Page 61 of Relentless

I chuckle as I slide back, placing the bags between us.

“Go on,” I say encouragingly.

Hesitantly, Alana pulls open the first bag and reaches inside.

I can’t keep the smile off my face because I know she’s gone for the best one first.

“You bought me lingerie?” she balks, holding a black lace bra and panty set in front of her.

“Hell yeah, I did. What do you think?”

She studies it, her head slowly shaking from side to side in disbelief.

“I— I think…” Her words trail off as she looks at the label. “I think you’re way too familiar with my tits to have selected the right size.”

“Dove, I’m nowhere near familiar enough with them,” I confess, my eyes dropping to where her nipples are pressing against the fabric of Reid’s shirt. “How about you try that on for me so I can see just how good a fit it is.”

“Yeah… maybe not,” she says, shoving the underwear back into the bag and reaching for another.

We got her everything we could think that she might need while living in a house with men.

Clothes, shoes, toiletries, hair stuff. I even went all out and bought her a new notebook with a matching pen that has a massive pom-pom on the top. Girly as shit. And unsurprisingly, it’s the sight of the notebook that makes her eyes really light up.

“Figured a new start up here needed a new book,” I explain.

She looks at me, her eyes once again glassy with tears.

“Thank you,” she says, her voice quiet and broken.

Reaching out, I cover her hand that’s resting on her thigh with mine. “Anything,” I promise. “If we missed something, just tell me and I’ll send Reid back out for it.”

“You’ll send Reid for it?” she asks, quirking a brow at me.

“Hell yeah. I’ve got a girl in my room. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving.”

“JD.” She laughs, making me realize how long it’s been since I heard it.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt, my eyes holding hers in the hope she can see the honesty in those two words.

She stills, her eyes narrowing as tension pops around us.

She might be angry with me but that doesn’t mean the chemistry that’s always been between us isn’t crackling away, waiting for the explosion.

“For what, exactly?” she finally whispers.

Reaching out, I tuck a lock of her short blonde hair behind her ear, making her shudder before I cup her jaw, ensuring she can’t turn away from me.

“For everything I’ve done, and for all the things I can’t.”

Her eyes shutter as she absorbs my words.

“Yes, I made a stupid bet with Reid, but only because I wanted to prove to him that his fear tactics wouldn’t work on you. And it might not surprise you to hear that he hates being proved wrong,” I explain with a smirk. “I felt what we had, and it was a stupid thing to suggest. But I can assure you that this, us, it isn’t because of that.”

“There isn’t an us, Julian. I’m married to the man you’re currently holding hostage in your basement.”

“Yeah, I know. I just…”

“You can’t keep him down there just because you want me to yourself.”

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