Page 4 of Kept By the Loan Shark

“I don’t trust him.” He rubbed his thumb over mine in that gentle, soothing way I had come to crave. “I know the type. He’s got ulterior motives.”

“Like you didn’t have ulterior motives when you met me?”

“That was different,” he said, ignoring my pointed stare. “So—dinner?”

“Smooth.” I shook my head in amusement and decided not to needle him about it. Certain he was worn out from all of his flights and hotel stays, I offered to cook. “I can make dinner.”

He hesitated. “You sure? We can go out to eat.”

“I enjoy cooking, and I really enjoy cooking for you.”

“You spoil me, Cass.”

“Not nearly enough,” I said, thinking of how much he had done for me and my brother. Hagen never brought up the money he had spent to clear my brother’s debts. He never made me feel as though I owed him, and I was grateful for that. Still, I liked showing him how much he meant to me, even through simple domestic acts like making dinner.

“I missed you,” Hagen said, his deep, rumbling voice serious. “I don’t…” He faltered. “It’s never been like this for me. Feeling empty and off kilter when you aren’t around,” he explained.

“I understand,” I assured him. He wasn’t the most emotionally open man, and I wanted to encourage him to share thoughts like these again. “It was the same for me. I forgot what it’s like to be lonely at night.”

He lifted our entwined hands and kissed the back of mine. “You sure as hell won’t be lonely tonight.”

Heat crept into my face, and I swallowed hard, already imagining all the wicked ways he would keep me company.

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