“I’m fine. Didn’t even need stitches. We can discuss it at dinner. Your firm has decent security, so you’ll be fine if you stay here until I fetch you. Understand?”
He stares at me and I stare back. My knees tremble. He just waits.
“Why are you doing this? Acting like we’re going to live together?”
He leans back against the door. “Because we are.”
How is he so freaking certain? “You don’t even know me. The sex is good, and you think I’m pretty, but that’s not enough.”
His gaze heats. “I do think you’re pretty, and the sex is off the charts. But you’re highly intelligent, have a great sense of humor, and own a heart that’s all soft and kindness. I want it.”
My chin drops. “I’m not soft and kind.” I’m a freaking attorney who’s a tornado in a courtroom.
His chuckle holds genuine amusement. “You’re broke financially because you take care of seven old men who need you. Sure, they adore you, and that must be a good feeling, but you’ll let yourself lose everything to help them. That’s sweet. That’s kind. That’s all fucking mine now.”
Just when my heart goes all soft for him, he has to throw in a badass possessive term. “You should’ve stopped with ‘kind.’” Even so, I feel all warm and squishy inside. I need to get a grip around this man. He’s just too ... much.
“I have somewhere to be, Rosalie. Tell me you get me and that you’ll stay here until I return.” That amusement still dances with the hot possessiveness in his eyes. “Don’t make me belt you to the chair.” He sounds way too interested in the thought, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that he’ll do it. I can’t even imagine my embarrassment when my paralegal wanders in at some point.
“Fine. I have plenty of work to do, anyway,” I say. “You might want to rethink your career. Mafia bosses get shot a lot.”
“I got shot protecting your Percy,” he returns easily. “Usually I wouldn’t have moved, but I couldn’t let one of your pets get killed.” With that, he winks and walks out of my office. I drop back onto my chair and quickly call Percy.
“Hi, Rosalie,” Percy answers. “I’m outside. We need more fertilizer for the shadier area in the back.”
I shake my head. “Were you with Alexei last night?”
Percy is silent for several heartbeats. “Darlin’, these phones aren’t secure. All I’ll say is that I owe Alexei big time. We can discuss the rest later.”
So it’s true. “We willsodiscuss this when I get home,” I sputter. Can I ground an eighty-year-old man? I think I can. The guy shouldn’t be driving—he can barely see. “Tonight, Percy.” I end the call without pleasantries. So Alexei really saved Percy for me?
My traitorous heart warms. The massive haul of kitten heels is sweet. Saving my Percy is soul-stirring. I’m falling for Alexei way too fast, and he won’t let me slow down. How can I be furious and loving toward him at the same time? Life is supposed to be orderly and make sense.
It doesn’t ... but it sure as heck isn’t boring, either.
My phone buzzes and I glance down at the screen. If Percy wants to make nice, he can wait all day. I don’t recognize the number. “Rosalie Mooncrest.”
“Hey, sister,” Ella says.
THIRTY
Rosalie
Relief fills me so quickly I get lightheaded. “Ella, I’ve been so worried. Where are you?”
“That’s the thing. I need a little help getting out of here.”
Determination races through me. “Of course. Where are you?”
“Remember that building that has the little shop with the tarot cards?”
“Yeah, the high-rise?” I ask.
“Yes, I’m trapped in the penthouse,” she says. “I can control the elevators but have to time it exactly.”
I open the bottom drawer of my desk and pull out a nine millimeter. It’s unregistered and a gift from the guys at my house because it’s nearly impossible for the good guys to get a gun in California these days. “How are you calling me?”
“Through a computer.”
