Page 173 of One Bad Idea

But suddenly, this discussion felt long overdue.

I said, "You, um, roughed up Cassidy's mom's boyfriend." I almost shuddered. "Or should I say pimp?"

"Either way, you're right. And you knowwhywe did it?"

"To keep him away from Cassidy, right?"

"Right."

I felt my eyebrows furrow. "But what does that have to do with you leaving the mask in my office?"

"After it was over," he said, "I got to thinking what I'd do to keepyousafe. And before I knew it, I was standing in your office, wondering what I'd do to someone who ever hurt you."

His words melted my heart. "Really?"

Again, he pulled me close. Into my hair, he said, "I would've done a lot worse than 'rough him up.'"

That sounded vaguely ominous, and yet, I wasn't disturbed. Instead, I was feeling warm and gooey all over. "So,that'swhat you were doing?" I teased. "Plotting someone's demise?"

His arms tightened around me. "If anyone hurt you? Fuck yeah." He paused. "Allie?"

"What?"

"I love you. You know that, right?"

And just like that, the world stopped spinning. I pulled back to say, "You do?"

"What, you didn't know?"

"How would I know?" I said. "You never told me."

"Yeah, well, I'm telling you now."

I smiled. "And I'm tellingyou, too."

He smiled back. "Yeah?"

I leaned into him and said against his chest, "I do love you." I gave a happy laugh. "As if you didn't know."

Whether he knew or not, he never said. But suddenly, I wasn't in the mood for sandwiches. I was in the mood for something else. And as it turned out, so was he.

Lying in his bed afterward, he told me the rest of the story. Turns out, on the night of their masked adventure, Jax and Jaden had already returned home when Morgan called, claiming to be locked in Jaden's office.

He'd arrived to find her in the same conditionIhad – nearly naked and ready for action.

But the only actionshe'dreceived was a cold shoulder, along with a stern warning to never pull that kind of stunt again.

When he finished, I snuggled tighter against him. "That was probably a good thing," I said with a laugh, "since you'd never want to violate the sanctity of your office and all."

"Violate it, huh? Sothat'swhat you're calling it?"

"Definitely." And then, I pulled back to ask, "Just curious…have you ever done that with anyone else?"

His eyebrows lifted, but he made no reply.

I gave him a playful swat to the arm. "I meaninyour office."

With a laugh, he yanked me close and kissed hard, leaving me nearly breathless. When the kiss ended, he murmured, "No. Just with you."