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“Let’s get out of here,” she whispers, breathless, pulling back enough to look into my eyes. “I want to go back to my place.”
Fuck. I hope we’re on the same page here. Because I plan on sampling my own warm, wet, sweet pink snack. And will probably want seconds.
The drive to her apartment is a blur. Okay, it’s my apartment, though the secret stays buried in my deceitful vault until the timing is right.
This place is hopefully a whole lot of temporary. I want her with me. Yet I know I need to stay the course. I find myself checking the mirrors, but for the first time, it’s not to protect her. It’s out of a desperate need to ensure nothing interrupts our trajectory. I have my own cotton candy I’m dying to snack on.
We walk inside and I set the obnoxiously large pink bear on her sofa. It looks absurdly out of place among her delicate decor. A soft, woven rug covers the hardwood beneath us, and the aroma of vanilla and sandalwood, my scent, lingers in the air from a candle she lit when I was here last. A smirk curls my lips. My girl loves my cologne filling up her space.
A pang of guilt hits me, causing me to wince.
“I know you’d probably rather go to your place. This is no mansion,” she says, watching my reaction nervously. “But it’s closer.”
“I’m happy wherever you are, Cass.” I turn to her, taking in the way the moonlight through the window catches the pink of her hair. It’s clear. This phenomenal woman owns my heart.
“I have something for you,” I say, reaching into my pocket. “It isn’t a ring. Not yet. I know it’s not very romantic putting that out there, but make no mistake, Cass. That day is coming.”
She beams at me.
“Until then, this is the next best thing.” I pull out a small, encrypted key fob. “I’ve streamlined the search protocols. It’s a dedicated bridge to Secure Sphere. Whenever you find something, or if you just want to see the progress I’m making for Isla, you have the same access I do. No more secrets, Cass. Between us, the firewalls are down.” My heart lurches, knowing I’ve said that while keeping the fact I own this place from her.
Her eyes fill with tears as she takes the fob, her fingers brushing mine. “You trust me that much?”
“Yes. More than anyone.” My head falls.
She steps closer, placing her hands flat on my chest, her face a mask of concern. “Then why do you look like that?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
She nervously swallows, and her hands fidget against my pecs. It’s slight, but enough I can tell she’s tensing, waiting for the blow.
I close my eyes. “I may or may not have bought this building.” Wincing, I narrowly crack open one lid and peer at her. She’s smirking at me.
What the hell?
“You knew?”
She giggles. “Yeah.”
“How?” I scratch the back of my head. I may have met my ideal match with this brilliant woman. “Wait. Did you hack me?”
Her hand covers her mouth as she tries to stifle her laughter. “No, no. When the guys in charge of the updates to the place arrived, he let it slip that the place had come under new ownership recently.” She stares at me deadpan. “I didn’t have to be a rocket scientist.”
Burying my face in her neck and her sweet hair, I growl. “I think someone might deserve to be punished for putting me through this.”
“Hmm,” she hums. “You might be right.” She doesn’t even bother pretending. She loves every minute of our games. And instead of the cold, overbearing behavior I’ve exhibited in the bedroom before her, now my dominance is a reminder of how strong I know she is. My girl isn’t broken. She’s my phoenix. Not only did she rise from the ashes, but she brought me with her.
EPILOGUE
MAX
One Year Later
The glass walls of Secure Sphere no longer feel like a cage or a high-tech fortress. Today, they feel like home.
I stand by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the executive suite, a coffee mug in my hand, watching the ecosystem I built. The clear partitions of the executive suite used to be my shield, a way to monitor the world without letting anyone in. Now, they’re a vantage point for the only view that matters.
Glancing to the left, I see her. Cassidy is leaning over Loretta’s desk, the two of them laughing at something on a tablet. Her pink hair is a vibrant streak against the muted grays of the office. Her and her delicious pink hair are a permanent fixture now. She’s spent the last year carving out her space as our Cyber and Privacy Investigations Manager, and watching her command the room is a high I never imagined.
