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“Victor will stay with you two,” Teo said. “Grayson and I have some work to do.”
“And Sam?” I asked.
“Sam is okay,” Teo replied, his hand on my cheek. “For the time being, it’s better to keep the two of you apart. Someone is likely trailing him, and if they track him to Jace’s place, then you’re both in danger. But Sam’s apartment is heavily guarded. I have two of my best men there and another one who’s constantly with your brother. There won’t be a scratch on him, I promise you that.”
He traced the outline of my bottom lip and I looked at him, meeting his honeygold eyes as he smiled at me.
“I got you, sunshine,” he said. “I do.”
I nodded as he wrapped his muscular arms around me and I pressed my face against his chest, his scent enveloping me as I felt the warmth of his skin beneath my fingertips. “I trust you,” I said.
He kissed the top of my head. “You’re in good hands, Sof,” he said. “I’ll see you this afternoon. Okay?”
I nodded again, not wanting to disentangle myself away from him. Strange to think that only a few months before I had been so afraid of this man, when right now his presence was the only thing that seemed to provide anchoring and safety.
He took a step away from me and kissed me softly on the lips, a smile on his face. “Now don’t have too much fun without me,” he said, smacking my ass.
Victor cleared his throat and Jace glanced at the floor, for once not looking otherworldly and elvish but a little awkward instead. I suppressed the urge to smile.
“Let’s go,” Teo said, breaking the moment and taking a step back from me. “Let’s do some work.”
I grabbed my messenger bag and followed him out of the apartment. Not knowing what to say, I leaned against Teo as we waited for traffic on the street to ease so that we could cross, my sneakers sliding on the pavement. Teo kissed the top of my head again and told me to behave, and then him and Grayson took a left while Victor, Jace and I stayed there, waiting for the crossing to turn green.
“My apartment isn’t far,” Jace said.
“She knows. We broke in when we were trying to save you,” Victor replied.
Jace’s face darkened at the mention of his kidnapping. “Yeah, thanks for that,” he said quietly. “I still can’t believe I’m alive, honestly.”
“We were always going to get you out of there,” Victor said gruffly as we started to walk. “We wouldn’t have left you behind.”
Jace inhaled sharply, looking away from him. “I know,” he said. “There’s my car.”
I was surprised to see that Jace drove an unassuming Honda Civic. He clicked on the keychain and it opened, and soon, we were driving to his apartment and talking about the weather. It was strange. It reminded me of when we had gone to his apartment without him so we could extract him from Captain Monroe’s compound, except the one making idle conversation there had been Grayson.
As soon as Jace got to the front of his building and parked right outside, Victor turned to look at me. “Did you have fun with Grayson?”
I nodded, my mouth dry. I didn’t know what this line of questioning was about, and with Victor, it was hard to tell what was coming next. “Yes. Until someone tried to kill us.”
Victor leaned closer to me. He was in the back, I was riding shotgun, and it wasn’t until he was inches away from my face that I realized he was smelling me. “I thought you had,” he said. “You smell like sex. It’s hot.”
I felt blood rush to my cheeks at his words. I tried to ignore the way my body was responding to him. “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked, feeling defensive. “Grayson and I have a connection. It’s not just about sex.”
“Who said it was just about sex?” Victor replied. “Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that you smell amazing.”
His eyes flicked down to my chest, lingering on the curve of my breasts before returning to my face. He dropped his voice before he spoke again. “Are you getting turned on thinking about it, Sof?”
I couldn’t deny it. Despite the danger we were facing, my body was responding to him, just like it did with all of them.
I tried to swallow down my arousal when Jace turned to look at him. “Leave her alone, Victor,” he said.
Victor leaned back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other. “What?” He asked, his voice innocent. “I’m just stating the obvious.”
Jace shook his head, his lips pursed. “Just don’t be creepy, man.”
Victor chuckled. “I’m not being creepy,” he said. “I just appreciate a good thing when I see one.”
My cheeks burned with heat as I nodded, feeling both embarrassed and turned on by his comment. Victor had a way of making me feel both desirable and vulnerable at the same time. They all did.
