The Art of You

Manhattan, New York

We’d been at our security office in Chelsea for about an hour, waiting to meet Adelina before heading to JFK, and I’d managed to keep myself busy with chasing a few leads while wondering where in the world Hudson had gone off to after we’d arrived.

Thankfully, our security office wasn’t known to the public the way our other family business was, so when we arrived at four o’clock, we hadn’t been greeted by the media or paparazzi. They’d definitely tried reaching out to us on every single phone line and email address they’d been able to track down. All calls and messages ignored.

I pushed away from my desk, set aside my blue-light glasses, then decided to search out Alessandro and see if he’d had any luck gathering information while we awaited our flight to Spain.

And damn. Our entire family needed to learn to knock (and lock doors). Myself included. Because when I swung open his office door, I had to cover my eyes. “Oops, sorry,” I blurted, catching him in the middle of something, and it wasn’t research.

Callie was on his desk, legs wrapped around him, her cowgirl boots at his back, and yup . . . not the sight I needed to see. Now I knew how Constantine felt.

With his back to me, and thankfully his shirt was on and covering his ass since his pants were around his ankles, he tossed his hand in the air, waving me away.

Don’t have to tell me twice. I reached around and twisted the lock before closing the door so no one else accidentally walked in on whatever was about to happen on that desk.

Guess my brother wanted a quickie with his wife before we left for Spain. I knew it killed him to leave her, but he wouldn’t risk taking her on an operation out of the country. Too many unknown variables. She’d be staying with my parents on Long Island and would be heavily protected.

Callie wasn’t part of the security team, but dammit, I was. Despite some pushback from my brothers in the Hamptons after Hudson shared the Spain news, I won four to one in a vote to join them.

Enzo had been the adamant “no,” which had taken me by surprise. I’d thought it’d be Constantine, but he was the one to remind everyone I was an asset with my tech and comms skills.

“Hey, you, hang on.” Speak of the devil.

I stopped walking to track down where Enzo was, finally walking back a step and hanging a right to find him in Hudson’s office. Sadly, Hudson was notably absent.

“What’s up?” I remained in the doorway, wondering if I could pull off the casual lean as well as the guys could. Arms folded, I gave it a try.

Enzo had his back to Hudson’s desk, hands on each side of it as he shot me a worried look. “I hate that I’m not joining you all. I don’t like this.”

“You can’t leave the country with Maria potentially delivering your twins early. If you were in Spain, and she wound up in the hospital, you’d never forgive yourself.” We’d already gone over this about five times today, but maybe the sixth time was the charm. “Besides, you need to follow up with our delivery guy here. Get him clean. See if he can ID anyone. You’re still helping even if you’re not boarding that jet.”

He stood to his full height and pushed his sleeves to his elbows, exposing his numerous tattoos. “I have a bad feeling about this trip.”

No longer feeling relaxed, the casual-lean thing lost its luster and I pushed away from the doorway to join him in the office. I looked around at the three overstuffed bookcases to my left, and I’d bet money on the fact Hudson had devoured every single book packed tightly onto each shelf. A man who was well-read was so incredibly sexy.

“You’re not rejecting the fact I’m telling you I have a bad feeling, so does that mean you feel the same?” Enzo roped my attention back his way.

“It’s more like I have this annoying itch beneath my skin, and scratching it doesn’t help. It’s like a phantom itch. Or too deep to get at it or something. That’s the feeling I have. Not bad. Just . . . unsettling.” Made sense to me, at least. Based on the look in his eyes, he was about to drug test me.

“You’re not making me feel any better. In fact, I feel ten times worse.” He ran his knuckles up and down his jawline as if in a trance, eyes on the floor. “I know C is bringing two of our other guys with you all just in case, but I think we need more than that to replace me.”

C, huh? First time I’d heard my brother abbreviate Constantine’s name down to a single letter outside of texting. “Well, you’re irreplaceable, we all know that.” I tried to keep my smile and voice casual, hoping to calm his nerves and distract his mind.

“Yeah, well, Adelina will be here soon to give us an update before you fly out, but I went ahead and reached out to Falcon Falls myself. I just got off the phone with Jesse. I haven’t filled in the others yet, but I shared our situation with him.”

“And?” My smile evaporated at the dark tone in his voice.

“He can’t step in for me like I hoped. His team’s not operating right now. He couldn’t tell me the details, but they’re handling the fallout of another case.”

“Well, Jesse may be a badass in his own right, but he’s not you. So don’t worry about someone covering for⁠—”

“He made a recommendation, though. He has a SEAL friend he trusts, and he’s in New York now. He rolled with us on that op in Upstate last year.”

The op that led to us discovering Bianca’s murderer wasn’t really dead. That memory was at every turn lately.

“His wife’s former CIA. She helped us with some tech stuff this summer. Jesse trusts him, and my brother-in-law, Ryan, vouched for him from their SEAL days, too.” Was he trying to convince me, or sell himself on this idea? “It helps that he has contacts in Spain and a place for you all to stay when you’re in Barcelona, too.”

“So, if this turns into an operation, and not just a casual meet and greet with Alfie, we’ll be better prepared?” I rubbed my arms up and down, trying to chase away the chills.

“Yeah, and he’s got us covered flying into the airport. That’ll come in handy so we’re not detained because of the weapons we’re bringing, too.” He checked his watch. “He’ll be arriving any minute, should be just behind Adelina. And Jesse said Adelina has some news for us.”

My brother’s gaze flicked from his watch to something over my shoulder, and I turned to see Hudson filling the doorway, holding a duffel bag. He locked eyes with me, and as if on cue, announced, “Adelina’s downstairs.”

I bit the inside of my lip as I stared at this powerhouse of a man before me in all black. Despite the bruises on his face, you’d never know he’d been in an accident. His posture was perfect, head held up, and his impressive arms were on display in his well-fitted T-shirt. The black backward ball cap topped off the imposing look.

“We’ll meet you downstairs. I need a minute with your sister first.” Hudson stepped to the side of the door, letting Enzo know he could, and should, leave.

I turned to see Enzo’s gaze bouncing back and forth between us before he took off from the room.

Hudson shut and locked the door behind him, then quietly dropped the duffel bag on the couch. “I swung over to your place to get a few things to take with us.”

“You didn’t tell me why you were leaving. Was it safe to be walking around alone given what’s going on?”

He shot me a funny look. “I can handle myself, don’t you worry.”

That you can. “I take it you borrowed a key from one of my brothers?”

“I did. I’m thinking I’ll be keeping it, too.”

I liked the way that sounded.

“Anyone else have one I should know about?” he asked almost casually, refacing the couch.

I did my best not to stare at his back muscles and glutes in those black jeans as he bent forward, digging into the bag. “No need to change my locks, no,” I reassured him as he turned around with Rugby.

I walked over to him, feeling my heart sigh as loud as my mouth did.

He handed me the worn-out bear, and I clutched him to my chest and said the first thing that came to mind, which wasn’t a thank-you. “Does this mean I’ll be sleeping alone in Spain?”

“No, ma’am, it doesn’t.” His husky tone rattled something free in my chest.

Desire. Phew. This man could ma’am me all day long, too.

“I thought you’d like to have him with you on the flight, along with your favorite sweatshirt.”

I peeked around him to see what else he’d packed in that magic bag. My preferred brand of dark chocolate candy. Two golf magazines, but not the same ones I’d hid the photo between. Good call on that. “My sketchpad, too, huh?”

He shrugged. “I saw it on your desk. Untouched from the looks of it. Thought you might want to⁠—”

“Touch it?” I licked my lips, eyes on those strong hands of his, remembering the way he’d touched me with them, craving for him to do that now.

When he didn’t respond, I forced my gaze up to his face, and the heated look pointed my way sent me another step closer to my very own Man of Steel.

“I may have checked your dresser, too.” He smiled. A wicked, dark one, and he nailed the landing with it.

Heat flooded my stomach, coursing down to kindle an achy need between my legs. “What’d you find there?”

“A vibrator you won’t need anymore.”

Oh. My. Damn.

“You feeling color again?” His smile traveled to his eyes, forming crinkles at the edges.

“Yes. Red-hot, in fact.” My tongue raced along the seam of my mouth as images and possibilities infiltrated my imagination.

“So, what did you take from my dresser?”

He removed the bear from my hands and set him aside before hooking his arm behind my back, surprising me by drawing me against him. “Now, I don’t remember saying I actually took anything.” Lifting his fist between us, he urged my chin up, pinning me with those gorgeous Mediterranean-blue eyes.

“No sexy lingerie, then?” I teased.

His hand at the small of my back flew up to my neck. “I couldn’t take the chance you’ve ever worn anything there for someone else.” The possessive bite to his tone as he gently fisted and tugged my hair woke up some primal need in me to be controlled by this man.

“So, you want me naked, then?” I pushed up on my toes, anxious for his mouth to claim mine.

“Oh, I want a lot of things. To not have waited seven years to wake up and get my shit together for one.”

Seven years? What are you talk⁠—

He silenced my thoughts by giving me what I wanted. The kiss of all kisses. Hot and passionate. Dominating. He let me know I was his and only his.

I latched on to him, desperate for more, then trailed my lips down to the side of his neck.

“Mmm,” he groaned before guiding my face to his. “You kiss my neck like that again, and I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”

“Like christening your desk?” I’d be his first in this office. While I wasn’t in denial about his old reputation, I also knew he’d never bring a woman here.

He brought his hands to my face and met my eyes. “Like getting you pregnant.”

Welp, there went my ovaries. But did he really mean that, or was it one of those in-the-heat-of-the-moment things? The man kept giving me hope we had a future, and I was still engulfed in the fear that hope would be snatched away from me the way my sister’s life was stolen. Good things always came to an end at one point or another.

Deflecting from my dark thoughts, hating they were spoiling a sexy moment, I offered, “Guess you checked my medicine cabinet and correctly assumed I haven’t taken the pill since before the accident.”

I’d somehow forgotten to have Callie pack my pills and Rugby when she’d thrown my things together over the weekend.

I narrowed my eyes. “The fact I’m turned on by this violation of my privacy would suggest I may have issues.”

He nipped my lip with his teeth. “Don’t we all?”

Fair enough. “So, is my birth control in the bag, or . . .?” Why did this feel like one of the most important questions I’d ever asked him?

His brows tightened, and he quietly stared at me for a long moment. “Of course it is.” Eyes racing to my mouth, he murmured what I assumed to be a tease, “Up to you if you take it.”