Page 66 of Code Name: Scorpio

Someone turned on a TV. Johnson complained about dishes duty again, and one of the crew told him to shut up about it.

Ryder kept Cassandra on his lap through all of it. He couldn’t take her back to the room yet, so he would keep her protected in his lap. His hand remained on her hip or in her hair or tracing slow lines across her back. Her face stayed against his neck. Her fingers stayed in his shirt.

At one point, someone made a crude comment about what Ryder’s “playtime” was going to look like later, and the room laughed. Ryder laughed with them and felt Cassandra’s body tighten against his, and he hated every person in the room, including himself.

The hours stretched. The crew thinned out. Heath left first tonight, giving Ryder one last look that carried a full conversation. Then the others, one by one, until it was just Arlo and a bottle.

“I should take her to bed,” Ryder said. He shifted Cassandra’s weight and let his voice carry the right implication. “We’ve had a long night, and I’m ready for a different kind of entertainment.”

Arlo’s eyebrows went up. “Don’t let me stop you. Since I don’t have the same option, I guess I’ll be working tonight. Sometimes my brain gets going and won’t shut off.”

Shit. No computer hacking tonight if Arlo was up and restless.

Ryder stood, bringing Cassandra with him. She found her feet but leaned into him, unsteady from hours in the same position. He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her toward the hallway.

“Arlo.” He stopped at the doorframe. “As long as the money is good, I’m in. How long until the next shipment is ready?”

“Good. Trust me, you’ll be pleased with the money.” Arlo raised his glass. “We’re not sure about the shipment dates. Finding product is sometimes precarious. Has to come from all over the country not to leave any tails. That’s why we’re stuck here for the time being.”

“Understandable. And tell your brother to stop worrying. I’m not going anywhere.” He’d have to stay now. Even after Cassandra cracked the system. If he took off at this point, it would be a neon sign that something was wrong.

He’d get Cassandra out as soon as he could and see this to the end.

He turned Cassandra toward the hallway and slapped her ass, curving his hand to make it more loud than painful. “Move, princess. I’ve been waiting for this all night.”

A chuckle came from behind them.

He walked her down the corridor with his hand on the back of her neck. A man taking his pet to bed. A man who couldn’t wait to use what was his.

He pushed open his door, walked her inside, and locked it behind them.

Chapter 19

The lock clicked, the room went quiet, and Ryder stood with his back against the door and didn’t move.

Cassandra was a few feet away. He could hear her breathing. She hadn’t said anything since the common area. Hadn’t looked at him since he’d slapped her ass and walked her down the hallway like she was something he owned.

Christ. He’d slapped her.

“Are you okay?” His voice came out rough. “Cassie. Talk to me. Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.”

She didn’t sound okay. She sounded like something had been scooped out of her. And who could blame her?

“What do you need? Water? The washcloth? Anything. Tell me what to do.”

She shook her head. She was standing in the middle of the room with her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes on the floor, and the realization hit him like a fist.

She was still doing it. Still keeping her gaze down. Still performing even though the performance was over and there was nobody here but him.

He’d done that to her. Trained that into her in the space of one evening.

“Hey.” He wanted to cross the room. Wanted to pull her against him and hold her until she stopped looking like a woman who’d forgotten how to stand up straight.

But he stayed against the door. After four hours of telling her where to look and when to speak and putting her on the goddamn floor, the last thing she probably wanted was his hands on her again.

“You can look up, Cass. It’s just me. Just us.”