He reached across her body and nudged her hip. She wasn’t moving quickly enough, and he did still require her warmth.
“Okay. Behave, Mr. Toft.”
“You called me Andreas before.”
“In the heat of the moment.”
“I don’t believe you can so quickly reverse our familiarity. After all, you’ve seen me nude. You’ve seen the…thing that I am. Seems only proper that you call me by my given name.”
“This is Fallon. No one gives a shit about what’s proper.”
“But you do?”
A muscle in her jaw twitched.
He’d struck a nerve, obviously, but he’d needed to. He needed to shake her loose from her course and rid her of her misconceptions of him. More than anything, he craved her acceptance. He hadn’t let anyone else get so close to him in so long, and he wouldn’t dare squander his chance to finally connect with someone.
“Please?” He guided her down beside him, and she didn’t resist.
She lay on her back staring a
t the ceiling rafters, and he brazenly slung half his body over hers. He’d already had her permission, and he was going to assume her acceptance was carte blanche. He closed his eyes, weary and aching.
“Your questions?” he asked, trying to ignore the slight shifting of her leg beneath his body, and the things the movement did to his cock. He was poorly positioned, but he wasn’t dead. Of course she’d arouse him. She needed to only breathe in his direction to ignite his fire.
“I don’t give a damn about the case. I’m getting the hell out of this place as soon as I can.”
Scowling, he lifted his head. “Just like that, you’re leaving?”
“Are you asserting that you won’t let me?”
He ground his teeth together to still his tongue.
“I wasn’t just talking about this building. I mean Fallon.”
Stunned, he put his head back down. The muscles in his neck felt as though they’d been stabbed through with icy steel. “Truly?”
“Yes,” she said. Her voice. Seemed some odd combination of eagerness and exasperation. “I think I just needed the right kind of kick in the pants. I could go to Norseton. There’s a job waiting for me there, and at least I know the clan leaders would be welcoming. I could have a fresh start and leave some of my old ghosts behind here.”
“You’ve nothing left to stay for?”
With her brows knit and the flush of passion in her cheeks, she tipped her lovely face toward him. “Do you?”
Chapter 8
Mary had fallen asleep. Granted, she’d needed the rest. She rarely got a good night’s sleep because she spent so much of her nighttime hours overthinking every little thing in her life. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the settee, though. Darkness had arrived.
Andreas’s breath against her neck was measured and slow, and his hold on her sure. He’d behaved, as promised, but he apparently wasn’t going to let her flee, either. Oddly, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to. Having spent the day with him, and learned a little something about what made him tick, she’d earned an investment in him. More than that, the man fascinated her. That didn’t happen anymore. No one else ever sparred with her the way her father had, not even at the office.
She turned her head and tried to spot her tote bag. She’d left it nearby, and she wanted to see if Adam or his wolves had sent her messages. She had no way of knowing what the time was, except that it was after six-fifteen. That was approximately when the sun went down.
“Ah.” The bag was just within reach, though she’d have to dislodge Andreas a bit to grab hold. She squirmed under his weight, extending her left arm to toward the strap.
“Mmm,” he groaned.
“I’m just trying to get my bag.”
“Be still. I was enjoying my dream. I hope to get back to it.”