Page 48 of Merciless Protector

A sexy smirk formed on his perfect mouth. “I guess I’ll have to rectify that. Have you been to New York before?” I shook my head. “Good. Today’s a perfect day to see the city. Nobody knows where we are. At least for now.”

The idea of a date, let alone him being my tour guide, thrilled me. “I’ll take you up on that,” I said before diving back into my food.

“We’ll stop and buy you a change of clothes,” he said.

It was my turn to quirk a brow. “You don’t like me in sweatpants?” I joked.

“I prefer you naked, but my parents might not.”

“Your parents?” I asked.

“My mother invited us to dinner. That is if you want to go.”

I blew out a breath. “I think your father would prefer if I didn’t go.”

“My father is an ass, and it’s not up to him. It’s Mom’s birthday.” How could I say no to that? “She really likes you,” he added.

“It’s impossible to say no to that.”

He shook his head. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to go.”

“No. It’s fine.”

“Go get dressed then,” he said with a playful slap on my butt.

I eyed him. “I’m going to shower first.”

He flashed me a wicked grin. “You said the magic word.”

I giggled like a damn schoolgirl and ran. “No, don’t follow me. We’ll never leave.”

But he followed.

An hour or so later, we finally left the apartment, and it felt good not to be confined inside or skulking through dirty below-ground tunnels.

It took me by surprise when, after holding the building door open for me, he took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. I couldn’t keep the cheesy smile off my face.

The sidewalk was busy but not crowded. People walked past without noticing our interlocked fingers. They didn’t notice why my eyes beamed like headlights and my heart beat invisible hearts outside my chest. I couldn’t stop the free-for-all that was my emotions. I shouldn’t read more into his jesters. He hadn’t expressed any more feelings for me than his need to protect us.

Hiding the blush spreading across my face from him, I noticed a store with a dress in the window that captured my attention. “Can we stop in there?” I asked.

His gaze trailed over my face, surely seeing the roses bloom on my cheeks. “Yeah.”

He steered us to the bohemian shop. As soon as I entered, I walked over to eye the wheat-colored straight shift with a white cotton tee underneath. It was simple and elegant and, more importantly, looked like something I could afford.

A tiny woman with a mane of curly salt-and-pepper hair approached. “How can I help you?”

“Do you have this in my size?” I gave it to her.

She put on glasses that had been hanging on a cord around her neck. “Follow me.”

We went over to a rack, where she quickly got the dress and top. “You can try them on in the back.”

I glanced over at Shawn, who had a gleam in his eye. I mouthed “no,” knowing if he followed me back there, we would have sex despite the numerous times we’d done it this morning alone.

He cracked a smile, and I playfully rolled my eyes and headed in that direction. It didn’t take long to remove the joggers and shirt and put on the dress and tee. I admired myself a few seconds before I decided to get Shawn’s approval. It was his mother’s birthday dinner and their apartment suggested they had requirements for dress, even if it was just family attending.

His eyes lit up when I stepped out, giving him points, considering it wasn’t a formfitting dress.

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