Forever Yours, Sir (3 page)

He frowned, a confused look entering his gaze.

She quickly brought the can of pepper spray out. Pressing down on the nozzle, she sprayed his eyes, wincing at his howl as the pepper spray hit him. He stepped back, releasing her, his hands coming to his eyes.

Cady watched
him guiltily. Then she realized what she was doing. She didn’t know how long it would take him to recover and she really didn’t want to be here when he did.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, before flying out of the room. She raced around the corner of the hallway, resisting the urge to turn back and check on him. What if she’d used too much spray? What
if she’d permanently hurt him?

She banged into
something solid, cursing as she jumped back. Hands reached out, steadying her. She shrugged them off quickly, stepping out of reach.

“Sorry, wasn’t looking
where I was going,” she muttered, glancing up.

Gray stared down at her with a glint of amusement in his
eyes. “That’s quite all right. Considering how fast you were moving, I’m guessing Hunter’s little chat with you didn’t go well.”

“He’s an asshole.”

“Well, yes, he is. But he’s also loyal, smart and a good person to have at your back.”

“S
o is a border collie.”

His chuckle su
rprised her.

“Well, yes
, and no doubt the collie has better manners.”

She gave h
im a small smile. “Excuse me, I’ve got to go.”

She moved at a fast
clip down the hallway. Unfortunately, Gray fell into step beside her.

“Cady, I know Hunter can come across as demanding and arrogant, but he mean
s well.”

She snorted.
“He thinks he needs to rescue me. I’m no helpless damsel in distress.”

“Oh, I doubt anyone would mistake you for
being helpless. Just what did he say?”

“He offered me a job.”

Gray raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, in his bed.”

Gray reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. “What? He didn’t really say that.”

She ran her hand over the back of her head.
“No, not exactly. Oh, he said it would be a job on the team, but there’s no way either of you would want me working for you. You know nothing about me. I have no references, no qualifications.” That wasn’t entirely true, but she had no intention of giving them her real name. “So when he pinned me against the wall and kissed me I knew exactly what job he really had in mind.”

“He
offered you a job? And he kissed you?” Gray looked thoughtful.

“I have
things to do. You want to let me go?” She glared down at his arm.

Gray shook his head. “
It’s lunchtime. Let me take you to eat and we’ll talk about this.”

“I don’t think there’s much to say.” She sighed as Gray just stood there, staring down at her. “You’re just as stubborn as he is, aren’t you? Only you have better manners.”

“Glad you noticed. Come on, I’m starving and I hate eating alone.” He made puppy dog eyes at her and she had a feeling he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Gray was a powerhouse in his own right, he just hid it well. So she walked beside him as he moved silently through the hallway to the foyer.

Ahh, there was her friend the security guard.

“Were you waiting on me?” she asked sweetly as he turned to stare at her. She held her arms out from her body. “See, I didn’t take any of your ugly crap. Of course I could have something hidden down my pants, do you want to pat me down to check?”

The security guard took a few steps forward, clearly looking forward to doing just tha
t when Gray growled and grabbed her arm, pulled her behind him. She gaped at his back in shock.

“I suggest you stop right where you are,” he commanded.

Cady took a step to the side, determined not to look like she was hiding. Gray sent her a brief look which clearly demanded she stay right where she was.

“But, s
ir, you don’t understand, she…” the guard trailed off, clearly intimidated as Gray stared at him.

Cady couldn’t help but grin. It was
a bit petty of her, taking pleasure out of the guard’s discomfort.

“She what? Do you have something to accuse my guest of?” Gray asked quietly.

“Mr. Mathers is there a problem here?” An older man walked over. He looked at from the security guard to Gray before dropping his stare to her. His lip curled up slightly, but his face remained polite.

“Yes, your employee is harassing my guest.”

The other man, whose name tag identified him as the manager, stared over at the security guard then at her. His lips tightened, but when he looked at Gray his face was apologetic.

“I apologize, Mr. Mathers
. There has obviously been some misunderstanding.”

“Yes, I believe there has been. I expect it won’t happen in the future or
I’ll have to take my business elsewhere.”

He held out his
arm to Cady. When they were past the guard and manager, she turned around. The guard was facing her. Unable to help herself, she stuck her tongue out at him, laughing quietly at his look of outrage.

Gray squeezed her hand. “That wasn’t very mature.”

“No, but it sure felt good.”

“You should have told me you’d had problems with them.”

She shrugged. “I’m used to it. I don’t exactly fit in.” She pulled at her clothes.

Gray shook his head. “I detest others who judge on appearances. One of the richest people I’ve ever met used to shop at the Gap and lived in a small
, two-bed apartment.”

“Yeah?” If she had money, she’d buy herself a big house and a flash
y car, she’d dress in the nicest clothes…yeah, maybe not. She wouldn’t have a clue what to do if she had money.

Cady followed Gray into a small diner. He should have looked out of place in the small, slightly run-down diner, but
somehow he managed to look right at home as he led her to a booth, smiling at the older waitress as she dropped two menus on the table.

Gray perused the menu for a moment. “What would you like?” he asked as he
set the menu down.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Well, I can’t eat on my own. That would be extremely bad manners. I was really looking forward to a burger too.” He sighed dramatically.

Cady
barely resisted from rolling her eyes. “Fine, but I’m paying for my own.”

“I never said any
thing different, did I?”

She blushed slightly as she realized he hadn’t actually offered to pay, she’d just assumed.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

They placed their
orders with the waitress then Gray sat back and looked at her. “So, you want to tell me what Hunter said?”

“He offered me a job, said that you’d been
bugging him to hire a woman.”

Gray nodded, taking a sip of the iced tea the waitress had brought over. “
There have been times when it would have been good to have a woman on the team.”

“And then he proceeded to tell me the conditions I’d have to agree to.”

Gray raised an eyebrow, looking slightly disapproving. “You have an objection to medical benefits and the pay we’re offering?”

Her cheeks heated. “No, I mean
, we didn’t even get into that.” She didn’t want him to think she was ungrateful.

“Then what conditions were you talking about?”

She resisted the urge to squirm. “Maybe you should talk to Hunter about this.”

“Hunter’s not here. I asked you, Cady
,” he said firmly.

“He seemed to think that
there should be side benefits. Look, he didn’t come right out and say it, but it was obvious that my main job would be fucking him. Why else would he be so concerned about my safety and where I live? I’m sure he doesn’t take such an interest in every employee. I’ve taken care of myself for years and although I might live on the streets I’m not a charity case and I don’t need anyone to take pity on me.”

Gray sat back and folded his arms
. Luckily, the food arrived and she had a reason to look away.

“Have you ever had anyone who has cared about you, Cady? Worried over you? Wanted to help you?
”

She shrugged
, feeling uncomfortable with where this was going.

Gray cleared his throat. “When I ask a question I expect an answer, Cady.”

Okay, she recognized that tone of voice. Gray sounded as intimidating and stern as any Dom she’d ever met. Crap. She moved the fries around on her plate.

“He barely knows me. You don’t offer someone you don’t know a job, things like that just don’t happen
. So I knew there would be something more to it.”

“And that something more was Hunter wanting to
fuck you?”

She shrugged. “What else have I got to offer?
He kissed me. He pinned me against the wall. He seemed to be attracted to me.”

At least she figured he couldn’t fake that fucking huge erection that had been pressing ag
ainst her stomach.

“I’m not about to tell you that Hunter isn’t
an overbearing bastard or that a lot of his views on woman belong in the eighteen hundreds, but he doesn’t need to pay for sex and he would never make that a condition of a job. I think there has been a misunderstanding here. I’m surprised he let you out of his sight without making this clear.”

“Well he didn’t exactly have a choice,” she muttered, moving
around on the bench seat uncomfortably. “Why else would he offer me the job, though? It can’t have been real.”

“Sometimes, Cady, people do something nice without expecting anything in return.”

“He wants to control me.”

Gray
watched her for a long moment. “I can see how you’d think that. He is a bit of a control freak and he’s not always the best communicator. Hunter is a protector, he always has been. Sometimes he comes across as pushy and controlling because he’s trying to do his best to keep everyone around him safe. He’s one of the good guys.”

“Damn, you’re really good at this guilt stuff.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty. I have no doubt that Hunter said some stupid things. But don’t judge him until you know him better. If he offered you a job at Black-Gray Investigations then you have a job.”

“But you didn’t know he was offering me a job, did you?”

Gray grinned. “I’ve been hassling Hunter for at least a year to hire a woman, so I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s finally listened to me.”

“Even though I have no experience?”
That he knew of.

“I’m sure you’d fit in fine.”

She shook her head, looking down at the plate of food in front of her. She wasn’t so sure. They were a team and Cady didn’t do teamwork anymore.

Gray pulled o
ut his wallet. “Here is my card. If you change your mind about the job, call me. Sometimes you have to take a chance, even when you’re scared.”

Cady
opened her mouth to protest, but he was already on his feet and throwing some money on the table. He turned and walked out the door.

She glanced at the card then the cash he’d left. He’d left more than enough for both their meals and a tip.

Bastard.

But she picked up the card anyway.

“Enter,” Hunter called out. He sat back in his chair, his shoes up on the desk, hands behind his head. He glared up at the television screen.

Gray stepped into h
is office, glanced up at the T.V. before sitting in a chair across from Hunter’s desk. Hunter reached for the remote and switched it off.

“So what do you think?” Gray asked.

“Never thought he’d kill himself,” Hunter replied. “His ego was too big. I’d have bet anything that he thought nothing could ever touch him, could ever push him off that pedestal he’d put himself on.”

“Well, he was faced with some huge issues.
With Jacey’s testimony he would have gone away from a long time. That might have made him decide to take his own life.”

Hunter shook his head, it just didn’t feel right.

Jacey had decided to go to the police before heading to Rarotonga. She hadn’t wanted to live in fear any longer. Sure, Jacey’s testimony would be pretty damning, but Stephan Worthington had an ego the size of Texas. He thought himself above the law.

“So, it
’s over now. Sanders and Worthington are dead.”

Hunter glared at him. “It’s not over until I figure out exactly what happened to Angie.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” Gray ran his hand over his head.

“And would you be willing to just give up if it was your sister that had been murdered?”
Hunter asked.

“No, I wouldn’t.
You know I wouldn’t. You’re right. It’s not over.”

Hunter nodded. He
was slightly obsessed with his sister’s death, but he knew that Angie had been murdered by Stephan Worthington, he just didn’t have proof. Yet.

“If her place hadn’t been set on fire I might
have been able to find something there, something that would pin her murder on him.”

Th
e night she’d been murdered, her small apartment had been set on fire, destroying it and the other three apartments in the building. She’d just quit her job with Worthington and moved back to Dallas six weeks before.

Guilt ate at Hunter.
She’d called him the night she’d died and he’d ignored the call, letting it go to voicemail. He couldn’t forgive himself for that. If he’d just answered the phone maybe he could have saved her.

“
Jacey and Derrick are due back from Rarotonga soon, aren’t they?” Gray asked.

“Yeah, they shoul
d have landed by now.”

“It will be a relief for Jacey that he’s dead. Now she won’t have to testify against him.”

“There is that.” Jacey deserved some peace in her life after everything she’d been through and Hunter knew that Derrick would ensure that she was well looked after.

“You coming to the club tonight?” Gray asked.

Hunter knew he should. He hadn’t been to the Twisted Thorn since he’d been back from Austin.

“Nah,
I think I’ll pass.”

“Simon said you haven’t
been in lately.”

Hunter glanced over at Gray. “You checking up on me
?”

“Not at all, but our partner is starting to wonder if you’ve found somewhere else to play.”

Hunter snorted. He and Gray had gone into partnership with Simon Jones to open the Twisted Thorn, a BDSM club. They’d grown sick of going to clubs that were filled with idiots who didn’t have a clue what they were doing. This way they got to screen the members and they knew that any subs who stepped through their doors would be looked after.

“I’ve
got a lot of things on my mind.”

“
Angie wouldn’t want you obsessing over this.”

“Angie was my responsibility and I let her down. I won’t do that again.”

“Is that why you offered Cady a job? Because you feel responsible for her?”

Hunter
lowered his feet down onto the floor, leaning forward as he stared at Gray intently. He hadn’t told his partner about offering her a job. “You’ve spoken to her?”

“I met her in the hallway after the two of you had your little chat.
I’m surprised you weren’t chasing after her.”

“I was a little incapacitated
.” It had taken fifteen minutes before the burning from the pepper spray had dissipated.

“
Hmm. Do you know that she thought the job offer was just a ploy to get her into bed?”

“What?”
he said, shocked.

“Yep. She thought that
the job was just a front for you getting to fuck her.”

“How the
hell could she think that?” Hunter growled, standing. That little twit, when he got his hands on her…

Except she didn’t want anything to do with him. She’d rather live on the streets than let him
help her.

“She said
she couldn’t understand why you would offer her the job unless you wanted something in return. I’m a little curious myself. You’ve always been against having a female on the team.”

“She’s living on the streets, Gray. I knew
she wouldn’t accept any help from me, offering her a job is the only thing I could think of. I would never force her to sleep with me for a job. Christ.” How the hell had he fucked this up so bad?

“You’re attracted to her, though, aren’t you?
There are a lot of homeless people out there; I don’t see you taking an interest in their lives.”

Hunter glared at him. “She deserves better.”

“She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”

Hunter placed his hands on his desk, leaning forward. “If she could take care of herself she wouldn’t be living on the streets.”

“You’ve been against me hiring a woman and suddenly you just make a decision to take her on without even asking me, I think that’s pretty telling, don’t you?” Gray asked.

“She can help with our female clients
. You wanted a female bodyguard.”

“
I wanted someone with training. Who knows what they’re doing. She doesn’t even understand how to be part of a team. I thought we’d hire someone with a military or law enforcement background. Face it, you look at her and you see someone you can help, some way of making up for what happened to Angie. Helping Cady won’t bring Angie back.”

“That’s not why I’m doing this.” It was just part of it.
“She did well on that op. She can handle herself.”

“You kept her completely out of danger. Are you really telling me that you’d be all right sending her into a dan
gerous situation? I know your antiquated views on women, my friend. God help any woman that you finally fall for, you’d have her wrapped up in bubble wrap so tight she wouldn’t be able to breathe.”

“I’
m not that bad.”

“Oh no?
You have a panic room in your house. Is that for you to hide in?”

Hunter growled. Hide? He didn’t think so. He’d kill any bastard who dared to invade his territory.

Gray sat back with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. “Didn’t think so. You built a panic room for your future wife and family. Because you’re paranoid and overprotective. Face it, there is no way you could send someone who was untrained out onto the field.”

“We’ll
train her. Until then she can do the non-dangerous stuff.”

Gray
rolled his eyes.

“S
o you’re fine with her living on the streets?”

“Her friend is
engaged to one of the richest men in the country. I don’t think she’ll be on the streets for long. This is about you wanting to play hero.”

“She won’t take anything from Jacey and Derrick, she’ll see it as charity.”

“Wasn’t that what you were offering? Just what were you planning on getting her to do around here if you weren’t going to send her on any jobs?”

Christ, it really sucked having a partner who could read you so well. Of course he’d had no intention of sending her out on anything that could put her at risk.

Hunter shrugged. “There are things to do. The phone is always ringing and no one can make coffee for shit.”

Gray burst into laughter. “You were going to make her our secretary? I’d kill to see her face the first time you asked her to make coffee.”

Hunter ground his teeth as he sat on his chair. Then with a weary sigh, he sat back. “All right, so I didn’t exactly think things through. But I was desperate. I can’t stand the idea of her being on the streets.”

Worry for her kept him awake at night.

Each time he closed his eyes, he saw her face, he imagined her cold and hungry. When he did sleep he dreamed about her, touching her, kissing her, taking her.

H
e’d blown it. He’d come on too strong and she’d bolted.

Gray sighed. “I know. I hate the idea of it too. But we can’t force her to
do anything she doesn’t want to. That would be the very worst thing we could do.”

Yeah, he’d finally figured that out. Right
after she’d pepper sprayed him and ran out the door. After he’d recovered he’d gone looking for her, he’d even asked Jacey to talk to her for him. But Cady hadn’t called.

She clearly wanted nothing to do with him while he could think of nothing else but her.

“Maybe this is for the best,” Gray said.

Hunter glared at him and Gray held up his hand
s placating. “Not that she’s on the streets. I don’t want that any more than you do. But she’s got you tied up in knots, how much worse would it be if she was here every day?” Gray tapped his finger against his chin thoughtfully. “She’s not exactly your type, Hunter.”

“I don’t have a type.”

“Yes you do, my friend. You like them submissive. Very submissive. You need to be needed. You want to rescue her and that’s fine, but you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.”

“All
of this is pointless anyway. She refused the job, she refused my help.”

“
We still need a woman on the team,” Gray said. “And now that I know you’re willing to employ a woman I’m going to do some looking around.”

“Fine,” Hunter said impatiently.
It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but he couldn’t fight Gray’s decision without looking like an idiot.

Gray stood. “Come to the club tonight, you need to relax, my friend. It looks like you haven’t slept in weeks and you’re even grumpier than usual. Didn’t know that was possible.”

Hunter growled as Gray grinned.

“Don’t make
me call Sasha,” Gray warned. “She’s already making noises about popping in to check on you, I wouldn’t want to let slip how depressed you’re acting.”

“You bastard.”

Simon’s wife had a heart of gold. She was also as nosy as they came. If she thought Hunter was depressed, she’d be on his case. He wouldn’t get any peace until he gave into her or Simon took her to task. And Simon was far too lenient on his sub to Hunter’s way of thinking.

“Fine, fine,” Hunter said impatiently. “I can’t make it
tonight, but I’ll be there this weekend.”

***

A shiver ran down Cady’s spine as she walked down the pavement and she resisted the urge to spin around, knowing he was there, watching her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She clenched her hands, trying to push back the fear that threatened to overwhelm her.

She ducked down an alleyway
and took off running, determined to lose him.

Why the fuck was he doing this to her?
Sean was a volunteer at one of the shelters. His attention had creeped her out, the staring, using any excuse to get close to her, touch her. The one time he’d actually managed to grab her ass, she’d made certain he wouldn’t be experiencing a hard-on for quite a while, at least not without some pain.

She’d
been banned from that shelter, but it had been worth it. Or so she’d thought. Now it seemed she’d ended up with her own stalker. Why the hell wouldn’t he get a clue? He’d gone from just a nuisance to bordering on insane. He hadn’t approached her again, but who the hell knew what was going on through his creepy brain? Cady could protect herself, but she was under no illusion about the ways he could get to her, render her helpless, hurt her.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He gave her a bad feeling and Cady knew better than to ignore those feelings.

Getting out of t
own might not be a bad idea, but there was only one way she could see that happening. Damn it. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t take Hunter’s offer. She couldn’t be part of a team again, couldn’t have other people relying on her.

Yet, what other choices did she have? Stay here and wait for Sean to work up his
nerve to attack her? Go to the cops? Would they even believe her?

Christ, what a mess.
Now she was running late for her meeting with Jacey. Cady sped up as she headed toward the small diner.