Page 34 of Air of Seduction

I lift an eyebrow at her in question. “You will do it?”

She nods. “Her face only, and just a few seconds long. Enough for him to see she’s breathing.”

I take her hand and braid my fingers with hers. “Thank you. It means a lot, and hopefully, it will be enough to tide him over for a while.”

“I’ll be right back.” Getting to her feet, she pulls her hand from mine, grabs her phone, and disappears into another room, closing the door behind her.

I breathe in deep and relax back against the cushions. I haven’t shared the details of the mating bond yet, but Payton still agreed to record a short video. That’s encouraging. Particularly because I have a feeling I’m going to need her help keeping Noah placated while Olivia recovers.

Mumbling voices come from the room Payton just entered, and I frown. It sounds like Olivia is awake, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

I lean forward, my ears straining to hear what they’re saying, but their voices are too low. I can’t make out a single word.

At least there’s no agitation in Olivia’s voice as far as I can tell. I hope that’s a good thing.

Several minutes go by before Payton returns. As soon as she closes the door behind her, she points toward the entry.

My heart sinks as I follow her. I know our time together is over even before she opens the door to the corridor outside.

She takes my hand as I pass her on my way out the door, and I turn to her. “Olivia is awake, and I think it’s better if she doesn’t see you right now.”

I nod, gently pulling her closer. “I understand.” When she doesn’t resist, I bend my head and brush my lips over hers in a soft kiss.

She smiles when I lift my head. “I’ll send you the video in a minute.”

“Thank you.” Resisting the urge to linger, I turn and head for the elevator.

Chapter 20

Payton

I stare at his retreating back, hoping he’ll turn his head and give me a last smile, but he never does. The elevator doors open as soon as he presses the button, and then he’s gone.

After walking back inside, I close the door behind me and pull out my phone. The video is only seven seconds, but it will have to be enough. I send it to Ronan with a short text.Please keep Noah away from her.I want to addI miss you, but I don’t. I don’t really know what we are to each other, but I hope I’ll find out soon.

After putting my phone on silent and stuffing it back into my pocket, I return to Olivia. She’s lying in bed, eyes wide open, staring into space.

I put a smile on my face, hoping she can hear it in my voice. “Would you like something to drink?”

She shakes her head slowly. “No, thank you.”

“Anything else?” Anything that might take her mind off the last week would be good.

But she just shakes her head again.

“Would you like me to leave so you can get back to sleep?”

She looks at me then. “No, please stay.”

“Okay.” I walk over and sit down on the bed next to her.

Silence stretches between us, and I don’t know what to say or do. Is this what she wants? Just silence. Or does she want me to talk about something, anything, to fill the silence with words? I don’t know, so I stay quiet.

“Who was that man?” Her green eyes come to mine.

I silently berate myself for inviting Ronan into her apartment. But I can hope he’s not the one she’s asking about. “Which man are you referring to?”

“The man who killed Barry before grabbing me. He wouldn’t let me go.” She shudders.

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