“I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen,” I say, staring into them. “Like seriously, they are fucking turquoise or something. Insane. Sometimes they even look blue. Your eyes are like a mood ring.”
“Actually no one has ever told me that before,” he replies with a grin, satisfaction coming off him in waves. “But it’s now my all-time favorite compliment. And you know what? I can’t remember what color eyes I liked the best before you, but it’s been brown for a while now.”
I shake my head and smile at his charm. “Really? My mud-brown eyes?”
“They aren’t mud-brown. They are like chocolate and have a little bit of hazel in them, and they somehow manage to see right through me. So yeah, they are perfect. I fucking love chocolate,” he says, keeping his gaze on me. “So now I just have to look at you and show off my ocean eyes whenever you are mad at me? Are they my get-out-of-jail-free cards?”
I roll my eyes. “That compliment went right to your head, didn’t it? Now I know why no one else compliments you.”
He laughs, and I can’t help but just watch him.
He’s...something else.
He’s perfect, even with all of his flaws, and his cocky attitude and his history for sleeping with God only knows how many women.
He’s still perfect to me.
“I don’t care about anyone else’s compliments, Cara. Just yours alone will get me through the night.” He puts the rest of his food aside and cuddles up to me. “I feel...happy.”
The way he says it makes it sound like it’s a foreign feeling to him. “Lots of sex will do that to you.”
But we both know it’s not just that.
He’s had lots of sex before, but sex with emotion is a whole different ballgame.
“Yeah, with you,” he replies quietly, then stands up in all of his naked glory. “I’m going to have a shower—do you want to join me?”
“I’d love to,” I reply, checking him out as he disappears into the bathroom.
We are playing a very dangerous game here. I know it, and I know he does.
We just don’t care anymore.
And that’s what makes it even more terrifying.
* * *
“Well, if it isn’t Little Miss Hussy,” Clover drawls as soon as I step back into her living room.
I smile and sit down across from her. “I know, I shouldn’t have gone...but I wanted to and I don’t regret it, and I’m in a good mood because I spent all day having hot sex. And I was safe.”
“You mean sexually safe, or safe from the people who potentially want to kill you in revenge for what your ex-boyfriend did?”
I pause. “Both.”
“Then you better have been having hot sex, because you literally chose Decker’s penis over your own life.”
I roll my eyes. “You are so dramatic.” Fire comes over to cuddle me. “Hello, my gorgeous girl.”
“Don’t kiss her, we know where your mouth has been,” Clover mutters under her breath, unable to keep a straight face. “Are you going to tell me all about it or not?”
“Are you going to keep giving me shit or not?” I reply, arching my brow.
“I’m sorry, but I want you to be safe. I was having high anxiety thinking about you getting railed and not paying attention and someone taking advantage of that and shooting you or something.”
“You were thinking about me getting railed?” I ask, covering Fire’s ears.
Clover laughs and shrugs. “You know what I mean. So no regrets, huh?”
“None.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you like this,” she confesses quietly. She shrugs, tucking her dark hair back behind her ear. “Like you’re living again. Like you’re happy. Present. Living your best life. Look at you; you can’t stop smiling.”
“I feel happy,” I agree, ducking my face. “Maybe it’s selfish, I don’t know, but I like him.”
My phone chimes with a text from Con, who I’ve been in contact with pretty much every day since I saw her.
Con: When are you free this week? Want to go out for dinner and a movie or something?
“How do I explain to Con that I can’t go out to play right now because people are trying to kidnap me as revenge for something my biker ex-boyfriend did?” I ask out loud. I don’t want Con to feel like I’m blowing her off. I do want to get to know her, but the timing is just really bad.
Clover winces, her eyes on her daughter, who is now sitting on the floor playing with her toys. “Yeah, I don’t know about that one. I mean, you don’t want her dragged into this bullshit, too. I don’t think she would be able to fight off two grown men like you did.”
Clover is right. I don’t want Con to be tied into any of this, and I don’t want to see her get hurt. It’s safer for her if she’s not seen with me in public at all.
Cara: Hey, things are a little hectic here right now. Do you mind if we make it next week or so?
Con: No problem. Hope things are okay?”
Cara: I’m fine, just haven’t been feeling that great.
I mean, technically not a lie.
Con: I hope you feel better.
Yeah, me too.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Decker
After dropping Cara back home, I head into my office to finish up some of the last cases I’ll be working on until all of this drama is over.
Nadia comes in and I get up to give her a big hug. “I owe you one.”
“For what?” she asks, looking up at me suspiciously.
“What do you mean for what? You talked the MC into helping Cara. You are literally the best friend a guy could ask for.”
She pauses. “Did you ever think they’re doing it for you? You’ve helped them out in the past, and they consider you a friend. Why wouldn’t they help you? Trust me, I didn’t even have to beg them. I just mentioned it, and they took it from there.”
“Really?”
She nods and steps around me to head to her desk. “Nice that you think I have that much pull, though.”
“Well, Trade does, and he’d do anything for you, so...”
“That is true, but this time I didn’t have to do any convincing. You helped me in finding their bad apple and getting Ariel’s murderer, so as they see it, they owe you multiple favors,” she says, opening up her laptop.