Kade’s hands settled on my hips, keeping me steady and I rose and fell on him. Sweat broke out on his forehead as I rose until he was nearly outside my body, then slowly sank back down. A groan left his lips and I smiled.

“I take that back,” he said. “You’re not a princess but an evil witch, bent on torturing me.”

I repeated the move, my body molded to his size now so it wasn’t uncomfortable. His fingers dug into my hips so hard, I knew I’d have marks later, not that I cared.

“I wouldn’t want you to, you know”—I bent down to whisper in his ear—“forget.” I was teasing but the look on Kade’s face was serious when he replied.

“As if I could ever forget you.”

I sat back up, pushing him in deeper. My hands splayed across his chest as I moved faster on him.

“That’s right,” he encouraged. “Don’t stop, baby.” His grip tightened, his hips thrusting up hard into me.

Something close to a scream ripped from my throat as my body convulsed around his. Kade thrust again, and again, then he shouted his climax even as mine kept going, spurred on by the spasms of his cock inside me.

Afterward, I was boneless, falling forward to rest on his chest, my head tucked into his neck. Both our bodies were slick with sweat and I was glad of the breeze. Kade’s hand brushed my hair back from my face, his fingers trailing through the long strands to draw lazy patterns on my back.

“I told you I don’t mind certain messes,” Kade said.

I smiled. “So you did.”

We lay like that for a while, our bodies still joined, our hearts beating in unison. If I could have, I’d have taken the moment and pressed it between the pages of my mind, to keep it with me, this fresh and pure, always. I committed to memory the smell of the balmy breeze as it drifted across us, the feel of Kade’s body, warm and strong underneath mine, the sound of his heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Finally, I rose, pressing a kiss to Kade’s lips before I got to my feet. I dragged my dress over my head while Kade pulled on his pants. I held my hair out of the way while he slid the zipper up the back of my dress. He kissed my neck, his arms crossing over my stomach as he held me.

“I need to get to work,” I said.

“Which reminds me, I have something for you.”

I turned around and he handed me a key.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“Your apartment is done. That’s a key to the new lock.”

My stomach seemed to drop. I hadn’t been prepared for this, though I should have been. Of course it was time to go home now. Time to remove myself from Blane’s and Kade’s lives. My hand fisted around the key, its edges biting into my palm.

“Thank you,” I said, avoiding his eyes and hurriedly blinking back the tears in mine.

“You okay?” Kade asked.

“Fine,” I said, grabbing my bra and shoes. I didn’t see my panties anywhere. “Just need to get going. Tell Mona thanks for the picnic.”

Kade grabbed me around the waist and kissed me until I was breathless. “I’ll come by later,” he murmured against my lips. “After I take care of James.”

“Don’t kill him,” I said. “Promise me.”

“I don’t like making promises,” he said.

“Promise me this,” I persisted, looking into his eyes.

Kade’s lips pressed in a thin line and he didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded. I smiled softly and gave him one last tight squeeze.

“Did you bring my car?” I asked.

“That piece of shit you drive now?”

“That piece of shit is cheap and gets me where I’m going,” I teased. We exchanged keys and Kade picked up the basket, walking me back to the car.

He opened the door for me, then pressed another kiss to my lips, as though now that he knew he could kiss me, he didn’t want to stop.

“The fact that you’re wearing nothing under that prim and proper dress is all kinds of hot,” he whispered in my ear.

A shiver went through me and I laughed, reluctantly pushing him away. “I’ll see you later, okay? Be careful.”

Kade watched me get in the car and drive away—and if tears poured down my face as I glanced in the rearview mirror, there was no one to see.

* * *

My apartment was as good as new—better, actually. New carpet, paint, and furniture. I assumed I had Kade to thank for the furniture.

I’d just gotten dressed in my work uniform when there was a knock at the door. I glanced through the peephole and recognized my landlord, Mike. About my height, he was stocky, but from too much beer rather than working out.

“Hi,” I said when I opened the door. “The place looks great. Thanks for taking care of it.”

“Yeah, well, fixing the damage from the accident wasn’t cheap,” he said, the belligerence in his tone taking me aback. He handed me an envelope.

“What’s this?” I said as I opened it.

“The bill.”

My jaw dropped. “But… this is for over three thousand dollars!”

“Like I said, the repairs weren’t cheap.”

“I don’t have this kind of money,” I protested.

He shrugged. “You’ve got two weeks to pay it or I sue you. Your choice.” He turned away and jogged down the stairs.

Shit.

No time to think about that right now, though. I hurried into the bathroom to smear makeup over the J still visible on my chest. The deep V-neck shirt didn’t cover it at all. Makeup at least made it less obvious.

I took a deep breath before going into The Drop. I really hoped no one besides Tish knew about what had happened with James, but I didn’t hold out a lot of hope for that.

Scott was working as well, and he did a double take when he saw me. I gave him a tentative smile as I stowed my purse under the bar.

“Hey,” he said, coming up next to me, “I heard about what happened, and I have to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you alone that night.” He was so upset, so sincere, I had to give him a hug.

“It’s okay,” I said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

His hug was tighter than I expected. “I never should have left you alone,” he said.

“Stop beating yourself up,” I said. “I’m fine.”

Scott pulled back, a wry smile on his lips. “I heard you kicked his ass. I had no idea you were such a badass.”

“I’m full of surprises,” I teased, glad that apparently Romeo hadn’t shown the video to anyone.

“Kathleen!”

I turned around in time to see Tish right before she flung her arms around me.

“Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re okay!” she said, choking up.

She was practically strangling me, but I held on to her, thankful for my friends.

“I’m fine,” I assured her when she finally let go. Her eyes were wet with tears. “Don’t cry or you’ll ruin your makeup,” I admonished her with a smile.

Tish sniffed and smiled a little back. “I hope it was okay to give the DVD to that guy,” she said quietly so only I could hear. “Since he had your phone and you were staying with him, I figured you trusted him.”

With my life, I wanted to say but didn’t.

“Romeo was so upset,” she continued. “I’ve never seen him like that before. I thought he was going to start crying right in front of me.”

My eyes practically bugged out of my head. Romeo was an Italian throwback to 1985 who’d seen too many mafia movies. He thought gold necklaces were the ultimate badass accessory and always wore leather wristbands for the same reason. I didn’t think he’d ever been in a fight, though, and he always reminded me of a dog that was all bark and no bite.

“Seriously?” I squeaked.

“Oh yeah, and he turned fire-engine red when he told me about it. He practically begged me to talk to you so he wouldn’t have to.”

Huh. Romeo cared. Who knew? But that begged another question.

“Tish,” I said, “did anyone else watch the video?”

She shook her head. “Just Romeo. I, uh, wanted to… but didn’t.” She smiled ruefully. “Not to be morbidly curious or anything, but I was worried you wouldn’t go to the cops.”

“I’m not going to the cops,” I said.

“What? Please tell me you’re not serious.” She looked stunned.

“Did Romeo tell you who that guy was?” I asked, lowering my voice.

Tish shook her head.

“It was the district attorney.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I wish I was,” I replied. “Listen, we’re still going to use it, I just won’t be going to the cops.” I gave her a meaningful look and she seemed to catch on.

“So long as the bastard pays for what he did,” she said firmly.

“Does everybody know?” I asked.

“No, just Scott, me, and Jeff.”

I supposed that was something. I really didn’t want everyone looking at me with pity in their eyes.

Business was steady for the evening and I was glad because being busy kept my mind off of Blane and Kade. I didn’t know what I was going to say to Kade when he arrived, I just knew it was going to hurt. I worried about what was going on with James, and prayed Kade would be safe and not do anything stupid.

So I was relieved when I saw him walk in the door a few minutes before closing. He’d changed into jeans, boots, and a black button-down shirt that he wore untucked. I knew that meant he had a gun wedged in his jeans at the small of his back.

Kade sat down at the bar and I drank him in. The top few buttons of his shirt had been left undone, the black fabric not quite as dark as his hair. His jaw was shadowed because he hadn’t shaved since early this morning. His gaze caught mine and his lips curved into the smirk I knew so well.

I grabbed two beers and popped the lids, setting one in front of Kade.

“Well?” I asked, anxious to hear what had happened with James.

“He folded like the spineless piece of shit that he is,” Kade said, lifting his bottle to clink against mine.

I let out a pent-up breath, relieved beyond words that it was over, then took a healthy swallow of beer. “So Blane’s in the clear?”

Kade nodded. “Charges should be dropped by morning.”

I was glad that something good had come out of that horrible encounter with James. Reporting him to the cops would have resulted in a messy, public battle that I may not have won. Now, at least Blane had benefited from James’s stupidity.

Scott and I finished cleaning up and stocking the bar. Kade followed us out the door and Scott locked up. He gave me another hug before he left, despite Kade’s glare when he did so.

“You good?” Scott asked me, eyeing Kade suspiciously.

“Yep. See you later.”

Scott nodded and headed for his car. I was parked around back. Kade slotted our fingers together as we walked.

“I have a great idea,” Kade said when we got to my car. He pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me as he nuzzled my neck. “It might get messy, though.”

The dark seduction in his voice made a shiver run through me and I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to be strong, no matter how much I wanted to go back on the decision I’d made.

“We can’t,” I said.

“Sure we can,” Kade said, brushing his lips over my ear. “I have a maid.”

“That’s not what I mean,” I said, flattening my hands on his chest and giving him a push. “I mean us, you and me.”

He raised his head and our eyes locked. His brows were drawn in confusion.

“What are you talking about? Why not?”

“We can’t be together, Kade,” I said softly, my voice sad. “You know that.”

Kade’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. “I’ll keep working that other job, the business I started,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe. I swear it. You don’t have to do this.”

Each word was like a shaft of iron through my chest. A sob welled and tears stung my eyes, but I clung to my composure. I had to get through this.

I had to lie.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I just don’t feel the same way about you as you do for me.” I paused and said the hardest sentence I’d ever uttered in my life. “I don’t love you.”

Kade looked stricken and I immediately wished I could take back the words I’d just said, the words that had hurt him.

“But today,” he said. “You were happy. We were happy. We made love—”

“Sex, Kade,” I interrupted. “We had sex, that’s all.”

“You’re telling me it was just fucking for you?”

“You’re beautiful,” I said. “And you’ve saved me so many times—”

“So you were thanking me?”

“No, that’s not—”

“Fuck you.”

My throat closed at the cold fury on Kade’s face and I pressed my lips tightly together, biting the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t cry. I’d known he’d hate me for this, but I still wasn’t prepared for how much it tore me apart.