Page 19 of Possessive CEO

He howls and falls to the floor, holding his broken leg. Mike gets a second wind and attacks, but he misses me by a hair’s breadth. I retaliate by landing a punch squarely on his jaw. He shakes his head as he fights off the dizziness but ends up in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Even as he drags his leg, Janus tries again, fists flailing. I land blow after blow. He’s still standing, but he’s already swaying on his feet. He drops with a thud, sitting on his ass, eyes dazed and confused.

I’m still running high on adrenaline, but I listen as a distant wail cuts through the silence.

The shrill sound of sirens gets closer, and I can hear yelling outside and the pounding of feet as some of the cops run upstairs.

“Police! Hands in the air!”

The officers approach, guns at the ready, so I raise both my hands. Janus and Mike slump in defeat, darting their eyes from the open suitcase to each other.

“Are you alright, Mr. Erickson?” one of the officers asks.

I give him a sharp, tight nod. “Can you interview me downstairs? I need to check my girl.”

“Sure. Medics are with them.”

I waste no time looking back at Janus. He’s gonna spend the rest of his days behind bars, and Emily and her family can finally breathe without looking over their shoulders every five minutes.

I make it halfway to the truck when Emily rushes to me and jumps into my arms. She buries her face into my chest and sobs. Seeing her cry always makes me feel like someone is crushing my windpipe in a vise.

“I thought they were gonna kill you,” she cries, hands clutching my shoulders as if she wants to make sure I’m actually here.

“No, baby girl. I’ll never let them do that.”

“I was so scared. I’m sorry, Ethan. I’m sorry. If it wasn’t for me…”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Emily. Don’t you dare.”

“But I brought you nothing but danger…”

“No. You gave me happiness. Happiness I’ve never known before. I told you your problems are mine. There’s no escaping me, baby girl. You’re mine all the way. Now and forever.”

Emily stands on her toes, and I graze my thumb along her lower lip before taking her mouth in a kiss that leaves her breathless. We stand there in the middle of that chaos—cops everywhere, dragging the two assholes who dared to hurt my girl to their squad cars.

One thought slams into my head—I’ll never ever let her go. She’s stuck with me for life. She deserves the world, only the best, and dammit, I’ll give it all to her. She’s not gonna want anything in this life. I’ll give them to her even before she asks for it.

I am her first and her last. I will kill anyone who dares to stand between us.

8

EMILY

Oh, God. I love him. I love him so much. I should’ve known he was going to change my life the first time I met him. I was too stubborn to admit it at first, but there’s no denying now.

I sit in the ambulance beside Mel. Someone’s checking her pulse and looking for any injuries. The medics have given us blankets to keep us warm, and I tighten it around me, watching Ethan as he talks to the cops, explaining everything.

He stands there in his now-dirty crisp white shirt and black pants, towering over most of the officers. Why did Janus think he could take on Ethan? Even with his sidekick, they had nothing on him. Ethan is more than six feet of pure muscle. I know because I’ve repeatedly run my hands along those hard packs.

Janus could’ve brought five more men with him and Ethan would’ve flung them aside like they were nothing.

God. The sheer strength, his savage power, the barely concealed fury in his eyes when he saw Janus pointing his gun at me, the way he took them down almost effortlessly… I shouldn’t be turned on right now, but I couldn’t help it.

People fear and respect him. They cower in his presence, listen to his advice, follow his orders. And yet…

I can make him moan and grunt, feel him lose control when he’s inside me, and drive him crazy with need.

There’s nowhere I’d rather be but in his arms.

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