“Sergeant,” he whispers as his frantic movements still.
Easing myself down, I risk wrapping my arms around him. “Sergeant?”
“Not officer. Sergeant. Evianna?”
“I’m right here, Dax. Do you know where we are?” He’s shaking now, and I draw the duvet up to his shoulders. “Tell me.”
“Fairmont. Boston. Fuck. I…wanted to see. For a minute…I thought maybe…I wanted it. So much. To see you.” The words fade into a hoarse choking sob, and then he tries to pull away, but I won’t let him go.
Brushing his hair away from his face, I find his cheeks wet, and the idea of this strong, amazing man being scared enough to cry breaks my heart.
He twists in my arms and reaches up to touch me, his thumb tracing the line of my cheek in the dim light from the bedside lamp. “I don’t know what you look like. And I’ve only ever wanted to see one other thing this badly since I lost my sight.”
“What’s that?” I smile when he slides his palm to my jaw.
“The stars the night Ry pulled me out of Hell. And now…I’d trade that for one look at your eyes. Or your smile.”
“You see me, Dax. Maybe not the way you want, but you see me.” Leaning closer, I press my lips to his, then brush the tears from his cheeks. “Want to tell me about the dream?”
“No.” When I bristle, he rushes to continue. “I will, darlin’. Just not…tonight. Not now. Not after…earlier. I don’t have anything left in me.”
His heavy lids start to close, and I turn over, letting him spoon me with his arm around my waist and our fingers intertwined. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here,” I whisper, and then let myself drift off in his arms.
Someone’s talking. Why is someone talking? It’s way too early.
“Oh-eight-hundred. Oh-eight-hundred. Oh-eight-hundred.”
Dax groans behind me, “Voice Assist: Cancel alarm.”
“Can’t we stay in bed for a while?” I ask.
He buries his face in my hair. “As long as you want, darlin’. Until Wren calls and we’re still naked.”
My cheeks catch fire, and I pull the duvet up to my neck. “But she’s in Seattle. It’s three hours earlier there.”
“Wren lived in Boston until a couple of weeks ago. And is keeping Boston hours…for now.” His voice cracks, and he clears his throat.
“You miss her.”
“Yeah. She kept the office…human. She and Ford…they did what I could never do. Be…friendly with everyone.” Dax sighs and sits up, leaning against the headboard. “I don’t want you going to your office today, Evianna. It’s too dangerous. After last night…”
My shoulders hike up around my ears as I slide up next to him and force confidence I don’t feel into my voice. “I have to. We sign off on Alfie tomorrow. Maybe even this afternoon if the devs worked their asses off last night. If I’m not there…I have to be there.”
Reaching for his phone, Dax taps the screen. “VoiceAssist: Call Clive on Speaker.”
Clive doesn’t pick up until the fourth ring, and when he does, his voice is thick with sleep. “Yeah, boss?”
“Please tell me you can work—shit. Sorry. How’s your mom?” Dax rests one elbow on his bent knee and cradles his forehead. I reach up and start to gently massage the back of his neck.
“She’s stable. Surgery went great, and she’ll be home in two days. What do you need?”
As if Clive just gave Dax the answer to the location of the Holy Grail, he visibly relaxes. “Just a couple of hours, buddy. Escorting a priority client from the Fairmont to her office, then back again. High likelihood of surveillance, at least leaving the office, and anyone following you is definitely going to be hostile.”
I’m a “priority client”? After what happened last night? Admittedly, I don’t know what I’d call us right now, but…Dax is a hell of a lot more than simply my bodyguard.
Clive speaks to someone in the background while I fume, then comes back on the line. “I can do it. My brother’s here, so he can take a shift with Mom for a while. What time?”
Dax arches a brow in my direction. “Evianna?”
