“Really? Because the two bullets in my bedroom wall say otherwise.” I grabbed onto the oh-shit handle as Lymond weaved in and out of traffic. I shut my eyes tight, afraid I was going to hurl. I did not want to lose my dinner inside my neighbor’s car, even if he was a douchebag who looked down his nose at me and called me a filthy sodomite. Who the fuck said sodomite? Then again, we were talking about a man who truly believed if he used his left hand, he’d be inviting the devil in. I made sure to only use my left hand in everything I did whenever I saw him.

  “This can’t be happening. I signed up for a nice romantic dinner with a guy who was supposed to be my dream guy. Instead I’m in a stolen car with a man who kills people for a living, trying not to get shot by another man who also kills people for a living!” I was losing it. The hysteria was bubbling up. I opened my eyes and whimpered. “Oh God, I can’t breathe.”

  “Put your head between your legs,” Lymond instructed, glancing over at me.

  “Keep your eyes on the road!” I was becoming unhinged. I could feel it.

  “I’m going to return the car, I promise. I’m just borrowing it.”

  I stopped hyperventilating to stare at him before I lost my shit. “Are you insane? I don’t give a fuck about the car! I care about not dying!”

  “Daniel, look at me.”

  I shook my head, tears in my eyes. How was this happening to me? I walked dogs for a living, shopped at the farmer’s market, and watched cooking shows. The only altercation I’d had since moving into my little brownstone was when Maverick took a dump on my neighbor’s front step seconds before he walked out of his house. Barefoot. I’d been mortified and apologized profusely. His shrill screaming and the fire practically shooting out of his eyeballs told me what I could do with my apology. If the whole being gay thing hadn’t been the reason my neighbor loathed me, the huge pile of dog shit he’d stepped in most likely sealed the deal.

  “Daniel, look at me,” Lymond demanded gently.

  We turned down a quiet street, where he slowed down before taking my hand in his. Stupidly I did as he asked and looked at him. I was taken aback by the tenderness and conviction in his silver eyes.

  “I swear to you, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded before facing forward again. He didn’t let go of my hand, so I slowly pulled it away. I laced my fingers on my lap as he drove through the city. I had no idea where he was going, who he was, or what he was going to do to me. As if sensing my growing panic, he hit the gas, which only fueled my panic. I frantically tried to think of a way to get myself out of this mess, when the car came to a stop. Lymond got out, and I fumbled to get my seat belt off. When my door was thrown open and he grabbed my arm to pull me out of the car, I came out swinging.

  Lymond ducked and grabbed hold of my other arm so I wouldn’t try to punch him again. He pushed me up against the car and pinned me with his hard body.

  “Daniel.”

  The whispered word froze me. I lifted my gaze and sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes were filled with regret, his dark brows knit together.

  “I’m sorry I got you into this. I know my word doesn’t mean much, considering you don’t know me, but I never go back on my word. I will protect you.” He lifted his hand to my cheek, and I couldn’t help my flinch. His sigh was weary and bone-deep. “I’m so sorry, Daniel.” In that moment, he looked… vulnerable, and I had the urge to wrap my arms around him.

  Jesus, I must be losing my mind.

  “Come on.” He pulled me with him toward an apartment building. “We’ll be safe here until I can sort this mess out.”

  “Where are we?” I asked, allowing him to lead me. I wasn’t sure where the greatest danger lay—here beside the dark dangerous man with the sad eyes who was a professional assassin, or out there with the crazy ex-boyfriend, who by the looks of it was also a professional assassin.

  “Safe house,” Lymond replied, escorting me through the empty lobby to one of the elevators. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting before stepping into the building, maybe something out of a horror movie with moldy floors, filthy green walls, flickering lights, and a bunch of unsavory characters milling about, but instead it was just a regular apartment building. It was well lit, a wall of mailboxes on one side, and a bulletin board with flyers pinned to it announcing upcoming community events across from it. Abstract art hung on the walls, and it was impeccably clean. We took the elevator up to the tenth floor and walked down the hall, where we turned a corner. Lymond removed a set of keys from his pocket, found the key he needed, then opened the door and switched on the lights inside.

  As soon as he released my arm, I put as much distance between us as possible. The apartment was small and sparsely furnished, but it was well taken care of. There was a living room with a couch and love seat, a kitchen with the usual appliances, and a small dining area housing a table with two chairs. One open doorway revealed a bathroom, another a bedroom with a full-sized bed and two nightstands. I noticed the black duffel bag on the floor at the foot of the bed.

  “Is that your bag?”

  “Yeah. I like to be prepared.”

  I stood frozen. Prepared? Something in my face must have given me away, because Lymond spoke to me as if he were coaxing a scared animal, his hands up in front of him.

  “It’s okay, Daniel. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment to get ahold of myself before opening them to find him sitting on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. He was such a big man, the black coat, and suit making him look even bigger and more imposing. My eyes went to his large hands, and I swallowed hard. I was amazed by how aware he was of my every breath or how in tune he appeared to be with my thoughts. He slowly slipped his hands into his pockets and sat back, his eyes moving to the ceiling. My brain was telling me I had to get the hell out of here, but my idiot heart wanted me to go to him. It was crazy. Yet the more I looked at him, the more I could see the heavy weight he carried on those broad shoulders. There was so much emotion in his silver eyes.

  “I used to be a DO officer for the CIA.”

  The words were said so quietly that if the apartment hadn’t been completely silent, I wouldn’t have heard him.

  “A what?”

  He closed his eyes. “A spy. I was a spy for the CIA.”

  “What happened?” I wavered between staying put and getting closer. Fuck it. If he’d wanted to hurt me, he’d had ample opportunity to do so. Hell, he could have just left me in my apartment. Before I could talk myself out of it, I took a seat on the couch, facing him.

  “My cover was blown, and when that happens to a spy, you’re done. Your career is over. I went from keeping my country safe, making a difference in people’s lives, to drowning in paperwork.”

  I might not know much about Lymond—hell, I didn’t even know his last name—but I knew the heartache in his eyes was real, and it hurt my heart. He rolled his head toward me, his brows drawn together, and I lost myself in his eyes, in the pain.

  “I’d lost my purpose,” he said softly before sitting up and lacing his fingers on his lap. “Then one day, I was texted a video.” His jaw clenched, and his warm eyes turned to steel. “It was horrific. I can still hear her screams.” Tears filled his eyes, and he didn’t bother brushing them away, as if he couldn’t even feel them trail down his cheeks. “She was so small.” He shook his head, his lips pressed together. “When I finished throwing up, I saw the text that had been sent along with the video. It said, He’s still out there. I knew that if I hunted down the man in that video, I’d make sure he could never hurt anyone else again, and there’d be no going back. Just like that, I’d found my purpose again.”

  “How do you…? I mean, the people you…? How does it work?” I asked, my heart squeezing at the shuddering sigh he released. I needed to know how he’d gone from being a government spy to what he was now. He hesitated for so long I was about to give up on an answer.

  “It’s complicated, but people send videos to one of my burner phones, pleading their case, begging for justice to be served for their loved ones. It has to be a video. I need to be able to see their eyes, read their body language. Sometimes they have evidence; sometimes they don’t. It’s not easy for them to get ahold of me, so the majority of those who contact me are genuine. I investigate, and if it pans out, I accept their case and take care of it.”

  “Take care of it,” I repeated. “You mean, you kill whoever they want you to kill.”

  He turned to look at me, and a gasp caught in my throat at the dark, cold eyes pinning me to the spot.

  “I hope you never know the kind of pain these people have suffered or the kind of evil that haunts their nightmares. Good people don’t end up on my list, Daniel. Only monsters. I don’t work for anyone, and I don’t do it for the money. I don’t need it. The money I ask for is only to cover expenses, and I make sure it can never get back to the client or me.”

  I had a million questions. How did he decide which cases to take? How horrific did they have to be for him to become their executioner? I swallowed hard, not knowing where to start, but before I could say another word, he was standing.

  “I need to step out for a few minutes. I’ll be back.”

  I jumped to my feet and grabbed his arm. “What about Crispin?”

  He dropped his gaze to my hand, his expression softening as he placed his hand over mine. “I won’t be long. Please stay here until I get back.” He kissed my cheek, and I stood motionless as he walked out of the apartment. This would have been the perfect opportunity for me to leave, but I didn’t. I removed my coat and threw it onto the couch before pacing the living room. What the hell was wrong with me? This was my chance. I could make a break for it, run to the police, and tell them everything. I was torn. I was also an idiot.

  My parents were great parents. They’d done their best to prepare me for the world. My youth was never short of sincere talks on everything from sex education to facing homophobia and even the importance of starting a retirement fund as early as possible, but at no point had my parents sat me down to discuss the dangers of dating an assassin. Not that Lymond and I were dating. I mean if there’d been little possibility of things working out between us when I thought he’d just been a sexy jerk, there was no chance of things working out now that I knew what he did for a living.

  I’d been so absorbed by my weird thoughts that I lost track of time, and when the lock on the front door clicked and the knob turned, my heart almost beat out of me. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the first thing I could get my hands on. I ran back to the living room and brandished my weapon. Lymond opened the door, and I sighed with relief.

  “Thank God. I thought maybe it was Crispin.”

  Lymond’s amused gaze lifted to the object in my hands. “And you were going to what? Make him toast?”

  I stared at the toaster in my hands. “Um, yeah. I sort of grabbed the first thing I could find.”

  His laugh was rich and had me smiling like a dope when I heard a squeak. The door opened wide, and my fur babies came bursting in, running circles around me and jumping excitedly, tails and butts wagging. A smile split my face when I looked up at him.

  “You went back for them?”

  Lymond shrugged, and his shy smile was endearing. “You were worried about them.” His smile vanished, and he folded his beefy arms over his chest. He narrowed his eyes at Maverick. “I would have been here sooner, but someone decided to stink up the car.”

  I groaned. “He didn’t.”

  “He did. Right on the back seat. It was bigger than him. For a second I thought it was another dog.”

  My neighbor was going to be so pissed. I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter.

  Chapter Five

  LYMOND

  Daniel’s laughter did funny things to my stomach. At the rich sound and the sight of his gorgeous smile, I couldn’t help but join in, and when Maverick curled up on the couch with the loudest huff I’d ever heard a dog make—like he was just so over us—we lost it. Daniel was in tears, and so was I. The dogs ran around the living room, sniffing, playing, tails wagging. It felt so… normal. Daniel sat on the couch, and the dogs immediately flocked to him, curling beside him, showering him with doggy kisses. Princess plopped down on his lap like she was claiming her throne. With a stupidly wide smile, I removed my coat to drape it on the back of the couch, followed by my suit jacket. Since I was feeling a little warm, I loosened my tie and undid the first button of my dress shirt so I could breathe easier. I rolled up my sleeves as I walked into the kitchen.

  “Would you like a bottle of water?”

  “I would. Thanks.”

  I took one for myself before heading back into the living room to hand Daniel his. He just stared at it, and then his eyes traveled up my arm, his gaze making its way up my body. I couldn’t help the shiver that went through me. Daniel gently moved Princess off his lap, then stood. He stepped close, forcing him to bend his head back in order to meet my gaze. His cobalt blue eyes were stunning and filled with heat.

  “Are we safe here?” Daniel asked, his voice low and throaty, his eyes dropping to my lips. All I could do was nod. “Good,” he said, taking both bottles of water in one hand and my tie in the other. He turned to lead me to the bedroom. I followed without a word. Speaking would have been quite the challenge, considering I was having trouble doing something as simple as breathing. Inside the bedroom, Daniel instructed me to close the door as he placed the water bottles on one of the nightstands. He turned to face me, his lips slightly parted as he began undoing the buttons of his shirt.

  “Do you have supplies?”

  I nodded and pointed to the nightstand behind him. My God, he’d reduced me to a quivering mess of need. I balled my hands into fists at my sides, deciding if something was going to happen, he would have to initiate it. I wanted him so bad it hurt, but it needed to be his decision. He needed to know what he was getting himself into, even if it was just for one night. I decided not to dwell on it, especially since my stomach knotted whenever the idea of never seeing Daniel again entered my mind. I stood unmoving as he pulled his shirt out from the waistband of his pants, and it fell open to reveal a smooth chest of soft-looking skin.

  “Get the stuff,” he ordered, and I jumped to it without a second thought. I removed a condom and bottle of lube from the nightstand and tossed it on the bed, then turned to him, realizing I was waiting for further instruction. In what world did I take orders from anyone? I didn’t take orders, not anymore, but suddenly I realized I was eagerly awaiting his. I craved his attention. Daniel removed his shoes and socks, followed by his pants, remaining in nothing but a pair of navy boxer-briefs that were all but painted onto his skin, his desire evident by the stiff erection pushing against his underwear. “Come here.”

  I walked around the bed and stopped in front of him, my body thrumming with need, but I kept my hands to myself.

  “Sit.”

  I sat on the edge of the bed, swallowing hard when he spread my knees and stepped between them. His eyes never left mine as he unfastened my tie before letting it drop to the floor. He was going to kill me with the way he took his time unbuttoning my dress shirt. When he was halfway done, he lowered himself to his knees, and I stifled a groan. I grabbed fistfuls of the duvet, sucking in a sharp breath when he pressed his lips to my abdomen, setting my body on fire. My muscles tightened, and I clenched my jaw as he continued to unbutton my shirt while trailing kisses over every inch of skin he exposed. I jerked when his hand found my belt, and I closed my eyes as he unfastened the buckle, then the button of my waistband, before I heard and felt the zipper lowering, his knuckles grazing over my painfully hard cock.

  “Daniel,” I breathed, opening my eyes and meeting his.

  “Lift up.”

  I did as I was told, and Daniel carefully pulled my underwear and pants down, freeing my stiff erection. It bobbed up against my stomach, and the way Daniel’s pupils dilated, the way his tongue darted out to lick at his plump bottom lip, had my slit leaking precome. Daniel removed what was left of my clothes before he stepped out of my reach. He slipped his hands beneath the waistband of his boxer-briefs, and pushed them down his sinewy body to step out of them.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” I said, burning to touch him, to taste him. His body was gorgeous, his cock long and lean like him, the tip rosy with pearls of precome I was desperate to taste. “Please.” I’d never begged before. Never. It occurred to me then how much I craved to submit to Daniel, to have him take control of me. I would put myself in this man’s gentle hands, trust him unquestionably, and it terrified me more than anything in my life ever had.

  Daniel must have seen something in my eyes, heard the hitch in my breathing, or noticed the slight tremble go through me at the thought of how much control I would surrender to him, because he stepped quickly between my legs and placed his hand to my jaw, his thumb caressing my cheek as he brushed his lips over mine, his eyes intense and fathomless.

  “Let me take care of you,” Daniel said, his words barely above a whisper. He brought our lips together in an ardent kiss filled with white heat and something that was far too raw for me to dwell on. It was too soon. Too fast. No way this man could know what I needed when I wasn’t sure myself. Daniel straddled my lap, silencing my thoughts. He took hold of my hands and put them on his round firm asscheeks. I groaned against his lips, kneading the exquisite globes, my cock rubbing against his crease.

  “Get me ready.”

  I stopped kissing him long enough to reach back for the lube and condom before my lips were back on his. I couldn’t get enough of the feel of him, of his weight on me, of his hands caressing every part of me he could reach. I flipped the cap open on the lube, and he took the bottle from me and poured some onto my fingers. His hair fell over his brow, his delicious skin flushed, and the most delightful gasp escaped those delectable lips once I pushed a finger against his entrance. He shivered like he was about to come apart, and the moan he released when I pushed inside him made me curse. His body responded to my touch like no one else, his thighs pressing tight against mine, reminding me of his strength, his long fingers stroking my hair, a show of his gentleness. He was a beacon of light chasing away the shadows of my darkened soul.