Page 129 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

I nodded. “You said that.”

She cleared her throat, finally looking at me with a smile. “So, that’s what I’m going to do. You don’t mind giving me the truck for the day, do you?”

Hell yes, I minded. She was running from me, and whatever happened at her aunt’s house would sway her final decision, and not being there, there was nothing I could do about it. But I couldn’t say that.

“Sure, I can get one of the guys to haul me around if necessary.”

The door swung open and IRIS walked in carrying a small present. “Hey, boss. How’s the new digs?”

I looked around and shrugged. “Like any other.” I nodded at the box in his hands. “What’s that?”

“Oh, yeah,. I felt sort of bad about blowing up your other place, so I got you a little something.”

“I’m glad you feltsort of bad,” I said sarcastically. I tore open the paper after snatching it out of his hands, but as far as I could tell, it was just a wooden box. I looked for some hidden door, like a puzzle box, but it was literally just a wooden box. I looked up at him in confusion. “So, you felt bad and got me a box. Gee, it really makes up for the thousands of dollars in damages.”

“No, see, it’s for Betty.”

“What?” Eva asked. “Your charm?”

“Yeah, when boss gets allI’m going to murder someone,he always takes Betty out and leaves her on the box on his desk. Except, the last box was sort of burned to a crisp, so I got him a new box. Now we’ll all know when he’s ready to lose his shit.”

I nodded at the box, then set it on my desk. I stared at it a moment, then looked up at IRIS. He was grinning at me like an idiot. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Betty, then set her on the box and leaned back in my seat, resting my hands on my stomach as I cocked a brow at him.

“See? Just like that. Now you know,” he said to Eva.

She bit back a smile as she watched him. He was still grinning like an idiot until it finally sank in. His smile slipped into a frown and then he cleared his throat, jerking his thumb toward the door. “I’ll just go find something else to do—non explosive related.”

“You go do that.”

42

EVA

I rolled over,rubbing at the crick in my neck. Since Cash had been released from the hospital, we had to find creative ways to sleep so we didn’t hurt him. Unfortunately, those weren’t comfortable positions for me. But I couldn’t stand to be away from him. I’d already made up my mind that I needed to get away for a while and stand on my own two feet. As much as I loved Cash, I had to know that I could do it alone. He meant everything to me, and I didn’t want there to be any regrets standing between us.

I pressed my hand to his cheek, smiling at the feel of the stubble beneath my fingertips. He looked so peaceful, but I knew the only reason he was sleeping so hard was the exhaustion. He was still recovering from his surgery, and I wasn’t even sure he was supposed to be doing everything he was. But there was no stopping him when he set his mind to something.

I slipped out of bed and quickly took a shower before heading to my aunt’s house. I was going to have a serious talk with her about what was going on in my life. She deserved at least that after everything I’d gotten her into. I was also going to tell her I was leaving. I could already imagine the way that conversation would go. She would be angry at first, but I knew she would understand this was something I needed to do for myself.

Cash was the other part of the equation. I hadn’t figured out how to talk to him about it yet, but I was pretty sure he already knew what was going on in my mind. I could see it in every look he gave me. When he talked to me about becoming his secretary, I knew it was a desperate plea for me to stay.

When I got out of the bathroom, he was still in bed, but he was awake, and his eyes were trained on my body. The tent in the sheets told me exactly what he was thinking.

“What time do you think you’ll leave?” he asked, his voice gruff with sleep.

“I was going to leave right away so I could get over there early. I want to spend the whole day with her.”

He sat up and snatched my hand as I walked past him to the dresser. In an instant, I was laying across his lap and he was kissing me hard. We hadn’t had sex since he was released from the hospital. I felt it was too soon, but apparently, he had other ideas. Before I knew it, I was lying under him, and his hips were firmly wedged between my legs.

I was panting hard as he kissed me and ground his cock against me. I was defenseless right now, not even having my towel to ward him off since he stripped it from my body at some point. I gasped as he sheathed himself deep inside me, grunting at the exertion. I knew he was still struggling, but he would never admit that, especially when he was finally getting what he wanted from me.

Locking my legs around his waist, I easily rolled him over and settled on my knees above him. His eyes burned bright as he watched me ride him. There wasn’t an inch of my body that he left untouched. My skin burned as his hands roamed over me, reminding me of how good things were between us. But the intensity of it all finally caught up to me and I found myself on the verge of tears.

And that was the moment he sat up, wrapping his arms around me as he kissed me hard and held me close. I slung my arms around him, crying into his neck. It was too much. My decision would hurt both of us, and he knew it. Yet, he was comforting me, even though he knew what I was planning. And that was how I knew this was the right choice for me.

He pressed his lips to mine, murmuring against them. “Don’t leave without saying goodbye.”

I shook my head, unable to say a thing. I choked back the tears as I laid in his arms, squeezing my eyes shut. “I’ll only be gone for the day,” I finally said.

---