Page 114 of Desperate People

Onyx stops the car by the front door.

“Boss, want an update from Felix?” he asks, mentioning the gate guard.

I shake my head.

“No one comes up until I call for them.”

“Yes, Boss.”

And that’s all I manage before I’m taking the stairs two at a time.

Yes, I’m in a rush.

Because she’s waiting for me.

The second I step through the door, there she is—standing barefoot in the entryway of our home, wearing something soft and flowy.

It’s some kind of summer dress I think, but what the fuck do I know about fashion?

It’s pretty. The palest shade of yellow I ever saw, and with her coloring, it’s perfect.

She looks—fuck—she looks like a goddess with sunlight from the tall windows catching in her dark hair like a halo.

Her blue eyes glitter in that same light, like precious gems.

And when she looks at me, her lips from where she worried them with her teeth? My heart pounds so hard I wonder if it’s going to bust right outside my chest.

She looks too damn perfect.

Too fucking breakable for this cruel world.

I want to protect her. I will. It’s my goddamn vow to her.

But it’s the expression in her eyes that do me in.

Big, blue, stormy.

Worried.

Like she don’t know what to expect from me. Like she’s trying to gauge my reaction.

Does she think I’ll blame her? That I’ll think this is her fault?

I can see her anxiety, and it cuts me.

Still, she tries to hide it.

Stands tall like a good little heiress, poised and calm.

But I can read her now.

I know her.

Maybe better than she knows herself. And I don’t say a word.

I can’t.

Not when every muscle in my body is vibrating with the need to touch her.

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