Page 217 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

“Is it scaring you? Having him in the house?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“I may need your help,” I say grudgingly. “Killing him.”

“You don’t want to do it?”

“I’m… nervous.”

Obviously, the guys would never let me drown Jordan alone. They’ll make sure he won’t ever touch me again. And if by some accident I end up falling into the water, they’d pull me out immediately. I don’t have any reason to be scared. But it’s too much. I justcan’t.

“It’s your first kill,” Rhett says. “I’d say it gets easier from there, but it depends on the type of person you are. And who you’re killing.”

“Hmm.” That’s not my problem, but I don’t tell Rhett that. It’s too stupid, and he’s already worried enough about me.

“Are you asking for my help, Wren?”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I nod. I stare into my lap, too afraid that if I look at him, he’ll see exactly why I can’t do this on my own.

“Sweetheart.” His tone is gentle as he brings himself to his knees in front of me. The position is one he hates, although I’m not sure why, but he does it without a second thought.

“Yes?” I whisper.

“I’ll gladly do it. You want me to carve his heart out of his chest and give it to you, I will. You want me to hold his head under water repeatedly until you feel like you have justice, I’ll do it with a smile on my face. My will is yours, Wren, and these hands—” Rhett holds them out to me, “—will do whatever you direct them to.”

I place my hands in his, and he brings them to his lips, kissing each of my fingers. Maybe I should be deterred by a man who’s so willing to kill for me, but instead I find myself smiling down at him.

“Thank you.”

“Anything, Wren. Anything.”

The force in his voice has me closing the distance between us. Leaning down, I fuse my mouth to his in a grateful kiss. His hands rest on my thighs, and I stroke my fingers over his hair with a moan.

“You mean more to me than I ever thought I could feel toward a person,” I whisper when we pull away. I brush my nose against his.

Something fearful crosses Rhett’s face, but he schools his expression before it’s even been a full second. “I know, sweetheart.” Then he stands, looping his arms around me and picking me up.

I grab onto his shoulders with a surprised laugh. “What are you doing?”

“I have some work to do,” he says, sitting in the chair and settling me on his lap. “You’re not leaving my sight until you’ve seen our doctor. And in the meantime, you’re finishing that glass of water.”

“It’s okay that I’m on your lap? If you don’t want that much touching—”

“I want you close, Wren.” He brings one arm around my waist, typing on his laptop with one hand. “Reminds me that you’re safe.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

I dutifully sip my water, trying my hardest not to squirm too much as he works. He seems to be doing a mixture of answering emails and adding a variety of numbers, notes, and links to a colorful spreadsheet. Part of me wants to ask what it is, but the rest of me is absolutely enraptured by the way Rhett looks when he’s focused. He’s hardly blinking, that’s how caught up in his work he is.

When the doctor arrives, he checks me over. It’s a lot of poking and prodding that I want to shy away from, but it’s a necessary evil, so I grit my teeth and deal with it. Rhett holds my hand the entire time, explaining to the man what happened.

“She went without eating from Friday morning to late last night. Barely had any water, was potentially hypothermic for some of that time, and was also nearly drowned five times.”

The doctor looks up at Rhett, alarmed. “Five times? What the hell? Mr. Brooks, that’s—”

“I’m not paying you ten thousand dollars for you to do anything but mind your own damn business and keep your mouth shut. You know that. Is she going to be okay?”