Thousands (Dollar 4)

The idea had come to me while talking to Jethro. He was a man who’d lost a lot to gain so much. I understood the lengths he would go to protect his wife, and it made me aware how selfish I was being by keeping Pim by my side.

I loved her…therefore, it was my duty to protect her.

And I can’t do that with her on the Phantom.

I clutched her closer, cuddling her into my body where we sprawled on the back seat of the car.

Once again, my heart burned for the peril she’d put herself in by seducing me. The danger she’d willingly endured, purely to knock some sense into me—to prove my libido wasn’t something to be terrified of—merely something to be treated like every other thing in my life.

By rules and regulations and specific repetitions.

We’d been driving for over an hour. Another twenty minutes or so and we’d be back in South Hampton and on the water.

Selix drove, and I trusted him not to have overstepped in liquor. It didn’t mean he hadn’t mingled with guests and, judging by his own rumpled appearance and a few pieces of hay in his hair, I’d say he’d had an eventful evening with some mystery woman.

The knowledge we were going home ought to make me happy.

It didn’t.

If I took Pim away from England, there was no telling what sort of shit would find us.

If I was a good man, I’d leave her at Hawksridge where the well-known Black Diamonds would protect her. I’d leave her guarded by my own men and hunt the Chinmoku to ensure she remained safe.

I couldn’t trust her not to pull another ridiculous stunt like disobeying me with the coastguard.

This wasn’t fucking Romeo and Juliet.

I didn’t want to die for her, and I sure as hell didn’t want her to die for me.

I’ve had enough death of loved ones.

Pim rested her head on my shoulder, breathing quietly. Her warmth and slender weight clutched my heart with right and wrong.

If I was a better man, I’d leave her here.

But I wasn’t.

I loved her. I’d miss her. I couldn’t fucking walk away from her—especially now.

As tyres hummed on highway, taking us closer to the ocean, Pim raised her arm and twisted her wrist. She smiled at the gentle clink of gold and diamond pennies dancing on her new bracelet.

My stomach clenched again, second-guessing my choice to give her something that represented money after so much talk of currency and debts.

“I’m sorry for tossing it on the floor when you first gave it to me.” She looked up, pushing away a little to see me. “I love it so much. But when I saw it…I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you.”

Opening my arm, I waited until she’d snuggled back into me before I kissed the top of her head. She smelled like champagne and sex and me.

The best smell in the world.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Love it.”

“It certainly earned a reaction from you.”

She laughed quietly in the dark.

Selix flicked me a glance in the rear-view mirror, raising his eyebrow. He wasn’t stupid. He knew we’d done something. The intimate bond webbing Pim and me was too strong to ignore.

I burned with it.

We couldn’t keep our hands off each other and not for sex but for connection.

My fingertips never stopped stroking her. My lips never far from her skin. Her ruined dress and my dishevelled appearance couldn’t hide what we’d done to achieve this new level of intimacy.

I gave him a smirk as he returned his attention to the road.

Another fifteen minutes of quiet, companionable driving and South Hampton pier appeared, slumbering under a blanket of stars. Boats hovered on crystal water, their inhabitants asleep at this time of the morning. The smooth sea reflected the half-moon on its calm surface, welcoming us home.

The Phantom, being oversized and unable to dock in the regular bays, floated in the distance in a spot reserved for cruise ships. Luckily, it was away from the main hub and private with its own driveway and ramp.

Selix drove us through the complex off-shoots and warehouses around the port then parked beside the gangway and waited for me to open the door and help a tousled Pimlico from the backseat.

Her bracelet glinted on her wrist and her knickers and heels dangled from her fingers.

I winced. We’d forgotten something. “Ah, shit, our masks. We left them on the floor.”

Pim glanced up with a sly smile. “Oh well, I have no doubt the Hawks will know what happened in there. It’s not like we were very discreet.” She rested her palm over my heart. “We were loud, Elder.”

I clamped my fingers over her hand, squeezing with all the fucking love I felt for her. “There was an orchestra, Pimlico.”

She smirked. “I don’t think an orgasm scream can be likened to any particular instrument.”