a master manipulator. Everyone was fooled by him. Even his own son.”
She sighs. “I don’t have the energy for this.”
“Then show me.”
She leans back into the wall, defeat slumping her shoulders. “Please.” She reaches out, her fingers tangling in my shirt. “I’m just so tired, Luc.”
I fucking love the way she says my name. The delicate cadence. The shortened familiarity. And that touch, the one that’s entirely gentle, yet packs a goddamn punch.
My mouth dries, and I’m consumed by that feeling again—the one where passion and duty collide.
“We can do this tomorrow,” she promises. “I’ll work hard to have more energy then.”
I ignore her and lean closer. “You need to place a jab just below the sternum—that’s where there’s minimal muscle to protect vital organs. Or aim for the crotch, eyes—even a stomp to the foot can help.”
Her hands continue to tangle in my shirt, tugging, pulling, silently begging as her teeth dig into her lower lip.
I could drown in this version of her. The timidness. The exquisite feminine frailty.
I want to trap her further. Not just against a wall. But in my bed. Under my body. The attraction is so fucking potent it suffocates me.
Whenever I’m close to her like this, I become consumed by her.
“I don’t want to do this,” she murmurs. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You can’t. You couldn’t. Don’t worry. I’ve got skills of my own.”
She nods, yet those hands don’t drop from my shirt. They burrow farther, her fingertips sinking beneath the material to brush my stomach.
Adrenaline rushes through me like a storm. My pulse goes manic. She affects everything. Every inch of me. From my drying mouth to my hardening dick. Then I start trippin’, because the little sense I have knows that the timid swipe of tongue she lashes over her lower lip can’t be reciprocated desire.
There’s no way she can feel the same way I do.
No way her heart is pounding from lust like mine.
It’s too soon. I fucking know it. But that rationale doesn’t stop me from leaning closer to feel her breath brush my mouth in the most delicate tease.
Her teeth sink deeper into her lower lip. She bats those feminine lashes. Her hands splay, no longer fingertips against my stomach, but full palms, skin to skin.
I want to groan from need. To fucking moan against her mouth as her touch glides around my waist, then to my back.
After weeks wanting her, craving her, I can’t fight anymore.
I’m done, and about to claim the luscious prize of her mouth when her arms swoop farther. She snatches the gun from my waistband, snaps it in front of me and jabs the barrel into my stomach. Hard.
I don’t even have time to react before she raises a taunting brow at me.
“Are those skills good enough for you?” She jabs me again, the metal digging deep.
I should be pissed. Ashamed at the very least. She used my attraction against me like I was a sex-starved pervert. Yet here I am, still a slave to my pulsing dick.
“I can manipulate, too,” she murmurs, her beautiful face so fucking close. “I’ll never be able to physically defend myself against a man. I know that, Luca, because I’ve had a lifetime of failed experience. But I can distract and influence sometimes.”
Distract and influence?
No. She tempted and seduced.
That damn woman has my cock tied in knots.
“Impressive, Pen. But that gun is loaded. The safety isn’t on. One nudge of the trigger and I’m worm bait.”
The reality should flatten my libido.
It fucking doesn’t.
“Then maybe you should back off and take me at my word when I say I’ve got skills.”
I force out a laugh. “Those so-called skills won’t work on everyone.” Just pussy-whipped chumps like me. “This manipulative display doesn’t change anything. You still need to learn how to defend yourself.”
“Do I need to pull the trigger to prove I’m defending myself just fine?”
I chuckle in an attempt to release some of the blinding aggression. God, I want her. Crave her. Fucking need her. “Don’t kid yourself, shorty. I could get that gun out of your hand in seconds and have you flat on your back in a few more.”
“You don’t scare me.”
“I’m not trying to. But if you don’t lower that barrel I’ll prove my point.” Christ, how I want to prove that point. “So either shoot me or prepare for change, because I’m not backing down.” I flash her a feral smile. “I’m done playing nice.”