I wasn’t a Marine, now that I wasn’t anything at all. I guess I was looking for somewhere to belong. The Devil Dogs seemed to come along at the right time.” He shrugs as if it were that simple, but Isabel is no fool; she can see the haunted look in his eyes.
She takes a moment, trying to process all she’s heard. “So why would I be in danger? What does any of this have to do with me?”
“The less you know about the Dogs and what I do, the better.” He levels her with a serious look. “These guys are dangerous and they take their anonymity pretty damn seriously. The Feds, the ATF, they’ve been trying to penetrate the gang for years, but they’re always two steps behind. If the Dogs think someone outside knows what we’re doing, they’re prepared to shut them up, by any means necessary.”
Isabel shivers involuntarily at his words. Absently, she wonders when she’d earned a starring role in what sounded like something that could only happen in the movies.
In an instant, Wesley is by her side, his arms around her, holding her tight against his chest. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” His voice is firm as his fingers running through her hair are gentle. “I’ve been trying to keep you at arms length for your own safety. But I can’t, not anymore. I can’t stay away from you, Isabel.” He pulls away slightly to look at her, his fingers running over her the fullness of her cheek.
“I don’t want you to.” Her voice is quiet but there’s no mistaking the strength behind it.
Wesley’s eyes are conflicted. “But it’s not right. It’s not fair on you. It’s not safe for you to be with me. I should be telling you to stay as far away from me as possible. But I can’t, which makes me a selfish asshole.”
Isabel shakes her head firmly, resting her hands on either side of his rugged face. “I don’t want that kind of ‘safety.’ Not if it means being without you.” She looks at him seriously, communicating with her eyes that she has no intention of backing down. “Besides, there’s a lot you still don’t know about me; trust me, I can take care of myself.”
“But you don’t have to, not while I’m around.”
She doesn’t have long to ask herself the question that she’s been avoiding as he curls his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him and kissing her deeply. She doesn’t have time to ask exactly how long he’s planning to be around before he pushes her gently back down onto the bed, nudging open her thighs with his knee.
Besides, it’s too soon for that. It’s too soon for any kind of sense of ownership. That’s what she tells herself, anyway. Never mind that the idea of him with anyone else makes her stomach turn. Never mind that she’s pulled towards him like a planet orbiting the sun. He’s told her he’s dangerous, that he’s not the kind of guy she should be with. So why is it so hard to believe him? Why is it impossible to imagine him being the villain of the piece rather than the hero? Why is it so hard to persuade herself she doesn’t need him?
Wesley’s mouth kisses a trail down her throat, suckling at her neck and she breathes in the scent of him, the feel of him, adding fuel to the flame of her overwhelming desire for him. The last thought she has before all rational thinking leaves her brain is a flashback to what he had said about the Dogs – that he had been looking for somewhere to belong when they found him. And she wonders if he is still searching, if, perhaps, he might find what he is looking for with her.
CHAPTER TEN
Isabel can’t help but start at every noise she hears, because any of them could herald the arrival of Wesley. She tries to distract herself with the accounts report in front of her. But no matter which way she works them, she can’t seem to make the incomings outweigh the outgoings. In other words, the boarding house is still losing more than it is
She takes a moment, trying to process all she’s heard. “So why would I be in danger? What does any of this have to do with me?”
“The less you know about the Dogs and what I do, the better.” He levels her with a serious look. “These guys are dangerous and they take their anonymity pretty damn seriously. The Feds, the ATF, they’ve been trying to penetrate the gang for years, but they’re always two steps behind. If the Dogs think someone outside knows what we’re doing, they’re prepared to shut them up, by any means necessary.”
Isabel shivers involuntarily at his words. Absently, she wonders when she’d earned a starring role in what sounded like something that could only happen in the movies.
In an instant, Wesley is by her side, his arms around her, holding her tight against his chest. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” His voice is firm as his fingers running through her hair are gentle. “I’ve been trying to keep you at arms length for your own safety. But I can’t, not anymore. I can’t stay away from you, Isabel.” He pulls away slightly to look at her, his fingers running over her the fullness of her cheek.
“I don’t want you to.” Her voice is quiet but there’s no mistaking the strength behind it.
Wesley’s eyes are conflicted. “But it’s not right. It’s not fair on you. It’s not safe for you to be with me. I should be telling you to stay as far away from me as possible. But I can’t, which makes me a selfish asshole.”
Isabel shakes her head firmly, resting her hands on either side of his rugged face. “I don’t want that kind of ‘safety.’ Not if it means being without you.” She looks at him seriously, communicating with her eyes that she has no intention of backing down. “Besides, there’s a lot you still don’t know about me; trust me, I can take care of myself.”
“But you don’t have to, not while I’m around.”
She doesn’t have long to ask herself the question that she’s been avoiding as he curls his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him and kissing her deeply. She doesn’t have time to ask exactly how long he’s planning to be around before he pushes her gently back down onto the bed, nudging open her thighs with his knee.
Besides, it’s too soon for that. It’s too soon for any kind of sense of ownership. That’s what she tells herself, anyway. Never mind that the idea of him with anyone else makes her stomach turn. Never mind that she’s pulled towards him like a planet orbiting the sun. He’s told her he’s dangerous, that he’s not the kind of guy she should be with. So why is it so hard to believe him? Why is it impossible to imagine him being the villain of the piece rather than the hero? Why is it so hard to persuade herself she doesn’t need him?
Wesley’s mouth kisses a trail down her throat, suckling at her neck and she breathes in the scent of him, the feel of him, adding fuel to the flame of her overwhelming desire for him. The last thought she has before all rational thinking leaves her brain is a flashback to what he had said about the Dogs – that he had been looking for somewhere to belong when they found him. And she wonders if he is still searching, if, perhaps, he might find what he is looking for with her.
CHAPTER TEN
Isabel can’t help but start at every noise she hears, because any of them could herald the arrival of Wesley. She tries to distract herself with the accounts report in front of her. But no matter which way she works them, she can’t seem to make the incomings outweigh the outgoings. In other words, the boarding house is still losing more than it is
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