Page 105 of Safe and Sound

“I’m sure he would,” she snapped.

Damn, there was that delicious fire again. Stoking it into a fiery blaze was what possessed me to say, “Of course, I would prefer it only if your lips were wrapped around my cock as I fucked your delicious mouth.”

Heat flooded Ava’s cheeks as venom flashed in her eyes. I expected her to slap me. To verbally annihilate me for degrading her so.

Instead, she pulled her shoulders back and said, “If that’s what it will take, I’ll do it.”

I blinked at her in disbelief. Before I could tell her I would never expect that, she eased out of her chair and onto her knees. As I stared down at her, the angel and devil on my shoulders met in a battle of wills.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Ava

As I stared up at Dare from my knees, I couldn’t believe it had come to this. Over the years as much as I tried to hate him, I never could. But at this moment I did. I truly despised him.

Regardless of how I felt about him, I would do whatever necessary to protect Piper and myself. If that meant blowing Dare in his office, then I would do it.

When I reached for the button on Dare’s pants, he grabbed my hand in his. “No,” he choked out.

At what must’ve been my extreme shock, he shook his head, an agonized expression taking over his face. “If I forced you to partake in any sexual act with me, Iwouldbe the monster you thought I was.”

Although relief flooded me, I realized that I wasn’t truly off the hook. He hadn’t agreed to kill Wesley. “But I need you to do this. It’s not just about my safety. There’s my d–” Panic filled me at how close I’d come to revealing Piper’s existence to him.“There’s my family to think about.”

Dare gently pulled me to my feet. After pushing a strand out of my face, he cupped my cheek, sending a shiver reverberating through me. Before I could stop myself, I leaned into his touch, rather than pulling away.

Staring intently into my eyes, he proclaimed, “Hear me when I say this. Anyone who has hurt you is my enemy, and you know as well as anyone what I do to my enemies.”

Tears pooled in my eyes. “So you will take care of him?”

“Aye, I will.”

His declaration overwhelmed me. My knees buckled, and I would’ve dropped to the floor if Dare hadn’t caught me. “Easy now,” he murmured, as he held me tight.

Overwhelmed by his kindness, harsh sobs wracked through my body. “I…He could hurt her…she needed to be safe,” I muttered absently.

Dare’s brows creased in worry. “Ava, you’re not making sense. Who is she? Your mother or the girls?”

Shaking my head, I replied, “I meant me. He could hurt me again”

“Shh, no one is going to hurt you. I promise.”

When I pulled back, my eyes locked on his. “Even though it’s a horrible thing I ask of you, I thank you for your kindness.”

“Regardless of how things ended between us, I care about you, Ava.” His jaw clenched, and I knew he was having trouble with his emotions. “I always will.”

Although I hated myself for it, my heartbeat thrummed wildly in my chest. “I care about you, too. As much as I wanted to hate you, I never could.”

Just when I thought he was going to dip his head to kiss me, Dare abruptly pulled away. He went over to his desk and took out a notepad. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I need you to give me all the information you can about this man.”

“Okay. I will.”

“Until we locate him, I will be stationing some of my men at your house.”

Panic ricocheted through me. With his men around, they would see Piper. One look at her would be all they would need to know she was Dare’s. “That’s really not necessary. I can just go stay with my parents. You know, safety in numbers and all.”

Shaking his head, Dare argued, “I won’t leave you unprotected.”

“But I wouldn’t be at Mom and Dad’s.”

“You’re joking right? Tobias is seventy-five. There’s no way he could take on anyone.”

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