Page 55 of Salacious Devotion

I slide a hand into her hair and press her cheek against my neck as I inhale her burnt-vanilla shampoo.

She’s here. She’s safe. She’s mine.

When she finally lifts her head to look at me, I can tell this isn’t the first time she’s cried today. Her face is splotchy. Her eyes are swollen from prolonged tears.

It’s late. If this had been an ordinary case, I would have gotten a hotel and slept before returning home. But there’s nothing ordinary about my life anymore. I have Paige to consider. I always will. I need to make some changes. On the flight home, I thought about how I will rearrange my life, but of course I haven’t had an opportunity to tell Paige yet.

She stops crying, sniffles, and narrows her gaze at me. “You can’t do that to me ever again.”

“I won’t, baby.” I spread my fingers on her back. She’s wearing leggings and a T-shirt. No bra. Her hair is disheveled. She has no makeup on. She’s never looked more gorgeous than she does right now. All that matters is that she’s in my arms.

She shakes her head. “I mean it, Dane. All of this. You can’t leave me here alone to walk you through dangerous situations again. I’ll hack into anything you want and guide your men to do whatever dirty jobs are necessary. I promise I can do so with a calm head. But not you. Never again.”

“I know, baby. I won’t,” I reiterate.

“Dane, this is serious. My heart can’t take it,” she continues.

I smile. “Baby, I hear you. I made that decision while I was on my way here. It won’t happen again.”

“I don’t think you understand. I would die if anything happened to you. I couldn’t breathe while you were in that fucking car chase. I thought it was you who went over that cliff.” She swats at my chest.

I ease one hand around to clasp hers and gently bring her fingers to my lips. “Paige, baby, look at me.”

She takes a deep, shuddering breath as she meets my gaze. Slow tears slide down her face. She sniffles. Most of the fight has run out of her, though.

“I thought about how I felt when I found out you were in the bank that day, the anguish I experienced while I rushed to the scene, praying you were alive. The hours of pain I went through while I waited for the news that you would never be coming home.”

She bites her bottom lip hard while she listens. More tears fall down her cheeks.

“Hours passed. I met up with your dad at the hospital. They wouldn’t release any information. Dozens of families were there, crowding the waiting room. We didn’t even know if we were at the right hospital. Some of the victims were taken to another location. All we knew was that a few people had been brought in and were in surgery. We waited for what felt like days. It was the most agonizing experience of my life.”

My heart hurts recalling those hours. I’ve never spoken about how awful it was to anyone. Not even her father, who was with me. No one should ever go through something like that. The pain of finding out Paige had died was horrifying, but the hours of waiting were almost worse in a twisted way.

That’s how Paige felt while I was chasing Tombeck down that winding road. I realized that as soon as it was over. She had nothing but the open phone line. With every passing moment, she feared I would go over that cliff myself. No, it wasn’t as long as I waited for news about her on the day she was murdered, but her fear and stress had been growing for hours. Days. Three weeks.

She spent every waking hour since I found her fearing the worst, wondering if I would survive a confrontation with Damion Tombeck. It wasn’t avoidable. I needed to end that loathsome man’s existence on this earth, but it took a toll on Paige.

Never again.

Paige leans her forehead against mine. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too, baby. So very fucking sorry. I will not go out into the field again. You have my word. From now on, I will work here or from my office behind the scenes. I will send others out to do fieldwork.”

Her lips tremble. “You will?”

“Promise.”

Her lips are on mine. She kisses me as though we haven’t seen each other in a decade. Her hands come to the sides of my head, and she holds me as she breaks the kiss. “You owe me a spanking.”

I slowly smile. “Yeah? Now? It’s after midnight, and your emotions are all over the place.”

“My emotions will be all over the place until you paddle them out of me, Dane.”

I bring my hand to her breasts and pinch both nipples hard. “Sassy girl.”

She arches her chest forward and moans. “If that’s what it takes.”

I release her breasts to palm her bottom and rise, holding on to her ass. I rain kisses all over her face as I make my way through the bedroom and to the safe room.

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