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I try to shift but he holds me tighter, continuing to stroke my hair. I’m desperate to look at his face, but I let him keep me pinned down.

“That’s awful. Your father should never have put you in that position.”

“It was no worse than I deserved.” He sighs.

“That’s not true. No one deserves to be treated like that.”

He ignores my comment and continues, “When I saw you for the first time, you were unbelievably kind to someone who spilled your drink all over you.”

I remember that. It was Jenny’s first day.

“You told them not to worry and said something about dog poo and a client or an ex who I instantly wanted to dismember.”

I smiled but stayed quiet, my fingers beginning to stroke along his ribs.

“You were kind and funny, with a gentleness that I’d never seen before from anyone. Kindness is not common in my line of work, and you...intrigued me.”

He pauses for a moment, but when I don’t respond, he continues.

“So I started going to Squeeze the Day, drinking their god-awful coffee, to prove to myself that you couldn’t have been as kind as you were that day. There had to be a fault or a flaw that would prove me right.”

“Why would you want to be proved right?” I murmur. The weight of his hand on my back and the other running through the strands of my hair felt glorious. Like stepping into a warm bath or curling up under a blanket on the couch.

“Because then I wouldn’t have to obsess over you anymore. I could move on. Stop drinking that piss water they call coffee and just get on with my life.”

“I’m not perfect. I have flaws.”

“Olivia.” He laughs. “I know you have flaws. You just fucking tasered me after chaining me up in your basement.”

I chuckle as tears prick at my eyes, threatening to spill. I don’t understand where this emotion has come from. Austin continues rubbing my back, petting me like a cat curled up on his lap. The thump of his heart beneath me creates a rhythm my breath falls in sync with. My whole body aches to align with his.

“I thought you were sunshine incarnate. But you have a dark side, which is equally enticing. I watched you for two years, Killer, and I didn’t learn half of what I learned from living in your basement.”

His legs loosen from caging me in, and I shift so I can look at him.

“So you’re not going to hurt me?” I already know the answer. At least, I hope I do. But I feel the need to ask it all the same.

“No, Killer. I’m not going to hurt you, not now or ever.”

“I still don’t believe you. I’m just...me. I don’t think I merit this kind of fascination.”

“Well, we’ll work on that then, won’t we?” He smiles before booping my nose with his fingertip.

He shifts, and all of a sudden, I feel cold without him.

I’m sitting upright, facing him on the couch, and my heart begins to race. I think he’s going to kiss me. I lean in as he holds my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles.

“I’ve got to go and sort some things out. We’ll talk soon, okay? Think about what I’ve said.”

“I . . . wait, what? Where are you going?”

“I have a business to run, employees to manage. As you may have heard from Luca, they’re needy fuckers.”

I roll my eyes, and he smirks. Drawing my hand to his mouth, he presses a brief kiss to my knuckles. “I’ll see you later, Killer. Ice that leg for me.”

And with that, he strolls right out the front door, no shirt and all, and I’m left dumbstruck.

Chapter Eleven