Solid Steel (Unseen Enemy Book 6) (2 page)

Out of nowhere and for no reason at all that she could possibly understand, Luke’s face came to mind. It wasn’t a classically handsome face, she thought, but that didn’t make it one iota less attractive. Luke’s face was rugged and rough… like his hands.

Hand
.

She looked at herself, wondered what expression would be on Luke’s face if he saw her with her hair down. Would he give her the same slow, heated once-over that she’d pointedly ignored when she’d first walked in to Curves? Or would it be the bright, intense look that he gave her when he offered to buy her breakfast? Or –
and this is the one that I
really
want to see again
– would it be the soft, tender look that he wore when he called her ‘babe’ and told her that it was OK?

Stop it, Selena. Stop it right the hell now. A guy as hot as him doesn’t want anything to do with a woman like you.

Despite her best efforts to not look, her eyes dropped to the front of her blouse now. To her breasts that weren’t actually breasts. To what were silicone gel breast forms tucked in to a special mastectomy bra that cost a small fortune. Yeah, the breast forms were awesome-looking, no doubt about that. Totally natural and perfect for her body and frame. They looked
exactly
like her real breasts – so much so that sometimes she forgot. Just for a second.

But then she always remembered… remembered her decision to undergo a voluntary double mastectomy to save her life. Selena didn’t regret that choice, would never regret it, but she mourned the loss of her breasts, dreaded getting undressed every night, avoided mirrors when she was unclothed. And most of all? She hated the vivid purple-red scars that she now had to carry for the rest of her life. As she imagined Luke’s face at the sight of them, she bit her lip: that heartstopping face would be twisted in disgust, she was sure. Nothing sexy about a woman who looked like her.

Yeah, sure, Luke was missing a hand and so he knew all about looking at and living in a body with pieces missing. A body that didn’t feel or look or work or even
move
the way that it had for years and years; a body that didn’t
fit
anymore. A stranger’s body, in some ways.

She thought that maybe Luke would understand her in some ways that mattered, but not in all of them, and not in the way that mattered the most. In Selena’s mind, losing her breasts felt so –
ugly
. That loss was a knock-down blow to how attractive and desirable she felt; it was a direct hit to her femininity and her sexiness. The thought of being naked with a man was, quite literally, unimaginable.

She hadn’t told anybody about her surgery. Not her father or brothers back in L.A., not her friends, certainly not her co-workers. She hadn’t told the guys at Solid Security because she thought that they’d treat her differently and she wasn’t about to fucking stand for that. She hadn’t told her friends because they were all new Moms who were totally overwhelmed by screaming babies at 3 a.m. and cracked nipples and going on panicked emergency diaper runs.

And her family? Well, she hadn’t told them because she knew that any mention of it would hurt them deeply. It would call to mind old wounds, barely scarred over and definitely not anything even close to healed. It would call up losses, losses that were still keenly, painfully felt. Selena wasn’t about to shatter them like that. She was tough and she was going to handle it all just fine. On her own.

With a huff of disgust at her momentary flight of fancy about a hot man, she pulled her hair back in to a tight, uncompromising ponytail. Who
cared
what Luke might think if he saw her with it down in dark waves around her golden skin? Who
cared
about Luke and his sexy-as-hell forearms?

Not me. That’s for damn sure.

**

“So, is she single?”

Griff grinned. He’d been waiting for this. He’d seen the way that Luke had checked out Selena and he’d seen her studied indifference, which was always the surest sign that she was, actually, interested.

“You interested?” he asked as he poured some more coffee.

“Hell, man.” Luke ran his hand through his hair. “A woman that stunning? Of course I’m interested.”

“Yeah, well. Take a number, Rhodes.”

Luke looked supremely unconcerned. “What number?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, how many guys do I have to beat off to get my chance with her?”

Griff laughed, a deep, rolling sound from his broad chest. “Oh, I figure there are about three guys hanging around with hopes.”

“And they’ve got them? Hopes?”

“Nah.” Griff shook his blond head. “Selena’s hard on men, but that ain’t no surprise.”

“Hard how?”

Griff shrugged. “The woman is tough as hell and most guys can’t handle it. She’s a bodyguard and she’s hardcore and I think she could take down most guys without any effort at all. She needs someone strong – and not just physically.”

“She’s a tough character too, huh?”

“Oh, yeah.” Luke heard the affection in his friend’s voice. “She’s smart, man, and she’s strong mentally and emotionally.”

“And she hasn’t found a guy who can handle all of that?”

“I guess not, because of all the guys hanging around and asking her to dinner, she ain’t anything
like
serious about any of them. Barely gives them the time of day, actually. Especially lately.”

Something in Griff’s tone caught Luke’s attention fully. “Why lately? What’s going on?”

“Honestly? I don’t know, but she hasn’t been herself for the past couple of months. Like, not at all.”

Luke leaned back a bit, really looked at his friend’s face. He knew John Griffin well, he’d seen him keep his cool when the shit had hit the fan, he’d placed his life and trust in those capable hands while in battle and more than once. Luke had rarely seen Griff reticent, though, and the fact that he was holding back now was a major red flag. Griff was worried about Selena, maybe even
really
worried. Luke proceeded with caution.

“What do you think’s happened to her?” Luke said, asking the one question that he knew Griff had to be pondering.

Griff was silent, turning his cup of coffee around and around in his large hands. Finally, he sighed.

“No fucking clue,” he said slowly. “I mean, not a one. She ain’t talking.”

“But you think something happened.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah. For sure.”

The two men stared grimly at each other for a few seconds.

Luke glanced down the hallway to make sure that Selena wasn’t coming back yet. “So you’re saying that now may not be the best time for me to invite her for a beer?”

“Actually, no,” Griff said, surprising his friend. “I think now’s the
perfect
time for you to ask her for a drink.”

Luke cocked his head. “Huh?”

“Look, man. I know you. I’ve known you a long time and I’ve seen how you are with people and how you are with women.”

Luke grinned. “Yeah? And?”

“And you’re a good guy, OK, and even though you adore women, you ain’t some fucking prick with the ladies. You don’t screw around and you don’t do one-nighters. I think she’d respond to your… ummm… particular brand of charm. She may not know it, but I think she needs someone who can stand up to her a bit, not kiss her ass. If you can reach her, I think she’d maybe even open up to you. Trust you with what’s going on with her.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a bartender so I’m a good listener, but I’m no psychologist," Luke said. "If she needs real help, I’m not it and to be honest, man, I don’t
want
to be her shrink. I want to be a guy that she wants to be with and get to know – and I mean that in
every
sense of the word. I want to date her, not psychoanalyze her.”

“I’m not saying that you're a therapist. I’m saying that you’re a decent guy, and I think she’d be in to you.”

Luke’s dark blue eyes lit up bright at that. “You think?”

“Yep.”

“And you two?” Luke asked bluntly. “Nothing between you?”

“Nothing.”

“Not ever? Not even once after a few beers?”

“Never.”

“How come?”

“Because she’s my partner and she’s a damn good one. Probably the best person I’ve ever worked with… notice that I said ‘person’, yeah, not ‘woman’. Selena’s fucking kick-ass, man, and when she’s got my back, I’m safe and I know it. It’s the perfect working relationship and if we threw in romance and sex, it’d all go to hell, I think. I ain’t taking that risk. No professional bodyguard would.”

“But you’re attracted to her?”

Griff shrugged. “I see how hot she is, ‘cause I’m not fucking blind. But beyond that? No.”

“OK, then.” Luke turned to the kitchen; his nose told him that it was time to plate up the food. “So, I’ll ask her.”

“Don’t be surprised if she says no,” Griff warned him. "She
always
says no."

Just then, they heard the bathroom door open and saw Selena’s tall, curvy shape emerge. Luke glanced at his friend, his eyes twinkling under the curly dark hair falling over his forehead.

“Yeah, I fully expect her to say no the first time,” Luke said in a low voice. “Maybe even the first three times. But the thing about me, man, is that I don’t give up so easy.”

“You need to get a hobby, Rhodes.”

“Or maybe some women are just worth waiting on.”

“Yeah.” Griff thought about Selena’s teasing humor, her amazing smile, her sweet toughness – none of which he’d seen for weeks and weeks now. He’d give or do almost anything for her to come on back to him and if Luke could help with that, Griff was on board. “Maybe they are.”

Chapter Two

Cordelia Patton woke up to find a pair of large, warm hands moving insistently over her body. They cupped her full breasts, the thumbs tweaking her nipples, then they slid down the curve of her generous hips, before coming to rest on her upper thighs. She smiled, curled in closer to Hunter ‘Sully’ Sullivan’s chest.

“Hey, baby,” he said, his breath ruffling her hair. “Did I wake you up?”

“Mmmmm-hmmm,” she said sleepily. “But I think you
meant
to.”

Those hands moved around her waist now, down her back. Gently, he cupped her softly-rounded ass, pulled her up tight against his lower body. She made a sound of contentment when Hunter’s erection pressed in to her stomach.

“I did not,” Hunter said, his voice husky. “It was totally an accident.”

She gave a small laugh.

“… But now that you
are
awake,” he continued. “I was thinking maybe we could do something.”

Cordelia opened one eye. “Like what?”

“Ummm… go for a run together?”

“Urgh. Never.”

“OK, then. Maybe you can make me breakfast?”

“Dream on, buddy.
You
woke me up,
you
make the coffee.”

“Oh. Is that the rule?”

“It is now.”

“OK, I’ll go along with that… on one condition.” He gave a small thrust of his powerful hips and she bit back a gasp of desire.

“Name it,” she said, breathless.

“That
you
help me work up an appetite.”

She smiled up at him, her dark eyes glowing in the half-light, her black hair tousled around her beautiful face. “How?”

“Want me to show you?”

“Sure.”

He moved so quickly, now she
did
gasp aloud. Hunter Sullivan wasn’t a small man, but
boy
, he could move fast and silent when he wanted to. And right now? He clearly wanted to.

His lips on hers were impatient and insistent, all fire and desire. His large body covered hers completely, his whole hard length pressing in to her soft curves. Cordelia wasn’t anything
like
a petite waif, but when Hunter was on her, she felt amazingly tiny. Always safe, though: the man was fiercely protective and dangerous and had put more men in the ground than she cared to know about, but with her, he was nothing but careful.

Her arms snaked around his broad shoulders, pulling him down as she rubbed her slick pussy against him. Her reward was a throaty groan, so she did it again.

Sully lifted his head to gaze down at her naked body; his dark eyes were nothing but flame as he gazed at her chocolate skin.

“What do you want, baby?” he ground out. “Tell me.”

“I want you inside me,” she breathed. “No more fooling around… just take me.”

“Awesome.” His hands spread her thighs. “I
love
when we’re on the same page.”

“Hunter…” Her plea was cut off now, and his name ended on a moan as he thrust inside her in one hard movement, so deep and hot. “Oh, God…
Hunter
…”

“Shhhhh,” he murmured against her lips. “The kids.”

“I know,” she whispered back. “I’ll try.”

It was a trial, though. Cordelia closed her eyes as sensation just washed over her, his thick cock pushing deep before he dragged it slowly out, stroking her clit with its length. Her back arched up off the bed and her nails dug in to his ass, trying to get as close to him as humanly possible, knowing that as close as possible was never close enough with this man.

“Baby.” His voice was a husky whisper. “You need to come for me… I’m so fucking close, but I won’t let myself go over until you’re good.”

“I’m good,” she gasped. “I’m
so
good… just – harder. I need it harder.”

“Fuck.” Her words kicked his arousal in to overdrive and his thrusts got faster and harder. “Oh, damn, I can feel your muscles getting tighter on me. You’re caressing me with your pussy, baby… all that heat and silk just clenching and releasing on me. More, sweetheart.
More
.”

He knew how much she loved it when he talked to her like this in bed, and his words had the same effect that they always did: Cordelia’s body exploded. The orgasm was huge and shattering, almost terrifying in its strength. But Hunter was there to pick up the pieces, to put her together again. His hands held her, caught her, soothed her.

As he felt her whole body convulse in pleasure, Sully let go, too. His cock lengthened inside her amazing body, then he came, muttering her name against her throat, his right hand clutching her left one tight enough that her engagement ring dug in to his skin.

Breathless, exhausted, totally satisfied, Cordelia buried her face in to his chest. His heart was thundering against her forehead and his breathing was harsh. She smiled, gently ran her hands over his back muscles, loving this man more than she thought it was possible.

Not wanting to crush her, Sully rolled now, pulling her with him. He withdrew with a groan of regret and she curled up, tucked her legs under her. Sully smiled at her.

“You think we made a baby this time?” he asked teasingly, his hand on her soft stomach.

She smiled back. “I hope so. I’d love to have three kids.”

“Hmmm. Me too.” He kissed her forehead, felt her calm and relax. “Know what else I’d love?”

“Nope.”

“To marry you.”

She held up her hand, the diamond on the engagement ring catching the morning light. “You
do
know what
this
means, right? What you asked me when you gave it to me?”

“Sure do,” he growled. “But what I mean is, I don’t want to wait. No bullshit, no long engagement. I want to marry you next weekend.”

Cordelia sat straight up. “You –
what
?”

“Yeah.” His black eyes took in her shock with amusement. “You got any plans for next Sunday, baby?”

“What? How? But…” she faltered. “Next
Sunday
?”

“Yep.”

She stared at him, trying to decide where exactly to begin with this. He waited.

“You – you really want to do it this fast?” she said at last. “No big wedding at a church? No huge party after?”

“I don’t, and I know you don’t. We’ve talked about this about a hundred times, and neither one of us wants the big shebang.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Besides, I see no point whatsoever in blowing tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding – not when we could use that money so much better on other things.”

“I know. I was thinking about that.” Cordelia tilted her head at him. “Like on Iris’ adoption process.”

“And Sean’s surgery.”

“What?” Cordelia was startled again. “Sean’s surgery?”

“Uh-huh.” Hunter sat up now, too. “I talked to a doctor I know, and he gave me a referral to a Doctor Finn in Miami. There’s no guarantee and he needs to actually see Sean, but Doctor Finn told me that there’s a good chance that he could do the laser surgery on Sean’s brain tumor for a fraction of the price that you were quoted last year. He says that Sean’s at just the right age for what he does – apparently, he has the best success with kids aged ten to eleven. Something about their brain development at that age, and Sean’s just right there.”

“Really?” Cordelia was suddenly almost dizzy with hope. “How much would it cost?”

“Maybe twenty-five thousand.”

“Not a quarter-of-a-million?”

“Not even close. It’s privately subsidized by some research foundation, so it’s affordable.”

She bit her lip. “That’s still a hell of a lot.”

“I’ve got it, Cordelia. I’ve
more
than got it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I’ve been a single man in a highly-paid job for almost a decade. Don’t worry about the money, baby.”

“Oh.” She shut her eyes. “Oh,
God
.”

“Hey.” Alarmed at the fact that she’d gone gray right in front of him, he reached for her gently. “Hey, you OK?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s a lot to take in all at once. I get that.”

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “So… a city hall wedding it is.”

“Oh, I think we can do better than that, don’t you?” He kept his voice low and stroked her tumbled hair as he spoke. “I talked to Amanda at the adoption center and she said that we can take Iris out of the country for no more than five days. She’s preparing the letter of permission and I can pick it up tomorrow. Dallas has agreed to give us both a week off, and we’re all booked on a flight to Aruba for next Saturday… you, me, your Mom, Sean and Iris. Dallas sprang for all the tickets as a wedding gift, by the way.”

“He
what
? And wait. My
Mom
knew about this?”

Sully grinned. “She did. She’s ready to take you dress shopping, by the way, so give her a call.”

“I don’t believe any of this.”

Sully peered at her, wondering if she wasn’t happy. “Cordelia?”

“Yeah?”

“Is this all OK with you? I mean, if you want the big wedding and everything here in Denver, or if you want more time before marrying me, just say so.”

“Are you kidding me?” Tears stung her eyes. “What you’ve got planned is what I want.”

“Really?” Sully relaxed. “You sure?”

“Yes. Completely.” She wiped her eyes. “Getting married on a beach, with Mom and our kids, all low-key and casual? It’s – it’s perfect, Hunter. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. You’re a no-frills kinda woman, Cordelia, and I figured you’d be happiest with something simple and loving.”

“But what about your Dad?” Cordelia said. “Can’t he come?”

“Nah, baby.” Hunter shook his head. “It’s too risky, with his Alzheimer’s. Your Mom said that she’d take care of the kids for three days so we can get a real honeymoon all alone in Aruba, but no way she can handle my Dad, too.”

“No, I guess not.” Cordelia paused. “I’m sorry, babe. I wish he could be there.”

“Yeah, me too. But he understands.”

She huffed. “
He
knows already?”

“Yep.”

“So everyone was in on it but me.”

“And the cat. We figured he’d spill the beans.” Sully kissed her lips. “But I
did
tell Iris.”

Cordelia gave a mock-scowl. “She never said a word.”

“Yeah, she’s a damn good secret-keeper for an eight-month-old.”

“I’ll be having a conversation with her, for sure.”

“Don’t go too hard on the kid,” Sully admonished her. “She might spit up on you in revenge.”

“No kidding.”

“So…” Sully’s voice and face were so soft, it clutched at her heart. “You’ll marry me next Sunday, baby? Barefoot and beautiful on a beach at sunset, with our kids there?”

“Oh, Hunter.” The tears were back now, sweet and happy. “I will.”

“You’re gonna make me the happiest man on the planet, Cordelia. You
do
know that, right?”

She smiled up at him and said the two words that she was longing to say, the words that she’d say so very soon: “I do.”