Chapter Five #2
Lennox forgot everything that happened because all he knew was Lane was wrapped in his arms. She was warm and soft.
Her body moving against his like she had been made to test every piece of control he claimed to have.
Her smile kept flashing beneath the lights, signaling that she was enjoying his company.
He wanted to bottle it her joy and build a firewall around it.
He wanted to punish anybody who had ever tried to take it from her, but mostly, he wanted to hold her long enough that she stopped expecting him to let go.
That thought hit harder than lust. Lust he understood; it was simple, steeped in physical familiarity.
It had rules and exits that could be handled in the dark.
This was not that. This was him watching Lane let herself have a good time after a day full of blackmail and old wounds.
This was her calling out his foolishness and one very unfortunate pack of Depends, but still seeking value in his company.
With her cradled in his arms, he realized that he didn’t want to be the man who made her life harder anymore.
He would, occasionally, because he wasn’t delusional enough to think one reggae night fixed his deeply questionable decision-making. He could admit he wanted to be the man she danced with when she needed to remember she had a body built for joy too. Not just survival and emotional war.
She fit him perfectly, and he wasn’t sure if that was a problem or a solution. The heat between them was obvious and sharp enough to draw pleasure out of them if they allowed it, but there was something else underneath it. Something quieter between them, peace.
Lennox tightened his arm slightly around her waist, and she noticed.
“Don’t get sentimental,” she said, looking at him.
“Too late.”
“Lennox.”
“What?”
“You’re not charming your way out of what happened tonight,” she reminded him.
“I know.”
“Or the Depends.”
“I stand by the Depends,” he smirked.
She turned in his arms then, one brow lifted. “You stand by telling a perfectly nice man my bladder has trust issues?”
“He wasn’t perfectly nice,” Lennox stated matter-of-factly.
“He was.”
“He ended the date with his scary ass. I would’ve never let another man trick me out of my spot.”
“Because you tricked you out of your spot, then brought diapers to dinner, you deranged Best Buy employee,” she glared.
Lennox laughed, pulling her closer because she let him. “You were bored.”
“I was not bored.”
“You hugged that man like HR was watching.”
Lane’s mouth opened, and nothing came out.
His grin spread. “Exactly.”
“You are so annoying,” she huffed.
“And yet.”
“And yet what?”
He lowered his head slightly, eyes on hers. “You’re still here.”
The music shifted again, softer for a moment before the next track came in. Lane’s smile faded, not into sadness but into caution. The walls began moving back into place, and Lennox saw them. He hated them even though he helped build some of them, and that knowledge was a bitter thing.
“I’m here because you kidnapped me with better music,” she said.
“I didn’t kidnap you. I brought you here to have fun instead of going home so you could text Cae and Nova about murdering me,” Lennox corrected.
“I still might, and don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” He wanted to know.
“Like you forgot every reason I’m mad.”
“I didn’t forget.” His hand stayed at her waist, thumb moving once over the sequins. “I remember all of them.”
“Good.”
“I also remember why you shouldn’t go home alone tonight,” he shot his shot.
Her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“I want you with me.”
“I am currently with you.”
“Tonight in my bed,” seduction oozing from his voice.
Lane stared at him, and before she could speak, the next song crashed through the speakers, pulling the room back into full movement, but neither of them moved.
Lennox held her gaze. “I’m not asking for what you think.”
“Bold of you to assume you know what I think.”
“I know what you’re thinking because your eyes have been cussing me out and undressing me in rotation for the last twenty minutes.”
“My eyes are victims of circumstance. They’re filing complaints against you.”
“They can file them from my house,” he was serious when he said it.
Lane’s laugh burst out before she could stop it. “You are so damn ridiculous.”
“I’m serious.”
That quieted her more than he expected.
He softened his grip immediately, giving her space without releasing her completely. “No pressure or expectations; you can even sleep in my bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“I just—” Lennox exhaled, dragging one hand over his jaw before returning it to her waist because letting go felt like punishment. “I don’t want another night without knowing you’re safe. Without knowing Jeanette can’t reach you in the dark and put that look on your face again.”
That was the truth. He was finding the soft place beneath all the jokes.
“I’m not helpless,” she said.
“I know.”
“I don’t need a guard dog.”
“I know, but you have me anyway.” Lennox was laying it all on the line.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know, Lane.”
“Then why do you keep acting like I can’t?” she questioned.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear it over the music. “Because taking care of yourself shouldn't mean always being by yourself.”
She blinked, and for one second, Lennox saw the seventeen-year-old girl beneath the woman. Not weak but tired. Being tired had become proof of surviving, and Lane needed a safe place to rest.
“Damn you,” she muttered.
He smiled faintly. “For which part?”
“The part where you occasionally say something emotionally competent and ruin my ability to hate you full-time.”
“I can be that man full-time,” he almost begged.
She shook her head, but she didn’t step away. The DJ dropped another classic, and the crowd roared. Lennox invited her to dance again, and Lane agreed but not before calling him greedy.
He could tell Lane wanted to walk away. He saw the internal argument flash across her face.
Saw every reason she had to put distance between them.
With her past, his hacking and jealousy likely scared her.
He could admit the way he left before painted a picture of immaturity.
The way he had embarrassed her tonight probably felt like he didn't respect her.
The way he treated his wants as if they were guaranteed was probably a turnoff.
But the music was good. The rum punch was warm in her blood. Plus, Lane looked like she wanted to let triumph win over her trauma. She slid her hand into his.
“One more song,” she said.
Lennox smiled, pulling her back into the music, and she turned again, fitting herself against him with a roll of her hips.
The feel of her nearly made him pray out loud.
Lennox lowered his head beside hers and let himself have the moment.
He held her like a man who had already decided the night was not ending with goodbye.
Even if all he did was hold her. Even if she slept behind a locked door and threatened him through it, even if she spent the whole ride to his place reminding him he was a pain in her ass, he could live with that.
What he couldn’t do was drop her off alone and go back to his house with the memory of her body against his and Jeanette’s threats crawling through the wires.
Lane Sanders was spending the night within reach.
Not because he owned her or had the right.
He needed her near because he was going to ask, negotiate, and annoy her until she admitted she wanted the same damn thing.
Plus, judging by the way she leaned back into him when the beat dropped, smiling like the night had finally gotten good. Lennox liked his odds.