“You were going to order hits on my ex-boyfriends?”
“To keep you safe.” I nodded. “And to keep me sane, yes.”
“I think I may actually like you, Chase Winter.”
“Murder? That’s all it took to get you hot? Killing your ex-boyfriends?”
“No.” Her smile widened.
I nipped her lower lip. “Because I’m really good at sex?”
“No, and I wouldn’t know anyway.”
“Then why?”
“Because you gave me one moment — but you promised more. And…” she licked her lips. “…I believe you.”
My heart rammed against my chest as if it was trying to break free. I smiled, tucking pieces of her hair behind her ear, and kissed her neck. What was I supposed to say to that? Words lodged in my throat. I ran my hands down her arm and paused on her wrist, hovering over her scar.
“Are you ready to tell me?”
Mil tensed beneath me. I held up my hand. “Wait, before you say anything, I’ve got an idea.” Still fully naked, I got off the bed and grabbed the phone to call room service.
“Yeah, can I get a bottle of champagne and an assortment of—” I paused and smirked at Mil. “Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Whatever you have.”
Mil’s eyes watered. I wasn’t sure if it was because of sexual excitement or just being excited about chocolate-covered strawberries.
“You. Stay.” I pointed at the bed.
“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up.
Right. It was Mil. Telling her to stay was basically like throwing down the gauntlet, challenging her to do the complete opposite. “Please?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Let me take care of you.”
Her entire body relaxed, as if I’d just told her I was going to save the world, and all she had to do was sleep through the battle until it was won.
“Five minutes.” I held up my hand and walked into the bathroom and started the bath water in the Jacuzzi tub. After a few minutes, it was full enough for Mil to sit in. Without saying anything, I walked back into the bedroom, scooped her up into my arms, even when she beat against my chest playfully, and placed her in the soothing water.
The knock on the door was soft, discreet.
“Stay.” I kissed her forehead and grabbed a bathrobe, tightening it around my waist as I opened the door. Without letting the guy in, I handed him a twenty-dollar bill and pulled the cart the rest of the way, locking the door behind me.
When I walked into the bathroom, champagne and food in hand, Mil was humming to herself.
“You hum?” I asked stupidly.
“Huh?”
“Hum?”
“What?”
I rolled my eyes. “You were humming.”
“Is that against Chase Winter’s rules? Humming in the tub? What would you rather I do?”
My body roared to life. “Well…”
“Stop.” Mil held up her hand. “Forget I asked.”
“Aw, baby, that’s like turning the key to an engine and then deciding not to drive… it’s just… cruel to the car.”
“Are you calling me a tease or a racecar driver? I’m confused.”
Sending her a smug smile, I set the full champagne glasses onto the counter and dropped my bathrobe. “Still confused?”
“Little chilly, Chase?” Mil reached for the champagne. I smacked her hand lightly.
“Little eager, Mil?”
“Ass.”
“Tease.”
She sighed, but I could tell it was a happy sigh. Mil was trying to act tough, like always, but I was beginning to see that second layer to her. All women, in my experience, were complicated. Each had her secrets and every single one had a way of hiding them. Mil’s fierceness was her armor — and it killed me to think that I could have possibly been responsible for making her gun-shy when it came to men.
“I’m getting in the tub.”
“Does that mean you’re kicking me out?”
“No.” I stepped in behind her and slowly slid down the porcelain. “It just means things are going to be snug.”
“I’m not so sure I can handle snug.”
I let out a hiss when the hot water surrounded me and a soft groan escaped from deep in my throat as I pulled her roughly against me. “If I can handle snug, you sure as hell can handle snug.”
Her soft sigh fanned across my chest, raising goose bumps that had nothing to do with being cold and everything to do with wanting a repeat performance of the last hour we’d spent together. She leaned her head over my heart. I reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her temple.
“I want to know, Mil.”
My fingers lightly grazed that same scar again, this time pushing against it, as if by adding pressure, the words would come out of her mouth, the fear would dissipate, and she’d trust me.
“What if I tell you and you hate me?”
My heart clenched. “Mil, I could never hate you.”
“You could,” she said in a small voice. “You might.”
“Trust me.”
A few seconds of silence passed, and then Mil said, so quietly I almost didn’t hear her, “I was fourteen…”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mil
I couldn’t believe that I was actually telling him. Never in a million years had I planned on cutting open past wounds and letting myself bleed out onto the ground.