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“Did you change my clothes last night?”

“Yes, after I carried you up here.”

“Have you done that before?”

“Carried you to bed?”

“Changed my clothes while I was unconscious.”

His face falls but he nods. “Yeah, only once before last night.”

“Why?”

He kisses the inside of my wrist. Then he tells me about the night I almost drowned in his pool. A night I don’t remember but one that scared him enough that he held me all night.

“It was the night before your first appointment with Silas. That was the first time you scared the shit out of me, menace.”

The somber shift in his demeanor tugs at something in me, so I attempt to lighten the mood. “Why didn’t you tell me he had a twin?”

Alonzo, with his lopsided smile and hand kisses entersmy mind. I smile at the way Adonis tenses, knowing that his head jumped to the same memory.

“What does he do?”

“He’s a doctor too.”

“Really?”

An unreadable look masks his previous expression. “Yeah, he doesn’t practice like Silas though. He prefers being behind the scenes.”

“What does that mean?”

“How many questions you gone ask me about another man, Delilah?”

Laughter tumbles out of me and his eyes land on my mouth like he’s in awe of the sound. Or maybe in awe of me from the way his eyes soften.

And that awareness kills the laugh on my lips.

“Go shower. I’ll take you to breakfast and explain everything.”

One final kiss to my forehead and he’s on his feet, walking to the door. I stare at the empty doorway for a spell after he’s gone, then I toss my covers to the side and walk to the bathroom for that shower.

The waiter beamsdown at us after placing another dish at the center of the table. “Mr. Samson, is there anything else I can get for you?”

Adonis looks around at the full spread of brunch between us and excuses the man.

As I unwrap my silverware, I can’t help but think about how everyone knows who he is every time we go somewhere. It’s a level of notoriety I can’t grasp, but it makes sense. Even I’d heard of him before I methim, and I’d been locked up in that house my whole life.

My mood almost sours, but the view of the waterfront beneath us momentarily suspends my thoughts until Adonis clears his throat.

The same man who claims he’s killed for me looks nervous piling pancakes onto my plate.

“You didn’t take me to get back at my brother?”

“Eat and let me explain.”

Nothing will ever top Ms. Agnes’ pancakes, but the stack in front of me comes close. As I eat, Adonis sits in front of his empty plate and starts from the beginning.

“You never left my mind after the graveyard and when I saw you at the auction, I recognized you immediately. I didn’t know you were Weston’s sister until I saw him pull you into that room.” He adjusts the strap of his watch, biting his lip. “I don’t regret shooting him, but I regret the way it played out. You became a pawn in a losing game. But if I hadn’t taken you, I never would have gotten to experience you, Delilah. And that’s something I will never regret.”