Page 89 of Ruthless Ambition
Her hair was a long and tangled mess around her. I don’t know how she wasn’t choking on it as it wrapped around her throat, but the idea it gave me made me move a little closer.
“Onyx,” she cried out. “Help me,” she whispered as she twisted again, and I reached out to catch her hand, giving it a small squeeze before I let go.
Quietly, I made my way around the bed and carefully climbed under the covers. Moving closer, I gently caught her arm and rolled her into me. With my arm around her, I pulled her in tighter. “Shh,” I whispered. “I’m here.”
She was restless for a few moments more, and then she breathed in deeply. “Onyx,” she sighed, and then she was still.
Surprised, I looked down at her as she slept by my side. I brought her peace? Well, that was new. Angel burrowed in closer, and with a sigh of resignation, I closed my eyes. So much for boundaries.
In the morning, I woke before her and made my way back to my own room. Changing into my sweats, I headed down to the gym, disabling the alarm as I did so.
My house was secure. My house was so damn secure that even my little brothers couldn’t hack into my system, and although Ash had gotten through once, he had never managed it again when I upgraded the security software.
Even with the ground floor deactivated, the doors and the windows were still alarmed.
As I ran my miles, I looked up when she came down to the basement, a bathrobe on.
“Hey,” she greeted me. “I got into a routine, for being in the hotel for such a short time, so I get up early to use the pool,” she said as she looked over at my indoor pool. “Can I?” She opened her robe. “Brought my own this time,” she tried to joke as she showed me her modest swimsuit.
“Go ahead. You drown before I’m done, I’m not jumping in to save you.”
Angel fought her smile. “I would never expect you to,” she said as she walked over to the pool area, and laying the robe on a lounger, she slipped into the water. Even from here, I could hear her hiss of appreciation before she tipped her head back.
Pulling her goggles on, she shook her head and then started her laps. As I ran, I watched her methodically swim her lengths, never pausing. Her stamina was impressive, and a sense of contentment fell over me. Running was my outlet. I could run for miles, a trait my youngest brother, Gray, appreciated. It cleared my mind, unclouded my judgment, and gave me a sense of Zen.
The only time I was content was when I was running, my mind free to analyze all my problems and keep going.
She finished her laps before I stopped running, and I liked that she didn’t fool around in the water afterward; she exited thepool, picked up her robe, and with a small wave of her hand, she headed back upstairs.
Simple and easy. The way I liked it.
When I was done, I jumped into the pool myself and swam a few lengths, and then, refreshed and energized, I headed upstairs. I heard the soft hum of her muttering as I passed the kitchen, and I detoured out of curiosity.
“What’s wrong?”
Angel yelped and turned to look at me with annoyance. “Creeping about bastard,” she hissed, causing me to smile. “I can’t work this stupid fancy machine,” she confessed.
Checking the clock on the wall, I shrugged. “Leave it. It’ll be on in five minutes; you don’t need to do anything.”
“Oh.” She frowned at it and then at me. “I didn’t know ones this fancy did that.”
Angel padded past me. “Your pool was great, like swimming in a bath,” she added. She headed up the stairs, and I followed, watching her ass under the robe, knowing I probably shouldn’t.
We headed to our separate rooms, and after getting ready for work, I went back downstairs. While I ate my breakfast, she came down dressed for work. “Can you take me to work with you?”
“I thought you were taking a day?” I asked as I finished my cereal.
“Lucky Charms?”
“They’re magically delicious.” Looking at my bowl, I shrugged. “Not what you expected?”
Angel shrugged as she poured a coffee. “All that sugar? Now I know why you’re an overbearing asshole.”
Dropping my bowl in the sink, I finished my coffee. “Luckyhas nothing to do with my charm,” I taunted her as I passed. “I’m leaving in five minutes,” I called over my shoulder.
“I’m ready now,” she sassed back, and I was smiling as I headed up to my room.
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