Chapter 6 #2
Lily appeared all the more concerned by his response. Her tension just thickened. “Ahem.” Another throat clearing from her. “I suspect our killer used this method because disemboweling has been a form of punishment for crimes going back to ancient times.”
Of course, she would be an expert on the topic. Shocking. And now the guy was “our killer,” was he? For the record, though, “It’s not a form of punishment I’d ever use.” His father had been into blood and gore. Mess. Horror.
I am not him.
“No, I think you’re far more sophisticated than that. If you had talked with me sooner, I would have understood that about you. I don’t believe you would go for the torture element at all. You’d simply kill your prey and move on.”
He didn’t tense. Didn’t draw in a sudden breath. Didn’t even blink. But he knew how to respond. When an enemy was getting too close, you simply had to throw them off target. Not that he wanted her to be his enemy… “Do you always get semi-naked when you think you’re facing a killer?”
“Back to that, are you? I think we’ve covered that I was trying to put us on equal footing.”
“I think you were trying to get naked with me. Full disclosure, you can do it anytime. There is nothing more that I would enjoy than fucking you until you scream with pleasure.”
Silence. The thick, tense kind that could completely fill a car.
He began to smile. Now I am back in control, and she—
“Does that usually work?” Lily asked in her calm voice. “When people get too close, when people say things that make you uncomfortable, you strike out? Maybe you say something shocking to disconcert them so that you have the upper hand?”
Uh, yeah. Except she didn’t seem particularly disconcerted. Point for Lily.
Before he could respond, she added, “I think you were trying to get naked with me. I believe you wanted me to see your scars, Atlas.”
“Why would I want you to see them?”
“Because a part of you wanted to warn me about what I would be facing.”
You have no idea, sweets.
She continued, “I also do think you want to fuck me. I don’t believe that is a lie.”
Fast, hard laughter escaped him. “Thank you for that. My dick is currently as hard as a rock, and I keep imagining you riding me in this limo. I definitely want to fuck you. Want to do it until you scream and come for me.”
A swift inhale from Lily. Was she going to tell him to screw off? To shut his dirty mouth? He waited in anticipation.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the attraction between us, too.”
Holy fuck. Holy. Fuck. His hands clenched into fists as he tried to fight the urge to grab her. Everything she said and did just drew him to her all the more. Okay, was the woman a freaking witch? Because he sure as shit felt like he was falling under her spell.
Maybe it’s the blow to the head. Maybe that prick doctor was right, and I should have stayed at the hospital.
“It’s basic, isn’t it?” Lily asked in her soft, husky, sensual voice. “Primal. And, honestly, a bit frightening.”
This woman, this woman—
“Just so you understand, I have to trust you in order to fuck you.”
Had she just said those words or was he so far gone that he’d imagined them? It had been a bastard of a day. Or, uh, night.
“I don’t fuck monsters,” Lily told him primly.
You will be fucking me. So she might have to make an exception to that monster rule. However, he could give her one truth. “I’m not the punishment killer currently running around Dallas.” Fuck me, Lily. Fuck me right here, right now.
The limo turned again. Accelerated a bit, only to slow down moments later.
“No.” Lily sighed. “But you were trying to catch him, weren’t you?
Not like you’d just randomly be in a parking lot without security.
Not you. Your behavior changed about two weeks ago.
Suddenly, there were more vulnerable moments for you.
Moments when you wanted him to attack.” She eased closer.
“You were setting a trap for him. Even as he was hunting you. Did you get a warning that he was coming? Did he reach out to you in some way? Because I believe that he contacted his other victims. I think he liked to play with them before he attacked. Part of the thrill of the kill.”
His heart beat steadily, but he was aware of every single thud. Far too aware. Boom. Boom. Boom. “And why do you believe that?”
“Another bit that Benedict made sure wasn’t leaked to the media. He found a note at William Lloyd’s house. Simple, to the point. ‘You’ll pay.’”
Boom. Boom. Boom. Was his heart beating faster? He inhaled slowly. Exhaled the same way. “Did the second victim get a similar note?”
“Not that the cops found.”
Um.
“Did you get a note?” Lily pressed.
“I get far too much correspondence. Am I really supposed to remember one letter?” He looked beyond the window.
“We’re here.” Desmond had beaten them. He could see Desmond standing near her front door, but when Desmond caught sight of the limo, he immediately turned toward them.
“Unfortunately, we did not get to go over those ground rules, did we?”
“I think we have a basic understanding. You don’t lie to me. I don’t lie to you.”
“Ah, yes.” The limo stopped. “Basic.” He hadn’t technically lied to her about the note from the killer. He did get far too much correspondence. The note had also been useless. No prints. No distinguishing marks. No help at all.
Atlas leaned forward. He’d be exiting first.
But she curled her fingers around his arm. “When does the part about you not lying to me start?”
Fucking her in the limo would have been a dream.
But he’d settle for fucking her in the comfort of his king-size bed, when he had her safely locked in his home.
That way, he could take his time with her.
“I did not kill William Lloyd or Conry Harding.” Absolute truth.
“And if some fucker thinks he is going to play with me, going to hunt me, then I believe I am well within my rights to defend myself.” Another truth.
“Now, if that frightens you too much, we can stop this partnership right now.” They would not, in fact, stop.
And he didn’t think partnership was the right word.
But he was just pushing to see what she’d say, so he didn’t think semantics truly mattered.
“You do not frighten me.”
No? “Now who is lying?” Atlas couldn’t help it. He brushed his lips over hers. She was simply too tempting. “You’re so afraid that you’re shivering. You talk a good game, Lily Gallo, but when it comes down to the cold, stark truth…” Atlas began to lift his head and move back.
Her fingers flew up and sank into his hair.
She yanked him back to her. Kissed him. Hard.
Desperately. Her lips parted, her tongue met his.
She kissed with a frantic, hurried need that electrified him.
She didn’t kiss him as if she was afraid.
Quite the opposite. She kissed him as if she’d been starving for him.
Where the hell have you been my whole life, Lily?
She ripped her mouth away, breath heaving. “I’m not shivering from fear.” Just those stark words. Then she bolted from the limo.
Well, well, well… He smiled.
She dipped her head back inside. “For the record, I already knew you didn’t kill Conry or William. If I thought you had, I wouldn’t have been in the limo with you. Ground rule one—no lies, not from either of us. From this moment forward, no lies, understand?”
But he lied so well. And so often.
“Two…we trust each other.”
He trusted Desmond. And maybe one or two other people. Would Lily soon be part of that ever-so-elite group? Time would tell.
“Rule three…”
Someone was certainly spouting out ground rules quickly.
Her breath heaved. “We don’t hurt each other.”
He climbed from the vehicle. She backed up.
Not like he could have that. He didn’t want her retreating from him.
He wanted her running to him, always. His hands snaked out and curled over her shoulders.
He could still taste her, and he wanted ever so much more.
“Lily, trust isn’t easy for me. It has to be earned.
” Usually, earned in blood. So he would make no promises on that score, not yet.
“But I vow to you here and now, I will never, ever hurt you.” He smiled at her, knowing the nearby streetlamp would catch his dimples.
The smile that reassured others, but not his Lily.
My Lily. Oh, what a dangerous but tempting thought.
“How about you promise to trust me? And I promise to never hurt you? That fair?” Probably not, but it was what it was.
“Aren’t you worried that I will hurt you?” A careful question.
He opened his mouth to respond.
“Atlas!” A bellow from Desmond. “We have a problem!”
Instantly, he’d thrust Lily behind him. He pushed her toward the still open limo door.
“Some bastard broke into her fucking house!” Desmond shouted.
He wasn’t pushing Lily any longer. She’d whipped away from Atlas, maneuvered around him, and she ran straight for her front door.