Page 79 of The Billionaires' Gamble
“Think you can survive a few more hours without me?”
“No.”
Her laugh is a light, tinkling sound, and I swear it doesn’t matter how pathetic I sound so long as she keeps laughing. I think once we had her safe in our arms again, my biggest fear was going to be how she’d come out on the other side. Scared? Angry? Withdrawn?
It’s early hours yet. I’m sure we’re in for an emotional rollercoaster as she processes everything, but the important thing is she’s safe and we’re here for her.
Cupping the side of my neck, she trails a thumb along my jaw. I need to shave, but she doesn’t seem to care. “I love you, Kingston Saint. Even if you do climb through my window like a spider monkey.”
“You’d better close and lock that. Alex really will have a whole army stationed outside.”
She presses a kiss to my lips. “I’m sure Shon’s already taken care of it.”
“I don’t like this,” I say as she leads me to the back door. “Being away from you. Locked out.”
“Don’t pout.” Raising up on her toes, she kisses my cheek. “Sweet dreams.”
They will be, because I’ll be dreaming of her. “Goodnight, Wildfire.”
27
KATHERINE
What a night. What a day. But I don’t want to think about that yet. Blowing out a sigh, I rub the sleep from my eyes.
Early morning light is just peeking through the curtains. Shon, my maiden in shining armor, is still out like a light. Truthfully, I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend who’d drop everything and fly to my side at a moment’s notice.
My scalp feels abused, and I wonder if there’s any deep conditioner in the house. Dad’s certainly not the type to have any, and neither is Sutton. My best chance is probably Ford, because he is my brother, after all.
There’s a new brush on the vanity in the bathroom, and I run it gingerly through my hair, wincing at the little clumps that fall out. I eye the vanity stool, tempted to sit for a bit and indulge in a pity party.
And bless whoever found me a toothbrush. By the time I’ve finished brushing my teeth, I feel mildly refreshed. Awake and slightly more determined to move forward instead of getting stuck in the past.
That’s something to sort out in therapy.
For now, I really want to see my guys. I need to feel their arms around me, remind my body that they’re real and we’re allsafe. And yes, Gabe and I need to sort out whatever the heck is going on there. He apologized, but he’s been withdrawing from me ever since we got on the helicopter.
I don’t know if he’s grumpy that he didn’t get to sit next to me or… no. King is the one who would sulk, if only for a minute.
Which means whatever is going on in Gabe’s head is deeper. Possibly tied to my inheritance omission. As much as I hate that my grandfather and his games came between us, I wouldn’t change anything. This has all been so fast. A whirlwind.
But I’ll get to the bottom of it.
Despite being woken up in the middle of the night, I slept like a brick. Which I’m thankful for, because I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to fall asleep.
Downstairs, Marissa hands me a cup of coffee, fixed just the way I like it, and I promise to be back soon for breakfast. Then it’s across the yard to the pool house. A handful of Alex’s team are milling around, and I wonder how that went over with my dad. Then again, after yesterday, I don’t think any of us will ever begrudge security. Not that we ever really did.
The pool house door is unlocked, as if they’ve been expecting me. One night apart and I miss them terribly. Like something’s missing.
As soon as I see Alex sitting in the living room, phone in hand, an all-business expression on his handsome face, the world rights itself.
“I’ll call you back,” he murmurs as I breeze past the coffee table. He disconnects the call, dropping the phone to the cushion beside his thigh.
“Don’t stop on my account,” I say.
He pulls me to his lap, which is nice, because that’s where I was headed anyway.
“It can wait.”
