Page 15 of With this Ring (Mastered #7)

Shall I tell you the truth?

Or lie to both of us?

Shaking his head, Gregorio brushed wayward strands of hair back from her face.

For now, he’d savor the moment, relishing the heady taste of her on his lips, remembering the way she looked at him and the feel of her pussy and legs as she wrapped around him.

The morning was soon enough to deal with reality.

Tonight, he wanted to be lost in her. To believe their future was a certainty.

“Everything’s fine.” With a soft kiss, he promised to return.

As he slipped out of bed, and she propped herself on her side, her eyebrows still drawn together, as if she wasn’t sure whether or not she believed him. She was right to have those questions.

He left her to dispose of the condom and to restore his equilibrium.

In the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face, trying to clear his head.

He’d fucking been married to her older sister. But now, with the feelings he was experiencing for Sasha, he had to wonder whether or not he’d ever truly cared for Adriana.

Shucking away the droplets, he turned the tap on again, this time to hot.

After drying his face, he returned to her, carrying a warm washcloth, his cock already half-hard again.

He pressed the soothing warmth to her red, swollen pussy, and she purred. Instantly, his dick demanded he possess her again.

What was it about her that got inside him this way? Not just his physical responses, but his emotional ones, as well.

He couldn’t get enough.

Gritting his teeth against his demanding arousal, he vowed to let her recover. At least for another couple of hours.

Sasha had come to him for advice and comfort, not to be fucked ragged.

Too bad he couldn’t convince his body of that fact.

Her gaze took in his erection. “You’re ready again?”

“Perpetual state of being where you’re concerned.” He grimaced before gently picking her up and scooting her over. “Need a T-shirt to sleep in?” He’d prefer she snuggle up to him, naked.

“You don’t want to make love again?”

“Want to? Hell, yes. But you need rest.”

“Being sore would be worth it.”

His cock pulsed. This woman… “When was the last time you slept well?”

Softly, she sighed. “I can’t remember.”

“Figured.” He climbed back in bed and gathered her close.

For the moment, he was content to hold her while he figured out a plan.

She placed a hand on his chest and spread her fingers wide. Then slowly, her eyelids fluttered before finally closing. Moments later, she sighed, and her breathing changed, letting him know she was asleep.

To be sure she was out completely, he remained where he was for long minutes, replaying what they’d shared, then reminding himself she would never have sought him out if she wasn’t in danger.

Keeping her safe was his number one priority…even more important than satisfying his consuming hunger for her.

Careful not to disturb her, Gregorio eased out of bed.

She murmured softly in her sleep but didn’t wake.

Unable to help himself, he gazed at her for long moments, drinking in her beauty and peacefulness. There was nothing more he wanted to do than climb back in bed and hold her tight.

Still, he dressed, then turned off the bedroom light and pulled the door mostly closed before setting the house alarm and heading back to the Den.

The night was quiet and dark, the only sound his sure footsteps on the path.

Keeping to the shadows, he crossed the patio.

Once he was inside, Lilith glanced up from where she was standing near the sliding glass door. “Wasn’t expecting to see you back here, Sir.”

“Won’t be here long.” Already, he was anxious to get back to Sasha. He hated leaving her alone even for a few minutes, despite how secure the property was.

A couple of guests snagged his attention, and he bit back his impatience to chat for a few moments before excusing himself and heading upstairs.

In the private offices, Damien still sat behind his desk, staring at his computer screen. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Gregorio wasn’t surprised. They’d been friends and associates for too damn long not to read each other’s minds.

“How’s your guest doing?” Damien asked, leaning back in his chair.

Gregorio dropped into the chair opposite him. “Exhausted.”

Studying Gregorio closely, Damien nodded. “She came to you for help and protection.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Someone ransacked her office.” Gregorio ran a hand over his head. “And she’s being followed.”

“If my guess is right, the woman in question is your ex-wife’s little sister.”

Gregorio tensed. “And?”

“You sure you know what you’re doing here?” Though Damien’s voice was calm, controlled, his eyebrows were drawn together with skepticism. “With her?”

Much as he despised the reaction, if the tables were turned, he’d be asking the same questions. Made Damien a good friend. And annoying as hell.

“Given your history…”

“Fuck off,” Gregorio snapped.

Damien held up a hand.

“She needs my help.”

“I saw how you looked at her.” He paused. “The way she looked at you.”

“The hell does that mean?”

“Only a fool would have missed the tension. There’s more to this story.”

Which he planned to keep to himself. No one needed to know that she completely came apart for him. Or that he’d thought of her constantly since that first night that he’d had no businesses touching her. Or that he planned to keep her forever.

“Don’t let your feelings cloud your judgment.”

“They won’t.” It was a total fucking lie. And Damien was right to caution him.

His history with Sasha was beyond complicated.

She’d witnessed the good and the bad between him and Adriana.

And Sasha had been the only person with a front-row seat for their ugly divorce.

He’d never forget the sight of her that day—the stricken way she’d looked at him, tears falling down her cheeks.

And yet…

He could no longer fight his need for her.

Until she’d come to work at Hawkeye, she’d strictly been his wife’s little sister.

Then one day, she’d left the workout room after an intensely physical training session. Her chest had been heaving from the exertion, and she was glowing from sweat. Even though she was wearing a sports bra, her nipples had been hard. And she’d been grinning.

Light from a nearby window had played with her hair, and he’d nearly been brought to his knees.

She was absolutely fucking beautiful and totally unaware of it.

Not seeming to care who was around, she’d run to him and thrown her arms around his neck and thanked him for helping her get the job.

She’d pressed herself against him, and pulling away from her had taken every bit of his self-control.

“You’re welcome,” he’d told her before pivoting and striding away, telling himself she was a new recruit and his former sister-in-law, not to mention a junior employee. She was totally off limits.

But most of all, he’d needed to hide his erection.

His attempts at nobility had been somewhat successful…until the night at the wedding.

All his baser needs flared, and he’d been helpless to stop them.

A taste wasn’t enough. In that instant, he’d been determined to take what was his.

After him, she wouldn’t want anyone else.

Why should he suffer alone? She was the only one he had ever obsessed over.

If that made him an asshole, he didn’t care.

Realizing Damien was staring at him, he shook his head, trying to pick up the thread of the conversation. “I won’t turn my back on her.”

“You know people who can help her. Protect her. Without the complications.”

“Fuck that.”

Regarding Gregorio, Damien fell silent. “So that’s the way of it.”

“Yeah.”

“Understood.” He nodded tightly. “Tell me what you need from me.”

“Hope to resolve it quickly. If I need Wolfe to cover, I’ll let him know.” He shrugged. “And you.”

“See that you do.”

Without another word, Gregorio left the office.

He managed to avoid other people as he made his way through the Den and headed back out into the night—and back to Sasha.

As he walked, Damien’s warning reverberated in his head,

His friend was right. Pursuing something serious with Sasha was risky, maybe even foolish. The fallout with Adriana and her family would be hell. And if he failed Sasha, hurt her in any way… He’d never forgive himself.

But letting her go was impossible.

Consequences could get fucked. He wanted her. Needed her. He’d do whatever it took to protect her and keep her.

Resolved, he let himself back into the cottage.

Sasha was still sleeping peacefully, her face relaxed, vulnerable in the dim light.

Exhaling a relieved sigh, he headed up to his office to check the security cameras and to review the entire evening’s feed of every vehicle that approached the gate or that hesitated on the main road, looking for any anomalies.

More than an hour later, satisfied, he expanded the range on standard notifications. If anyone attempted to step foot on the property tonight, he’d know about it.

Next, he entered a secure portal and did a search on Brenda and Felix Santos to see what he could turn up. Probably not much more than she already had, but he had contacts far and deep and wide.

Methodically, he began a search of her former business partner.

Not satisfied when the search turned up nothing, he grabbed his phone. Toby Renshaw seemed to have gone to ground. Living off the money he got when Sasha bought him out of Pathways? Or was he involved in something else?

Moments later, Gregorio’s call was answered.

Despite the late hour, Hawkeye, his boss and the owner of the world’s leading security firm, answered.

“Surprised to hear from you.”

Often, the two men went months without talking, and Hawkeye almost always initiated contact since he’d quit working there in favor of finding some sort of healing at the Den.

After Sasha had quit her job, going to headquarters no longer appealed to him.

“Need to know what you’ve got on Toby Renshaw. ”

Silence echoed back before, “He’s a piece of shit.”

Gregorio had figured as much.

“I fired his ass.”