For a long moment, we just stayed there, both of us breathing hard, our bodies still joined.
Then Derek slowly pulled out, and I whimpered at the loss.
He helped me sit up, his hands gentle now, steadying me as my legs threatened to give out.
“You okay?” Derek asked softly, his thumb brushing over my cheek.
I nodded, still unable to find my voice.
Derek kissed me softly, tenderly, so different from the raw intensity of moments before.
“We should clean up,” he murmured against my lips.
We moved quickly, both of us acutely aware that we’d been gone too long. I found my clothes scattered across the floor and pulled them on with shaking hands. Derek tucked his shirt back in, his eyes never leaving mine.
When we were both presentable again, or as presentable as we could be given what we’d just done, Derek reached for the door handle.
But before he opened it, he turned back to me.
“Kat,” he said quietly. “I need you to know something.”
I looked up at him, my heart pounding.
“I would do it again,” Derek said. “I would do it a thousand times over. For you. For Frankie. I would burn the whole fucking world down to keep you both safe.”
The words should have terrified me.
Instead, they made me feel cherished. Protected. Loved.
“I know,” I whispered.
Derek nodded, then turned the handle and pulled the door open.
Zero stood in the doorway.
His eyes went immediately to me, to my disheveled hair, my flushed skin, my swollen lips. To the way my sweater was slightly askew, the way I was still trying to catch my breath.
His gaze moved to Derek, then back to me, and I watched the realization dawn on his face.
Shock. Anger. And something else, something possessive and dark that made my stomach drop.
“Zero,” I breathed.
“You fucking piece of shit,” Zero snarled, his voice low and venomous. He took a step forward, his hands clenched into fists. “In your brother’s office? You couldn’t keep your dick in your pants for one fucking day?”
Derek’s body went rigid in front of me. “Back the fuck off, Zero.”
“Or what?” Zero’s laugh was harsh, bitter. “You gonna beat the shit out of me too? Add me to your list?”
“Watch your fucking mouth,” Derek growled.
“Why?” Zero stepped closer, his face twisting with rage. “You don’t want her to know what you are? What you’re fucking capable of?”
My stomach dropped. The air in the hallway felt too thick to breathe.
“Zero, don’t—” Derek’s voice held a warning edge.
“Don’t what? Don’t tell her the truth?” Zero’s eyes flicked to me, then back to Derek. “She deserves to know who she just fucked. She deserves to know what a fucking bastard you are.”
