“Don’t be gross.”
“Just saying.” He kissed my hairline, his fingers digging into my waist.
My fingers traced the line down his sternum, the line between his grooves of muscle. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes. I have nothing to hide.”
I’d never met a man who was so unapologetic about who he was. He reminded me of myself, just a more intense version. “When you’re with a prostitute…what do you ask her to do?”
“Why?”
“Just curious.” I turned my chin up so I could look at his face.
He shrugged. “Anal. Threesomes. Bondage. Stuff like that.”
“So, you’re into all those things.”
“What guy isn’t?” he asked, no remorse in his gaze.
“Well…I won’t do any of those things.”
“Never asked you to.”
“I just mean, doesn’t this seem a little tame in comparison?” I thought I was good in bed, but I wasn’t that open-minded. I wouldn’t share my bed with another woman, wouldn’t let him try to shove anything in my ass because that was an exit only.
“Not at all.” He pulled me close and placed a kiss on my lips. “Trust me, I’m not going home unsatisfied. I’m not comparing you to someone else and wishing you were different. I’m here with you because there’s no other woman in the world I want to be with.”
Twelve
Heath
It was the first time I’d actually dreaded doing something.
I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t anxious. I just simply didn’t want to do it because now the situation was complicated.
I stepped inside the production lab and watched the men cast me subtly annoyed expressions, knowing they classified me as the enemy, the asshole who took a huge cut of their profits even though I didn’t do a damn thing to earn a single euro.
Steel walked beside me, along with one of my other guys.
When I reached the door, I raised my hand so they would stay back. The door was cracked, so I knew Damien was inside, probably anticipating my arrival. I pushed it open and stepped in, spotting him sitting in the chair behind his desk.
He was straight in his chair, his elbows on the surface with his hands together at his chin. Without turning his head, he flicked his eyes my way and studied me, his expression neutral even though his eyes were filled with fiery hostility.
I spotted the black duffel bags on the floor.
Damien watched me, dead silent.
It was definitely more tense than it’d ever been before, like he couldn’t bottle all his anger, all his hatred.
I kicked one bag. “Good month?”
“Just get out,” he fired back immediately, furious that we had to breathe the same air.
Catalina had laid down the rock-solid foundation of this relationship, stated her allegiance to her family, so we’d never talked about it again. That meant I didn’t have to give her brother special treatment. I could continue to be the antagonizing jackass I’d always been. But now that I actually looked at the guy, my spunk was gone.
I turned to the door and snapped my fingers. “Get in here.”
Steel walked inside and pulled out his detector from his satchel. He kneeled down and got to work, tracing the wand over the bag to make sure Damien wasn’t trying to pull some cheap stunt, like hiding a bomb in the lining.
Damien was absolutely still, showing no reaction at all.
Then Steel’s device beeped.
I turned to Damien, my eyebrow raised.
Steel pulled out the small tracking device. “Looks like he was going to follow us.”
I’d expected he would pull something like this soon, that was why I’d decided to start to check his bags. I stared at him for a while, irritated that he’d pulled this shit because I had to respond to it. I couldn’t just brush it off like it didn’t happen. “Take the bags outside.” With my gaze locked on Damien, I nodded to the door.
“Someone’s about to get their ass handed to them…” Steel chuckled and grabbed one bag while Ian grabbed the other. They shut the door behind them and proceeded to carry the bags to the armored truck outside.
I came closer to the desk, both of my hands resting by my sides. “You want to find me? I’m right here.” I raised both arms in the air, my pistol stuffed into the back of my jeans. “Do something, asshole.”
He dropped his hands from his chin and leaned back in the chair.
It was quiet for a long time, neither one of us wanting to escalate the already intense moment. I stopped until my leg was against the wood of his desk, and I stared down at him. “You’re happy, right?”
He watched me, his expression blank.
“You got your woman. You’ve got your health. Your job.” If he were someone else, something very bad would happen. But unfortunately, my relationship with Catalina had already softened me, had already changed my behavior. He would get a crack in his skull from the butt of my gun if he were somebody else, probably worse since this wasn’t his first offense. If I didn’t put a permanent stop to him, he would just keep coming. “Let it go.”