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“Holy. Fuck. Emmett.” She shivered when I kissed her shoulder. Her neck. Both corners of her mouth.
“I’m tappin’ out,” she heaved. “Totally. Spent.”
“Totally?”
She nodded, a satisfied smile on her face, eyelids heavy with exhaustion. “I’m sure you could tempt me for another round, but you’d have to do all the work.”
“Not a problem,” I assured her as I slowly slid from her body, groaning at the loss of her heat. “But I’ll have mercy on you, sweetheart.”
“Gee, thanks,” she deadpanned and snuggled close to me on the bed, no thought given to showering or sleeping which gave me a small thrill.
“Just this once, though.”
Her tinkling laughter sounded in the early morning silence as her body relaxed into mine and then changed the subject to keep us from killing each other with sex.
“Are you going to dinner at Sadie’s tonight?”
I nodded even though her back was pressed against my chest, loving the way we could go from the passionate to the mundane in a heartbeat.
“I always go to Sunday dinner unless I’m training for a fight or out of town.”
She sighed and turned in my arms so we were face to face. “Are you sure I should go with you? I haven’t been to a family dinner since I was back home. I’m kind of nervous.”
“Why? Sadie wouldn’t have invited you if she didn’t want you there, and you’re friends with Kat and Maisie.”
Which reminded me of another question I wanted to ask her.
“I know, but this feels different. I won’t be there as Lance’s wife which is how they all know me. Won’t that be weird?”
I pressed a kiss to the crook of her neck. “Not for me. How about you show up as my date to Virgil and Maisie’s wedding?”
“Really?”
I nodded, uncertain if she was surprised that I wanted her to be my date or shocked at my audacity.
“That would be great, Emmett. Really.”
“We’ll have a good time, I promise.” I hadn’t been to a wedding since I was in the military and used to go solo when a buddy got married, so I had no idea if it was too soon for such a step. Most important, I didn’t give a damn either.
“I always have a good time with you.” She punctuated her words by cupping a gentle hand on one side of my face as her blue gaze bore into mine. She looked like she wanted to say more, almost like she was feeling exactly what I was but didn’t know how to say it.
I didn’t blame her. I had no fucking clue either. Was it too soon? Would she laugh or run away in horror if I told her I was falling for her? The idea of either of those things happening made me sick to my stomach.
She just said, “Me too,” and kissed me slowly and sweetly, pulling back too damn soon.
This woman brought all of my protective instincts to the surface. I wanted to keep her safe. Protected.
“You haven’t had any more trouble at work? Or around town?”
Terry and Jas still had no clue who had killed Fiona or why, and if they did, they hadn’t seen fit to share that information with me.
“No,” she sighed. “It’s been thankfully quiet for the past few days.”
I could tell something was on her mind, though, and I stayed quiet, stroking one hand up and down the length of her body, tracing the curve of her hip and the dip of her small waist.
But I wasn’t expecting what came next.
“What can you tell me about Fiona?” she said, looking directly into my eyes.
My whole body froze at the question but only for a brief moment.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, some the players, the regulars, keep asking why she just picked up and left. They wonder if she was running from the mob or if she was cheating on Evan and ran off with another man. It all seems so sordid, but none of it seems, I dunno, true.”
I wanted to tell her the truth. This was the perfect opening to just tell her what she needed to know, but my tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth, refusing to budge every time I tried to say a word.
Vanessa mistook my silence for anger and sat up so we were eye to eye again.
“I know you don’t deal so much in that side of the business, but Provo said something I can’t stop thinking about. Be careful or you might end up like Fiona. What happened to her, Emmett?”
There it was. A direct question that gave me the opportunity I’d been looking for. I promised Terry I’d keep my mouth shut unless she asked me directly.
I took a deep breath and said it simply and directly because there was no other way. “She was found dead in her apartment with her tongue cut out.”
