Chapter 15
Ridge
I’m seriously fucking pissed. Robyn put herself in danger, and I need to know why.
“Why the hell would you lie about something like that?” I growl.
“I lied because I didn’t know what else to do. You were adamant about staying over and…I…um…”
“And what?” I lift my shoulders. “Tell me.”
“The truth is that I didn’t want you here.” She says it in a small rush, like she has been holding the words in.
My dragon’s scales rub. “Why not?”
I’m trying hard not to sound rough, and I’m failing because I’m pissed off. Pissed at her for lying. Pissed at myself for caring that she did. Pissed at the situation in general.
She looks down at the floor and then back up at me.
“I just…um…”
“Again, it’s a simple question,” I tell her. “Spit it out, already.”
She makes a small, frustrated noise and shakes her head.
“It isn’t simple at all. Nothing about this is simple. You’re so…so damned professional and unflappable all the damned time, and it’s infuriating.”
I frown. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“We had sex six months ago. Really great, seriously hot sex. I can still remember…still… I… Never mind.”
“No, I’d like to know. You can still remember what exactly?”
My voice is rough. My dragon is right there at the surface, scales pushing against the underside of my skin, and I can feel my eyes shifting. I have to glance over her shoulder for a second to get them back where they need to be.
I pull in a few more deep breaths.
“You don’t want to know.” She’s angry. “Let’s just forget it.”
“I really do want to know. We are not forgetting anything. Tell me!”
“Fine!” she growls, and my dick takes note.
“I can still remember how you felt inside me, you ass, and you feel nothing. Not a damned thing. Not when you saw me in my underwear or when I bought all of those condoms to get a rise out of you. Then you told me to invite my boyfriend over. Like it was nothing to you. I’m still attracted to you. I still want to… I… Maybe we…”
She chews on her lower lip. Her chest is heaving, and it’s obvious to me that she isn’t wearing a bra. Her tits are gorgeous, like the rest of her. Her shorts ride high on her thighs, which are lush as fuck, and just like that, my dick is straining against my zipper.
I want her. I want her right now.
I want to take her apart on her kitchen counter. I want to fuck her so hard she’ll feel me all day tomorrow at work and have to think about me every time she sits down.
But I can’t.
I won’t.
Dr. Robyn Keller could be dirty. She could be an asset of the Mainland. It’s my job to clear her…to find the truth one way or another.
I can’t do it if I’m fucking her.
My cock doesn’t care, but my brain takes over.
“Say something,” she finally says, her jaw tight. “Oh god!” She puts a hand over her face. “I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe I said all of that. Please forget that I did. I told you had a boyfriend so this wouldn’t happen.”
“There is no reason to be embarrassed.” I shake my head. “The fact of the matter is that I have a job to do. What happened six months ago happened. I enjoyed it,” I tell her.
Understatement of the year.
“It can’t happen again, though. That’s the long and the short of it.”
“Of course not,” she stammers, her face going bright pink. “Of course it can’t. That’s why I didn’t want you here. Why I don’t think it’s appropriate. That’s all!”
“It’s settled, then. I’m staying on your sofa tonight, and we’re going to get some sleep.”
“Okay…yeah…of course.” She nods one too many times. “I’ll get you a blanket and a pillow and… I’m just going to go…and um…get them.” She points behind her toward her bedroom.
She turns and walks down the hall. I watch her go, and then I drag a hand down my face. My dick is still hard. My dragon is sulking. I’m a complete asshole.
I’m also right.
I have never mixed my personal life with my work. I have also never been as tempted to do exactly that as I am right now.
I have to think of all the angles. Like maybe she lied to get me out of her apartment so that she could hide something from me. Maybe the intruder thing was all a setup, designed to get me here so that she could seduce me. That white tank top. Her pink nipples.
Fuck.
I almost fell for it.
I will get my team on it tomorrow, first thing. I want every camera angle on this building pulled and reviewed. I hope to god they find something. I will search this apartment and hope for the opposite.
Not just because of Robyn, but Magma, too. If she’s guilty, then he might be too, and I can’t stand that idea.
This is all such a mess.
She looks so damned innocent. But I can’t be sure. I can’t risk being wrong.
I need to keep my nose clean and my dick dry.
She comes back down the hall with a navy-blue blanket folded over one arm and a pillow tucked under the other. She walks past me and puts the bedding down on the arm of the sofa.
“There…um… Do you need anything else? Water? Or maybe—?”
“I’m fine. Thanks,” I say a little too sharply.
“Okay.” She nods. “I’m going back to bed. Goodnight.” She turns toward her bedroom.
I watch her walk two steps.
“Robyn.”
She stops.
“Whatever you do, don’t lie to me again. Not about anything.”
Her back goes stiff. She turns her head and looks at me over her shoulder. Her eyes narrow just a little, and her jaw clenches. She’s angry, but I don’t care.
“I won’t. I’ll also stay far out of your way.”
I nod. “Good night, Dr. Keller.”
“Thank you for coming, Commander.”
Then she walks the rest of the way down the hall, closing the door behind her.
I do my best to make myself comfortable on her sofa.
It’s still a few hours until light. I have a feeling they’re going to drag by.