Chapter 12
LEGION
Iwas fucking playing with fire.
The realization followed me the entire ride downtown while every instinct I had screamed that getting close to Lantana was reckless in ways that could turn catastrophic quickly, yet somehow none of it mattered anymore because the closer I got to her, the less I wanted distance between us at all.
That alone should have terrified me more than it did.
I had watched her for days now. Stalked her routines.
Learned the rhythm of her life without her ever realizing it.
She barely left that damn building unless business dragged her elsewhere.
Most nights she remained inside her shop hidden in that back room for hours.
Other times she stayed inside Violent Delights with the Harlots handling club business behind closed doors while half of Manhattan remained oblivious to the fact that some of the most dangerous women in the city drank champagne in velvet lounges while discussing murder.
There was nothing there. No hidden agendas, no secret meetings with assassins, no blood on her hands.
My gut screamed that the club was barking up the wrong tree.
Lantana wasn't a killer but she sure as hell was alluring, and I was the one sinking deep into the hook.
The more I searched for a reason to distrust her, the more I found reasons to want her pinned beneath me.
The Cherry Smoke sat hidden beneath street level behind an old brick building with dim black signage and tinted windows that kept tourists away.
Inside, amber lighting glowed against dark wood walls while low blues music drifted through hidden speakers and cigarette smoke curled lazily through the air from a private smoking section near the back.
Half the booths remained empty at this hour, leaving the bar quiet enough for private conversations and dangerous decisions.
It was perfect. No one would find us or recognize us here.
I spotted her immediately.
Lantana sat alone inside a curved booth hidden from sight along the rear hallway with one toned leg crossed slowly over the other beneath a fitted black dress that looked painted onto her body.
Thin straps exposed tattooed shoulders while dark curls spilled over one side of her neck in soft waves streaked purple beneath the low lighting.
Gold hoops glittered near her throat every time she moved, and fuck, the second those dark eyes lifted toward me across the room, every coherent thought inside my head went straight to hell.
She smiled slowly.
Not an innocent smile, more interested in what was about to happen.
My body tightened immediately. “Well,” she murmured when I finally reached the booth. “Don’t you look handsome.”
I slid into the booth beside her instead of across from her deliberately close enough to smell strawberries and soft floral perfume instantly. “You sound disappointed.”
“Not disappointed.” Her gaze dragged slowly over me beneath heavy lashes. “Concerned for the women of Manhattan.”
“Glad I’m not here for the women of Manhattan.”
“No?” She teased, arching a brow.
A low laugh escaped me while I leaned one arm along the back of the booth behind her shoulders. “That dress is making it real difficult for me to behave responsibly right now.”
Heat flickered briefly through her expression before she masked it behind another sip of her drink. Good. I wanted her affected.
I stood for a moment and she gave me a soft pout. “Stay here.”
“Very commanding.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” I winked at her.
Her laugh followed me all the way to the bar.
I ordered whiskey for myself and another lavender gin and tonic for her before leaning against the counter briefly, trying unsuccessfully to regain some level of control over the situation.
Watching her through surveillance cameras had been dangerous enough.
Sitting beside her physically while she smelled like temptation and looked at me with open curiosity threatened to become impossible.
The bartender slid the drinks toward me and I returned to the booth slowly before handing her the cocktail.
“You remembered,” she murmured.
“I remember everything about you.”
That silence afterward felt heavier than it should have. I slide into the booth beside her, eliminating every inch of breathable air between us. My thigh presses firmly against hers, the friction of denim and silk creating a spark that travels straight to my gut.
Lantana took a slow sip from the drink while holding my gaze over the rim of the glass, and something about her eyes tonight looked softer around the edges despite the sharp intelligence still living underneath.
“You always this intense?” she asked quietly.
“Usually worse.”
“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”
“It wasn’t meant to.”
A smile curved slowly across her mouth.
The music drifted lower around us and shadows wrapped around the booth enough to make the entire space feel entirely intimate.
Lantana shifted slightly closer, her bare thigh brushing mine beneath the table accidentally.
Neither of us moved away.
"You look like you've been thinking about me," she whispers, her voice a silken thread.
"I haven't stopped thinking about you since the moment I saw you. It's a problem."
I reach out, my thumb tracing the line of her lower lip, pulling it down just enough to reveal the wet glint of her teeth.
"A problem you want to solve?"
"I want to dismantle you," I growl, my voice dropping an octave. "I want to see exactly what makes you tick.”
“Careful there, I’m not the type to follow a man’s commands so easily.”
“Good. I don’t want you to.”
She smelled so fucking good and being near her was like a sin I couldn't stop committing.
She shivered beside me, and I heard her breath hitch. I took the opportunity and leaned in, sliding my nose along the sensitive line of her neckline, inhaling the heat of her skin. I could feel her heart racing along the vein at her throat, a frantic drumming that matched my own.
"I thought you wanted my last name," she whispered, her hand coming up to rest on my chest, feeling the heavy thrum of my heart.
"I do," I muttered against her skin, my lips brushing her collarbone. "But I also want you."
She bit her lip as a soft sigh escaped her throat. Her body softened against mine as I stroked her cheek. The air between us was thick, charged with a sexual tension that felt like a live wire.
"Tell me about yourself, Legion," she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Who are you?"
“You like to ask dangerous questions.”
“You dodge them suspiciously fast.”
I smiled faintly before letting my fingers drift slowly across the exposed skin of her thigh beneath the table.
I slid my hand down, my palm flattening against her thigh. I felt the muscle quiver under my touch and I squeezed her, my fingers digging into the soft flesh, pulling her closer until she was practically in my lap.
“You were saying?” I asked quietly.
Her dark eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s cheating.”
“No,” I murmured while my hand slid higher slowly. “This is a distraction.”
Heat spread visibly across her skin while tension tightened between us instantly.
“You use this distraction often?” she asked carefully.
“Only when somebody starts getting too close.”
“And am I getting close?”
I leaned nearer slowly until my mouth hovered near her ear and her perfume wrapped around me completely. “You’ve been inside my head since the second I met you.”
Her breath trembled softly and the control I had fought so hard to maintain started cracking apart fast after that.
My fingers continued tracing slowly along her thigh while she tried very hard to keep her composure intact.
She still asked questions. Still pushed carefully at my walls.
But every time she got too close to something real, I touched her again and watched the thought disappear completely beneath heat.
“You smell incredible,” I muttered against her ear.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the cocktail glass.“You keep saying things like that and I’m going to assume this is a strategy.”
“It’s not a strategy if it’s true.”
The chemistry between us felt brutal now. It turned from playful to hot and seductive.
Lantana shifted toward me again unconsciously as I slide my hand higher, my fingers reaching the hem of her panties.
“What are you looking for, Benjamin?”
I could feel the moisture already seeping through the fabric, a damp heat that told me she was just as far gone as I was.
"I'm looking to see how loud you can scream in a place where nobody can hear you."
I hooked a finger under the lace, the friction sending a jolt of electricity through my arm and my eyes met hers.
"I told you I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off you," I whispered.
"Benjamin," she gasped, her voice a plea. She tried to close her thighs, a reflexive instinct that only made me want to break her more.
I growled in warning. "Open your legs up for me, Lantana. Let me see what you're hiding between those sexy thighs."
I felt her hesitate for a heartbeat, her eyes searching mine.
Then, slowly, almost cautiously, she slid her legs apart.
The darkness of the booth shielded us, but I could still make out the flush of her cheeks and I could see the way her chest heaved.
I traced the tops of her breasts with a fingertip and watched her bite her lip again.
“Bite that lip one more time…”
She did just that, and I didn’t waste time. I slid two fingers beneath the lace, finding her center. She was drenched, her pussy slick and welcoming. The moment my fingertips brushed against her sensitive clit, she jumped, a sharp intake of breath hissing through her teeth.
Lunging forward, she hid her face in the crook of my neck, her fingers clutching the leather of my jacket, tugging at me as if I was the only thing keeping her grounded.