fight tooth and nail to keep it. Apparently he’d needed the break nearly as much as she had. He pulled her closer, something settling in his chest when her arms settled around his waist. “Good.”
Tomorrow would be a new day. At least they had tonight.
Chapter Nine
Callie woke up wrapped in Teague’s arms. She blinked at the faint morning light steaming through the windows, the disorientation of not being in her own bed making her frown before the events of the night before came rushing back. She relaxed, inhaling the spicy male scent that seemed to permeate the space around her. It was tempting to close her eyes and move closer to the man now nuzzling the back of her neck, but she’d already been gone from home too long.
The responsibility settling around her shoulders seemed to get heavier each time she picked it up. Instead of this reprieve lightening the load, it had actually added to her worries.
Because she liked Teague.
He wasn’t like any man she’d known before—something that was becoming clearer and clearer the more time she spent with him. He treated her like a woman of worth, which shouldn’t be so startling. But it was. She slipped out of his arms, holding her breath until she was sure he hadn’t woken. She dressed quickly, her gaze darting back to the man sprawled across the bed. The features that had seemed so harsh and unforgiving when she first met him turned into something else entirely when relaxed in sleep. He was almost…beautiful.
Or perhaps she was becoming biased because her body came alive when he touched her.
Callie slipped out the door, pausing to make sure it was locked behind her, and hurried to her car. The entire drive home, her mind kept helpfully replaying everything they’d done last night. The man held her like he actually cared, which was preposterous considering how short of a time they’d known each other.
It dawned on her that maybe she wasn’t the only one with growing emotional attachment.
No. I can’t afford to lose focus—especially right now. The words did nothing to reassure her. Because she’d barely been out of his presence for twenty minutes and she was already craving him again. The insane impulse to turn around and drive back to his place rose so intensely, she actually reached for her blinker before she stopped herself. The real world wouldn’t wait, and the longer she hid, the worse it would be when she came home.
And if she never came home?
She shut the thought down before it could take root. She couldn’t walk away from the Sheridan empire, even if she were so inclined—which she wasn’t. She was the heir, which meant she was responsible for ensuring the safety of her people and the ongoing lucrative income of their various businesses. She was the one who would bring them into the legal side of things and remove as much danger as possible from their lives. If she could get all of their front businesses running as well as Moira’s, they wouldn’t need the money generated by the illegal side of things.
If she disappeared, things would fall apart when her father died. The generals would fight among themselves, and the clawing and fighting for power would destroy what was left of their people.
She couldn’t let that happen.
No, her fantasies about holing up with Teague until this nightmare passed were just that—fantasy. She’d already been too lax in letting Papa keep her out of things, no matter if he wanted to protect her or if he had other reasons altogether. Whatever his thinking, it had to stop.
She parked the car in the garage and strode into the house. Her footsteps echoed on the tile, the click of her heels standing out in the silence. At this hour there should be people around. It was Friday, which meant the cleaning ladies, at least, should be here for their weekly tidy up. Callie headed for her father’s office—the one place there was guaranteed to be some sort of activity—and knocked.
“Come in.”
A part of her that she hadn’t even realized was tense relaxed at the sound of Papa’s voice. Nothing was wrong. There hadn’t been an attack of some sort on the house. They were safe. For now.
She slipped into the office and shut the door. She took a deep breath, deciding it’d be best to get straight to the point. “Papa, no more shutting me out. If you expect me to stand as heir, you need to let