Page 49 of Love & Heart Braking

Covering the mouthpiece, I hummed loudly during her reply, then hung up.

Devereaux quirked a brow. “You all right?”

Close call.

“Glad it’s Friday,” I told him. “What did I do right to earn a visit?”

“I was on my way to your place. Thought I’d stop by to see if you were still at work.” He crossed the space and leaned over where I sat on the chair, his hands on the armrests.

We both held our breath as he lowered his head.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, looking into my eyes.

Crack.

Devereaux swept me up as my chair gave way. He set me down, and we both stared at the chair.

“Worth it,” we chorused.

Grinning, I picked up my tote. “Want to grab a bite to eat?” My face fell. “Oh, wait. We shouldn’t go out in public together.”

He tilted his head. “Why?”

“Uh, because I went to negotiate with the twelve last night and told them we weren’t dating when they started threatening me.”

Devereaux stilled. His growl echoed around the room. “You did what?”

One of his eyes was blue.

“The negotiation is complete now,” I said calmly. “And I’m okay. Tired because it took forever and a day, but perfectly fine.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going there?”

I grimaced. “They tried to get the jump on me. There wasn’t time. I just slipped Soleil a note under the door. She was in here with Bain.”

A shudder ran through him.

He was going berserk. In a quiet, slow voice I said, “Do whatever you need to do to get control.”

Devereaux walked out of Yearning Hearts, his face a thunderstorm. Quelling my nerves, I sat back down and drank my coffee, then dialed for pizza. Maybe one day Dev and I could go out to dinner, but right now take out was the safest bet.

The berserker entered again and sat opposite.

I glanced up from shutting down my computer. “All right?”

“No, my predator is angry at me.”

Really? “Why?”

“Because he thinks I’m stupid. If you were locked up, then you couldn’t have gone to see the twelve without us or at all. He thinks allowing you to walk about free and unprotected is idiotic.”

My lips twitched. “I see.”

Devereaux lifted his serious gaze. “Please don’t do that again.”

My humor evaporated. Oh. He was angry at me and not just the shituation. “I thought going without letting you know might be easier for you.”

“You doing that just makes me worry more because I can’t be sure if you’re in danger at any given moment. Because you might keep it from me on purpose.”

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