Page 145 of By His Rule

“Get up,” Jamie demands.

“W-what?” I ask, ripping my eyes from Lorelei to glare up at him.

“Get up,” he repeats. “I’ll lift her up to you.”

Too baffled to argue, I get up and stand aside, allowing him to drop to his front.

“Take your shoes off. You’re going to need to help me by climbing up.”

“I can’t climb,” she whispers.

“You can.”

She quickly kicks her shoes off and stretches up.

“Ready?” he asks.

Lorelei doesn’t say a word, but she also doesn’t back away as Jamie leans into the space as much as he can and lifts her from the floor.

“That’s it,” he grunts. “Walk up.”

The second I can reach her, I grab her arms and pull her higher.

“Hey, babe,” I say, giving her my best smile hoping it’ll distract her.

A loud rip fills the air, and her watery eyes shoot to mine.

“My dress.”

“Fuck your dress,” I grunt. “I only care about you.”

I hear the words as if someone else says them, but as much as I want to, I can’t regret them.

The second her legs are free, I sweep her up into my body and take off.

“My keys are in my purse,” she cries when we’re almost at the stairs.

“Jamie will get it.”

Fuck knows how, but something tells me that he will.

Tucking her face into my shoulder, she allows me to carry her up the stairs.

I hold her tighter than probably necessary, but the sound of her crying and alone in that elevator continues to haunt me.

“What if he doesn’t get my key?” she asks quietly once we’re at her front door.

“Then I’ll take you to my place.”

The thought of having her in my space does weird things to me. But as much as I might want to see how she looks in my penthouse, she needs her own place right now.

Her breath catches at the prospect, and I’m unsure if it’s with fear or excitement.

I don’t get a chance to find out though, because the sound of Jamie’s footsteps pounding up the stairs gets closer before he appears with Lorelei’s purse and shoes in his hands.

“Keys?” Jamie says, holding up her purse.

“They’re inside,” I confirm before Lorelei has a chance to say anything.

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