Luc took another long swig from the bottle. “I’m . . . sorry.”
“I get it. In your head, we’re from different worlds. You’ve put me in my place, and I won’t overreach again.” She stiffened her spine and headed for the stairs, then turned back to him. “For the record, Tyler’s visit was about the break-in at the club. At tonight’s sweep, he thoroughly investigated the entire upstairs. Seems that my stalker left me another knife and ‘love note’ embedded in the pillow of my bedroom at the club. And this one not only called me a whore; he said he’d put a stop to me for good very soon.”
Chapter Six
ALYSSA marched up the stairs. One foot in front of the other. Get to your bedroom. Shut the door.
No damn way was she showing Luc Traverson her tears. She’d already given him too much power to hurt her. And he’d used it thoughtlessly.
“What did you say?” he demanded. A moment later, he darted up after her and grabbed her, spinning her around to face him. “The same pervert who broke into your car broke into your club?”
“And threatened me. No need to trouble yourself with my safety. That’s Tyler’s job, which is why he came here tonight. Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .”
She tried to jerk free from Luc’s grasp. His heat and musky scent were getting to her. Those burning eyes, his tautly muscled body, were making her weak-kneed.
Never had she thought of herself as one of those stupid women who stayed in a destructive relationship with someone who held more contempt for her than affection. Apparently her heart was as susceptible as anyone else’s.
It was a bitter pill.
“Luc, let go.”
He shook his head, took her face in his grasp. “I can’t.”
On the shadowy landing, Alyssa saw the intent in his glittering eyes a moment before he lowered his head. God, she wanted his kiss so badly. Muscle, bone, blood, all strained forward to join with him. Touch him. Give him anything he wanted.
Why did he suddenly want her?
Because he fears Tyler just had you.
She turned away, biting the inside of her cheek against the pain of denial. A debilitating pang settled in her chest. As his lips fell to her cheek, tears stabbed her eyes.
“Don’t do this,” he begged in her ear, pulling her so tightly against him she smelled the park’s freshly cut grass on his clothes and the whiskey on his breath. His touch was riddled with desperation as he wiped her tears away. Alyssa felt herself weakening.
God, how could she want a man so badly who held her in such low regard? She was supposed to be too smart for that game.
“You can’t want me only because Tyler does.” She sobbed. “I’m not a sexual trophy in some fucking competition. Just . . . let me go.”
She tried to wriggle free, mentally flaying herself for the stupid hope that had encouraged her to seduce Luc in the first place, to lure him close with the silly idea that he might fall for her. He probably wanted someone like Kimber: wholesome, with a bright future and a squeaky clean past. Someone without a string of former lovers and a résumé in the sex trade.
If that was what he wanted in a woman, Alyssa was completely doomed.
He cupped her cheeks and brought her face back to his.
“You’re not a trophy to me, I swear. I know I have no right to tell you what to do.” He brought her even closer, and even in the dark, she saw pain contort his face. “I was jealous. So fucking jealous, it was eating me alive. The thought that you gave him what I so desperately wanted.”
Jealous? Maybe he cared a little bit . . .
“I offered myself to you—more than once.” The words came out like an accusation.
“I tried to be gentlemanly. Smart. Use my restraint and not ravage and plunder you again. I didn’t want you to think I was a caveman or a madman. I didn’t want to lose control. I have a specific future in mind, and I don’t see how we fit together in that picture. But . . .” Pain laced his voice; then he exhaled raggedly. “I can’t ignore or deny what I feel anymore. I’m worried as hell about you, yes. I’m terrified at the thought of this sick stalker getting his hands on you and hurting you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
Whatever it takes. He sounded as though she really did matter. Yes, it hurt to hear that she didn’t fit into his future, but for the right here and now . . . His words tugged at her heart, broke down the dam holding her emotions in. She was moments from a flood of tears. “Luc—”
“I can’t live another moment without touching you. I need you more than my next breath.”
Raw honesty ripped across his features as he leaned in again, thumbs brushing her jaw. His touch, like his stare, pleaded. Alyssa didn’t have the will to refuse him.
She thrust her hands into his hair and pulled him to her. Their mouths met in a rush, a gasp, a melding of lips, a moan. The tang of alcohol and need burst across her senses. Luc threw his arms around her and lifted her against him, as if he could suddenly make them one.
Instinct guided her to wrap her legs around him. He was there to support her with a hand beneath her ass and another blistering kiss.
He sank deep, desire searingly evident in the way he fused their mouths together. Nothing had ever been so intimate. He kissed as if he wanted to savor every bit of her, memorize her. Alyssa kissed him back with the same fervor, though she’d memorized him long ago.
In her head she knew this embrace might not mean to Luc all it did to her. Clearly, he wanted her—at least for now. But what did he really feel for her? Anything?
Wasn’t she too far gone to care?
Tomorrow would come soon enough, and with it, a load of recriminations. But from now until dawn was purely about pleasure. About connecting again.
Luc slanted another kiss across her mouth and stepped toward her bedroom, every move brushing their bodies together. Alyssa sucked in a breath at the incredible friction. He was really here. With her. She held him closer and moaned against his throat, stringing kisses up his neck, across his five-o’clock-shadowed jaw, until she met his mouth again. He was waiting, open and voracious. She melted under his onslaught.
Moments later, her world tilted; then the bed was at her back, and Luc was above her, propped on his arms. Breathing hard, he looked down at her through the moonlight.
“I’ve wanted you again since the second I walked in your club.”
She met his gaze, which glowed with raw passion and truth. He meant every word, despite what else he believed about her. Despite what he thought she had done with Tyler tonight. Despite the empty months since they’d last joined.
“Me, too,” she confessed.
In fact, she’d yearned for Luc since waking up alone three months ago, aching, and realizing he wasn’t coming back.