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He kissed my knees. “I will. For the rest of my life. But tangling your life up in ours is a decision you should make clear-headed, not terrified after some asshole invaded your apartment and threatened you.”
I threaded my fingers through his hair as he rested his face against my stockinged legs. The thought of spending the night here sent chills skittering down my spine.
As if he’d read my mind, Benedict looked at Ibrahim. “Pack her an overnight bag.”
Ibrahim nodded and disappeared into my bedroom. I stood as if to follow, but James grabbed my arm and tugged me back. “You don’t need to see what’s in there, darling. Let Ibrahim handle it, please.”
A few minutes later, Ibrahim emerged from my room, a full tote in hand, shaking his head. “I’m going to murder that fucker. Her room’s been tossed.”
James leaned over to whisper in my ear, “We’re not good at groveling, but say the word and that man is dead.”
My heart pounded as the implications of his words sank into me.
Their bloodthirstiness and their willingness to commit violence in my name should’ve horrified me. Instead, it wormed its way deep into my heart, comforting me, easing my horror and malaise from the invasion of my home.
Benedict’s eyes froze over. “That goes for anyone that threatens you.” He stood, then held his hand out to help me up from the couch.
I COULDN’T STOP SHAKING as Ibrahim and Benedict crowded me in the back of Benedict’s town car. As they bundled me down the elevator and into the car, they made sure that at no time was I without grounding physical contact with at least one of them.
“Easy, princess,” Benedict said, taking my hand in his as the two men squeezed me between them. Conflicting emotions swirled through me as I reveled in their closeness at the same time that I deeply, intensely, worried about the danger I’d brought on myself, that I brought to them.
Benedict lived in a penthouse apartment downtown. He stopped to speak to his doorman in low tones. The man scrambled behind the desk and then presented me with a keycard. “Here you go, ma’am.”
My eyes snapped to Benedict’s. Was he giving me a key to his apartment?
“I’m not letting you go again, Piper,” he said, his eyes hard and certain.
So much for letting me make decisions once I’d calmed down and could think rationally. Ibrahim pushed me forward with a gentle hand on my waist. “You can’t stay at your place tonight anyway. Let us take care of you, okay?”
We left James at my apartment to fix the door, and all I wanted was to snuggle up with my men, the men I hadn’t seen in almost two months, the men who’d come the moment I begged for their help.
I nodded, my heart in my throat, afraid to speak for fear of breaking the fragile detente, terrified that I’d say the wrong thing, and this reunion would end. I should have called them the moment I got off the plane in California.
In the elevator, I leaned on Ibrahim. His familiar leather and sandalwood scent calmed me, bringing me back to earth after the adrenaline-fueled terror of the last few hours.
When we arrived at Benedict’s apartment, Ibrahim gently unbuttoned my coat. I hadn’t taken it off since I entered my apartment hours ago. He slid it off my shoulders and tugged me over to the coat closet with him so he could hang it without letting go of me. I laid my fingers on his waist, maintaining physical contact. I wasn’t the only one who desperately needed touch, it seemed.
Benedict smiled at the two of us, his face soft and gentle in a way I hadn’t seen before. “Do you want to change into something more comfortable?”
Ibrahim handed me the overnight bag he’d packed, and I followed Benedict through a hallway. He opened a door into a guest room, comfortably furnished, but devoid of personality. “This is your room,” he said quietly, kissing my shoulder. “Not that you’ll be spending much time in here, but you’ll want a space of your own.”
A startled laugh escaped me, and I turned in his arms, staring into his eyes. “You mean it, don’t you?”
He tugged me against him. “Letting you walk out of our lives was the biggest mistake any of us ever made.” He pushed me into the room. “Get changed. I’m not going to stay because if I do, I’ll fucking ravish you.” Benedict laughed at my raised eyebrow and tapped his finger against my nose. “No, Piper. A little bit of anticipation goes a long way, remember?”
Ten minutes later, I snuggled on the couch with Ibrahim, watching a mindless action flick, comfortable in sweats and a T-shirt.
Benedict dropped onto the couch beside us. “We need to talk.”
“You own buildings that you launder money through too,” I said, getting right to the point.
He stiffened. “What does that have to do with any of this?”
“You’re doing business with the same terrible people as my employer.”
Ibrahim tugged me back against him, rubbing my back. “We tried to stay away from you, sweetheart,” he said. “We were afraid that if you had to choose between your morals and your heart, we would lose.”
I looked up at him, turning everything that had happened that day over in my head. “I want you,” I said. “I want James. And I even want crankypants over here,” I said, pushing against Benedict’s leg with my foot.
