Page 112 of Erik's Salvation
She leaned back into him. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
The sound Erik made was somewhere between a hum and a growl. “You should have kept the buzzer system.” He kissed her neck, and a tremble ran down her spine.
She turned and met those beautiful eyes. “We don’t need it now that the danger’s gone.”
Another sound reverberated from his chest. “Safety is always needed.”
She looked down at the carrier of coffees and bag in his hand. “Oh God. That all smells incredible.”
His mouth went to her neck. “Yousmell incredible.”
When he began to nip and tease her skin, she groaned and grabbed onto his shoulders. “Erik…”
“Mm.”
His teeth grazed her neck, causing goose bumps to rise over her flesh.
“We can’t,” she gasped out. “Reuben’s just gone out for a quick coffee, and Taylor’s at a client meeting. They could both be back any second.”
This time, he groaned.
She laughed. “When we get home, you can kiss me all you want, wherever you want.”
Another nip. “Fine. But then I get you all night.”
Fire danced in her belly. God, now she was desperate for the day to be over.
When he stepped away, her hands twitched to pull him back. To say screw it and risk her job for a moment with him…then she remembered the coffee.
Erik lowered the drinks to the table, then the bag. “I got some turkey sandwiches and the pancakes from Rita.”
Her stomach growled, and she would have been embarrassed if she wasn’t so dang hungry. “Turkey sandwiches with a side of pancakes are just what I need.” She looked into the bag. “Hang on, there are no napkins. I’ll grab some from the kitchen.”
She moved into the small office kitchen. She was just about to step back into the hall when the front door opened.
She stopped before reaching her office, the blood draining from her face.
James.
Oh God, he looked awful. His face was black and blue with bruises. His clothes were torn and dirty, like he’d been in them for days, and…was that blood on his shirt? Specks of it were sprinkled across his clothes.
One hand was behind his back, but the other was wrapped in bandages, with more dried blood seeping through. His fingers almost looked like…stumps.
“James…are you—”
He pulled his other hand out to reveal a gun—a gun that he pointed directly at her chest.
Her world stopped, every sound fading to silence around her as a low buzzing took its place.
“You sent Brigid to talk to me, didn’t you?” he growled. “Then you reported back to Bonetti.”
Suddenly, Erik was in front of her, his hand shoving her back. “What the hell are you doing here?”
James stepped toward the hall, gun still aimed, the piercing intensity in his eyes never wavering. “I just needed some goddamn money! You were doing so fucking well. Getting all the best listings. So I made a deal with Ezra to badmouth you to clients. They went to him, and he gave me a percentage of every commission.”
Her lips parted, shock rendering her still.
“But it wasn’t enough,” James bit out. “The percentage was too low, and you were still getting clients thatIshould have gotten. I even sent a man to your house to fucking end you so I could have the few homes you had left!”
