Page 149 of Closer

I hold it out to him. “A peace offering. From my brothers.”

“What’s on it?” He takes it, turning it over in his fingers.

“An offer to work together.”

A slow smile spreads across his face. “Your brothers really do approve.”

Warmth spreads through me. “You really think so?”

“Yeah.” He sets the drive on the nightstand and yanks me into his lap, his arms encircling my waist as I lay my head on his chest. “Have you ever thought about going back to your parent’s house?”

Where’s that coming from? I lift my head. “What do you mean?”

“Do you… do you want to remember your childhood?”

I freeze, and his arms squeeze me tighter.

“It’s okay if you don’t.” He strokes my hair. “I thought… maybe with everything working out so well, you’d like to tackle the next step.”

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “I don’t want to.” Because if I do, it could all go to hell. It could either be good or bad. “Everything is kind of perfect right now. With my brothers. With you and me.”

“Whenever you’re ready.” He rocks me gently, his lips pressed to my hair. “I love you. Never forget that.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” He nuzzles into my neck, his stubble rasping against my skin. “Now. We have a little problem.”

“Mmm.” I tilt my head to give him better access. “What kind of problem?”

His lips trail up to my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “I have this beautiful naked woman in my bed.”

“Is that so? And what exactly do you plan to do about this problem, Mr. Barron?”

His hands slide down my sides, his fingers digging into my hips. “Oh, I have a few ideas, princess.”

I giggle as he flips us over, pinning me beneath him, the sheet tangling around our bodies.

“Care to share with the class?”

“I’d rather show you.” His mouth crashes down on mine, hot and demanding. I moan into the kiss, my fingers tangling in his hair.

This is what matters. Not the past.

Chapter 45

Sebastian

“It’s clean as far as I can tell.” Connor taps away at the keyboard.

“So it’s really a piece offering?”

“I didn’t want to look inside without you. So your guess is as good as mine. But it’s at least no malware.”

After a long day of work, it’s weird to be at Connor’s apartment instead of home with Lil. But I have to find out what’s on that damn USB Drive.

“Alright,” I say. “Show me.”

Connor opens up the first document.

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