Page 27 of The Wages of Sin

And this time, when she spoke, it wasn’t with a bowed head and shielded eyes. She let me see the real Kiera—a strong and capable woman who was scrambling to survive.

After that, I knew once I kissed her, I’d never want to let her go.

But at a certain point, I’d had to.

Both of us had been exhausted—her from exertion and me from the sleepless night before—and neither of us had any trouble drifting off for a few hours. But eventually, I woke up and was forced to face the day.

Kiera stirred as I slipped from the covers and got out of bed.

“What’s up?” she asked sleepily, rubbing at her eyes.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” I assured her, smiling at her languid casualness. “Go back to sleep.”

She ignored my words and, holding the sheets to her naked chest, slowly sat up. “How are the stitches? The lidocaine must have worn off by now. Did the pain wake you up?”

I shook my head. Just as she’d warned, my side was a little sore, but the pain was nothing major. I’d had a hell of a lot worse. “I’m fine, but there are a few things I have to do.”

She shot me that stern look, the one she’d used while stitching me up. It must have been her serious doctor stare, the one she’d used to take control of unruly patients, and I’m sure, back in the hospital, it had worked like a charm.

“The only thing you have to do is rest,” she said.

“I wish that were true.” There was nothing I wanted more than to slide back into bed and cradle her against me again. Well…maybe there was one thing I wanted more. “But there are some things I can’t put off any longer. I have to take a shower, then go out and talk to my brothers.”

Her brows arched. “You have brothers?”

“That surprises you?”

“A little,” she said with a shrug. “You give off some serious ‘only child’ vibes.”

I couldn’t imagine anyone else daring to talk to me like that. But with Kiera, I not only didn’t mind, but I actually enjoyed it.

“Your instincts aren’t wrong,” I told her. “I was an only child until my biological father died when I was nine. After that, I was adopted. So, now I have twin brothers.”

She nodded before starting to wrap the sheet around her. “Well, if you’re heading out, I should too.”

“You don’t have to,” I surprised myself by saying. “I shouldn’t be away for more than a few hours. I’ll be back before tonight.”

“Yeah…I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said. “I’m way past my rule-breaking limit today. If Jane finds out?—“

“Fuck Jane.”

She laughed—actually laughed. No one had ever had that reaction to something I said. But strangely, I wasn’t offended. I liked the sound, mainly because it meant she was becoming more comfortable around me.

“I’d really rather not,” she joked, already out of bed and picking her clothes off the floor.

“At least take a shower with me,” I said.

For a second, she glanced at the bathroom door longingly. I watched as some of the spark left her big, caramel brown eyes. She let out a long sigh. “Again, not a good idea.”

My shoulders stiffened. “Because of Jane?”

“Because this was a one-time thing,” she said, a note of sadness in her voice. “I won’t call it a mistake. It was way too amazing, too perfect to dismiss it like that. I’ll never forget it…but it can’t happen again.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

“Because of who we are,” she said.

“A doctor and a criminal?”

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