Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
He doesn’t return it. “That shouldn’t have happened,” he says, and I can tell he’s struggling to hold back anger. “My men should’ve checked the package.”
“What happened?” I ask and reach out to take his hand. Right now, I’m way beyond caring about anything. All I need is a little comfort.
Which he’s happy to provide. He squeezes back and leans closer to me.
“It was a bomb,” he explains. “We’re still trying to figure out what kind. From what I can tell, a man dressed in a UPS uniform came into the building, walked past the front desk, and took the box straight up to our door. He knocked, and by the time he was in the stairwell, the bomb went off. I’m guessing he was watching for us to open the door and activated it on a timer.”
I nod to myself, squeezing my eyes closed. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“You protected me. You knocked me over and covered me.”
“Did more harm than good, I think.”
“Julien—”
“I’m fine,” he says again, sharper this time. “Cuts and bruises, nothing major.” He leans down and touches my face gently with one big palm. “That was too close, Brianne. That was way too close.”
“I know.” I lean into his hand. I crave his touch so badly right now. Maybe the explosion knocked a few things loose, or maybe it made it clear how fragile I really am.
How this can all be taken away so quickly.
“You’ll be safe here, baby. I promise. We’re going to find the bastard that planted the bomb, and we’re going to make Dusan pay.”
I shiver and smile to myself. He hasn’t called me baby before, but I kind of like it, especially with his slight French accent.
“I know you are. But, for right now, can you just—” I look up at him and blink a few times. “Can you just sit with me?”
He adjusts himself and gets into bed. I lean against his chest as he wraps his arms around me. “That’s good?”
“That’s good,” I say, closing my eyes before jerking them open again. Can’t risk falling asleep. “We’re at the mansion, right?”
“Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” he jokes.
“You probably shouldn’t talk about fires right now.”
“Good point.”
“How bad is the apartment?”
“Ruined,” he says with a sigh. “For a while, anyway.”
“Did anyone else get hurt?”
“No, thankfully. It was a targeted explosion. Not big enough to do serious damage, but enough that it would’ve killed us if we hadn’t reacted fast enough.”
“If you hadn’t reacted. I was going to start looking for a label.”
“You would’ve heard the beeping.”
“And been blown to pieces.” I tilt my head so I can look at his face. My brain throbs, but it’s manageable, all things considered. “Thank you.”
He brushes his fingers down my cheek. “You’re my wife, Brianne.”
“I guess that comes with certain perks?”
“Like frequent assassination attempts, apparently.” His jaw works, and I know how hard this must be for him.
I reach up and tug at his hair. His eyes are hooded as he allows himself to be pulled down, and I press my lips gently to his. It’s a soft kiss, almost even chaste, but it sends a river of cascading pleasure rippling down my spine as excitement pools between my legs. I can’t believe how badly I want this man, despite everything, and for a few seconds all my worry fades into the background hum of my mind as I focus on the feeling of his lips.
They’re soft and firm, and he makes this incredible little grunting sound as I press closer and kiss him more eagerly, my mouth open. I feel greedy, maybe because I was almost blown to little pieces, but mostly because I’ve been resisting the urge to do this for the past week and screw it. Attempted bombings are like a mulligan.
I get a do-over, and I want this.
He breaks the kiss off. I feel dizzy and overwhelmed. I can tell he does too as he gently kisses me one more time and extracts himself from the bed.
“Pain medication,” he says.
“You’re the doctor now?” My cheeks are flushed and my heart’s pounding. My skull throbs with each beat of my heart. “Actually, you know what, that’s not a bad idea.”
He’s smiling as he gives me water and pills. I take them and drink down the whole glass.
“Kim knows you’re okay, by the way. I called her earlier when you were still unconscious. She’ll be happy to hear your voice.”
I sigh with relief. “You’re a good man.”
“Not even close.” He kisses me again.
There’s a knock at the door. It’s not loud, but it makes me flinch all the same. Julien’s eyes narrow as he strides away and answers it.
“Don’t knock on my wife’s door again,” he growls at Jean, who looks understandably confused.
“Uh, that’s the normal, polite thing to do, right? I mean—”