Page 47 of Shadow Redemption
Her gaze searched his for a moment. “What’s your decision? Do I book alternate transportation for myself to Mexico or are we catching the Fortress jet with your team?”
Ben drew her close with a gentle tug despite the violence of his churning emotions. He stared into her beloved face and knew he was lost. He gave her one more chance to back away from this, from him and his world. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Are you going with me or am I going alone?”
He bent his head until his mouth was a hairsbreadth from hers. “Be sure, Ruth,” he murmured, his lips brushing hers with every word he spoke. “If we do this, there’s no going back for either of us. If you give yourself into my keeping, I’ll do anything necessary to keep you safe whether you approve of my tactics or not.”
“Am I only a job to you?” she whispered.
His grip on her shoulders tightened. “You already know the answer to that. From the first moment I saw you, you’ve haunted my dreams and occupied my thoughts when I should have been focused on my job. Right now, I can let you walk away.” Maybe. At this moment, he wasn’t sure he was being honest with Ruth. “If we make this relationship real, I will fight to keep you. Be sure, baby.” Tension twisted his gut and held his body immobile as he waited for the verdict from the woman of his dreams. If she rejected him, the sliver of humanity still left in his soul would shatter.
Ruth wrapped her arms around his neck and closed the distance between them. Her mouth cruised over his in a series of butterfly kisses that drove him crazy. Unable to withstand the feather-light teasing, Ben crushed his mouth to hers and took control of the kiss.
He shuddered at the heat and sunshine that flooded his veins. This was what he needed to fight the darkness. Ruth’s touch and trust. Her care. As battered as he was internally, Ben didn’t think she would ever be able to love him. If this was all he could have, he’d count himself blessed for the rest of his life.
Slowly, he pulled himself out of the haze enough to realize he’d backed Ruth against Maddox’s desk and was seconds away from crossing a line neither were ready for. Ben broke the kiss, dragged in a few ragged breaths, and whispered, “Last chance, sunshine. Is this what you want?” Is he what she wanted?
Ruth laid her hand on his chest right over his pounding heart. “I’m sure.”
So be it. She’d made her choice. There was no going back. “Let’s go. We have a plane to catch.” And he had plans to make.
Ben escorted her from Maddox’s office, praying he hadn’t made a mistake that would cost both of them their lives.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Once the jet leveled out, Ruth unlatched her seatbelt and glanced at her companion. Ben had been quiet since he’d informed Brent that he and his team would be accompanying her to Mexico.
The Fortress CEO didn’t seem to be surprised. He’d nodded and handed Ben a small envelope with instructions to give Ruth the contents when it was time.
She flicked another glance Ben’s direction. If he didn’t talk soon, she’d resort to underhanded tactics to break his silence. She had a feeling the rest of Shadow would razz the silent man beside her when she announced to the passengers on the private jet that she and Ben were a real couple now and that she’d blackmailed him into giving her a real chance.
Ruth should have felt guilty for the way she forced the issue with Ben in his boss’s office. That she didn’t was a good indication of how far gone she was over the operative.
He’d worked for several years with Nico, Joe, Sam, and Trace yet they didn’t know about his past. How was that possible? They cared about him. Why hadn’t they unearthed his secret? His teammates had to know that his past haunted him.
As she observed the others, Ruth noted the concerned glances sent Ben’s direction. They knew something was wrong, but chose to respect his privacy. Guilt assailed her. Should she have backed off and followed their example?
If she had, she’d be on her way to Mexico without a security detail. Although she didn’t believe the stalker wouldn’t strike while she was on this photoshoot, gambling on her gut instinct was foolish. Her experience with Hugo should be proof enough that her judgment of men was suspect.
Except where Ben was concerned. With Hugo, she’d been lonely and swept away by his charm. His lavish spending had lulled Ruth into lowering her guard since she didn’t have to worry that he courted her for her bank account. She’d been naive and the cost had been steep.
Enough. She couldn’t undo the past, only move forward. Ruth refocused her attention. Uneasiness had her hands fisting. What if Ben was right and she had more than a stalker to worry about? What if the danger to her came from a colleague?
She found it hard to believe the models would actively try to harm her, prime gig or not. If a co-worker was responsible for threats and attempted harm to Ruth, he or she would be blackballed in the modeling community. How would that help a fellow model attain the supermodel goal?
Nico stood, drawing everyone’s attention. “Take the next hour to finish your research on your assigned models. Let’s see what we can piece together. We’ll meet around the conference table and compare notes. After that, we rest until we’re wheels down in Mexico. We’re on duty the minute we step foot off this jet.”
The other operatives grabbed laptops and got to work. Ruth turned to Ben. He was still lost in thought. She laid her hand on top of his. When he glanced at her, Ruth almost flinched at the intense, fierce look in his eyes. What had caused that reaction? Ben would never hurt her. No doubt in her mind. No matter what he thought of himself, he wasn’t a monster. That title belonged to the Hugo Torino’s of the world. What had he been thinking to cause that reaction? “Ready to get to work?”
He watched her a moment, then retrieved his laptop from the overhead bin. “What do you know about Lindsey Collette?”
“Lindsey is a newcomer. She’s only been in modeling for a couple of years.”
A frown. “Why is she on this assignment with you if she’s green?”
“She’s talented and has the looks the fashion house wanted. A plus for the photographer is that she’s easy to work with.”
“But you mentioned that she was one of those models who would scratch your eyes out to get ahead.”