Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
Milo
Retreating to the bedroom when we got to the penthouse gave me an opportunity to settle down. The altercation with Medina brought the danger too close to Sable. That should never have happened.
His obsession with her was escalating, and I had to find a way to stop it. No good could come from the attention of a sex trafficker. I hadn’t figured out if he set his sights on her because he wanted her for himself or if it was a way to get to me. Either way, I had to shut him down.
The attention he showed her was alarming, and not because I was possessive. I’d fucking kill anyone who thought they could take her from me. But this was different. His attention could cause catastrophic destruction.
“Milo.” Sable came into the room. “I know you’re upset with me.”
“Do you know why?” I finished my drink and set the glass on the floor by the chair.
“I have an idea.”
“Let me enlighten you.” I stood but kept my distance, because every time I thought about her stopping me from doing what needed to be done, I wanted to throttle her. “You interfered in my business.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“That’s not true.” I pointed at her. “You made a conscious decision to stop me from reaching for my gun. Do you know how dangerous that was?”
“I wanted to help you.”
“Except you didn’t help me.” I stalked toward her. “You showed my enemy that I have a weakness. You put yourself in the line of fire. It all could have gone sideways if Medina had pulled his gun and shot at me while I was distracted.”
She could have caught a stray bullet. I could have been shot because I was distracted. One of my men could have been killed. The scenarios were endless, and she was clueless when it came to the danger.
“I’m not your weakness.” She retreated back but I caught her arm. “I didn’t mean to imply that you couldn’t handle Diego."
“Stop calling him by his first name!” I clenched my fists. “I don’t like it.”
“Sorry.” She cowered. “I didn't want anything to escalate on the street.”
“That wasn’t your call to make.” I gripped her arm. “I have lawyers for that sort of thing."
“I apologize for getting in the middle of your business, but I’m not sorry for trying to protect you.” She tried to struggle out of my hold, but I didn’t relent. “I could have stayed downstairs and hid from you, but I came up here to tell you that you don’t get to shut me out.”
“Really?” I let go of her arm, intrigue coursing through the veins that were already flowing with rage. “Why do you think you can tell me what I can do?”
“I’m not telling you what to do, but if we’re going to make this relationship work, you can’t walk away anymore.” She tapped her chest. “You have to face me head-on and you have to accept that this is a partnership. You can’t have all the control.”
Her declaration aroused me more than it should have. I liked Sassy Sable. But that didn’t mean I was going to let her rule with her emotions. That could get her killed in my world.
“You don’t have to apologize to me,” I said. “But I can’t condone what you did tonight. It was reckless and stupid.”
“Even if my actions were stupid—”
“They were.”
“That still doesn’t mean you get to walk away from me when I make a mistake.”
“I didn’t walk away from you because you made a mistake.” Didn’t she know that I was incapable of leaving her? I was far too selfish for that. “I created some distance because I needed a chance to get my shit together. Medina’s presence has me twisted in ways that I’m not familiar with.”
“What do you mean?”
When she moved closer to the heating vent, I realized she had been shivering. I had been so angry that I failed to take care of her. I needed to get my head screwed on straight.
“I don’t make rash decisions. It’s not like me to pull my gun on a public street without a plan in place.” I arched a brow at her. “That doesn’t mean that you trying to stop me was right, but the fact that I did it proves how out of sorts I am.”
“Because of me?”
“You’re freezing.” I extended my hand for her. “That’s what happens when you stand outside in a winter storm. No common sense.” I shook my head. “Why didn’t you get in the car where it was warm and dry?”
“I guess I wasn’t thinking about myself.”
“You have to think about yourself."
“I need to get changed.”
“You need a hot shower.” I tugged her into the bathroom. “Let’s get this dress off.”
“Aren’t we in the middle of an argument?”
“We can argue in the shower.” I turned her around, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “You really are the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.”
“How can you say that?” She pushed her unruly, wet curls from her face. “I look like a drowned rat.”
“Well, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a sexier rat.” I reached for the clasp on her dress, pressing my thumb into her spine as I lowered the zipper. “Let’s not fight.”
“I’m still trying to figure out your life and where I fit in.”
“You belong with me.”
When she turned to face me, I slid the dress off her shoulders and down her body. I bent down and helped her step out of it, smiling on my way back up when I remembered her panties were still in my jacket pocket.
“Be careful with that dress,” she said. “I have a feeling it cost a lot of money.”
If she knew how much money, she wouldn’t have let me feed her chocolate or bunch it around her hips when I fucked her with my tongue.
“It’s only money.” I tossed it on the counter. “I’ll have it cleaned tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to wear it again.”
“Maybe next time the night won’t end in such a clusterfuck.” I opened the shower stall door and turned on the faucet. “Get in.”
“The night isn’t over.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she stepped into the spacious stall. “It doesn’t have to end badly if we don’t let it.”
I focused on her ass as I tugged down my pants and kicked them out of the way. “I guess we’ll see how the shower goes.”
“I was trying to help you.”
“Helping me could get you killed.” I moved behind her and encircled my arm around her waist, bringing her back close to my chest. “I can’t risk you.”
“You didn’t.” She rested the back of her head on my shoulder when I caressed her stomach. “I shouldn't have interfered, but the same way you worry about me is how I feel when you’re in those situations. It’s much worse for me.”
“What makes you say that?” I reached for the body wash and squirted it into my hand. “Why would me being in danger be any worse for you?”
“Because I know you’ll protect me,” she said. “Who has your back?”
“I have men who are paid plenty of money to protect me.”
“But that leaves me with no control.”
“It’s not your job to protect me.” I glided my soapy hands over her breasts, covering them in thick, white bubbles. “I can take care of myself.”
“But what if I want to take care of you?”
“There are other ways for you to do that.” I skimmed my slippery fingers down her stomach and to her hips. “None of them involve you putting yourself in danger or obstructing me from doing my job.”
I slipped my hands to her inner thighs, lathering the soap along her silky flesh. As the hot water rained over our bodies, I pushed my hips forward and slid my cock between her legs.
“Milo,” she moaned when I rubbed my length against her slit.
“These are the things you can do for me.” I circled my finger along the apex of her thigh. “You can relieve my stress and be close to me when I’m feeling trapped.”
“Are you trapped now?” When she turned to face me, my erection poked into her flat stomach. She wrapped her palm around it, gripping it hard and moving her wrist in quick jerks.
“I am.” I backed her against the wall while the bubbles from her body coated the tiles beneath us and swirled down the drain. “I’m in an impossible situation. One I’ve never faced before.”
I had always been able to do what had to be done.
There was never anyone to worry about. If I made a wrong move, it could be fixed, because I could fix anything.
But with her in my life, I wasn’t as sure of myself.
Dealing with Medina made everything so unpredictable because it wasn’t just myself I had to consider.
One mistake and I could put her in jeopardy. I wasn’t used to thinking about anything other than the mission. Those assignments never included a woman I loved with my entire heart and soul. I couldn’t risk her being a casualty in my brutal world.
“Will this help?” She dropped to her knees, staring up at me with more trust than I deserved.
“I won’t stop you.” I twisted her wet hair away from her face until I wound it into a tight ponytail. “I want to come in your mouth.”
“I can make that happen.” She gripped me in her hand and licked my tip before covering my shaft in her mouth, deep-throating me faster than I had anticipated.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
She bobbed her head back and forth, scraping the back of my length with her teeth and pressing her tongue against the vein close to my balls.
As I tugged on her hair, I thrust my pelvis forward, trying to hold off the climax that was gaining on me. I wanted to savor the heat of her mouth engulfing my hard cock, but the more she sucked, the faster I soared to the point of no return and then…
“Sable,” I growled, and on a long exhale, I shot into her mouth, releasing all of the tension this night had filled me with. I needed that. I needed her.
She drew her head back, dragging her lips and tongue along my length until she released me. I let go of her hair and rubbed my fingers through her tangled, thick mane.
“You helped.” I swiped my thumb across her bottom lip. “More than you know.”
I extended my hand for her and helped her to her feet. Bringing her close to me, I held the side of her face as I kissed her long and slow.
“I’m sorry our first Valentine’s Day didn’t go as planned,” I said.
“It had its moments.”
“I love you so much.” I brushed my lips over hers. “When you tried to stop me from pulling my gun, I lost it, but that’s not what set me off.”
It was Medina’s obvious obsession with her. I couldn’t tell if it was a tactic to throw me off or if it was something more. I wasn’t going to wait to find out.
“I won’t interfere again.”
“It isn’t normal the way he acts around you.” I let go of her and turned off the faucet. “If something happened to you and I didn’t do something, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
I stepped out of the stall and wrapped a towel around my waist before spreading open an oversized towel for her. She maneuvered against it as I secured it around her.
“I know I’m safe with you,” she said.
I used a separate towel to dry the drops of water from her shoulders and the edges of her hair. She wasn’t going to like what I requested next, but it was my only option.
“I’m going to make arrangements for you to leave with Ax tonight.” I continued to dry her hair. “I need you to pack a small bag, and I’ll send you whatever else you need.”
“No!” She backed away from me. “I chose to be with you."
“I allowed it because I thought I could contain Medina, but he’s too fucking brazen, and that bothers me.” Why couldn’t she agree to this for me? Didn’t she know my sanity depended on it?
“I’m not going.” She stormed out of the bathroom. “Come up with another plan."
“There is no other plan.” I hurried after her. “I’ll throw you in the car in your pajamas and I‘ll send you your things.”
“Listen to yourself.” She let out a frustrated breath. “You can’t send me away if I don’t want to go. I’m an adult, capable of making my own decisions. I knew exactly who you were when I got together with you. I knew you weren’t a car salesmen. Your gun and your last name gave it away.”
“Don’t kid yourself.” I recalled the night I found her fidgeting at the bar. “You had no idea who I was and what I was capable of, because if you did, you never would have come to me the night Bello came after Chance.”
“That’s why I came to you. I knew you could help us.” She dug in deeper, driving her point home. “You told me you were more dangerous than the man I was running from. I believed you.”
I may have been more dangerous than Bello, but I wasn’t certain I could say that I was more lethal than Medina. A person who does the things he does can’t have a soul, and when you’re soulless nothing is off the table.
“You drew me in from the start, and you can’t send me away now for being who I knew you were all along,” she said. “I won’t let you.”
“I won’t compromise on your safety.”
“Milo.”
“Not now! Not ever!” I rammed my hand into the wall. “You are not going to end up in pieces all over the driveway.”
I closed my eyes, desperately trying to quiet the sound of the thundering explosion that took my mother’s life all those years ago. It was louder than ever before.
“Or worse, become human merchandise in Medina’s sick trafficking operation.”