Page 74 of Shadow

He nodded. “Not at all. We’ll need to have the green light soon though if we’re going to get this up and running on your timeline.”

She gave him a thumbs up. “I appreciate you giving me the time. Twenty-four hours will be plenty, and I’ll have an answer for you.”

Mark left, and Olivia went to the back office to pick up a few things to work on from home. By the time she left a half hour later, she had a rough draft of a schedule from her managers and a very expensive contracting estimate in her hand. But she felt like she’d accomplished something, so her feet were a little lighter walking back into the safehouse than they had been when she left.

Ripley was sitting at the kitchen table with his shirt sleeves pushed up and a pair of headphones on while he typed on a laptop.

He didn’t notice her coming in, so she set her stuff down on the island and started to wrap her arms around him.

To her surprise, he gripped her wrist hard, and the next thing she knew, a gun was pointed in her face. But only for a second. As soon as he realized it was her, he re-holstered the weapon and ripped the headphones off before cupping her face.

Her heart was slamming against her ribcage as she stared up at him.

“Jesus, Liv. Never sneak up on me like that. I’m so sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine. I thought security would have alerted you I was almost home.” Her voice trembled, and she tried not to think about the fact that he could have pulled the trigger.

He glanced at his phone. “They did alert me. I wasn’t paying attention because my alarm to look for you hadn’t gone off yet. You’re home thirty minutes early. If I’m honest, I figured you would be a brat and walk in a minute late.”

She giggled and took a shaky breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

“I thought about it, but we finished early, and I promised I wouldn’t stop anywhere else, so here I am.”

He put his forehead against hers. “Such a good girl. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. It was oddly calming to hear his own rapid heartbeat when she put her ear to his chest.

“Did you discover anything while I was gone?” she asked after a minute just resting against him.

He pulled away and sat down.

“Not exactly. But possibly. I’m probably being paranoid, but it’s bugging me.”

“What’s bugging you?”

“I feel like I recognized Fiona from somewhere and I can’t place it.”

Olivia frowned. “My bar manager?”

He nodded. “Like I said, I’m probably being paranoid. But… be careful around her.”

Olivia laughed. “I’m pretty sure my only fear right now is that she’s going to quit on me. She’s not enjoying making room for Niki’s people.”

Ripley squeezed her hand and took a long breath. “Fuck, baby. I can’t believe I pulled a gun on you. Are you sure you’re OK?”

She stood and pulled him up with her. “I’m sure. But if you wanna take me in the bedroom and make extra sure, I wouldn’t complain. It kinda turned me on.”

“Fuck. You and your fear fetish. Let’s go.”

They walked to the bedroom that now looked more inviting than it did the day they first came here, and he nodded to the bed. “Strip and lay down. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Her heart was still racing, but now her whole body hummed with arousal, and she wondered where he was going as she pulled off her clothes and tossed them in a pile by the corner of the bed.

She laid on her side and watched the door, waiting for him to come back.

When he stepped in, he was carrying the small black duffel bag he kept his rope in.

This would be the first time he’d tied her up since he came home. The excitement went straight to her clit, and she clenched her thighs together.

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