Page 221 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“I don’t know,” Thom hedged. It hit him in the gut to admit it, but he still said, “She’s never seen me in any way remotely sexual.”

“He doesn’t know?” Zara piped up in the background. “That’s it. Let me talk to him.” There was a click as she hit the speaker feature. “Look, Thom, I don’t have your history with Avery or any of the rest of the team. But maybe that, combined with my instincts about people, gives me a better glimpse at what’s going on between the lines. Do you want me to butt out? Because the Big Bad here is giving meThe Look.”

Thom chuckled. “At this point, a fresh point of view might be beneficial. Sometimes when you’re trying to fix a glitch in your code, it takes someone that didn’t write it to spot the issue.”

“In that case… Avery interacts with you on a very different level. I agree, she sees the rest of the team as a bunch of overly protective big brothers, and she actually respects Noah enough that when he growls, she listens. The rest of the team she pats on the head and, for the most part, ignores. All except you. You, she teases and flirts with. Shewantsyou to notice her, not the way the other boys do, but as a man.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about…”

“Really? This from the man who thought Casey the Clown was a guy?”

“You knew?” Thom heard Noah say.

“You didn’t?” Zara responded, laughing at him. “You didn’t notice that Avery had signs of heavy greasepaint makeup under her chin the last time we were all together?”

“Why the hell didn’t you say something?” Thom growled.

“Because at the time, it didn’t matter. I didn’t even begin to suspect that Avery might be Casey, which by the way, considering you saw her most weekends, I find inordinately amusing, until several weeks later. And since neither you nor Mister Mean Motherfucker here let me in on the fact that youhave a major thing for her, I didn’t see it as germane to any conversation we might be having.”

“Now that you do know, is there anything else you’d like to contribute to Thom’s and my conversation before I paddle your butt?” grumbled Noah.

“What? I didn’t know anything about Thom’s feelings for Avery until right this second,” said Zara.

“I understand that, sweetheart, but you bit me so you getting another spanking is a given, but go back to the corner and I’ll reconsider using my belt. Now, Zara.” The steel in his friend’s voice was unmistakable. “As for you, buddy, I suggest you go get your girl and make it plain to her that she is. I also suggest you don’t take your sweet time about it.”

“Why, what’s the rush?” asked Thom, a hint of warning tickling at his senses.

“Maybe nothing, but we’re starting to hear rumbles about Christian and Fariq. Things may be heating back up over here. We’re all going to need our head in the game and you’re going to want to have Avery where you can make sure she stays safe. Honestly, if she’s on your loving leash, then it’ll be one less thing I have to worry about.”

It would be one less thing that he had to worry about too. Thom nodded. “Do tell Zara I’m sorry if I contributed to her getting into trouble and give her a break. Remember, you’re madly in love with her.”

Noah chuckled. “That, my friend, is why I’ll make sure that come morning, she’s tender in all the right spots. For what it’s worth, Zara tends to be right about these kinds of things. She’s highly observant and her instincts, except where her own safety is concerned, are usually spot on. Go get your girl, Thom.”

Noah disconnected the call, leaving Thom sitting in front of his pickup. Noah was right, Zara did have great instincts. He alsoknew Avery better than anyone. Did she need more looking after than she let on? More to the point, did she want it?

Thom shook his head and closed his eyes. Opening them, he realized more than anything this phone call with Noah had awakened his long-repressed feelings for Avery. That burgeoning part of him that still carried the senseless guilt of not having been able to protect his mother leapt to the fore as he considered the hell Avery had been through. He could ensure that she never had to travel that path again.

He started up his truck and headed back for Sedona. He had a lot to think about, but also a lot of windshield time to do it in. Avery… his hands tightened on the steering wheel. It was a very real possibility that he could forge a relationship with her, giving them both what they wanted, needed, ached for just to feel complete… even if it did take a little work on his part before she’d admit it. The rush that swept from his head through his heart, and then all the way down to his groin, was intoxicating. He immediately scaled it back, knowing this was something that needed to be taken one step at a time. But if Noah and Zara were right, this might very well be the best thing to ever happen, either to him or Avery.

She had open cuts on every part of her body… he shared her…

The idea that anyone would use Avery so cruelly rattled the sword of Thom’s sense of chivalry and justice. He also didn’t care how many years ago it might have happened; whoever had hurt her was going to wish he hadn’t. It was true that he wasn’t Noah or Croft, or even Mac. He wasn’t about to go all badass superhero on the sadist, but he damn well knew how to destroy someone’s life by exposing their secrets. Someone had hurt Avery; Thom was going to find out who that man was, and he was going to ruin him.

Chapter

Two

Avery’s flight home had been smooth and without incident, which was good as she’d had trouble focusing on what she was doing. The plane touched down on the private airstrip that was shared by the housing development in which she’d built. Each house was on two very private acres, shared a landing strip amongst the ten homes and had its own private hangar. Avery had designed her airplane’s shelter so that it was large enough for the plane, her small helicopter, her Jeep, her motorcycle, and space to work on all of them. In addition to being a highly skilled pilot of both fixed-wing and rotary-winged aircraft, Avery was an excellent mechanic for anything with an engine.

The two-and-a-half-hour flight had given her time to think. There was no reason to believe that Thom had heard or even seen her. But even if he had, so what? He was keeping his own secret and she’d never betrayed him… why would he betray her? That was assuming it mattered to him what she did in her off time. He barely seemed to notice her as it was.

She really needed to stop thinking about him but, as usual, that was easier decided than done. Did he have any idea how many of her fantasies revolved around him? Probably not. Hewasn’t at all like the usual ultra-alpha male types she’d gone for in the past. She shuddered when she remembered the last time she’d surrendered herself to a man. To say it hadn’t gone well was a gross understatement. She hated to think what might have happened if Noah hadn’t come through the door when he did. And while she was grateful for his intervention and the gentle care he’d given her while she recovered both physically and emotionally, the incident had put her off very dominant, ultra-alpha men, like Noah. But while intellectually she understood that her abuser had been just that—an abuser and not any kind of dominant at all—putting herself back in a situation where she had to submit was a lot harder than it ever used to be. So hard, in fact, that she had yet to be able to do it. Not with Thom, not with anyone. At least, not outside her fantasies.

Her wheels touched down and she taxied into her garage, as she liked to think of it. Unlike some of the other homes in the development, her place consisted of a stone and log home with a definite arts and crafts bent and then, of course, the large outbuilding that housed all of her motorized means of transportation. Between the two was a beautifully landscaped garden that contained a lap pool, cleverly disguised as a mountain stream, and her hot tub, which appeared to be a small pool at the end of the stream. Water circulated continuously, which not only kept it running through the filters but created a soothing brook-like ambiance that reminded her so strongly of a real mountain creek flowing somewhere out in nature. She loved that sound, and she especially loved that she could hear it not only in the garden but inside the house as well.

Pausing on her way inside, she closed her eyes long enough just to listen and let that burbling-brook sound wash away the aches of the day. Sadly, one particular ache stubbornly remained. While Thom might figure strongly into her fantasies these days—and especially these nights—she wasn’t so foolishthat she didn’t recognize there could never be anything real between them. For one thing, they worked together. For another, she doubted if he knew she existed outside of the workplace. And for yet another, she’d sworn off dominant men. Not that he was all that dominant, but she was pretty sure if she everdidget into a relationship with Thom, she might actually be more dominant than he was, and that just wasn’t what she wanted. So there—four reasons. Four good, strong, solid reasons for why fantasy was better than reality and why she ought to just leave it all alone.

She was so messed up. Shaking her head at herself, Avery walked inside. What she wanted and what she needed were in such stark contrast to one another that she really had no choice. At work, she and Thom would be nothing but friends. Outside the firm… well, at least she had her own imagination. Tonight would have to be good enough to satisfy. After all, she’d gone one-on-one with Cowboy Crusher and come out on top. Her adrenaline was still kicking, still feeding into her natural state of arousal, and if she was going to spend the night thinking about Thom, the very least she could do was get a good orgasm out of it. She needed a few minutes to wash and service her plane; take a long, hot shower; have a nice dinner with a good glass of pinot noir; and maybe a long soak in her hot tub under the clear, cool, star-filled Sedona sky. Then, by God, Avery planned to let her fingers do the walking, her imagination do the talking, and let the Thom who could only ever exist in her dreams take her across his knee and finally treat her like the submissive she sometimes still ached to be.

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