“Can I hug you for a bit?”
I nodded, tears pricking my eyes. He held me more firmly against him, and I slung my arms around his neck and straddled his lap. I locked my legs behind him and clung to him.
Minutes passed, but neither of us moved. With a shuddering breath, I closed my eyes and let out the sob I’d kept trapped inside me for two days. I held on to him tighter. He caressed my bare back, cooing gently to me like I was a baby. It just made me cry harder.
“I’m sorry.” I sniffled. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“You’ve been through a lot over the last three days, Kit. There’s no reason to apologize to me for crying.”
“I was trying to be tough.”
“Baby.” Sully tilted up my chin, and I opened my eyes. “You don’t have to be tough all the time, and you never have to pretend with me. I failed you that night, but I’m here to protect you.”
“You didn’t fail.”
“Someone got to you right under my nose.”
“It’s impossible for you to watch me twenty-four seven.”
“That’s why I’m reinstating your bodyguard, even though I’m still here.”
I laid my head on his chest. “You never told me how you found me. You don’t have a chip implanted somewhere in my body, do you?”
He chuckled. “You watch too many movies.”
“Tell me. At first, I thought it was my phone, but I didn’t have it on me when I was taken.”
“The necklace,” he said. “That’s where the tracker is. You’re not upset, are you?”
“Disappointed the gift I thought was for me was nothing but business.”
“It might have been, but do you know how many stores I went to, to find one I knew you’d like?”
“How many?”
“Damn, I was hoping you wouldn’t ask. Two.”
I poked him in the ribs, and he laughed, flipping me over onto the lounge chair. He leaned over me, his hot breath warming my cheek.
“I’ll buy you another just for pleasure, then.” He nibbled at my earlobe. “But you must still wear this one whenever you go out. Promise me you’ll never take it off. I don’t mean to keep tabs on you, Kit, but it gives me peace of mind knowing where you are.”
I brushed my thumb along the arch of his brow. “After what nearly happened, I won’t ever take it off, but what about you? Shouldn’t I be able to track you too?”
“Liam has a tracker on me.”
“Your phone?”
“My forearm.”
He was joking, right? But he looked serious. “You have a tracking device implanted in your body?”
“For security reasons, yes.”
“That’s seriously scary.”
“It’s not so bad. If you want, I can hook you up to our tracking service so you can always know where I am.”
I stroked a hand down his chest. “But how are you going to run off now when you tire of me?”