Chapter 28
1203words
Legs still trembling, I collapse into one of the chairs while Zade goes to the adjoining bathroom to take care of the condom.
He returns to the room and heads straight for my couch, throwing his large frame across it while twirling the transparent plastic hairpin between his hands. The tension is beginning to settle back into his shoulders, but I'm surprised when he asks, 'How was your day?"
It's a simple question, really, but somehow, it almost feels more intimate than the sex we just had.
Like the first orgasm he ever gave me.
Like that single hand he had on my back at Rafe's funeral.
Like the bandage he put over my palm on Mud Night. All those times he puts his feelings aside to cater to me.
'It was alright. A bit manic in the morning with an accidental double booking, but we managed in the end." I kick off my heels so my legs are less shaky, then stand and head for the hidden closet on the far wall. I grab the suitcase stashed inside.
'Do you have other clients who have, or may have ties to the underworld?" Zade asks.
'Like you, you mean?" I unzip the suitcase and rummage through it.
'I'm not your client, fiammetta. I'm the twisted fuck who wants to ruin you."
That should scare me, given what I'm starting to feel for the man, but it doesn't. 'I suppose that's a leg up from the twisted fuck who wants to kill me."
'Damn straight," he deadpans. Then, as if just noticing what I'm doing, he asks, 'You keep a suitcase full of clothes at your office?" He stands as I pull out a fresh shirt.
'Yup," I say, shrugging out of the torn one and slipping the silk top over my head.
'Why?" he asks. He's moved beside me and now peers into the bag.
'For when clients ruin my clothes during sex," I say, pleased with my straight face.
He cuts me a look, brows drawn down in irritation.
I laugh, 'Let me guess; you were a virgin up until we screwed each other's brains out the other night?"
'That's not the point," Zade snaps.
'What's the point then?"
'I don't fucking share, Sapphire. Just so we're clear, I'll put a bullet in anyone who looks at you wrong, much less touches you. And," he holds my gaze steadily, 'I'll sleep like a baby after."
I laugh, knowing the way his words warm me indicates that there must be something seriously wrong with me. 'Okay, fine. And just so you know, I don't share either."
'Why do you think I flew back from Las Vegas last night?"
Suddenly, his blue eyes are too intense. Too serious
'You did that?"
He ignores my question and instead asks, 'You still haven't told me why you have a suitcase full of clothes."
I explain, feeling slightly sheepish. 'It's… an emergency bag for if I ever need to grab and go,"
He looks at me; the wheels are turning behind his eyes.
'Is this where you point out that women in nice, ‘new-life boxes' don't need grab bags?" I ask, cringing just a little because he wouldn't be wrong there.
But he shakes his head. 'It's smart, Sapphire. I like that about you."
I open my mouth to respond—though I'm not quite sure what to say—but he beats me to it.
'So, what's wrong with Mariana?" he asks casually, dropping into my chair. He grabs the round crystal paperweight on my desk, slowly turning it around.
'Mariana?" I repeat, confused. 'I haven't spoken to her, not since the phone call you already know about."
'I mean, what's wrong with her? Why was she coming to see you as a therapist?"
Okay, we've gone from exclusive sex, to grab bags, to clients. Pretty sure I'm going to end up with whiplash here, given Zade's tendency to flit from one subject to another without warning.
'I can't tell you that," I say because even if it wasn't a therapist-client thing, Mariana has kept her condition secret her entire life. I'm not sure she'd appreciate me blabbing about it.
'Why not?" he asks. 'You saw the news, didn't you? Mariana Ricci is dead."
I roll my eyes. 'But I know she isn't, Zade."
He looks at me for a moment, then nods. 'I like that about you too."
I cock an eyebrow at him. 'My argumentative side? Yeah, I hear it's a fan favorite."
He grabs my hand and pulls me onto his lap. 'Your integrity," he says as he runs his fingers down the side of my face. The touch feels more than sexual; it feels intimate.
I scoff, brushing off his words and the touch at the same time. 'I'm sleeping with a criminal after committing to rid that element from my life. I'm not sure my integrity counts for a whole lot at the moment."
'I disagree," he says. 'You never really committed to such a thing. You only thought you did." For emphasis, he pulls on my waist-length hair.
The reason I couldn't cut my hair is the same reason I have kept my knife on me all the time since cutting ties with my home four years ago. But it's a reason I refuse to let myself examine to any great depth. 'I need a haircut." A proper one this time, not just a trimming of split ends.
'You needed one two years ago, baby," he smirks, looking far too smug. The glint in his eyes tells me that he knows why I haven't touched my hair.
I roll my eyes, forcing my mind back onto the subject at hand. 'Why are you even asking about Mariana?"
He shrugs as he leans back against my chair. 'Mariana is very picky about those she trusts, but she trusts you. And it sounds like you know her very well."
Something about his words doesn't sit right, but I can't put a finger on it. Zade seems worried about her. Is that why he's tense today? 'Are Mariana and Victoria okay?"
'Sì, of course," he says. It doesn't sound like he's lying, and nothing about his body language suggests otherwise.
'Where is she?"
'You shouldn't really be asking me that."
'Ugh." I roll my eyes. I'll never fully understand his obsession with secrecy, even when there's clearly no reason. 'You do realize I could ask Mariana this the next time she calls."
'So, ask her, then," he replies.
'I'm asking you, Zade."
He narrows his gaze at me and grinds his molars, debating whether to answer my question. It's just one location, one that shouldn't mean anything to either of us, but somehow, it's like crossing a significant line.
Finally, Zade says, 'Cozumel, Mexico."
I huff out a breath. 'Thank you."
'For what?" he grumbles.
I shrug. 'Trusting me, I suppose. It seems like a little thing, but I know it's a big deal for you, Zade."
He grunts. 'Do you really?"
