Page 53 of Cuckoo (Kindred)

“That’s why you killed him? He’d served his purpose and was going to get in your way?” she asked. “I thought you were a good guy. I thought—”

“Everybody thinks they’re the good guy,” Ben said. “My motivation is money, power. Kahlil’s is revenge. What’s yours?”

Her motivation was to do what was right. Game Time was under Kindred control, so if it got out there, it would be on them. Zara didn’t like these two men being affiliated, between them they had quite a conniving mind. Brodie had his answer on who Leatt was working with, Rigor could rest easy because Sutcliffe’s compound was old news to every other party.

“We’ll let you talk to your people. We’ll come to a mutual agreement about the terms of the exchange,” he said, and she was still thinking about how Brodie and the others would react to this when Ben took her hand, forcing her to look at him. “I hope this will make you feel better, knowing that I’m involved. I would never hurt you. You and your friends aren’t our target. The time we shared, Zara, that was real to me.”

Real that they got along or real that he developed feelings for her? Brodie had already said that Ben might have. If this was Grant or another man who might be declaring their intentions towards her, she’d put them in their place without blinking. But this man was a potential client and one she might have to work, depending on Brodie’s orders.

“I was hurt and confused,” she said. “When I thought you were with Grant and were going to hurt us.”

Ben smiled. “You don’t have to worry about that.” He took her hand to his lips. “No dog will come near you.”

That would be reassuring, if she didn’t suspect that she was being played all over again. This game was complicated, and she needed more practice. Kahlil got up first but was closely followed by Ben. The men made stilted goodbyes and left her alone with her coffee. She hung around in Purdy’s for an extra few minutes just to make sure Ben and Kahlil were long gone and that Julian was back at work.

She didn’t need any more meetings today. The one conversation she was interested in having had nothing to do with Game Time, which was in itself refreshing.

Ben being back, with Kahlil, was shocking. But at least they didn’t have to worry about Ben sneaking up behind them when they weren’t looking. Brodie would have more answers, and she was eager to find out what he and Tuck had witnessed.

But it was her conversation with Cuckoo that she was determined to address with her love. Kindred business should always take precedence over their personal matters. But Cuckoo wanted Game Time, maybe because Caine had told her about it or just because she wanted to play with the toy that everyone else wanted.

Zara had to know if Brodie knew about Caine’s motivation and how it might change their approach to the guy. She had to get to base, to seek out her love and to give him a truth they’d all missed.

SIXTEEN

She went to the manor security hub before going anywhere else. There she checked her messages and was pleased to see that she had one from Thad, until she read that there was no antidote. A list of questions followed this statement, asking why they needed such a thing and if he should be worried. The Kindred were in the midst of a mission, they should all be worried.

An email from Julian explained that he’d meet with the accountant later in the afternoon and should have answers for her by this evening. Progress, it made her feel good. The last message was from Bess, who apologized for taking Zave away from the mission, stating he had urgent business that had just come up. That guy was a puzzle.

Because she was in the basement anyway, she checked the gym, the shooting range, and their weapons room. Brodie wasn’t in any of them. She checked the kitchen, but he wasn’t there either. Running up the stairs to their bedroom, she was confident that if he wasn’t here, he would be at the hotel staking out Kahlil or maybe still on his tail. If either of these were the case, she would want to get changed and pack some supplies before heading over to spend another night on the stakeout.

Pressing her fingerprint into the circular security panel on their doorknob, she smiled when it flashed to grant her entry. She still got a kick that her print worked on his bedroom door. The first time she’d come up here, she hadn’t dreamed that one day she’d be this ensconced in the life of her mysterious bedroom intruder.

Closing the door, she exhaled all her worries when she saw his familiar form sprawled in the middle of their bed. She wasn’t just established in his life, she was entrenched in his trust too. Being this exposed, alone in bed, asleep, gave her the opportunity to hurt or take advantage of him if she wanted to. But he trusted her enough that he could be this unprotected without any worry she’d hurt him.

This was the same man who kept his jeans on anytime he wasn’t at home, just in case someone attacked while he was vulnerable. After hearing Cuckoo’s story of them being caught in the act by Caine, Zara guessed that was where Brodie’s compulsion to remain semi-dressed if they were having sex off-base began. If he’d been wary before that happened, then having a guy come at him with a knife while he was naked and getting busy would increase his paranoia level to eleven.

Tuck had slept last night and wasn’t around in the manor. He was probably at their stakeout location, or he was the one still tailing Kahlil. This was Brodie’s time to rest because he’d no doubt be on the nightshift again.

She should let Brodie sleep because the more rest he had, the quicker his reflexes would be. So she considered calling Tuck to discuss the developments with him. But cutting Brodie out just because he was unconscious was too reminiscent of how they’d coddled him during his grief period.

Sliding her shoes from her feet, Zara stripped off all of her clothes and crept over to the bed. Picking up the blanket, she slid beneath it. She wasn’t exhausted but if she got a nap and synced her pattern with his, then she could keep him company tonight if they were watching Kahlil again, though whether they were or not would depend on what information Brodie and Tuck had discovered that morning.

Insinuating her flat hand between his chest and the bedcovers, she stroked down Brodie’s solid body from his collarbone to the head of his dick. Since her hand was there anyway, she curled her fingers around his cock and he grumbled. His eyes didn’t open and she wasn’t here to wake him up, she was here to sleep, so she let him go.

Brushing her hand down him again, she stroked his thickening dick and kept on going until it was at full salute. Kissing his pec, she rubbed her cheek on the solid muscle beneath and barely contained her enthusiasm. He was unconscious, and his body was reacting to her insistence. It seemed a waste to ignore her effort, so she carefully peeled back the covers and pushed them down to his shins.

He was a magnificent man, all those hours in the gym kept him in shape for anything the job might require. His form was like art. Even marred by the odd scar and his tattoos, she thought he was perfect. Clutching her handiwork, she crawled down the bed and kissed the head of his dick. Opening her lips, she licked and sucked, working his balls in her other hand with a gentle caress. Forcing herself to take him deeper, she hummed and shifted angle to let her nipples graze his thigh as she bobbed her upper body in time with her suck and withdraw.

Blinking her eyes up, she was surprised to see his were open to slits, observing her work. Smiling around her toy, she pushed one hand up his torso to stop on his abdomen. “What are you doing?” he grumbled.

Pulling back enough that his head stayed just between her lips, she held him there with her free hand and swirled her tongue around him. “I would’ve thought that was obvious,” she mumbled with her mouth still full.

“Come here,” he said, opening his arm.

Taking him out of her mouth, she kept him clamped in her fist while she slid her body up on top of his. Working her hand around him, she felt the increased beat of his heart through her ribs until he got his hands between them to fondle her breasts, which separated them a little.

His rough hands were assured in their possession, he squeezed the sensitive flesh, and caressed her nipples with his broad thumbs. In time with her first whimper, he bent a knee, drawing it up between her thighs to her damp core. “You always get distracted when I’m naked,” he said. Snatching a handful of her hair at the back of her skull, he pulled her body away from his and rolled her onto her back.

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