Luscious (Topped #1)(12)

She kept on. “I would have called the cops, but I don’t exactly have a cell. It’s sweet of you to tell me how to protect myself. Oddly, most guys who intend to harm me don’t give me lectures on protecting myself.”

The rain was starting to come down hard, beating against the rooftop. He finally managed to find some proper words. “You can’t stay in your car.”

“Sure I can.”

His first instinct was to tell her what she was going to do, but he had to wonder if she would come after him with that hammer. The woman in front of him was a far cry from the one who hadn’t screamed out when Timothy cornered her. He was smart enough to understand. She was comfortable with him. She could joke because she didn’t believe he would hurt her. If he applied some pressure, intimidated her, he would likely get her to do what he wanted. And that would make him one more * who used her. “It makes me nervous. Especially on a night like this. Maybe you could stay in Sean’s office tonight?”

He would sleep on the floor. He hadn’t been joking. He’d slept in much worse places. Hell, no one was shooting at him. He called it a win.

“You think you should drive home in this mess?” She peeked out through the blinds.

“I don’t have a car. I take the train. Station’s right down the street.” He would rather stay with her, but now that he thought about it, she might be uncomfortable with that. If he was leaving, he would have to be fast though. DART didn’t run all night. He could call Adam, but he felt like an idiot calling his big brother to pick him up from work. He was thirty years old. He’d been driving since he was sixteen.

He couldn’t work the gas pedal anymore and getting a vehicle fitted for him would cost more money than he had.

She perked up. “I have a car. I can totally give you a ride. And the good news is if we find ourselves in high water, I can also smash through the windshield.”

“You are entirely too invested in that hammer.”

She chuckled. “Maybe. I’m really okay, Miles. Despite the idiocy of this afternoon, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. It’s not the first time I’ve been on my own. Hell, I have a car. It’s practically the Ritz compared to some of the places I’ve slept.”

“You’ve been homeless before?” He’d had a rough childhood. Not financially. He’d had all the money he needed, but he’d been raised in military academies, and they weren’t the best at giving a child affection. Talking to Kai for all these weeks had taught him that affection was something he needed. But he couldn’t imagine being a homeless kid.

“Sure. I was once given a blue ribbon by this cop in my hometown. He said I was the best runaway he’d ever seen. I might have said I couldn’t be too good since he kept catching me, but he told me he liked to reward persistence.”

“What were you running away from?” He asked the question, but had an idea. She could go up against drug dealers and car thieves, but she turned into a mouse around an authority figure trying to take advantage of her.

“My dad was kind of a jerk.” She finished sweeping up and turned to him. “Did I say thank you for saving me today? I don’t usually play the damsel in distress but you were a damn fine knight.”

“There’s no shining armor here, sweetheart.” He’d given that up long ago. Actually, when he really thought about it, he’d never been the type.

“Let’s see. You served your country honorably, you help out your boss, save waitresses from nasty *s. You’re looking pretty shiny to me, Miles.”

She set the broom aside and something shifted in the room. He could see it in the way she relaxed as she moved toward him.

What was she doing? The air suddenly seemed more sultry than before. “I’m no hero. I went in the Army because it was expected of me.”

“That’s what a hero usually says. Why were you really looking for me, Miles?” She stepped up, leaving very little space between them.

“I told you.”

“Yes, you wanted to find out about my living situation. Do you treat all the waitresses like this?”

“No.” He tended to leave them alone. They were attractive women, but he didn’t have anything to offer a girlfriend. He could barely take care of himself. He knew he should stay away from her, too, but she moved him in a way he hadn’t felt before.

“So why me?”

“I like you.” Yep he sounded like a junior high kid.

“I like you, too. I didn’t think I would, but I can’t deny it.” She went up on her toes and her hands were suddenly flat against his chest. “This is a mistake. It’s a horrible mistake, and I hope you’re smart enough to stop me.”

She was straining, lifting herself up as tall as she could go.

“I’m not that smart, sweetheart.” He lowered his head and let his lips touch hers.

His whole body went on alert. His cock tightened immediately and his body felt like it locked around hers. All he could see or smell or taste was Ally. She became the freaking center of his universe and all he’d done was brush his lips against hers.

He was in too deep, but there was no way he was backing away now.





It was wrong. She knew it the minute she got close to him. Hell, she knew it the minute Chef Taggart had walked out the door, leaving her alone with the single sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on. Macon made her heart pound, but he was also the one man in the world she shouldn’t touch since she was lying to him.