Page 47 of Reaper's Rage

“She’s exhausted. I have a room booked here for the night. It’s her birthday. I want to take her upstairs and let her rest. Can you call me when the cops arrive? We can come back down to meet with them.”

Trouble takes Ashlyn’s hand and kisses her knuckles. “Happy birthday, little warrior. You two go ahead. The cops I’m calling will be fine holding him for twenty-four hours. I’ll tell them you’ll go to the station and file charges in the morning. How does that sound?”

“Wonderful.” Ashlyn says, beaming at him. “Thank you.”

“One more thing, Reaper. You’re one lucky bastard to snare a girl like her. Although, if I were you, I’d be very careful to never piss her off.”

I lean down and capture Ashlyn’s mouth with mine as I finger the pendant around her neck. “Wise words. I won’t piss off my warrior princess, especially when she’s armed.”

Ashlyn grins at me. “I did good, huh?”

“You protected you, so yeah, you did great.”

I guide her to the elevator. She leans against me as we wait. I see her yawn in the reflection of the elevator doors. “Tired?” I ask her and she nods. “When we get upstairs, I’ll run you a bath and order up some room service.” When I see the pout, I chuckle.

“I ruined our evening.” She whines. My warrior princess must be tired. Ashlyn isn’t one to whine unless she’s exhausted.

“You ruined nothing. Soak in the tub and we’ll eat dinner. We can see how you feel after. If you want to sleep, then sleep.” I tell her as the doors open. I’m happy it’s just the two of us inside as the doors close again.

“No sex?” She asks, and I can hear the disappointment.

“We’re having sex.” I tell her. “You think taking a nap is going to stop me from waking you up and ravishing you later?”

She turns and grins at me. “Promise?”

“Promise.” I say, kissing her as the doors open on our floor.

CHAPTER THIRTY: ASHLYN

My fatigue disappears with Reaper’s promise. Reaper opens the door to our room, but instead of letting me go in first, he steps inside. He comes back out only a minute later, surprising me by lifting me up into his arms and carrying me into the room.

“Had to make sure no one was in here.” Reaper says. “I think from now on, I’ll be vetting every room before I let you enter.”

I giggle even though I know he’s serious. “That wouldn’t have changed what happened today.” I remind him. “Matthews snuck in after I was done. I wonder how he planned on getting me out of the casino.” I muse.

“He had help.” Reaper says. “Two guys were outside the bathroom. Trouble and his men took them out. Luckily, they were nearby when I heard you scream. I couldn’t get to you.” Reaper says, leaning his forehead against mine and closing his eyes.

I place my palm against his cheek and wait for him to open his pretty brown eyes. They’re a rich chocolate color with specks of gold. Gorgeous. “You got to me. That’s all that matters. We make a good team.”

He grins and kisses me. “We do.”

I hadn’t been paying attention to where he was carrying me until he sets me down on the counter in the bathroom. As he turns on the faucet for the tub, I glance around the bathroom. It’s stunning. The black and white theme from the hotel flows into here, along with the chrome and red highlights. The tub is large enough to fit both of us, giving me ideas that have my skin tingling. I watch Reaper pour something into the tub and soon the room smells like lavender. I breathe in the relaxing scent as Reaper returns to me.

“I’m taking care of you. I want you to relax and try to put Matthews out of your head. Ok?” I nod as he gently pulls my t-shirt up over my head. I watch his hands remove my bra and see his smirk when he palms the brass knuckles. He kneels to remove my boots and chuckles when finds the baton. Shaking his head as he removes the rest of my clothes until I’m standing before him, naked. I feel tears prickling my eyes when I see the love and adoration in his. “How did I get so lucky?” Reaper whispers, causing me to huff out a laugh.

“That’s what I was thinking.” I tell him.

Grinning, he leads me to the tub and holds my hand as I climb in. I feel like a queen with how he treats me. As I sink into the fragrant hot water, I let out a sigh. “I needed this.” I tell him. “Want to join me?”

He grins. “More than you know, but I want to order us room service. You need to eat. We’ll take a bath together later.” He leaves the room, but returns holding a fluffy white robe. Placing it on the hook behind the door, he smiles at me. “Put this on when you’re done. Only this.” He says sternly, which has me rolling my eyes and laughing.

“Yes, sir.” I capitulate.

“I like the sound of that.” He says with a wink, grinning when I flick water at him.

As the heat soaks into my skin, I watch the steam rise from the water. I let the memories of Matthews and the knowledge of Reverend Jordan float up and away along with the steam. This is my birthday, dammit, and I will not let those bastards ruin it for me. Rejuvenated, I step out of the tub and dry off. After using the entire tiny bottle of lotion on my damp skin, I slip on the robe. I pause at the door when I hear voices in the other room. Cracking the door open, I feel a sense of relief when I see it is just the server moving covered dishes from his trolly to the table. I grin when I see the table has a tablecloth and two lit candles in the center.

Once the server leaves, Reaper shuts the door. I step out of the bathroom. Reaper turns and smiles when he sees me. “Hungry?” He asks and I nod quickly. “Good, I think you’ll like what I ordered.”

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