Page 10 of Fast Vengeance

She’d been brutally violated by multiple men. No matter how much he wanted her, no matter how nicely she asked, he refused to add to that trauma. He thought he’d caught a gleam of interest from her a few times over the past year, but hadn’t read much into it because he assumed anything between them other than platonic friendship would be impossible.

She blushed harder. “Yes. I want you.” It was almost a whisper.

The invisible chains wrapped around his ribcage suddenly released, and a surge of heat swept through him. He drew a deep breath, ordered his heart to slow down. “Good. What did you have in mind?”

“I think a sort of business arrangement would be best. We wouldn’t be in a relationship or anything. We like and respect each other, and I think you’re attracted to me too.” She glanced up at him, almost as though seeking confirmation.

Did she really not know, or had he been that good at hiding it? No point in pretending now. “I am.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Then we’d just…take things one step at a time, hopefully get me over that hurdle. And soon after that, I’ll be leaving. So it’ll be short term and won’t get messy.” She said the last part like a sales pitch, as if he needed more convincing.

There was no way he could say no to this, even if he already did have feelings for her. She’d obviously thought this through, felt strongly about it if she’d worked up the guts to come here and ask him to his face. Brave lady. “And when did you want to start?”

She pushed back from the counter and turned on the stool to face him, a nervous smile on her lips. “What about right now?”

Chapter Three

She’d surprised him again, the second time in the past two minutes.

But instead of widening in shock, this time Brock’s steel gray eyes heated, darkened, making Victoria’s pulse beat double time in her throat as she awaited his response. She’d never been this bold before sexually, but the circumstances called for extreme measures. And she had thought long and hard about this for weeks before asking if she could meet him here tonight, working up her nerve all the while.

It made sense to her. Their time together was limited and would come to an end soon, maybe even in as little as a few days. She needed to do this, to take this part of herself back again. Rediscover what consensual sex was like with a man she actually wanted so she could try to put the nightmare of her past behind her and have the chance to live life fully. Maybe even have a relationship one day after she was put back out into the real world.

But Brock didn’t say anything in response. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Oh God, what if he’d changed his mind…

Holding her gaze, he slid off the stool, rising to his full height in front of her. Over six feet of powerful, alluring male. Medium brown hair cut short and neat, a little longer in front, wide, powerful shoulders and a sculpted chest.

She curled her fingers around the edge of her stool and tipped her head back to look up at him, nerves buzzing around in the pit of her stomach along with the warm glow of anticipation. She’d all but forgotten what it felt like to have butterflies—the good kind—around a man. Though she was nervous and unsure how she would react to intimate contact, even with him, she wasn’t backing out now.

The hush in the room heightened her anticipation, built the tension between them until it was thick as honey and dancing over her skin like electric tingles. She’d missed him while he was away. Even when he’d been in town before that she didn’t get to see him all that often, and the thing she’d missed most was having him close by to act as a sounding board while he was deployed.

Since her rescue she’d learned what the FAST teams did, and she had a ton of respect and admiration for them. But she had even more for Brock, and his position as team leader. For the kind of man he was. It was partly why she wanted to do this with him and no one else.

She waited, spellbound, all but holding her breath as he lifted a hand and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Even that innocent contact sent her pulse skittering. She’d thought their chemistry would be intense, but now she knew for sure.

“How do you see this working?” he asked her softly, his thumb tracing distracting little patterns over her cheek, creating tendrils of heat that licked across her nerve endings.

Mouth dry, she struggled to find her voice. “We go slow, take things one step at a time and go from there.” Though she’d done a ton of therapy since her rescue, her therapist had cautioned her about rushing into anything physical, worried about how Victoria might react. Only one way to find out, and she’d never backed down from anything in her life. It had cost her everything. Now she wanted to get something back. “If I’m not comfortable with something, I’ll let you know.”

He nodded once. “Fair enough.”

This close, his woodsy, cedar scent wrapped around her, making her want to lean forward and press her nose to his chest, breathe him in. “Okay.”

“Scale of one to ten, how nervous are you right now?”

She huffed out a soft laugh. “Honestly? About a twelve. But not because I’m afraid of you.”

“That’s good. And you don’t need to be nervous with me. You know I’ll take care of you.”

Her insides turned gooey at his intimate tone. “I should mention one other thing,” she added quickly, overwhelmed by the powerful and magnetic presence of this man. He dominated whatever space he occupied without even trying, without a single word or action. He radiated a calm confidence that was unbelievably attractive to her. It made her feel safe and heightened her feminine awareness of him at the same time.

“What’s that?”

“I want you to call me Tori.” She couldn’t tell him, but it was going to be her new name once she left D.C., so she wanted to practice getting used to it. They’d given her a completely new identity package to memorize, and an intricate backstory she’d already learned by heart. It seemed fitting that Brock be the one to call her by it first.

“Tori. I like it.” He stopped stroking his thumb over her cheek, suddenly making it easier to breathe. “You sure you’re ready for this?” he asked, searching her eyes.

She loved that he’d asked her, that he was checking in to make sure this was what she truly wanted. It solidified that she’d made the right decision in approaching him. Her captivity had stolen so much from her. Ruiz’s men had almost broken her. Maybe Brock could help her regain some of her former confidence again. “I’m sure. I want to find out with someone I feel comfortable with and respect, and who I feel respects me.”

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