Liev stirs against my thigh, hard and insistent, and his lips find mine in a slow, lazy kiss. He trails more down the side of my neck.
“As much as I’d enjoyexperimentingsome more,” I murmur, “Her Highness will be up soon. Plus, I want to check the phone, and we need to update Brady on what Tyler said.”
His groan rumbles against my skin, but he strokes a palm down my arm and rolls to his back. “Having a job sucks.”
I laugh. “You had a job before.”
“Not a regular-with-hours kind of one. I’m more of an up-all-night, sleep-late kind of guy.”
The words land too close to my earlier worries, sending a worm of uncertainty through me.
“I’m an up-early, get-to-work kind of girl,” I say lightly, climbing out of bed. I grab a pillow and smack him lightly across the face. “You’re still part of the normal world for a few more days, so get your sexy ass up.”
He grumbles behind me as I head to the bathroom.
Keke’s still asleep when we’re showered and dressed, so Liev heads to the lobby for coffee while I pull out my phone.
My blood runs cold the second I see the string of texts from several unknown numbers.
“Loved your video. Watched the punch on repeat.”
“Ugly bitch, got what you deserved.”
“Are you fucking that guy? You nasty whore.”
There are more than a dozen, each more vile than the last. My hand shakes as I stare blindly at the wall.
It can’t be him. He’s dead.
But the vitriolic words echo the hundreds I received from Aaron after the breakup.
The hotel door opens, and Liev steps in, balancing a tray with two steaming cups of coffee. “Here you go, madame. Your coffee, black, like your adorable little heart.”
His smile dies the instant he sees my face. He sets the cups on the table.
“What happened?”
Words fail me. I swallow hard and hand him the phone, screen still open.
His face blanches, then floods red as I watch his fingers skim over the screen, opening the various messages.
For the first time, I see why people fear him. The look on his face… The phone case creaks under his grip. “Who the fuck sent these?”
“I don’t know.” My voice cracks. “They could be anyone. Hannah said the video went viral.”
But I know better. My number is unlisted. Someone went to serious trouble to find it.
“They’re like the ones Aaron used to send,” I whisper. “Before the restraining order.”
Liev’s eyes turn lethal. “I’m going to find out who’s behind this,” he says, voice deadly calm. “And they’re going to pay. Every single person involved.”
A tear slips free. I dash it away and clear my throat determined not to end up in a pile of tears. I can’t let it dictate my life. Not anymore.
“We need to put this off for now. We have to tell Brady about Tyler before Keke wakes up,” I insist.
Liev’s clearly struggling with holding on to his temper. His fists clench and unclench, and I can see the vein throbbing in his neck, but he nods.
I force a small smile. “No reason to worry, right? Because I have you.”
