Page 45 of Rami

“Mmm.” His eyes thinned to slits. “Just so you know, what happened in there,” he said, jerking his head to the bed behind him. “That wasn’t even half of it.”

She tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“For one, the next time we have sex, you’ll be naked. And two, I’m going to take my time and not act like a man crazed.”

A thrill raced through her, and her nipples tightened against the material of her dress. He lowered his gaze to the telltale hint of arousal betraying her. His hand flexed on her side as if it took effort for him to not react.

“I guess it is kind of strange we’ve showered together and had sex and you haven’t seen me naked.”

His jaw clenched. “It’s a crime I plan to rectify.” His hand slid from her waist and glided beneath her dress. He slipped his fingers between her cheeks to touch her tingling folds through her panties. “Really soon,” he growled.

A buzzing sensation started deep in her core—god, how could she want him again, already? Warmth crept up her neck and she ached to stay in his arms and let the rest of the world fall away.

But no matter how much he dissolved the dark cloud over her head, she had to stand alone. Rami wasn’t a permanent fixture. She was too damaged to enter a relationship. In a different life, maybe he would be waiting.

For now, she’d enjoy every minute of his affection.

CHAPTER 13

Rami waited while Ivy packed clothes, personal items, and camera equipment. When she was done, he bent to grab the handle of her suitcase. “You sure you don’t want to take more?” he asked, surveying her bedroom.

He hadn’t meant to make her second-guess moving in with Gigi. But he also wouldn’t sit back and watch her imprison herself. Right now, she was vulnerable. She needed to heal. The best place to do that was with her family. But did she need make the decision to move out right now? Probably not.

She lifted a shoulder. “I think I was moving for the wrong reasons. I’ll take her up on her guesthouse offer temporarily, but for now I want to know my home is waiting for me.”

She had an air of contentment he hadn’t previously witnessed in her demeanor in the limited time he’d known her. He touched the strands of her hair hanging over her shoulder. “Ready?”

She nodded.

He rolled the suitcase through her apartment, but just as they reached the door his phone buzzed in his back pocket. “One sec.” He pulled out the device and opened the text from Taschen.

Urgent. Call me.

He clenched his jaw. Anything that was urgent right now, while he was technically off, couldn’t be good. “I need to make a call.”

“Sure. Actually, I forgot to email the apartment manager to let her know I’ll be away. Take your time.”

“Won’t take long,” he assured her, tapping Taschen’s contact icon.

She gave a little wave and strode toward the bedroom. The flowy material of her dress offered a glimpse of her slim, toned calves as she disappeared. Calves hadn’t been particularly sexy to him until now.

Taschen answered on the second ring. “Sorry to interrupt your little rendezvous.”

“What’s up?” he asked, not taking the bait.

“We’ve got a problem. My guy at the FBI just warned me the cartel is planning to make a move.”

“What?” Motherfucker. “How do they know?”

“They’ve got a snitch. Word is they’re pissed as fuck. The grenade you threw took out three of their men.”

“I don’t see how they can trace it back to us. We were careful.”

“Not us.” A beat passed. “Her. They took Ivy’s purse when they grabbed her. They’ve got her ID and they want to use her to get to you.”

Rami whispered a slew of curses. Shit. Shit. Shit. He’d wanted to keep Ivy safe and all he’d done was endanger her. “All right. We’ll—”

“Dude, there’s more.”

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