Page 9 of His Princess (A Man Who Knows What He Wants)

“That’ll take a while,” he says. “In the meantime, I’ve blocked any outgoing signals, just in case.”

“But if he already knows I’m here…”

“Yeah.” Rider nods. “It won’t make much difference. But maybe he hasn’t checked it yet. Maybe their software fucked up for a while. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I agree.”

He chuckles, tilting his head at me. My whole body pulses at the way he’s looking at me like no other woman exists. Like no other woman could compare to me.

I’ve always dreamed of finding a man who would look at me like this.

A rugged older man, a man who will protect me, support me, the same way I’d support him.

But I don’t even know if Rider already has a girlfriend.

Even if he doesn’t, look at him.

He’s a ten.

I’m… not.

“What’s funny?” I ask, fighting away the self-loathing thoughts that are never helpful.

“You agree it’s better to be safe than sorry, you say, and yet you staged a goddamn spy mission to get here.”

“A spy mission?” I giggle.

It’s so easy to let go of the negative when my man is smirking at me.

No.

Not my man.

I need to calm the heck down.

“What else should I call it?”

He smirks as he swaggers closer to me. I wonder if he has any idea the fireworks display he’s setting off inside of me, a series of explosions that ricochet through me and show no sign of stopping, setting my nerves alight, buzzing hotly as I try to keep a straight face and not let him see how badly I want him.

“I guess I could be a spy,” I murmur.

He chuckles. “The princess who’s also a spy… now you’re just showing off.”

I laugh again as he nods toward the door. The loading bar is only on two percent, so it’s going to take a while. I follow him out of the office and down the hallway, back onto the balcony.

He drops into a chair and I follow suit, my body feeling ultra-sensitive, the fabric of my clothes rustling against my skin causing far more searing warmth than it has any right to.

“So what do we do now?” I ask.

He shrugs. “There’s nothing we can do but wait,” he says. “What I should be doing is calling this in. My bosses will want to talk to you, see if you’re willing to testify.”

I shake my head vehemently. “Maybe if it was just Uncle Aaron, then fine, maybe I could testify against the Irish mob. But the Cartel? My head will end up in a box if I do that.”

My voice rises in anger as I think about the position that would put me in.

I know he’s right.

I need to stop Uncle Aaron and all their mayhem.

“I’m scared,” I admit, lowering my voice. “That’s the truth, okay? I’m scared that if I testify he’ll… they’ll…”

He reaches across the table, taking my hand and squeezing it firmly. I feel the strength and the possessiveness moving through his solid arm, into his powerful hand, as though he’s silently telling me he’ll always be there to protect me.

Always.

For the rest of our lives, even after we’ve had kids and they’ve left to live lives of their own, my man will be there.

Something buried deep pulses at the thought, no matter how ridiculous it is, no matter how impossible.

“I won’t let them hurt you, Ruby,” he growls passionately. “I’ll never let them hurt you.”

I gasp, the force of his words barreling into me, staring at him as disbelief washes over me.

“I don’t understand. Why?”

His eyes flicker and, for a crazy second, I’m sure I can read them.

I can read the message gleaming in his eyes.

Because I care about you, even if it doesn’t make any sense.

But he just keeps staring, his hand on mine, tension moving through his expression as though he’s fighting an inner battle I can’t see.

“Why?” I ask again, my voice cracking.

Chapter Six

Rider

Her hand feels perfect in mine like it was made to be there. Her leaf-green eyes glint with her desire to know why I’m going to protect her for the rest of our damn lives, why I’d go to war with the Cartel and the mob and the rest of the world as long as it kept her safe.

My cop’s instincts roar in me to beat this feeling down because this could be a trick. Aaron McCarthy could be behind this, using his niece as a tool the same way he used her father’s death to gain supremacy of the mob.

He’s had years to work his twisted magic on Ruby.

This could be an act.

But it doesn’t feel that way, not even close.

It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life for my woman to appear, and now she has.

I squeeze her hand tighter, letting out a ragged sigh.

“It’s what I do,” I snarl, unable to voice the full range of my emotions.

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