Opal (Rare Gems Series Book 4) by Kathi S. Barton

himself for her to even think of loving him. It was simply the satisfaction of all the sex she was having that her grandmother could see. That was it, and not love. Sloan was a man who fell in love with women that would hang on his every word, and not someone who was too shy to tell him that she loved the building but was afraid. Instead of digging too deeply into her feelings, she changed the subject to something else that was bothering her.
    “ What am I supposed to do with the rest of the building? He said I should have a shop. A shop. What do I do with a shop?” She looked at her grandmother, who smiled at her. “You think I can do this? I don’t have any idea what kind of things people would buy or how much they’d pay.”
    “ You should talk to your sister, Jade. She can help you put some stuff in that front window. Did you see what she’s done to the outside of the greenhouse? I nearly told her to pack it up so I could put it out here. But she was too busy.” Opal told her grandmother that she’d designed that before she could think that Jade should have the credit. It had been her idea to decorate. She’d only given her what she thought would go well together. “And here you are worried about filling your own windows. My goodness, child, get started. Any and all of us would help you. I might even be talked into ringing up a few customers just to have some fun. And I know that I’d be a good customer too.”
    Started ? And how the hell was she supposed to afford that too? Opal left them a little while later, no closer to figuring out what to do than before. When she drove by the building, her building, she stopped, and before she could change her mind, got out of her car and went inside. Again she was struck by the vastness of the first floor, and wandered around trying to imagine it all filled with small, special things that people would buy.
    Are you close to Blair ’s building? She was startled out of thoughts of building a large display of candles in her mind when Sloan touched her mind. I need you to come to me if you can. I need…I’ve been hurt. Not badly, but enough that I would like to drink from you. And maybe a little loving too.
    Hush. I ’m on my way. She locked up the building and was crossing the street when she saw Blair. He had blood on his shirt and he was watching the street. When he saw her, she thought he looked relieved, and that made her move a little faster. By the time they were riding up the elevator, Opal was frantic with worry. There was a great deal of blood, not just on his shirt but his pants as well. He told her it wasn’t his but Sloan’s and Rufus’s. Both of them had been hurt while protecting him.
    She saw Sloan lying on the couch that was in Blair’s office. The thought of turning around and running made her pause in mid-step, but then he looked at her. There was something there, pain for sure, but something that made her stare at him until he put out his hand. Opal heard the door close behind her and knew that Blair had left them. She walked to the couch and sat down on her knees beside him as he held her hand.
    “ What happened?” She lifted the blood-soaked towel and looked at the claw marks along his belly. The sight of his wounds nearly made her belly turn up, but she recovered when he put his hand on her cheek. She felt the sticky blood that had been on his fingers and the coldness of his touch. “You’re too weak, aren’t you? Why didn’t you just tell me that you needed me to come to where you were instead of coming here?”
    “ The sun was coming up and I couldn’t go to cover by myself. Blair thought he’d keep me safe here until I could get well enough to travel.” Sloan shifted slightly on the couch, and she could see the pain on his face. “We were ambushed. I was thinking of this pretty little woman that I had the most incredible sex with this morning, and Fletcher came around the corner and hit me.” Her temper flared, and he