Denali obviously offers to let me go, and once the guys see that she's given me permission, they don't let up. Even she joins in on the insistence that I attend, insisiting she'll have Anton take her shopping or something while she's here, maybe grab a quick bite with him and then head back to the cabin to get ready for tonight.
When she says that, she shoots me a wink that everyone can see, giving me an easy out for an early departure. It means I won't need to stick around and get wasted with them after the meal.
I thank the lucky stars every day that she agreed to be mine. She's smart, too smart, and cunning to boot. And soon enough, she'll be naked underneath me again, and I can set to work showing her how grateful I am for her presence in my life.
"Promise me you'll text me when you get back to the cabin?" I'm still a little antsy about letting her go on her own, but she'll have Anton with her. He'll keep her safe, I just know it.
"Of course." She stretches up, leaving a brief, light kiss on my cheek before she pats my ass and sends me on my way. "Don't stay out too late. I'll be waiting for you."
I can't wait to find out exactly what that means.
An hour after she leaves me, I'm in the middle of slurping up some hotpot when I get a text with an image. It's a picture of a set of lingerie, sitting on the bed in the cabin. I don't think I'veever seen it before, and holy shit, it's sexy as fuck. The only other thing in the text is the message she typed up to send with it.
Can't wait for you to peel this off of me when you get back, bossman.
I have to swallow hard to manage to not choke on the meat in my mouth.
Around me, dinner goes on like nothing's happened, but I'm harder than a rock under the table, and ready for this to be over so I can skip out on the drinks and go find out just how ready for me she is.
A half hour later, as we're splitting the check, I get another message—this time, it's an image of a vibrator lying on the bedspread, and it looks kinda slick.
Couldn't wait for you to get home. Had to get off.
And then another picture comes through, and it's of her fingers. Only they're spread in a slight V shape, and there's slick sprawling between them, clinging to each digit like a lifeline. She's coated in it.
Too bad you're not here to lick this up for me. How's dinner?
I growl as I throw my card down and tell the waitress I'll pay for everything, just to speed things up. The whole group looks at me in shock, but I'm well off. I'm not hurting for money. What I'm hurting for is my woman, and she's not making it easy on me with all these borderline horny ass messages.
Another one comes through while I'm accepting my card back, and I make my excuses as I hurry to the car after a brisk round of goodbyes and promises to be more in touch now that I've got a woman to corral me, determined to get back to Denali before I come in my damn pants.
But when I get to the cabin, the lights are all out, and I've got a sudden shiver down my spine that has me racing toward the bedroom, body on high alert.
No. No, please no.
I left her alone, thinking she'd be safe. Anton should be with her. But where is he? He's not at the door. And when I pick up the phone along the wall, there's no dial tone.
My fear ratchets up to an eleven, and I sprint like a madman toward the stairs, hoping I'm wrong, that there's a logical explanation for all this. Anton's body lays on the bottom step, sprawled at an unnatural angle, and I stop to check for a pulse. When I find one, I make a split-second decision and search for his gun, but it's nowhere to be found, either.
It's me and my hands, against what I'm sure now is a madman who might be holding my girl hostage—or worse. Never in my life have I moved so fast, and yet felt like I was standing still. I'm sweating, heart hammering in my chest, fear oozing from my pores. I don't pray to a god, but I'm doing it now, hoping against hope that she's okay when I get to her.
The rest doesn't matter.
My heart falls into my stomach when I round the corner and open the door.
chapter thirty-three
Denali
Kai won't beat dinner long, so I pop into the nearest lingerie boutique and pick something special out for him in his favorite color. Anton drives me home, mumbling about girls and their girly things, and we joke about the bland weather. This time of the year, usually the city is coated in snow, but this year, it's been a little warmer than usual, and it's dry as a bone outside.
Which is why when I get home, I don't even bother with anything other than telling Anton he can crash for the night if he wants. We're out in the middle of nowhere. Kai will be home soon. And until he's here, I plan to tease him with some selfies and suggestive messages.
The first one I send is a photo of the lingerie on the bed, telling him I can't wait for him to peel it off of me. About an hour later, I send one of my fingers, covered in spit, a strand of drool hanging between them. I know he's not going to know what it is, so I suggest that it's something else, and let him sit on read when he says he'll be heading home soon.
The bed looks comfortable, so I spread out on it, turn on the TV, and watch something I don't have any interest in until I hear the door open downstairs.
Showtime.
