Page 57 of Greed

“Good.” She finishes with the last button. “Because it is.”

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and push to my feet. “I’ll walk you down.”

“No,” she says. “Stay in bed, Declan.”

I shake my head. “I’m walking you down, Abigail.”

She lets out a noise that sounds like a sigh of frustration with a hint of amusement wrapped around it. “Always the gentleman.”

I put on my boxer briefs before tugging on a pair of jeans that are draped over the bench at the foot of my bed. “You think I’m a gentleman?”

I catch her eyes flare when her gaze skims my bare chest. “I know you are.”

As much as I love how she looks at me, I yank a T-shirt over my head. “Not everyone views me that way.”

A brush of her hand in the air is followed by a click of her tongue. “Those people can go straight to hell because I know the real you, and believe me when I say that I’ve been with enough assholes to know a gentleman when he’s standing right in front of me.”

Buttoning my jeans, I move in place so I’m facing her. “I hate that you’ve been with assholes.”

“Me too.” She manages a weak smile. “I even married one.”

“You what?” Surprise edges my tone becausewhat the fuck?

Her hand jumps to her face to rub her forehead. “I got married when I was in law school. It didn’t even last two years. To say it was a monumental mistake is an understatement. Everything about it was messy.”

I’m relieved to know it’s part of her distant past but pissed that some guy obviously put her through the wringer.

“I’m sorry you went through that, Abby.”

“Me too.” She takes a breath. “Have you ever been…”

“Married?” I interrupt. “Fuck, no.”

“Good to know.” She smiles. “You obviously do honor your wisdom. I, on the other hand, gave in to my naivety and married a raging jerk.”

“What happened with him?” The question is out before I think it through.

“He cheated on me,” she says with her head held high. “I went away for a weekend with my dad to hike up north, but it rained buckets, so I came home early. I caught my ex red-handed with one of our classmates. Or rather, his dick was in her hand when I walked into our apartment and found them passed out in our bed.”

I stare at her, stunned that any man wouldn’t treasure the promise of a life with her. “Bastard.”

“He was.” She moves a step closer to me. “I didn’t know men like you existed until you swept me off my feet on that street corner.”

I wrap both hands around her waist, lifting and twirling her in a circle. “You deserve to be swept off your feet every fucking day.”

She lets out a high-pitched shriek followed by a bubble of laughter, and I swear to fuck, it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.

As I lower her to the floor, her eyes latch onto mine. “How do you make every night better than the last?”

I want to tell her we’re just getting started, and it’ll be even better a month from now. A year from now, I want her to feel so treasured that the cheating ex is not even a memory, but I don’t say a word. I can’t because I realize this strong, brilliant woman has been burned, and needs time to open up.

The sound of a phone’s chime fills the air. I close my eyes and let out an almost silent “fuck.”

“It’s Rygar, isn’t it?” she whispers as she looks to where my phone sits on the bench. “It’s time for me to go.”

I want nothing more than to get down on my knees and beg her to stay, but I kiss her lips instead. “I’ll walk you down.”

She agrees with a soft nod. “I’d like that a lot.”

---