Black and Blue

waving her fist in front of his face.

He tried to bite it. “Did I ever tell you how sexy it is when you threaten me with bodily harm?”

“No. Because that would be ridiculous.”

“It’s not, and it’s true.” Expression serious, he said, “Now, back to your ranking. I’ve decided to tell you, despite the titty-twister.”

She shook her head, dark hair dancing around her. “I don’t want to know.” After all, she’d lost herself in the pleasure of his mouth and his hands, and then his body; he’d had to do all the work.

“Too bad. Baby, there is no question, no doubt in my mind, that you are and forever will be . . . number one. Seriously. This,” he said, waving a hand to indicate her slender curves, “should be outlawed.”

She tried to maintain a neutral expression—encouraging him was wrong—but she couldn’t suppress a smile. “Two compliments from you in one day. You must be losing your edge.”

“Of course I am. I just blew a major load.”

Her eyes widened. Can’t believe he just said that.

He gave another wave, this one imperial. “Go ahead. Laugh. You know you want to.”

She slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Laughter escaped.

His gaze met hers with a mix of pleasure and awe, his features softening. “I will never get tired of seeing you lit up like this.”

Getting too serious! her mind screamed. And, just like that, her amusement drained.

He frowned, as if her mood change upset him. “What are you thinking about?”

“What’s going to happen tomorrow? With Tiffany?”

“Don’t want me to make a move on her?”

“No,” she answered honestly. And crap. Too serious again.

Now he grinned, pleased. “Don’t worry. I won’t. You have my word. I will flirt with her to make it believable when she leaves with me, but it will never go any further than that. When I get her alone, I will use compulsion to get her to fall asleep.”

“All right,” she said with a nod.

“Wait. No making me promise? Or sign a contract in blood?”

“No. I believe you. I need no more assurance than your word.”

Something bright bloomed in his eyes as he kissed her temple. “I don’t know what to say. Evie . . . thank you.”

If anything, she should be saying those words to him.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, switching topics with a speed that left her floundering. “I’m starved. So why don’t I make us something to eat? Afterward we can shower and clock a few more hours in bed before we go to sleep.” His voice went husky with desire when he added, “Then, come morning, I’ll wake you up in the best possible way. Promise.”

Wait. He expected to stay the night in her room? The entire night?

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Naked, he padded into the hallway, leaving her alone with a growing sense of panic. At last it had arrived.

Eighteen

HE HADN’T WORN A condom. To be honest, Blue hadn’t even thought about wearing one. On some level, he must trust Evie more than he trusted any other woman. He knew she would never make claims about a false pregnancy as Pagan had. As countless others had. She was honest to a fault.

And now that he knew she hadn’t complained about the lack because she had been as caught up in the moment as he had been, he only wanted her more.

He was grinning as he carried a tray of sandwiches into the bedroom, nearly let-the-world-crumble eager to see her splayed out, dark hair splashed over the pillows, pale skin flushed with the pleasure he had just given her, lips red and swollen from his kisses.

He’d never been a possessive guy. Today, that had changed. Evie Black belonged to him, and he wasn’t letting her go. He was already addicted to her taste—the honey she smelled of. But now he knew her warmth, and her inner softness, and the sounds she made as her excitement built. He knew the feel of her nails in his flesh and her body moving against his, surrounding his, knew her smile afterward, the huskiness of her voice.

She’s a treasure. My treasure.

Yes, he betrayed Michael.

Yes, he felt guilt. But he would make his boss understand.

What about tomorrow? The postgame party? Tiffany?

Evie understood. She trusted him, no questions asked, and the knowledge floored him. He didn’t think he’d ever been this happy.

He wouldn’t blow it. For once, Blue had drawn a line and he wouldn’t cross it.

“Evangeline,” he said, grinning as he stepped into the room.

She wasn’t in the bed.

He set the tray on the dresser and strode into the bathroom. But she wasn’t there, either. Frowning, he checked the entire suite. There was no sign of her, and her clothes had been picked up from the floor.

“Evie,” he called.

There was no reply.

He raced through the entire house, checking every corner, every shadow, but she wasn’t hiding anywhere.

Scowling, he stomped into her office and watched the security feeds, using the codes she’d given him. Within minutes he was seething. The little witch climbed out of her own bedroom window and scaled down the side of the house. As if he were a booty call she regretted.

Fury rained, a storm of ice and fire. His motions were jerky as he strapped weapons all over his body and dressed. She had a ten-minute head start. He’d have her back in bed in five. Whether he would spank her, lecture her, or seduce her, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he’d do all three.

Why do this to him?

She wasn’t the type to run away from her problems.

Or, hell, what did he know? Maybe she was. She still hadn’t told him about Claire.

Outside, the moon was high and full, the sky a stretch of diamond-studded ebony, the air cool. The roads were deserted, the entire neighborhood at rest. Evie had gone north, so he took off in that direction, following the lingering trace of her sweet perfume.

She’d left prints in the ground, and they were deeper than a normal step. She’d been sprinting, her shoes pounding into the dirt. She was that eager to escape him?

Infuriated all over again, he rounded a corner just in time to watch Evie disappear inside an all-night grocery—and catch a Bree Lian dodging her steps, moving faster and faster, drawing closer to her heels. Blue lurched into super-speed, several yards away one minute, right behind the guy the next.

He slapped a hand over furry lips—and stabbed, stabbed. Spleen. Kidney. The Bree Lian’s startled, pained howl was muffled as he fell to his knees. Blue dragged him into the darkened alley beside the building and slammed his knee into the guy’s face, propelling him backward. Before he could figure out what was going on, Blue had a pyre-gun unsheathed and aimed.

“Why are you after the girl?” he demanded. “Who do you work for?”

Clutching his bleeding side, the otherworlder pressed his lips together in a tight, mulish line.

Blue picked him up with a single stream of power and kept him suspended in the air. With another stream, he spread the Bree Lian’s arms and legs, hopefully making him feel as if the appendages were going to be ripped away any second. Because they were.

“I’m not going to ask again.”