Burned Deep (Burned 1)

“Ari?” Amano’s low voice broke into my thoughts. I opened my eyes and turned my head to eye him curiously. “I wouldn’t leave you here if I didn’t think it was safe. Not for a heartbeat.”

The corner of my mouth lifted. So, I’d won over the stoic. And he probably felt as much guilt as Dane that he hadn’t protected me from Vale’s devious plot.

“I know I’m safe with him.” Dane could be hurt, angry, destroyed … he wouldn’t take it out on me. I knew that to the depths of my soul.

I unbuckled and slid from the seat. Took a few long breaths. Then I said, “Thanks, Amano.”

“Dane’s not all right with this, either,” he finally admitted.

I nodded. “I’m not sure we ever will be.” I moved past him and walked the stone path.

Dane had propped his shoulder against the doorframe while I’d debated my course of action. He watched me approach, an unreadable expression on his devilishly handsome face.

My heart wrenched. Everything about him created that magnet-and-steel effect that had drawn me to him from the very beginning. I drank in his tall, sculpted form, hypnotized by every inch of him.

Yet a hint of caution trickled down my spine, a reminder that this wasn’t a casual meeting. That he wasn’t your everyday, ordinary man. He lived in a different, mysterious, dangerous world. He was someone who went after what he wanted and fought to keep it.

I couldn’t dispute that he deserved to be able to fight for what he’d built. What he’d earned. After all, I’d been appalled for him when I’d learned the extricated investors now wanted to capitalize on all of Dane’s hard work. His dream.

But there were some extremes I couldn’t accept, couldn’t live with.

Perhaps that was why I was here. To find out if I held enough power over him to draw a line in the sand and demand he not cross it. Ever.

Risky business, definitely.

My pulse raced at the sight of him, but my stomach churned at the prospect of what I wanted. And the very real possibility that this might be the last time I saw him.

I could barely breathe by the time I reached the front doors. I heard Amano leaving in the Escalade. Things snapped and sizzled inside me, a combination of apprehension and sheer excitement over the man standing just two feet away.

I felt his presence, was compelled to lean forward and inhale his scent.

But I still walked a tightrope, having no clear idea how this might play out. I might be calling Amano in ten minutes to come pick me up again. I should have told him to stay close.

Dane pushed away from the door frame and took a step toward me. My heart launched into my throat.

His gaze unwavering, he said, “This is a surprise.”

“Yes, I know.” I gulped down a knot of nerves. “Sorry it’s so late in the evening.”

“I was up.”

I’d figured he would be.

“I couldn’t sleep, either,” I admitted.

A scowl darkened his features, as I was accustomed to. “You want more answers?”

“No.” I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. “I think I have them all.”

“Not all of them.” He stepped aside and gestured for me to enter his house.

I hedged, anxiety mounting. Was this wise? Did I know what I was doing?

“Ari.”

Right. I’d come to him. The ball was in my court this time.

Moving inside, I set my phone and house keys on the entryway table. He closed the door behind us.