Page 47 of Sins

“That’ll come,” I assured him. “Something will happen, and you’ll see things more clearly.”

He nodded a few times and stared at the floor then seemed to shake it off. He raised his drink to me. “To clarity.” I tapped his glass, and he pushed up from the chair and left me to mull over our conversation.

When I arrived at my hotel, I saw Secrets in a new light. I wondered if I might get a house one day. Good God, what was happening to me? I shook my head.

“Jesse?” I lowered my voice as he moved to my side. “Are the men in place to watch over Kenna?”

“Yes, and as ordered, they’re out of sight.”

“Good.” I’d warned Kenna about what I was doing and how she wasn’t to leave the property without me or Jesse knowing. Shockingly, she didn’t protest. I felt some progress had been made between us.

I smiled as my new dog walker greeted us in the lobby. They’d just come back from their walk.

“Mr. Gates, welcome back.” He seemed uneasy. It didn’t surprise me; most people were at the start of employment with me. I patted the boys, who were pleased to see me. Leal whined when he saw Kenna, and she got right down and hugged him then Zhar. “Shall I take them upstairs, sir?”

“No,” I unsnapped their leashes and handed them to him, “that’s all.”

The man looked at Kenna, and I cleared my throat as he gawked at her. “Yes, right. Well, have a nice day.”

We headed to my floor where our lunch awaited. I spotted what I was waiting for on the counter. I quickly swiped it up and tucked it away in my pocket.

“I want you to move your things up here,” I ordered as I pointed and gave the command for the dogs to go to their beds, “I don’t like the thought of you staying anywhere but here.”

“Isn’t that moving a little fast, Grim?” She disappeared into the bedroom.

I lifted the lid off the roasted chicken. “I want what I want, Kenna. You’d be wise to remember that.”

“What will your girlfriend think?” She dripped with sarcasm as she stepped into the room in a new dress. It was off one shoulder, and the style conveniently covered her bandage. “Come on, Grim. That’s just asking for trouble.”

“I only keep Jenelle around because of her father.” I pulled out her chair and pointed at it. “There was a time I thought we could be more, I have to admit. I just never seemed to want to take it to the next level.” I waited for her to join me, but instead she threaded an earring on. “I think that speaks volumes for us. Now, sit.”

Kenna checked the time, which pissed me off. “I can’t. I have to meet Salazar at the tables in fifteen.”

“No. I cleared your schedule.”

She pulled out a lipstick as I glared at her. “I know you did, but I re-filled it.”

“The fuck you did.” My temper rose. “You went around me?”

“Yes, like you did me.” She snapped her mirror closed.

I moved to stand in front of her. “Kenna, you could’ve been killed in Italy. Someone’s after you. I’m not saying you need to live your life in hiding. I’m just saying we need to be smart with this.”

She tucked her mirror away and let out a heavy sigh. “All right, I hear you. I’ll spend most of my time here at Secrets, but I’m not about to give up my main clients. Hong, Salazar, and Harris are too important to me. I have a lot of time invested in them.”

I didn’t like it, but I respected it. “I’ll agree to that, but when you’re at Indulge, you’ll have extra men assigned to you. They won’t get in your way.” I waved a hand at her expression. “I’ll tell them to be discrete.”

“Fine.” She looked at me and tried to read my mind. “Are you jealous that I work mostly with men?” She cocked a saucy brow at me.

I laughed darkly and shook my head. She had some balls on her. I took my time and moved around the table and stroked my chin as I thought.

“Maybe I should explain it to you like this,sweetheart.” I slowly stalked toward her and watched her gorgeous throat contract. “I’ve killed more men than I can keep track of, and the thrill I get when the heart stops beating is like an adrenaline shot straight to my vein. I feed off the bad stuff in this world, and I’m just looking for an excuse to indulge myself.” I stopped when I was in front of her. “And when it comes to you, I wouldn’t give it a second thought if I had to dispose of a body if they tried anything with you. I’m possessive and protective of anything that’s mine.”

“I know what to do if someone tries anything with me. Anyway, I never let them get too close.”

“And they won’t, because you’ll be wearing this.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a box and opened it. Her face dropped when she looked at the engagement ring. The huge cushion cut diamond was set in white gold. Sienna helped me pick it out before we all left for the airport, and my jeweler had it ready by the time we arrived home.

“I can’t wear that!”

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