Page 92 of Danger and Dominance

“Whatever you have.I’m not picky.”She was used to eating whatever she was given.

“Come on.”David held out his hand to help her up.“You can help me choose.”

Well, fine then.

She ended up not just helping him choose, but helping him cook the meal and laughing as he told her stories about his grandmother and sister.Some of them she’d already heard from Brenda’s point-of-view, and she took great joy in telling him that his grandmother’s perspective was a little different.The mock scowl on his face made her giggle even harder.

They ended up making salmon, asparagus, and roasted potatoes.Easy and delicious.

It was a little weird being in David’s apartment, wearing Ashley’s clothing and wondering what was going to happen to her life this week, but she had to admit, she felt safe.And she wasn’t sure she would have if she’d still been at Jensen and Mick’s.

For now, she could at least hope that Don didn’t know where she was.

“Do you think I should go to work on Monday?”she asked.

David frowned, scooping up a forkful of salmon.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.“First, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.I want to see what your ex does next.”

“You think he’ll do something?”

“If he realizes you’ve been moved… or maybe since nothing has happened.He’ll have been wanting a reaction.Getting no visible reaction might spur him to do something.Hopefully, make a mistake.”David smiled reassuringly at her, and Cassidy realized her anxiety was showing, which wasn’t surprising.“Mick and Jensen are on alert.If he does something, we’d rather have you not there.”

“I guess.”She would never forgive herself if either of them got hurt, though, even though she knew it wasn’t really her fault.It would be Don’s.But she didn’t want them hurt.

“Let’s talk about something else because there’s nothing we can do about that right now,” David said firmly, reaching out across the table to take her hand.Her senses hummed at his touch, perking up with interest.Cassidy let her fingers wind around his, trying not to blush.

It was kind of crazy how such a little touch could make her body go so haywire, but that was the effect he had on her.

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“Well, you brought up your job… is being my grandmother’s caretaker really what you want to do?Jensen said you’d wanted to be a nurse.”The way he was looking at her, his gaze focused and intent, it seemed like he was really interested in the answer.He also didn’t let go of her hand.

“I did.I don’t know…” She sighed.“I feel like I’m completely starting my life over, and I’m behind on where I’m supposed to be.I love being your grandmother’s companion, but it doesn’t come with benefits.”She gave him a look when he chuckled.“I’m not talking aboutthosekind of benefits.”

He winked at her, unperturbed, and she was hard-pressed not to smile back.

“That’s mostly because you’re being paid under the table,” he said.

Cassidy jumped when his foot slid along hers under the table.Cute.She narrowed her eyes at him, and he smiled guilelessly.

“We can change that once you don’t have to hide anymore.In the meantime, we’ve got you on Black Fox’s insurance… Lincoln didn’t tell you that?”

“Oh…” She cast her mind back, trying to remember.“He might have said something about it.I’m not sure.I don’t have a card, though.”

“I’ll find out what happened to it,” he promised, which made her feel a little better.“It has been a little crazy.”

“Just a bit.”She smiled.“It’s not just that, though; it’s trying to figure out everything.Right now, I’m in limbo, but I feel like there’s so much I haven’t done to prepare for my life.Like, I feel like I wasted my twenties on a shitty relationship that prevented me from doing the things I need to do.”

“Like what?”

“Like starting something for retirement.Or a savings account.Or something.Even once I’m able to work a real job with benefits, I’mbehind.And one emergency away from being homeless because I have no safety net.”Don was supposed to have been her safety net.Except he hadn’t been safe at all.

David blinked as if that wasn’t what he’d been expecting her to say.But Cassidy had had a lot of time to think and realize how precarious her situation was over the past year.Though her friends in Maryland had helped her get a job once she’d gotten away from Don, she’d needed all of that money.She hadn’t been able to put anything toward savings or the future.Something she was acutely aware of.

She was behind in every sense of the word.

“You need to talk to Yasmine,” David said.It was his turn to surprise her.Since she’d just taken a bite of food, Cassidy tilted her head at him in question.“Yasmine didn’t tell you what she does?”