Switch (19 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

They had to walk back to St. Anne’s since the soldiers had, of course, taken the truck with them. Thankfully the only weapons confiscated were those each man had on him. It could have been worse had there been a whole shipment hidden in those bags of flour. Pete was shocked they actually let them leave – alive. He didn’t know why, and that scared him. Ludwig was up to something.

They walked in silence, too upset over losing Bob. Pete’s ears were still ringing from that. He also noticed the narrowed glances being thrown his way. He really didn’t feel like dealing with this right now, but it didn’t look like he would get much choice. Trent and the General stood outside the cathedral when they turned the corner.

Knowing Dinah was alive and well was all that mattered right now. He’d had a taste of her, not caring where they were or who was around. He thought she was dead for the past two days. There was no way he was letting another chance go by without kissing her once. And now that he had, it wasn’t enough. He needed more.

“Where’s Bob?” the General asked, looking them over.

“Long story,” Pete answered tiredly. “Can we go inside and get some coffee first?”

“Maybe if you didn’t stay out all night, son, you wouldn’t be so tired.”

Pete chuckled humourlessly, stepping closer. “Listen, mate. First, don’t call me son. I’m not your son. Second, what I do on my own time is
my
business. Best to remember that.”

The General narrowed his eyes. “Your head’s getting a little too big for that body,
Pete.
”

He laughed louder now. “Well if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.” Pete didn’t know what was happening between them, but the trust he once felt toward the leader of the rebels was gone, and he was having a hard time dealing with the man’s ego.

“Why don’t you tell the General how you protected that disgrace, Weapon X, from Bob? Right before he got shot,” Ollie interrupted. Pete turned his head slowly to glare at the man. He watched as Ollie took an involuntary step away from him.

“Is that true?” Douglas asked firmly.

“I wasn’t protecting
Weapon X,
” Pete said. “I was protecting the rest of you. What do you think would have happened a second later if I hadn’t intervened?” He tilted his head to the side. “Hmmm? No answer? Probably not, since you lot can’t seem to think two seconds ahead of yourselves.”

He stepped closer. “I’ll tell you what, Ollie. Those soldiers holding those big ass guns levelled at your heads would have shot each and every one of us. We were trapped in a fucking alley with nowhere to run. Bob was a bloody idiot for putting the rest of us at risk. You should be smart enough to realize that.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Douglas said sternly. “Let’s go inside and discuss this privately.”

“You know what? I’m beat,” Pete replied. “I’m going home and getting some sleep. Give me a call if anything important comes up. I’m done for the day.”

He turned and started walking toward home, not bothering to wait for a reply. He was so sick of idiots. All he wanted to do was get away from everyone. Everyone except Dinah. He just hoped she read his note.

The building was just like all the others in this area; broken, damaged, and devoid of any signs of life. Dinah looked down at the slip of paper Pete had given her. This was definitely the address he’d written there. She looked back up, confused. The building was completely dark. Why would Pete want her to go to some abandoned building? She took a quick look around making sure no one else was there. Then she walked to the boarded up front door and gave it an experimental tug. The board swung open on hidden hinges.

She smiled to herself. This had to be the right place. Pete must have gone through a lot of trouble to keep this place empty-looking. She guessed he’d have the windows all blacked out too just to be safe. The inside of the building was dusty and completely ransacked. It was so destroyed Dinah couldn’t tell what the place had originally been before the bombings.

She walked through the main floor, picking her way over the debris littering the ground. At the back was a small staircase hidden behind the only wall that didn’t seem to have holes in it. Looking up the stairs at the dark second floor, she hesitated, her foot hovering over the first step. Should she go up? What if this was some sort of trap? But he kissed you, she argued. Of course, that could have just been a ruse to get her here. It didn’t feel like it though, she countered. Her foot fell on the first step, and then the next on the second until she found herself standing on the upper landing.

Things seemed in better shape on this level. The walls were intact, and although the air was still musty and floating with dust, there wasn’t nearly as much destruction. There were three doors on each side of the hallway, and one at the end. Walking slowly, Dinah tried each door, one after another, only to find them all locked. She stopped just in front of the last one and reached for the handle before pausing. Pulling her hand back, she looked at the door, conflicted. If this was his place, she didn’t really want to just walk in. You only did something like that with someone you were really close with. And even though they’d spent two nights together, and shared a kiss, that didn’t really count as knowing each other well.

She knocked lightly on the door and waited. The silence around her was only making her more anxious. She hated feeling this way. Long seconds went by and she decided either she’d been stood up, or this wasn’t the right place. As she turned to leave she heard the door open behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she met Pete’s eyes for a second before hers dropped to his shirtless chest. Well that’s one way to answer the door, she thought appreciatively. She also saw that his tattoos did indeed go up his entire arms. There was also one over his heart.

“I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed being ogled as much as I am now,” he said, leaning against the doorframe.

She scoffed. “I’m not ogling.”

He chuckled. “Are you just going to stand out there, or do you want to come in?”

Dinah moved like she was on autopilot, walking by Pete as she entered his home. He made sure not to move as she did, their bodies brushing in the process. The door clicked shut behind her as she looked around the place. The windows were blacked out as she predicted. It would have made the room unnaturally dark, but Pete had candles lit around the entire space. The cathedral ceiling made it feel bigger than it actually was. One long couch sat in the middle, with a few chairs, all with different fabrics and styles. Dinah guessed he had just taken whatever furniture he could find in the abandoned buildings that were still in decent shape.

A small kitchen was to her left, consisting of just one section of counter, a wood stove, and an ice box. She wondered how often he had to restock it, in order to keep his food cold enough. They had electricity at headquarters, so she didn’t have to worry about those things. There was a tiny island in the middle with two stools against it. To her right was a doorway that she assumed led to his bedroom, which made her face flush at the thought.

“What do you think?” Pete asked, walking over to the kitchen. He must have been watching her the entire time from just behind her. Dinah walked over to the couch, stripping off her leather jacket and laying it over the arm.

“I like it,” she replied honestly. “It’s got character.”

“Yeah, it does. Do you want something to drink?”

Her dry mouth was begging for it. “Okay,” she said. Now that she was here she wasn’t feeling nearly as confident as she usually did. Being in a room, alone, with a half-naked, gorgeous guy made acting cool and collected difficult.

Pete placed two glasses on the island and filled them with what looked like wine. She cocked an eyebrow questioningly at it.

“Don’t ask,” he said. Wine was pretty much impossible to get these days. “Are you going to come here, or do I need to bring it to you?”

Dinah laughed, embarrassed. She walked over to him and picked up her glasses. “Thanks.”

“You don’t need to be so nervous, Dinah,” he said. “I don’t bite.”

She smiled sweetly before saying, “yes, but I do,” then took a sip of her wine, watching over the rim as his eyes widened.

“You’re trouble, you know that?”

“You’re one to talk,” she snorted. “Why are you always antagonizing Roman?”

“Please!” he gasped. “That guy antagonizes
me
. Not the other way around.” She gave him an unconvinced look, eliciting a sly grin from him. “Okay, maybe I do a bit. But I can’t stand that guy. He think he’s the shit and it bothers me.”

“He’s really not that bad,” she defended. Well, maybe he was, but she was used to it by now.

“I don’t want to talk about our lives outside of this room right now,” he said, walking around the island to stop in front of her. He slowly took her glass from her hand and placed it down.

“Oh? What do you want to talk about?”

“Us,” he answered, before gripping her waist and lifting her up onto the island. He stepped in between her legs, keeping his hands where they were. Not knowing what else to do, she placed hers on his biceps, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath her palms.

“What about us?”

“Hmmm,” he murmured, leaning in. Dinah held her breath as he skimmed his nose just under her jaw. He nipped at her earlobe lightly before placing a kiss just beneath. “Yes, what about us?” His voice was so soft she almost didn’t hear him over the pounding of her heart. Her hands slid up his arms and over his shoulders, gripping him there. He continued his path down the side of her throat, over her collarbone, and up the other side. “What are we doing Dinah?” he whispered.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back. “I just know that I want you.” His hands gripped her waist tighter at her words, pulling her forward so their bodies touched.

“How much?”

She knew what he meant. How much did she want him? The question and all the tiny kisses he was peppering over her neck made the answer easier to say than she thought it would be.

“A lot.”

He pulled back, straightening so he could look at her. His hands moved to hold either side of her head, his fingertips lacing through her hair. “You’re so beautiful,” he said, his lips curving up into a smile. “The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

She snorted. “I doubt that. Is that the only reason you like me?”

His smile widened and he shook his head. “Nope. That’s only part of it.”

“Do enlighten me then.”

“I also like the fact that you might be, a little bit, kind of…bad ass.”

She laughed. “Just a little bit, huh?”

He removed one of his hands to pinch his forefinger and thumb together, with only a miniscule amount of distance between them. “A very little bit bad ass.”

“Well I only like you because you have tattoos.”

He threw his head back and laughed loudly. When he looked at her again his eyes burned with desire, making her mouth go dry.

“What about you?” His eyes roamed up and down her body. “Maybe I should check to see if you have any tattoos hidden somewhere.”

She did, actually. She had a small, blue orchid on her lower hip. Her sister’s favourite flower had been orchids so Dinah got it when she turned nineteen. She had the guy put it somewhere no one would see so she wouldn’t have to explain it. Ludwig wasn’t a fan of discussing her past or family.

“Your silence is very telling,” he all but growled. She couldn’t stop the stupid, wide grin that spread across her face. He made some strangled noise at the back of his throat a second before his lips crashed into hers for the second time that day. As soon as their lips met, it was like she could breathe again. Like everything was suddenly just right because they were together – connected.

She pulled him closer, running one hand up the back of his shaved head, loving the soft, fuzzy feeling of it. A moan escaped her when his tongue met hers and they all but devoured each other. His hands dropped to her thighs, gripping them urgently as he lifted her off the island. She wrapped her legs around his waist, letting him take her wherever he wanted.

They knocked into a stool, tripping over it as they made their way across the room. They didn’t separate to even see the damage. Dinah didn’t think she’d ever get enough of Pete McKay if this was what it felt like to have him. She wanted more. Suddenly she was dropping and then she bounced on his mattress as he followed her down, covering his body with hers.

“First,” he said, dropping a line of kisses along her neck and then down toward her chest. “I’m going to make sure you’re nice and tired.” He’d pulled down the edge of her top to find she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath it. He growled appreciatively. “Woman, you just keep surprising me,” he murmured. Then his hot, wet mouth surrounded her nipple and pulled it roughly into his mouth. Dinah cried out, gripping the sheets.

“I don’t think that’s going to make me tired,” she breathed.

His mouth released her with a pop, and then he was grinning up at her. “Don’t worry, when I’m done, you’ll be plenty tired. Then we’re going to take a nap, because I haven’t slept much today.”