Page 29 of Ruthless Enforcer

I just have to figure out how to make this all work.

"Gabriel told me we're going to the coast," I say out loud.

"His family has an estate north of Big Sur." Mandy pulls a donut from the box. "No roads, no neighbors, ocean on three sides. It looks heavenly. You'll be happy there."

"Hmm," is all I say.

We finish our donuts in silence. I used the napkin to blot my mouth before swinging my legs to the floor. "Where is Gabriel sleeping?"

"The guest suite upstairs, at the end of the hall, next to the one Jake gave you. Gabriel likes to sleep in.” Mandy holds her hand up when she sees my expression. “I don’t know that from experience, just what he’s bitched to me about. He’s only ever been a friend, and even that’s questionable. The thought of anything more makes me throw up in my mouth a little.”

"Keep it that way," I say blithely as I get up.

She laughs. As I leave the room, she calls out. "Go easy on him. He looks like he wants to kill whoever set this up with his bare hands, but underneath it, he's terrified of what happens if he drops you."

Hugging the legal pad to my chest, I glance at her over my shoulder. "I doubt Gabriel Reyes gets terrified."

Mandy’s hazel eyes are deadpan. "You haven't seen the way he looks at you."

I don't answer. What can I say? I just walk upstairs to wake my soon-to-be husband and lay down my own terms.

25

GABRIEL

Iwake to the scent of her before I open my eyes.

Clara.

She's standing inside the room.

I don't move—I don't open my eyes yet. I want to know what she’s going to do, why she’s here. She's close enough I can hear her breathing. I know she came looking for me instead of waiting to be summoned.

I shouldn't like it, but I do.

That pisses me off.

I crack one eye open and find her silhouetted against the bright morning light seeping through the curtains. She's barefoot, wearing borrowed jeans and my sweatshirt, holding what looks like a legal pad against her body. Her hair is loose and fiery around her shoulders, catching the sunlight from the window.

She looks like a fantasy I didn't know I had.

My cock goes hard beneath the sheet. Morning wood is a predictable inconvenience, but this isn't that. This is specific—acute and urgent.

I shift slightly, testing whether she'll bolt.

She doesn't.

"You planning to stand there and watch me sleep, Duchess?" I ask, my voice rough from the short sleep after talking to my team and alerting our attorneys about the bodies I left at the museum. "Or did you need something?"

She steps closer to the bed, her green eyes meeting mine without flinching. "I need to get back to Helena."

I prop myself up on one elbow, letting the sheet pool at my waist. "Why?"

She blinks slowly, and I see her shock at my bare chest. I watch her gaze flicker over the ink on my ribs and shoulder before returning to my face. “I have a gallery show in two weeks."

Of all the excuses I expected, that wasn’t one. “You own a gallery?”

Clearing her throat, she shakes her head. "No, I’m an artist. I have my first solo show in two weeks, and I need to get back for that. It’s important."