“You look after them.”
“I give them a different way to live where they’re useful and needed.” I met her gaze. “Hidden Justice is not a lifelong thing, Tally. For any of us. The emotional toll is too exacting.”
She nodded, her eyes widening as she looked at the middle screen. “That’s the outer office where I worked.”
“Yes. I check on Anna on occasion.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How often did you check on me?”
I pulled her down to my lap, kissing her. “All the time. You fascinated me. I loved watching you. I learned so much just observing you.”
“Stalker,” she muttered.
“Yep. I was addicted.” I pulled her close, nuzzling my face into her neck. “Still am.”
She shivered.
“Do you know how often I fantasized about having you in here? Bending you over my desk and taking you?” I murmured, kissing her throat. “This office, the other office. Some days, I had to leave before I dragged you in and did just that.”
“I would have let you.”
With a groan, I crashed my mouth to hers, instantly losing myself in the vortex of sensation and passion. I fisted her curls, kissing her harder, deeper—wanting more.
Damien walked in, stopping when he saw us.
“Oh, I’ll, ah, come back.”
Tally scrambled off my lap, and I waved him in. “It’s fine.”
He looked uncomfortable, and I realized it was the first time he had seen her since she’d left me. He’d been the one to tell her everything. She solved the issue by giving him a hug. He squeezed her back, murmuring something. She drew back, shaking her head.
“We’re good,” she said. “We’re good, Damien.”
He bent and chuffed Julianna under the chin. “Wow, I know who your daddy is,” he teased.
I laughed. “You got that right.”
Damien sat down, placing a box on my desk. “Everything you wanted.”
“Everything?”
“Yep.”
I lifted the lid and handed Tally a new cell phone. “It’s secure and has all my numbers programmed in.”
“Mine too, in case,” Damien added.
“Okay,” she agreed, looking at the top-of-the-line phone.
“I’ll show you all the features tonight,” I promised.
I pulled out a monitor, and he explained to us how to use it and how he’d made it secure. He slid an envelope my way, which I slipped into my pocket. Tally noticed it, but she didn’t ask until later that night.
“What was in the envelope?”
I didn’t lie. “Untraceable tracking devices.”
“You’re going to track me?”
“Yes. As a precaution.”
“You don’t trust me not to run?”
I leaned forward and kissed her. “Yes, I trust you completely or I would have hidden the fact that I have them. It’s a precaution. We all have them. I’ll put one on her stroller and in your purse, maybe a few other places. If you ever lose something, we can find it.” I kissed her again. “If you’re ever lost, I can find you.”
“Oh.” She sighed and lifted a shoulder. “Fine, then.”
“I doubt we’ll ever need them, but…” I let my voice trail off.
She nodded. “I get it. You’re covering all the bases.”
I squeezed her hand. “Yes.”
She stood. “I’m going to bed.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Or I guess I don’t have to tell you that. You probably have one of those on my butt. You patted it a lot earlier. I thought you were copping a feel, but now I know. Shame. I might have let you pat it some more. Get to yet another base.”
With a wink, she sauntered down the hall. I laughed at her words and stood, following her. I had been copping a feel, and I was determined to do it again, except this time, I wouldn’t stop until she was groaning my name.
And I didn’t need a tracking device to figure out how.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Julian
Two weeks later, I pulled on my jacket, straightening my sleeves. Tally tugged on my collar, smoothing my tie. “I love how hot you look in a suit.”
I yanked her close and kissed her. She was rumpled and sleepy-looking from our lovemaking earlier. Her hair was mussed, her eyelids heavy, and her mouth swollen and pink.
“I prefer being naked with you,” I said against her mouth.
She slapped my chest. “Go to work.”
“You still plan on coming by for lunch?”
“Yes. I want to ask Damien a few things about this phone.”
I held back my chuckle. She was finding the new phone a challenge with all the things it could do.
Things were going so well. Tally was relaxing, finally accepting what I had been telling her. That my role had changed with Hidden Justice and I was in the background. Safe. She was settling into our new life, and we were finding our way. I was open and honest with her, even having her come into the office a couple of times to help me organize things so she saw firsthand what I did.
I showed her every day how much she meant to me. Talked to her, made love to her. Said the words she needed to hear. Every day, I saw a little more of her walls come down. More sparkle in her beautiful eyes. More trust between us.