Page 46 of Dominated

“Who’s they?” I asked.

But the greater question was, what would happen when they found him?

The pounding in my chest halted as that answer unfolded.

The answer I saw in his eyes.

There was a reason Bale was invisible.

A reason he couldn’t come back.

But a reason he’d returned.

“I can quit anytime I want. Retire, so to speak. But I can’t do it here.” He chuckled—a response one would give after hearing a ridiculous idea. “I can’t buy a house on the beach and drink Tanqueray from my balcony and pretend I didn’t drop a bomb on this town.”

I sucked in a breath.

And I held it in.

When his arms dropped, he wrung his hands together, as if he were cleansing them. “We would have to go somewhere safe. Where I wouldn’t have to worry about us.”

Was he sprinkling breadcrumbs?

Prepping me for the conversation we were going to have later?

Or was that a mistake, a mishap with words, and he hadn’t meant to include me?

But did Bale really make mistakes like that?

“Don’t leave me,” I whispered.

“I don’t have to.”

I clung to each of his words.

“But right now, right here, we have six hours left. Let’s enjoy them.”

I couldn’t help but recall the way he’d slipped from my fingers before I could even clasp his hand.

Was I going to let those thoughts and worry ruin the time we had left?

I couldn’t.

I needed to take in everything he was giving me.

I needed to clear my head.

And what helped me do that was the crawling of his fingertips as they went past my ankles, up my shins, and across my knees before moving inward to my thighs.

“Wetness. Fuck.”

His gaze turned feral.

We were back in the moment.

And—oh God—I was ready.

“I’ve been thinking about this …” He swiped my pussy with his thumb. “Dreaming about your taste. Your heat.” He placed his nose at the top of my clit. “Your scent.” He inhaled. Not just once. These were long, deep breaths. “You smell fucking amazing.” He glanced up, locking our eyes. “I’ve been searching for that scent everywhere I go. I need it.” He licked his mouth. “I need you, Pepper.” He dragged his tongue across me. “All I’ve wanted to do these last three weeks is fucking lick you.”