Page 90 of Playing My Rivals

“Someone saw us wreck but didn’t bother to help us out? That seems odd.” I cross my arms over my chest.

My eyebrows crease. This visit is not a coincidence. Hunter is behind this. I knew he was watching her.

“I’m not sure they saw you wreck. The report just said a car was traveling along the road and suddenly disappeared. They said to search for someone with red hair.” He rocks back on his heels.

“How did they know she has red hair if they didn’t see us wreck?” I give him five seconds for my question to sink in.

His face bunches together. “Great question, now that you ask.”

The door opens and Dori steps out. My eyes get drawn to her like a magnet. The sight of her has my mind short-circuit.

She combs her fingers through her tangled hair and blushes when she catches me staring, but I can't stop. Red cheeks, mussed hair, and wrinkled clothes. This woman looks freshly fucked.

Pride fills me. I did that.

I taught her things she never knew about herself through trust and control, and she allowed me to reward her with more pleasure than she's ever experienced.

She brushes against me and runs her hands down her jeans as she steps up to the officer. The sun catches in her hair, highlighting her pale skin. She’s the picture of an angel. I’ll happily bow at her feet and worship her.

Who am I kidding? I’ve been worshiping her for years.

“Hi, Officer. I’m Dorothy Fisher. Am I ever grateful to see you.” She dips her head in respect.

“I bet. It sounds like you had quite a night.” His gaze travels over her curves and I about tear his eyes out.

Jesus Christ, I didn’t expect to have this amount of possessiveness over her. It’s more than I can take. My chest caves in with the heaviness of this awareness. I’m choked with emotion, unable to breathe.

It’s now I realize how fucked I’ll be if this doesn’t work out. Anxiety rips through me and hits me unexpectedly. It’s overwhelming and I have to move. My knees buckle and I stumble. My feet drag in the dirt as I clamor to stay standing.

She’s never picked me before. It’s something I kept out of my conscious awareness all day yesterday. How stupid of me.

What the fuck was I thinking?

Dori’s eyes widen and darken as she tries to figure out what is wrong with me. “Are you all right, Jami?”

The officer reaches out to steady me. “Do you need medical assistance?”

He wraps a hand around my arm. Surprisingly, he does help. He stops me from toppling over. I bend over and rest my hands on my knees as I try in vain to stop my world from spinning at warp speed.

She rushes to my side and rubs my back. “Baby, you’re scaring me.”

Baby?

She just called me baby?

And just like that, things slow down.

I find her gaze as I grapple to get air into my lungs. “I’m fine. Just give me a minute.”

She presses her lips together and nods. Her presence soothes all the spewing, out-of-control emotions I’m not prepared to handle.

“I’m just dehydrated and hungry. I’ll be fine once this lightheadedness subsides.” My eyes stay on her because she calms whatever insecurity reared its ugly head just now.

I can’t believe I didn’t think this through.

We’re in the back of the trooper’s car when we get into cell service range. Her phone chimes insistently as messages fly into her inbox. She doesn’t read them. She just calls the hospital to check on Aiden.

While she does that, I send a message to my assistant. We need a car service to take us back to Denver. With his help, I’ll get it situated much sooner. Dori didn’t get much sleep, so there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her drive and risk her safety.

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