“Trust me, Duchess.”

“I do.” He pulls me to his chest and holds me tight, that feeling of being home warming me again.

A knock at the door pulls us from our embrace.

“Who the fuck…” Paine glances over his shoulder to look at the clock on the stove. “It’s almost midnight.”

“Booty call?” I half-tease. Who else would show up at his house so late?

Paine gives me a stern look. “I told you I never invited a ...