Maybe it was something more than what I wanted to admit.
“You’re tied to me now forever,” Burke said.
It wasn’t his usual voice. There was no arrogance behind it. In fact, it sounded very dangerous.
“At least for the foreseeable future, I need to be with you.”
“You need to be?”
Even if my mind and my words were saying two different things, at least the way Burke was explaining the situation made it easy to seem outraged. I just couldn’t say if this would remain the case for long.
“Yes.”
“And why the hell is that?”
He grimaced for a second and looked away, like he was contemplating something. But when he finally did look back at me, there was no hesitation and no indecision in his eyes.
“Our greatest enemy is a man named Snake, and that is the guy that did this to me,” he said, motioning to himself. “We’ve tried now twice to bring him down, and it hasn’t worked out. We’ve got reason to believe he’s going to come after us and those we love and care about. Scott and Liam have their families, including Kelly and her kids, in Maine. I told them you weren’t going to leave work, but I at least need to stay here and protect you and…our babies.”
Was this for real? My life had just started to get boring. And now I was to believe that a situation like Sean was going to happen all over again?
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am completely serious. I need to protect you.”
“Oh, fuck off,” I said, feeling a little condescended to. “Kelly’s in a far different spot. She’s been with Liam for over a year now. You and I? We’ve been talking for, what, a month? You’re not my boyfriend, much less my husband. I’m not even showing that I’m pregnant.”
“It doesn’t matter. Snake has ways of finding out. He could be watching us right now.”
“So go away if you’re just going to bring him to me!”
I was not acting in the right headspace. These DOM guys hadn’t brought my ex to me, quite the opposite, actually. If this “Snake” guy was coming for me, I needed help.
And yet…it just didn’t feel right at all. Like why should Burke get to act like an enormous jackass to me and suddenly be my knight in shining armor?
Why was life playing out like this?
“I promise you that Snake already knows or knows how to find out. It doesn’t matter if I hideout in Japan. He knows coming for you will drag me out, and if he’s prepared, he can easily kill me.”
“So how would you kill him?”
He shrugged so easily.
“If he doesn’t have the element of set up, it’s an even fight at worst.”
He says as if it’s just a question of who pays for dinner. Jesus Christ.
“Look, if Snake shows up, I’ll call and ask for help. It’ll be like Sean.”
“This is nothing like that,” Burke said with such forcefulness I literally took a step back. “Sean was just an asshole. Snake is an international criminal mastermind. You know the Mexican cartel? They work for him. Terrorist groups? Same. He’s not named Snake for nothing. You call the police, and you know what happens? You’re never found again. I am the only person that can help you right now.”
I stared right into his eyes when he said that, and he stared right back at me. And for several moments, that was all that we did. I had to say, goodness, there was something just so tense and erotic about the strength of his stare. I felt like I would wilt just looking into his eyes, he had such authority and power about him.
I almost wondered if we were about to kiss. That’s how intense that gaze was. If anyone came upon us right now, it was going to be incredibly awkward.
“I am not going to put your life at risk any more than I already have,” Burke finally said, though his gaze never wavered. “I will protect you at all costs.”
“Then at least at this moment, you need to leave,” I said. “I have work to do. And yes, I know, Snake could come to my work. But if he’s as cunning as you say he is, he’s not going to kidnap me in the middle of an office. So leave me alone.”
Burke blinked. He muttered under his breath. And finally, he nodded.
He left down the stairs, limping more than I’d noticed before. And he was going to protect me from a criminal mastermind?
The thought should have made me laugh at its absurdity.
But instead, I was feeling something strange. I was feeling appreciative. I was feeling…
I was feeling for him again.
I just still didn’t know if it was an actual good idea or not.
Chapter 20: Burke
If Emily was truly going to reject my help, if she was going to turn me down in a moment when her life could be at risk, if she was going to say no at an hour when she most needed it, the only thing I could conclude was that I could only do so much.
It was my own damn fault, of course. Just like it was my own damn fault that I’d never had a serious relationship but this is why. Everyone I touch eventually is in danger.
That didn’t mean that it didn’t suck all the fucking same.
I couldn’t ignore that Snake would come after her, so I chose for the rest of the day not to go any further than the hotel that I’d procured in between her office and her home. But I also vowed that I wouldn’t go near her unless I saw Snake or one of his goons making a beeline for her. She’d made her
