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"Then you’re staying with me"

"No," he repeated "I want the Arcadians to come for me"

Of course he did "So you can, what? Be hauled to Phillips’s lair and burn everyone to ash?"

"Yes," he replied, his tone dripping with relish

Damn you, Hector Dean "What if they shoot you in the head rather than take you to Phillips?"

A heartbeat of silence, then a shake of his head "That’s not his MO Phillips likes to make the kill himself He likes to prove his power"

"That happened once, you idiot! Twice if Maybe Dare Maybe Not Dare can be believed And twice does not a pattern o ahead Argue with olden gaze flipped to her, tortured "I’ht now"

Her voice dipped huskily when she said, "And I know exactly how to calm you down"

His nostrils flared with his sharp inhalation of breath "No I can’t risk you I won’t"

Think again "Phillips saith you, and I’h me" She wasn’t above a little manipulation of her own

F-borowled "Okay I’ll stay"

So gracious

As excited as she was by the thought of having her , she was also scared for him He already battled a ton of shame over his past, and the number of people he’d burned Did he really think he would suffer no uish this time around?

Afterward, he would re Noelle would increase All the progress she’d ht

"Noelle," he said, suddenly grave

Suspicion arose, and her heart skipped a beat "Yes?"

"What if I can’t ever touch you freely, as you need?" Suspicion confir, she peered over at him He’d successfully cleared his features of any emotion, and she couldn’t read him "Hector," she said softly "I’d rather have a conversation with you than have sex with so down, but he didn’t say another word and neither did she

Thirty-eight

HECTOR KNEW BETTER THAN to stay the night with Noelle Did he have the will to resist her? Probably not Knowing her, she’d co She always did, and that was just the way he liked her Definitely not

But then all she had to do was breathe and he’d grow hard for her He craved herAnd he loved her Damn, did he love her

His eyes widened He did, he realized He fucking loved her with every fiber of his being

She was the loveliest wo heart, a sed him, lied to entertain herself, could be violent when the occasion called for it, but she was also fun, sparkling, and as vibrant as the sued to baffle hiht to comfort and reassure him any time he panicked, more so

He’d fallen for her, all the way, and knew she was more than an obsession now She was his life Her body was a perfect fit to his Soft, warm, and wet Her taste and scent were aphrodisiacs, her cries of passion a siren’s song Uninhibited as she was, she would try anything he asked And she would like it Beg for more And yet…

I’m so bad for her In every way So yes He would resist her tonight No , she’d probably hate him Another rejection would be more than she could endure The way her family had spoken to her… When this case was closed, Hector would be paying her brothers a little visit, and they’d receive the same intensive care treatment Barry had But no wonder Noelle was so insecure about how people viewed her

Hector could deal with her hatred, though He’d rather she loathed his very existence than feel the sting of his arms

And if she hated him, she would avoid him She would treat him like she treated most everyone else As if he were unworthy of her time Which he was Wasn’t that what he’d pushed for since the beginning?

Yeah, but he’d kinda gotten used to her showing up wherever he was, throwing out co hi hiain?

Sweat beaded on his brow, panic for an altogether different reason puether Had to stay focused He’d cruuard her tonight, and that was all In thethey would visit the criht even show up at Phillips’s office in a bid to spur the guy into action faster That ested, but that was okay

If Hector had to die taking Phillips down, so be it No more abducted women No more otherworlders sold into slavery No more threats to Noelle

The car eased to a stop, and Hector e a swift, visual perihts, on Windows, closed No one hovered on the property, no suspicious shadows lurked about

Noelle commanded her door to open, then exited, quiet and withdrawn Why? He hadn’t even told her--

A ht Hector shifted his attention just fast enough to see one of the Arcadians from the party appear out of nowhere, still in his tux, already barreling toward Noelle, so in the light seeping from her porch

Oh, fuck no With a roar, Hector dove over the hood of the car, sliding… sliding… praying he was able to shove her out of har blow hile" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>