heap.
I felt high—or what I guessed being high was like. My head was floaty and empty. My body was hyperaware of everything and yet nothing. I couldn’t think or move or function. I was just… there. Happy and peaceful and detached and high.
I didn’t even jolt when I was suddenly up in Maximo’s arms, not having the energy or desire to ask where he was carrying me. A moment later, we sank into a hot bath before he settled me on his lap with his arms locked around me. Resting my cheek on his chest, I savored the bubble of serenity I was floating in.
The heat and water soaked into my tense muscles, soothing the raw skin and deep ache I’d gotten from his palm and his dick. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before I sat up and became aware of multiple things at once.
First, I was starving. My stomach was growling loudly for carbs and comfort food.
Next, I was completely at ease—mind, body, and soul. It was an all-encompassing tranquility I’d never experienced.
Last—and possibly most surprising—Maximo was hard. Long and thick, his cock stretched between us.
“How are you hard again?” I asked.
“Still,” he corrected.
“Still?”
“Never fully went down.”
“How?”
I’d have jokingly asked if he was popping little blue pills like Tic Tacs, but knowing Maximo, he’d have taken that as a challenge.
“Had my cock jammed in your tight ass,” he said. “Made you come so beautifully. And now I’ve got you naked in my arms, happy and calm. Trusting.” His dick jerked against me. “You’ve given me all of you.”
I hadn’t understood why my trust was so important to him. If I was already obeying, what difference did it make if I trusted him?
A lot, as it turned out.
I felt it every day, down to my bones. The happiness. The lack of stress and anxiety. The stability. I no longer felt temporary.
I belonged. With him. In our life together.
Other than his love, that feeling of belonging was the best gift he’d given me. It was beyond anything I’d ever imagined was possible.
“Thank you for wanting all of me,” I whispered.
His arms constricted around me. “‘Til the day I die.”
Not temporary.
Permanent.
‘Til the day I die.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Protect What’s Yours
Maximo
“GOT A PROBLEM, boss.”
Jesus.
For nearly a month, I’d worked every damn day, from early morning until late at night. I’d taken Juliet to work with me a handful of times, but I needed a day off with her. Since preparations for the new resort meant that wasn’t possible, I’d settled for working from home.
Of course something would jack it up.
“What is it?” I asked Ash.
“Someone is here.”
That got my attention.
No one came to the house without an invitation. Few people even knew where I lived. The route was winding and secluded, nothing for miles.
It wasn’t a house someone would coincidentally stumble across.
“Who is it?” Setting down my mail and letter opener, I clicked a few keys to switch security cameras.
A man stood outside the gate next to a sleek red sports car. He leaned against it, patiently waiting.
“No idea and he wouldn’t say,” Ash said. “Just said he has something you might like.”
There was nothing I wanted that I didn’t already have. Except… “Carmichael?”
He tilted his head to the side for a moment. “It’d make sense.”
That jowly bastard had been in the wind since going after Juliet. He had to know he was being hunted—and not just by me.
Ash and Marco had been quietly searching, watching the casinos and clubs off the Strip. When there’d been no sign of him, I’d made it known in the right circles I was looking.
That made Carmichael a powerful bargaining chip. Even his closest friends would turn on him if it meant I owed them a favor.
A lot of eyes were searching for him.
I just didn’t know if the man in my driveway was one of them.
I grabbed my cell and texted Cole the plate number before asking Ash, “He wouldn’t tell you anything?”
“Said he’ll only talk to you.”
I rubbed my jaw. “Set a meeting at Moonlight tomorrow.”
“He said here and only here.”
I didn’t like anyone making demands of me, much less some unknown asshole who’d shown up uninvited. But my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to know what he had to offer.
More than that, I wanted to know where the hell he’d gotten my address.
“Juliet still watching a movie with Vera?”
“Yeah,” Ash said.
“Confiscate our guest’s cell, keys, watch, and anything that can be used as a weapon, including his damn shoes.”
“On it.”
He was almost to