Page 68 of Endeavor

I reach over and place my hand on his thigh and he glances over at me. “I know you are worried, but you can’t protect everyone all of the time.”

He sighs. “I know.”

“Tell me about your new security firm. You said the meeting went well, but what’s the plan?” I ask. He had sent a guy to sit outside my building last night, some guy named Dean. I admit it did make me feel better.

“This guy, Bryce, is crazy smart and also I’m pretty sure was some secret ops military slash spy person. Anyhow, his firm is well known and respected. He’s given us all our own security detail that will be around the clock.” He turns to me and rolls his eyes. “I’m not super keen on that idea, but I get it’s needed for right now. We’ll have security plans drawn up for any sort of event we have. We normally have security and venues handle the details, but this was next-level stuff he was talking about. We’re having more cameras installed and motion detectors and our phones all have these special security apps on them now. Our Wi-Fi and servers are getting beefed up with new tech and our cars even have tracking devices on them.”

“Wow,” I interject.

“Yeah. It’s good. It’s time we had real security. We’ve been putting it off for a while, I just wish we’d have put it in place before everything happened with Muffin. I feel horrible.”

I place my hand on his leg and he glances at me. “It’s not your fault. And Muffin is fine, right?”

“I know, but I feel like it is.”

I smile at him. “See, you aren’t an asshole after all.”

That statement gets me a grin. “Some might argue with you about that notion.”

I shrug. “Then they don’t really know you.”

“Enough dark talk. Tell me about your documentary. I want to hear all about what’s going on,” he says.

I launch into details about every interview, my editing, how much his mom and Andy have helped me, and even my ideas for a few last-minute additions to my filming schedule. I rattle on and on, thinking he’ll get bored with my lengthy explanations, but he doesn’t. He listens and asks questions, and before I know it, we’re turning off the freeway.

“Almost there,” he says as he pulls up to a small Spanish-style-looking building. It’s an adorable little inn. I can see the vineyard in the distance. It’s absolutely picturesque with the rolling hills surrounding the property.

“It’s gorgeous here,” I murmur as he parks the car.

“I may have called in a favor or two.”

“Or two?” I ask.

He winks and gets out of the car, leaning back in, he says, “Wait here, I’ll get us checked in.”

I flip through my phone, and he’s back a few minutes later with a key. I follow him up to a cute suite on the second floor.

When he opens the door, I giggle, there are rose petals on the bed, a bottle of champagne and two glasses sit out on a counter. A giant bouquet of flowers graces a side table along with a box of chocolates and a cheese plate.

“Uh, did they give us a honeymoon suite?” I ask, nodding toward the bed.

He laughs. “I may have told them it was a romantic weekend away.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and my giggling turns into full-blown laughter as I set my suitcase and bag down on a small sofa.

“You are too much.”

He steps closer to me. “That’s not what you said the other night.”

I roll my eyes. “You are.”

“Oh, really?”

I playfully swat at him. He grips my wrist and pulls me against him. We stare at each other for a long moment, the sexual tension mounting to a palpable level between us. It’s as though the entire universe has disappeared. It’s just the two of us right now, and nothing else matters.

I’m the one to break the tension when I lean up and press my lips against his. And that’s all it takes for him to completely lose control. I only manage a half-thought about how all our kisses seem to go from zero to sixty in two seconds, but I quickly lose my train of thought.

He begins pulling at my clothes, ripping them from my body like a wild animal. I’m partly aghast at his strength and partly turned on like hell.

When we are finally rid of any barriers between us, he walks us back to the bed, kissing me the entire way. I don’t know I’ve reached the bed until I feel it against the back of my legs. And then he gently lays me down, crawling up between my legs and settling himself there as he makes lazy motions on my side. With his weight on me, his erection pressed against my lower belly, and his lips kissing along my collarbone, I moan with need.

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