Page 46 of To Keep

He pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her body and holding her tightly.

“Don’t say shit like that.”

“The truth…” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, that’s not the truth.”

“You wouldn’t be running now.”

“That’s wrong. Petrov would have sent men after me. All of this is part of his cleanup plan. I was going to end up dead if I took you out or not.”

She put her palm to his cheek. “Don’t say that.” She sighed. “I can’t … I don’t want to think of you hurting in any way.”

Galen was surprised as she leaned down and kissed him. For as long as he remembered, a caring touch had been so foreign to him. There hadn’t been a woman he was willing to get close to. No one he ever wanted. Women were just things to use for pleasure. No one had been important to him until Skye. She was everything.

Kissing her back, he slowly moved his hand up to sink into her hair, holding her in place. He loved this woman so fucking much. All he wanted to do was fuck her, but with how hectic the past few days had been, he knew there was no chance of that. Not until they were safer.

Galen pulled away even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. “Get dressed,” he said. “I’ll go and see where our food is.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t want to reject her, but for now, he had to keep his dick in his pants. Getting to his feet, he didn’t look back at her, but instead made his way outside the door.

Slash stood on his own, smoking a cigarette.

“Kensington just called in. He’ll be back with food in twenty minutes.”

“Good.”

Galen rubbed at his temple.

“It’s going to be okay,” Slash said.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Rather than be insulted, Slash burst out laughing. “Is that any way to talk to one of the guys helping to keep your ass safe?”

“Stop looking at my ass, and instead, keep my woman safe.”

“Are you giving me permission to look at your woman’s ass?”

Galen was not in the mood.

“Wow, lighten up. Fuck’s sake.”

“Lighten up? How the fuck can I lighten up when Viko is playing some messed-up game with our lives?” He wasn’t entertained.

Slash tutted. “Well, if this is what having the same pussy does to a guy, you can keep it.”

Galen tightened his hands into fists. He wanted to beat the shit out of this fucker, and he’d be glad to do it.

“I’ve had plenty of women,” Slash said. “All of them claimed they were the best thing for me. All bullshit. Women are only after two things—a good time and a big fat wallet. That’s all they care about. Evil bitches, the lot of them.”

“You haven’t met the right woman.”

Slash laughed. “In our line of work, do you think it’s easy to find the right woman? She doesn’t exist.”

“You’re looking at a man who’s moving every day around the fucking country to keep a woman alive. Trust me, it’s real.”

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