“I’ll take you up on the food and shower, but I’ll sleep later. We need to discuss what happens next.”
Taking the keys Jayla offered, Erik didn’t bother to put his boots back on since he was only going one flight up. Letting himself into Jayla’s apartment, the floor plan identical to Chloe’s, he made quick work of eating and cleaning up, updated the general, before heading back downstairs. He was tired, even after the high-energy food he had consumed, his body subtly letting him know that he’d need to sleep soon. But first, they needed a plan.
Chloe was still singing, though she’d moved on from Foo Fighters to a band he didn’t recognize, but her feet were on the floor again. She’d finished with the cupboards, everything placed back inside, and she was now scrubbing the countertops.
Erik waited for the song to end before he announced, “We need to talk.”
Her arm stilled, her head stayed bowed over her work as her lips pinched, but she nodded and used a voice command to turn the music off.
He waited until she’d put away her cleaning supplies and they were all seated in the living room before he said, “Yesterday didn’t go as planned. But, if you agree, Chloe, I still think luring Savoy out is our best move.”
Chloe nodded thoughtfully. “We could set up a performance at the opera house. I’ll call Lattie. He’ll be able to arrange it. Maybe a tribute concert to honor Danny with the proceeds going to his family.”
Jayla sat forward in her seat, bracing her forearms on her knees. “That could work, but Savoy seems more focused on your love life. We need to give him a new rival. That’s what’s going to draw him out.”
Erik wasn’t sure he liked that idea, for a couple of different reasons. “That’ll put someone else in harm’s way.”
“Not if it’s you,” Jayla countered with a smirk.
“We could go out for that coffee,” Chloe said. “Maybe take a walk afterward, so he sees us together.”
“It won’t work.” Erik shook his head. “Savoy would never believe you were dating someone as ugly as me.”
Before he knew what she was about, Chloe had risen from the couch and sat down across his thighs. He leaned back, giving her some room as her hand cupped his scarred cheek. “You are not ugly, and if I happen to kiss you on that walk, he’ll get the message clear enough.”
Her lips met his, as if to drive the point home, and Erik heard Jayla clear her throat, but neither he nor Chloe was in any hurry to break apart. Not even when Jayla added in clear discomfort, “Um… Yeah, I’m just going to… Er…Yup, I’m going to go.”
When he heard the door close behind his partner, and they were alone, Chloe finally broke the kiss, but only so she could tug at the T-shirt tucked into his pants. They were both breathing heavily as she yanked it up his torso, and Erik raised his arms so she could finish the job.
Her eyes drifted to his chest, his abs, and lingered with appreciation. But for a few small spots on his shoulder where Lark’s venom had dripped down, his body was unscarred. Unlike his face.
Her fingers moved over his pecs, making him want to groan, and her voice was filled with admiration when she whispered, “You are beautiful.”
“Maybe if I put a bag over my head.”
He’d meant it as a joke, but judging by the way Chloe’s head snapped up and the deep scowl she shot him, she didn’t appreciate his humor. “Don’t do that,” she told him. “Don’t even joke like that.”
Taking his face between her hands, she held him in place so she could go nose to nose with him. “You are not ugly.”
Erik would never believe that about himself. But he was beginning to believe it was a truth for her, and hers was the only opinion that mattered to him. “You truly think that.”
“I do.”
It was a revelation, and something inside of him, something he hadn’t even known was there, suddenly crumbled. Grabbing herin his arms, perhaps too tightly, though she didn’t complain, Erik kissed her hungrily, and Chloe responded in kind.
Her hands stroked over his shoulders, his biceps, his chest, before they snaked up around to the back of his neck.
Never breaking the kiss, Erik stood with her in his arms, easily supporting her weight. Walking into the bedroom, he kicked the door shut behind him and strode to the bed. Bending to keep the connection, he set her down on the mattress. Only then did he pull away enough to ask, “Do you want me to stop?”
His need was evident in his gruff voice, even if she somehow missed the bulge tenting his pants, but never would he take what wasn’t freely offered.
Chloe’s eyes were heavy-lidded, her cheeks flushed with passion, her mouth slightly open as she breathed, and her lips damp from his kisses. It was an erotic sight, but one he would have walked away from had she asked. Instead, she gripped the waistband of his pants, her voice breathy as she told him, “I want you, Erik.”
The words shot straight to his groin. With an expelled breath of relief, he leaned in to kiss her again, only to have her hand on his chest stop him.
Retreating a step, he waited for her to say she had changed her mind, but she shot him a shy smile and pulled her shirt over her head. She was wearing a bra today. A lacy cream-colored number that pushed up the beautiful globes of her breasts. Her arms bentbehind her back, the fabric giving way, and she slid the straps down, baring herself to his hungry eyes.
Perfection. Erik dropped to his knees at her feet. His hands skimmed up the outside of her thighs and then cupped her hips, dragging her a touch closer before dipping his head to take a nipple into his mouth.
