“This is fucked up,” Bull growls into the phone.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and nod. “I know, but it’s reality.”

“How is she this morning?”

I glance up at the bathroom. The door is closed as she dries her hair.

“Contemplative but responsive.”

He grunts. “What does that even mean?”

“It means she’s quieter than usual but she didn’t put up an argument when I went down on her this morning in the shower.”

A long, disappointed sigh escapes him. “Where do you guys go from here? I hate to sound like an asshole, but why is she still with you?”

Her phone buzzes on the table. Ignoring him for a moment, I let out a deep breath I’d been holding the moment I see it’s Gwen.

Gwen: Can we do lunch today?

My heart swells.

“Hello?” Bull questions.

“Sorry,” I grunt. “I’ll see you in the meeting this morning. We’ll talk after.” I abruptly hang up, my focus on something new.

Me: It’s Gray. Violet’s drying her hair. I’m sure she’d love to go to breakfast instead. I have a meeting with a London client at 9. Can you pick her up at the office?

Gwen: Of course.

The dryer stops, and a second later, the bathroom door opens. Violet is absolutely stunning today. Her silky brown hair has been blown straight and I love how strands of gold glimmer in the sunlight shining in from the window. A towel remains wrapped around her body that bears red marks—marks I made from sucking on her all night and into the morning.

“Who are you texting?” she questions.

“Gwen. She wants you to have breakfast with her.” I search her gaze. After all that went down last night, I feel that she’s fragile. I need to put her back together if she starts to break again.

She takes her phone and reads through the texts. “Okay.”

I’d only made it to putting my slacks back on but am still without a shirt. Her eyes roam my chest before she turns her back to me. I grab her hips and pull her into my lap. My arms snake around her middle.

“You feeling okay?” I question as I press kisses along the back of her shoulder.

“Surprisingly, yes,” she says with a sigh, relaxing against me. “I should be a lot of things but not content.” Her shoulders sag. “I shouldn’t be happy.”

I tug her towel loose and then urge her to straddle me so I can see her face. My fingers ghost up her ribs on both sides as I look at her, my stare fierce. “You should be so fucking happy, baby,” I argue, pressing kisses to the hollow of her throat as I squeeze her bare ass.

Her palms find my cheeks and she frowns. “This isn’t normal, Gray. Nothing about this is normal. We’re sick.”

I slide my hand up to cup the back of her neck and draw her closer. We kiss softly. Our kisses are gentle and filled with promises. I pull slightly away and rest my forehead against hers. “We don’t have to follow the rules. We just have to be together.”

She seems to soften and relax. “You make it sound easy.”

I grin at her, which makes her eyes twinkle in return. “It’s that easy. You let me take care of you like I want. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve it. I sure as hell don’t deserve you but I’m going to have you anyway.”

Her thumb brushes along my jaw. “Are you always this intense?”

“Only when it comes to you,” I say with a smirk.

She smiles but then it falls away. “What you did was not okay.”

Shame fills my chest, and I nod. “I know. I’d do it a thousand times over, though. I don’t think you understand the level of my need for you.”

“I believe I get it now,” she says in a wry tone. “After Vaughn, this took me by surprise. Had I not gone through such a toxic relationship with him, I’d never be able to accept this.”

I study her features. Her lips are pressed together in a firm line and her brows are pinched together.

“I won’t hurt you like he did,” I promise. “You have to realize that.”

She smiles. “I do know that. But…” Her smile falls again. “What happens when the intensity fades? Six months down the road? Six years down the road? What happens then, Gray?”

I kiss her mouth. “It won’t happen. If anything, each second that passes, I become worse. My brain is scrambled with you. I can’t think straight. I can’t work. I can’t sleep. Not when I’m worrying about you. When you’re sleeping in my arms or by my side, my life seems to level out. The way I hyper focus on shit seems to fade away. Yes, I’m completely focused on you but I also somehow see the world around me for the first time. You make me better.”

Her cheeks redden slightly. “I want you to be better.”

“I am better with you.”

We’re quiet for a moment, simply content to hold each other.

“What do you want to do? I know mortgages wasn’t it.” I look up at her with a brow lifted in question.

She lets out a small chuckle. “Actually, I’m doing it. I love the stuff I do at Maxwell. Especially now that my job doesn’t revolve around making coffee. I love analyzing every aspect of the properties and businesses you want to acquire. It’s like a puzzle I have to put together to make sure it’s a good fit for the company.”

I beam at her. “You’re nearly as good as me at it,” I tease. “What do you like to do for fun? You know…when I’m not embedding myself in every second of your life?”

She grows thoughtful and looks past me at the window. “I love watching those shows on HGTV. You know…the ones where they flip old homes and spaces. I’ve never had a home of my own to do that sort of thing with. I love the idea of taking something old and ruined and then turning it modern and beautiful.”

“I’ll buy you a house to fix up,” I tell her, my tone fierce. I’ll buy her a thousand houses.

She smirks and darts her eyes back to me. “You’re literally insane. You know that, right?”

“There are worse things I could be than your stalker.”

Her eyes close as she shakes her head. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. If I had any friends, they’d be telling me to run for the hills.”

“I’d just follow you there.”

“Crazy. You’re crazy.”

I laugh. “I know.”

* * *

Bull is mid-sentence explaining about a new client when my phone buzzes in my pocket. Violet is off at brunch with Gwen so I’ve actually been able to focus on work for a change. Assuming it’s her texting, I pull out my phone to make sure everything is okay.

Dusty: Found the slippery fuck.

I flash Bull a look that has him going silent. With one nod, he knows what to do. He rises from his chair and stalks out of my office.

Me: Here or there?

Dusty: There. You’re not gonna like this.

I scratch at the stubble growing in along my jaw. With Violet, I never seem to have any time or means to shave. Once I have her at my house indefinitely, I can settle back into a normal routine—one that doesn’t require me spending the night under her bed.

Me: Spill.

Dusty: I saw him and two men go into her mother’s house. Then, the target left alone. I’m in pursuit now. He’s headed that way.

My heart rate spikes. I knew I’d draw the little cocksucker out.

Me: Eyes on him. Give me the location of her mother’s house. I need pictures. Send one of your guys to get me the layout. I need to know everything down to the motherfucking weather.

Dusty: On it, Hawk.

It’s hard to remain calm, but I have to. Vaughn has been slippery thus far, but I won’t let him get away from me. He thinks he can use her mother to find her now that he knows where she lives and works. I’ll be damned if he ever harms her again.

I quickly shoot off a text to her. There isn’t any time for me to intervene. All I can do is follow the plan.

Focus.

Adjust.

Hoping she’ll see my text before it’s too late, I fire off a message.

Me: Be brave for me. I’m going to get you your life back but I need you to be brave. I love you.

When she doesn’t respond, I worry it’s too late. I bolt from my office just as Bull is striding my way. Together, we haul ass out of there.

We have a plan.

Focus.