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Dripping with sweat and exhausted, I fell to the blanket and closed my eyes to catch my breath. I could hear Miri next to me panting. I must have nodded off because the next thing I knew, something freezing cold and wet pressed against my ribs.
“Holy fuck!” I jerked to a sitting position and found Miri giggling uncontrollably, an icy bottle of water in her hand. I dragged my fingers through my hair and grinned. “You little…” Miri smirked and I couldn’t help but huff out a laugh. Her joy sure was something to see. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“I’m sorry.” Her tired grin let me know she was anything but sorry. Damn, but I loved this fun, playful Miri. It was so rare to see her relaxed and carefree.
“Yeah, sure.” I took the bottle and drank half of it down.
“You should get dressed, Jag. You’re going to get sunburnt.” As I chugged the rest of the water, I raked my greed eyes over Miri’s body, disappointed to see she already had most of her clothes on.
“I’m not a pasty-white ginger, doll. I don’t burn, I tan.”
“Don’t make fun of me, you jerk.” She giggled and shoved my shoulder.
I grabbed my clothes and threw them on, knowing we could have company at any time. The park might normally be slow this time of year, but that didn’t mean no one would stumble across us. After I shoved everything into the pack and started toward the Ducati, Miri grabbed my arm.
“What is it, doll?” Her playful expression was gone. Tiny lines formed between Miri’s brows and she chewed on her lower lip. “Hey, tell me. I won’t be angry, I promise.”
She released her lip and met my gaze. “I want to look for a job.”
My eyebrows just about launched into the air they flew up so fast. I was not expecting that. “A job?”
“I can’t live off of you forever, Jag. I need to do something. I was happy when I was working. You said I’m drug free?” She waited for me to nod in confirmation before continuing. “I want to go back to work. I supported myself for two and a half years working in a garage.”
“You did?”
Miri stuck out her lower lip and I found it incredibly difficult not to lean over and suck on the shiny pink flesh. “Is that so hard to believe?”
Blinking, I tore my eyes from her mouth to focus back on her blue-green irises. “Not at all. It’s actually… kind of sexy.” I waggled my eyebrows and she laughed, a rare sight that I greedily devoured. “A job, huh? Okay.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened and she looked at me in what could only be described as awe. I stepped close and took that beautiful face in my hands, giving her a chaste kiss.
“Anything you want, doll.”
I wanted to ask Miri how she ended up hooked on H and living with that fuckwit Mason. Apparently, she had a good job and was making a decent living. Why the hell would she leave that to be with such a monumental loser? I held my tongue because I knew if I pushed too hard, Miri would shut down. She hadn’t let me all the way in and still didn’t trust me completely. I was confident, though. Miri would eventually let me see all of her, and when she did, I would slay all her demons and do everything in my power to keep that gorgeous smile on her face.
Anything.
12
Miri
Clean.
I was clean for the first time in months and hadn’t even known. Maybe I should have been angry at Jag’s high-handedness, but all I felt was overwhelming gratitude. Jag, Boss—a ruthless, violent criminal—was the only person in my entire life, besides Cat, who actually cared about me and my well-being. Every time I learned something new about the enigmatic man, I fell a little bit harder for the drug lord with the hidden heart of gold.
Since our day at the lake a week ago, I hadn’t seen much of Jag. No one would tell me what was going on, not that I would ask, but I wasn’t stupid. Something was off and whatever it was had everyone around the house on edge. The number of Men in Black walking the grounds doubled, and Jag’s right-hand man, the super creepy Milo, was a constant presence. He had even taken to sleeping in the bedroom right next to mine. The thought of that scary thug being so close made me shudder, especially the nights Jag didn’t come to my bed.
Being shut out stung. I wanted to comfort Jag, be there for him like he was there for me in my time of need. But there wasn’t a chance in hell that the boss of a huge drug syndicate would confide in some former junkie he was fucking, no matter how much he seemed to care or how tender and loving he appeared in bed. As much as I wanted to believe what I was feeling with Jag was reciprocated, I knew better. Once I was on my feet, I’d leave before Jag had to throw me out. It would be less humiliating that way.
If I’d learned one thing since Cat vanished, it was that no one did anything without expecting something in return, so while I might be in over my head and slowly falling for Jag when in reality I should run far, far away, I had no illusions of what I was to him. He wasn’t going to sweep me off my f
eet, buy me my dream house, and live happily ever after. I just had to be sure to protect my heart in the meantime.
“We’re here, ma’am.”
Frank’s voice snapped me out of my wandering thoughts.
“Oh, thanks. Ummmm, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” As I reached for the door handle, Frank cleared his throat. I looked at him over my shoulder.
