“Better.” I slid my fingers higher, greedily touching as much of her as possible. “When your parents died within six months of each other, Link swooped in to the rescue. You let him. But he was a crutch that turned into something that was never meant to be. You used him.”
“No. That’s a lie.”
“You did. Used him, led him on despite the fact you had no intention of ever moving to the city with him. Wouldn’t even let him fuck you—thanks for that, by the way.”
Her body turned to stone, her nails digging into my back. She wanted to storm away from me, to give a furious denial, but she wanted to go to the city more. I’d caught her in her own trap. She’d have to stay here, in my arms, while I told her why we were perfect together.
“I crunched the data, and I found you. The real you. The one who wants a monster instead of a man. You enjoy dancing with the devil. Our deals? You play the good girl, but you wanted my kiss.” I nuzzled into her ear. “I can’t stop thinking about your taste, the sounds you made.”
Her nails raked down my back. “Stop.”
“That’s my girl.” I smirked and met her eyes again. Her hard nipples hadn’t escaped my notice. Neither had the wet heat between her thighs. “No one knows you. Not really. Not like I do. And I don’t judge you. I’m drawn to your spark of darkness the same way you’re drawn to the ocean of mine. We aren’t magnets pulled together by a weak force; we create our own gravity for each other.”
Her eyes narrowed, but the denial in her mind didn’t pass her lips. Did she know it wouldn’t ring true?
“Have you ever told Veronica how much you wanted me that night we danced?”
Her gaze darted away. “You’ve manufactured all these conjectures into one big hypothesis that you’ll never be able to prove. Scientific method fail.”
“We’ll see.” I hugged her closer, tucking her against my chest.
“And you’re cheating with your hand under my shirt.”
“What are you going to do about it?” I flattened my palm against her smooth skin.
A sting erupted along my pec, the pain intensifying until I relaxed my hand on her back. She’d bitten me. Hard.
My semi turned into the hardest erection I’d had in my life. “Do that again, and I’ll be forced to bury my face in your cunt until you learn how to behave.” Please do it again.
She huffed and settled her head on my bicep. “Go to sleep. I’m tired of your robot analysis and your stalking and—really, I’m just tired of you.”
“Sure you are.” I relished the reverberating pain of her teeth marks. “Next time, draw blood.”
“Psycho.”
I kissed her hair again and relaxed into my pillow. “Your psycho.”
26
Link
“Kid, look. I talked to the expedition leader guy. Everything is fine.”
“Did he let you talk to Ms. Briarlane?” The concern in Mint’s voice made me prickle. Why was this kid so interested in my girl?
“No, she was up a tree.”
“Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”
“No.” I waved my secretary into my office. She sat in one of my visitor’s chairs, her long legs shining in the morning light pouring through the windows behind me. I followed them all the way up to her skirt and the darkness beneath it. Definitely a thigh gap going on with this new temp. I licked my lips.
“—you even hear me, Link? Hello?”
I’d missed whatever he’d been rambling on about. The temp had put the top of her pen in her mouth, pressing it between her teeth. “I wouldn’t worry.”
“Has she texted you?”
“Not for a couple days, but that’s to be expected.” Why couldn’t this adolescent horndog leave it alone? “Stop worrying. She’s fine.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I do, and I’m the adult. Leave it alone.” I tried to exude authority. The new secretary perked up a bit, so it was working.
The kid grumbled, then stayed silent for a beat. “Wait. You said you saw the car that picked her up?”
“Yeah, so? Look, I have some business to attend to—”
“Just hear me out. What sort of car was it?”
“A black limo. Nothing special.” I’d like to show the blond in my visitor’s chair the inside of a nice limo.
“Is that normal?”
“What?”
“A science expedition to spring for a limo?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been on a science expedition.” My patience reached its limit. “Don’t call again, kid. Everything’s fine.”
“No, Link—”
I tapped the screen and gave the temp my winning smile. She melted right before my eyes. I bet her red lipstick would look hot as fuck on my dick.
I settled back into my chair. “Now, what’s on our agenda for the day?”
27
Camille
Gerry went over the plants he’d delivered to the greenhouse earlier in the afternoon. They sat in various produce boxes, green stems and a few blooms mixed in.