Trained for Seduction (33 page)

She turned away, and then she looked back at him one last time, his hands in his pockets, every inch dark and dangerous.

She said softly, “I’m done waiting.”

When Kate left, Chase went back out to the range with a rifle. He shot sniper-style, prone on the cold ground, motionless for what seemed eons, picturing Jake consoling Kate before he loaded the bullet and took the shot.

Funny, he wasn’t as accurate when Jake’s face loomed in his mind, especially when Kate was right about his best friend. Right about all of it. He sighed, cleared his mind from the self-loathing and then went back to the deadly accuracy he was accustomed to.

He could easily take Jake out of the equation—a crowded room, a busy street. He’d done it many times over in his past life and no one would even suspect him. A part of Chase knew he was being an ass. It was his mission, he had asked Jake to partake. But damn it, he had gone too far, as far as Chase the friend was concerned. Chase the boss—he sided with Jake.

So yes, he could kill Jake. But then he’d be out a best friend, one that he owed his life to for saving Kate, and Kate would be pissed as hell. The guilt would eat him alive.

So that left him two choices. He could grow up and realize Kate was right or she would walk away forever and he would continue to suffer like she was suffering, in that place she said she had waited for him.

He understood how she felt because she had put perfect words to his selfish misery. She had said she was done waiting, and the look in her eyes told him she meant it.

He shifted on the cold ground, his bad knee throbbing. Ignoring the problem had been just as bad as losing control, and he ached to hold Kate again, to have her back in his arms, his life. He was just so damned jealous and felt less than a man, letting his best friend take her to the brink of hell and back while he sat back and commanded it all.

Then the accusations, what an ass on his part. He could have manned up and asked her, and he had tried, but she hadn’t been home the day after the debriefing and he’d assumed the worst.

Her admission of loving Jake did make him squirm. Yes, she loved him. He’d deal with that somehow because he loved Jake, too. More than he’d admit to anyone unless they planned on dying. But fuck, a threesome? He shoved that aside to deal with later.

If she wasn’t with Jake the day after the debriefing, though, where was she? She hinted of rule breaking, and that gave him a shiver of apprehension. The stuff she’d told him so far made him want to vomit. That the bomb was hers, how she escaped, how many languages she knew. She was her own special brand of time bomb, waiting to go off unless someone kept her under control.

Control. He snorted. Fuck control.

He loaded another bullet and took aim, the shooting calming his nerves, clearing his mind so the flow of thoughts made some semblance of sense.

It was hard to admit Kate was right, about all of it. Definitely about Jake. As mad as parts of him were, Jake was his best friend. Jake had saved his life, too. And Jake would never cross the line Chase had drawn when it came to Kate, not unless he thought they were dead ducks.

He slung the rifle over his shoulder and trudged back to the house. What hurt the most, though, was the fact that she’d accused him of being a bad boss.

And she was right. He had let her down. He should have kept one of the appointments she had made to see him at the office and let her know she had been just as amazing as Jake had said she’d been.

Though parts of him were jealous and angry, the boss in him was proud beyond belief. She had done exactly what he asked, down to the last cross of the t, dot of the i. Even Jake wasn’t that amazing.

Chase banged the mud off his boots and entered through the mudroom off the back. She had discussed a threesome, with Jake, and a part of him was terrified of going there, maybe because she wanted it, too, and that took away some of his control.

He’d never shared a woman he cared about with Jake. They only had one-night affairs, set up for mutual fun. He wasn’t so sure about sharing someone this important to him. But watching her with Jake in the clearing had given him one hell of a raging hard-on. The two of them could give her so much pleasure…didn’t she deserve that?

Part of the reason he liked threesomes was that it gave him a chance to be with Jake as well—not sexually. But they also shared a special closeness, and he understood too well how Kate felt after Jake saved her life. A threesome should enhance that bond they all shared, shouldn’t it?

Chase went downstairs, stowed his rifle, and went back to the kitchen. His phone dinged, and he looked. Jake, which surprised him. Jake had gone silent in the texting department after the debriefing, and Chase knew damned well why—because Chase was an asshole.

If you don’t want her, then let me know now. She thinks she can handle facing you again, but she can’t. So just let me know, and I’ll come get her things.

Chase sighed and reread the text. The devil in him pictured them in a hotel room, her curled naked against Jake’s chest.

But he knew where they were—in that damned coffee shop Jake loved, her crying, him holding her hand. She had been so brave, facing him. Braver than he had been. Jake was a good friend to step in, again, and clean up his mess. It was over. He would be a man and make amends, with both of them.

And hopefully, she’d stay.

You can bring her home. I’m done being an ass.

I may not be good enough to pull off a crowded room, but I can do a busy street.

Yes, Jake was good enough, and the warning was very clear. Fuck this up and Chase would pay. I care about her. I’m an asshole. I’m sorry.

As badly as Chase wanted to text I love her, he couldn’t. He didn’t want to proclaim his love and then have her even more devastated when a ménage with Jake didn’t work out. He still feared she’d run, screaming, if he took her to the club or brought Jake to their bed.

It took a minute for Jake to respond. Your girl doesn’t like lattes.

Chase laughed, erasing the tension. No, his girl liked plain old coffee with cream and one sugar, just like he liked it.

That one text meant the world to him. Jake had basically said he accepted his apology, and that Kate was all Chase’s. He’d apologize again, in person, but it was a start. Bring me a coffee?

With or without arsenic?

Chase knew that came from Kate, reminding him of her perusal of the periodic table when he had said she couldn’t come. He laughed again. She can poison me later if she doesn’t like my apology.

Done deal. See you in thirty.

Chase felt better about his choice, lighter in his heart than he’d felt since he waited with Jake in the waiting room for word if she was still alive. If he wanted them both, Jake and Kate, he had to give in and allow the unknown to grow into whatever it would be.

Jake was always allowed on the inside of the mask, but he had to allow Kate in, too, to see the man he really was if a relationship was going to work. He had to trust his gut.

His mind made up, he began to make plans, phone calls. That’s what he did best. He searched the fridge and pulled out food, enough for an army, hopefully enough to please her.

****

A half hour later Chase heard the crunch of gravel and went to the window to watch as Kate and Jake got out of the car. She laughed at something Jake said as she pulled her purse over her shoulder, so at ease, so beautiful it made him ache.

Jake went to her side of the car and said something else, reaching for her hand, and fear crossed her face. She glanced at Jake, then at the house, and Chase felt the impact of her pain, her terror, in his gut.

She went to get back in the car, and Jake stopped her, grabbing her shoulders, whispering something earnest. If he didn’t know them better, he’d guess Jake was conning her into his bed, convincing Kate to leave.

But Chase knew them, knew Jake. His friend was convincing her to take the last steps to the door, to close the distance between them, to find out if Chase wanted her, after all.

Chase knew he was such an asshole. What man deserved a best friend like that? Not him. He turned and went back into the kitchen, to finish his plans.

Kate closed her eyes and rested her head against Jake’s chest, knowing if Chase looked out of the window right then, it was over. At this moment, Jake was the only thing keeping her in the driveway, in Chase’s life. But Chase would see it as something else, something sexual that crossed the line. Jake was her friend. She only wanted Chase.

“C’mon, sweetheart. We’re almost there.”

His voice reminded her of their escape through the woods and how he’d urged her on. Since that day, he’d dropped the darlin’ and called her sweetheart. She knew he had changed, too. “I can’t.”

He kissed her temple. “You fought your way out of a compound of madmen with a gunshot wound, and you can’t go up those steps to see the guy you love? Chicken.”

“I think now it’s easier to die quickly than to live in pain.”

“Hopefully, he’s gotten smart, and this will be over.” He pushed her away from him, gently, and looked into her eyes. “You’re going to be amazing, no matter what he says or does. Just remember that.”

Amazing, even while getting dumped. She wanted to laugh. They walked, Jake’s hand holding hers, dragging her up each step. He opened the door, she sucked in a breath, and they went in.

“Welcome home,” Chase said from the kitchen.

Relief flooded her, and she dragged Jake into the kitchen, but she clutched his hand, afraid to let go. Chase was at the stove, cooking something wonderful, if the number of pots he had dirtied was in direct correlation to how good it would taste.

“Leave my coffee on the counter and meet me in my office? I need to speak to you both,” Chase said, his hands full of something from the oven.

Kate glanced at Jake, who shrugged. They went to his office down the hallway, a mini-replica of the one at work. He obviously liked the décor in one or the other enough to replicate it in both places.

A moment later, Chase appeared in jeans, but with one of his suit jackets and a dress shirt on. No tie. So handsome Kate’s heart ached. He went behind the desk and sat, folding his hands, looking much more confident than she felt, which made her heart sink like rocks in a pond.

“I’m pulling the informal version of boss here, but you informed me that I was a bad boss, so we need to have this meeting.”

Kate blinked and gaped at Jake. Jake shrugged and whipped out his phone.

“We don’t have to do this,” Kate whispered. “Just tell me if I have a job or not and when you want my stuff out of the house.”

“Yes, we do.” Chase flinched, startled, as his phone dinged. He removed it from his pocket and stared at it, then at Jake. “You just texted me. Again. In the middle of a meeting?”

“Read it,” Jake said. He turned to Kate, so at ease despite the tension in the room. This is why the man made an excellent spy and would make a horrible boyfriend. He could lie like a rug.

He whispered to Kate, “I often text him to let him know his meetings are so fucking boring. SFB. It also means ‘same fucking bullshit.’ He can interpret what he wants.”

“You do? That’s…wrong,” she managed to croak out, fascinated. Jake had balls. Or he was immune to the boss.

Chase read it and nodded once, sharply. “Go make sure nothing burns.”

Jake rose, giving Kate’s hand one last squeeze before he left. He shut the door quietly, and silence enveloped them, louder than a marching band, the air almost crackling with tension. It reminded her of her first day, in his office, sitting before him. Little did she know then life would bring her full circle, just as scared.

She studied Chase and suddenly could see chinks in the armor he wore. He was…nervous. Fingers tapping a pen, his eyes darting from the text back to her, as if Jake’s leaving had taken away his bravado. Which was exactly how she felt.

The nosey part of Kate had to know. “What did he say?”

“That I didn’t need him here. I could do this alone.”

Chase’s phone dinged again. And as if the holes in his armor had grown, he now looked slightly embarrassed along with nervous. “I am not to wear my mask of doom, as Jake calls it.”

He cleared his throat. The phone dinged again. He read it, and then looked at his hands. “I’m also not to fold my hands because it scares you.”

Kate laughed, the first real laugh she’d felt in ages. God, she loved Jake, because this echoed of the advice he’d given her long ago. Now he was dishing it out to Chase.

“You wanted to meet with me, sir?” she asked politely and folded her hands on her lap to mock Jake’s text.

The move served to hide the shaking in them, because she was so nervous. But facing him first, as her boss, definitely put her more at ease. Especially since the boss part of him and the dominant part of him were intertwined.

“We never had a meeting after your mission, Agent Wells,” he informed her softly. She could see him fighting not to slip into his ultra-professional skin. “I believe you deserve debriefing.”

She didn’t want to discuss this again. Not now. They had other things that needed more attention. “I don’t want to rehash what happened. You know. I know. Jake knows. It’s enough.”

“I don’t know, as you have informed me. I don’t know how you felt about any of it. How it felt to seduce your partner. Probably seduce a known terrorist. Kill a man. Escape and survive a shooting. I did arrange for you to see our therapist, but I should have seen to this myself.”

“Can we skip some of this stuff and get to the job performance part?” She closed her eyes because, though she hoped he was pleased, she couldn’t believe. Not after the hell he’d put her through. “Just tell me.”

Closing her eyes just meant she could smell him better, citrusy and male, with a mix of whatever he was cooking. She shifted, uneasy.

“I thought you were amazing, as Jake would say.”

“Really?” Her eyes flew open and she stared. Wait, she didn’t want to say that. “I mean, if you say so, sir.”

“Really.” He smiled a very honest, genuine smile for a change. “You, as you informed me, did everything I asked of you, and then some. You were brave, courageous, and you saw to Jake’s return in a more than competent manner. If you had died, it would have been with complete honor, and I was never more proud or impressed with a rookie agent.”