Hero By Night (Independence Falls 3)

“I promise.” She held out her hand, her fingers trembling. “Then it’s a deal?”

He gave her a gentle, quick handshake to seal their crazy plan before pulling back, allowing her space. “Deal. But I need you to promise me one more thing. When I’m in your bed, the gun is unloaded.”

She smiled. “No loaded weapons in bed. I can do that.”

He shook his head. Part of him knew this was wrong. She was hurting and he wasn’t the man to help her. But part of him flat-­out wanted her. “We might both regret this, but how about dinner tonight? I could pick you at five?”

“It’s a date.”

CHAD HAD SPENT more nights than he wanted to admit in the apartment over the barn. But he’d never knocked on the door holding a bunch of flowers and a gift bag. And he’d never been nervous.

“Hi.” Lena opened the door wearing the same long dress she’d had on earlier. She’d added lip gloss, but one look told Chad he’d overdone it with the flowers.

“Hey.” He offered his trademark smile, the one that made most women melt. Except Lena. She drew her brows together, studying the offerings as if they were part of a foreign ritual she didn’t understand.

“I’m ready to go,” she said, still eyeing the flowers.

“May I come in first?” he asked. “Put these in water?”

“Of course.” She stepped back from the door and turned to the stairs.

“What did you do this afternoon?” He followed her up to the studio. They reached the top step and Hero paused on the landing, glancing back at him. Chad smiled at the dog, but as with his owner, it didn’t exactly lead to a doggie smile. The retriever just studied him for a moment longer before stepping into the studio.

“I spent the afternoon job hunting online at the library. And it was . . . discouraging.”

“Not much out there?” he asked, knowing the answer.

“No.”

They reached the apartment and he held out the bouquet. “Maybe these will brighten your day.”

“I didn’t realize fake relationships came with flowers and presents.” She took the colorful arrangement, waiting for him to hand over the bag.

“This is just a little something to get us started,” he said, holding it out of her reach. “For your side of the bargain.”

She held out her hand. “Hand it over, Chad Summers.”

Hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake, running their deal into the ground before they left his family’s property, he gave her the pink gift bag. She set the flowers on the two-­person table and pulled out the tissue paper. Then she reached inside, her blue eyes widening as she removed her present.

“You bought me a vibrator?” Lena turned the pink silicone sex toy over in her hands. “Thank you. But—­”

“Lena.” He reached out, careful not to touch her as he took the vibrator from her. “Let me show you why.”

“Now?”

He nodded, his courage building. The way she looked at the toy in his hands, she wanted the pleasure it promised. After hearing her desperate moans, her pleas for a release that had remained out of reach because he hadn’t known the rules of the game last night, he wanted to send her soaring. But this time, he refused to scare her.

“What about dinner?” she asked.

“We’ll get there. The night is still young. And since I’m grounded until we find a copilot, I don’t have anywhere to be at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Do you?”

“No. The library is not open on Sunday.”

“Then we have all night,” he said, making a mental note to offer the computer at the house for her job search. But he didn’t want to distract her now, not when she was focusing on his hands. “Is your gun unloaded?”

“Yes,” she said. “It’s in my purse, but no bullets. And I can put Hero in the bathroom.”

“That would be good.” He glanced at the golden retriever sitting practically on his mistress’s feet. Later, they would also talk about why she carried a revolver with her to dinner—­and everywhere else. He had a long list of questions. Some she might not wish to answer, and that was fine by him. But he’d like to know if she had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.