to wake him. She watched his face, so serene and peaceful in sleep, no hard lines or the cold she saw creeping into his eyes when he’d come back to her last night. She wondered what had put it there, or rather who. He was good at masking it, the emotionless hardened man she recognized residing within him. She had seen it too many times in her life. Hell, she saw it sometimes when she looked in the mirror. Tentatively she reached up and let her palm cup his cheek, his stubble tickling her hand. He had been amazing the day before. She couldn’t remember when she had ever felt so wanted, so cherished. He made her feel wanton, free. He didn’t judge her when she told him about her past yet as she lay still, listening to his even breaths, she realized she didn’t even know his last name. She knew nothing about Nate other than the fact that he was in security, his friend Nick owned a vineyard and he was amazing in bed. She’d lost track of how many times he made her come as one orgasm rolled into the next, her head still dizzy with the aftermath. Lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize he had woken until she felt the press of his lips against the inside of her palm.

“Good morning gorgeous.” His voice was still gravelly from sleep making her smile.

“Morning,” she whispered. Neither of them moved as they stared, smiling at each other in the morning light. There was something so vulnerable, so real about the moment. There was no day ahead of them, no thoughts about needing to escape their little bubble of paradise, only this. And just as she was about to lean up and kiss him, her stomach rumbled, breaking the spell. Nate laughed as she rested her forehead against his chest and groaned in frustration.

“Come on, let’s get you some food. But not before you give me that kiss.” She grinned against his skin right before she sank her teeth playfully into his chest. He slapped her ass, the sting causing her to cry out before he gripped her chin and brought his lips to meet hers in one of the sweetest kisses she had ever received. “Don’t dish it if you can’t take it, baby.” She nipped at his bottom lip to show him just how ready and willing she was to take it. “Little wildcat,” he growled. “You’re lucky I want you fed more than I want to teach you a lesson right now. But after breakfast, all bets are off.”

Libby pushed herself off him and out of the bed. Nate didn’t make her feel uncomfortable about her nudity as she felt his eyes like a heated caress taking in all of her. “Looking forward to it,” she told him, raising an eyebrow. She pulled on the robe that hung off the back of the door and tossed the other his way. She turned to him, the question hovering on her lips. He seemed to sense her hesitancy.

“What is it, Lib? Just ask.” His knowing smile made her fight her own.

“I don’t know your last name. I guess you don’t know mine either,” she said with realization. “West. That’s my last name.”

“Boyle,” he answered after a moment. She saw something flash through his eyes before he quickly recovered with a panty dropping smirk. She immediately wanted to forget breakfast.