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slid sinuously through her system and her nipples hardened. Alarmed again at
how he affected her, she stepped back, clearing her throat. Thank you for
letting me stay here.
He let her avoid him. For the moment. You re welcome here. You re safe here,
I
promise you. You know, it occurs to me you haven t told me your name.
I m Nina, but you must have known that from Gabriel or you wouldn t have
known where I lived.
He gave a quiet chuckle. Well yes, but we haven t been properly introduced.
He talked about you all of the time his big sister who was always helping him.
He wanted to prove himself to you. He stopped speaking, his smile faltered
when he watched more grief come into her eyes. I am sorry for your loss,
Nina. Rey loved you.
At least he didn t try saying what an important asset Gabriel was to them or
any such lie. She nodded. I really need to sleep, she said, trying not to
plead. She needed some distance from Lex and she needed it before she did or
said something stupid like jump on him as she cried, please take off your
pants and give me comfort with your cock
.
He cleared his throat and she snapped back to reality. Hang on a sec. He
sprinted down the hall and came back a few moments later.
Handing her a neatly folded stack of clothes he stood back, almost looking
shy.
Here. They re going to be too big but it occurred to me that you may not have
any
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Lauren Dane clothes to sleep in. Please, call out if you need me. I m only two
doors down. He walked to the door and looked back at her one last time before
leaving the room quietly.
She had two changes of clothes in the running kit but no night clothes, so she
rooted through the clothes he d brought and found a pajama top that smelled of
him. On autopilot, she hugged it to her body as she padded into the bathroom
that adjoined the bedroom.
The room was as large as her bedroom at home. A terrible pain sliced through
her as she realized that she had no home anymore. Her books, her music, her
clothing, it was as gone as Gabriel was. She d bought her little bungalow two
years before. She could have chosen something more expensive, she had some
money left over from what she d spent on the business, but she d wanted to buy
it free and clear without showing up on any radar. So she d scrimped and saved
and made it her own, planting her own garden and decorating it slowly but
surely. She still had about three hundred thousand dollars in a Swiss account
but she felt guilty about that money and left it there to be used only in an
emergency.
She turned on the water and let it go very hot. The room filled with steam as
her vision blurred. As she stepped into the glass enclosure the first racking
sob tore through her and she stood there, face turned up to the water, letting
the tears flow freely.
She felt so alone. She had no one left who was part of her, and that made her
feel bereft. Adrift. At the same time, she couldn t deny the small part of her
that felt freer now that she wasn t responsible for someone else. She wouldn t
be cleaning up after
Gabriel anymore. Of course that just made her feel guilty on top of alone and
grief-
stricken, and the tears came harder.
The water began to cool just as she had nothing left. Like a zombie, she got
out and dried off, slipping into the shirt. It felt good against her
skin Lex s scent wrapped around her, giving her comfort. With a heavy sigh she
pulled back the bedding and slid between the sheets. Her last thought was that
she d have to deal with the cops and her house first thing, and then she
promptly passed out.
* * * * *
Down the hall, in the office outside of Cade s bedroom, Lex heard her turn on
the shower and then his stomach clenched as he heard her sobs. He stood up and
started to leave the room, to go to her and pull her into his arms. Cade put
his hand out and barred the door.
Where are you going?
She s hurting! I m going to go to her.
Cade heard the anguish in his brother s voice and hid a smile. Why? I thought
you weren t interested in her, Cade said with mock casualness. I think she s
pretty exceptional. That roundhouse and the right hook? Wow. Anyway, you think
she s a dried-up spinster, I ll go in and comfort her. He moved to leave the
room.
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Enforcer
Lex s hand shot out and grabbed his brother s shirt. Stay away from her, he
growled.
Cade laughed with delight. I knew it!
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