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I had to believe Dane could defeat his neht be

Exhausted fro, I sat back down on the bed Dane slipped off my shoes and helped me out of my dress

“Do you want so to wear?” he asked

“Your shirt”

He gave rin At least he tried not to be so sinister looking “I’ll go get you one”

“I want the one you’re wearing Smells like you”

Loosening his tie, he whipped it off, then worked the cuff links as best as he could hat had to be a throbbing hand He set them on the table next to the water, slipped out of the shirt, and assistedit on and buttoned

I crawled under the covers Dane joined me

“How do you feel?” he asked

“Like I stuck my hand on a hot stovetop burner At least my brain’s not scrambled the way it’d been the last time”

“Jesus, Ari” His muscles tensed all around me

“I’ll be all right”

He possessively kept me pressed to his body until I fell asleep When I woke in the ht, it was because I knew he’d slipped out of bed I’d sensed it even in slumber

I scanned the rooe fireplace, working on his laptop, his fingers softly skating over the keys He was also speaking in a quiet tone into the phone wedged between his ear and the crook of his neck

“That’s not enough,” he said insistently “Dig deeper We’re close but we needI’ve been watching theirthe results of our efforts It’s not enough If they think they can fuck with us—with ood idea”