Darren chuckled at me as he zipped his pants up. “You’re right. You’re too
goddamn gorgeous for me to ever stop.”
I shrugged. “It’s a curse.”
On a grin, Darren finished getting dressed, gathering his ripped clothing before
leaning over my still naked and flushed body for a long goodbye kiss.
“I’ll arrange for us to leave in a week. Right now, I have too much shit to do,” he
said getting up to leave. “I expect you to be asleep in my bed in less than twenty
minutes. Understand?”
“Yes, Darren,” I answered, trying to hide the annoyance in my voice and nearly
failing.
“Good girl,” he said and then shut the door behind him.
Once he was gone, I stood up and stretched my body, hoping to loosen my limbs
a little from the strain they’d just experienced. I then cleaned myself up, washed
my face, brushed my teeth, and changed into a little silk nightie before knocking on
my bedroom door. Blondie answered, only cracking the door enough for me to see
his face.
“I’m ready to go up to Darren’s room now.”
Blondie nodded, opening the door further so I could slip through. My bare feet
padded against the wooden floors as we walked through the halls and up the
carpeted stairs to Darren’s room. Exhaustion hit me the moment my head hit the
pillow, and I was out like a light.
Two hours later, I walked through my bedroom door, exhausted as fuck, but
everything I had just been dealing with instantly melted away the moment I saw
Jaden curled up in my bed. Her glossy red hair was splayed out all around her head
while she hugged the pillow to her chest. God, she was so fucking beautiful and so
fucking mine.
Stripping out of my clothes, I pulled the sheets down to get in beside her only to
find she was still in her little nightie. Clenching my jaw, I furrowed my brows in
irritation. Jaden knew better than this.
As carefully as I could, I pulled the nightie up her body, peeling it over her head
before she finally woke, allowing me to remove the damn thing fully.
“What are you…” she said sleepily, but I just shh’d her.
“You know the rules,” I said, tugging her thong down her legs.
“My bad.” She yawned, closing her eyes.
When she was as she should be, fully naked, I pulled her small body onto my
chest and eased into a comfortable position, pulling the sheet over her shoulders.
Wrapping my arms around her soft skin, Jaden settled into me quickly without
protest, her cheek resting on my shoulder while her tiny hand flattened on my
chest. Placing my hand over hers, I focused on obtaining that inner peace that she
brought me when she was quiet and cute like this. It was moments like these that I
craved—moments when my world finally came to a standstill because Jaden’s slow
rhythmic breathing was the only thing that had my attention. Moments when I was
deep inside her, and she was screaming my name while she erupted around me, and
I could get lost in all her pleasure. Moments when I could burn myself in the hateful
fire of her amber eyes and relish in the pain. Because it was her. Because she was
mine. And no one would jeopardize that. Ever. Anyone who tried to stand between
her and me would meet an end so brutal it would take days to clean up.
And I could feel that jeopardy rising. I still hadn’t located my snitch, and it was
aggravating the shit out of me. Another warehouse had been hit, and the moment I
found the little fucker, I was going to tear him apart. Slowly. I knew it wasn’t
Weldimer or his little gang. I hadn’t heard a peep from those fucks, and according
to Ronald, the transaction had gone through very smoothly. This warehouse was in
Chicago, and though the attackers were easily killed, they left no indication of who
they worked for. The protocol was to keep one of them alive for questioning, and
obviously, that hadn’t happened, so there was no one to retaliate against. I had no
leads. Nothing. Their guns had been purchased illegally with no serial number for
tracking. No wallets, no form of identification, not even a single tattoo to reveal
their loyalties.
Scouts had already been planted among my ranks and all over my warehouses to
sniff out the little fuck divulging information that didn’t belong to them. Sooner or
later, I always found them. It wasn’t the first time someone thought it was a good
idea to betray me, but I’d make damn sure it was the last.
Jaden released a quiet sleepy moan, her eyes wincing as she fidgeted. Bringing
me back to reality, I realized I had been squeezing her hand a little too tightly.
Instantly loosening my grip, Jaden relaxed against me, exhaling deeply through her
nose as she settled once again. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear,
feeling the silky strands between my fingers and appreciating how beautiful her
angelic face was when she slept.
Closing my eyes, I eased myself back into the pillows and allowed myself to bask
in the comfort of knowing Jaden was safe and
