He pulled his hat off—his second best since his first was lost somewhere in those dark waters off the cost of Washington—and dropped it to the surface before he sank to the big leather chair.
One glance at his team, and he knew their morale was busted. They had some wins and losses during this mission to save Pippa. It wasn’t his job to tell them off for the things they did wrong. Right now, he had to lift them up, fortify them to go out and do it all over again tomorrow.
“Let’s talk about our new hires. Noah?” He received several surprised glances at opening with a topic they didn’t expect.
His little brother met his stare. “I’ve made one new hire working under Silas in cybersecurity.”
Ross lifted his pen. “Great news. We need another good man. What’s his name?”
“Lauralee Sheldon.”
Their heads all snapped up. Ross bobbed his head. “Good. We need diversity on the team too. I look forward to meeting our new hire. Tell her she starts in the morning.”
Noah grinned and gave a nod.
“I also want to share that they’ve caught the woman responsible for Pippa’s attacks and kidnapping—Meredith. She was arrested in a roadblock search leaving Washington state.”
“What a relief,” Josiah said.
“Now about the Grammys.” He let the statement hang in the air for a long moment. “I don’t think we’re ready to take on the contract, even if it’s offered to us.”
Nobody spoke.
“If it’s because of my screw-up with Pippa, then blame it on me. Don’t drag the rest of the team down for my stupid mistake.” Boone picked up his hat from the table and dropped it over and over again.
Ross eyed his brother. He’d been withdrawn since the minute they learned Pippa had been taken.
“Ya know, brother,” he drawled, “a man once told me to get the fuck out of my head right now, and it was damn good advice. So I’ll say it to you now—get the fuck out of your head, Boone. We all make mistakes. WEST Protection’s still new. We might not be crawling like infants but we’re barely on our feet, and we have a long way to go. We need your head in the game one thousand fucking percent. Are you with us, brother?”
Boone raised his head and met Ross’s direct gaze. He watched the change come over his brother with his speech. “Yeah, I’m with you. Two thousand fucking percent. So let’s shoot for the Grammys.”
“We’ll shoot for it then. And if it’s a miss, then we try again next year. And the year after that. Until our team is big enough to handle anything. What we did this week was dig deep and discover a greatness among us. What we couldn’t handle, we found backup for. Where we faltered, we found someone to pick us up.” He settled his attention on Boone again. “Like you picked me up, man. I couldn’t have gotten Pippa back without you.” He swept his stare over the table. “All of you.”
They exchanged smiles and nods, the team bond made tighter by what they’d achieved and stronger because of their shortcomings.
“That brings up a big rule that got broken on this mission. We had a deal when we founded this company that we couldn’t sleep with our wards.” Landon Trace eyed him.
Silas, the third founder, gave a stiff nod. “Whattaya think, Trace? Do we put him on probation?”
Ross held up his hands. “About that. Pippa and I would have hooked up if she’d come to visit. We’ve been friends since childhood.”
“Doesn’t change the fact you broke the rules.” Landon shot him a grin.
Seeing they were razzing him for stomping all over a set of rules he helped create, he ducked his head to hide a grin. “I’m very sorry for it too.”
Silas chuckled. “Damn liar.”
Ross looked up. “You’re right—I’m not one bit sorry. With that out of the way, let’s talk about my feelings.”
They all blinked at him.
“What is this? A therapy session?” Boone threw out, to several chuckles.
“I’m in love with Pippa. And she isn’t leaving my side from this day forward. While we’re all a little rusty with our barn-raising skills, I need all hands on deck, armed with hammers.”
“What are we building?” Boone asked.
“A lab,” Pippa announced from the doorway.
Ross met her stare and smiled. She returned it and moved into the room, passing each man and stopping to squeeze his shoulder or say a kind word of thanks until she had spoken to each man in WEST Protection. When she reached Ross’s side, she rested her hand on his shoulder.
“A lab?” Josiah asked.
“Yes. I don’t need a big city to do my research. And now I have enough experience—credentials too—to head my own lab,” she said.
“We’ll need deep background checks on every person she wants to hire,” Ross put in.
She squeezed his shoulder. “Of course. I hope ya’ll will welcome a city girl around here.”
Boone grinned at her. “You’ve always been one of us, Pippa. Welcome to the family.”
Ross’s heart squeezed with affection for his brotherhood seated around him. And for the woman his heart beat for.
“We start on the lab as soon as I get the lumber here. Until then, get to work, guys.”
They all stood, except Ross. As soon as they were alone, he drew Pippa around to his lap. She curled into his arms, her soft weight already driving him to the brink.
He nuzzled her throat. “I have to have you. I’m crazy for you, Pip.”
She palmed his cheek, rasping her fingertips over his beard stubble. “We’ve had sex in a lot of odd places. What do you think about a conference table?”
He growled against her throat. In a swift move, he whipped her up to sit on the table and parted her legs, his face on a level with her pussy.
Grinning, she tipped onto one hip and pulled his smashed, second-best Stetson out from under her butt. He groaned as he saw the flattened felt.
“I’m out another hat,” he said.
She tossed it across the room. “I’ll buy you another, cowboy. Right now, I want your full attention on me.” She started working the buttons on her shirt, baring bits of freckled skin to tease him into a bigger state of arousal. As if he needed it—everything she did made him want more and more of her.
Suddenly, he shoved to his feet. His chair hit the wall behind him with a crash. As he gripped her thighs and dragged her to the table’s edge so he could grind his erection against her pussy, they shared a moan.
“I love you with everything in me, Ross Wynton.” She searched his eyes, her own two like candles glowing up at him.
His chest tightened with a burn it always did when she said the words. “I’ll never tire of hearing that.”
She whipped open her blouse, exposing her bare breasts. “Will you tire of sucking these?”
“Hell no.” He went straight for one nipple, drawing it to a tight bud and then moving to the next. He spread her out on the table and stripped her slowly, savoring every bit of skin as he went.
She dug her fingers into his shoulders, bringing him close until their lips were a breath apart. “I’m gonna like being on the ranch, Ross.”
“Mmm. I’ll never let you go. Now shut down your brain, woman, and just feel…” He captured her mouth in a long, dizzying kiss that felt like the start of their lives together.