no mistaking the fierce grip he had on her head. Besides, the duel was enticing. She pulled his bottom lip into her mouth, sucked on it wantonly, and was rewarded by his other hand moving to grab her ass.
Caprise took a step, backing him to the wall this time and pressing her body against his. If X wanted to play the sex game he was going to have to learn that she was a top-notch opponent.
Chapter 6
Every bit of lust that had been pent up inside her since she’d returned to DC came pouring out of Caprise tonight. She felt almost desperate for more the moment he touched her. It would have been demoralizing if she thought for one second X was interested in anything more than sex from her. But this was it and it was basic. Basic was safe. Safe, Caprise could definitely handle.
The elevator stopped. In the distance she heard a dinging sound, and the door opened. X grabbed her by the wrists and all but pulled her down the hall. Arousal punctuated his every step, from the way he moved his legs to accommodate the erection she’d felt pressed heavily against his thigh, to the deep rise and fall of his breathing as he tried to keep a lock on things until they were behind closed doors.
Caprise could not deny the characteristics of her own arousal. For instance, she knew for a fact her nipples were hard enough they might actually cut through the fabric of the shirt she wore. She wasn’t even going to think about how instantly her juices had begun to flow upon that succulent elevator kiss—but walking down this hallway so quickly produced a cool breeze that was heaven to the heat between her legs.
He had a keycard to open the door, which she thought was kind of strange since this was clearly an apartment or condo building, not a hotel. Then again, it was even more out of the ordinary to pull into a garage then sink through the floor to another hidden garage.
X was an FBI agent, so who knew what type of gadgets he had. Still, it made her feel like what they were doing or where they were going was some incognito spy nonsense.
X entered the apartment first, then pulled her in behind him. It was dark, but Caprise could see him just fine. She even saw the frown that marred his face when his cell phone rang.
“Is that your girlfriend? Should I leave?” she asked in a teasing tone.
He did not have a girlfriend—at least that’s what Ary had told her. She’d acted as if that was the last bit of information she’d wanted to receive, but truth be told there’d been a small pinch of relief when her sister-in-law had made the announcement.
There was no answer from him, just a frown; then he was clicking off his phone. He reached up an arm and touched an almost imperceptible pad on the wall behind him. The room became illuminated.
Caprise turned around instantly, curiosity overriding her questions about his phone call. This was his home. She didn’t know exactly how she knew this, just had a feeling—a feeling that was weirdly reaching out to her. Walking away from him slowly, her feet slapped against glossy hardwood floors. The walls all around her were white, sickening white like a hospital or insane asylum. There was a sofa, a love seat, a coffee table, a flat-screen television on the center wall above a fireplace that looked as if it had never been lit, and four framed pictures on the wall. That was it.
She shivered involuntarily but resisted folding her arms over her chest. That was her protective stance but here, standing in the center of X’s living room, Caprise doubted she needed protection. The brooding shifter across the room from her would protect her from any harm. He’d feel obligated to, considering it was technically his job. It was useless, however, since Caprise was perfectly capable of protecting herself. She’d been doing so for years. As far as protecting herself from him went, Caprise knew exactly what she was doing.
“You live alone with hardly any furnishings. It’s cold in here.” She was making simple statements, acknowledging the facts as she saw them. X looked at her as if she were giving him the time of day and he’d already checked his watch. “I don’t like the cold.”
“Then I’ll keep you warm,” he replied immediately coming to stand in front of her.
“What if I say no this time?” she asked, wondering what he was thinking. He looked closed off, as if his body was here but his thoughts might actually be someplace else.
“Then you’ll sleep on the couch and continue to be cold.”
He didn’t shrug, but the implication that he didn’t care either way was ripe in the air. So was something else in the air, she thought.
Caprise moved away from X again, exploring his personal space with him not so much as uttering a word. Through an archway was his dining area, a long rectangular space with floor-to-ceiling windows making up one side, more white walls on the other. There was a table about six feet long, marble-topped with thick legs and six chairs to match. There was nothing else.
She peeped into the kitchen and almost smiled at the repetition of design. White walls, stainless-steel appliances, dark granite countertops that matched the dining room table, on the floor large slate-gray tiles instead of glossed wood. His bedroom—that’s what had been reaching out to her, she figured, as there was still a tugging in her gut.
He wasn’t behind her when she turned, which was only a minor surprise. Usually a good host gave a new guest a tour of his home, or at the very least followed the guest while they made her own impromptu tour. X did neither. Caprise was not shocked.
There were two bedrooms, one she knew instinctively was not his because the door was wide open. Inside there was exercise equipment and another large flat-screen television. In one corner was a U-shaped desk with two desktop computers; one laptop was closed on the end of the desk. The bathroom was huge, decorated in the same slate tile from the kitchen, its shower in the center of the room in a circular shape with glass doors and an overhead showerhead. All around was the color gray: towels, walls, the tub, the toilet, like some higher being had deemed this place a perpetually cloudy day.
In the hall once again she touched a hand to the closed door, knowing this was his personal space. A whiff of dominance assailed her and she looked to the left, where X stood at the end of the hallway, hands fisted at his sides, legs spread partially, chest and head held high. He was daring her and giving her permission all at the same time. She didn’t falter, but opened the door and stepped inside.
Here the monotony of the decor was broken. His bed was huge. Then again, it would have to be to accommodate him comfortably. Four thick posters held up the king-size mattresses to a bed that had to be at least a couple of feet off the floor. It looked as heavy as his truck, she thought as she moved closer. There was a huge armoire in the corner closest to the door. All the furniture in here appeared heavy and ornate, like something out of a time warp. It was dark cherrywood and had intricate designs carved inside. The floor was bare and so were the walls, but in this room, amazingly, Caprise was not cold.
“As you can see there’s space for two,” he said in a gruff tone from his spot in the doorway.
She’d known he was there, had felt his presence close, overshadowing.
“Do two often sleep here?” She was asking about the girlfriend thing again and berated herself for it. She already knew the answer, or at least she thought she did. Furthermore, it didn’t really matter. Or it shouldn’t matter.
“No female has been here before” was his answer just before there was a knock at the door.
It was a low knock, she knew, but she heard it and so did X.
“Get comfortable,” he told her before leaving her alone.
“Yes sir,” she mocked him when he was gone.
Touching one of the bedposts, she thought with a bit of smugness,
Caprise was not into fairy tales. She didn’t want any type of happily ever after, with any man or shifter. Not anymore. That was the trouble with first relationships, they had a tendency to leave everlasting scars. She resisted the urge to touch the physical scar left over from said relationship, letting her mind ripple over the mental ones before shaking her head clear of it all.
She climbed onto the bed and was sitting in its center with her legs crossed when X returned.
Innocent, that’s how she looked sitting on his big bed, with her slim frame and wild hair hanging past her
