The Dictator (Banker 2)

He rubbed his nose against mine. “Okay.”

I closed my eyes in relief when I got what I wanted—without an argument. Maybe I should ask him to spare my life, but considering his gentleness, he probably didn’t want to do away with me anymore anyway. “My brother is inside…please don’t hurt him.”

“I won’t.”

My heart softened again, turning into melted butter. “It took you a long time to find me.”

He pulled away so he could lock his gaze on to mine. “Baby, I always knew you were here.”

The house was way too small for Cato. The man was over six feet tall and could barely fit through the doorway. He crossed the threshold and examined the living room and kitchen, which were scrunched together into a single room. He didn’t give a false compliment, but he didn’t insult it either.

“Landon is taking a nap.”

“The countryside has made him lazy.”

I stared at him awkwardly, unable to believe he was there. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“A beer is fine.”

I grabbed a bottle out of the fridge and carried it back to the table. Cato sat on the wooden chair, but his weight seemed like it might be too much for the old chair. He relaxed and took a drink.

I sat across from him, looking at the blue eyes that were always the focus of my dreams. Whether they were sex dreams or just dreams of us talking, they were always present. Beautiful like the sea, they were his most gorgeous feature.

“I’ll wait here while you pack your things.”

“We’re leaving right now?” I asked in surprise.

“Why would we stay?”

“First, I should tell Landon. And second of all, I have a lot of stuff to take care of.”

Cato tried to hide his look of irritation, but he wasn’t doing a good job.

“My brother bought this place so we would have somewhere to live. I feel guilty for just taking off.”

“I’ll reimburse him for it.”

“That’s not what I meant… I’m sure he could sell it.”

“And I could be the buyer to speed up the process.”

“That won’t be necessary.” I’d never wanted his money. I didn’t want it then, and I didn’t want it now.

He set his beer on the table and he watched me, his eyes glued to mine. His shirt fit his sculpted shoulders nicely, along with his chiseled arms and powerful chest. I hated to think about all the women who had been under him since I’d been gone. I refused to ask, unable to hear the answer. “How are you?”

I could have given him a generic answer instead of a sincere one. But I chose the latter. “Lonely. Empty. Cold.” I lowered my gaze and looked at the table. “I thought this was the best thing for both of us, but I’ve never been so miserable. My life is the same lame activities on repeat. The heater in this house is even worse than my old one. Landon never complains, but I know he hates it too. I thought leaving would allow me to give a better life to my child…our child…but I realize there’s nothing for them here. And even if I moved, we would still be alone.” I lifted my gaze from the table to see his reaction.

It was exactly the same. “You left because you thought I couldn’t provide a good life for our child?” There wasn’t an edge to his tone, just general curiosity. His fingers wrapped around his bottle, but he didn’t take a drink.

“You executed five people in the driveway…the answer is obvious.”

“I wouldn’t do that in front of our kid, Siena. Are you kidding me?”

“They would still hear the gunshots from their bedroom.”

“You need to give me more credit than that. You’re judging me on my ability to be a father before the kid is even here. No parent knows how to be a parent until the baby is born. And when that day comes, it always changes you. I don’t know how my life will be different when our kid is here—but I know it won’t be the same. So, no, I wouldn’t execute people anywhere near our kid.”

A weight lifted off my shoulders. “People will still try to hurt them all the time. They’ll be the number one target of your enemies.”

“Which is why I would give them the greatest amount of protection. I’m not stupid, Siena. I know what people will try to do to any child I father. I’m the most protective and paranoid man on the planet. I think about these things all the time.”

He’d talked me off the ledge once again.

“You should have talked to me about all of this before you ran away.”

“I feel like I can’t talk to you sometimes…”

He leaned forward. “Baby, you can always talk to me.”

“Like when I asked if my brother could come over, and then you whipped me?”