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Slowly and reluctantly, he slid out of me and helped me to straighten back up. His eyes searched mine. I knew he didn't want to ask, but he needed to know the answer.
"Any regrets?"
I could have said I did and shattered his heart into a thousand pieces. Instead, I decided to be honest.
I shook my head, my wet hair swinging and spraying droplets this way and that. "None. I know you think it's unfair that I pushed you away for so long—"
He pressed two wet fingers against my lips. "I understand why you did it. It was the right thing. At the time. We had to focus on…" He waved a hand around us. "All of this. Not just for us, but for the generations who will carry on the pack after us."
"That is legitimately the wisest fucking thing anyone has ever said in this shower." I smiled. "Probably in any shower, anywhere, ever."
He chuckled. "I can be wise when I want to." His expression turned serious again. "Can you promise me something?"
"That depends what it is," I said. I didn't want to make any promises I couldn't keep.
He looked me directly in the eyes and said, "Can you promise not to push me away again? I don't want this to be a one time thing. I want to be with you. Even if that means sharing you with guys like Cooper and Ben. I mean, at this point I think we would have to chase Cooper away with a stick, or have him killed. And he's, you know, a nice kid. But you and I, we've taken a step forward. I don't want to take a step back again." He cocked his head at me and gave me his best puppy dog eyes.
"I—" I considered how to respond. "I don't want to push you away again. But if I feel like it's putting either of us into the shit, I will have no choice. If we can still work together and not fuck this up, then… We can see how it goes." That was all I could give him right now.
He nodded slowly. "Fair enough. I know we can do this. I know I can. You're the most incredible fucking woman I've ever met. The second I laid eyes on you, I knew I would never get over you. If Dagen won that auction, I would have had no choice but to tear him to pieces to keep him from touching you."
"And that's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said in this shower," I said. What can I say? I'm a sucker for guys who want to spread the blood of my enemies across the nearest wall. I would do the same for them too. Strange how I already added Cooper to that. Had we only met the night before? It was hard not to be protective of him, as well as attracted to and turned on by him. The guy was both hot and adorable. Like Jake.
"I will try to remember to make daily, romantic death threats against people for you," Jake said with a smile. "Especially if doing that turns you on."
"It really does," I agreed.
He sighed and his smile faded. "I guess we better deal with the asshole downstairs."
I put a hand on his arm. "Not without me. Do you have any idea what he's been through?"
Jake shook his head. "No, but I know what he did. Him and guys like him. They used to tail Dagen Senior like pack of fucking puppies."
"That's why you recognised him on sight?" I asked.
"Yeah." He placed his hands lightly on either side of my face. "I don't want a guy like that anywhere near you."
"I can take care of myself," I said.
"I know you can, but guys like him are trouble. I saw the way he was looking at you. If you give him an in, he'll take it. Worst case scenario, he'll betray you to Dagen. Best case scenario I'll end up sharing you with him."
"Is that what this is about?" I asked, only half teasing.
Jake kissed my mouth hard in response."I will always have a part of you no other guy will. You could have twenty lovers and no one could ever take that away from us."
"Twenty?" I mused. "That sounds like a lot to juggle, but I guess I could—"
"Not literally," he growled playfully. He leaned in to nip my ear.
"I don't think I could deal with that much testosterone," I said. "You can be there when I talk to Hutton, but you will back the fuck off until I decide what to do with him."
"Yes, boss," Jake replied reluctantly. "But after we're done there, I'm taking you to bed and I'm going to fuck you all night long."
9
"Stay close,"I said to Cooper. I was clean and dry and dressed, but on edge.
"I'm happy to," Cooper said.
