“Please, Gia.” He sweeps his fingers across my cheek, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’ll use the sleeping aid. I’ll put it in his food or his drink. I can make it look natural, so he won’t suspect anything.”
“I don’t want you going near him again.”
“It’s my job, Joshua,” I softly say, finishing my drink and setting it down on the bedside table. “If I was a man, would you ask me to step away?”
A muscle strains in his jaw. “This isn’t because you’re a woman. It’s because you’re you.” He gently clasps my face in his hands. “It’s because I care. I won’t see you hurt on my watch, and it’s too dangerous now. He thinks he owns you. He’s liable to do anything.”
“It won’t come to that.”
“It did tonight.”
“Because I was caught off guard, and I acted recklessly.”
“That’s my fault.” He averts his eyes, clenching and unclenching his jaw.
“It’s not. I was the one having a hard time separating personal from professional. If I’d been thinking straight, I would have gone home to get changed before going to the bar. Then none of it would have happened.”
A harsh laugh escapes his lips as he turns to look at me again. “Honey, it really wasn’t anything to do with what you were wearing. He wanted to exert his control over you with an audience. If it wasn’t the dress, he’d have found another excuse. Don’t think he didn’t plan it, because he did.”
I reach for him, needing his solace again. Joshua leans back against the headrest, mirroring my position, and hauls me against him. “I ruined your shirt.”
“I don’t care. I have forty-nine more like it in my closet.”
“That’s a very exact number.” I peek up at him.
“I keep an inventory of my wardrobe.” His sheepish expression tells me he knows how that sounds.
“There is nothing wrong with being coordinated and well prepared. You could probably teach me a thing or two.” I crack a grin.
“I don’t know how you can joke after everything you’ve endured tonight.”
I trace circles on his hard chest through his damp shirt. “Crying helped. Having you here helps too. And if I don’t laugh, I’m liable to fall apart, and I refuse to let that bastard turn me into something I’m not. He thinks he’s broken me, but he hasn’t.” My eyes bore into his. “It’s why I need to finish this. I’m not bailing on this assignment.”
“So brave.” He kisses my brow as I yawn. “Let me freshen up in the bathroom, and then I’ll put some cream on your back, and you can sleep.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
When he returns a few minutes later, I have removed my pajama top and I’m lying on my stomach with my back exposed. “How bad does it look?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder. I gulp as I trek my gaze over his semi-naked form. Joshua sets his neatly folded pants and shirt down on the chair before sauntering toward me in only his boxers.
He says something, but I don’t hear it. I’m too busy ogling the smooth expanse of skin stretched tight across defined muscles. He’s got abs to die for, those V indents at his hips, and his arms are shredded, way more so than they look in his clothes.
He chuckles, and the most disarming smile spreads across his face.
“You’re beautiful,” I blurt. “So fucking beautiful.”
His smile expands as he climbs onto the bed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called that before.”
“Well, that’s a travesty because it’s true.”
“You’re great for my ego, Gia.” He flashes me a smug grin as he uncaps the tube of arnica cream.
I roll my eyes before putting my head back down on the pillow. “Your ego does just fine without my compliments.”
“I think you’re confusing me with my twin.”
I snort out a laugh. “I’m not, but I get the point, and I completely agree.”
