Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(23)

“Pepper spray isn’t going to stop the damn mafia.”

“Well, neither did the truth, so I don’t see why they would come after me now.” This wasn’t the conversation she wanted to have with him. Of course she wasn’t sure what she wanted from him.

Except sex. Except comfort. Except one night where she didn’t sit up and worry about what was going to happen to her.

He was leaving soon. Not merely leaving the apartment building. He was leaving town and he wouldn’t be back. That actually made it way easier. Was she brave enough to ask him again? He’d said he was scared of her, but if she promised she wasn’t looking for anything but a couple of hot nights from him, would that change his mind?

Or had it all been bullshit? Had he been attempting to be kinder to her than he’d been before?

“Lisa? Are you listening to me?”

Nope. “Yes, of course.”

He stared at her like he knew she wasn’t listening. “I was saying you need to take this seriously. You’re in a dangerous position.”

“Jimmy isn’t violent. He’s a jerk but he’s not violent.” Suddenly she wasn’t hungry. The whole day had been one long mistake. Did she need to cap it off by making one more? “You know what? I’m really tired. I think I’m going to go to bed.”

His stare pinned her. “So I hit on a touchy subject and you punish me by sending me away?”

“No, I’m tired and I had a shitty day and I want to go to bed.”

“I want to go to bed, too,” he said, his voice low.

The moment seemed to stop, his words right out there in the open, his eyes intent on her. There was heat in those eyes.

“Ask me again, Lisa. Give me another chance.”

All the reasons she shouldn’t fell away because damn it, she was an optimist and at some point in time her luck had to change. She didn’t want to miss that because she was too scared to try. “Would you like to go to bed with me, Sir?”

“Tell me why you left the club.”

Damn it. That wasn’t an answer. “Because I gave up my car and I didn’t want to admit it to my family because they’re nosy as hell. Because I’ve been too depressed to play. Because I couldn’t play with the man I wanted to play with.”

His hand came out and he tugged her up, maneuvering her until she was sitting on his lap.

And what a comfy lap it was. She fit easily, her butt on his big thigh, his muscular arm around her waist making her feel dainty and feminine.

“I’m going home soon and I probably won’t be back,” he explained.

She nodded. “It’s okay. I wasn’t looking to get married. I’ll be honest. When I asked you six months ago, I was looking for a Dom, but not now. Now I just want someone to help me get through the night.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, ma crevette,” he whispered. His cheek rubbed lightly against hers, letting her feel that masculine scruff he always seemed to have. “But I have to go home and it’s not a place where you would be happy.”

“I have a home, Remy.” God, how had she gone from bone tired to every cell in her body awake and alive with anticipation? “I don’t need some man to come in and save me. Well, except from how long the nights are lately. I could use a rescue from that. I’m not asking you to be my knight in shining armor. I’m asking if you want to spend tonight with me.”

“No.”

She stiffened and started to get off his lap, but his arms were a cage around her.

“Hush,” he admonished. “We’re talking and we’re negotiating. I’m not about to lie to you again. I’ll want more than one night with you. I won’t be able to hop into your bed and hop back out again and pretend like it didn’t mean anything. I’ve wanted you for far too long for that to happen. Can we make a deal? A contract?”

A contract with her dream Dom? It was one more bad idea in a long line of them, but she found herself nodding. Why would she say no? Her pride? Her pride hadn’t gotten her anything good lately. Because she was worried about being hurt? She’d been numb for so long that being hurt seemed like a halfway decent trade-off for feeling anything at all. He was being upfront with her. “Yes.”

His hands moved on her waist, brushing up toward her breasts. “God, chère, this is where I’m supposed to set you across from me and we talk about what we want and need out of this contract.”

“I want an orgasm, Remy,” she stated plainly. “Can we forgo the negotiations tonight and agree that we’re going to get into bed and not leave again until you’ve made me come a couple of times?”

“Oh, I like how you negotiate,” he whispered. “But one thing needs to be made clear. I’m the top. You’re the sweet bottom when it comes to sex. For now, you tell me to stop and I will, but you’re not a novice. I’m going to want some fairly kinky things from you.”

The word kink sent a thrill up her spine. It made her wriggle and squirm. It had her nipples hard, and she was very aware of her pussy. Soft and getting wet, her pussy suddenly seemed like the core of her being. “I’m good with that.”

“Take off the robe for me.”

Her hands went to her waist, undoing the tie that held the robe together. She let it fall open. This was what she needed. She needed to forget about all her worries for a while and merely listen to the sound of his voice. She needed to let go and give over to a man she could trust to take care of her.