“Yes, it’s your shirt, and what do you mean, advance payment on services rendered?”
His hand went to the side of my breast rather than to the actual breast which was only a relief for about five seconds as it then slid around my back, pulling me to him again.
This was not brother-sister behavior.
What was he playing at?
He told me.
And he told me bluntly.
“I do this thing for Rosie, you sleep with me.”
I stared at him, open-mouthed and in stunned silence.
I did, of course, understand what he meant but he explained further.
“Not like last night, we’ll both be naked and sexual acts will be performed.”
My expression didn’t change except maybe my mouth opened wider.
“I’ll expect your participation.”
Holy shit.
“Your avid participation.”
Dear Lord in Heaven.
Eventually, I whispered, “You must be joking.”
He shook his head and watched me.
I dropped my eyes, unable to hold his stare.
“I think I need more coffee,” I told his throat.
His hand went into my hair and with a gentle pull he tilted my head back again.
A light bulb clicked on.
A way out.
“You’re already involved. You made the calls last night, you said you would.”
Lee verbally waved it away because his hand was twisting in my hair.
“I know the principles, I can back out this morning. Rosie will be on his own.”
This, I thought, was not a bad thing, considering the expected payment.
“Okay then, Rosie will be fine, I’ll go with him.”
“Rosie will do this alone, you’re not going anywhere near these guys. You don’t exist to them and I’m gonna keep it that way.”
“There’s a flaw in your plan, Lee, they saw me last night.”
“Minor blip. During the call I told them you were mine and that’s why I’m getting involved. They’ll keep a distance.”
Holy shit! He was already telling other people! And I hadn’t even agreed!
“I’m not yours!”
“You will be tonight.”
Holy shit, shit, shit.
What was happening here?
Was I in an alternate universe?
“You can’t do this! We can’t do this!”
“Why not?”
He was calm and blasé, one of his hands was tangled in my hair and the other arm was wrapped around my back, the hand resting at my waist like we did this every morning of our lives.
Both my hands were pressed on the counter and I was about ready to shoot through the ceiling.
Lee was not just a Bad Boy, a Badass or a Badass Extraordinaire, he was a fucking crazy man.
I thought about it for a second, hard and partially hysterically, and then came up with something. It wasn’t original but it was something.
“You’re like my older brother.”
“Is that why you tried to stick your tongue down my throat when you were fifteen?”
Yikes.
“And sixteen?”
Crap.
“And seventeen?”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez.” I broke into his trip down memory lane. “You said you thought of me like your younger sister.”
“I lied.”
My eyes bugged out at this piece of news.
“What?”
“I was into some serious shit back then, depending on the assignment, I didn’t know if I’d come home breathing and in one piece. You were twenty years old and hung up on me.”
Oh for fuck’s sake.
“I was not hung up on you.”
He grinned. “Yes you were.”
I was but I wasn’t going to admit it.
I narrowed my eyes and he kept talking.
“I didn’t need any entanglements. I didn’t need anything on my mind but what I was doing. I didn’t need to worry if I’d leave a girl at home brokenhearted because something happened to me.”
I had to admit, that made sense and it was kind of thoughtful.
I wasn’t going to acknowledge that to him either.
“By the time I got out, you backed off. You had a man then and I thought you were over me.”
He shrugged, nonchalant, like he didn’t care and that kinda pissed me off.
No wait, that really pissed me off.
“Then that guy was gone and you kept avoiding me. Guys came, guys went. I figured you had no trouble approaching me before, when you were ready, you’d come to me.”
I was no longer avoiding his eyes or him. I was staring daggers at him.
What an arrogant jerk!
He calmly returned my gaze. “I’m a bit tired of waiting and I’m definitely tired of your man parade.” His voice was slightly edgy and a little scary. “Fortunately, you’ve presented me with this golden opportunity.”
He could damn well wait until hell froze over.
He wasn’t going to keep me at arm’s length for ages and then just reel me in when he felt like it.
“Well, I’m not done avoiding you!” I said.
As he was talking, he’d moved slightly back.
He came in close again.
“Nope. No more waiting, no more games, no more avoiding and no more other guys. You want this and I want this and it’s going to happen.”
“I don’t want this,” I lied, self-protection and all that. He was an arrogant jerk. He was scary as hell. He was trying to force me to sleep with him and using my friend to do it. He was bad news. I wanted no part in Lee Nightingale.
And that was that.
He laughed softly. “Bullshit.”
He thought I was funny.
I saw red.
“Of all the –”
He kissed me again and this time, Joe Perry was a fleeting memory.
I gave into the kiss immediately.
What could I say? It was Lee.
It was getting good, his mouth was open and so was mine, his tongue was in my mouth and then mine was in his. My legs opened further and he got closer. His arms tightened and my breasts flattened against his chest. My arms went around his neck and I pressed against him.
Then his lips tore away from mine as his head shot up and twisted around, his entire body tensed, coiled, waiting.
Then Kitty Sue and Ally turned the corner from the entryway into the kitchen.
Kitty Sue’s hand went to her throat, her eyes widened and then, I swear, they filled with tears.
Ally started laughing.
I looked to the ceiling.
Shit.
Chapter Four
Do I Need to Kiss You Again?
My reaction was immediate.
“I’m gonna kill you,” I told Ally.
She walked in and dropped an overnight bag on the floor, chuckling.
She set me up. She knew Lee was coming home last night. Crazy bitch.
“What’s going on here?” Kitty Sue asked hopefully, rooted to the spot and staring at us, not with disapproval at our carnal clinch, but with eyes filled with hopeful bliss.
Lee got his eyes from Kitty Sue, and all the kids got their long, lean body from her. Kitty Sue was always a bundle of energy, the kind of Mom who held down a full-time job, made dinner every night, had home-baked cookies in the cookie jar and, every year, sewed all her kids’ Halloween costumes from scratch.
Lee moved to the side then jumped up and sat on the counter beside me.
I hastily closed my legs.
“Anyone want coffee?” Lee asked courteously.
I jumped down and took a step forward, escape on my mind. It was pretty clear to me that I’d slid through a tear between the worlds and I had to find my way back to my home world pretty damn quick.