Page 101 of Sinner's Sacrifice

She couldn’t go anywhere until she was wearing more than those shreds of cloth. He opened his closet and pulled one of his shirts out, a blue one, and held it out for her like it was a jacket.

She put her arms in, and he brought it up and over her shoulders.

She started buttoning it up, but stopped when he dropped several small, quick kisses on her neck. “Please stay here. I don’t want to have to go on a hunt for you when I’m done with the police.” He grabbed her earlobe and let his teeth nibble before saying, “Because I will never be done with you.”

Her breath caught. “Never?”

“Never. I love how fierce you are in the defense of those you consider yours. I love how impatient you get with morons, and how fearless you are when you face down those same morons.”

A new voice called through the door. “Mr. Breznik, this is Lieutenant Benson. We would like to interview you now about the attack on your building.”

He stepped back and let her go.

She spun and rushed past him toward the door.

“Sam?” Yvgeny said, his hand out to stop her.

She flashed him a wide grin. “Please, let me.” And opened the door.

She took a couple of steps forward, forcing Benson to back up so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet. “Thanks for ruining my day,” she said, then hesitated, studying his face. “I’m still not a prostitute.”

Several people behind him choked, sputtered, and coughed.

“Never, my darling,” Yvgeny said, coming to stand next to her. He pulled a ring off his pinky finger, one that had belonged to his mother, though it was only a plain gold band, and picked up her left hand.

She looked at the ring with wide eyes, then jerked her head up to stare at him with both eyebrows high. “What are you doing?”

He smiled at her and whispered, “Making sure everyone knows I’m yours.”

She swallowed hard, then nodded quickly. “Oh, yes, that’s...that’s good.”

He slid the band on her ring finger.

Someone gasped. Probably his aunt.

Yvgeny kissed her hand.

“Did you just propose to her?” Benson asked like he was sure the whole thing was a joke. “Now?”

Sam rolled her eyes and huffed. “Thanks for ruining my day, again.” She let out a huge sigh and said to no one in particular, “I need a new shirt.”

She got halfway to her bedroom door before turning to walk backwards with a grin on her face. “Not that you’re getting this one back.”

She disappeared into her room and shut the door.

The apartment was silent for a moment, even though it was full of people. His aunt, Baz, Mason and Magnus, Lieutenant Benson and detectives Davis and Williams, a couple of uniformed cops, and a man dressed in fire gear wearing a hat that said Captain.

The cleaning crew was gone, and he couldn’t see any evidence of the fight or the dead. Well, there were a few dents in the drywall.

“Yvgeny,” his aunt said, giving Benson a frosty glare. “This is not how you propose to a woman. And what is this about Samantha being called a prostitute?”

“The Lieutenant accused her of being exactly that the last time he saw her,” Baz said before Yvgeny could.

Her frosty glare turned hot and she swore in Russian.

Benson’s face was red enough to barbecue steaks. “I hate to break up the family reunion, but we have an investigation to complete. We’ve seen the damage to the employee entrance of the hotel, but the fire chief needs to finish his inspections.”

“How does this involve you, Lieutenant?” Yvgeny asked.

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