“Whatever you say.” Max smirked. “I won’t tell everything I know.”
“That’s the biggest load of dumbfuckery I’ve ever heard.” Cane shook his head at Max and I laughed at his choice of words.
“I think it’s cute that you guys cry in front of each other,” Kari said, egging them on. “Who would have thought?”
“Keep it up,” Max said, raising his eyebrows toward her.
“Or what?”
Max sighed as he stood, grabbed Kari, and threw her over his shoulder. Kari squealed, pounding her fists against Max’s wide back. Cane and I couldn’t contain our laughter as Max carried her outside and threw her into the pool while she screamed for mercy.
“They seem occupied,” Cane said, peppering kisses up my neck. “We really need to see about getting you an apartment of your own.”
“I know. I’ve been looking.” I tilted my head to the side. He made his way back to my mouth before pulling away, then turned me toward him. He picked me up as if I weighed nothing and put me on the countertop.
His eyes turned serious.
“On second thought, maybe you should stay here for a while longer.” His throat bobbed as he forced a swallow. “I like knowing you aren’t alone right now.”
“I would probably be nervous by myself right now anyway, considering the past twenty-four hours.”
Cane pressed his forehead to mine. “Speaking of which, what do you want to do about that? Do you want to call the police?”
I closed my eyes, wishing I had never answered Simon’s call.Why did I have to answer that?
But if I hadn’t, would Cane be here right now?
“I just want it to go away, Cane.”
He pulled back and kissed my forehead. “I know, baby. I wish this had never happened, too. But you can’t pretend it didn’t.”
“I know I asked you this last night, but do you think this will be the last we hear from him?”
“I think so. I’m still going to keep an eye on him. But I think even he is smart enough to know better than to come after you again.”
“Well, I would rather not call the police. I know I should.” I bit my fingernail. “But I just don’t want to deal with the drama. And who knows if they go to arrest him, he’ll say what you did to him. And I don’t want you in any trouble because of me. And then there’s the tie to my father’s company. He doesn’t need bad publicity.”
“It’s your call. Don’t factor me into the equation. I can handle myself. I want you to be confident that you’re doing what you want to do.”
I sagged against him. “Kari has pictures of my arm, so if I want to do something about it later, I can. I really just want to go on with my life.”
He kissed me gently and positioned himself between my legs. I wrapped them around his waist, locking my ankles behind his back. “I will just have to keep an eye on you then. Be warned, I can be quite overprotective. And I have no intentions of leaving you alone … in a number of ways.”
“I think I like the sound of that.”
He lifted me off the countertop and carried me to the staircase. He took them two at a time before reaching the top and kicking the door open with his foot. He sat me on the bed before taking a step back, his eyes becoming darker. Focused.
“Take off your robe,” he said, his eyes hooded.
I untied it slowly, my eyes never leaving his, and tossed it on the floor.
“Your shirt, too.”
I looked down to see that I was only wearing the T-shirt I had worn to bed. I pulled it over my head and tossed it to the floor. I took a deep breath, feeling nervous about being so exposed in front of him.
He nodded toward the bed, and I lay back, my chest rising and falling quickly, anxiety and sexual need coursing through me. Headded his shirt to the growing pile of clothes, and I just wanted to run my hands down his sculpted chest.
“I don’t know if you’re more beautiful or sexier.” His voice was gravelly as he grabbed my ankles and dragged me across the bed until I was at the edge.
