‘He’ll wake up soon,’ Dax said. ‘Get dressed. We’re getting out of here.’

‘You can’t… I mean… are you just going to leave him like that?’

‘Are you sorry I hit him?’ Dax asked, snatching her dress from the floor. He bent so he could lift her feet into it, then he pulled it up and forced her arms into the garment.

‘Dax,’ she said, grabbing his arm when he tried to pass her. ‘What did Mauri say?’

‘That he’d have your things brought over to our apartment. I already told him that we weren’t staying.’

‘You’re sure?’ she asked, touching his jaw. ‘You’re sure that you’re ready to walk away from this, from the Starks, and the fortune that Mauri is offering.’

Linking his fingers with hers, he lowered her hand away from his face. ‘I’ve got my fortune right here.’ He kissed the back of her hand, waited while she slipped on her shoes, then they went back downstairs.

Dax knew his way around, and they exited the building through a side door, which prevented them from having to run the gauntlet of party guests. Mauri would figure out that they were gone eventually, probably sooner rather than later.

Ivy was proud of her husband for making such a bold decision, and he didn’t seem uncertain of it at all. But something told her that the Starks weren’t about to give up on their prized asset quite as easily as Dax had given up on them.

Chapter Twelve

Spending the rest of the night at Dax’s apartment was stress-free for the first time. It had been a long night, so by the time they got back from the Stark mansion there was nothing else to do but go to bed. Making love with Dax had been slow. Much of the tension that he’d carried over the last few days had waned, and he didn’t mind taking his time to explore all of her.

It was reassuring when Dax slept in the following day. This was just like at home where she would get up and work out then shower and tidy up before making breakfast. Today, it was almost noon by the time Dax fumbled his way out of bed and into the shower. Ivy had already eaten and cleared up, but she brewed a fresh pot of coffee for him, which was ready by the time he joined her.

‘Good morning,’ he grumbled and slugged great hulking mouthfuls of his coffee until the mug was empty, after which he held it out to her for a refill.

‘Afternoon actually,’ she said. She couldn’t even blame jetlag for his late hour because his shift at the club didn’t usually start until late afternoon, and if he was still on Eastern Time then he should’ve woken up earlier as opposed to later. ‘You missed your work out.’

‘Do we have plans today?’ he asked, accepting the mug she handed over.

‘No, but—‘

‘Then I’ll do it this afternoon, I could use a run.’

‘I thought we might be leaving LA today.’

He cleared his throat and yawned while placing himself on a stool at the other side of the breakfast bar. ‘I thought I’d call a realtor, get this place on the market.’

‘So we never have to come back. You’re serious about this, aren’t you?’

‘And you’re not?’ he asked, taking another mouthful of coffee then setting the mug aside. ‘I know that you want to get out of here. We can leave tomorrow, I’ll tie up my loose ends and—‘

‘What loose ends?’

‘You don’t have your shit from Mauri yet, do you? I’ll get it. I have to pack everything in the storage unit, we can have it shipped cross-country. And there’s my bike… unless you want to ride bitch back east?’

‘Uh, no,’ she said. Ivy loved his bike, but after more than three thousand miles on the back of it, she might feel differently. ‘So do you want me to start packing the apartment?’

‘Can if you want,’ he said. ‘But I figure we’ll just sell it furnished, let the new owners figure out what they want to keep.’

‘There’s nothing in here that you’re attached to?’

‘You,’ he said. Snagging her wrist when she came out of the kitchen, he pulled her into the space between his open thighs. ‘How do you feel about last night?’

She’d had some time this morning to think about everything that had happened at the Stark mansion. Time to think about what they were sacrificing by shunning the family who had saved Dax in childhood only to dragoon him into fulfilling their own nefarious needs later in his life. To say that she was angry at Mauri and the Starks for what they had put Dax through was an understatement.

Trotting out his mother and Ivy’s sister had been a low blow meant to manipulate the couple. Maurice Stark didn’t think about anyone other than himself. He would do whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted, which in this case was Dax.

‘I don’t like that my sister is staying in Mauri’s house,’ Ivy said. ‘She has no idea what’s going on or what the Starks are capable of.’

She and her sister hadn’t seen each other for years. Although they weren’t close, Ivy would never wish her sister harm.

‘We can get her out,’ Dax said.

Rosie did what Rosie wanted to and no one would tell her different. ‘She won’t do what we tell her to, she’s headstrong.’

‘I never would’ve guessed,’ he said, brushing her hair aside to kiss her neck. ‘Must run in your family.’

‘I’m a delight compared to my sister,’ she teased.

‘I love strong women, I’m sure she’s a scream.’

‘Her chest is smaller than mine,’ Ivy said, arching her back to present her breasts with a smile. He kissed the top of her cleavage, but his hands snaked around to cup her ass.

‘You don’t have to worry about me taking an interest in your sister. I found out recently that brunettes are my thing.’

‘Rosie is a brunette, the blonde came from a bottle.’

‘Oh, then I’ll definitely consider banging her,’ he said and stole her mouth when her jaw fell loose.

Dax wasn’t an easy man to rile, but he sure knew how to press her buttons, and here now in his arms she licked the roof of his mouth and urged her body closer. Calling the realtor could wait until after she got her rocks off with her rock hard man. Just to be sure that he was as willing as she was, she skimmed her palm down his torso to fondle him through his jeans.

‘You should’ve joined me in the shower,’ he said, sliding down the straps of her dress.

She grabbed the bottom of his tee-shirt, but before she could raise it, his phone made a noise indicating that he had a message. Resting an arm around her hips, he elevated his own to pull his phone from his back pocket, after he read the text, he slunk off the stool onto his feet.

‘Who is that?’ she asked, eyeing his cell.

‘My mistress,’ he said, kissing her brow then easing her out of his embrace to put the device back into his rear jeans pocket.

‘Your mistress is hanging from the reinforced beam in the spare bedroom,’ she said, drumming her fingers on the kitchen hutch.

His curious frown became amusement, and she rolled her eyes. ‘You just exterminate any woman who looks at your man, do you? ‘Cause I don’t remember fucking any other women,’ he said. ‘You sure meant it when you said no second chances, didn’t you?’

‘I meant your punching bag. Fighting is the only thing you love as much as you love me. Though I guess it would be bad if I did mean another woman.’

‘You’re all the woman I need, and now I’ve found out that there are two of you, I fear that the apocalypse is coming.’

She didn’t laugh at his joke though he was pleased with himself. Dax left the room then came back a second later donning his leather jacket.

‘Will you be long?’ she asked.

‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘I’ll call the realtor while I’m out, you pack up whatever you want to keep or whatever you think we need from here.’

‘Ok,’ she said and went to him. Taking hold of the open edges of his jacket she pouted up at him. ‘Will you call Mauri about my things?’

‘Yes,’ he said, kissing her quickly. ‘I’ll take care of everything. You just stay here.’ She nodded, but he took hold of her chin. ‘I mean it, Minx. Don’t leave the state, don’t get on any planes or buses. Stay. Here.’