“Oh my God, you’re killing me, you know that?”
I was pleased by how surprised she seemed. “And just how am I doing that? By bringing you food? Trust me, it’s not poisonous. And from the sound of it, you’re hungry.”
She stared at the wine. “And you brought me wine too.”
I held up the bottle of wine and grinned. “You looked like you’d had a hell of a day. Under normal circumstances, I’d suggest we eat together. But you look wiped.”
She sagged in relief. “So you noticed.”
“I did.”
Lyra leaned against her door frame as she gnawed on a piece of garlic bread. “Jesus, why are you tempting me?”
I grinned at that and then shoved my hands in my pockets. “You seem like you want to be tempted.”
She shook her head. “I was serious when I said I did not have time for a relationship.”
“Well, aren’t you presumptuous? Who said I want a relationship? I was willing to let you use me for my body.”
She coughed a laugh, and there was almost a hysterical hint to it. “Jesus, Marcus, why now? Why are you this now? Why weren’t you this earlier?”
“I don’t know what—” When she lifted her gaze to mine, I saw there were tears shining in her eyes, and I couldn’t help myself. I closed the gap between us and pulled her in and wrapped my arms around her. “Hey, you’re okay. You’re fine.”
No. This was not fine. This was dangerous.
You want to take care of her. If you brought danger to her doorstep, you might need to leave. Don’t get too close.
But still, I couldn’t get my arms to unlock. “Hey, you’re okay. Seems like you’ve had a long couple of days.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” She sighed into my chest where she’d buried her head.
“Look, I know you’re not sure if we’re a thing, but if you want to talk, I’m here.”
She blinked up at me, the tears brimming. “You’re too nice.”
I flashed a grin then. “Most people wouldn’t say that about me.”
“Well, most people are idiots.”
“Maybe.”
“They mostly aren’t paying attention anyway. Marcus, I really wish to God that I could do this. I want to do this. But I can’t.”
“Hey, relax. This isn’t anything. This is just me bringing a neighbor dinner because she looked like she needed it.”
She shifted her head up to mine, and then her gaze slipped to my lips. The tightening happened in my gut first and then hit my dick. The longer she stared, the longer every system in my body started to shut down all functions, making sure the blood flow was focused where it wanted to go.
Fuck, I wanted her.
I wanted her lips underneath mine. I wanted her making that sweet little moaning sound. Instead, I stopped. I forced my attention to her forehead, not her mouth. Not on those giant doe eyes, begging me to do the thing that I shouldn’t. Because I shouldn’t want to do this. I shouldn’t even be there. I should be looking for all avenues away from this. And despite the twitching protestations of my dick, I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead then stepped back. “Well, enjoy your night. I’ll see you around, Lyra.”
She blinked at me rapidly, and then frowned. “Oh, okay. Um, thank you?”
Her eyes were glazed, and her lips slightly parted. One flickering gaze at her chest told me that her nipples were erect and her breathing was shallow. She wanted me.
Yeah, well, join the party.
But it wasn’t safe for her. And until I could make it safe, I probably needed to keep my distance.
So I turned around and forced myself to walk back down the hallway and let myself into my flat, locking the door behind me.
Marcus
Lyra Wilkinson smelled like sunshine and coconuts.
I couldn’t ignore the mental picture of her smile, her eyes. And her fucking scent… I could swear I smelled it everywhere. Even when I was sleeping, my brain insisted on dreaming of her. Thinking about her. That little moan she made when I kissed her.
Bloody hell. I was toast.
When I went to bed, my brain had one dream locked down. Lyra in my arms on the night of our date, my lips on hers, her moaning. But this time, instead of that interruption by Stannis Prochenko, I kept kissing her. Kept stroking my tongue over hers until her knees were weak and she was gasping in my arms. Her arms looped around me, and that kiss became so much more than just a kiss. It became a promise. All from that moan.
In my delusional dream, I’d meant to be a perfect gentleman and deposit her at her door, but she let me in, and that kiss turned into so much more. My lips at her jaw, along her neck, and then lower. The tops of her breasts spilling out of her dress. Me brushing my stubble against her tender flesh, making her gasp.
Fucking hell. That moaning sound she made was becoming a constant hum, a constant promise. I couldn’t let her go. But the tighter I tried to hold on, the more she became ethereal smoke, vanishing through my fingers.
I woke with sweat on my skin as the memory of the coconut lime scent of Lyra stayed with me. I flopped back onto my pillow. I really needed to get my shit together.
Put her out of your mind. There are larger issues at stake.
Easier said than done.
The buzzing that I had attributed to Lyra’s moaning was actually my phone. There were texts after texts from Curtis. I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was four o’clock, 2:00 a.m. for him. I finally just picked up the phone and called him. “What’s going on?”
“You’re up. Good.”
“I wasn’t, but since you were texting me nonstop, now I am. What’s going on?”
“Mads McLean was spotted in East LA today.”
I sat up in bed. “When?”
“This afternoon. He was bleeding. Looks like he might have run into
