Page 37 of Shark’s Pride

Well, damn.

Usually I liked to linger in the shower. It was one of the few places I could escape the outside world and do some of my best thinking. But with Abbigail waiting for me just beyond the enclosed space, I was motivated to cut this one short.

As I got out and dried off, she left the bathroom. Correction. She hurried out of the bathroom like I’d just showered in fire instead of water.

“What the hell?” I muttered, cinching the towel around my waist and following her. She was sitting at the foot of the bed, texting feverishly. She didn’t even look up when I strutted in, despite how I scooted the towel as low as possible across my abdomen. Seriously? The Sebastian Shark happy trail was on display in full glory, and she couldn’t be bothered for a glance? She’d better be dealing with an E. coli outbreak at the kitchen or something close to it.

“Everything okay?” I asked, finally getting her attention.

“Oh, yeah.” She smiled at last, taking in my mildly damp body from head to toe. “But Jesus, you make it hard to focus when you look like that.”

Oh, that was so much better. I grinned, nudging her legs apart so I could stand between them once more. “Then just focus on me. Right here.”

She wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up. “I’d say your wish is my command, but we both know that’s not true.”

I moved in tighter and pushed her back on the bed. Or tried to.

She stiffened her spine and started angling away. “As much as I love that idea, I need to go.” She lifted her face, thrusting out a little frown. “My eldest brother wants to meet me for an early lunch.”

“You don’t look too enthused.”

“I think I’m just confused,” she clarified, stressing the last word. “It’s out of the ordinary.”

“Why? Because he’s married to your business partner?”

“Well, that’s part of it, of course.” Her face tightened, her gaze seeming to jump someplace far away.

“Well, if you think you can wait until after the police are done here, I can go with you?” I offered.

“No, I should go alone. He doesn’t even know we’re—well, shit—what are we? What do we call this? No matter what we call it, he’s not going to like it. All my brothers are fiercely protective.” She stood up and smoothed her skirt into place. I hadn’t noticed, but her bag was neatly packed and sitting beside the bed.

“Will you be coming back here when you’re done? To stay, I mean?” I was done beating around the bush.

“I understand why you’re worried about my safety, Bas. I do. And I’d be lying if I said all of this craziness hasn’t freaked me out a little bit. I just think moving in with you is a big step. And it’s one I don’t think I’m ready to take.”

Frustration was jockeying for center stage in my emotional theater, and I was doing my best to rein it in. I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and T-shirt while we talked. “Can I propose a compromise?” My brows were hiked up into my hairline with hope, the new player trying to battle for the spotlight. I took her bag from her hand when she tried to carry it along with her handbag as we left the master suite.

This piqued her interest. “I’m listening,” she said while we walked downstairs toward the front door.

“Let’s consider the move-in a temporary arrangement until things settle down and the authorities figure out who’s behind all these stunts. No long-term commitments, no change of address with the post office.” She nodded as I spoke, so I forged ahead, bolstered by her seeming acquiescence. “You can just keep a few weeks’ supply of clothing here, swap it out as needed. Of course, my staff does laundry as well. Whatever is easiest for you.”

We were beside her truck, and she opened the door. “All right. So, let’s do this,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll stay here for a few days to start, and we can work up to more as needed.”

“Done.” The word rushed out of my mouth before she changed her mind, and I gripped her face in my palms and kissed her so swiftly I stole the oxygen from her lungs. She grabbed my forearms for balance, and I deepened the kiss, finding it difficult to break away at all.

“Wow. I may never want to leave if you keep that up.” Her eyes glittered with excitement as she climbed in behind the wheel and let me close the door to the cab. “I’ll go by my place after I meet up with Sean to pack up some things, and then I’ll meet you here later this afternoon?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I said, knowing a small bomb was about to go off and I was intentionally waiting till she was about to drive away to trip the wire.

Confusion twisted her gorgeous face as she tried to work out the meaning of what I said. Finally, she asked, “What do you mean, ‘don’t worry about it’?”

I winked, grinning like the bastard I was. “Elijah’s at your place right now, packing for you.” I gave the driver’s-side door a hearty double thump, turned on my heel, and strode into my house, quickly shutting the front door behind me.

Chapter Five

Abbigail

“How is this my life?” I asked of my reflection in the window at Belmont Brewing Company, where Sean was meeting me for lunch. It was one of our favorite places to meet, located on the ocean halfway between his home and mine.