Page 228 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

“He’s not coming back from this, princess,” Oliver says.

With a shuddering breath, she says, “Let him go.”

I pull Jordan out and lay him on the floor. Then I check for his pulse. Non-existent.

“He’s dead, sweetheart.”

Wren stares at Jordan’s body, almost as if she’s waiting for him to reanimate or something. But then her gaze moves to me. She steps forward, but then she pauses. “Come here. Please.”

I do, searching her face for any hint of regret. But all I find is a trust so deep it could rival the ocean.

Grabbing my head, Wren pulls me down and slams her lips to mine. I don’t miss a beat, gripping her waist and matching the intensity of her kiss. I use so much force I’m afraid I’m hurting her, but she doesn’t back down. And then she’spractically crawling onto me, and I’m picking her up so she can lock her legs around my torso.

She pulls away to catch her breath, but it’s only a second before she descends on me again. Her tongue enters my mouth in a gentle caress before I practically shove mine down her throat.

When we break off the kiss, my chest is heaving. I stare into her eyes, and there—I can just make out a sliver of brightness shining in them, resurrected because Jordan is dead.

Fuck.I’ll kill every person who’s ever hurt her if it means I get to see her full of happiness and life again.

“I want you,” she breathes. “All three of you.”

“You have us, sweetheart.”

She shakes her head. “At once. Now.”

I glance at Elliot and Oliver, who look equally relieved and concerned. “You’re sure, sweetheart?”

Resting her forehead against mine, she says, “I’ve never been so sure of something in my life.”

Chapter twenty-one

Elliot

We leave Jordan’s body in the basement to deal with later. As we head upstairs, my phone buzzes in my pocket, so I pull it out. My heart is instantly in my throat when I see who’s calling.

“I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute,” I say.

“Suit yourself,” Oliver says.

I watch them go, waiting until I’m out of earshot to answer my phone. “Ludo. What can I do for you?”

“Always getting straight to the point,” he says. “It’s one of the many things I admire about you.”

I roll my eyes. That’s the nice thing about talking on the phone with Ludo. When it comes to my facial expressions, I don’t have to pretend I don’t loathe the man.

“I’m going on vacation to Florida next week,” Ludo continues. “I’m bringing my fiancée with me, and unfortunately I have to attend to some business while I’m down there. My bodyguards will be with me, so I need someone to watch over her. And considering how brilliantly you three handled Edgar Williams, I thought I’d extend the job offer to you first.”

“Thank you for the opportunity,” I say on autopilot.

Next week. Florida. Shit.

This is the perfect chance to get closer to Ludo and maybe even gain some more personal information on him. If we’re going to be spending a significant amount of time with his fiancée, then we can probably get her to open up.

The only problem is that we told Wren we wouldn’t leave her here alone again. This is a no-brainer opportunity for us, but I refuse to go back on our promise. We could bring her with us, but there’s no way she’ll be comfortable with that.

Fuck. What if she says no?

What if she says yes? How do we keep her safe while we’re working?