“I missed you.”

She missed me.

She missed me.

She missed me.

“How did you get to be so fucking perfect? I missed you too, kitten. And this is the only thing which can fix the problem.” I ditched the robe and crawled into bed beside her, immediately gathering her against me, loving her reaction of settling right into my arms. I just held her for a moment and breathed in the scent of her, all warm and soft from sleeping. I smelled flowery soap and a hint of maybe citrus in her hair, committing into my memory, learning every small detail I possibly could about this woman who captivated me beyond anything I’d ever experienced before with another person. I needed this—being close to her—so badly, and yet didn’t even realize until I had her soft skin pressed against mine again just how much I’d needed it. I could feel my emotions leveling out and a sense of calm overtaking my whole body... just from having Gabrielle close again. What did this say about me? You need her to be right in your fucking head.

“How are you? I worried about you the whole time I was away.”

“You did?” She sounded surprised by my declaration.

“Of course. I had to leave you naked and alone while I went out and dealt with a nightmare. I’m so sorry, Gabrielle. I don’t even have words for what that was today. I’m just so dreadfully sorry for the many things which went wrong this afternoon. You must think this is a madhouse and me a lunatic in charge of the whole bloody asylum.”

“Not today I don’t, Mr. Everley.” She brought a hand up to tuck my hair behind my ear and kept it there at the side of my face, holding me in place, as she always did whenever she touched me. I couldn’t help my reaction to her touch any more than I could stop time. It was simply my reality whenever she put her hands on me. “There was a time when I thought that way about you, but not today,” she whispered up at me.

“How’s that even possible?” I stared at her in the dark, studying her lovely face and her expression. I almost dared not to breathe as I waited for her response.

“Well, I’ve gotten to know you since, and today I saw a man doing what he could to protect his property and employees from a threat. You made sure I was taken care of and had everything I needed while you were away. You checked in with Mr. Finnegan and kept me informed of what to do. I was perfectly fine here on my own and found some amazing discoveries that I can’t wait to tell you about. I don’t think you could kick me out of here now, even if you wanted to. Plus, I signed your contracts, Mr. Everley, so it’s a done deal.”

God, maybe I had some luck after all. “I spent the first hours imagining you would leave again. Accepting that you might not be here when I got back truly sucked.” I found both of her hands and drew them up over her head, pinning her to the bed under me. The need to bind her was overwhelming, but I made do with my hands. She wasn’t going anywhere by her own admission. “I hated feeling that way.” I kissed the spot on her neck where she had the love bite, swirling over the spot with my tongue, owning the mark I’d made, using the contact to soothe my jagged nerves. “But here you are… and now I need to reassure myself after hours and hours of tortured worrying.”