Page 67 of His Puppet

“Anything,” she says, sounding intoxicatingly sincere.

“Please don’t call him Matt. It sounds too friendly, and I’m not going to lie, I got jealous there for a minute.”

She laughs. “Yeah, I noticed.”

She lets out a peaceful sigh and leans into me as we walk. “I get it though, and you should know, it goes both ways. If you ever cheat on me, don’t think I won’t cut a bitch.”

A laugh barrels up my chest, and I break free of her hand to wrap my arm around her. I consider making a joke about her assuming we’re exclusive, but I choose not too. I like the assumption. I like her thinking I’m hers because Iwantto be hers. And she sure as hell better be mine.

“So how long do you think he’ll spend trashing his office looking for that bug?” I ask with an amused smirk.

“Eternity.” She giggles. “I’m pretty sure he hates you.”

“Oh, he definitely hates me. They all do.”

Emily and I walk another block before we arrive at my car. I open the door for her, and she sighs when I kiss her forehead. My cock stirs with anticipation of taking her back to the farm, to spend another night in my bed.

This time, sex won’t be an escape from reality. It won’t be tainted by fear.

It’ll be nothing but a night with the woman I’m quickly falling in love with.

21

Emily

One week later

“Good morning, beautiful.”

Blade’s voice breaks through my sleep, and I groan, stretching my arms above my head and rolling from my stomach to my back. The familiar scent of Blade’s fabric softener fills my nostrils, and I slap the comfy pillows surrounding my head.

Begrudgingly, I open my eyes to see Blade sitting on my side of the bed looking amused. His amusement is usually contagious, but this early? It’s annoying. If it weren’t for the lone lamp illuminating him, I wouldn’t be seeing it because it would be black in here.

“The sun isn’t even up,” I groan, pulling a pillow over my head.

“It will be soon.”

I roll to my side while Blade laughs. He scoots up farther on the bed and plays with my hair, running his hand down my neck and arm when he’s finished. My spine tingles from the gesture, and I smile into the pillow.

I’ve basically lived here for the last week, and it’s been one of the best of my life. Sleeping next to someone, their arms around you, your face snuggled into them, is a form of intimacy unmatched by anything else, including sex. I’ve slept better this week than I have in years, and all I want, every single day Blade appears at my side, fully dressed and showered, is more time in this bed. With him. But the fucker wakes up too early.

“I hate you,” I say, although I haven’t stopped smiling.

Blade lays down next to me and kisses my shoulder. “Yesterday you were pissed when I didn’t wake you before I left. I can’t win with you, can I?”

“This early?” I pull the pillow from my face and roll over to face him. “No.”

He runs his hand over my hip as I lean in to kiss him, closing my eyes and savoring the moment. I cup his face and lean in deeper, conjuring up memories of last night. Another tingle travels my spine, and I gently push him back, preparing to climb on top of him.

He puts his hand on mine to stop me, and he laughs. “We don’t have time.”

“So make time.” I go to kiss him again and pout when he presses a finger to my lips. My eyes open, and I furrow my brow.

“I can’t,” he says, apologetically.

“Yes, you can. You’re the boss.”

We go through this every day, and I haven’t been able to convince him yet that he’s too much of a stickler. Everything he does has to be perfect. His appearance, his posture, his work. I can finally see why he got promoted to capo.

---