Page 20 of Assassin's Heart
Remi’s palm hesitated on my stomach. “I’m trying to comfort you, not rape you. Settle down.”
Settle down?The words got my back up, but… Remi shifted, throwing a heavy thigh over both of mine. His hand took up its rhythm again. “I don’t think you’re trying to rape me,” I said.
His thigh clenched, tightening around me. “Then why won’t you be still?”
A huff escaped me, part irritation, part embarrassment. “Maybe because I’m too busy thinking about things I have no business thinking about?” I half yelled. Especially with him semi-naked and holding me down and— God, he really did feel good.
Remi went still, even his breath ceasing as he held me curled against him.
“At least I’m not thinking about nightmares,” I muttered, a shudder working through me.
“Don’t go believing I’m nice, Leah,” he said, the words gruff in my ear.
“Right. You just rush into rooms with screaming women to, what, take advantage of them?” I shook my head. “You already denied that one. Relax, Remi. I won’t make more of this than you do.”
“Good.” He shifted a bit, molding me closer to him until I could feel his heartbeat against my back. “Just doing the right thing.”
Of course he was. I breathed in his scent—man and musk and something a little bit spicy—feeling it seep into the corners of my being. I firmly believed men like Remi were not to be trusted, but I also believed people weren’t black-and-white. Remi hadn’t kidnapped my child; he was trying to help get her back. He’d been stalking me, but now the intel he’d gathered could lead us to Brooke. He could be taking advantage of having me vulnerable in bed, but instead he was making me feel safer than I’d felt since those long-ago nights when Angelo had held me in his arms.
Angelo.
Remi went back to stroking my stomach. “Want to tell me about it?”
“About what?”
A chuckle tickled my ear. “You have to be the most contrary woman I’ve ever been this close to.” He nipped the lobe, a sharp reprimand. “Your nightmare.”
I shook my head. “Old memories.”
“About Angelo’s death?”
“Yes.” But... “I should have known.”
“Known what?”
“From the very beginning, Brooke has been seen as a pawn. That night...” I swallowed hard. “The men threatened to punch me in the stomach if he didn’t talk. Until then, I think he’d thought he could get us out of this. He gave his life so I could escape with her.” A shaky breath left me. “I’ve only ever wanted to protect her, but my choices keep finding her. Us. Again and again.”
“Not your choices, Leah. His.” Remi’s hands clenched on my skin before easing off. “We’re going to find her. We’re going to stop the nightmares once and for all.”
I rubbed my cheek over the rough hairs on the biceps beneath me. “Thank you.”
Remi drew a deep breath, his chest pressing hard against me. “Sleep. Everything will be all right. I promise.”
And even though I knew I shouldn’t, I was starting to believe it was true. Remi would do everything he could to make it all right.
But then, so had Angelo.
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Chapter Nine
Remi —
She’d finally fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning, curled in my arms. I couldn’t seem to forget the warm scent of her, the feel of her, soft and strong all at once. I’d worked out for an hour in the gym, driving my body as hard as I could, desperate to think about anything, anyone else. My mind had basically flipped me the bird and kept on remembering.
Fucking bastard.
A quick, cold shower, then I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. None of us had to eat here. Each suite contained a small galley kitchen and eating area, but we’d been together so long it felt foreign to be apart. Every morning we found ourselves downstairs, gathered around the island. Being a family. Just the way my parents would’ve wanted it.
