Crave (The MacKenzie Family #11) (7 page)

“Like what you see, sugar?” he asked.

Her cheeks flushed red and she looked at her father accusingly, but he was suddenly very interested in his water bottle.

“Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “No, no, no. This is my worst nightmare.”

“Come on, Evie,” Cal said, coming farther into the room. “It’ll be just like when we were kids.”

His voice sent a shiver down her spine. How could one man have such power over her? She hated that about herself. She knew she was smart. Could make her own decisions and live an independent life without the help of anyone. Yet one man had controlled her entire destiny for a good portion of her adult life—a man she couldn’t trust far enough to throw him. And still his presence affected her like no other man’s ever had.

Her pulse fluttered in her throat and her breasts grew heavy with need, her nipples tightening into tiny beads. No matter how much she’d told herself she hated him, it was still Cal she saw in her dreams. A childhood crush that never faded. It was his face she imagined at night when her hands slipped beneath the covers, and the weight of his body she yearned for when her fingers were slicked with syrup and buried in her folds.

“Go away, Cal.”

“It’s the middle of summer and we’re at the beach,” he said. “Let your hair down for a while. Stop being such a tight ass. You used to be fun.”

“And you used to not be an asshole. I guess time changes us all.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and counted to ten, focusing on the sound of the ocean. The sliding glass doors were open and if she made a run for it she could have the sand between her toes in just a few seconds.

“Well then,” Robert said, getting to his feet. “It looks like three’s a crowd. I’ll leave you two to get acclimated. I’ve got a plane to catch.”

“Oh, no,” Evangeline said, standing. “You’re not going anywhere until you explain what the hell is going on.”

“I told you, Evie. You need a bodyguard and I’m out of eligible bachelors. That leaves Cal. You agreed to take precautions for the week. Don’t go back on your word now.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but it was a wasted effort because he’d already turned toward Cal.

“Son, you always did have a way of making women want to claw your eyes out.”

“It’s a gift,” Cal said, grinning. She could count the number of times she’d wanted to do violence to a person on one hand, and she was pretty sure they all involved Cal.

There were very few people in the world who knew the real Cal Colter. Hell, maybe not even her come to think of it. He was brilliant, no doubt, and only one of the aspects she’d found fascinating about him over the years. The layers of Cal had always intrigued her. And it was obvious to anyone who knew him well that he covered a whole world of hurt with smartass remarks and general rudeness if it suited him.

He’d never cared one bit about being anyone other than himself, and he never made apologies for his behavior. People either loved Cal or they hated him. There was no in between.

“You might as well take him back with you, Daddy. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Cal be my bodyguard. You know his attention span won’t last the week. He’ll be playing poker with the staff and fleecing them out of all their money after two days.”

“Still bitter about that are we, Evie?”

She turned to face him, putting her hands on her hips. “I was twelve, you moron. And no, I’m not still bitter. Some of us learn to grow up. Want to take a guess who in this room hasn’t?”

“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “If by “grow up” you mean turn into a boring spinster who doesn’t know how to have fun I think I’ll pass.”

“You made me what I am,” she said, and then she remembered her father was standing there and pinched her mouth shut before she said too much. “Get out of my house.” She was surprised by how even her voice was. Because on the inside she was screaming. “If you’re not out in the next ten seconds I’m going to shove my fist up your ass and jerk your cold, worthless heart right out of your body. And then I’m going to feed it to a sharks along with the rest of your corpse.”

Cal arched a brow and gave her an insufferable smile. “You’ve given that a lot of thought, Evie. Kind of disturbing if you ask me. I don’t remember you being so violent. I wonder where all this pent up aggression is coming from. Have you thought of seeing a counselor?”

A sound came out of her mouth that was somewhere between a gasp and a shriek. “I’m going to kill you. Murder you in your sleep. And no jury would convict me.”

Good grief, she had to get a hold of herself. He was turning her into a shrew. The way to deal with Cal was to outsmart him. He thrived off emotional reactions, and she was giving him exactly what he wanted.

She took a deep breath and tried to smile, though she wasn’t sure she was successful in her attempt. “You’re right, Cal. I apologize. I’m completely overreacting. I think it’s because Daddy’s been pressuring me to settle down by throwing men into my path every chance he gets. My reaction is just reflex now.”

The look in his eye was calculating as he tried to figure out her angle.

“You make me sound like a tyrant trying to sell his daughter to the highest bidder, Evangeline.” Robert stared her down, his lips pursed. “I find that highly insulting.”

“Your speech is getting proper again,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. His lips pinched even tighter together and he gave her a look that would’ve sent any number of his agents running in the opposite direction.

He was really still a very attractive man for someone in the latter half of his sixties. He stood military straight, his shoulders broad and his body still in good shape from years of training. His hair was thick and had been completely silver since she was a child. It was a shame he hadn’t found a woman to keep him occupied so he’d stay out of her business.

“You’re pushing your luck, Evangeline.”

“No, Dad. I’m being serious.” She shrugged and then crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s time I took your advice and settled down. And you’re handpicking these men, so there must be something good about them. I figure one is just as good as the next. You’ve always loved Cal like a son anyway, so maybe we should just see where this goes. ”

The color drained from her father’s face and he went completely still. She would’ve burst out laughing if it wouldn’t have completely ruined her plan. But when she turned and looked at Cal any humor she saw in the situation dried up immediately. She recognized that look. It meant trouble.

“Now, Evangeline,” Robert sputtered. His eyes cut back and forth between her and Cal, gauging the potential fallout. Just like always.

“It’s okay, Daddy. I’m sure Cal knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he agreed to take this job. It’s not like you’ve been subtle about your attempts. Now if you two don’t mind, I think I’m going to lie out by the pool for a couple of hours. The idea of a vacation sounds nice now that you put the idea in my head,” she told her father.

She’d taken two steps toward the door when Cal stopped her and said, “Just hang tight a minute, Evie. You and I need to go over the ground rules. This isn’t just a vacation. You’re going to take every precaution while you’re here.”

“You do love your rules, don’t you, Cal?”

“Rules tend to keep girls out of trouble.”

“Must be nice to make the rules and never have to follow them.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up and the blue of his eyes deepened until they were almost navy. “It has its advantages.”

“Am I missing something?” her father asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Robert, I think it’s time you left us alone to talk this out. You’ve set this in motion, but it’s time to let us take it from here. Obviously, Evie and I have a great deal to work out. Like the fact that we’re going to be sticking together like glue until this guy is caught. Declan has added security in locations unknown to me, but they’re not on the property so it’s just you and me kid.”

“Get real, Cal. We can’t be together every second of every day.”

“Sure we can, sugar. I’ll scrub your back in the shower. By the way, I sleep on the left side of the bed.”

This time it was her mouth that dropped open in surprise. The look Cal gave her was so hot and filled with lust she wondered how she didn’t combust into flames where she stood. Heat rushed to her cheeks and things she hadn’t allowed herself to feel since she was a teenager overwhelmed her. It was a hell of a time for her hormones to awaken. Cal had always been at the center of her fantasies. Until he’d killed them. It was important to remember why she’d stopped loving him.

“Now wait just a damned minute, Cal,” her father said. His cheeks flushed with anger.

“No interference, Robert,” Cal interrupted. “That was your promise when I took the job. You’re the one who’s been meddling in Evie’s life, trying to get her to settle down. I’m just answering the call. You’ve done your part. Now it’s up to the two of us.”

“You’re supposed to be protecting her, not seducing her. I know your reputation better than anyone, son.”

“I will protect her. With my life if I have to. The seduction is just an added bonus.” He grinned unapologetically and she started to worry that Cal was going too far. Her father looked ready to commit murder.

She’d never seen Cal face down her father before. Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anyone face down her father. He was the boss. Larger than life. And he was no one to mess with.

“I’ve treated you like a son for most of your life and this is how you repay me?”

“You once told me that family never had to repay anything. You just do things because it’s family.”

“I’m getting damned tired of the two of you remembering my words of wisdom for once. And that doesn’t negate the fact that you’re talking about my daughter. She’s not someone to dally with.”

“She’s standing right here and she can speak for herself,” Evangeline said, irritated with both of them now. “I feel like you’re about to start bartering cheese wheels and cattle for my hand in marriage. And if that’s the case, then I’m going to have to shoot both of you. Cal and I don’t even like each other, so I don’t think this is going to be an issue.”

“I like you just fine, sugar. You’re the one that knows how to hold a grudge.” Cal grinned and turned back to her father. “But in all seriousness, you’re not treating this situation the way you should. The man who’s after you is dangerous, and I’m not going to risk your life because you don’t want your privacy invaded.

“You’ve been a father to me, Robert,” Cal said, turning to the older man. “But you set this in motion. It’s time to step back and let it play out. You know I won’t hurt her. But I’m also not going to stand here and let her manipulate me into letting her call the shots. And if you’d stop and think like the intelligence officer you once were and not the father you are then you’d see that as plain as I do. My first priority is to protect her. My second priority is to get her to stop being so hard-headed and realize that we can work better together than apart. Maybe that’s within a personal relationship or maybe not. But it’s something we’ll have to figure out for ourselves.”

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. She wasn’t expecting something so—mature to come out of Cal’s mouth. Not that she was going to give him the time of day. She certainly did know how to hold a grudge. He’d been right about that. And despite Cal’s talk about personal relationships to her father, there was the little issue of trust to deal with.

What was more surprising than anything was her father nodding his head in agreement. He turned to her and said, “Cal stays. You can’t fire him. Only I can do that. Do what he says when it comes to your safety. If he gets out of line with the other let me know.”

Then he turned back to Cal and gave him a warning. “If you break her heart you’re a dead man. I don’t have time to hide any bodies with my schedule the way it is, and honestly I just don’t want to deal with Declan. But I’ll do it if you force my hand. Dec wasn’t someone I liked messing with when he was one of my agents, and I want to mess with him even less now. He’s a mean son of a bitch when he wants to be. I think he learned that from me.”

With nothing more than a quick wave goodbye, he exited the room and left them alone. The front door closed behind him, and the silence was palpable.

Evangeline felt the temper she tried so hard to control bubbling to the surface, and her hands fisted at her sides until her nails bit into her palms. The last time she’d felt this much anger and lack of control was the day Cal had taken everything important away from her.

As if reading her mind he said, “So what do you say, Evie? Do you still hate me?”

C
al knew he was walking a fine line, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. There was something about Evangeline that made him want to keep pushing, to argue with her just for the sake of controversy. Because the rush he got from pitting his wits against hers was the best fucking foreplay he’d ever had. He’d been hard from the moment he’d stepped into the room and seen her pouting on the couch.

He’d kept close tabs on her over the years, so he was prepared to see her again in the flesh.
Thought
he was prepared to see her again. She sure as hell wasn’t a girl of twenty anymore. The baggy clothes she wore couldn’t hide the curves beneath. Hell, he didn’t know why she bothered at all. He knew enough about women to recognize someone who was in good shape and took care of their body. Nothing could hide that kind of work ethic.

“Seriously? You’re asking if I still hate you after the little stunt you just pulled? You must be out of your damned mind.”

He winked at her and went to close the sliding glass door, testing the locking mechanism just to be safe. And then he pulled the curtains.

All the entry and exit points in the house made him want to pack her up and get her on the next plane to Surrender and the MacKenzie Compound, but Victor Taber would find them no matter where they were, and there was no reason to endanger anyone else. It was better to do things under his own terms.