“Nuh-uh.” She slaps my hand away when it sneaks up to grip her ass. “We’ve been there. Done that.Multiple times.”
I grin and waggle my brows at her last comment. Sex is the one thing I can give her without holding back. It is something we share that is solely for us. No one can control it, demand we adjust it, or alter the inane connection that comes with it. When we’re together like that, unified as one, I feel as if I can take down the world with my bare hands.
My cocky smile droops an inch when Regan murmurs, “I really wish you’d let me call Raquel. If we don’t address your wound properly, it could scar.”
I cup her hands in mine, removing them from an old scar hidden behind a scruffy chin and overdue-for-a-trim hair. “Won’t be my first scar, unlikely to be my last.”
I issue my comment in jest. Regan doesn’t take it that way. “I don’t like this.”
She isn’t the only one harboring dislike when she removes herself from my lap, taking the seductive heat warming my cock right along with her.
“This isn’t me. I don’t watch someone I care about be assaulted and do nothing about it. I fight. I win. I make culprits pay. I wouldn’t act like a bimbo who stupidly believes sex is more important than discovering the people responsible for dumping a man in an alleyway with no concern for his life. Normal Regan would stop this. I’m not exactly sure how, but I know she wouldn’t be holed up in a hotel room with her boyfriend, acting like nothing happened.” She suddenly stops talking as her eyes dart to the partially cracked open curtain.
My heart drums against my ribcage as I encourage her to repeat her statement. “Holed up with her. . .?”
She doesn’t play along as nicely as she has the past ten hours. She remains perfectly quiet and painstakingly still.
“What did you call me, Rae?”
Regan’s brows cinch. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
Why she decided to become a lawyer, I have no idea. She’s a terrible liar, her poor skills only second to her inability to hide her emotions. She wears them on her sleeve, visible to the entire world.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you, Rae. Not even me.”
Her chest rises and falls three times before she faintly whispers, “I’m not worried about me.”
She flattens her ear on the bedding we’re lying on before slanting her head my way. It feels like the world implodes in my stomach when she locks her glistening eyes with mine. She is worried about herself, but not in the way I first perceived. She’s worried what will happen to her if something were to happen to me. That’s not surprising. It’s been eight years since Luca passed, and she’s still picking up the pieces of her life. Just the thought of going through that again has her skin clamming up and her eyes watering.
“Come home with me.”
That clears the fret from her face by replacing it with pure, unbridled fear. . .or is it fury?
“What?!”
“Come home with me,” I repeat, acting as if she is hard of hearing.
She heard me; I’m just unwilling to accept the denial streaming from her eyes. This is the perfect solution for our predicament. An impromptu trip to my hometown will get Regan off her stalker’s radar long enough for Brandon to work his magic, while at the same time surrounding her with more law enforcement officers than Theresa has on her team. It’s perfect—a true win/win. . . if I can convince Regan.
“I can’t—”
“Can’t or don’t want to?” I question, using her words against her.
Her lips quirk as she struggles to hide her smile. “Both.” She raises to a half-seated position. “This is absurd. We’re grown adults, for crying out loud. We don’t rush home every time we get a boo-boo.”
“Rae. . .”
My grumble of her name isn’t because I disagree with her. It is a warning that I’m five seconds away from pinning her to the bed to convince her with the tactics I used Saturday morning.
“We need to do this.”
“No.Youneed to do this. There’s nowein this scenario.”
She rushes to her feet. I don’t know where she’s going; there are literally a few feet of carpet between us and the door.
I smirk when she walks three paces before spinning on her heels to retrace the steps she just took.
“You pace when you’re frustrated.”
