Page 57 of Midnight Secrets

The guys fell into chatting about security and I slowly relaxed, leaving them a while later to go and organise my designs on the velvet-lined table upstairs. I tied my hair in a messy bun and put my special magnifying glasses on to twist some of the thin golden fibres into a spider’s web.

I’d lost track of time and jumped when Ash put his head on my shoulder. It was starting to get dark outside, which meant I’d been engrossed here for a few hours. “What time is it?”

“A little after seven. Zee came up to say goodbye, but you were in your zone, so he left.” I blinked a few times and he tucked some of my wayward hair behind my ear. “I ordered pizza and it should be here in a few minutes if you want to finish off.”

When I looked at my work, I’d accomplished more that I usually had, but then I didn’t normally have an area like this to work. I washed my hands and splashed cool water over my face before wandering downstairs.

“Where’s Francis?” I asked.

“Since you were working, he headed out to see his family again. He seemed relieved that Zee knew you were here.”

We settled ourselves in front of a movie and ate the cheesy delight. Ash had obviously been paying attention in the past and had ordered my favourite toppings.

“If you keep spoiling me, I won’t want to leave,” I teased.

He gave me a strange look that I couldn’t interpret. “Maybe I don’t want you to go.”

Instead of answering, I snuggled down beside him to watch the movie. I’d avoided Catarina’s and Sofia’s calls, only answering to Papa because he phoned us every night when he was away. To ignore him would end in him contacting Francis or Madison. Every day with Ash removed me further from my prison world.

He’d stolen my heart and held it captive. I knew from that summer all those years ago that the only man I could ever love was Ash. Time hadn’t changed or eroded that. Ash had proved he was the only man who understood me and could protect me without imprisoning me.

All I needed to do was make him realise that we belonged together.

***

Chapter Twenty-One

Lucrezia

The constant noise woke me from my sleep. I’d been wrapped up in Ash’s arms with my head on his chest.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Ash sat bolt upright. “Yeah, I’ll be there shortly. Do you have coordinates of where she is?”

“Is everything okay?” I stretched and tried to untangle my hair.

He sighed and flopped back to stare at the ceiling. “Zee’s girlfriend ran away because some guys jumped him and Jay a few nights ago. She phoned tonight but he heard a skirmish in the background and thinks she’s been abducted. I need to get ready.”

My heart was in my throat as I watched him climb out of bed. Tonight, Ash was in danger and that terrified me. I crawled across the bed and got out behind him. He froze when I kissed between his shoulder blades.

“You need to stay safe,” I whispered.

He spun so fast I nearly fell on my ass. He pinned my arms behind my back with one hand while the other gripped my chin. “This is why men like me can’t have relationships. This could be you tonight and me phoning because I was out of my head with worry.”

I leaned in to him. “I wouldn’t have run in the first place.”

“This isn’t the life for you, Angel. I’m the devil, and Heaven and Hell rarely mix.”The ferocious glare he gave me was designed to terrify the weak and make them run in the opposite direction. He forgot that Papa had mastered death stares years ago.

I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I’ll go and make you some coffee while you get dressed.”

Ash watched me, pulling on a T-shirt and a black hooded top while I dressed in a vest and my panties with a fake hairy front and furry ears to the side. The wordsbare faced cheekswere printed on the rear.

I smiled when Ash grabbed my waist and tugged me against his strength. His hand groped the hairy front of my panties. “You’re killing me right now.” He’d laughed until he was breathless earlier when he saw them. His nose traced the side of my throat. He kissed that sensitive skin before moving away.

I didn’t know what to say when he retrieved a gun from behind the painting on the wall beside the bed and tucked it into the waistband of his black combat trousers. My teeth bit into my bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

He glanced up at me. “I told you I wasn’t a good man.”

“That doesn’t make you a bad one.” I turned away before he tried to convince me of his villainy and wandered down to the kitchen.

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