Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
T enley headed home after Ren assured her—several times—they’d be fine without her.
Besides, if he had to erase Neal’s entire existence, he didn’t want any of it to tie back to her.
If Ren was a good guy, he imagined the idea of erasing a man’s existence would bother him. But he wasn’t a good guy, and getting rid of Neal wouldn’t make him lose a minute’s sleep.
The fact that Lark had been completely silent on the way back to his house, however, was irking the shit out of him. She now knew more about him than anyone on the planet—even more than Tenley—and she was apparently stunned speechless. Or terrified.
Normally, he didn’t mind when people were terrified of him. It kept them at a distance, which he very much enjoyed. But when he thought about Lark being terrified of him, he felt like he’d been kicked in the nuts.
Or maybe she was upset about Neal. She’d been engaged to the guy, after all. It had to hurt to think that while they were engaged, he might’ve hired a hitman to take her out.
And somehow the thought of her being upset about Neal was almost as bad as the thought of her being terrified of him. That’s how fucked up he was.
Shit. He probably should’ve sent her home with Tenley. Lark would be safe with Tenley and Knox in their fortified mansion. He should know. He’d fortified the place himself. And other than him, there was no one on the planet more capable of protecting Lark than Tenley.
But he couldn’t take that chance. Not with Tenley and not with Lark. He didn’t even want to think about what he might do if he lost one or both of them.
When they got back to his place, he gave Dammit George a quick walk around the block and fed him, giving Lark her space. Hopefully, the time by herself would help her settle in and come to terms with everything that’d happened that day.
He couldn’t bring himself to give her too much space, though. He had to talk to her about next steps. And he was not looking forward to it.
When Dammit George was settled in the living room with a rawhide chew that’d keep him happy for at least half an hour, Ren found Lark in the kitchen. She was sitting at the dinette table, gazing into a cup of green tea as if it held the answers to every question in the multiverse.
He let out a deep breath and took a seat across from her. It took an inordinate amount of willpower not to start spewing apologies, but he kept his mouth shut. She deserved the opportunity to speak first.
It took a few minutes, but she eventually said, “It wasn’t Neal. There’s no way he’s the one who wants me dead.”
Tenley had said pretty much the same thing. She hadn’t gotten a murder-y vibe from him, and while that wouldn’t be enough to protect Neal in a court of law, Ren trusted her vibes more than most of the population’s stone-cold facts. But in this case, well, he didn’t want to trust her vibes.
Everything would be so much easier if Neal was guilty. In that scenario, Ren was the hero and Neal was the bad guy. And heroes always got the girl at the end of the story…right?
He hated that he’d even asked himself that question. It didn’t matter. This was about keeping Lark safe. Nothing more.
“I can’t prove it was Neal,” he admitted. “But the money was wired from his computer at work. Is there anyone else there that might benefit from your death?”
She rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples. “It’s a small firm. I get along… got along, I guess…with everyone there. And even if they didn’t love me, I can’t imagine any of them hated me enough to kill me.”
“Did you know that Neal has gambling debts?” he asked quietly. “At least a hundred thousand to the casino in Central Heights. There are probably others, too. That’s just the first one I found.”
Her brow furrowed. “I had no idea. I mean, he did seem to get pretty upset when his favorite teams lost. But I thought that was just because he wanted fantasy football bragging rights with his friends.”
Ren shook his head. “No. He very rarely goes out with friends. When he’s not at work and not with you, he’s at the casino.”
“Ugh. How did I not know that? How is this all a surprise to me? I mean, am I totally oblivious, or just stupid? Because to be honest, I’m not thrilled with either option.”
“Hey.” He gently gripped her chin and turned her head in his direction so she was forced to look him in the eye. “You’re not oblivious or stupid. You just see the good in people. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Her chin wobbled, and he wasn’t sure if it was because she was upset, or because she didn’t want him touching her. Better to err on the side of caution, he supposed. Regretfully, he let her go.
“I want to believe you,” she said. “But it seems like believing people is what got me into this mess.”
“I could teach you how to be a distrusting asshole if you want.” He shrugged. “I’ve been told I’m good at it.”
Her chuckle ended in a snort that made him smile. “You know, somewhere between me and you is a well-adjusted, functional member of society. Together, we make a nice, normal person.”
Something dangerously close to happiness warmed his blood. “Normal is overrated,” he murmured.
She rolled her head around on her neck and groaned. “Yeah, I guess that’s true enough.”
He frowned at her. “Is your neck bothering you?”
“It’s fine. Just tense, I think.”
“Well, that I actually can help with.”
Without putting anywhere near enough thought into it, he stood up, moved in close behind her, and put his hands on her shoulders. She gasped, then moaned, as he dug his thumbs into what was indeed an impressive knot of tension at the base of her neck.
And that moan reached right into his pants and got a nice, firm grip on his cock.
Yeah. He really hadn’t thought this through.
But he couldn’t quit now. Not with Lark melting under his fingertips. So, he focused all of his sexual tension on relieving her tension, trying his hardest not to feel like a complete creep while he was at it.
“Oh, my God,” she murmured, letting her chin hit her chest. “That feels so good.”
It sure as hell did. Lark had the softest skin he’d ever felt in his life. “I bet. You’re carrying a lot of tension in your neck and shoulders.”
She let out a hiss that stopped him in his tracks. Fuck. He’d probably pushed too hard. He should’ve known her skin was too delicate for his rough hands.
But before he could pull his hands away completely, she grabbed his wrist. “Oh, please, don’t stop.”
Aaannnddd now he was hard.
Fucking. Hell.
Lark let out a nervous chuckle as he got back to work on the knots in her neck and shoulders. He didn’t say anything, though. Not a fucking word. Because if he opened his mouth, he was absolutely sure something that would terrify her and embarrass him would fall out of it.
Like begging. Begging her to touch him, kiss him, love him, breathe on him…anything. He’d take anything he could get at this point.
Roughly a hundred painful years later, he asked, “Feeling any better?”
She hesitated. “Yeah. I think so.”
“Why the hesitation? Is there something else you need?”
The nervous giggle that escaped her startled him. “Well…I mean, no,” she eventually said. “I can’t say it.”
“Lark, I already told you I’d do anything for you. So, what do you need?”
Another long pause, followed by, “I think I need you to fuck me.”
Holy crap, I just said that—out loud—didn’t I ?
The shocked look on Ren’s face as he took his hands off her shoulders and dropped heavily into his chair told her that, yes, she most certainly did say that out loud.
Zoinks !
Lark bit her lip. “I can tell you’re horrified. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Horrified?” He shook his head. “Not the word I’d use.”
“Well…what word would you use?”
Ren shoved a hand through his already wild hair, leaving it looking even crazier. It was way hotter than it should’ve been. “Shocked, sure. But mostly just…interested. Really interested.”
OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod .
“You are?”
He didn’t say a word. Didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t have to. The way his eyes darkened and raked over her like he could burn away her clothes with nothing more than a glance said everything she needed to hear.
She swallowed hard. “I have some reservations, of course.”
He nodded, but the heat in his eyes didn’t diminish. “I get it. You don’t know much about me. Having reservations seems…normal.”
“It’s not you I have reservations about.” Her gut (and several other important parts of her body) were telling her that when orgasms were on the line, Ren was a good bet. He could probably sneeze on her and it’d turn her on. “It’s me. I know a good orgasm helps me relax. But I feel…out of control with you. I’m not used to that. It’s exciting, but it also freaks me out a little. Does that make sense?”
He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his splayed knees. The pose put his face dangerously close to hers. She could probably touch his lips with her tongue without moving an inch.
Why that was the thought that popped into her head, she had no idea.
“What if you were in complete control?” he asked. “Not only of everything that happens between us, but of me, too.”
She would’ve laughed at the thought if she wasn’t so painfully turned on. “How could I possibly be in complete control? You probably outweigh me by fifty pounds.”
“Seventy-five,” he admitted. “But we still have the cuffs. And my bed frame is iron. There’s no way I could break loose if you didn’t want me to.”
Honestly, physical control wasn’t even what she’d been talking about. Ren had taken her comments too literally. But still, the mental image of Ren, cuffed to his bed frame, laid out like a buffet for her pleasure, was very compelling.
Fucking hell, was she actually considering this? Another convulsive swallow. “You’d do that?”
The look he gave her was more potent than any sexual experience she’d had in her life. “Would I let you use me however you wanted for as long as you wanted until you’d come so many times you barely had the strength to uncuff me?” He paused, running the tip of his tongue over his lower lip. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
Her throat dried up. Probably because all the moisture in her body had diverted to her panties. “What about your legs?” she rasped. “Those would still be free. It’s not like I can cuff those.”
And his thighs were the size of tree trunks. He could probably strangle her with those thighs if he wanted to. It was a thought that shouldn’t have turned her on.
But it did.
“I have rope.”
That’s when she knew for a fact this was going to happen. They could talk about their complicated past and her even more complicated crush on him later. The discussion about what they were going to do after she was safe could wait.
Right now, she needed orgasms way more than she needed to talk about anything.
“OK.”
He leaned in even closer. She shivered as his hot breath skated over her skin. “Speak up,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m going to need that consent loud and clear.”
Was it weird that his demand for her consent, when he was the one that was about to be cuffed and tied to his own bed frame, got her even wetter than she already was?
She pulled back so that she was looking him right in his beautiful dark eyes and said with all the clarity she could muster, “Get the cuffs. And the rope. My answer is yes .”
The look he gave her was probably the same one the devil gave Eve after he’d convinced her to eat that apple. Good Lord, was she even going to survive this? Lark had no idea.
But, oh, what fun she was going to have in the meantime…