Page 72 of The Criminal

He brushed a kiss over my temple before rising to take away the offensive garbage can. I stayed sitting on the floor, my legs crossed like a kid, my pretty cream pumps discarded on the ground near me. I sighed and Onyx, head and tail low, slowly padded over to check on me. He laid down and put his head in my lap. I stroked his velvety soft ear.

Derek returned from the private bathroom, my mess handled, and settled down on the floor with his legs spread on either side of me and his chest supporting my back. He pressed a bottle of water into my hand.

The cool, fresh water washed away the remnants of sick. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and took my time spinning the cap back on the half-empty bottle. I fiddled with the plastic lid, twisting it back and forth, trying to keep everything else at bay. Lefty loosey. Righty tighty.

“We can help.” His voice jolted me back to reality. “The Smith Agency has the resources. You said my way would end in a bloodbath, but what if my way sets you free?”

“Why would they help me?”

“You’re a client.”

“Since when?” I snorted at the absurdity of the statement.

“Since I asked John to make you one.”

I petted Onyx while the importance of the offer sank in. I wasn’t alone. It had always been me against the world. If Derek and The Smith Agency had my back—fuck.

He couldn’t have found a more perfect way to entice me. I never even hinted to him about wanting to go straight. Yet, he knew me well enough to offer me my greatest desire and the means to achieve it.

I closed my eyes and let hope bloom. It was a tiny, fragile thing. A weed growing through a long-overlooked crack in my armor.

I didn’t deserve help. But I was going to take it. I would bet everything I owned on The Smith Agency and Derek Sawyer.

“I accept.”

“Thank God.” He buried his face in the bend of my neck, taking deep breaths while he crushed me in his arms. He whispered my name over and over as he kissed my shoulder and nape. Goosebumps raced over my skin, and warmth pooled deep in my belly, replacing the numbness that had enveloped me.

I patted Onyx’s head and sent him back to his bed, and Derek scooped me up in his arms. He carried me into the bathroom and set me on the counter with reverent care.

He turned on the water in the shower, then stepped between my legs as I sat on the counter. His long, dexterous fingers worked the small pearl buttons on my blouse with the utmost care. My cold toes curled into the denim covering his calves as I let him take care of me.

“I should leave you. Let you clean up.” He set a fluffy towel next to me on the countertop. His breathing was heavy, and his focus was on the strip of bare flesh exposed by my unbuttoned shirt. I shrugged and let the cloth slither down.

“Stay.” I reached back and undid my bra.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I came to talk.” His eyes glittered like a faceted topaz as he stared at my body.

I reached for his belt and pulled him closer. “I missed you.”

Missing was a massive understatement. Too small a word. Separating myself from him had left a gaping hole in my life. When you’re lonely and you only let in one person, they become your universe. The way I needed him was almost as terrifying as anything Tony had planned for me.

“I missed you too.” He kissed behind my ear and down my neck. The sandpaper texture of his cheek sent ripples over my sensitive skin. “Tell me you want this. Tell me I can have you?”

He wasn’t playing a sexy game. He was asking permission because I’d hurt him. A moment of regret pierced through the veil of passion enshrouding us.

“Yes. Touch me. Taste me.”Love mewas what I wanted to scream.

He reached behind his neck and jerked his shirt up and off. I splayed my hands on his bare chest and traveled the well-known ridges of his torso with my greedy fingertips. His erection strained against his zipper as I caressed his length through his jeans until he moaned and stepped back.

“Lee, I don’t have a condom.” I could hear how unsure he felt about skipping protection. He was still my Boy Scout. I hoped he never lost that inherent goodness.

“I’ve had an IUD for years.”

After a second to process what I’d said, he went after my pants and his. When we were naked, he lifted me up. My legs wrapped around his waist. He stepped under the hot spray in the shower, and I tipped my head back. Hot water cascaded over us. He cupped my ass and sucked at my neck. I clung to him with every molecule of my being.

I needed this man in my life like I needed air. And joy.

The water was a renewal. It carried away my entrenched fear and distrust. I vowed I would open my heart and my eyes. I would live my whole life, starting now. And if he’d have me, I’d live it with him.

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