That beat of my heart stampeded.
The man a paradox.
Conflict.
A crux.
Tattooed, vicious fingers were so tender as they unfastened the strap of the helmet from under my chin. Sooty eyes so soft but razor-sharp as they took me in. The defined, distinct contours of his stunning face glinted below the haze of lights.
My stomach pitched with desire and my chest stretched with that feeling I could no longer deny.
“Stay close to me tonight.” His words were barbs.
“You’ve said that a hundred times.” I managed a tease.
He grunted. “I’ll say it a hundred more. All night. All day. Forever.”
The words slipped into a murmur as he wound his arm around my waist and pulled me snug against the hard lines of his body. And I wanted to get lost in the undercurrent of what he’d said. In the promise he didn’t know how to make.
The confession danced on my tongue.
I love you.
I love you.
I didn’t say it.
He’d clam up and run. Hide behind every reason he couldn’t keep me.
He dipped down and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Little Temptress…trying to wreck me.”
My fingers curled in his shirt. “You’re the one who’s done all the wrecking, Mr. Lawson.”
He smirked, arched a brow. “Mr. Lawson, huh?”
My mouth tugged up at the side. “You are my boss, after all.”
His hand splayed across my lower back before he gripped me by the bottom, his face pressed to the underside of my jaw. “I’ll show you boss,” he grumbled at the sensitive skin.
A giggle slipped free, along with a rush of need. “You better,” I whispered back.
He groaned and chuckled. “Like I said…Little Temptress.”
He peeled himself back, the slightest smile twitching over his sexy mouth, and he threaded our fingers together and led me to the side door. Milo was there, holding open the heavy metal barricade, though the man would likely be much harder to break through than the door.
“Sir,” the bouncer said with a jut of his chin. “Little Dove.”
“Hello, Milo,” I said with a tiny wave.
“How’s it going tonight?” Trent asked, glancing around, gaze sweeping the lot.
“Crazy, Sir. Members of A Riot of Roses are in the dressing rooms in the back, and their crew is setting up. Place is a madhouse. Buzzin’ and gettin’ ready to bust.”
“Extra security is in place?”
Milo’s attention dipped to me. “Absolutely.”
“Good.”
“Nothin’ will get by,” he promised.
Trent squeezed my hand like he was the one who’d said it.
We angled into the murky dimness of the long hall. I lost my breath there again, with the way Trent shifted to look at me, with the way he pressed me to the wall. “Just want to take you home,” he muttered, his body plastered to mine and his heart beating out of control.
I tipped my face up to meet the fear in his eyes, and I scratched my fingers into the stubble on his cheek. “We’ll be fine.”
My gaze searched the severity of his. Will we be?
Taking my hand, he pressed my knuckles to his lips. “No one will get near you.”
Thickness filled my throat. “I told you I’m not weak, Trent, I just need to know what we’re up against.”
And that was the hardest part. He wouldn’t give me that.
“I’m working on it.”
The same answer he always gave.
I gave him a short nod. “I’m going to go change.”
He hesitated. I knew it was a warzone in this brutal man’s mind. A battle with every decision.
I pressed at his chest. “We already talked about this. I’m still here to help my daddy, Trent. The reason I came in the first place. You have to respect that.”
But I’d be a liar to deny some of those reasons had changed.
“Let me take care of it.”
My head shook. “No, Trent. I’m not here for you to take care of me.”
I’m here because I love my daddy and I’ll do anything to help him. And I’m also here because I love you, and I want to stand by your side, too. Support you the way you’ve supported me.
Yeah, those reasons had most definitely changed.
Did he see? Did he understand?
He stared down at me with that potent, heady gaze. “I know that, but I still want to.”
The tiniest smile tugged at my lips. “And that makes you amazing.”
He grunted like he still believed he was bad.
“Mr. Lawson.”
Our attention shifted to the end of the hall where a security guard from the temporary agency stood.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we wanted to go over a few things before the show starts.”
Trent lifted his chin at him before he returned his focus to me. He dipped in for a kiss, one that was probably a little too passionate for an audience, but right then, I couldn’t mind.
Not when his mouth moved and played, and his tongue danced and whispered.
Stealing my breath and reservations.
But there was nothing left of my heart to take.