Текст книги "Sweet Temptation"

Автор книги: Maya Banks

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

She wound her arms around his neck and raised her mouth to his. She tensed in his grasp and kissed him hard, deep, passionate, even as she came apart.

Even in his release, his movements were tender and measured. He let his body cover and surround her and then rolled to the side, taking her with him. He slipped from her pussy, but he gathered her against his chest as he kissed her temple.

“Go to sleep, Angel girl. We were hard on you tonight.”

She rubbed her face along his shoulder and sighed in contentment. Then she let her eyes close, and she surrendered to the velvet clasp of his protection.

CHAPTER 31

Micah got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before ambling into the bedroom. Angelina was sprawled on her belly, her face buried in one of the pillows. He smiled and shook his head. Morning person she wasn’t. He’d learned that in the time they’d been staying at The House together.

He dressed quietly so as not to awaken her. He had several phone calls to make, and he’d rather not make them in front of Angelina.

The fact that they’d not found a single lead in Angelina’s case frustrated the hell out of him. He couldn’t help but think this asshole was just waiting for them to relax. He was obviously patient. He’d been after her for a year, and he’d followed her through five states. Those weren’t the actions of a man who gave up just because the going got tough.

Micah’s life was on hold. Angelina’s life was on hold, and so were all his friends’. Something had to give and give soon.

But when it’s over, you lose Angelina.

He looked back at Angelina asleep on the bed and then walked out of the bedroom.

He’d told Angelina it was temporary. He didn’t want or need another relationship. And yet they’d settled into this arrangement with ease. They were positively domestic if you didn’t count the sexual kink.

If he was honest, and he was, he’d admit that he wanted to keep Angelina. On his own terms. He wanted to keep her on a shelf, away from his heart but close enough that he could take her out whenever he liked. And that made him the most selfish asshole alive.

The best thing he could do for her would be to let her go so she could have a decent life. A family. Babies. All the things he knew she wanted.

All the things you could have.

He shook his head and continued down the stairs. His cell phone rang as he hit the bottom step, and he pulled it out of his pocket.

“Hudson,” he said without checking to see who it was.

“Micah, we’ve got a problem,” Damon said grimly.

Micah didn’t like the alarm or the anger in Damon’s voice.

“What’s up, man?”

“The bastard threatened Serena.”

“What? How the hell did he get to her? When did this happen?”

“She went into her office early this morning. Sam drove her, walked her into the building. She came out without calling to let Sam know so she was alone for about two minutes. She never saw him coming. He got in behind her, put his hand over her mouth and said, ‘You can’t hide her from me forever.’”

“Son of a bitch,” Micah bit out. “Is she okay? Did he hurt her?”

“She’s shaken up. It scared her to death, and it pissed her off, but she’s fine. Guy ran off as soon as he saw Sam coming.”

“Did Sam get a look at him?”

“No. He was too concerned with Serena’s well-being. By the time she told him what had happened, the guy was long gone.”

“Fuck,” Micah swore.

“We’re at the police station now, but I thought you’d want to know.”

“I’m coming that way,” Micah said. “I’ll see you in a few.”

He switched his phone off then turned around to head back up the stairs. Angelina was still asleep when he entered the bedroom. He hated to wake her. She looked so peaceful and content. He didn’t want to spoil that for her with news of her stalker.

He touched her shoulder and followed the smooth surface of her skin to the curve of her neck.

“Angel girl,” he said in a low voice. “Wake up.”

She scrunched up her nose and frowned. “Go away.”

“Hey, wake up for me. I need to talk to you.”

At that her eyes flew open and she pushed herself up on one elbow. “What’s wrong?”

“He showed himself today.”

He hated the way her eyes went wide with fear. Her hand flew to her throat, and her breathing sped up.

“Did they catch him?”

“Unfortunately not. He threatened Serena outside her office this morning.”

“Oh my God! Is she all right? He didn’t hurt her, did he?”

“Shh, baby. Serena is fine. Scared and shook up, but she’s fine. He didn’t hurt her. I’m going down to the police station now.”

She flung the covers aside. “I’m not staying here by myself.”

“Okay, but take your time. Get dressed and meet me downstairs. It’s going to be fine, Angelina. I need you to believe that.”

Her troubled gaze met his. “I brought him here, Micah. And now innocent people are paying the price. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

“You’re innocent in this too, Angel. You don’t deserve this. We’ll find him.”

He dropped a kiss on her hair and then turned to go. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

“This makes me nuts,” Serena muttered. “Damon is beside himself. I won’t be able to so much as take a piss by myself for the next year.”

No one laughed. Angelina, Julie and Faith sat with Serena in one of the conference rooms at the police station while all the men did God knows what in the next room.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, Serena,” Angelina said. “I never meant for anyone to become involved. I shouldn’t have—”

Julie held her hand up. “Don’t say it. Don’t say you shouldn’t have come and all that bullshit because I’ll have to hurt you if you do.”

Faith smiled then, but she reached over and took Angelina’s hand in hers and squeezed. “She’s right. Don’t say it. It’s completely wrong anyway. I’m glad you came. You’re good for Micah.”

Angelina sighed.

“Oh, come on, girl. It can’t be that bad. You’ve been shacked up with the man for several weeks now. Surely the sex makes up for any cabin fever,” Julie said.

“Sex is good. Great. No complaints.”

“Huge but in there,” Serena said.

“Yeah, huge,” Faith agreed. “What’s going on, Angelina? Is he still being a butthead?”

Angelina shifted forward in her chair and put her hands on her cheeks. “You guys don’t need to hear me whine. We’re here for Serena. Let’s forget about Micah.”

“We’re waiting for the but,” Julie drawled.

“Micah’s great,” Angelina said gloomily. “He’s tender, very loving. Great in bed. Very generous lover. But...”

“Ah, here we go,” Serena said.

“He’s still holding a part of himself back. It’s almost as if he’s pretending to play house with me and loves it in theory but he only loves it because he knows it’s not permanent.”

“Whoa,” Julie said. “My head is spinning after that explanation. Way too deep for my limited brain power.”

“I wish I knew what to say,” Faith said unhappily. “Gray resisted at first. He resisted hard. I just had to keep after him.”

Julie nodded in agreement. “Nathan was a stubborn bastard as well. I sorta did give up on him. Well at first anyway. But I’m glad I didn’t, so you definitely shouldn’t give up on Micah if you love him.”

“I’m afraid I was the difficult one in my relationship with Damon, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that Damon didn’t give up on me,” Serena said softly. “He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I cringe every time I think of the way I tried to drive him away.”

Angelina’s lips curved into a rueful smile. “In other words, I should shut up and quit whining. Do what I need to do.”

“Whining’s good. We do whining,” Julie said. “It’s sort of required when dishing about men.” She reinforced her statement by wrapping her arm around Angelina and squeezing. “You’ve got a lot on your plate, hon. Micah isn’t going anywhere. Not yet. Take it one day at a time and focus on staying safe. I don’t care what the man tells you or doesn’t tell you, he’s gaga over you. He probably doesn’t even know it, and he’ll probably want to cut out his tongue before admitting it. You just have to be the bigger person and wait for him to pull his head out of his ass.”

“Very good advice,” Serena said with a nod. “It was pretty much the same advice she and Faith gave me when I was busy fucking things up with Damon.”

Faith and Julie both laughed, and Angelina smiled at the three of them.

“You’re lucky to have such good friends in each other,” Angelina said.

“Yes, they are extremely lucky to have me,” Julie said smugly.

“Good grief,” Faith said with a roll of her eyes. “What a huge ego.”

“We’re your friends too, Angelina,” Serena said, her blue eyes somber. “You’re not alone anymore. No matter what happens with Micah, we’re your friends. Okay?”

Julie and Faith both nodded their agreement. Angelina smiled but couldn’t speak around the knot in her throat.

“How much longer are we going to be here?” Julie muttered. “I’m going insane.”

“Chad was faxing over his reports from Miami. Micah talked to him on the way here. Other then that, I don’t know anything,” Angelina said. “They’ve been at this for hours. He’s smart. He’s not making any mistakes. How can they catch him if he doesn’t make mistakes?”

Faith sat down on the other side of Angelina and put her arm around Angelina’s shoulders, sandwiching her between Faith and Julie.

“Gray said sooner or later they all fuck up. There’s no such thing as the perfect crime or the perfect criminal. Eventually they either get desperate or stupid, and either one gets him caught.”

“I hope you’re right,” Angelina said wearily. “I hate this. I hate it for all of us.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m kind of liking the twenty-four-hour bodyguard thing Nathan’s got going on,” Julie said with an appreciative grin. “He’s made it his mission to make sure my body is guarded at all times.”

Serena sighed in exasperation. “Like he needs an excuse? You two fuck like rabbits.”

“Why, Serena. I’m shocked,” Julie said in mock horror.

“The day something shocks you is the day I become a nun,” Faith muttered.

Angelina giggled and then they all broke into laughter.

The door opened and Micah stuck his head in.

“Angel, you ready to get on out of here?”

She surged to her feet and crossed the room to stand in front of him.

“What’s going on, Micah? Did you hear from Chad? What did the police here say?”

He put a finger over her lips and then tucked her hair behind her ear. “We can talk about it on the way home. It’s been a long day. Everyone is tired and frustrated.”

Her face fell. Obviously it wasn’t good news.

He put a finger under her chin, tilted her neck back and lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss was sweet and comforting, and it infused her with courage.

“We’ll get him, Angel.”

He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed and then he looked beyond her to the others.

“You girls okay? Need anything?”

“Our husbands?” Faith said in exasperation.

Micah smiled. “Coming down the hall now, if I’m hearing right.” His gaze lingered on Serena. “You okay, doll?”

Angelina turned to see Serena smile at Micah.

“I’m fine. Really. Damon has taken the episode personally. I won’t be able to leave the house without a full security detail until this guy is caught.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Micah said seriously.

He looked back at Angelina. “Ready, baby?”

CHAPTER 32

“Was Chad able to give you anything to go on?” Angelina asked as they headed upstairs after arriving back at The House.

She flipped on the lights in the bedroom and stood inside the doorway as Micah passed her.

“He faxed over all his notes from the reports you filed in Miami. He’s doing some follow-up in the department records. Seeing if there have been any other reports of stalking in the Miami area that match your guy’s MO. He’s digging back five years, so it’ll take some time. He’ll get back to me as soon as he gets the information.”

“And what about here?” she asked softly. “Are our guys coming up with anything?”

“They processed Serena for trace but didn’t come up with anything. This guy is good. Damon has beefed up security again because PD can’t afford to spare the kind of manpower necessary to monitor everyone involved.”

Micah tossed his keys onto the nightstand and pulled Angelina into his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head and sighed.

“I know this is hard on you, Angel girl, but it’ll be over soon. He’ll screw up. He’ll get impatient and then we’ll nail his ass to the wall.”

She nodded against his chest.

Micah pulled her away and grasped her shoulders, his gaze intense as he stared down at her.

“I need you to think, Angel. I know we’ve been over this, but you have to be missing something, somewhere. I want you to start from the beginning. I want a list of people you talked to even on a casual basis back in Miami. Someone had to know you were leaving. Where you were going. He found you much too quickly.”

Angelina put her hands to her eyes and rubbed tiredly. A pulse beat painfully at her temples, and an ache centered her forehead and drew her features in tight.

“I don’t know,” she said helplessly. “I know I never told anyone what my plans were. Not even Mama Rose. I secretly made my arrangements and then I left.”

Micah went rigid at the mention of Mama Rose, and in her exhaustion she had just let it slip out. Her heart sank as she saw the total shock and outrage reflected in his features.

“What the hell do you know about Mama Rose?” he asked in a soft dangerous voice.

He backed away, arms crossed over her chest, his eyes glittering with anger.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” he asked before she could respond. “Goddamn it, Angelina, it was you! You were there each time. How the hell did you even know?”

His voice cracked through the room like a shot. He stalked forward, his entire body bristling. Anger rolled off him in waves. There was such fury in his eyes.

“You had no right. No right!” he seethed.

“Micah, please,” she begged softly.

If only she could take it back. She hadn’t ever intended him to know that it had been her in that Miami club, to know that it had been her lovingly kissing his bare flesh with the whip. She’d known it then as well as now that he would never want what he perceived as a weakness to be revealed to anyone. It was private. It was him grieving. It was him baring his soul.

“Get out.”

He turned his back and his hand went to his hair in agitation. “I don’t give a damn where you go, but get the hell away from me. I’m tired of being manipulated by you.”

Every ounce of blood drained from her face. She followed him across the room and put her hand on his arm, only wanting to comfort, to apologize, to somehow make it right.

He flinched away and then rounded again. “Out.” He flung his hand toward the door to emphasize his demand.

Numb to her toes, she slowly walked out of the bedroom, grabbing her purse as she went. Next she found herself standing outside beside her car, with no memory of coming down the stairs. The cool autumn air blew across the tears on her cheeks and caused her to shiver involuntarily.

She fumbled with the door and got inside the car. For a moment she sat there, her hands on the steering wheel, her forehead resting on the backs of her hands.

Get out.

His harsh words echoed through her mind, and she winced at the anger, the loathing in his voice.

Knowing she had to get away before she completely lost her composure, she cranked the engine and drove down the winding driveway. She pulled onto the highway and accelerated until The House disappeared in her rearview mirror.

She clutched the steering wheel like a lifeline. Where could she go? The smart thing to do would be to keep driving. Lose herself in another city where hopefully the maniac wouldn’t find her. But she also knew she was in no shape to do that tonight.

She had to be smart and not make mistakes that could cost her her life. Which left the question open of where to go right now.

He was out there. Waiting. He’d gotten to Serena with surprising ease. Angelina was alone. An easy target.

Her head throbbed, and her nose felt swollen to twice its normal size thanks to the tears she was fighting. Staying alone anywhere would be suicidal and just plain stupid. Maybe she could go camp out in the police station until morning.

She shook her head. Nathan was staying at Julie’s, and she had no idea where Julie lived. Ditto for Faith and Serena. Which left Connor. She’d feel a lot better about asking him for help over one of the girls. She’d already put them in enough danger. As much as she hated the idea of going back to a place she knew the stalker had been, she didn’t have a choice.

The drive was a blank in her mind. She navigated in a daze. By the time she pulled into the apartment complex, she was wound so tight she thought she might burst. She parked beside Connor’s truck and glanced nervously around. Not seeing anyone, she took a deep breath and bolted from the car.

She ran up the walkway to Connor’s door and banged her fist on the wood. Her other hand went to the doorbell, and she punched the button repeatedly.

Jittering impatiently as she waited, she stared from side to side, looking for anyone lurking in the shadows.

The door flew open and Connor stood there in gym shorts, no shirt and no shoes, a dark scowl on his face.

“What the—” He broke off when he saw her.

He reached for her wrist and yanked her inside the apartment. He released her long enough to shut and lock the door and then he turned back to her, gripping her shoulders.

“Are you all right? What happened? Where the hell is Micah?”

Despite the firm grip her teeth had on her bottom lips, tears welled in her eyes.

Connor herded her into the living room and pushed her down onto one of the leather sofas.

“Talk to me, sweetie,” he said in a gentle voice.

Some of his calm invaded her, and she took several steadying breaths. Despite his calm, she noticed that he gripped his cell phone as if he were ready to place a call the instant she told him what was wrong.

“Nothing’s happened,” she said. “Micah is fine. He’s pissed but he’s fine.”

Connor relaxed just a bit, but his brows drew together in confusion. “Where is he? Why the hell are you out by yourself?”

She closed her eyes. “He told me to get out so I left. If I wasn’t so tired, I would have just kept on driving. It’s what I should have done.”

Connor’s mouth worked up and down, and his right eye twitched. He raised a hand to his head and ran it raggedly over his hair. Finally he found his voice, only to spit out a string of expletives.

“What the ever-loving fuck? He told you to get out when some crazed asshole is stalking you?”

Her lips turned down into a sad frown. “He had good reason.”

For a minute she thought Connor was going to explode. He was absolutely furious.

“There is no reason he should have thrown you out. I don’t care what you did to piss him off.”

“He was right,” she said in a small voice. “I’ve manipulated him at every turn, but I didn’t mean ...” She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I never meant to hurt him.”

“Christ,” Connor muttered.

He moved beside her on the couch and pulled her into his arms.

“Do I even want to know what the hell you supposedly did that warranted him tossing you out to face some crazed lunatic on your own? Because I can’t think of any goddamn reason to justify it.”

“I can’t tell you,” she said against his chest. “He’s pissed enough that I know.”

Connor pulled her away and stared fiercely back at her. “You don’t owe him a goddamn thing. Not now.”

Connor’s cell phone rang, and he yanked his gaze to the coffee table, where he’d placed it.

He scowled. “It’s Micah.”

She pulled away and hugged herself protectively.

Connor shook his head and reached for the phone.

“What the fuck do you want?” he snarled into the phone.

“Have you seen Angelina?”

It was said so loud that Angelina could hear every word. He sounded so furious.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her. I’m looking at her now.”

“Sit on her until I get there.”

Connor pulled the phone away in surprise. “Asshole hung up on me.”

She nodded miserably, knowing that round two with Micah was coming.

She stiffened her spine. Some of her shock melted away, replaced by her own anger. No way in hell she was going to apologize for loving someone.

Micah roared into the apartment complex parking lot and whipped into the space next to Angelina’s car. His anger over her revelation had quickly fled and been replaced by gut-wrenching fear the minute he realized she’d left.

He wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled and then he wanted to spank her ass.

He holstered his pistol in his shoulder harness and stepped out of the truck. He hadn’t worn a weapon since he’d left Miami and yet it still felt like second nature. An extension of himself. Some things never changed.

He hurried to Connor’s door and rapped sharply. The door opened immediately, and Connor stood there looking for the world like he wanted to beat Micah’s ass.

Micah sighed and brushed past his friend. “Where is she?”

“I put her to bed. She probably cried herself to sleep.”

Micah winced. Talk about playing dirty.

“What the fuck were you doing, Micah?” Connor asked in a dangerously low voice. “Have you lost your goddamn mind? I don’t give a shit what she did to piss you off. You’re a fucking bastard for tossing her out when some asshole is after her.”

Micah mentally counted to ten. He had no desire to get into a damn fight with Connor over a misunderstanding. He sat down on the couch and rubbed the back of his neck. Hell, how had it come to this? Not an hour ago, he’d planned a night of making love to Angelina. Now everything had gone to hell, and he wasn’t sure how to fix it.

“Look, man, I’m guilty of getting pissed. I’m guilty of losing my temper and I’m guilty of hurting her feelings, but goddamn it, I did not kick her out of the house. I told her to get out. I meant of the room. I was pissed. Hell yes. She has the uncanny knack of making me insane. I swear to God no one else can make me react like her. But I’d never do anything to put her in danger.”

The corner of Connor’s mouth lifted. “What did she do to piss you off so bad?”

Relief made him fold inward. Angelina hadn’t told Connor everything. Of course she wouldn’t. She was intensely loyal. Head-strong, courageous and loyal to her bones.

“No offense, man, but that’s between me and Angelina.”

Connor shrugged. “Look, it’s no secret I feel protective of Angelina, and when she showed up on my doorstep it was hard not to want to kick your ass. You have no idea how close you came to losing her,” he said seriously. “She said she started to just drive and keep on driving, but she was tired and distraught and had the common sense to know she needed a safe place to stay.”

Micah’s knees went weak. God. He rubbed his forehead and then gripped the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“Son of a bitch. Swear to God I’m going to spank her ass,” he muttered.

Connor chuckled. “I’d pay money to see that.”

“She doesn’t need to be here. It’s not safe.”

“Agreed. She’s in my bedroom.”

Micah’s jaw tightened. He was just enough of a Neanderthal that it set him off to even think of her all snuggled up in another man’s bed, whether the man was there or not.

“Relax, man. I didn’t have any other place to put her.” Connor watched him shrewdly through narrowed eyes. “You’ve got it bad for her.”

Micah’s mouth opened in a snarl. But then he snapped it shut again. He wasn’t even going to dignify that with a response. If he did, Connor would just be convinced he was right.

Keeping a tight leash on his irritation, he got up and headed for Connor’s bedroom. It was dark, but there was just enough light coming from the cracked bathroom door that he could make out her outline.

He closed in, reaching for the lamp beside the bed. Soft light poured over her features. She flinched and screwed up her eyes but didn’t wake up. She looked ... vulnerable. His gut twisted into a giant knot when he saw the redness under her eyes. Connor was right. She’d been crying.

He cursed softly under his breath and then leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Angel girl,” he whispered. “Wake up. Time to go home.”

She roused, blinking sleepily as she stared up at him. He knew the moment recognition set in because her eyes lost their sheen. Her lips trembled, and so help him God, if she started crying again, he was a goner.

So he did the only thing he knew to do. He kissed her.

He caught her gasp of surprise and swallowed it up. Not giving her any time to protest, he licked over her lips and then plunged inside. Warm and moist and so damn sweet.

She wrenched away and scooted backward across the bed, her eyes shooting daggers at him. And she definitely wasn’t crying.

“Go to hell, Micah.”

She hissed and spit like an angry kitten. A broad smile attacked his face at the image, which only served to piss her off more.

“You think it’s funny?”

He molded his features into a solemn expression and regarded her as earnestly as he could.

“I don’t find you running around the streets of Houston when a madman is on the loose funny at all.”

“You told me to get out,” she accused.

Micah sighed. “Angel girl, I was pissed off. I wanted you to get out. Of the room, not the house! I needed a few minutes to breathe because I didn’t want to tear a strip off your hide in my temper. I don’t remember you being this sensitive before.”

She gaped incredulously at him, and then before he could defend himself, she smacked him with a pillow. Hard. “It’s my fault because I’m sensitive?”

He reached over to snatch the pillow before she could launch it again. He snagged her wrist and held it in front of her and then slid on the bed next to her.

“Look, Angel. I’ve got a temper. I lost it. You dropped a bomb. I didn’t react well. I can’t apologize for reacting the way I did, but I can guarantee you it will happen again. You seem to have the knack of getting under my skin like no one else.”

“What the hell kind of apology is that?” she demanded.

Again he sighed. They were getting nowhere and he wanted to get her back to The House pronto. Ignoring the small fist beating his chest, he simply swept her up in his arms and strode toward the living room.

“Let me down,” she said behind gritted teeth.

Micah nodded to Connor as they past. “Get the door for me?”

Connor’s lips were twisted in amusement, but to his credit, he didn’t say anything. He opened the door for them and waved at Angelina.

“See you later, sweetie.”

“Traitor!” she hissed.

Micah dumped her into his truck and then pointed a finger at her. “You don’t move. I swear to God, Angelina, if you so much as try to get out of this truck, I’ll tan your ass like there’s no tomorrow, and furthermore I’ll enjoy it.”

She stared rigidly ahead as he slammed the door. He hurried around to the driver’s side and slid in beside her.

Not wanting to waste any more time in plain sight, he started the engine and pulled out of the lot.

“I won’t apologize,” she said stiffly. “I know you’re pissed, and maybe you have the right, but I refuse to apologize for caring about you.”

His chest caved in just a little bit at the ferocity of her words.

“Damn but you know how to take the wind out of someone’s sails,” he grumbled. “It’s damn hard to stay pissed at you when you come at me like that.”

She frowned harder at him.

“I’m not nearly as pissed at you over Mama Rose—but don’t think we won’t talk about it again—as I am over you leaving alone. Damn it, Angel, he could have gotten to you and there isn’t a damn thing I could have done about it!”

“You told me to leave.”

“Hell, I tell you a lot of things and you don’t ever seem to think you have to listen. Why on earth would you pick now to become all obedient on me?”

Her lips twitched suspiciously and she looked away to hide her smile.

He reached over to take her hand. “I never meant for you to take it so literally, but you know what? Even if I had meant it, you should have told me to go to hell just like you’re telling me now and you should have locked yourself in another room for three days and withheld sex if you really wanted to punish me.”

Her shoulders shook. She dragged a hand through her long, unruly hair and looked at him with a grimace. “So you’re saying I overreacted.”

He shrugged. “We were both upset. I’m just saying you should have stood your ground. You’ve never had that problem before.”

“I’ve never cared about someone this much before.”

His chest tightened, his throat closed off, and he gripped the steering wheel all the more tightly.

“Don’t care about me, Angel,” he said hoarsely. “Save your love for someone else.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” she said calmly.

Micah shook his head as if he could shake off her words. He didn’t want this. Didn’t want to become emotionally involved, and he didn’t want to hurt her. He’d been honest with her. Brutally so. Sex was all he could offer her. Sex and his domination. How the hell was that a substitute for love? He’d had love once, and he damn well knew sex was a piss-poor substitute.

He was still inwardly seething when they pulled up to The House. Angelina started to open her door, but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

“Don’t get any ideas of running and hiding from me now, Angel girl. It’s time to pay the piper.”