Page 119 of Oathbreaker

Ah.

I kiss her forehead, giving her a moment to cry before I pull back, looking at her directly.

“Winter,” I say in as clear and calm a tone as I can muster.

She meets my gaze.

“Rio and a team of thirty other guards will be here with you at any point in time. You will be safe here while I’m gone.” I hold her gaze, willing her to accept my words.

Her shoulders relax and she leans forward, putting her head on my chest. “I’ll miss you too much,” she mutters into my shirt. I rub her back.

“Is there such a thing as too much?”

“Yes, there is. Because I already feel like I’m suffocating, and you haven’t even left yet.” She inhales sharply and tries to exhale, but it’s a stuttering breath.

“I love you too, Sunbeam.”

She wraps her arms around me tight. We stay like that as the minutes tick on. Eventually, I say, “I’m going to miss you like hell too.”

She kisses my chest and then hops down from the desk with a long sigh. “I’ll let you get packed then,” she says, sauntering toward the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I ask, dropping my voice low.

She looks back over her shoulder. “I’m going to lick my wounds in the rose garden,” she says.

“Hmmm, well, I want to lick you,” I growl. She turns all the way around at that. Her nipples are hard points against the thin, silky camisole she’s paired with the calf-length color-block skirt. Even though her arousal is apparent, she lifts her chin, crosses her arms, and says, “No, thanks.”

A slow smile forms on my lips. “Come here. Now.” I infuse my voice with danger and warning as I place my palms flat on the desktop.

She pretends to think about it for a moment. “Hmmm, no, I don’t think so.”

“You wanna play, baby?”

A flush appears on her cheeks, and a slight shiver causes her shoulders to flex.

She takes one step back and then another. “Catch me and see.”

And with that, she whirls around, sprinting out the door.

I smile outright now, hungry for a taste of her. Removing my tie and unbuttoning the first few buttons of my shirt, I roll up the sleeves of my button-down. Then I remove the dress shoes and slippery socks. The better to catch her with.

Having given her a thirty-second head start, I calmly leave the office and turn toward her escape.

The thrill of hunting her does something to me, turning my arousal into a sharp point at the base of my spine. It’s heady, intoxicating.

When I find her, I’m going to fuck her so hard she’ll need the days I’m gone just to recover.

I check our bedroom, taking a moment to go through our drawers. I check the sitting room and kitchen. She’s not in the pantry. I finally check the game room. It’s close to dusk, and August barely acknowledges my presence before I close the door again.

Hmm, baby really wants to play.

I move through the house and back outside to the rose garden. I walk to the pavilion and look from that perspective since it’s at the garden’s highest point. She’s not out here.

Where are you, sweet girl?

Across the path, the window coverings flutter in the never-used solarium. It’s on the west side of the house, and our living quarters are on the east side.

Gotcha, baby.

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