Page 120 of The Rancher's Secret Relationship

This has to be the craziest thing ever, but...

My eyes slowly flutter open as Flint finally releases my nipple from the scorching cage of his lips. My breath catches as our gazes meet, and my heart starts to pound.

Surely, oh, surely...

Surely what happened between us means something to him, too.

Surely this changes everything—-

"Two more payments and I promise you'll have Sunlight back."

—-or nothing at all.

A painful lump forms in my throat, but I swallow past it. "Flint—-"

"I want you, angel."

The words should have made me happy, but it's the way he says them that breaks my heart.

"And you want me back."

"W-What exactly are you saying?"

"Don't play dumb."

Tears prick my eyes, but all all he does is stare back at me, calm and unflinching.

Because for Flint, everything about us is nothing more than a transaction.

Tasteless

"ONCE WE ENTER THE PREMISES, you're to stay close, do everything I say, no exceptions."

Elizabeth nodded without meeting his gaze, and the sting of her avoidance hit harder than it should have.

"DC,the guy who owns this place—-he'll do anything for the right price. But he's also extremely good at keeping his hands clean, and that's the only reason why he isn't behind bars."

Elizabeth nodded again, gaze still fixed on the ground.

"Our goal is to get your dog out safely without raising any alarms. Understood?"

"Yes."

The strain in her voice lashed at his conscience, but Flint told himself it was better this way. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down, couldn’t let himself care.

"Let's go."

He motioned for her to follow behind him, and they kept to the shadows as they made their way to the cottage.

Bucks had sold him a map to DC's place for several grand, and having a photographic memory enabled him to memorize everything in seconds. Ten-second windows between patrols. The type of security system that DC used. Blind spots and all possible exit points of the house.

Everything that had to do with safety, Flint had taken the time to learn, but what Bucks' map didn't prepare him for was just how fucking ugly DC's place was.

As picturesque the cottage may have seemed in the distance, up close it was nothing but a concrete pentagon-shaped montrosity that put to waste its majestic backdrop of pine trees and snow-capped mountains.

Flint glanced at Elizabeth, who was visibly struggling to contain her confusion. He cupped her chin to turn her gaze to his.Not a fucking sound. Got that?

His jaw clenched when all she gave him was a nod.

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