Page 20 of With this Ring (Mastered #7)

“I have no idea how many years it’s been since I had to scramble over a fence,” Sasha said with a small wince.

AsFelix Santos had entered the house, Gregorio and Sasha had hustled out the backdoor of the mansion and made a mad dash for the far end of the property.

Close escapes were a constant in his life. Maybe too constant.

With a half-smile, she accepted the wineglass he offered. “Appreciate it.”

Holding a glass of Bonds whiskey, he sank into the chair close to her. On the Den’s patio, flickering flames from the firepit cast shadows across her face, making her skin golden and catching the highlights in her hair.

After they’d sped away from the Santos’ neighborhood, Sasha had said very little.

Then they’d met with the Hawkeye teams, and she’d sent the new office codes to her staff.

During the drive back up the mountain, they’d debriefed with Inamorata. Sasha had been efficient. Professional. Keeping it together.

But he’d noticed the way her hands curled into fists in her lap, the way she kept her spine straight as if she was bracing for impact.

But even here, where they were safe, the vast Colorado sky stretching above them and the crisp mountain air biting at his skin, the tension in his shoulders refused to ease.

This mission wasn’t like the others. No clear orders. No defined threat. Just a tangled web of questions and half-truths, and the gnawing sense that someone—maybe everyone—was lying. Gregorio hated not knowing. Hated the way his instincts itched, like he was walking blindfolded through a minefield.

He took a breath. Then another.

The Santos mess was handled…for now.

Hawkeye had what they needed…for now.

Her discovery of Argentum’s involvement confirmed Sasha was caught up in something big and dangerous, and it redoubled his determination not to let her go it alone.

Despite her protests that she didn’t need to be sheltered away at his cabin, that was exactly where she was going.

Not just because she’d been family at one point.

And not just because she’d come to him for help and his integrity wouldn’t allow him to walk away.

After last night, Sasha was in his heart.

With other women, even her sister, he’d been able to keep his emotional distance. He was always in control, always able to walk away without a backward glance.

But Sasha…?

Fuck it to hell.

She demolished his defenses with a single look. The way she surrendered to him, trusted him, became wild and uninhibited in his arms—he’d never experienced anything like it before. She wasn’t any woman.

She was…everything.

His everything.

Fucking her, making love, had been a mistake. One he wasn’t sure he’d recover from.

She tipped her head back, and his gaze was drawn to the elegant line of her throat. Above them, a shooting star streaked across the inky sky.

“Do you believe that wishes come true?” she asked quietly.

He wasn’t sentimental. Didn’t believe in anything other than hard work and persistence. Right and wrong. Rather than darken her mood, he took a sip and countered with, “Do you?”

“Used to. When I was a kid.” Her voice held a note of wistfulness that made his chest tighten. “Before…”

Before her parents’ restaurant had been held up at gunpoint, and she’d been huddled up, frightened and unable to do anything to help them during the robbery. “And now?” he asked.

“Like you, I just believe in getting the job done.” She took another sip of wine, then turned to regard him. “I’ve been thinking…”

In the firelight, he studied her, wishing he could see her eyes more clearly.

“It started after I saw Mrs. Santos in person.”

He looked at her sharply. “The stalking?”

She nodded, and her fingers tightened around the stem of her glass. “I’d been working the case for a while, but nothing happened before we met in person.”

“Where did you meet?”

“I went to her house.”

So Mrs. Santos was being watched. Made sense, especially considering Felix showed up at home, less than twenty minutes after he and Sasha arrived. Not bad for a man who was supposedly out of town.

Before they’d left, Sasha made the woman promise she’d call the moment it was safe. So far, the phone hadn’t rung.

“So who was in my office?” Despite the fact she was bundled up and had a blanket around her, she shuddered. “Argentum?”

That was the only thing that made sense. Santos was mixed up with them, and if he were in trouble, surveilling their home made sense.

And that meant the risk to his Petal was even greater.

They spent the next few minutes talking about other angles to the case, things they’d discussed a dozen times on the drive back to Winter Park, looking for things they’d missed.

Until they heard back from Inamorata or Mrs. Santos, they were at a dead end. “Tell me about your former partner.” Especially after what Hawkeye had said, Gregorio had no reason to trust the guy. “About Toby.”

“I doubt he’s involved. That just doesn’t make sense.”

“We need to look at every connection. Humor me.”

She shrugged. “He was my boss at Hawkeye. I thought he was good at what he did. Smart. Capable. The kind of person people trusted.” Her knuckles went white around the glass.

Fuck. He should have seen this before. “You loved him?”

The wine sloshed in her glass, but she didn’t respond.

Jealousy ripped through him, primal and possessive. He clenched his jaw as images flashed through his mind—another man touching her, holding her, sharing her bed. Coming home to her every night.

His thoughts were irrational. Dangerous. He had no claim on her past.

“I wouldn’t call it that.” She considered.

“I mean… We started Pathways together, which meant we spent a lot of time with each other. On some level, we fell into a relationship. We were living together, trying to save money by sharing expenses while we got the agency running. But it wasn’t like a burning, passionate love.

” She closed her eyes. “Regardless. It’s still stupid, right? ”

“Don’t.” The word came out harsher than he’d intended.

With a small frown, she turned to face him. “Don’t what?”

His voice dropped, rough with emotion he couldn’t hold back. “Call yourself stupid for trusting someone who didn’t deserve it.”

“Thank you for that.”

Her eyes held a fragile vulnerability, and he curled a hand into a fist, wanting to slam it into the man’s face for hurting her. If he ever saw him, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions.

“I had to leave everything behind,” she continued softly. “The place we’d shared. The life we’d built. All because I wouldn’t compromise my ethics.” She lifted a shoulder. “I moved back into my parents’ house while I tried to scrape together enough money to buy him out of the Pathways agreement.”

Her words were a knife in his gut. The thought of her struggling while that bastard lived in their home…

“Like I said. I was stupid to trust him.”

“Emotion makes us blind.” He kept his voice steady despite the rage building inside him.

A gust of wind swept across the patio, and she shivered.

The fire’s warmth wasn’t enough anymore—not for this conversation, not for what lay between them. And it sure as hell wasn’t enough for the possessive need consuming him.

Standing, he held out his hand. “Let’s go inside, Petal.”

Her gaze met his.

“Gregorio…”

“Take my hand.” When she finally placed hers in his, he closed his tightly.

No other man would ever hurt her again.

Because there was little light, he turned on the flashlight on his phone as they made their way down the path.

As they neared his place, the motion-sensor lights switched on. In the near distance, a coyote howled.

Once inside, with the alarm set and the door locked, he released her hand and turned her to face him.

“Strip for me.”

Her eyes widened.

“I want you.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, but she made no move to protest.

“You’re going to be mine.”

“This…” She hesitated. “I mean…” She looked around the room. “You mean right here? Not the bedroom?”

“You know who I am. What I want.” He came closer and captured her shoulders.

Gently he rubbed them, reassuring her, connecting them to one another, letting her know he was serious.

“Now, Petal. Be my good girl.” He left no room for argument, and he saw a responding flicker of compliance in her beautiful green eyes.

“Uh…”

“As you know, my preferred response is yes, Sir.”

“Always?” Her lips parted. “I thought that was just last night.”

“I’m a Dominant with you, Sasha.” Before now, he’d sometimes been a switch—meaning he’d bottom for the right person who needed a release as much as he did.

A sound thrashing could get him out of his head, and the taste of pain sharpened his senses—maybe why he enjoyed his punching bag, too, and being in the field.

But his sweet Sasha had restored order to his universe.

“When we’re intimate, I expect certain things from you. ”

She took in a small, trembling breath.

“It was natural enough for you yesterday. You want this as much as I do. Stop thinking.”

For a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Unless you’d rather we hang out on the couch, maybe watch TV?” At that, his lips did twitch. She hadn’t moved at all, hadn’t tried to get away. His Petal was as hot for him as he was for her. “Or you’re welcome to shower and go to bed.”

“That’s not…” She shook her head. “No. That’s not what I want.”

“In that case, please do as I say.” He released his grip but didn’t step back. “Remove your clothes.”

“Yes…”

He waited.

“Sir.”

His cock hardened at the breathless respect in her voice. So fucking perfect.

With slow, tentative movements, she began to undress. Her jacket slid off first, followed by her shirt, revealing the smooth curves of her shoulders and the swell of her breasts encased in black lace. Gregorio watched, his breath growing shallow as each layer fell away.

When she stood before him in nothing but her bra and panties, he motioned for her to continue. She bit her lip, sending a jolt straight to his groin.