So he changed topics. “If I hadn’t been asked to come check on you today, what would you be doing right now?”
The surprise on her face had her eyes widening, but she glanced away nonchalantly, as if not trusting his intentions. “What would you be doing?” she countered.
Her response told him so much. Like how arguing with him was easier than admitting her feelings. The way she stared at him when she thought he wasn’t looking hadn’t gone unnoticed by him, but for weeks he’d debated whether to make a move or not. His brain had always won in the end, but today he couldn’t walk away. He had to know if what he felt was real.
His decision would probably bite him in the ass because enjoying her company would only make her attractiveness harder to resist, and he told himself over and over he had to resist. Except, in her company, he felt liberated, not trapped by fucked-up crap from his past. She made him forget everything.
Her gorgeous eyes encased by long, dark lashes studied him… Right. She was waiting for his response. “I’d be fighting the crowds to buy my last-minute gifts. Your turn.”
“I’d be cleansing this house, probably trapped in Hell.” She huffed.
“Lucky I came then.” He cocked a brow and offered her a wide smirk.
“So...” she continued, dropping her leg and easing her posture, clearly not wanting to admit I saved her life. While he ought to get out and make sure Henry and Nora had left the house, he couldn’t tear himself away from her side. Just a few more seconds.
“I hear you’ve been working at Argos for five years,” she said, leaning closer, the wisps of her soft hair stroking his forearm. “You haven’t gotten bored doing the same job?” She might have asked a mundane question, but the purring behind her words changed the mood in the room. Her new approach excited him. It was like she’d finally dropped her defenses, and he couldn’t be more surprised and ecstatic. Guess almost dying does that to someone.
“How can I get sick of kicking demon butt and keeping the streets clean? I’ll do this for the next forty years.” He paused, his fingers sliding over her hand, and her breath hitched. “I’d thought about leaving the industry, getting a normal person’s job, but how can I ignore the truth about what lurks in the shadows?” That Pandora’s box lay smashed open with no way of putting the crazies back inside. “What about you? Do you plan to continue working at Argos, or is it a temporary gig?”
She shrugged. “Haven’t thought that far in advance. Just need a regular paycheck.” Her tone was light, and he adored this side of her. They were two ordinary people talking about life, not possession, or comparing bruises from demon attacks.
“That’s how I started out, too, but it gets easier.” When Gunn first worked for Argos, he had been flat broke. But they paid well, so he’d worked hard and gotten ahead faster than he’d anticipated.
The earlier silence embraced them once again, and she stood up, pulling her hand from his, but he wanted her back.
He was on his feet and grasped her elbow, drawing her closer. She stumbled toward him, chest to chest, her head tilted back, reaching his chin in height. Her body trembling against him intensified his attraction. Everything about Cyra had driven him insane for weeks, and he’d been unable to get her out of his thoughts. But he’d kept his word to Chase and kept his distance this long for too many other reasons. Now he swallowed past the boulder wedged in his throat. Something inside him stirred. A longing, a craving to take what he’d dreamed of.
“Baby girl,” he said, voice lowered, “I was ready to jump into Hell to collect you. And that decision had zero to do with your brother, or with my job. I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt.”
She didn’t blink, but her face softened, as did her body against his. And for those few moments, his thoughts faded into the background, along with his worries. For too long he’d fantasized about holding Cyra, claiming her as his, and, right then, he toyed with doing so—taking what belonged to him.
“Is this you trying to make it up to me for almost killing me with your bike?” Her tone suggested sarcasm, yet her hand inched up his chest. Then she pulled away, leaving him hanging high and dry.
“No, no. Finish what you started.” He collected her into his arms once again, adrenaline coursing through his veins. She was a furnace against him, a fire lighting his insides, drawing him closer.
“Which part?” Her attempt at seriousness gave him the urge to laugh hard.
“You know very well which part.”
His brain yelled that he ought to back away, not play this game, but seeing this flirty side of Cyra awakened him, called to his raw instincts.
She fell silent and watched him for a long pause. “What are we doing?” she asked.
“What would you like to be doing?” The logical part of his brain blurted out exactly what they were doing—flirting on a dangerous slope—while his heart pleaded for more. He’d dreamed of having time with Cyra where her brother wasn’t watching her like a hawk, where she could be herself. Beneath the surface, he’d desired Cyra and, now that she showed authentic interest, how could he walk away?
“So many things,” she responded. As if she’d revealed her deepest secret, her cheeks blushed. Her reaction made it difficult for him to resist. It left him hard and ready. They’d come this far, but why the fuck did they have to be at
