Lady Killer (Tangled Desires Book 2) (9 page)

“No, pretty girl, you
won’t
tell me. There’s a big fucking difference.” He huffs, as he stalks to the door. “Tell me how the hell I’m supposed to help you if you won’t talk to me?”

“You shouldn’t,” I say. “Your brother is right about me. I’m a danger to you.”

“Whether that’s true or not, I hope you realize you can trust me.” He hauls the door open and runs his gaze over me one last time. “I’ll protect you. All you have to do is let me.”

Trusting him isn’t the problem. I cross my arms over my chest and stare at his retreating back. I already do far more than I should. Which makes it worse, because I want to tell him, I just don’t know how much.

Tom

Fuck, what she does to me. It was so hard to walk away from her when she said she wanted me inside her. So wet and hot, I could barely keep my head on straight, it took all my control to walk out of her room. I’m aching, my cock ready to explode, wanting nothing more than to sink into her wetness and feel her grip me.

I storm down the hallway to my own room, slamming the door behind me. I need to get down to the gym, but not until I take care of this raging hard on that’s becoming too much a permanent fixture.

Flopping down on the mattress, I push my shorts down and take my cock in my hand, stroking slowly. There’s a sting of pain to the pleasure, I’m wound so fucking tight. My balls so heavy from how turned on she makes me.

Drawing my hand up and over the head of my cock, I imagine her, that look in her eyes when she’s so close to cumming, while she takes my cock in her hand. Her eyes widening as she bends over to roll her tongue over the tip. Her scent surrounds me, her arousal still on my fingers. Fuck her and her secrets. Fuck her for not trusting me. Fuck, she’d feel incredible.

I’m getting slick at the thought of her lips on me, taking me deep in her pretty mouth. Gritting my teeth, I stroke harder, firming my grip, now slippery from pre-cum. I have a feeling she’d be perfection. Unforgettable. That she’d take me so far in her throat, her mouth all silk and heat, I wouldn’t be able to hold back. All while she’d be looking up at me and not once thinking about how she couldn’t wait to tell her friends she slept with the fucking Lady Killer, because when she looks at me, when she’s falling apart from my touch, she only sees me.

I throw my head back, my eyes shut as I fantasize that I’m bending her over my bed, taking my time exploring her sweet pussy with my mouth. I’m practically drooling as my hips surge toward my hand. She’d taste all sweet and perfect, so ready for me to push inside her. I can practically feel her on me, my cock pulsing as pleasure rockets through me, until my cum is hitting my palm in hot, wet spurts.

It doesn’t bring as much relief as I hoped, but then I didn’t really expect it to. Not when I could have laid her out and had her the way she wanted to be taken. My cock inside her, stroking all her most sensitive spots. Not when for once in my life I’m looking at something more than the connection of body parts. This gut-clenching craving that’s insinuated itself every time I’m near her won’t be satisfied that easily.

The shower should be empty by now, so I grab a change of clothes and head down the hall. Gem’s gone when I walk past, no trace she was ever there, except for her lingering scent. I don’t know if she’s taken off or not. I’m at a loss when it comes to her, not quite sure of how I’m supposed to get her to open up so I can help her. Hell, I don’t even know how to find my way out of my own predicament. And something tells me having her around will make it all a whole lot more complicated.

Gem

As I move between the cages, cleaning up and feeding the animals, I can’t stop thinking about the last thing Tom said to me before he walked out. That one day I’ll realize I can trust him to protect me. If only it were that simple. If only letting him in didn’t mean putting us both in danger. Because when I’m around him I don’t feel like I am. I struggle to remember why I’ve run for so long. He makes me stupid.

I haven’t stayed out of Santiago’s reach for so long without using my wits, but they scatter around Tom. Even now I can’t stop imagining things I have no right to want, and yet he draws desire up in me, and something else, something much more hopeful.

He shouldn’t. The man I remember from our time in the ring didn’t have this effect on me, and I find myself thinking up different scenarios that could change the way he was to who he is now, but then, maybe I don’t want to know. Maybe it’s better for both of us if we keep our secrets. Of course I know that’s bullshit. Well, kind of. The problem is my secrets lead to more secrets. I don’t think I can handle him looking at me, knowing I destroyed his life.

One of the kittens disentangles itself from its brothers and sisters and starts meowing at me pitifully. Picking up the small black and white fur ball, I stroke its tiny head and it snuggles into my hand. “I don’t get it. I shouldn’t still be here, but he makes me feel things I never thought I would.”

The kitten starts purring, vibrating its pleasure at my attention. “I think I was doing something a little like you’re doing now, earlier.” I laugh. It feels good to let go. To not be always curled into myself. To not always have to look over my shoulder. I’m not, I realize. I’m standing here at the back of the vet center, petting a kitten as if I have nothing in the world to worry about. With a quick scratch to its tiny chin, I place it back in its cage and get back to work, puzzling over this new and slightly worrying sensation. I don’t want to feel safe. I mean I do, but then the fear I’ll not pay attention when it’s time to move on settles in my gut.

The door chime goes off, and I almost jump out of my skin while the dreadful cockatoo someone brought in this morning starts up. “Caw, what the fuck? What the fuck?”

“Shut up,” I mutter at it as it stares at me with its beady, little eyes while I pass.

Of course it responds with a gaggle of expletives. I swear whoever taught this damn bird to talk has to be the rudest of people.

“Oh.”

Tom stands at the counter, tapping his fingers. I can’t help but squirm, remembering where they were earlier, almost feeling them still. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d see if you could do lunch?” His keen gaze holds mine, and I’m not sure I believe him.

“You’re checking to see if I ran, aren’t you?” I fold my arms across my chest. I should have. Yet, I’m still here, and I’m not even sure why. Except that there’s something about the man in front of me that makes me want to stand still.

He shrugs. “I don’t see a runner when I look at you.”

“Really? I’m pretty damn good at it.” It’s not that I want to be, but I’ve had so much practice.

“Sure,” he agrees. “Let’s talk about that over lunch.”

“I might be too busy.” I flip a few pages of a random pamphlet about neutering that’s parked on the desk, knowing full well I’ll do what he asks. Lunch, getting down on my knees, whatever he wants. It’s ridiculous how much I crave him when I barely know him. 

“Considering maiming me again?” He grins, leaning over the desk and into my space. “I don’t think my balls got over the first time.”

“Well, you don’t seem to need them anymore.” It’s hard to keep my defenses in place around him. Hard to remember why… I’m not sure… There’s some important reason to squash these semi-congenial feelings I’m having toward him. “I am sorry about hurting you that day. I don’t think I’ve apologized yet. It’s just you took me by surprise.”

“You and me both, princess.” He chuckles softly. There’s something in the way he’s looking at me that squeezes my insides in a delightfully strange way. “You have no idea.”

“I’m not sure that’s true.” My voice sounds husky, a little breathless. It’s a big admission for a girl like me to make.

“Nice to know,” he murmurs. “Because that means sooner or later you’re going to let me get at all of your secrets.”

I barely catch the words. All I can think about is the way his lips move, and the roughness of his voice. Somehow he has this ability to make everything sound dirty. Damn, I want to get dirty with him. “Secrets?”

“Lunch?” he asks. “Or would you rather talk about him in front of my family?”

The realization that he’s moved me into his life, his house despite the fact I won’t tell him everything, slaps me in the face like cold water. That he’s willingly involved his brothers and sister in my mess without knowledge of the real risk he’s taking. That I’m going to be faced with his bald faced honor and integrity, and that fuck me against the wall body far too often for my liking. I’m going to have to tell him something. I’m just not sure how much. Because I’m not ready to tell him that I was there the night his rise to the top of his career came to a screeching halt. “Let me get my bag.”

He follows me through to the staff room so I can collect my stuff, and the freaking bird starts up again. “Caw, what the fuck, what the fuck?”

His face for a moment is priceless while he tries to work out who’s cussing at him, and then he laughs this deep down belly rumbling laugh that has him almost doubled over. It’s contagious. I practically have to wipe my eyes when he finally quiets down to a smirk. “Whose bird is that?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Someone brought it in this morning. Apparently abandoned.” As much as I’ve cursed the stupid thing so far today, I do feel sorry for it. “I can’t imagine there would be many people willing to take on a bird like that, so it’s probably not going to get adopted out.”

“That’d be a real shame.”

After I collect my bag and notify my boss I’m going to lunch, we traipse out into the warm afternoon. He skims my back with his fingers as we wander the pavement, guiding me toward the main street. “You have a soft spot for animals.”

“Yeah. I prefer them over people most of the time. They’re always honest.”

“I see that.” He nods. “You’re a bit like a porcupine.”

“I’m what?” I glance up at him. “Are you trying to say I’m prickly?”

“Prickly, sharp, a whole lot of bite.” He takes my hand, and keeps his steps unhurried so I can keep up with him.

“I can definitely see how you got your reputation with the ladies. Does insulting women usually get the results you want?”

“Oh that.” He squeezes my hand, then drops it. “I don’t even have to try.”

“I’d sure hope not. Not with those kinds of lines.”

He spins around, and I thud into his chest. Oh good Lord, I can’t help myself. I take the opportunity to grope all that hard, hot, and actually covered for a change muscle. His breath catches under my palms, the muscles contracting as he stares down at me.

“Do you think I need lines to take you to bed?”

No, he doesn’t need lines. He doesn’t even need a bed. There’s a brick wall in my periphery. That will do fine. But I am not going to ask. I won’t even answer his question. Not after this morning.

He raises a hand and strokes a thumb across my jaw, lifting my gaze from my focus on his glorious chest. “Do you really believe I can’t get inside you without using a single word?”

“I refuse to answer that for fear of incriminating myself.”

He chuckles softly then swipes his mouth over mine. It’s barely anything. Far less than I want. A touch of warmth against my lips, gone just as quick. “You’re prickly on the outside, but inside you’re all heat and softness. I could see that the first time I copped your attitude.”

“Well, aren’t you the observant one?” I pull away from him and continue along the street past the diner where that little tart gave him her number. I am not in the mood to watch her flirt with him today.

“I see what I need to see.”

That’s why in the years we worked in the same circles he never noticed me. Not that I wanted him to. But now he does, a little too clearly, apparently. “What exactly do you see?”

“A very pretty girl who’s strong enough to stop running, and take on a man like me. A woman who has me utterly fascinated.”

My heart skips a beat as I stop in front of a sandwich bar and join the line. Sunshine and fucking rainbows. But love is a magical ice cream pooping unicorn, entirely mythical, and I’m not about to fall for Tom Lady Killer Hadley. Nuh-uh. No freaking way, even if there’s a strange flutter in my belly and a whole heap of get in my panties thoughts running through my head. “What made you stop?”

“Who are you running from?”

“A BLT, and a strawberry shake,” I say to the guy making sandwiches, and Tom adds a couple more to the order, handing over cash before I can reach into my purse.

We take our lunch to the park on the other side of the road and claim a spot on the grass, tearing into our food for a moment, neither of us wanting to be the first to break the standoff.

“I had a wake-up call. It’s complicated,” he says, reclining on the grass. “There’s nothing wrong with my cock,” he adds. “I didn’t want to be that guy anymore.”

“The Lady Killer?” I take a bite out of my sandwich, chewing while I wait for him to respond. Whatever it is that he’s hiding must be big to have such an impact.

“Yeah, he wasn’t me, you know? I was as faceless to those women as they were to me. It was easier than dating.”

“You never dated?”

“In high school. But not once I hit the circuit.” He shrugs. “People knew who I was, and I hated that. Hated they wanted a piece of me, had expectations of what they could get out of me. I couldn’t trust anyone.”

“It never came across that way.” Maybe he and I have more in common than I would have thought. Growing up, I’d always been at the whim of my family’s name. Gemma Castle was expected to be a darling, an heiress who fulfilled her social obligations and married a man her parents deemed fitting. But that wasn’t who I was. Instead of a business degree, I’d wanted to work with animals. Instead of the snobby boys my parents had expected me to date, I’d wanted to fall in love with gritty, dirty, everyday life. “You always looked like you were in your element.”

“Did I? Or did you only see what you wanted to? Like everyone else?”