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When the elevator doors open, Captain walks in and then puts me on my feet, hitting the button for the lobby. The doors close, and I cross my arms.
“Everyone is going to know now,” I murmur.
Captain wraps his arm around me, pulling me into him. I go easily, like I do every time he touches me. My body does whatever he wants.
“It’s cute you think those men don’t know you’re already mine,” he says, and then he kisses me.
Chapter Fourteen
Ryan
* * *
I TAKE HER hand in mine and we walk the couple blocks to Upright Brew House. When we get to the entrance, she looks at me and looks back at the building.
“This isn’t a brewery. It’s a restaurant.”
“I know,” I say, tugging on her hand and walking inside. “Reservation for Justice.”
I look down at Paige, and I can almost see steam coming out her ears. She’s so adorable when she gets angry. I like working her up, as she seems to like doing to me. It’s all the sweeter when I get my hands on her and she melts for me. Only for me. The hardness she tries to give the world slips away, and I get the Paige she tries to hide. So full of passion and a sweetness of her own kind.
“You tricked me. This is a date!” she gasps. She looks around. “Do they even serve hot dogs?”
I have to bite back a smile. She can fight it, but I know she wants this date. She wants to be loved. I’m willing to do that for her. Break down those walls she puts up to protect herself. She’ll soon learn she doesn’t need them. I’ll always protect her. Been doing it for so long I don’t think I could ever stop. It’s part of who I am now.
I pull her to my side as the hostess shows us to our table. When we sit down Paige looks around, and I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s so beautiful with her dark blue eyes and auburn hair.
“That hostess needs to keep her eyes to herself,” Paige says, loudly enough for everyone around us to hear. My eyes snap back to the woman, whose face flushes before she rushes back to the hostess desk. I hadn’t even noticed her, but clearly, Paige noticed her noticing me.
“Kitten, I’m all yours. No need to get jealous.”
“I’m not jealous,” she lies, and fuck, does that turn me on. Her getting worked up over me even if she doesn’t have anything to worry about. I know I get worked up over her. Have been doing it for years. It’s been hard being away from her all this time, having limited contact with her. Praying no fucker was trying to take her from me. Thinking about it gave me fucking nightmares. Even though I knew I needed her out of New York and away from her father, the shit still hurt, but I’d always put her before me, and at the time it was best she was away.
She stares at me for a second, a half smile pulling at her lips. She looks down at the menu, trying to hide it. It’s clear she likes hearing that, so I make a note to keep reminding her that I’m not going anywhere. That I am hers. “Okay, they’ve got a cheeseburger. You’re forgiven,” she says, looking over at a nearby table.
Her gaze trails up to the ceiling, where the wood is stained like hexagonal puzzle pieces. I’m sure it’s nice; it looked that way in the pictures. But why would I look at it when I have the most beautiful thing in the world in front of me, someone I’ve been trying to make mine for what seems like forever?
The waitress comes over, and Paige glances down at the menu, then at me. “What are you drinking?”
“We’ll both have the seasonal white, please,” I say, without taking my eyes off Paige. She lets out another breath, like she’s annoyed, but nods, and the waitress walks away.
“Why didn’t you just ask me out on a date?”
I smile at her and take her hands across the table, pulling them to me so I can hold them. “Because you like to fight me instead of doing what you want.” I raise an eyebrow in question, but she doesn’t deny it. She likes when I take charge. Too many years spent doing everything on her own. “Plus, every time we’re alone, you maul me.”
She tries to take her hands away from mine, but I hold her fast. I’m not letting her go. Because we both know she doesn’t want me to, and I don’t want to let her go, either. Never do.
“I do not! That is totally the other way around.” She denies the charge, but her cheeks flush. The little freckles on her nose stand out even more, and she looks younger than she is. She looks innocent.
