“Lars—” she started.
She’d only taken a step away when he spoke. “I know I’ve handled things badly.”
Her steps paused as she cursed herself for being so weak. She should keep walking, not wait to hear what else he’d say.
“Faith, I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone in my life.” There was a struggle in his voice, as if he hadn’t wanted to say those words. What they’d cost him.
Walk. She needed to walk away from him. But those words grounded her to the spot and sucked at her emotions like she was sinking in quicksand.
She stood frozen, common sense and self-preservation keeping her from taking a step back to him but every other piece of her heart, body and soul refusing to let her move away.
He finally closed the gap between the two of them and she could feel him coming up behind her. He was pulling her dress up and then his fingers weren’t just pressing against her but entering her and all resistance was gone. If she’d been honest with herself, she’d never really wanted to resist him to begin with. She’d picked out this dress with him in mind. She’d walked around the shop, leaning over just enough to entice him because the thought of him not wanting her, when she hadn’t been able to stop thinking of him, crushed her.
She arched into him and then spun around toward him, wanting more. Their lips met and there was no hesitation but a shared hunger as her hands sank into his hair and his grabbed her ass, pulling her against his bulge.
He started walking with her but she stopped him with two hands on his chest that moved down to his pants. She kneeled down in front of him and unbuttoned his jeans, pulling the zipper down. She tasted his desire on her tongue as she took the head of his dick into her mouth.
His hands ran along her scalp as his head fell back on a groan. Then they shifted to her arms, pulling her upward and spinning her in the direction of the tattoo bench. He pressed her forward until she was kneeling on it. His palms ran up the back of her thighs, dragging the dress with them until it bunched at her waist and then pushing her panties down. His hands cupped her ass as his cock teased her entrance. He pressed into her and it felt even better than it had the first time as she pushed back against him. It was a frantic joining that had them both gasping and winded within minutes.
Her body tensed with the most exquisite orgasm she’d ever experienced and then she felt him pulling out of her.
The dread of how he’d act after this second time around didn’t have time to settle in as he spun her around and picked her up.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“What I’ve imagined doing to you all day. Throwing you on my bed and fucking you until your legs are too weak to try and stand.”
Chapter 29
His phone buzzed on the table beside him and he grabbed it quickly so as not to wake Faith. He’d had her up for more hours than he should’ve but he’d had to make up for all that withholding he’d done. Once he’d decided to just go with it, he couldn’t seem to stop touching her. Even now, as her face looked so sweet, lying there resting on the pillow beside him, he was thinking of the dirty things he wanted to do with that mouth.
But it wasn’t just having sex with her. He liked that she was sleeping beside him in his bed. After he was done with a woman, he usually couldn’t wait to get rid of her. But with Faith, he wanted to curl around her and settle in. When he was with her and they were getting along, he felt at ease for the first time in centuries.
His phone buzzed again, stopping him from doing exactly that.
He looked down at the text message from Cutty on his phone. “Come over.”
He stopped by Cutty’s all the time but something about this invite seemed different. Maybe because they didn’t usually do invites. They simply just showed up at each other’s places whenever they were in the mood. He texted back, “Why?”
“Have something to show you.”
“What?”
“Just come.”
Lars got up from where he’d been lying beside Faith. Her eyes flickered open the slightest amount, a drowsy but content look in them.
“I’ve got to run to Cutty’s. Go back to sleep.” Before he thought about what he was doing, he leaned forward and feathered a kiss on her lips. They turned up slightly in response as she snuggled back down into the comforter.
He found he was happy he’d done that. He should do that more often. He was smiling when he walked out the door ten minutes later. Maybe he could be good at this relationship stuff.
***
His mind started cranking on the drive over as he thought of all the possible reasons Cutty would ask him to come by. The sky had just begun to lighten as he got there. Cutty always kept weird hours but normally he’d be sleeping right now, which led to even more unease. What did he need to show him that would have him up predawn?
The door was unlocked and he let himself in to find Cutty on the couch. All the lights were off but for one in the far corner, casting harsh shadows across his face. There was a glass of whiskey in his hand and it didn’t look like it had been his first. That was much more alarming because of the amount of alcohol it took to have a visible effect on them.
Lars walked over and sat on the other end of the couch. “What was so important?”
Cutty took large sip of whiskey before he spoke. “Remember how you asked me to do a little digging around in Faith’s human life?”
Hearing that question was as if someone had just swung a bowling ball into his gut but he responded as if nothing were amiss. “Yes.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to. But then Fate asked me to reach out to my connections as well. Between the two of you, I decided one of you would haunt me until I did it, so I called my guy.”
Lars looked over at the bottle of whiskey nearby and resisted the urge to take a long swig, but only barely. “What did your guy in Seattle find?”
“He sent me a file. Before I give it to you, I want you to listen to me,” Cutty said as he got to his feet as Lars did.
“Give me the report.” He didn’t know what was in it but he was already getting angry. Cutty didn’t realize how feeding him this information in dribs and drabs was making the situation that much worse.
“I don’t care what’s in it.” Cutty stood obstinately in his way. “I know what I know and I’m telling you, she’s a good person.”
The words were like an annoying buzz in Lars’ ear as the only thing he could think of was what he was going to find out. “Get it for me or I’m going to tear your house apart looking for it.”
He started to step around Cutty, planning on doing exactly that, but Cutty mirrored his steps, holding his hands up. “Okay, I’ll get it. Just try not to do anything rash.”
He disappeared into another room and then came out and handed him a tan, legal-sized envelope.
Lars pulled out several sheets and scanned them quickly. On page three he saw what had Cutty nervous. “Fuck.” He dropped them to his side for a minute but didn’t let them go as he took a couple of steps around Cutty’s place. He leaned a hip against his dining table as tried to get a handle on what he’d just seen. Cutty didn’t say anything as he stood there in silence for a minute.
It looked bad. Really bad.
“Did you show these to Fate?” Lars asked, feeling oddly protective of her even faced with damning evidence.
“No.”
“Don’t.”
“I won’t.”
Lars didn’t say anything else. Just took the envelope and papers and walked out.
“Lars, don’t be stupid,” Cutty called after him from the door as he got in his car.
***
Faith was laying on the bed awake when Lars came in. She looked at him and swallowed back the pleasant greeting she’d been about to offer. From the way the door shut to the sound of his footsteps as he walked across the room, everything about him screamed something was wrong.
She sat up just as he stopped by the foot of the bed and dropped an envelope by her feet.