There was no way he was willing to walk away from her or let any of other agent take his place. Not until they both figured out where their relationship was going. Lydia stirred and turned to snuggle into the pillow on the other side of her. He’d only known her for a month and only twenty-four hours intimately. Even weeks before he’d been too consumed with catching Winters to notice her. If it hadn’t been for her brother asking Rick to check out her story when she’d showed up in Southall at such a crucial moment, he wasn’t sure he would have noticed her at all. It wasn’t quite coincidence, but he believed that she’d had a vision about her family, and he couldn’t fault her for that. The only thing he regretted was the digging he’d done. It alerted his higher-ups to where they could find her.
It wasn’t until he’d got to know her that he’d found himself attracted to her. But just because she painted a pretty package, he wasn’t about to do something as outrageous as propose marriage or confess his undying love to her. She was beautiful, smart, and funny, he couldn’t find any fault. Even her commitment to her family impressed him. But with every day that passed, it became more apparent that he cared about her. He was falling for her, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it. Their chemistry was off the charts. She was everything a man could want and wielded more power in her pinky than anyone should be allowed. It was that thought that scared the crap out of him. It was no wonder she was the target of a maniac that wanted to use her, and Rick knew his limits. If he couldn’t protect her with just a gun or his fist, he doubted his ability to truly keep her safe, and that bothered him.
Rick slid from the bed and made his way to her kitchen to start a pot of coffee before he hopped into the shower. She was going to need the caffeine today because of the energy she’d exerted during the night. His shower was quick. Once out, he ran his hand through his wet hair and glanced down at his watch. His ride to the commercial airport on the other side of town was going to be leaving in less than two hours. He was packed and ready, but he still wasn’t going to make her face the music of their actions by herself. He poured two cups of coffee and walked back to the room. Stopping just at the threshold, he leaned against the doorframe. He let his gaze rove over his sleeping beauty.
Lydia’s eyes flickered open. She put her arms above her head and arched her back, stretching like a cat. A smile graced her lips. “Good morning.”
Rick walked over to the bed and sat down beside her as she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. “I thought you might need this today.”
She leaned up on her elbow and reached for the cup and put it to her lips. “Umm.” She took a long sip. “This is exactly what I needed.”
Rick leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t an awkward morning after. It was as natural as if they’d been sleeping together for a long time. There was no embarrassment, well, at least not yet. Rick kissed a path down to her ear. “Why don’t you take a quick shower, and then we’ll go get something to eat. We need to talk before I leave.”
Lydia lifted her finger to cover his lips. “No, we don’t. We’re consenting adults. We both had a good time. There isn’t anything else left to say.”
Rick kissed her finger and took her hand, turning it so he could kiss her palm. “Oh, there’s plenty I need to tell you about, like our visitors last night.”
“I remember them showing up, but nothing after that.”
“You passed out, probably from all of that energy you exerted.”
Rick let his gaze fall down to her exposed flesh. “And if you’re not dressed, I might get sidetracked.” Rick stood and walked back to the door. “You need clothes for this conversation.”
He pulled the door closed behind him.
****
Lydia had forgotten all about the banging on her door until he’d mentioned it. She could only imagine what it had been about. She knew she’d fried the lights in her room. Clothes littered the floor in her closet. The lamp was lying on the floor. She knew she’d created the mess. She couldn’t help it, and she dang sure wouldn’t have changed anything about last night.
Lydia slid from the bed and took the fastest shower she ever had. She’d wanted to soak in a nice long bath—lord knows she deserved it after their marathon of sex—but knew that time was her enemy. Rick was leaving today, and she wouldn’t make him wait.
She pulled the door open to the room and stepped out into her living room. She paused at the sight of Rick with his hands on the kitchen counter and his head hanging. He didn’t regret what they’d done, did he?
She walked up behind him with her empty cup. She placed a palm on his back. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
Rick turned to her and surrounded her in his arms. “I’ll let you decide when you hear about our visitors last night.”
Lydia pushed from his arms and stepped around him, fixing herself another cup of coffee. “Did we make too much noise?”
He chuckled. “You might say that.” Rick picked up his own coffee, took her hand, and steered her toward the couch. He took the cup from her hands and set them both on the table before he pulled her down onto his lap. “You might say we disturbed the whole compound.”
Lydia felt the heat rise into her cheeks, but no matter what, she wouldn’t regret it. “The whole compound?”
Rick leaned in and snuggled into the crook of her neck. “You single handily fried their whole system. I think the lights came back on at three this morning.”