Page 68 of Brassy Bigwig

“You’ve said it, now go.” D commands him.

“I’m leaving,” he backs away some more. “I’m sorry, Chloe. For everything.”

I don’t look at him as he walks away. I’m fighting to keep the tears at bay. I don’t want to make any more of a scene than Blake just did. But I need to get out of here. Once he’s gone, D squats down in front of me again.

“Are you okay?” he questions.

“No. Get me out of here,” I mutter, trembling.

D takes his sport coat off and lays it over my shoulders as he speaks to Shelby.

“You’re welcome to leave with us, and Ivan can take you home after he drops us off.”

“Let’s do that, Shel. I don’t really feel like hanging out anymore,” Reed chimes in.

“Yeah, of course. Let’s get out of here,” Shelby agrees.

The four of us ride to D’s penthouse in complete silence. When Ivan stops the limo outside of the building, Shelby grabs me in a hug and gives me a big kiss on the cheek.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m feeling a little better already. I just needed to get out of there. I’ll be okay.”

“Okay, but call me if you need anything,” Shelby insists.

“Will do. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

D grabs my hand as Ivan closes the car door behind me. Silently, we walk across the lobby and get into an awaiting elevator. D scans his access card, and we begin the climb to his penthouse.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure. Like I told you, he never hurt me before. He just gives me the creeps, and seeing him brought up some unpleasant history, that’s all.”

“I’m really sorry I wasn’t there sooner.” He runs the backs of his strong fingers across my cheek, soothing me.

“You’re fine. You were there, you kept him away from me. You were perfect.”

“I’m far from perfect. Do you know how badly I wanted to punch that motherfucker in the face?”

“You’re so good to me. Thank you for everything today. Shelby and I had a great time.”

“You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”

He leans in for a kiss, which I return with a little less passion than normal.

“How about this? When we get inside, I’ll run you a bath. Then we can pop some popcorn and watch a movie. Just take it easy. Does that sound good to you?”

“That sounds wonderful,” I admit, completely enamored at the fact that D knows exactly what I need right now.

D wraps his arms around me and holds me tight the rest of the ride to his floor. When we get inside, we do everything he said we were going to do.

After that we went to bed.

Where he held me, safely in his arms, all night long.

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