Page 35 of Hidden While In Sight

“That’s not marriage. I’ll—”

She covered his mouth with her hand, cutting off his promise of blood.

“God brought you to me for a reason, but not for that.”

His hand left her face as he huffed out a breath. “You think God wanted me to fuck you?”

Her cheeks reddened as half of her lips quirked up in the barest of smiles. “Not that either. That was my own selfishness.”

The hope in his chest faded, coldness replacing it. He’d already softened enough that it was a struggle to remain connected, so he slipped out of her, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the bed.

“What then, Hannah?” His huffed-out breath held the edge of his frustration, and she sat up and slightly away from him, wrapping her arms around her legs. “What is it you really want from me?”

She lowered her face into her legs, a shiver running through her.

Diego wanted to gather her against him and never let go. He reached for his discarded sweatpants instead, dragging them on as he stood.

Hannah rose as well, moving to her dresser to gather some clothes. Her inner thighs glistened with his cum, and he wanted to grab the woman and either shake her or take her with him, chain her to a bed until she admitted she belonged to him.

He closed his eyes, knowing he couldn’t. Hannah deserved to have a choice.

Even if the choice wasn’t right.

When his breathing had slowed, he opened his eyes to find her dressed and the blank expression back on her face, as if the desperation they’d shared had never been.

“I have something to give you,” she said quietly.

His lips twisted. “You already gave me every part of you,” he reminded her.

Her body grew stiff, and he felt like the asshole he was.

She turned to the door, and he followed.

Ashford’s office had been put to rights as best it could, though some things, like the computer monitor, hadn’t been replaced yet.

Diego’s eyes moved to the ripped painting. “I found the hidden safe in here already. There was nothing in it.”

Hannah moved around the desk, lowering to her knees.

Diego followed her, surprised when she pushed on the floorboards, the motions brief and sure. A section lifted, and she moved it away, revealing a safe underneath.

The idea that she’d found it while her husband forced her to her knees made his hands curl into fists.

Hannah was oblivious to his rising fury, and small beeps filled his ears as she finished entering the safe code. It was Hannah who pulled out the papers inside it. She held them up toward Diego like an offering.

As he stood there, staring down at her, doubt flickered over her face.

“Colin is…” She swallowed, her head bowing as she stared at the trembling papers in her grasp. “My husband is extremely paranoid. That’s why he kept records.”

Instead of reaching for the papers, Diego cupped her elbows, lifting Hannah to her feet. He stroked over her sleeves in soothing passes.

“You’ve been spying on him,” she whispered. “At least, he thinks you have.” She pushed the papers toward him. “For these, I thought.”

He wanted to take her away from everything so fucking badly. He cupped her face again, stroking his thumb over the damaged side of her mouth. “What will he do to you if he finds these missing?”

Her head lifted, and her eyes widened. “You—” Her eyes closed, and he thought she understood, but then she rubbed her cheek against his hand before stepping free. Her face tightened with that blankness, though the flush hadn’t left her skin yet.

“It won’t be any different from how he treats me now.”

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