Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
All she had to do was relax and let go.
You’re safe. You’ve probably never felt more safe.
Ethan has you.
He won’t let you fail.
But she really didn’t want to fail him.
She wanted to try and make this work. For as long as he was here, anyway.
But did he want other people to know?
“I understand if you need to keep this a secret. Will you want me to not touch you in front of others?”
“Why the fuck would I want to keep you a secret?” he snapped.
She jumped, her breath catching in her throat.
Was he angry? She hadn’t meant to make him angry. What had she said?
Idiot.
This was bound to happen because you have no idea what you’re doing.
“Cate. Hey, baby, come back to me. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
She blinked up at him, surprised to find that he’d turned so his feet were on the floor. He had his hands on her cheeks.
“There you are,” he said on a sigh.
“I didn’t go anywhere.”
“Not physically, but you were retreating into your head and I don’t think that’s a very nice place to be. I don’t think you’re very kind to yourself there.”
“You’re very good at reading people. Must be an advantage with your job.”
“It is. But I wish I could read you better. I’m so sorry, baby. I wasn’t angry at you and I shouldn’t have snapped like that.”
“I can be frustrating—”
“Cate, no,” he said firmly. “I am sorry for snapping. I am going to try and work on that. I told you I wouldn’t get angry at you, and I wasn’t but you didn’t know that. So it feels like I broke my word which I do not like.”
“You weren’t angry at me?”
“Baby, no. I was upset because I know that your family, and I use that word loosely, eroded your self-esteem, your feeling of self-worth. Because you should never accept being someone’s dirty little secret, understand?”
He cupped her chin, his gaze intent on hers.
“But—”
“I am not ashamed of you.”
“Oh.” That was sweet, but he was missing the point of her question. “I was thinking about your job. Will Ink be upset with you for starting a relationship with me while you’re working for me? Well, for Rhodes, I guess. He might be upset.”
“Rhodes is definitely going to be upset. He’s already warned me.”
“He what?” Now it was her turn to feel angry. “He has no right to do that. I’m a grown woman.”
“He feels protective of you. I get that since I feel the same way. But you’re right, he doesn’t have the right to dictate who you date. Neither does Ink. Yeah, it skates a line but if the worst comes to the worst, I’ll quit.”
“Quit?”
“Quit this particular job, I mean. I would stay on as your guard without pay.”
He would?
Wow.
“But I honestly think Ink will be fine with it as long as you are. Rhodes would be the real issue.”
“I’ll take care of Rhodes. So we can be open about this?” she asked.
“Baby, I won’t allow anything less. I want to be able to touch you whenever I like. To claim you. To show everyone who you belong to.”
She blushed.
“And who I belong to.”
Cate couldn’t stop herself from burying her face in his chest. She felt overwhelmed but in a good way for once.
A light chuckle escaped him, and he rubbed her back with long, slow strokes.
“Good girl. Such a brave girl for me. Now, I think you’ve had enough tonight. How about we snuggle under your blanket and watch a movie?”
Yeah. She thought that sounded perfect.
33
The car rammed into the back of them and she screamed as their SUV spun.
They were going to be run off the road! They were about to get killed!
“Ethan!” she screamed.
“I’m here, baby. I’m here.”
“Ethan!”
The car struck again. The SUV flipped. Over and over it tumbled.
“Baby, wake up! Wake up!”
She stirred, finding herself lying upside down. Turning her head, she looked for Ethan.
“Ethan!”
He lay there, eyes open, staring at her.
Dead.
He was dead.
The sobs ripped her apart . . .
Alarm filled Ethan as he heard her scream. He sat up, looking around. Shit. They’d fallen asleep in the living room.
Cate thrashed around and he grabbed hold of her as terror raced through him. She sounded so scared as she screamed.
“Ethan!”
“Baby, you’re all right. I’m here. Everything is fine. I’m right here. Open your eyes. Cate, wake up!” he commanded.
She woke up with a gasp and looked around. Ethan waited to see if she knew where she was.
She was breathing heavily, shivers rocking her body.
He should have known that she’d have a nightmare tonight. After everything that happened, it had been kind of inevitable.
Was she going to slip into Little headspace now? Would she get upset at him being here?
A whimper escaped her, but it was slightly muffled, and he drew back to see that she had her thumb in her mouth.