Page 55 of The Scarab's Game

He was one to talk. He’d been the one having the nightmare.

But the gun? Holy shit. Scarlett never said their jobs were so dangerous they slept with weapons next to them. Rav, I could understand.

Not Emmett.

Not voice-like-silk Emmett.

I yawned and placed my hand over his.

Not always-knew-what-to-say Emmett.

Not the Emmett who Dante swore was in love with me.

“Nothing bad’s going to happen.” He stroked my abdomen with his thumb. “I’ve got you.”

I know.

Chapter 19

Emmett

Jenn’s alarm pinged,prompting a small groan as she rolled over to shut it off. Despite our legs remaining tangled, the lack of contact felt wrong. She nestled back against my chest with a soft sigh, pulling my arm over her. She mumbled something that sounded like, “One snooze.”

I didn’t respond to her groggy words. Instead, I pretended I was still asleep. Pretended I was an ordinary man, holding my woman in the morning.

Last night, I’d planned to wait until she fell asleep, then leave. At worst, I would have gone back to my room for the gun, hidden it in the bedside table drawer, and snuck back in next to her. But sleep had taken me too quickly. For the first time in four months, it had been peaceful. No pills, no alcohol, no anything.

Just the woman I couldn’t have, snuggled safely in my arms.

It had taken all my self-control to bring her to this bed and tell her to go to sleep. Every fiber of my being wanted to press my lips against the slope of her shoulder, let my hands travel the landscape of her skin, and feel her pulse quicken under my touch.

Fuck, she’d been so wet in my lap last night. But her heat was nothing against the visions in my dream. I couldn’t shake them, even with her grinding against me.

I’d seen Rav’s doctor once after the ordeal in April.

He’d wanted me to talk about the dreams.

I wanted nothing to do with that.

I’d figured I had all the time in the world to deal with my demons. I hadn’t considered being with a woman since then—barely wanted to spend time with anyone outside of the company.

But then Jenn… urging me to kiss her, to throw her into the bed, to feast on her soaking pussy for hours?

Her breathing became steady again as she drifted back to sleep. I slowly tightened my grip around her waist, feeling the curve of her body tucked against me. If my hand wandered, I could claim I was sleeping. Sink between her legs and stroke her into wakefulness. After last night, I knew she’d say yes.

My cock reacted.

But I had to resist.

She was still Scarlett’s best friend, and Scarlett had been right to warn me off. I was trouble. I was a liar, a manipulator, and was incapable of long-term relationships. No matter what she said, Jenn wouldn’t want a one-night stand. She deserved forever with a reliable man.

And that wasn’t me.

While it also wasn’t Dante, considering he was working with Fenix, at least her revelation about her boyfriend confirmed she was as loyal as I’d thought. She hadn’t been out cavorting, thinking about cheating on her significant other.

Her alarm pinged again, and she sighed. “I need to get ready.”

I didn’t let go; instead, I held fast, making her pause in her stretch for the phone. “Are you all right?”