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I chuckled. “Woman, ain’t shit wrong with my jaw.”

“And your business face is the one you just made. You stop smiling, stop blinking, and suddenly you look like somebody owes you money.”

I let out a laugh. “My face ain’t mean.”

“It is when you’re conducting business.” Her teasing eased as concern slipped into her tone. “Is everything okay?”

I exhaled and reached for my keys again.

That was the part I hated.

I never liked bringing Lakelyn into my business. She knew what I did because I had never insulted her intelligence by pretending all my money came from clean investments and legitimate companies. Drugs moved through my hands, money came back, and a whole lot of people made their living because of where I sat in the chain.

Still, knowing what I did and being involved in it were two very different things.

That world I operated in was cutthroat as fuck, and mistakes came with consequences that weren’t always financial. One bad decision could cost somebody money, freedom, or their life. I had worked too hard to keep Lakelyn away from that side of me to start sitting in her bedroom giving her play-by-play explanations every time somebody under me fucked up.

When I stepped into her space, I tried to leave as much of that shit outside as possible.

Lakelyn was one of the few things in my life that didn’t feel tangled up in business, power, money, or somebody needing something from me. With her, I could just be Caspian, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Somebody messed something up,” I finally told her.

Her playful expression eased. “Bad?”

“Bad enough to annoy me.”

She searched my face for a second before asking, “Annoy you enough to mess up tonight?”

That almost made me laugh.

“Nah.” I reached for her waist and pulled her closer. “Nobody’s fuckup is messing up tonight. But it’s nothing for you to worry about, though. Nothing from out there touches what we got in here. You understand me? Nothing.”

Lakelyn studied me for another second, then nodded like she understood that was probably all she was getting.

And it was…. because whatever had gone wrong, I’d fix it.

I always did.

I kissed her once more before letting her go, already mentally rearranging the rest of my day.

I had a shipment problem to fix, money to account for, a few people who needed straightening out, and a jeweler to meet. If everything went according to plan, all of it would be handled before five.

Whatever happened, Lakelyn wasn’t going to be the thing for which I was late.

She slipped into the robe, cinched the belt around her waist, and followed me out of the bedroom, her bare feet padding softly across the floor as we made our way toward the stairs.

At the top, I stopped and turned to face her. “I don’t care how long you make me wait.”

Lakelyn eyed me with that soft, knowing expression she always seemed to have when she could tell there was more on my mind than I was saying, before replying, “Wait for what?”

“For you to stop being stubborn and come home to me.”

Her expression softened, lips parting slightly. “Caspian—”

“When you’re ready, I'll be there… always.”

“You better.” She smiled, and there went that damn feeling again, like no matter how much shit I had going on, she could quiet all of it with one look.