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“I should be the one asking you this. This is my life, and I’ve dragged you into it. I’m sorry.”
“You mean after I dragged you into a shoot-out with the Chinese mafia.” Her brows draw together. “You almost got killed because of me.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Are you apologizing for saving my life? For flying me away in your private jet and taking me to your home?” She tsks. “How awful of you. You should be on your knees.”
“Dammit, Ray.” It takes me a second or two, because she looks so solemn, and then I crack up. “If you want me on my knees, I’ll do it.” My laughter fades at the mental image. “Yeah, I’ll get down, but I’ll have you naked and wet for me, first. And then I’ll make you come so hard you won’t know what hit you.”
She starts and opens her mouth, her eyes wide and a flush rising to her cheeks—but then the elevator dings and slows to a stop.
Twenty-third floor. The penthouse.
The doors slide open with a whisper, but she doesn’t move, still staring at me. So I put my hand on the small of her back and give her a tiny shove.
“Welcome to my world, Ray.”
Don’t let it scare you away.
RAYLIN
I walk into his apartment and try to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. Yeah, he’s a millionaire, I got it, okay? Heard it the first time. Been in the jet and the limo, but holy crap Batman…
Knowing and seeing it for yourself is never the same thing, is it?
Pretending nothing’s out of the ordinary, that I see pads like this one every other day, I wander through the huge open-plan living room and kitchen which opens to a terrace. There’s a lit-up pool I can see through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. The furniture is black leather and metal, one wall taken by a huge bookcase filled with books, messily arranged in rows and piles. A charcoal rug covers the floor.
“It’s… nice,” I whisper, my voice cracking. Dammit. I clear my throat. “Cozy.”
Storm grins and shakes his head.
Okay, so it’s not exactly cozy, but it’s not cold, either. It’s very obviously a guy’s pad, and it has Storm’s touch. Probably. What with the leather and metal and all.
Not that I’d know what his style is. I barely know the guy, and the thought is almost enough to make me panic again.
Almost.
But I won’t. I was serious before. He helped me, saved my life, protected me when he had no obligation and no reason to do so. I owe him, and I trust him. He has no need of me. Doesn’t need to help me. And with his looks and money, he could get any girl he wanted, if it’s sex he’s after. God knows he’d get a better deal.
It’s enough. More than enough for now. I’m exhausted. I may sleep for a few days, if he lets me. He has security, right? Bodyguards, too, I’m guessing. Should be safe for a while.
Take what you can get today, Ray. You’re overthinking this. Stop it. It never helps.
I open the sliding door and step outside, onto the terrace. The pool reminds me of the mansion on the beach, and the scent of the sea is here, too, thoug
h it’s colder. I shiver as I cross the terrace, walking alongside the pool to reach the rail, and I tell myself it’s from the cool wind whipping back my hair.
Okay, so I’m still in shock, even if things make more sense now—like how at ease he seemed in that mansion. His mansion. Correction, one of his mansions. He probably has several scattered around the country. Hell, around the world.
Scratch staying calm. How am I supposed to wrap my head around this? My hands tighten over the rail. It’s steel and glass, like the building. Cold. Perfect. Expensive.
Storm says he trusts me. Says I saved him from himself. Whatever that means.
A millionaire who thinks someone’s after him and the daughter of an alcoholic conman wanted by the Chinese mafia. Sounds like a bad joke. I’d laugh out loud if I wasn’t pretty sure he told me the truth. He was right when he said he never lied to me. He didn’t.
But I’m also pretty sure he didn’t tell me everything. Still hasn’t.
Then again, neither have I. Trust is something you dole out in spoonfuls. It’s another face of respect. It comes to you bit by bit, little by little, until it’s wrung out of you despite your will. When you’re won over, worn down until you have to believe, have to open up.
