Her brows knitted together. “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he just tell me he didn’t want to go?”
I snagged her around the waist and drew her close. “I don’t know. He’s a psycho. Did you sleep with him?” I had no right to ask the question, but the idea of him seeing her naked, running his hands over her body had eaten at me ever since I found out she dated him.
“No. You’re the only man I’ve wanted to be with in almost a year.” She kissed me gently and I winced. “Does it hurt?”
“Yeah, but that’s not going to stop me.” I kissed her back. “What’s the jerk’s last name?” I’d have Ivan look into his background. I wanted to make sure he stayed away from Cierra. I didn’t want anyone hurting her, and I’d make damn sure to protect her.
“Bracker. He told me he was from St. Louis. You know, I never told him where I lived, yet he was here tonight.”
I clenched my fist then winced. “He probably did some digging and found out where you lived. It’s not that hard. A few searches online is all it takes most of the time. Nothing’s private anymore. I’ll make sure he stays away from you.”
“Just watch yourself. Are you going to be able to eat?”
I nodded. “We don’t have any wine. The bottles broke when the fucker shoved me.”
“That’s okay.”
Cierra knew how to cook—the marinara sauce was killer. I helped clean up, and after an action film, I followed her into the bedroom. Going over to the window, I looked down on the quiet street, making sure the jerk hadn’t come back. I shrugged off all my clothes except my boxers and slid between the crisp sheets. She crawled over to me in her short pink nightie.
“Can we just snuggle?” she asked.
Snuggling wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. “Sure.” I tugged her close to me and tucked her under the crook of my arm. She rested her head on my chest and traced around my ink job.
“I love your tattoo. It’s so beautiful and interesting. Would you get any more?”
“Maybe someday. Your tat is sexy as hell. What about you? Would you get another one? I’d love for you to get one where only I can see it.” I lightly ran my fingers up and down her arm, loving the way her skin pebbled beneath my touch.
“I’ll have to think about that.”
We lay together talking for a long time. Her skin was softer than velvet, and her familiar scent filled me up. As her eyelids grew heavy, I bent down and kissed her hair. I held Cierra as she slept, the first time I’d been with a woman so intimately without fucking her brains out. It amazed me how much I enjoyed holding her and nothing else. Being with her was all that mattered.
Cierra had done what no woman had been able to: she wiggled into my heart.
And now that I had her, there was no way in hell I would ever let her go.
She was mine.
