Page 43 of Beyond the Rules
“I want her to stay,” Aiden insisted. “Weneed to make that happen, whatever ittakes.”
How was that for atacticalplan?
With a wince, Zar got up to his feet and limped over to thetowelrack.
“Is your knee bothering you again?” Iasked.
“Nah,” he lied through his teeth and grabbed a towel. “We can try, but I don’t want anybody slouching on the hard objectives. Dimayev and Calamity must bestopped.”
He wasn’t getting any flak on that. All of us wanted to destroy those fuckers and send their chopped up dicks to hell to feed the devil. Dimayev and Calamity had to go, not only for the sake of global security, but because they were a dangertoNina.
Zar wrapped the towel around his waist and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Aiden and I marinating in the hot tub. I wanted to go back to Nina’s bed. I was getting a hard on just from planning how my dick was gonna say good morning. But Aiden lingered, and that meant he had somethingtosay.
“You think Zar’s okay?” he finallyspokeup.
“Zar’s never okay,” I said. “But he’llsurvive.”
“You think he’s onboard?”
I wasn’t sure about that. “I think he’sscared.”
“Yeah,” Aiden said. “I’m scared,too.You?”
“Pucker factor, a hundredpercent.”
“You thinkshe’llstay?”
“It’s a lot to hope for.” I let out a long breath. “No assurances.We’llsee.”
It was an honest response, and one that kept me awake for the rest of the night, as I lay next to Nina, counting herbreaths.
* * *
Nina
When I woke up on day four, my hands were much improved. My palms had a couple of stubborn spots that Tanner covered with waterproof bandages before he kissed me and went downstairs, but I was able to brush my teeth and reclaim some of my personal independence. My ankle was also better. Having both locomotive and self-care capabilities—not to mention a night and a morning of fantastic sex—greatly improved my mood. I was going to show these guys what I wasmadeof.
I dressed in a pair of speckled yoga pants, a black tank top and a hoodie before I made my way down the stairs, limping only slightly. I found the guys huddled around the breakfast table, talking in hushed tones. They stopped as soon as they saw me, which gave me a pretty good idea they were discussing thecyberhunt.
“Never mind me.” I shuffled over to the walk-in pantry. “I’ll just grab something to eat and get out ofyourway.”
“The Nina shelf is to your right.” Tanner got up from the table and, leaning on his crutches, joined me in the walk-in pantry. In the intimacy of the space, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pressed his front against my back and planted a kiss behind my ear, a soft brush of his lips that reminded me the thrills we’dshared.
His body felt so good and natural against mine. I wanted to drag him back to bed. But first, I gaped at the stuff that lined the shelves, the same foods I kept on hand in my apartment down to the brands I preferred, including the energy bars I liked to snack on and the brand of macaroni and cheese I ate mostnights.
I had a Nina shelf. In this house. With all the things I liked. A Ninashelf.
“The fresh stuff is in the fridge,” Tanner said. “We recreated your online groceryorder.”
My online grocery order. That’s how they’d figured out what I liked. It reminded me that these men knew a lot about me. But yesterday’s fury didn’t make an appearance becausethiswas what they’d done with the information they’d gotten. In their own ways, they were ethicalhackers,too.
I might have said thanks if I had been able to speak. Instead, a surge of hot tears ambushed me. I found myself desperately biting my lips to keep thesobsin.
“What’s wrong?” Tanner asked, eyes wide with concern. “Why are youcrying?”
I knuckled the tear that spilled from the corner of my eyes. “It’s just…a lot…youknow?”
He took my hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed my fingertips. “How about we get you something to eat? Zar baked these awesome blueberrymuffins…”