When He's Bad (Walker Security Adrian’s Trilogy #2) - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,30
kills me, but I do it. I fall back. I fall into step with her on one flight up and bite back a million questions. Like what the fuck did Logan do to give her nightmares?
Fuck.
I can’t hold back.
“Pri,” I say softly, resisting the urge to capture her hand. “Wait.”
We’re between the first level and the second when she pauses and turns to face me. Her eyes are so damn blue, and she’s so damn beautiful.
I step closer to her and say what’s most important right now. “I’m sorry.”
She blinks. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I was an ass in the cave. I was an ass in the room back there, too.”
Surprise flickers across her face but she quickly says, “I’m sorry, too. And for the record, I’m not sure any man in my life has ever actually apologized. Apology appreciated and accepted.”
“I’ll try not to be an ass anymore.”
She smiles. “You’ll try?”
“I prefer to make promises I can keep. Monsters put me in a bad mood, which brings me to Logan.”
“Adrian—”
“Did he hurt you?” I ask.
“Why are you asking this now?”
“I just need to know if he’s on the list of people I need to kill before I die.”
Her lips quirk. “Isn’t that a little extreme?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “Is it?”
“Yes, but I’m, ah, I’ m glad to have someone who cares.”
“I do care, Pri.” I catch her hand and immediately let it go. “Fuck. Sorry.”
Her lips curve and she tangles her fingers with mine. Her hand is tiny and soft, and yet, holding it feels so damn big. “I like it when you touch me,” she says, “but we were fighting, and right after that particular nightmare, I needed just a minute to breathe.”
“You two coming?”
At the sound of Blake’s voice, I glance up to find him leaning over the railing. “Yeah, boss,” I say. “On our way.” He disappears and I stroke a lock of hair behind Pri’s ear. “He might have news. We better go up.”
She nods and I lean in, my mouth lingering over her mouth. She presses on my chest, just a tiny bit, enough to get my attention. “I thought we were bad?”
“I have things I’ll say about that later, and I suspect you do, too.”
“I do,” she says. “
“For now, how about I just say this? I’m bad. We are not.”
“If I’m bad, and you’re bad, can we just be bad together?”
I laugh despite myself. “What happened to dirty?”
“Dirty together?” she asks.
“Why, oh why, do you always tempt me so well, Pri?” I kiss her, a low press of tongue to tongue, and her arms wrap my neck, her body softening into mine. I drink her way too long, but not long enough, and then I whisper, “Let’s go upstairs before Savage eats all the Chick-fil-A.”
She pulls back. “That’s actually a real concern. I’m starving.”
I laugh. She’s the only woman who has ever taken me on a full ride of emotions in a lifetime, let alone a few hours. She’s also already darting up the stairs and pulling me along. It feels good to be back on the right side of the law and Pri. Maybe I’ve been wrong about staying away from her because I’m bad. Maybe the very fact that I want and need her is all about me wanting to be on the right side, too. Me wanting to be good.
Maybe I can be saved.
I just hope like hell it doesn’t come with a price she pays.
Chapter Nineteen
ADRIAN
Food is taken seriously with the Walker clan. It comes before conversation. With that in mind, it doesn’t take Pri and me long to claim our side-by-side seats at the double-sized kitchen island, with Blake and Lucifer at their respective endcaps and Adam and Savage across from us. Nor does it take long for us to start stuffing our faces.
“My God,” Pri says, taking a bite of her breaded chicken sandwich. “I love this place. Actually, I just love food in general right now.”
I grab a fry and dip it in ketchup. “There was a family of tomatoes—”
“No,” Savage and Adam say at the same time as Savage adds, “Do not tell that same stupid-ass ketchup joke again. Get a new one.”
“Now I have to hear it,” Pri says, smiling at me. She has a beautiful smile worthy of every joke in my arsenal. “Tell the stupid ketchup joke,” she encourages. “Do it.”
“There was a family of tomatoes,” I say. “A mama, a papa, and four kids.”