My scalp prickles. My pulse quickens. “What?”
“Jackson showed me how to turn them off.” She stares up at me through her lashes. “I didn’t want anyone to witness our reunion. And I didn’t want to wait.”
She wasn’t just waiting for me, she was preparing to pounce. Actively watching for the moment I arrived home. Fuck, if that doesn’t make me feel like the luckiest bastard alive. My pulse races still, but now for another reason.
“Rebel and Riot…they’re going to start interrogating you the moment we go inside. Summer has a list as long as my arm.”
“All of them can wait.” I nibble at her collarbone as I reach beneath that tiny blue slip for the even flimsier lace panties I suspect she’s wearing. Whatever we have ahead of us… it has nothing on her waiting for me. My fingers hook into the thin sides. With a yank they give.
She gasps and then scolds with a slap of her hand against my shoulder, “You didn’t need to do that.”
I smirk as my lips tickle her ear. "What did I tell you?”
“You’ll buy me more.” She whimpers as I trace her seam. Tightens her grip on my neck when I sink a finger inside her and seek out her clit with my thumb.
I circle those sensitive nerves as I push my thick finger in and out of her. “My wife deserves all the pretty things she wants. Especially if I’m going to destroy those pretty things to get to her.”
“We’re not married yet.” She closes her eyes as she starts to ride my hand.
I add a second digit and watch her blush with need. I pretended we were married for weeks. Until I wanted it so badly it was all I could think about. But now… with the mess we’re in… it’ll be a while before we can make it real. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”
“I think they know.” She moans as she cups the back of my head, pulls my face to hers. “Or at least they think they know. Summer said it’s been all over social media.”
“Let me pretend for a few minutes more then. While it’s just you and me.” I’m not prepared to let it go. It feels like we’re taking a step back from where we were, and every step back makes me think Nicole could win. Every cell in my body seems to tense. Even my grip on her tightens.
“Rogue.” She takes my face between her hands and peers into my eyes. “I’m with you. I promise.”
I pour every ounce of emotion into kissing her while I put her on her feet. Unbuttoning my pants, I let them drop to my knees while I pick her up again and sink into her. “You’re my home, baby. Don’t ever forget that.”
“And you’re mine.” She clings to me as I wrap my hands around her thighs and lift her up and down on my cock. Her eyes brighten with unshed emotion before they slip shut.
I taste the salt of it in the kisses we share as we make love. She has to be worried and scared and covering that with a brave face. I want to eradicate that for her, but I can’t. Not yet anyway. All I can do is love her with every breath in my body while I try to find the answers we need to stop the Hawthornes for good.
When she comes apart for me, I follow with my own release, my breath catching in the center of my chest with how much I adore her. And how far I will go to keep her. “Baby, I love you.”
“Rogue.” There is fear in the way she says my name.
It catches my attention and makes me stagger.
“Rogue, I…” Her eyelids flutter and her eyes roll back in her head.
She crumples in slow motion.
Chapter Four
Rogue
“Only you would be caught with your pants around your ankles when you’re facing a murder charge,” Rebel says drily when the elevator doors open.
“Dude, you really do have a tattoo of Rebel on your ass.” Riot chuckles. “That is twisted.”
I spin around. Ivy is deathly pale in my arms, her eyes still closed. Images of that night in Narnia assault me. All that blood. How pale and still she was. How close she came to slipping away…
And yet somehow, I’m on autopilot. “Help me.”
The smirk melts from Riot’s face as he lurches toward us and clamps a hand around the metal door. “Oh shit. What happened? Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. She won’t wake up.” I exchange glances with my brothers and Ivy’s bodyguard as I stumble out of the box, my pants still around my knees. “She’s been so sick. Too sick. But she told me she was fine.” And I believed her. “What do I do?”