Giving him a beating him tonight would already be pushing boundaries in her eyes.
“Just make sure he gets on the damn flight,” I say, patting the roof of Denver’s car.
“Will do, Boss.”
Nodding, I head back inside.
I strip off my suit, depositing it all in the laundry before I go into the bathroom and wash my hands. The water has a pink tinge. I went easy on Rory. The temptation to do a hell of a lot worse to make sure he can never come near Hallie again was overwhelming.
“What are you doing up?”
Warm soft fingers dust over my abs as arms encircle me from behind and a soft kiss is pressed between my shoulder blades.
“Hallie,” I rasp, grabbing a towel to dry my hands. I throw it to one side and turn to wrap her in my arms.
“Come back to bed.” She pouts at me sleepily, and I reach up to brush the hair away from her face. “What?” she asks, studying me.
I shake my head softly. “I love you so much, that’s all.” I stroke her cheeks, overcome with emotion at the trust in her eyes.
She leans into one of my hands, a soft smile on her face. “I love you too. Now come back to bed.”
“You know I have to take care of the people I love, don’t you?”
Her brows flatten and she studies me. “I know that. And you do. You always do. Is this about Rory?” She places her hands over mine, curling her fingers around them and stroking the back of them with her thumbs.
“I’ll do anything to keep you safe, Hallie,” I confess. “Things that you might not like. Things that mean I’m not always the man I should be for you.”
“I know who you are, Sterling. And I love you no matter what. You are always going to be the only man for me, no matter which part of you is the one on show, you hear me?”
“Hall—”
She places her fingers over my mouth. “I won’t hear you say a bad word about yourself, okay?” Her eyes shine with tears. “You are everything and more to me.”
I take her wrist, keeping her hand to my lips as I kiss her fingertips.
“You don’t need to worry about Rory. Because no matter what he does, I’m not going anywhere. You won’t lose me. And I won’t allow him to ruin things. I’ve been scared for far too long. And that’s not who I am. I didn’t start my business to let him take it from me without a fight. I did it for Jenny. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her legacy alive.”
“You’re amazing,” I breathe.
“No. You are. You’ve given me my strength back. I didn’t even realize how much of it I’d lost.”
“Hallie,” I rasp, resting my forehead against hers. “You’ve given me everything back. A life I’m happy to wake up to again each day. Without you, I don’t know where I’d be.”
She slides her fingers to my jaw, running them through my stubble.
“Come back to bed,” she whispers.
I let her lead me back by the hand, pulling me down onto the cool sheets. I lie on my back and gaze at her as she straddles me, her lips parting with a soft moan as she takes me inside her and starts to ride me slowly.
She holds my eyes, the city lights twinkling behind her.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you. Ineedyou, Hallie.”
I urge her to increase her pace, gripping her hips.
“I need you, Baby girl,” I groan as I work her up and down my cock with mounting desperation.
