He exhaled. The breath fanned my cheek, and my gut did another involuntary flip. He pulled back, enough so our eyes locked, and traced his knuckles along the side of my mouth.
“What happened here?” he asked. “You never told me.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re deflecting.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
I exhaled. “The night I finished the Astro?—”
“You finished?” he interrupted. “Way to fucking go, Maniac.” A grin split his lips that was too contagious not to share. He thumbed my lower lip, exposing my teeth. When he spoke, it matched the softness in his eyes. “Okay, continue.”
“Graham showed up. He’sbeenshowing up. The first time was a few months ago. He was trying to get into my computer. I have no idea why, though. I wouldn’t let him and…”
Calder drifted his touch along my jaw, anger turning his gaze black. A quiet restraint vibrated when he spoke. “Do you know what he wants?”
“I have no idea,” I said honestly. “It’s not like there’s anything of value on it—well, value to someone other than an astrophysicist. Now,” I said, shifting the subject back, “tell me what happened back there. Did he owe the Mafia money or something?”
Calder shook his head. “That had nothing to do with the Mafia. I…” He rubbed his jaw like he was looking for the right word. “I occasionally help people who have assholes for a husband.”
Assholes for a husband?
My brow pinched as I tried to make sense of that. Then it hit me.
“You were helping someone get out of an abusive relationship?”
Calder nodded. “Sometimes people need a little more persuading than others.”
We were silent for a moment. I searched the cracked ice in his blue eyes.
He was out there helping people who couldn’t help themselves?
That was…
Calder stepped away, misinterpreting my silence for condemnation. I grabbed him, pulling him back.
“Shay—”
“So you beat up assholes for a hobby. It’s not ideal, but, I mean, it’s better than if you had a podcast. Wait.” I paused. “You don’t have a podcast, do you?”
He smiled, biting his lower lip in a boyish way that contrasted with the very real blood on his hands. Then his features hardened, and the light in his eyes was once again replaced with storm.
“I’m going to call you a car?—”
“Why did you take me back here?” I pressed. “Why didn’t you just drop me off or leave me to be collected by the police.”
“You won’t go to jail.” His face twisted, like I’d offended him with the thought.
I grabbed his arm again, forcing him to stop. “Whyam I here?”
“Because I can’t fucking get enough of you,” he growled and stepped between my thighs, forcing me to grab hold of his biceps or fall back against the mirror. “And even though I know I need to leave you alone, Ican’t.”He pressed deeper into me, cock hard. “And seeing you covered in the blood of some asshole you fucked up is making me lose the tiny shred of control I’ve been clinging to.” My hands traveled up to his chest, gripping the fabric, pulling him closer.
“I want you in my fucking life.” Calder’s voice got lower and huskier, as if he was losing himself in a taboo fantasy. “I want you in my bed. I want my sheets to smell likeyou. I wantyou.”
His gaze throbbed, the cracked ice in his eyes splintering and shooting out into my chest. I leaned closer, angling my jaw to kiss him.
He sighed against my lips. “I’ll call you a car.”
I blinked my eyes open, dazed. “What?”
