Page 51 of Theirs to Take

“I don’t know exactly what Nova said to you, but I can guess. But you should know that she’s the one who told me where I could find you. She was angry that we lied to her and she put doubts in your mind about us—I get it, but you didn’t have those doubts prior, right?” he asked.

She shrugged, “Not completely. I mean, I wondered if you were just with me to keep Nova off of your back, but then, when we were together, you made me forget my doubts.”

“I never want you to have any doubts when it comes to me or us, honey,” he said.

“I wasn’t with you to keep Nova off of my back. I was with you because I like to spend time with you. Well, that and you’re hot.” She giggled and the sound gave him some hope that he might be getting through to her.

“I like spending time with you too,” she admitted.

“That’s a start,” he said. Rod took a chance and reached for her hand. “I had to find you,” he breathed.

“Why?” she asked. “Why did you need to find me, Rod?” It was almost as if she was challenging him to give her the words.

“Because I needed to tell you that I’m falling for you, honey. Before you told Nova, about us, I was going to ask you to move in with me.”

“You were?” she asked. “I think that I would have liked that.”

He smiled at her, “Well then, how about moving in with me?”

“That’s an awfully big step, Rod,” she said. “Are you sure that it’s one that you’re ready to make?”

“I am,” he agreed. “In fact, I was going to ask you to marry me, too,” he said.

Evie gasped and he pulled her into his arms. “Marry you?” she questioned.

“Yes,” he whispered. “Marry me, Evie. I’m so in love with you, I can’t imagine not spending the rest of our lives.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “I think that I’d like to marry you, too,” she agreed.

“Thank God,” he breathed. “I thought that I lost you, honey.”

“No, I don’t think that’s possible, Rod. You won’t ever lose me,” she promised. “I think that I’ve been waiting for you this whole time. Every time I turned a guy down, I wondered if I’d ever find someone to give my virginity to. But then, I met you and I knew instantly—you were the one. I love you too, Rod.”

He picked her up and spun her around the hallway, not caring that she was squealing and giggling, and would probably wake up everyone on the third floor. She was right—they were meant to be together. He found the woman he never knew that he was waiting for—his virgin assistant, his Evie. He had finally found her and now, he’d never let her go again.

The End

His Nerdy Assistant

Luke

Prologue

Five Years Earlier

Luke Tracy ducked into the alley, not sure if the two men who were following him were still behind him. If he was taking a guess, they were, but he wasn’t sure why they were still on his ass. He had picked up the tail after he left the bar, on his way back to base, and he knew better than to take trouble back to the Naval base he was stationed at. His commanding officer had already warned him to stop borrowing trouble and he had a feeling that the two guys chasing him down were major trouble.

He couldn’t just hide away in an alley. If he wasn’t back to base in the next two hours, he’d be written up for missing curfew and that was also a black mark against him that he didn’t need. For now, he just needed to ditch his tail and get back before anyone missed him—as if it was that easy.

“Jesus, Luke,” he chided himself, “get yourself together and think.” There had to be a way out of this that didn’t involve him calling his best friend, Ranger. The last thing he needed was to get his buddy involved in whatever shit he currently was tangled up in, but he was beginning to see that he had no choice.

“Fuck,” he whispered to himself, pulling his cell from his uniform. “Shit, shit, shit,” he grumbled as he dialed Ranger’s number and held the phone up to his ear.

“Lo,” Ranger answered on the second ring. “What’s up, man?”

“I’m in trouble,” Luke whispered into the phone. “I’m being tailed and I’m not exactly sure why.”

“Shit, Luke,” Ranger mumbled. “Where are you?”

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