And now that I was on a roll, I couldn’t seem to stop. I leaned in close, my lips grazing her ear. “Was it a bonus for you?” I murmured, the bristle of my jaw grazing her cheek. “A perk? Some physical compensation for all the corporate espionage?”
“Fuck you,” she breathed.
This was a new layer to her, one that fought back. One who stared at me with defiance and promised retribution if I went further. I liked this new side of her. My bear liked it too. We wanted to see how far we could push her.
“You already have,” I said, keeping my voice gentle. “You fucked me up so bad.” I gave into the temptation and let my lips pass over her freckles, then closed my eyes in pain when she tasted as delicious as she always had. “Maybe it’s my turn.”
She raised her hand. I thought she would punch me, but she pressed her palm against the bare skin of my chest, right above my heart. I waited for the shove that would separate us, but it never came. She curled her fingers, nails scratching into my skin, eliciting shivers throughout my body.
Memories ricocheted through my mind, ones of us spending days together, making love, whispering secrets… My throat tightened, and my bear groped at the surface of my psyche. I fisted my hands against the wall and held completely still. My skin buzzed under her palm like she’d connected me to an electrical outlet. I wanted to roar at what had been lost, to growl, to get even somehow—
I pushed off the wall, needing to get out of there before I did something I’d really regret. “I’m leaving.” No matter how enraged I was from her actions, I’d never hurt her.
Her hand fell away from my heart.
I swiped the shirt off the floor where it had fallen and gave it a shake. A little wrinkled, but it would do. My shoulder stiff, I gingerly swept it behind me.
Jolyn remained where she was, her arms hanging by her sides and her blue eye shining under the fluorescents above us.
I turned away from those liquid eyes. Her expression did something to me, something I wanted to deny. I didn’t want to have feelings for this version of Jolyn, this one who felt like a stranger. Out of my peripheral vision, she lifted her hand and touched her cheek.
Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I slid the shirt over both shoulders and buttoned it up, Jolyn’s eyes on me the entire time. My bear liked her undivided attention despite this messed-up circumstance. Sometimes I really hated my bear.
Jolyn cleared her throat and stepped away from the wall, pushing the door open wide enough for me to follow. The corridor had the same concrete walls as the previous room. To the right, an old freight elevator, big enough to fit that Fiat. To the left, more doors, then the hallway opened up into a living space.
“Where’s my exit?” I asked without looking directly at her.
She hummed a contrary sound. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave.”
“And I don’t care what you think.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the hurt pass over her face and lied to myself that it didn’t affect me. “Unless you want to go into minute detail about your involvement in Walker’s disappearance, and help me find him, then I have no further reason to be here.”
When she didn’t respond, I pressed my lips together before saying, “Didn’t think so.”
“But I did promise you this.” She dug a piece of paper out of her pocket.
I took it: coordinates written in pen. I lifted an eyebrow at her.
“It’s where I last saw him. The place has been destroyed, though. He won’t be there.”
More useless information. I tucked the paper in my pocket anyway.
A soft sound made me turn in the direction of the living room, my eyes landing on two women, one of them Alina. The other had dark brown skin, red glasses, and coily hair trapped in a green band at the top of her head. A bulky sweater topped faded blue jeans.
Alina slung her arm over the other’s shoulders. “Hey, Lover Boy. This is my girlfriend, Marley, so keep your paws off.”
Paws? I stiffened, but none of them had a knowing glint in their eyes, like she’d used the term in the literal sense. I forced myself to relax. “Noted.”
Alina smiled. “It’s good to see you so feisty after getting shot. How are you feeling?”
From Marley’s impassive expression, it didn’t look like she agreed with her girlfriend.
“I’m fine, but I’ve got to go, so…” I glanced at the freight elevator.
“Jolyn’s right about it not being a good idea to head out on your own.”
I swung my gaze back to Marley, the one who’d spoken. She walked toward me with my phone and wallet in her hand. “Your cell’s been cleaned and set to factory defaults. You can use it again, just need to download from the cloud.”
I raised an eyebrow at her, the one I reserved for CEOs who gave me trouble across the boardroom during a deal.
