Twenty-Three #3
Dropping my arms, his hands slid under my jaw, causing me to bite down on my lip, my lids closing with the delicious-ness.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded. The authoritative voice had my lids bursting open, my throat humming like a lion.
He stared down into my face. Examining. Tilting my head to the side, catching the light in my pupils.
“Fuck, you’re high.”
“Good to see your years of military training didn’t go to waste.” I giggled, finding that strangely funny. Everything was funny. My hands moved back to his torso without my say, my mood shifting to serious like the beat of butterfly wings. “And there’s nothing you can do or say about it.”
His figure loomed over me, hands still cupping my face, and his gaze switched from inspecting to something that looped my stomach around like a carnival ride.
We stayed like that until his head shook slightly, his voice barely above a whisper. “You’re going to wreck me.”
My lids narrowed, my head far too fuzzy to understand what he meant, but the words were a backdrop to the way his focus dropped to my mouth, the feel of his fingers digging into the skin under my jaw.
Emotions I couldn’t even begin to unthread exploded in my chest, rising me up on my toes with one desire.
“Spencer…” My name was filled with caution. “You are not in your right mind. Don’t.” But he did nothing to actually stop me. I couldn’t seem to do anything but barrel forward, the craving and need to taste him rolled over all my own alarms ringing in the back of my head.
My lips grazed his, already blistering my body with heat.
“Lennox?” His name volleyed from behind me, jolting me back like I had been shot. “What are you guys doing?”
Swinging around, Hazel stood a few yards from us, her head tilting, brows furrowing.
“Fuck.” I heard him hiss under his breath, fully stepping away from me like I was a disease.
“Ms. Seymour.” Lennox nodded at her, pulling up his shoulders, going fully into bodyguard mode.
Her blurry eyes darted back and forth between us for another beat before a happy smile curled her mouth.
Wobbling on her bare feet, she headed to him.
Sweaty, her hair tangled, she still looked like she just stepped off a runway.
“Think we’re well past formal names, don’t you think?
” Her declaration burned my joyful buzz into oblivion, my fingers rolling into fists.
What did she mean by that? Had they gotten together? Had sex? She said she would, and Hazel wasn’t a girl any guy would turn down.
She tried to shove him back into the wall, but he didn’t budge. She didn’t seem to notice as she leaned into him, running her hands over him. Freely. Openly.
Like she had the right. Like they had before.
“I was actually hoping you’d find us. About to turn back on my mobile so you could track us.” She pressed into him, sniffing at his neck. “Bloody hell. You smell so goooood.”
Mobile! I never turned mine off. I was the worst rebel ever.
Lifting my eyes, I caught him staring intently at me over her shoulder, though I couldn’t decipher anything in his expression. All I knew was what was in front of me. Hazel and Lennox. With every breath, reality sank around my feet, twisting my gut.
Theo, my mind screamed at me. You don’t care. You have Theo! Suddenly I missed him, needing him to clear my head.
“Let’s get out of here,” Hazel muttered into his ear, hands moving over his chest, her voice having no understanding of volume. “Go back to mine.”
He seized her arms, pulling them away from him. “I’m on duty right now.”
Hazel’s attention once again went from him to me with more awareness than felt comfortable, her lips pressing together.
“Bollocks.” Eloise strolled up next to me, her hair tied up in a top knot, her arms folding in a huff. “They found us.” Her attention darted around the room. “Where’s the other?”
“Outside.” Lennox moved away from Hazel. “In the car, waiting for Your Highness. If you ladies are ready to leave?” He gestured to the back door.
“Yeah, why not? You crushed the good vibes anyway.” Eloise brushed a few strands of hair from her face.
“Glad to be of service.”
“How did you even find us? We turned off our phones,” she asked, her eyes not able to fully land on anything.
Lennox smirked his eyes darting to me, then back to Eloise. “I was trained to spy on the deadliest, most deceitful, corrupt men in the world.”
He motioned around. “You three are like finding fluffy kittens in a wolf haven.” His hand pressed into my back, moving us forward.
“Don’t worry, Duchess, it wasn’t your cell that led me here,” he fake-whispered into my ear, letting them hear him.
“What?” Eloise swung around. “You left your cell on? You know they can track them, right?”
“Didn’t even need to ping the mobile.” He shrugged, twisting to unlock a side door with his hip, opening it for us.
“How then?” Eloise asked.
“Next time you steal a car.” He guided us out into the freezing night, my feet instantly absorbing the icy cement, cooling my overheated skin, the air kissing my skin like a seductress. “Make sure it isn’t so noticeable, and the owner doesn’t have a LoJack on it.”