Page 2 of Dangerous Command
“Mads,” he leaned closer, his lips almost brushing mine.
My phone buzzed in my front pocket, vibrated against Derek’s leg. There was only one person who would be calling this late.
“You need to get that?” he asked. He pulled back but left his hand on my ass.
“I do,” I said. It was past three a.m. “I’ve gotta go anyway.”
“Don’t leave,” he said.
The truth was that I didn’t want to leave. I could take the call, and stay the night. Experience what it was like to have that trimmed facial hair against my bare skin. Fall asleep in his arms, one of the safest places in the world. Protection I had never experienced before. Not before him.
I glanced at the phone. I had missed the call. I needed to go.
“It’s urgent,” I said. They wouldn’t have called otherwise.
Derek nodded, accepting my answer. “You’re in town for the next few days?”
“Your dad has me cleaning while he’s off with his ladies.”
A small huff came out of Derek’s mouth; he didn’t care for the fact that his father was married to his mother but openly had a mistress, but it wasn’t his place to decide his father’s romantic life. Instead, Derek made it clear that he would never be like that. Loyalty to his family mattered above all else.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” he said.
In the driveway, Derek opened the car door for me. I slid inside, then rolled down the window, leaning on the door.
“See you tomorrow?” I asked.
“Tomorrow,” he said. His hand lingered over mine, his eyes focused on my lips. “Take care, Mads.”
“Night,” I said.
He watched as I reversed out of the driveway. My heart sank as I crossed out of view. I quickly called back. There was no emergency, nothing that would require me to drive all the way home that night. But it was better this way. If I was going to sleep with Derek, I wanted it to be onourterms. When we weren’t high from the victory. When it was only us. Becausewewanted to.
Still, I fantasized about him as I drove. Those soft lips. His strong jaw. Hair I could run my fingers through. A body so hard and intimidating I didn’t know where to start.
At the extended-stay motel, I went to the second floor to my room for the last few months. It wasn’t much, but it was cheap and gave me a place to crash. I liked the view of the woods beyond the parking lot. Setting my bags down, I looked out of the large window. The pine trees stretched up toward the dark sky. They reminded me of Derek, of the woods that surrounded the Adler House, where Derek’s presence alone made mewantto kneel. Because the sight of me kneeling would bring him to his knees too.
The window curtain fluttered beside me. Had I opened it earlier that day and forgotten to shut it? I closed it quickly, then checked the room, making sure that nothing had been stolen. The closet looked the same. The shower stall too. There was hardly any space in that small room to hide, and yet my skin crawled.
Still, I went through the motions; I laid down in bed, then turned off the light.You opened the window earlier to get some fresh air,I told myself,It’s nothing.It had been storming recently, and I wanted to bring in the sunshine.
I stared at the ceiling, then closed my eyes. I thought of Derek. And once I felt safe, like his arms were wrapped around me, my mind started drifting off to sleep.
The bed creaked. I opened my eyes.
“You thought you could hide from me?” a familiar, raspy voice asked.
Then a knife dashed across my cheek.
CHAPTER 1
present
Derek
Despite the raging gambling hall on the other side of the walls, my brother’s office was quiet. It was after midnight; the night was getting started. He preferred to play amongst the crowd, but I was business, and business came first, especially when it came to our family’s legacy.
My family came first. Always.
