Page 51 of Greed

Her lips curl up toward a smile. “Are you serious?”

I look directly into her eyes. “I’m dead serious. I want this to be exclusive. You’ll be my only lover, and I’ll be yours.”

She contemplates my words carefully. “I’ll be your lover, Declan, but only on one condition.”

I’ll agree to anything she wants to guarantee another man doesn’t get to experience everything I did tonight. “I accept the condition.”

Her hand playfully swats my chest. “You need to hear the condition first.”

“Spit it out.”

She smiles. “When you’re ready to move on, tell me. Don’t lead me on when you need to end things. I’m a grown woman. I can take it, so respect me enough to do that.”

That thought is so foreign that I can’t process it. “Abby.”

“Agree to the condition,” she urges. “That’s all I ask.”

I nod. “Agreed.”

“Thank you.” She slides her hands down my arms. “I’ll do the same when I’m ready to move on.”

That feels like a punch in the gut, but I chase it away with a soft kiss on her lips.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

Abby

I smilewhen Declan emerges from his bedroom wearing shoes and a sweater.

“Going somewhere?” I question.

“If I said I was taking you home, you’d tell me to stay put.” He laughs. “Sooner or later, I want to see where you live.”

“You will,” I say with assurance, even though that feels like a huge step. “It’ll need to be later since we’re creeping toward the middle of the night, and my boss expects me at the office bright and early.”

“Your boss can be a real dick.”

I start to nod but immediately stop. “I can’t agree with that statement.”

Declan approaches where I’m standing near the door of his apartment. “This is a safe space. If you want to scream, ‘Fuck you, Rook,’ at the top of your lungs, have at it. I won’t tell him.”

I believe him.

“Rook has been good to me,” I admit. “I’ve learned a lot working for him.”

“He’s a good lawyer,” he acquiesces. “I’ll give him that.”

I steal a glance at my watch. “I should head downstairs.”

“I’ll walk you down.” He pauses briefly before saying, “Rygar is waiting for you.”

I’m tempted to tell him I can get home on my own, but I appreciate that he called his driver for me. I enjoy talking to Rygar, so I know it’ll be a fun ride to Brooklyn.

“For the record.” He inches even closer to me. “Earlier, you asked if I know who is representing Kalina in the deal. Her name is Marg Jablonsky. I haven’t crossed paths with her before.”

I nod. “That’s good to know. One of my professors in law school taught us that it can’t hurt to arm yourself with as much knowledge about the opposing counsel as you can.”

“That’s good advice.” He stares into my eyes. “Regardless of how skilled Marg is, I’m confident you’ll get the best deal for Wells.”

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