Page 3 of Untouchable

“I wasn’t dreaming.” Her whispered words are filled with wonder.

“Nope, I’m here.” Tracing a finger along her jaw, the pleasure that rolls through me is astounding.

“How? Why? When?” I smile at her confusion.

“Cage Craven gave me a call. We worked opposite each other a few times years ago. Said it’d be the most important job of my life. He wasn’t wrong.” Ten years had come off my life when Cage told me she had a stalker.

“It’s been so long.” She’s hurt, and it kills me.

“You’ve grown up,” I say, reminding her of the words I spoke before leaving her the first time. The time that nearly killed me.

Sitting up, she pushes away from me, the hurt she’s feeling reflected on her face and in her body language. “You left me.” She whispers the accusation. “I had no one. Nothing but nightmares for years.”

We’re doing this now, then. I figured she’d be pissed, but the Joss I knew wasn’t one for confrontation. Should be interesting to witness. “You had Sage and your brothers,” I point out. Life may not have been as bad for Joss in the compound as it was for Sage, but they lived through that hell together, and she has the scars.

“That wasn’t the same.” Getting off the bed, I watch as she walks into the bathroom and closes the door silently. I had expected a slammed door in my face.

The old Jossilyn would have broken down in bed; she’d have cried and screamed into a pillow. This new version of her has me worried. I know she’s pissed, has every right to be, but she’s not letting it show.

Slipping from her bed, I get dressed and head out to see how her laptop is doing. The program to clear out any trackers or viruses should be finished by now. I order room service while waiting for Joss to come out.

As I’m reviewing the police reports again and searching through the file put together by Porter and Trusen, the food arrives, but Joss still hasn’t emerged from the bathroom. Setting the meal up at the table and putting my paperwork away, I enter the bedroom and knock on the door.

“Go away.” I hear her muted voice, and guilt swamps me.

“I ordered breakfast.” Nothing. “Pancakes, French toast, fresh fruit, bacon. Everything you like.”

She snorts. “Shows how well you know me.” This is going to be fucking brutal.

“So let me.” Silence.

Then the door flies open. “So you can leave again?” Her hair is in damp waves around her face and shoulders, her makeup is done, and she’s wearing a robe that is open down the front, showing me her matching periwinkle bralette and panties. “Stop staring,” she hisses as she shoves past me.

“Cover up then.” I’ll look until my eyes bleed.

“In case you forgot, Braxton, I offered myself to you years ago. Professed my love, and you shattered my heart when you left in the middle of the night without even saying goodbye.”

“I said goodbye, pup. You just didn’t want to hear it.” It was the hardest fucking thing I’d ever done. I fell in love with Jossilyn the day I met her. Until her, I’d believed love was a lie. I’d certainly never felt anything like it growing up, after I joined the Army Rangers, or in my time working freelance as a merc or a bodyguard. There isn’t much I haven’t done or won’t do.

She withers me with a stone-cold glare as she drops her robe. I nearly swallow my tongue. My body is at war with arousal, anger, and concern. Scars scatter her back from what is obviously a whipping. Likely from her own father.

“I heard you loud and clear, Braxton. I was too young, too naïve, too innocent, too…everything for you, and you? You were scared.” Her words are sharp enough to cut glass. Good thing I’ve got thick skin.

Approaching her like she’s a frightened kitten, I gently place my hands on her shoulders and pull her into my chest. Sweeping her hair to the side, I don’t allow her tense body to push me away. “I’m here, pup. Until death, I’m here.” Kissing the side of her neck, I linger. I didn’t touch her all those years ago, and now that I can, I want to savor every single second.

She remains stoic, and I acknowledge that I’ve pushed her enough for today. Reluctantly, I let her go, lingering a minute longer, then saying, “I’ll wait for you out there,” before leaving.

I understood she would be hurting when I returned. Joss had been raw when I told her I was leaving, and she bared her soul to me, confessed her feelings, but I knew she needed time to find herself after the life she’d had. I had to let her grow up before I could even think about making her mine. It would have been a disservice to her if I hadn’t.

I kept an eye on her for a while after I left. I knew it took her longer than she had liked to get a sense of the world. She struggled to acclimate, but if where she’s at right now is any indication, she’s done it. Joss is wildly successful, and frankly, I’m not even certain she needs me, but I hope to hell she wants me.

CHAPTER3

Jossilyn

The hurt has always lingered in the back of my mind. At first, it would fester and grow inside me, and I’d feel like I was going to burst. It was the reason I had initially started writing. I needed an outlet, a way to express myself that was safe and didn’t reveal how badly I was dying inside to my brothers while I lived with them.

When I’d finally found Ena and got published, I became angrier than ever. I constantly felt like I would explode with rage, but then the readers started connecting with me. They gave me grace. They showed me compassion and empathy. Some even expressed their own experiences with corrupt religion and how they felt that same resentment.

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