Wicked and Dangerous

Something that you didn’t hide quite in time when I would turn unexpectedly and look your way.” She moved to her feet and took two steps toward him, before his wrathful expression stopped her. “Do you have any idea what those looks would do to me? How badly I wished you would just do something . . . anything? How terrified I was that I was just imagining it? Whatever you wanted from me, I would have been more than willing to give you, Scott.”

“Christ, Lily. You don’t even know me. You don’t know what I’m—”

“You’re wrong,” she whispered, cutting him off. “I know all about you.”

He gave a gritty laugh under his breath. “Right.”

She took another step toward him and lowered her lashes. “Would you like it better if you gagged me? Tied me up? Slapped some handcuffs on me? Because if that’s what it takes to get you off, then I’m willing. I trust you.”

It was the strangest sensation, the way all the blood in his body turned ice cold, while his skin burned with heat. Releasing his grip on the counter, he flexed his hands at his sides. “What the fuck did you just say?”

Her gaze flicked up to his, and caught, locked in the fury of his glare. But she didn’t back down and cower. Instead, she licked her lips and said, “I know all about your sexual . . . whatever you want to call it. I know you’re into the bondage scene. My father made sure he did his research thoroughly on every one of his men before they came to work for him, as well as while they were under his command.” There was a brief pause where she bit her lip, and then she murmured, “Your file was fairly extensive.”

He was so furious he was shaking. “You read my fucking file?”

She narrowed her eyes again. “Front to back. I memorized the damn thing.”

His lungs seized so tight he couldn’t even draw his next breath. He didn’t think it was possible, but he went even colder inside. “You know about my mother?”

Her head cocked a bit to the side, her gaze questioning. “I know she was a single mother. That she raised you without your dad. But that’s all.”

He scraped out a low curse, not looking at her. But he could feel the force of her sudden uneasiness blasting against him. “Scott,” she said hesitantly. “What’s wrong?”

What was wrong? Jesus. He choked back a humorless laugh, not trusting what it might turn into. She hadn’t been back in his life twenty minutes, and already he felt stripped down like a live wire, all his raw parts torn and exposed, getting prodded by every fucking word that came out of her mouth.

“I don’t like the look on your face,” she whispered. “You know you can talk to me, right? Is there something about your mother you don’t want me to know?”

He scrubbed his hands down his face, then dropped his arms to his sides and forced himself to look her in the eye. “We’re not talking about my mother, Lily. And before you think you can just loop back to your original topic, we’re sure as shit not talking about my sex life.”

“Why?” she pressed softly, clearly not knowing when to quit. “Does it scare you to know that I’m okay with what you like from women? Is that what bothers you about our age difference? You think I won’t understand?”

Completely ignoring her questions, he bit his words out. “Did you or did you not come to me claiming that Rado is trying to kill you?”

“It’s not a claim. It’s the truth.”

“Then maybe you should stop playing games you can’t finish and tell me what the fuck happened.”

He could tell from the look in her eyes that his attitude was getting to her. “I’ve already told you what happened.”

He slowly shook his head. “Not how you got away.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Nothing. Not really. Except that it was driving him out of his damn mind, wondering what those bastards had done to her.

Her lashes lowered, concealing something in her eyes that she didn’t want him to see. “I got away, Scott. That’s all that matters.”

Fuck it. He’d let her keep her silence. For the moment. “I’ll protect you,” he muttered, crossing his arms back over his chest, “but I won’t take any of your shit, Lily. You’ll have to follow my orders. Do you think you can do that?”

Her little chin went up again. “Why do you think I can’t?”

He gave a sarcastic snort. “I remember what you were like. Always defying every order you were given.”

A low, tight laugh slipped from her lips. “That was a long time ago. I didn’t like being treated like one of my dad’s soldiers and I acted out. It doesn’t mean I have a death wish.”

“You could have fooled me.” She might have been innocent when it came to sex back then, but she’d had more than enough backbone to defy her father in every other aspect of her life. “You were reckless as hell.”

Her head tilted a bit to the side again. “What are you talking about?”

“That skydiving instructor you let take you up had shit for brains.”

For a few seconds, she just stared at him in confusion. Then realization slowly dawned, her expression caught somewhere between fascination and shock. “Ohmygod. That was you? You’re the one who scared him off ever taking me up for another jump?”

He jerked his shoulder in a stiff roll. “All I did was talk to him.”

“And make him nearly piss his pants! He thought you were going to kill him.”

Choking back a satisfied laugh, he said, “That’s a little dramatic. I just told him I would kick his ass if he ever came within twenty miles of you again.”

She placed her fingers over her lips, still looking dazed. “He apparently thought that meant the same thing when coming from you.”

“Yeah, well, you know me better than that.”

“I thought I did. But then I also thought you weren’t coward enough to sneak off in the dead of night without a word.”

Jesus, she just wouldn’t let up. “Don’t start, Lily. Leave the past in the past, where it belongs.”

“So because I liked to skydive when I was younger, you think I’m . . . what? Reckless? Stupid?”

“It wasn’t just the skydiving. It was the rock-climbing, the whitewater kayaking, the fucking bungee jumping from bridges only an idiot would have jumped off of. You treated every school break like a chance to finally find a way to kill yourself!”

Color burned beneath her pale skin. “So I liked to push my limits. What’s the big deal? At least I wasn’t doing it with drugs and sex.”

A muscle started to pulse at the side of his jaw. “You were headed there.”

“That’s a lie and you know it,” she snapped. “But it’s good to know that you were worried enough to stick around and make sure I was okay.”

“Topic, Lily. For once let’s try to stay on fucking topic.”

She was breathing too hard to say anything for a moment, those green eyes flashing with anger. “Fine. Is there anyone local who can help us if we need it? Or are we on our own?”

Pushing his hands in his pockets, he said, “There’s Ben. But I don’t know if that would be a good idea.”

“Who’s Ben?”

“My boss.”

She studied his expression, no doubt seeing more than he wanted her to. But she simply said, “Dad told me you were working down here as a deputy. So Ben’s the sheriff?”

“Yeah.”

“You trust him?”

“I trust him,” he replied, then immediately frowned. “But it’s going to be complicated, seeing as how he’s . . .”

“He’s what?”

“In love.” He winced, feeling like a damn idiot. “He just got married and all that shit.”

“Oh.” She shook her head. “Um, I’m failing to see the point. Why does his being in love and married make this complicated?”