Page 64 of Silver Sinner

"You save?"

"Mhm. I'm a savvy saver." He moves to the couch and drops onto it with a soft groan. "How are you feeling?"

Isn't that the million-dollar question? I gaze down at my drink and then back at him, then I move closer and instead of sitting next to him, I slide into his lap. Something about being as close as I can to him right now is the only thing that keeps me at peace, especially as I'm already itching to check on Maddie and make sure she's okay. Putting all that into words is too much effort, though, so after a sip, I set my glass aside and lie down on Pierce's chest.

He brings his fingers to brush against my cheek and up into my hair. "That's alright," he murmurs. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to."

"I didn't see this coming. She was my friend and I didn't see this coming."

"No one could."

"We were fighting and I was angry, but I always figured we'd work it out eventually when I wasn't so pissed at her. I just had… feelings to work through. I never, ever imagined that she would…"

"Your friend showed her true colors, I feel. One fight like this and she immediately comes at you for money you don't have, fueled by her own assumptions? That's not your fault, darling."

"I've failed Maddie twice." My heart lurches in my chest and my eyes close. "First with my car and now this? What kind of mother does that make me?"

"A wonderful one, because Maddie is completely fine. She's strong and vibrant, with quite the appetite for ice cream. She's as strong as you because you've been an excellent role model to her."

"Hardly." Opening my eyes, I sit up slowly and face him. "I was so hard on Amy because her boyfriend was a criminal. I was so focused on that and not the fact that she took such good care of Maddie. There were never any incidents. She was reliable and I…" My lips press together at the weight of how hypocritical my viewpoint could be. My past was filled with people like Amy's boyfriend. How could I judge her so harshly?

Oh no.

"Her boyfriend," I groan. "I have to tell him she's dead. And her family. Although…" My brows twitch. "I don't think she has any. She was kind of like me in that regard."

"And that?" Pierce murmurs, pressing his hand over my chest. "The big heart you have that concerns itself with everything about her and those around her is another example of your strength. I know more people who would be cursing someone out if they had pulled what Amy pulled. Here you are, thinking of her, still.”

"Are these people as savvy as you?" I ask softly.

"Maybe," Pierce smiles gently.

What an enigma. This penthouse, the men he sent who broke into my apartment to save me, Moses, that doctor, and the fact that I didn't need to call the police because Pierce was already taking care of it. The more I think about it, the more of an enigma Pierce feels. For a man in real estate, he's much more mysterious. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was a spy or a government worker.

Or, someone the complete opposite. "Pierce…"

"Yes?" He locks eyes with me, holding such warmth and stability in them that the rising question about who he really is and how he even knew to come to me, dies on my tongue.

Maybe I don't care.

Maybe the fact that he's saved my daughter twice, saved me, and has made me feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet is enough for me not to care.

"Thank you for coming for me," I say instead.

Pierce's face melts into a warm smile and he moves his hand from my chest to my face. "I will always come, if it's within my power to do so."

I lean forward and kiss him, a simple token of thanks that melts into more the moment our lips touch. The press of his mouth against mine becomes the first real sensation to breach the numbness that's settled around me, so once I start, I can't stop. Pressing into Pierce, I kiss him again, then again, deeper this time. The taste of the whiskey lingering on his lips melts between us, and as I arch my body into his, the glass gently hits the table, and then both of his hands are on my waist.

There's no pressure behind each touch. He's simply holding me, and it's enough to encourage me to give in and follow each growing, hungry desire for a kiss. I tilt my head left, he goes right. I focus on his upper lip and he focuses on my lower. His hand slides up my back and one lifts, gently cradling the side of my neck. I cup his face with both hands and kiss him deeply until a slow, warm ache grows in my jaw from where each blow lands.

I fight it, until it grows to a pain I can't ignore and our make-out session ends with me pressing my forehead to his and panting softly in the small space between us.

"You need to rest," Pierce murmurs. "Properly."

"Will you stay with me?" I ask, studying his eyes. "I don't want to sleep alone."

"I will stay with you." He presses a final kiss to my lips and then gathers me in his arms, standing as if I weigh nothing at all. Winding my arms around his shoulders, I hold on and close my eyes until he places me down in his bed a few minutes later. The warm scent of his cologne floods my senses as I lie down and as I reach for his hand, Pierce is right there with me. He slips onto the bed and tucks me in with another kiss, then cradles me close and stays right there.

Here I'm safe.