Oh, fuck, I forgot about that…
He stiffened.
And she…
She felt it. Because she immediately pulled back, too. “What’s wrong?” Then, her eyes widened. “Why am I even asking? Everything is wrong. I—let me go.”
He did. Reluctantly. With his jaw locked tight and her taste still on his tongue.
I want her on the table. Against the wall.
I will have her everywhere, and she will scream for me.
“My hand is fine.” She turned off the water he’d left on. “I just…I’m not here to fuck you senseless.”
“What a crying shame.”
Red stained her cheeks. “I’m here because…you are working with Gray. I’m working with Gray. You are going to brief me on everything. You’re going to tell me all about your undercover mission. You’re not going to fuck me in order to get me off track.”
Laughter boomed from him. And maybe that was good. If he was laughing, then he wasn’t grabbing her and pulling her back against him.
A faint furrow appeared between her brows. “You have a nice laugh.”
He hadn’t actually laughed in…Shit, I can’t remember when.
“I like it.” Her head tilted to the left. “But I don’t like that you’re laughing at me.”
His laughter died away. “Sorry, princess.” He was. Kinda. “But fucking you to get you off track? Nah. Not my plan. I just fuck you purely for the pleasure of the event.”
The red in her cheeks deepened. She grabbed a fresh mug. Reached for the coffee pot again.
He was on her in an instant. “Let me.” His fingers curled over hers. Need—surging desire—still pulsed through him.
Her head dipped down as she looked at their fingers. His hand swallowed hers.
“You confuse me,” she whispered. “The way I feel when I’m with you confuses me, too. I wish you would just be honest with me.”
He was trying. Had she missed the whole truths part moments before?
“You’re working with Gray. You’re not a villain. You are not a monster. Just tell me. Tell me everything because I can’t walk in the dark with you.”
Oh, baby, I’m afraid that is exactly what you are doing…walking in the dark with me. And he wasn’t sure he could let her out of the darkness.
“In an undercover mission, you have to trust your partner completely. I need to know the real you.” Her head lifted. Those incredible eyes locked on his and tried to steal his sanity away.
“You don’t want to know the real me.” He reached out. Took the pot of coffee and poured the very, very dark and thick liquid in the mug for her. Only three-fourths full. No way did he want her burned again. Then he stepped back. One step, two.
She turned and put her back to the counter as she faced off against him. She brought the mug of coffee to her lips and lightly blew over the steaming liquid. “Try me.”
Okay. Fine. “I’m not an undercover Fed. You were right before, though, about the other shit I’ve done. I’ve been a criminal since I was a teen. Started in gangs. Underground fighting.” A roll of one shoulder. “Definitely did your profiling due diligence on that one. I loved the hell out of fighting. Also realized it was one helluva way to make some cash.”
“That’s why you were so good at The Bottomless Pit. You’ve had plenty of fighting experience.” She blew on the coffee again.
She had beautiful lips. I love it when she blows me. Yeah, fuck, he had problems. Mainly, the lust he felt for her was getting in his way. By getting in his way—obsessing me. Consuming me. “I had goals in mind, every step of the way. Gray tried to stop me. Hell, he wanted me to join the Marines like he did back in the day. Wanted me to get the hell out of the world he could see sucking me under.” His lips twisted. “Semper Fi,” he murmured. “That’s Gray. Through and through.”
“Always faithful,” she whispered as she cradled her coffee.
Yeah, that motto described Gray perfectly. Even when he should have turned his back on Cass, he hadn’t.
