Page 29 of Salacious Devotion

I rub her back. “Trust me, baby. The last thing I want to do is send you home.” The idea makes me want to vomit. This wasn’t how I saw things going down today. I wanted to move her into my penthouse and my bed. Today. But that was wishful thinking on my part. I’ve had a one-track mind ever since I realized my dead girlfriend was not, in fact, dead. I’ve been blind to the reality of her situation. It would draw way too much attention for her to disappear without wrapping things up. The last thing we need is her face plastered on the television.

I tip her chin back, and say what needs to be said. “You’ll go home late tonight in an Uber. I’ll have two of my men on you at all times. Don’t ever look around for them. They will not be visible. I don’t want you trying to find them.”

She nods, but her heart rate picks up. I can feel it thrumming against me.

“Go back to work tomorrow. Tell your boss it was a twelve-hour flu. Give your notice. Say you feel like your health is suffering living in this climate. Say that you’re depressed and worry it’s the Seattle weather. Tell your apartment manager you’re moving out in two weeks.”

“I’ll be breaking my lease. I’ll lose my deposit.”

I kiss her. “Baby, I don’t give a fuck about your deposit.”

She nods slightly. “Of course.”

“I don’t want you going anywhere except work and home. Get groceries delivered if you need anything.”

“Okay.” She looks down. She’s stressed. I get it. This is huge.

I lift her up and carry her across the room before lowering her onto the bed. I climb over her to hover and look into her eyes. “I know you’re scared. I know this is a big deal. I’m asking you to give up your freedom and hide in my home indefinitely. But I want you to consider two things. One: I will find Damion Tombeck sooner rather than later and put an end to this.”

She winces. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. It won’t do me any good to have found you if you spend the rest of your life incarcerated for murder.”

I shake my head. “No one is going to prison, baby. I promise. I’m good at my job. That’s why I make the big bucks.”

She sighs. “Still…”

“Trust me.”

“I do. What’s the other thing you wanted me to consider?”

“The alternative. I know we haven’t seen each other in three years, but nothing has changed as far as I’m concerned. I still feel the same way about you as I did the day you died. It’s scary. Yes. You’re wondering, what if we don’t work out? What if we decide we’ve changed too much? What if we don’t have the chemistry we had then? What if we’re too different?”

She nods. “All of that.”

“Those things cause you to feel a certain level of risk. But if you let yourself be ruled by the possibility that we might not work out, then you have to walk away from me like you never saw me and return to your Shannon life indefinitely. Could you do that, Paige? Could you walk out this door tonight and never look back?”

She winces. “No. I already did that once. It nearly killed me. I can’t do it again.”

“Then the decision is already made. Second-guessing it won’t change anything. Wondering what if won’t change anything.” I bend and kiss her. “Picture yourself back at home, cutting me off and going on with your life as a florist.”

She shudders, her face scrunching up.

“Is that an option you can imagine?”

“No.” She reaches for my chest and flattens her palms on it. She cocks her head to one side. “Is taking all our clothes off and forgetting what we have to do tonight an option?”

I smile. “Definitely.”

Chapter 10

Paige

* * *

The day goes by too fast. We spend most of it naked in bed. We eat charcuterie on the mattress. Dane dominates me. We make love. I know time will move at a snail’s pace for the next two weeks, and I dread walking out of here tonight.

Dane makes a lot of calls. JT and Brant are coming over before the club opens while it is still empty. When they arrive, Dane opens the door to the apartment and lets them in. I hide in the bathroom until the door is closed. They’re going to recognize me, and they’re going to be shocked.

I step out.

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