He slid his hands up under her skirt and his fingertips touched lace.Fuck. They slipped under the scalloped edges of her panties and that’s when she pulled her head back with a soft moan.
“Can’t,” she said. “They’re all inside.”
“My SUV is just down the street.”
“They’ll wonder.”
“Let ’em wonder. Hell, they already know, we aren’t fooling anyone anymore.”
“Walker will talk. Malcolm, too. You know they’re still with?—”
“Do you really think they’ll give you up?” He studied her face in the overhead light. “Gina.”
“The Repair Shop can’t know about us. They will use you against me.” Her eyes shone suddenly with unshed tears. “They’ll use anything against me now.”
Lachlan bent his head and pressed his forehead against hers. He knew how to fight on a battlefield. He had no idea how to fight the battle she waged in her head. But the sad truth was, she was right. It did seem like her friends were turning against her. They had been since Hawaii. Maybe even before that once he thought about it.
She shook him from his thoughts as she squirmed in his arms. He loosened his grip and her legs slid back down until she was standing again.
“We do need to talk,” Gina said as she smoothed down her dress.
Back into the cold. All business.
She ran a hand through her mussed hair. “Kyla needs to be in a safehouse. We don’t need to risk her life to catch Fia.”
“Then we’ll put her in a fucking safehouse.”
She flinched and looked at him. “Lachlan.”
“Do it. Number three is empty.” He turned away and started walking down the alley.
“Where are you going?” she called.
“Not back inside.”
Rain pelted his face as he marched to the SUV. It did nothing to cool his temper. Dammit, he didn’t want to be mad at her, but he couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t be this close to her day in and day out and not touch her, not take her in his arms and kiss the hell out of her. Not carry her to his bed every night, lay her down, and wring every last orgasm out of her that he could, then hold her all night tucked up against him safe and warm.
He couldn’t leave her, either. Never. Never again.
Lach punched the SUV door. Then again as he roared. He kept roaring and pounding the dashboard all the way home.
* * *
An hour later, there was a soft knock on his door.
She stood there shivering, her black dress dripping water on his porch. Fleur looked forlorn beside her.
“Get in here,” he growled.
She stepped inside with Fleur. Lach slammed the door shut. Then he scooped her up to carry her to the bedroom.
“Lach.”
“No, lass,” he said as he carried her down the hall. “Stop denying yourself.”
Lach nuzzled into the side of her neck. He felt the tension in Gina's body as he carried her, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. Lachlan ignored the voice in his head warning him to be gentle, to tread carefully. He couldn't hold back any longer. She was here now and he was going to show her this was where she belonged.
He gently set Gina down on the edge of bed and stood in front of her. Her eyes were two golden mirrors, reflecting back his own desire. He reached around and unzipped Gina's dress swiftly. The dark fabric pooled around her waist, revealing her lacy black bra against her pale skin.
