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I felt like nothing in the world could ever hurt me.
This man was bulletproof.
And he would protect me with his life, whether someone was after me or not.
My eyes were closed, but I could feel his gaze on my face. I could feel his piercing stare with those pretty blue eyes. I could feel his strong pulse under my fingertips, feel his hard dick against my clit.
I fell asleep almost instantly, feeling safe with a monster.
Bones carried all my luggage to the car and arranged my paintings in the back seat so they would all fit. He did all of this without me asking him to, being a gentleman when he was nothing of the sort.
He walked me to the car in the parking lot, dressed in the clothes he’d been wearing the night before. He didn’t seem tired even though he’d spent most of his evening in a freezing-cold truck. He was in his black hoodie and black jeans, the dark color contrasting against his fair skin. He was a much lighter color than I was, skin the color of milk, his eyes the color of glaciers, and his hair dirty-blond.
We didn’t have sex last night or this morning. He didn’t try anything, and I didn’t initiate it either. We’d had the best sex we’d ever had after I killed those men. Bones didn’t bother cleaning up the bodies because he cared more about having me. We did it nonstop in his bedroom, and only when the sun came up did we finally go to sleep.
But that was the last time.
Now there was this distance between us.
I was a free woman. How did I want to enjoy my freedom?
He leaned against the trunk of the car, his body making the car shift slightly under his weight. He stared at me with little expression, his emotions not readable in his eyes. He stared at me for a moment before he turned his gaze to the ground. “You can always call me. Doesn’t matter what time it is.”
“I know. What are you going to do?”
“Not sure yet. I might take a job.”
“Well, be safe if you do.”
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile, but it didn’t last long before it came down a second later. “Yeah…I will.”
“Well, goodbye.” I’d never said that word to him, but now I didn’t know if this would be the last time we spoke. I didn’t know what we were. I didn’t know what lay ahead for us. Even if he said he would spare my family, would we still have a relationship? I’d like to think we wouldn’t, but I was the one who called him last night.
He turned his gaze to me, the hurt in his eyes. He didn’t hide that expression from me this time. He either couldn’t control it, or he didn’t want to. He clenched his jaw for a moment before he straightened, removing his weight from the car. Without saying a word, he walked away. His powerful body shifted and moved as he walked, and he carried himself like a man who hadn’t been shot and stabbed so many times. Nothing could defeat him.
Not even me.
“These are so beautiful.” Mom unwrapped each one and hung them on the wall at the winery, placing them on the white background so the color could really stand out. The tables and chairs were in the center of the room, where customers gathered to enjoy their wine and cheese while they had a breathtaking view of the winery. “I love them all.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I hooked one onto the wall, feeling the back of it catch the string.
She bent down to open another and then carefully removed the brown paper that protected it against the elements. Instead of hanging it up, she held it in her hands for a long time and stared at it.
She stared at it for a long time.
I had ten different pieces that I’d been working for the past month, so I wasn’t sure which one she was looking at or why she liked it so much.
“Who is this?” Her smile was gone, and her bubbly attitude had disappeared. She was so happy just a moment ago, but now she was deathly serious.
“Who?” I asked.
She moved toward me so I could see the image. “This man.”
I stared at the painting, sick to my stomach when I realized I’d packed it by mistake. I meant to leave that at home in the other room, but I must have gotten it mixed up with a different image.
Mom kept staring at it, looking at the snowy background. The snow traveled all the way to the water and to the small dock that stretched across the flat lake. The trees surrounding the area were all dead, just twigs that reached up into the sky.
