Sweet Southern Betrayal (25 page)

“You’re not going to get them.” Teague stood, making a show of adjusting his jacket as if he didn’t have a care in the world. The next part was crucial if he and Risa were to have any chance of living their lives in peace without looking over their shoulders. He walked over to where Risa sat on the couch and extended his hand, locking eyes with her when she took it, and moved to stand beside him. “You won’t need them anyway.”

“I won’t?”

Teague turned to face Big Tony again, holding tight to Risa and giving her hand a squeeze. “No. I resigned from Harrison & Duff this morning. I’m heading back to Elliott. You have no reason to need those pictures.”

“No. You can’t do this,” Risa said.

He looked down at her, pulling her flush against his body. “It’s done. I’ll be handling the personal and messy stuff from now on.”

Teague returned his attention to Big Tony, who was fuming behind his desk, his face red from the strain. “You get your money and my silence. I assume those terms will be enough and we can leave without anyone having to open fire.”

Seconds ticked by and Teague wondered if he’d overestimated his power of persuasion. He really hoped not, because the end result could be deadly. With the number of armed people in this room, his options for getting Risa to a place of safety were nonexistent. The thought of Risa caught in the cross fire made him slip his arm around her waist and hold her as tightly as he could.

“I can accept those terms,” Tony said, rising from his desk and walking toward Teague. Teague placed himself between Tony and Risa, unsure about what the man was going to do. “Get out. Don’t ever come back.”

He didn’t hesitate, following Jack and Lucky’s lead as they exited the office in a tight cluster of big men and bigger weapons that protected Risa from harm. They hustled down the hallways that made up the administrative end of the Gold Coast Casino, not stopping until they left the artificial climate control of the building and stepped into the oppressive heat of a Las Vegas afternoon.

Teague led Risa over to the waiting ruggedized black Suburban in the parking lot, helped her climb inside, and slid in next to her. He immediately pulled her into his arms and held her close, so relieved to have her safe and out of Big Tony’s control.

Risa would always be worth it.

He was shaking, the combination of adrenaline and fear wreaking havoc on his control. Teague pulled her closer, inhaling her scent deeply, burying his face in her hair as the silky strands absorbed the tears that leaked out in spite of his determination not to give in to his emotion.

“Jesus. Risa.” He pulled back to get a good look at her. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“You didn’t look scared.”

“Didn’t you call me a con man the first night we met?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, her lips quivering with either laughter or emotion, he couldn’t tell. “Yeah, I did.”

“Just a few more minutes and we’ll be out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Risa eyes were glassy as she dazedly stared out the window. He worried that she’d gone into shock

“The airport. I’ve got a private jet on standby. Beck is there and he’ll make sure you’re okay.” He brushed her unruly hair from her face, tracing the bruise with his fingertip. It took every ounce of will he had to not turn the car around and kill Big Tony anyway. His chest seized with pain and panic over what she’d endured over the last day. “You
are
okay? Do you need a hospital?”

“No. No hospital.” She burrowed closer into his body, her arms trapping him in a tight grip emphasizing her words. “All I want to do is take a shower, eat, and figure out what the hell you just did.”

Chapter Twenty

Risa snuggled down into the luxurious leather seat in the back of the private jet. There hadn’t been a shower on board but she did get to wash away some of the grime of her captivity and change into her favorite yoga pants and T-shirt. Her abrasions and cuts—all declared relatively minor by Beck Sutherland—were sore but not bad enough to warrant a hospital visit.

She watched Teague at the front of the plane, chatting quietly with Jack, Lucky, and Beck as they all cast quick glances her way. He was handsome and polished, no sign of having gone head-to-head with a mob boss just a little over an hour ago. Risa drank him in, so grateful that she hadn’t gotten him killed.

In the time since she’d left Elliott, Teague had monopolized her thoughts and she’d given up trying to stop the constant loop of pictures playing in her head. Her emotions had fluctuated between heartbroken and angry beyond reason, and the effort to maintain them both was exhausting. Awake, asleep, it hadn’t mattered, but she’d resigned herself to the knowledge that sooner or later she’d have to tuck them away in her top drawer with her wedding band and copy of the annulment decree.

When he’d walked into the room at Big Tony’s she’d almost wept.

She leaned against the window, watching the world go by far below her. Teague would come back here in a moment and she was afraid to face him, afraid to take whatever step was next in her life because she wasn’t sure if it really could include him. In spite of the drama of the day, the grand gesture, there was still so much that could stand between them.

“Risa.”

Turning toward the voice behind her, she looked up and saw him standing in the aisle next to her seat. Teague was ringed by the sunlight behind him, the blond strands in his hair catching the light, accented by the late summer tan he earned on his long runs outdoors. He was beautiful, and she could do nothing for a few moments but stare at him, soaking him in.

He sat down beside her, settled his arm on the armrest, his tension only evident in the tight grip on the leather. His eyes tracked over every inch of her, concern, desire, and something else battling for predominance in his eyes and on his face. When he was done he looked into her eyes again. “I meant to give you some space but I needed to see you were okay.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t move, his voice low. “For what?”

“For ruining everything. Your career…”

“It isn’t ruined.” He gave her a little half smile, as if it were an inside joke. “It’s just delayed a while.”

“How can you say that? You lost everything.”

“Not everything. Not what was important.” He reached out to her but stopped, dropping his hand in a very un-Teague-like move. He swallowed hard. “I love you.”

His voice, low and intimate, pulled a long, shuddering breath out of her chest. A beat passed between them and then he lifted the armrest, one arm circling her waist while the other cupped the back of her head and pulled her close, bringing their mouths together. She went with it for a moment, allowing herself the briefest indulgence in his comfort before she realized what she was doing.

“No.” She pushed him away, giving herself room to breathe and think. “No. You don’t get to come here and say that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t. Don’t you understand? I ruined everything. I don’t deserve to get you.”

“You deserve
everything
.” He cupped the back of her head, leaning in close and taking up all of the oxygen in the space. She wondered if the yellow cups would fall down from the bulkhead to prevent her from passing out. “I want to give it to you.” He shifted even closer, pressing her into the supple leather at her back. Her mind and body were in overload.

“I love you.”

“Stop saying that.” She couldn’t believe him. This was the kind of stuff she dreamed about and never thought she’d actually get.

“Why not? It’s true.” Teague closed what little distance remained between them, placing his palms on the seat cushions on each side of her head. He surrounded her with his scent, his strength, and the power of his words. “I love you.”

She lifted her arms to push him away, but the hard, warm planes of his chest under her skin stopped her. She whimpered, half-mad with anger because she needed him so damn much.

“Risa, I’m sorry.” Teague leaned closer, his lips brushing her cheek in a kiss that matched the apology—sweet and pleading. “I fucked up. I was wrong about everything. The firm. Your past. I had it all wrong.”

Her fingers dug into his shoulders, spasming with her struggle to drag him closer and keep him away at the same time. She’d always thought that hell was not getting what you wanted, but it was really getting your deepest desire and being too afraid to take it. And she was terrified of this. Frightened to think she might be this close to happiness.

He continued when she said nothing. “Everything I said to Big Tony was true. I quit Harrison & Duff and I’m moving back to Elliott to run my father’s practice. I can have this plane take you wherever you want to go, but there is only one place I want you to go. Please come home with me.”

Teague pulled back, his fingers rough where they framed her face, tracing paths of sweet fire along her skin. His eyes were dark now, a stormy green as he dropped his guard and let her see the longing in their depths.

“I need you, Risa.” His tone was tinged with anguish now, pulled from deep inside him, and she gasped at the pain. “I don’t want to be that man, the one you despise. I want to be the man
you
see. The one you love.” He leaned his forehead against her own, breathing deeply, water hanging like crystal on his eyelashes. “But I don’t know how to do it without you.”

She didn’t know if she was walking straight into the fire or not, but her heart didn’t care. To embrace the burning, consuming need pulling and clawing at her soul was her only option. She’d spent years watching people take this gift for granted and vowing that if she ever got the chance she would grab it with both hands. Anything else was going to be a half life, and she was tired of wondering if she could ever earn the right to be loved, to be happy, to be wanted.

“I see
you
, Teague.” Her hands clutched at his shoulders, his neck, trying to get closer, to memorize everything about him. “I love you.”

His answer was the crushing of his mouth against hers, his tongue entering with a brute force born of need and fear. They were both on edge, emotional, passion edged with punishing ferocity as they dragged their bodies together until there was no room for either of them to take a deep breath.

…

Teague broke off the kiss, burying his fingers in her hair making sure she saw him, ensuring she heard him. “I love you so much.”

“Show me.”

He could do that. It sounded a lot like a plan.

Teague lifted her up, urging her to straddle his legs in the seat. “As soon as we get to a bed I’ll show you properly but for now, give me your mouth.”

Risa leaned over him, her silky hair falling down around them in a tumble that gave them a little privacy from the guys sitting just a few rows up. Teague really couldn’t give a shit if their delicate sensibilities were offended by their public display of affection. It would serve them right for not keeping their eyes front.

Besides, they’d need to get used to it because he planned on making it a habit.

He kissed her. Enjoying the simple act of tasting her, exploring her warmth, and swallowing her sighs. The sensation of loving someone with his whole being, body and soul. It was a crazy free fall, the one thing in his life he couldn’t plan or orchestrate, but he wouldn’t change it.

When they had to come up for air, he pulled back, still cupping her gorgeous face in his hands. He didn’t know how he ever thought he could live without this woman. Teague stared at her, smiling when she blushed, the pink coloring her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

“Marry me,” he asked, stifling his laugh when her eyebrows shot up like fireworks.

Risa shook her head. “No.”

“I thought you’d say that.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“It’s what I want.” He shrugged. “You know me, I ask for what I want.”

“I think I’d like to try
not
being married to you for a while.” She ran a fingertip over his lips, replacing it with her mouth for a soft, quick kiss. “Is that okay?”

Teague soaked her in, the woman he’d take however he could get her. Married. Not married. In the end it didn’t matter as long as they were together.

“For now.”

Epilogue

Risa hovered in the space between sleep and wakefulness, fighting the pull of the day to remove her from the warm cocoon of her bed. She snuggled deeper under the covers, listening for the sounds of Teague down in the kitchen of Elliott House, her home for the last three months.

Risa settled back into the little pocket of covers she piled around her in defense of the occasional draft that passed through this old house. She didn’t mind the quirks, though. This was the first real home she’d ever had and she was loving every minute of making it reflect the life she was building with Teague.

It had surprised them both when Marian had told them she wanted to move into a smaller home in Elliott and asked them to move in. Pepper had followed once she was out of rehab and was ensconced in the apartment over Teague’s office, and it felt as if they’d always been part of the rhythm of this old town. The renovations were almost complete on the storefront next to the Southern Comfort Diner and in a few short weeks she would open the first location for Behind Closed Doors.