“Were you armed?”
“Kind of.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. I sighed. “I had the knife on my ankle. The gun… You know how I feel about it.” I held it up and set it down on the bar in front of me.
His expression softened as he realized I’d been wary enough of my late-night visitor to get it out anyway. “I’ll take you shooting one of these days.” He stepped closer, his hand hovering over my face. “Looks painful as hell.”
“You’re not wrong.” I fluttered my eyes at him. “Wanna kiss it better?”
He laughed and pressed an achingly gentle kiss to my bruised cheek. “We need to get more ice on it.” He wrapped one arm around my waist. “How did that woman get in?”
“An unlock charm.”
He cursed. “You okay?”
I shivered as he nuzzled my ear. “Yeah. That’s going to keep happening, though.”
“And I’ll be here to scare them away. You’re not alone, Mere.”
I tensed, and he just held me tighter, waiting until I’d relaxed against him once more, nestling my head against his chest. His heart pounded steadily against my ear.
“You make it difficult to…”
“Push me away?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I’m not going anywhere, Mere. You’re the one I want. The only one I’ve ever wanted. If it was just a case of lust, or if I knew you didn’t want to be with me, I’d step back. But neither of those things is true. I can wait as long as it takes until I wear you down.”
I could hear the smile in his voice, and I pinched him. He laughed.
“That’s your tactic? Wait me out?”
“Yeah. And charm you into seeing things my way. Then I’ll make you come until you see stars. A full-fledged assault.”
My thighs clenched. He stroked my hair, and he leaned down, inhaling me.
“You smell good.”
“I smell of sweat and alcohol.”
“Demon senses, baby. I can smell you beneath that. But we can shower. Together.”
He hauled me into his arms, and I let out an embarrassing squeak. He laughed, striding toward the door leading to my apartment.
Was I really doing this? It would change things irrevocably between us. I heaved a sigh. “I trust you,” I grumbled.
He shifted me in his arms and wiggled his hand into my jeans pocket, pulling out my keys. “You don’t have to sound so pleased about it.” His tone was dark, but his eyes gleamed when he looked down at me. He kept his gaze on my face as he unlocked the door, then kicked it open with his foot.
“Um, my shower is kind of stuck on ‘lukewarm.’”
“That must suck in the mornings. Don’t worry. I’ll heat you up.” He winked at me, and some of the butterflies fluttering in my stomach disappeared.
He must have picked up on my nerves, though, because he put me on my feet and nuzzled my cheek. “Mere. It’s me. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Just let me touch you a little. I’m going out of my mind imagining my hands on you.”
I slid my hand into his silky hair, pulling his head down to mine. My lips brushed his, and I sighed against his mouth. “I want this. With you. Honestly, I’ve wanted it since the first time I saw you, and it scared the shit out of me.”
“I know it did. And I felt the same way.”
