Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance) (16 page)

“Damn it, Kevin, I don’t need taken care of.” Elle’s voice rose with each word. The passion she was expressing was everything he’d hoped for and the barriers that she’d set in place were finally coming down. “I’ve been doing it myself for my whole life. I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, I don’t need you to take over and make me dependent on you, and I damn well didn’t need to see the way that your family lives.”

“And how is that?” Kevin asked, taking advantage of her need to breathe. The minute she switched tenses, he knew that now was the time to get to the crux of her issue. “My family depends on each other, Elle. That’s how it works.”

“I was fine. Do you understand that? I was fine living my life, content with my normal routine, and certainly gratified to be working for a living where I didn’t have to sell myself.” Elle had pointed a finger his way and emphasized each and every fact. “Now? In a matter of weeks, you’ve managed to destroy the serenity that I was able to bury myself in.”

“Is that how you want to live the rest of your life?” Kevin asked, involuntarily taking a step toward her. They were finally making progress. She was like a fucking magnet and her pull on him was unconscious. “Just being content? Do you not want happiness, enjoyment, or passion? What about sharing moments with someone? What about building something until the outcome is what you’ve just witnessed with my family? This satisfaction you talk of sounds damn lonely to me.”

“It wasn’t…” Elle shook her head as if she were at a loss for words. The lost look on her face was just too much. If she were to only really see what was in front of her, he could give her what she truly needed. Her brown eyes rested on him, but she still didn’t really
see
. “I was just fine.”

“You deserve so much better than just fine, city girl.”

Kevin crossed the distance until they were inches apart and she had to tilt her head to look up into his face. Elle’s hair had started to come free of the hair band and he brushed the strands away from her cheek. His gaze was drawn to her lips, which had parted upon his touch. He raised his eyes until his could see the darker flecks within her brown eyes and the vulnerability that lay within was his undoing.

“I need to taste you,” Kevin murmured, slowly lowering his head without disconnecting their connection. Her breathing become shallow and her pupils dilated in reaction. She didn’t pull away. He gently cradled her face within his palms and watched in fascination as her lashes drifted closed. “So beautiful.”

With those whispered words, Kevin’s lips slowly sealed over hers. He kept it soft, easy, and tranquil so that she had time to soak in their first kiss. He wanted this seared into her memory. Their body heat fused and something rare took hold, confirming what he’d always known. She was the one.

Carefully and refusing to disengage, Kevin lowered his hands and let them drift down her shoulders and arms. The counter was small but uncluttered, and he easily lifted her up so that she was sitting on the laminate surface. He stepped forward until her denim-clad legs separated, surrounding his hips. Nothing had ever felt so right to him. Needing to feel and taste more of her, he glided his fingers into her hair until the band fell out, letting her black strands fall around her.

Holding her head just so, Kevin used his tongue to trace her lower lip. Gaining access to her mouth, he savored her taste and deepened their kiss. He brought his right hand down until it rested at her lower back and pulled her body close to his. The heat of her core could be felt through both of their jeans and his reaction was immediate. Refusing to give in to his basic desires and knowing this needed to be about her, Kevin reined himself in by using both hands to soothe her arms and legs. Anywhere he could touch without breaking off their kiss, he did.

Kevin felt her tentatively place her hands on his shoulders and willed her to touch him as he was doing to her. She skated her fingers down the sides of his arms and then to the front of his chest. For a brief moment, he thought she was going to push him away, but instead she gathered up the material of his shirt in her fists and pulled him even closer.

Time passed as the two of them familiarized themselves with each other. Their desires escalated, but neither took things further than this invaluable kiss. It wasn’t until Kevin felt her move her hips like sinuous waves that he knew it was time to slowly end the beginning of what was to come.

“That was more than fine as well,” Kevin murmured, pulling away. Elle’s hands still had his shirt fisted in her palms and when her eyes finally opened, heat spread through him at seeing the darkened desire no longer hidden. “It also proves to me that you care. We’ll take this one day at a time, as I don’t want you to pressure me.”

“What?” Elle asked, her fingers finally releasing his shirt as her right eyebrow rose in disbelief. “Pressure
you
? I—”

Elle broke off her sentence when he smirked, having done what he’d set out to do. Kevin refused to leave here with her confused as to where things stood between them. Injecting a bit of humor into the situation would help both of them transition out of the sensual moment they’d created.

“You heard me.” Kevin stepped away, although it was damn harder than he thought. The loss of her heat left a chill that only she could evaporate. Forcing himself to walk to the table, it felt as if the pins in his leg had rusted. Even his body was asking what the hell he was doing. He grabbed his jacket and finally faced her. “We’ll take this nice and easy, city girl. You say things have changed and you’re right. We just need to navigate this new course together and see what it brings.”

Kevin strolled to the door, giving her time to respond. There was no going back from this. Only forward. When he reached for the knob and swung open the heavy wood, her sweet voice reached his ears.

“Kevin, I don’t think I can give you what you want. You deserve—”

“I’d stop there, if I were you,” Kevin replied, consciously formulating his words in a hard voice. “If you ever try to finish that sentence, I’ll have you downstairs and over that spanking bench before you do. Just as you pointed out before that you are an independent woman, I’m a man who knows what I want and need. You don’t get to do that for me.”

Elle didn’t say a word, although she never looked away from him. Her lower lip was in between her teeth, as if she wanted to say more but didn’t want to take the chance. They
were
making progress.

“Get some sleep and I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.” Kevin had been about to walk out the door when an idea formed. Elle had yet to move from the counter. “You deserve a first date, but since you work the weekends it looks like I’ll have to be creative. I’ll pick you up on Saturday around one o’clock in the afternoon. Dress warm.”

With that last instruction, Kevin closed the door behind him. He’d had to deal with a lot of emotions over the course of these last few days and he was glad for some alone time. He needed it to compartmentalize everything that had transpired and map out this new course that he and Elle were about to take. The stakes were too high for mistakes. Instead of exiting through the club where he’d have to face Jax and some of his other friends, Kevin chose the back exit, which was connected to the parking garage. The cold air was welcome and by the time he reached his truck, a smile had overtaken his features. This was truly living.

Chapter Fourteen

F
riday arrived and as Kevin entered the office, he saw Jessie walking toward the open area in the back where the conference table was situated. Crest stood there with his hands in his trouser pockets, studying some papers in front of him. Yesterday had been spent catching up on the case and having a discussion with Crest about Kevin’s emotional status after his grandfather’s death. He appreciated the sentiment.

“Something happen?” Kevin asked, unzipping his coat as he joined his other team members who were taking their places around the table.

“Connor’s headed back to give a detailed SITREP on the Switzerland run.” Crest looked up and pinned his gaze on Jax. “The summary is that Ryland was nowhere to be found.”

“He’s there.” Taryn held a pencil in her hand and pointed it toward the papers. “Those are the locations I’ve pinpointed after cracking his aliases. All of them were empty because he’s working from scratch. He knows that we’re onto him.”

“What I know is that he’s still out there and we’re still a target.” Jax ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Either he’d been up all night because Emily’s due date was any day now or he was obsessing over Ryland. Both were probably the answer. “Ryland will also make this personal, so it’s just not Emily he’s going to come after. It’s the entire team.”

Kevin noticed that Crest and Taryn shared a look that was undecipherable. Each member knew there was something more going on and it was just a matter of time before Jax couldn’t contain his irritation at being kept in the dark. Trust only went so far when it came to the woman he’d centered his life around. Kevin was just beginning to understand the depth of what his friend must be feeling.

“I pulled Connor out of there to regroup. Sending him on a recon is one thing, but I don’t want any of you confronting this man one on one.” Crest reached for his cup, causing Kevin to glance to his right and see that a pot of coffee was sitting on the burner. His battered Vikings cup, which his grandfather had given to him, sat empty. “Ethan is the only one free of cases right now, so he’s going to help Taryn try and figure out Ryland’s new pattern. There’s got to be a thread that we’ve been missing.”

“I’ve already been working on that and I think we need to look into the Yvette Capri angle. She was important to him, which means something in that woman’s life might point to where he’s hiding,” Ethan said, switching his gaze between Crest and Taryn, having also caught the previous exchange. “If that’s going to be a problem, then tell me now.”

“It won’t be a problem.” Crest took a sip of his coffee and it was blatant that he was giving himself some extra time before discussing it further. Kevin used the brief respite to remove his jacket and fill his own mug. The warm liquid spread through him, but it was nothing compared to having held Elle in his arms. When Crest started speaking once more, Kevin had to concentrate. He’d be able to enjoy her company tomorrow and with what he had planned, she’d have no alternative but to talk to him and share some of her history. “As all of you know, there is a connection between Yvette Capri and Taryn. It’s her story to tell and one I’m sure she’ll share with you if the need arises. Until then, let’s review the other cases we have on the front burner.”

“Then I’ll go first,” Ethan replied, garnering everyone’s attention. “Lach called in to debrief. The Africa kidnapping situation has been contained and the hostage was rescued. However, there were a number of casualties including one of the locals that we hired to assist in the mission. Lach is headed back to the States as well and he will return to work on Monday.”

“Good.” Crest murmured something to Jessie, who was taking notes. Kevin noticed that Crest didn’t look her way when he spoke and wondered when those two would finally hash out this thing between them. “Jax, you’re working on that counterfeiting case. Were you able to meet with Agent Cornish?”

Agent Cornish worked with the Treasury Department and while he was overseeing the case, a local business had requested that CSA take a look at the investigation in a more personal aspect. Kevin didn’t blame the CEO for hiring an outside agency, as the client’s reputation was now front and center with the media as the potential source.

When Jax finally finished giving the details of his progress, he looked at his phone. He’d been doing that every few minutes and it was apparent he thought Emily would call at any moment to sound the alarm. Even Crest seemed amused as he hid a smile behind his mug.

“I received Fallon’s profile yesterday and it did have some interesting points that I’ll run by Taggart later today.” Kevin placed his coffee on the table and finally took a seat, ignoring the ache in his right knee. Crest and Jessie were the only ones left standing. “She feels we’re looking for a white male in his thirties or forties. Fallon picked up on the dates as well and feels that specific day is related to an incident in his childhood or is somehow relative to the killer’s internal thinking. It could be that his mother was a prostitute or that the occupation is something he’d been around in his youth. He’s escalating, which could mean a shift in his life that is beyond his control and this is how the suspect is dealing with it. Fallon is not under the belief that he
wants
to be caught. As for the lipstick that the suspect places on the victim, it’s out of character. If we don’t nab this guy through DNA, which nothing we’ve come across at the moment matches anything in the system, Fallon would like permission to visit the next crime scene.”