“I take it from the conversation a few minutes ago that your husband didn’t always treat you well?” He had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed by my behavior.

“You could say that. I doubt you want all of the details—you certainly got enough earlier—but Dominic liked to put me down, make me feel terrible about myself. He isolated me from my family and friends. Ashton has done everything he can to make me see that I am worthy of being treated well. Of being loved.”

“So Mr. Hawes did not trade money to have you for three months like your husband claims.”

How close that was to reality scared me. What if I gave myself away? Trying to think about it rationally, I reasoned that, technically, Ashton didn’t give any money to Dominic for me or vice versa. Using that thought to comfort and relax me, I answered. “No, he didn’t.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you aware that Mr. Hawes has previously been investigated in relation to unlicensed moneylending?”

I shook my head, hoping to seem naïve to his business practices. “Ashton owns three restaurants downtown.”

“What is your relationship to Mr. Hawes?”

“Ashton and I are living together.” I drew little circles on the table. “When I saw Dominic last week, I told him I was filing for divorce. Apparently he decided to turn Ashton in, instead of giving me up as his slave.”

The detective nodded with each word that left my lips. His eyes crinkled, his voice soothing. “I’ve seen this many times, Mrs. Tolley, although, not to the extreme your husband took it. It’s not uncommon for abusive husbands to push things too far when their wife threatens to leave them, especially for another man.”

“Does that mean you’ll let Ashton go?”

He sat back in his seat and watched me. “While it would give me great pleasure to arrest a member of the Hawes family,” his eyes darted to Arthur, who sat stoically, staring straight ahead, “this is one instance where I believe that they are innocent and have, in fact, helped someone out of a terrible situation.”

I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

“So yes, Mrs. Tolley, in this circumstance, Mr. Hawes will be released.”

I wanted to jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. There were things I never told Ashton that he deserved to hear when we were alone, not over a phone, or through a glass window. With great effort, I kept myself seated and simply said, “Thank you.”

The edges of his eyes crinkled with his smile. “You’re welcome. I would warn you, but I think you already know more about Ashton than you’re letting on.”

There was a moment of silence. I could have let it go, said nothing, but I needed Detective Lynch to know.

“Ashton loves me. He makes me feel like a princess—something I’ve never felt before.” I almost added that I didn’t care what he did, but I figured that would be too much.

Detective Lynch stood. “Give me a few minutes to get all the paperwork completed, then Mr. Hawes will be released.”

When the door closed behind him, I turned to Arthur. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He glanced over at me. “Because it was your story to tell. I don’t need to protect you from your own story.”

Fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, I asked. “Do you think they’ll be long?”

He shook his head. “Not with Malcolm here. They can’t stand him. They’ll want him out of here sooner rather than later.”

I nodded and went back to playing with anything in reach. With everything out of the way, I was nervous. Would Ashton blame me for what happened? No. Ashton wasn’t like that. Arthur covered my hand and gave me a comforting smile. All of the waiting probably didn’t have much of an effect on him. It was likely standard procedure.

What felt like an eternity later, the door opened.

“Mr. Hawes is free to go.”

Jumping from my seat, I practically ran to the door. A hand landed on my arm and I looked up into the eyes of Detective Lynch. “I know Ashton treats you better than Dominic ever did, and you seem like a wonderful woman, just . . . please be careful.”

Glancing down at his hand on my arm, I said, “I know exactly what I’m getting into.” Stepping around him, I ran down the hallway toward the lobby. Ashton’s blond head caught my attention. His back was turned to me as he talked to his dad and brother. Miller pointed in my direction and Ashton turned slowly, his eyes locking on mine, the green glowing behind the frames of his glasses.

For a split second I froze, waiting to see his reaction. When a slow, sexy smile curved his lips, I took off toward him.

CHAPTER 28

Ashton

Elena came bolting down the hall and right into my arms. She clutched the back of my coat like a lifeline. It felt so right to have her there; her body pressed against mine. I wrapped one arm around her waist and brought the other up to cup her face, watching her eyes as they shimmered with unshed tears.

“Elena, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.” She sniffled and buried her head against my chest.

“Elena, look at me,” I demanded. Her tear-streaked face met mine. “You are not to blame for what one fucking idiot does.”

My lips descended to hers—who the fuck cared if I was in the middle of a police station? Certainly not me.

She quickly surrendered to the kiss and her body pushed further into mine as I swiped my tongue passed her lips to deepen the kiss. I’d have taken her there and then, but the cat calls echoing around the room told me it was time to pull back. We’d have all the time in the world once we got home.

Her chest rose and fell with each labored breath. “I love you,” she said.

Forgetting myself, I lifted her into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist. “I’ll call you later,” I said over my shoulder to my dad and Miller. I’d been waiting to hear her say the words and now that she had, I wasn’t ever letting her go.

I stepped out the doors and just like I expected, Lewis was waiting in the lot for us. When we no longer had an audience, I looked into her eyes.

“I love you so much, Elena. Stay with me.” It wasn’t a command, but I wasn’t necessarily asking either.

“Forever. We can talk to Arthur about expediting the process.”

“Later,” I promised, stepping up to the car. Lewis already had the back door open. Setting her on her feet, I hurried her inside. I needed to have her home and in our bed. “Home,” I told Lewis, shutting the door.

Scooping Elena into my arms, I tasted her lips, quickly losing control; by the time we reached the house, my hand had already slipped up inside her top to cup her breast. The car pulled to a stop and I sat up, adjusting her clothes. I didn’t give two shits about being caught, but no one besides me was ever seeing Elena naked again.

Taking her hand, I led her to the house and through the door. It hadn’t even finished closing when I pushed her up against it, capturing her mouth roughly, tasting every inch. Need coursed through me. Simple, hot, rough sex wouldn’t be enough. She was mine and it was time to show her even more.

Breaking the connection of our lips, I placed my hand on her back and guided her up the stairs to the bedroom. The toys were in the drawer, the restraints attached to the bed, but none of that would do. My body craved something more than the normal. Not that most of what I liked was “normal” by most people’s standards.

We reached the bedroom and I knew exactly what I wanted. I took a seat on the bed and watched Elena, trying to decide if she was ready for what I had in mind.

Elena walked up to me, her hips sashaying gracefully with each step. She stood in front of me staring, silently. After a moment, her thigh slipped over mine until she was straddling my erection, which was straining almost painfully against my jeans.