Page 116 of Be With Me
We were at her studio and she was in her element. Her expression was taut with focus, the soft glow of the desk lamp casting shadows over the delicate curves of her face. Even exhausted, she was fucking beautiful.
She glanced up, catching me staring. “You know, you don’t have to stay. You’re probablysobored.”
Bored? I was entranced. Seeing her like this stirred something in me. I was an intruder on her process, but I didn’t give a fuck. She could try to get me out of here all she wanted. I wasn’t leaving. This area was safe during the day, but all kinds of fucked-up shit happened in New York during the late hours of the night. I’d know.
“I’m not going anywhere. You need someone to keep an eye on you.”
A smile tugged on her lips. “How noble.”
Noble? I was only indulging my obsession.
I dragged my thumb over my bottom lip, my body heavy against the armrest as I took her in. I was soaking up every moment while I could, knowing that soon enough, I wouldn’t have this.
I had power, strength, and money that could buy almost anything.
But it was useless when it came to solving the only problem I cared about. Keeping her.
There was softness in her gaze when she looked at me now, which made me think she was once again looking for the good inside my myriad of bad. If we woke up one day in a different country with no pasts and no history, maybe thisthingbetween us could stand a real chance.
But that was a dream. Detached from reality.
My problem remained, and it had no solution at all.
The air in my lungs thinned.
I pushed off the chair, needing something to do, needing space from the thoughts clawing at my head. “I’m going to get us something to eat.”
She kept writing. “I’m not hungry. I’d kill for a coffee, though.”
“You haven’t had dinner. You’ll need the energy if you’re pulling an all-nighter.”
“You’re very bossy. You know that?” Her gaze flicked up, playful.
I rounded the desk and slid my fingers into her hair, gripping just enough to tip her head back.
Her lips parted. Her brown eyes went wide. Her elegant throat arched, bared for me like an offering.
My fist tightened in her hair. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it when I boss you around, Berry.”
Her tongue darted out to swipe across her lip, and I bent down and kissed her.
Heat dripped into my veins. Blood rushed to my cock. Her scent wrapped around me, slipping into my tight lungs.
She smelled the way she always did—like my undoing.
Ten minutes later, the damp brick pressed into my back as I stood outside the sushi joint and waited for my order. A cool mist had settled over the city, but my thoughts were an angry blaze.
In some ways, the short time we'd had together was for the best. She’d see the parts of me I wanted her to see, but she'd never get close enough to touch the rot inside me.
She was too fucking good for me.
If she knew the things I’d done, she’d run and never look back.
I ran my fingers through my hair, exhaling hard.
The clock was ticking. We were less than a month out from the election, and according to Mother, the world was ending. Morales was still winning. The Colombians still hadn’t signed the deal. And it was only a matter of time before she started asking me again about Mia.
It was that last one that made a chill creep into my bones. How far was I willing to go to protect her?
