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I reluctantly stepped back and opened her door. She stared at me with her mouth slightly open, not moving. So I gently turned her by the shoulders and gave her ass a little slap, which broke her out of her stunned state. She gasped, but before she could say anything, I ordered, “In.”
I helped her down into the driver’s seat, then shut her door and jogged around the hood to join her in the Mini Cooper. It was a tight squeeze for a big man like me, but it was worth it when Kiara glanced over at me and chuckled.
The pure and sweet sound washed over me, tightening something in my chest. I smiled, and her cheeks turned pink before she faced the front and squeaked, “Where are we going?”
Grey had already opened the gate, so I waved toward it, indicating that she should drive through. “Follow the drive to the right until we get to the garage by the south entrance to the compound.”
It only took a few minutes to get to the side entrance to the garage. The lot in front of it was broken into spaces for bikes and others for cars or trucks. I directed her to a stall, and she carefully pulled into it, her eyes wide and round as she took in the huge trucks parked on either side of us.
“Just a short walk to my workshop. I live in the apartment above it. We’ll talk there.”
She halted and stared at me suspiciously. “You expect me to go with a strange man into his apartment to ‘talk’?” Her fingers curled into air quotes, making me chuckle.
“Relax, baby. We can stay in the workshop. Don’t worry your pretty little head. Your virtue is safe.” I swallowed hard so I wouldn’t add, “For now.”
Kiara gasped and stared up at me in shock. “How do you know I’m a—” Her whole face flushed, and her eyes dropped to the ground.
“I didn’t, baby. I was speaking metaphorically,” I explained through choked laughter, amused, but also using it to disguise my primal reaction to the revelation. Knowing she would be mine and mine alone made it difficult to bury the caveman inside me.
She sputtered for a second, then seemed to just accept everything with a sigh. When her eyes met mine again, the embarrassment was gone. I felt even more drawn to this girl who could be so fierce but knew when to let things go. I hoped she used the same logic when I told her the truth about her father.
I gestured for her to walk ahead, then put my hand on the small of her back. The proprietary gesture and the scowl I shot at anyone who looked at her for more than two seconds made it clear she was with me.
Once we reached the door to my workshop, I unlocked it and turned off the alarm before ushering Kiara inside. When I flipped the lights on, Kiara looked around with awe, filling me with satisfaction. I was proud of my creations but seeing the look on Kiara’s face made me feel something new.
“You’re a swordsmith?” she breathed as she took in the equipment and walls filled with specialty-bladed weapons, primarily swords. ”Did you make all of these?”
“Yep.”
“They’re amazing.” She wandered to the closest one and reached up to trace some of the etchings on the blade of a saber that an Army cavalry has ordered as a gift for their retiring lieutenant.
“Feel free to look around. Be right back.”
I crossed the studio to an open door that led to my office. We didn’t want any of the evidence on the judge to be kept in Mac’s office since he met with so many people there. So I kept it hidden away in my safe. After retrieving it, I went to find Kiara and found her admiring a tiny music box with a knight in shining armor sitting on top of a horse with his sword in the air—balancing in the lid. He held a princess in his arms, and the song it played was from some movie that I couldn’t remember the name of. “It’s definitely not my normal kind of project,” I explained when she glanced at me with a puzzled expression. “But my prez asked me to make it for his old lady, and I like a challenge.”
“Well, it’s beautiful,” she murmured softly, her eyes a little dreamy as she looked the box over once more. I filed that away to think about later.
“Thanks. Let’s sit.” I pointed at a small table and chairs set by a little kitchenette. Once we were seated, I slid the files across the top, and she placed her palm on top of them. But rather than rip the first one open, she hesitated. Then her gaze raised to mine, and the fear swimming in the dark blue depths had my chest clenching again.
“I’m sorry.” The softly spoken words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I almost shook my head in exasperation. If my brothers were around to see me acting like such a pussy, I’d never hear the end of it. But the only person I was worried about was my girl.
She swallowed, then took a deep breath and put her shoulders back before opening the top folder. As she read through the files, the silence was heavy, broken only by the sounds of our breathing and her shuffling paper.
Her expression slowly went from stoic to disbelief, until it finally crumpled into devastation.
Eventually, Kiara slowly pushed the files back to the center of the table and glanced up at me. She looked so lost, I just wanted to gather her into my arms and make it all go away. But I didn’t have the power to change anything. And considering the shock she had just been slapped with, I knew it wasn't the right time to force her to face the sizzling attraction building between us.
Instead, I stood and walked to her side, then held out my hand. I was about to pull my arm back when she finally grasped my palm and allowed me to help her stand. For someone so tiny, she had a hell of a grip and was squeezing the fuck out of my fingers.
My mind immediately wandered to what it would feel like if it was her virgin pussy sucking on my digits. Which only proved that I was still a bastard. She was too good for me, and I knew it. But it didn’t change the outcome. I was keeping Kiara. She was mine.
However, I was resigned to letting her go—for the moment.“Gonna walk you to your car, baby.”
She didn’t say anything, and she didn’t release my hand as I led her back to the parking lot.
“You gonna be okay driving?”
Kiara glanced around us, as if just realizing where we were. She dropped my hand like it had burned her and cradled her palm against her chest with the other. “Um, yes. Thank–thank you for showing me…I don’t know…I can’t believe…but–but…” She broke off with a little sob, and I couldn’t help but lean down to kiss her forehead.
