Page 37 of Defending Love
He pressed his firm lips together and nodded.
Back in my room, I quickly pulled a few things from my suitcase and made my way to the attached bathroom. While I hadn’t planned to shower, the large glass enclosure was too inviting. I stripped out of my clothes and stepped under the warm spray. By the time ten minutes had passed, I combed out my wet hair and donned a pair of soft shorts and a tank top. I covered the tank with an oversized soft sweatshirt when I noticed the way my nipples tented the tank from the air conditioning.
That was definitely the cause—the cold air. My hardened nipples had nothing to do with the man down the hallway who I’d basically admitted to wanting to fuck.
Right.
I wasn’t thinking about that at all.
My laptop remained in my satchel. My emails would need to wait. I’d at least called Damien and left a message that Eli and I were settled in a villa. I told him it was nice, and he and Ella could use it later in the month.
As I made my way down the steps, I found Eli in the kitchen. He was still wearing his suit pants and button-up shirt. The only change was the way his sleeves were now rolled to his elbows, showing artistic tattoos on his muscular forearms, and the absence of his holster. His gun was lying on the kitchen counter. I looked around. “Where’s the beach bag?”
Chapter
Fourteen
Eli
* * *
The beach bag.
“I moved it to the living room,” I said as I removed our dinner from the refrigerator.
Dani’s posture relaxed as she came closer. Her wet long hair cascaded over her slender shoulders, and her beautiful face was free of the cosmetics she truly didn’t need. Shapely long legs came from beneath an oversized sweatshirt. Her feet were bare, showing her light-pink toenails.
“Is the air too cool?” I asked.
“No.” She wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I like soft, warm things.”
“I did a sweep upstairs and down. There are no cameras and no audio recording or transmitting devices.”
Her lips curled as her navy-blue eyes met mine. “That’s good to know.”
“I also received a few text messages. Brian, Jack’s nighttime replacement, is with your mother. She’s resting peacefully.”
Dani sighed as she sat at the kitchen table near where I’d set her salad and a bottle of water. Thankfully, Guardian had the refrigerator stocked with water.
“The other text was from Larry. All is quiet in Indianapolis.”
She didn’t respond. Her smile from upstairs was gone.
Handing her silverware, I tilted my head. “Are you having second thoughts about the things from your father’s safe?”
She shook her head as she opened the lid to her salad. “I started wondering in the shower if it was fair for me to look through the things without Damien.” Her blue eyes looked up. “He has as much right to know as I do.” Before I could say anything, she added, “He isn’t responsible for what happened, so don’t go there.”
I lifted my hand before taking the seat to her side with my dinner. “Do you think Darius is—capable?”
Dani prodded the lettuce around with her fork. “I don’t.” She looked up. “He and Damien have never gotten along.” She pierced a chunk of chicken. “If I look at the whole situation from Darius’s perspective, I get it. He was Dad’s first child—first son. Then his parents divorced, and Dad married Mom. Darius was ten years old when along came Damien. Darius probably felt like he went from being the heir apparent to being left behind.”
“Was he left behind?”
“No,” she replied between bites. “When we were young, Darius spent every other weekend with us. Later, Dad gave Darius the chance to run Sinclair Pharmaceuticals, and he failed. It was so bad that Dad almost sold Sinclair.”
I stopped arranging my sandwich. “Sold it? When?”
Dani hummed. “Well, Damien passed his five years of probation around a year ago. It would have been before Dad retired. I’d say maybe six years ago.”
