Free Crave by Erzabet Bishop Page A

with a quiet click.
    “I can’t believe it’s you,” she whispered. “All this time. I didn’t know you were still here.”
    “Crave is mine. I bought it from Justin after…”
    “After I left.”
    “You didn’t let me see you.” His voice was gruff but he had to say it. Need from the darkest corners of his heart broke free. “I needed to see you were alright. That he… this hadn’t destroyed you.”
    Tears slid down Linnet’s face and her lips trembled. “But he had. For a long time he had.”
    “No. You’re still here.”
    A bitter laugh erupted from her lips. “And it’s taken me years.”
    “Who is he?” It was a raw question, but he had to know.
    Her gaze slid toward the door.
     
    ***
     
    Linnet was overwhelmed. Gage was here. In the same room with her as Ryder waited outside. He should be here too, she realized. But she needed to answer Gage’s question.
    “I…”
    He approached her, his presence just as large as it had been all those years ago. Gage bent down and pressed his lips to hers. The softness. The steel. God, but she craved him. Her fingers curled around his arms and then slid around his back, holding him close.
    “Linnet…”
    It came flooding back to her. All the tenderness and the end of it all. But she didn’t want it to be. Her thoughts drifted to Ryder and back to her former Master. She wanted them both, but for different reasons. Was she strong enough to take what she wanted? Or was she the weak girl who ran when something frightened her?
    She’d lost so much time already.
    “Gage.” She laid her head against his chest and listened to the familiar heartbeat. “I’ve missed you. But I’m not the same woman I was.”
    “Neither of us is.”
    A chuckle escaped her lips. “Well. I hope not.”
    “Oh. Yeah. Not a woman. Not even close.” His hand smoothed over her hair, and she sighed.
    The smile slid from her face as she pulled back and met his eyes. “I have an idea. You’re not going to like it but I think this is our only shot.”
    “Shot at what?”
    “Catching the man who’s trying to kill me.”
     
    ***
     
    Ryder had taken her home from Crave, hardly saying a word.
    “Do you want something to eat?” She unlocked the door, and he followed her inside. The air was still. But something seemed off somehow. He carried her purse for her, setting it on the kitchen counter.
    “Niggles. I’m home.” The cat was usually at the front door clawing at her leg for food. Especially after long periods away from the house. She glanced down at his partially full food bowl.
    Unease slid down her back.
    Something was wrong.
    His eyes wouldn’t meet hers, his chin locked in a furious expression. “Thank you, no. I’ll just head home.”
    He’d opened the door to the office and seen her kissing Gage. She understood how that must have made him feel. A sound drifted down the hallway, and she froze.
    “Ryder…” She shook her head. “Hold on a second.” Her gun was in her purse. “Stay behind me.” She yanked it open and removed the gun, in one deft motion removing the safety.
    “What…” He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening in surprise when she held up a finger.
    She crept down the hall, her feet silent on the carpeted floor. Nothing had been disturbed. The bathroom window was secured. The spare bedroom with its sparse furniture and empty desk from her college days untouched.
    Finally she made it to the master bedroom at the end of the hall.
    “Niggles…” Her cat laid still, his tiny body twisted and misshapen in the center of the queen-sized bed. She lowered the gun, grief swirling around her. The curtain sheers fluttered in the breeze from the open window, and her eyes following their motion outside.
    Headlights switched on and a car slowly pulled away, leaving no doubt in her mind who had invaded her space.
    “Linnet.” Ryder enveloped her in his arms. His quiet strength was what was needed. She didn’t know why people thought male submissives