Page 67 of Sunrise Malice

I don’t want Julien to go, because I don’t want to risk losing him.

And I don’t want to risk losing him?—

I can’t complete the thought.

This is what I wanted to avoid. This is why I tried not to push the very malleable boundaries of our relationship any more than I already did. And yet here I am, crushed and flattened and trying to make sense of what comes next.

Chapter 28

Julien

“That’s his place.” Jean leans forward over the steering wheel and gestures with his chin toward a check-cashing place in the middle of a strip mall. The front’s gaudy, covered in signs and advertisements. “Word is he’s got an office in the back.”

I’m staring out the window. A big truck’s parked a few spaces away, and even though the front is tinted, I know who’s behind the wheel. “Is that what Ronan said?”

“Niall, actually. Ronan’s staying home.”

I grunt and shake my head. “Typical fucking coward.”

“From what I understand, it’s not really normal for the boss to go on jobs like this.” Jean gives me a meaningful look. “But for what it’s worth, I believe them.”

I grunt and let the issue drop. It’s a little after eleven and the check-cashing place officially closes in an hour. I settle in to wait, trying to keep my mind focused on the night ahead, but still drifting back to her.

Brianne’s mouth on mine. Her lips wrapped around the head of my cock. Her legs spread, her moans in my ear, her orgasm ringing through the air.

All I want in the whole world right now is to plunge myself inside of her.

It’s complicated and messy. I could tell she didn’t like it when I left earlier. But I couldn’t help myself, and I don’t regret fucking her, not even the slightest bit.

If anything, it made me want her even more.

She’s my wife. Not in some ceremonial sense, but literally, physically, all the ways that matter. When the bomb went off, all I could hear were her terrified screams, and those keep playing in my head, over and over, like a horror movie on a loop.

I can’t lose her. I justcan’t. But I also won’t let myself squander the time I have with her, either.

“You’re quiet over there.” Jean’s leaning back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. “Does this have anything to do with you and your wife living back in the mansion?”

“I’m trying to focus on the mission, that’s all.”

He snorts and looks at me. “Come on, don’t give me that shit. You haven’t left that room in over a day.”

“That’s not true.”

“I went looking for you this morning, asshole. Alexandre told me the door hasn’t opened in nearly a day. Then you call about setting up hospital equipment, but you rush off the phone without explaining.”

My jaw tenses. “Tell Alexandre he’d better watch his fucking mouth.”

“Don’t take it out on the guards, Julien. What’s going on with the girl?”

“Nothing’s going on. She’s my wife. It’s a business arrangement. That’s the end of it.”

Jean goes quiet. He brushes his fingers over the steering wheel before speaking again. “It’s okay to like your wife, you know.”

“Thank you, I’m aware.”

“I just mean, I understand that you two didn’t start off the way most relationships do, but who the fuck cares? We aren’t exactly normal people.”

He’s got a point there. “That’s not the problem.”

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