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I lift a brow. “Defineback.”
“I’d like her to come with me alone.”
I shake my head. “Not gonna happen. Where she goes, I go.”
I don’t know exactly what Linnea told Christian about my accompanying her tonight, but I can and will explain to the duchess what I am now explaining to the senator—she’s not going to be out of my sight tonight.
“I’m surrounded by security. They’ll make sure the place is safe. There’s nothing to worry about,” Christian says.
“Where she goes, I go,” I repeat.
This is not negotiable. And I don’t give a fuck if he’s a senator. Linnea is my responsibility. He doesn’t have to like it.
“Okay,” Christian gives in. He’s a nice guy. He doesn’t seem like the type to get into a big argument or a big fight with me about something like this. Especially when we’re both looking out for Linnea. “But it would be great if she and I could get a table alone. You can hang out at the bar or something.”
I narrow my eyes. “What exactly are you gonna be talking about? You giving her the nuclear codes or something?”
He grins. “Nothing like that. “
“I am fully vetted,” I tell him. “Fully cleared to hear anything she can hear.”
Christian studies me for a moment, then says, “You really can’t think of anything I might want to say to her that I don’t want you to hear?”
And there we go. No matter how business-like Linnea might want to be, Christian is making it clear thatprofessionalis not how he perceives this time with her.
“Got it,” I tell him.
Well, I did want her to know she had choices. Seems like Christian is going to make that clear. And it doesn’t matter how knotted up my gut is, or how tight my chest feels, or how much I want to punch this guy in the face. Linnea deserves to have all the men falling at her feet. She deserves to know that she can choose anyone she wants.
I should appreciate him laying it out so she knows that she can have her pick.
And fuck, there isn’t a single person who would deny that Christian can give her things that I can’t.
Hell, he can give her things Torin can’t. Not the least of which are love, sex, and passion.
It’s clear that Christian truly likes Linnea. He’s attracted to her. He wants this to be more than just a business relationship or friendship.
This is exactly why we’re fucking here. I take a breath, remind myself that both Torin and Iris will be very happy about this, and nod. “I’ll hang back. But I need to be there. Close by.”
Christian inclines his head. “I appreciate it.”
Great. So glad he appreciates it.
Linnea returns and comes to stand with us. “So now what?” she asks.
I grit my teeth as I watch Christian put a hand against her lower back. “That drink.”
She looks up at me. “You’re coming too?”
“Of course.”
I am relieved to see that she smiles at that. “Good.”
I’m glad she thinks that’s good. There’s no way I’m not coming along, but I’m glad I don’t have to argue with her about it too. This is the weirdest fucking situation.
I want her to be more confident. I want her to own the fact that she’s amazing, sexy, deserving of whatever she wants. The whole fucking goal here is for her to know that she can have something different, something better than what waits for her in Cara.
But just this afternoon, having my hands on her, having my mouth on her, hearing her laughter, her moans, is making it very fucking hard to remember that part of the mission here is to actually turn her over to another man.