I reached out and squeezed his hand. "Of course it will. I'm still disturbed that you would steal the money."
"What fucking choice did I have? We messed up and had to fix it. My grades would have been affected." He got up and started to pace around the kitchen like a lion in a cage. "I have to get out of school. It's driving me up the fucking wall."
"I get that, but really it's so bad that you had to steal money from someone..." I paused. "Did you have a gun with you?"
He snorted and stopped. "Yes. Most people don't give up money with the threat of a wizard wand, Grace. Fuck."
"Oh Lord." I turned to face the table and took a tentative sip of my coffee. "What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing. Just be here if I need you, okay?" He leaned over and gave me a quick hug. "Reassure me one more time that I'm not a walking target."
"You better not be." I glanced back as he walked toward the door. "Hey! What about breakfast or jogging."
"I can't. I need to get somewhere safe."
"Thomas." I got up, but he'd already left the apartment, slamming the door behind him. What the fuck had my brother gotten himself into, and how could I help?
Jenna. She was the only one I'd trust to tell Thomas' secrets to and help me figure them out. Her father was the DA of New York. Jenna would know how to get the information we needed.
It couldn't be a coincidence that Billy was gunned down in the streets a few days after he and my brother stole a chunk of money from a small business on the east side.
Crazy shit like that just didn't happen, right?
***
Erik wasn't at the library when I arrived later that day, and I did the full sweep of the place, looking for him. I was sick. Running after a man who was beyond my comprehension of dangerous and only wanted to use me.
Maybe talking to Jenna about more than just Thomas' fuck up would be smart. She'd slap me back into thinking right, but did I want that? No. I wanted to live in my fantasy that Erik would fall deep and hard for me.
It could happen. Maybe.
I ducked into one of the small conference rooms and closed the door behind me before sitting down and pulling out my phone. I hit Jenna's number, and she answered immediately.
"Hey. I miss you. Where the hell have you been?"
I smiled. "I'm sorry. I've been wrapped up in all of this library event bull shit."
"It's coming up soon, right? You need any more help?" She sounded needy. Maybe it had been too long. For both of us.
"Yeah, always. It's still a little over a week away, but everyone is starting to freak out about it. It's our once a year fundraiser event, so I can see why, but we pull it off every year without any issues." I leaned back in my chair and brushed my hand down my plaid slacks. "Anyway. I needed to ask you for a favor."
"Oh, so you only call when you need something." She chuckled.
"No, but I'm not sure where else to turn for this one."
"Sounds serious. You okay?" Her playfulness faded.
"Yeah. I'm good, but Thomas has gotten himself wrapped up in some shit that's a little scary."
"Thomas, your brother, Thomas?"
"Yeah." I smiled. "He's not the good guy everyone believes him to be. He's been in trouble more times than I can count over the last ten years, but this time... it's scary. One of his friends was murdered this morning at gunpoint." I swallowed hard. "I just want to make sure it wasn't related to something stupid he did recently."
"What did he do?"
"I'll tell you later if that's okay?"
"Of course. What do you need me to do, Grace? Just name it, and I'll do it."
"I just need to know who owns the check cashing place on the east side of town."
"There are several of those places over there."
"Okay, well, just see if you can find out who owns any in the area?" I swallowed and stood up, not feeling so great all of a sudden. "If it's too much-"
"No. It's no trouble at all. I'll sneak into my father's office this weekend and figure it out." She paused. "Is Thomas in danger?"
"I don't think so, but who knows. Once you get back to me, we'll think about going to the police." I reached for the door and walked out into the hallway that leads to the huge foyer of the library. "The only problem is that he's the criminal this time."
"That doesn't sound like your brother at all, Grace."
"I know." I glanced up to see Erik walking up the first flight of stairs toward the second floor. His jeans hugged his ass and legs, leaving me a little breathless at the sight of him. "Let me know when you know something." I dropped the call and walked languidly behind him.
Every naughty word he'd whispered in my ear the night before came rushing through my mind, leaving me weak in the knees. I almost didn't see him as I took my last step and plowed into him.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."
He smiled, his eyes filled with mischief. "No, you weren't." He glanced around. "I suppose you were looking for something?" He turned back toward me and licked the side of his perfect mouth. "Or someone?"
Chapter 13
Erik
There was no way in hell I was going to avoid her without forgoing my favorite place to breathe. The library meant everything to me, and if I were being honest with myself, Grace was a huge part of that.
"No." She stepped back, and I reached out, grabbing her wrist as she lost her balance and almost stumbled down the stairs. "Oh shit." She reached for me, tucking herself against my chest as I wrapped an arm around her.
"Be more careful," I barked as I glanced down into her face. My heart constricted, and the air around me grew thin. Her big brown eyes were filled with something far beyond lust. I moved back and tucked my hands in my jeans. "You need to watch what you're doing, Grace. You could have been hurt. Fuck."
"Right." She turned and walked past me, leaving the scent of her shampoo lingering in the air. I breathed in deeply and ignored the deep throb in my jeans. The poor girl had experienced far more of my lust than anyone deserved lately. The thought of her giving up her virginity to me the night before left me feeling things that I shouldn't.
I wanted to protect her.
To honor her.
To make her my own. Forever.
"Stop it. Shit." I turned on my heel and walked toward the history section, snatching up the book I was reading and finding a good place to lose myself within the pages. If my father knew I was at the library reading a book, he'd shit himself, and then he'd beat me within an inch of my life.
But it was worth it.
I fingered through the old pages as the familiar calm I searched for so often settled over me. To have a moment of reprieve in my world was so rare, and yet I knew exactly where to find it.
The sound of Grace's voice pulled me from the story as she walked by, talking with a tall blond guy, who stood just a little too close to my girl.
"It's over here. I think you'll have to check it out and stay in the library though. It's a reference book." She glanced up at him and smiled as she stopped beside one of the bookshelves near me.
"No problem." He bit his lip and studied her. "Do you, um... Do you maybe wanna help me find it?"
She brushed her hand over her chest. Nerves. Why was she nervous about his question?
"I would, but I really need to get back to work." She turned, and he reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Grace."
"She said no." I moved from the wall and walked toward him as the color drained from Grace's face. "Find the fucking book on your own and don't touch her again."
"Erik." She pulled her hand from the guy's grasp and turned to stand between us, her eyes filled with worry. "Please. It's okay."
"Who the fuck are you?" He leaned toward us, his eyes filled with challenge.
"I'm the mother fucker who's going to throw you from this second story window if you touch my girl again." I reached out and took Grace by the shoulders, picking her up and turning to put her down besi
de me before moving toward the guy. "Understood?"
He started to move toward me and paused. Men knew when enough was enough. The hard look on my face combined with the lack of emotion in my eyes had to have reached him. I had no problem throwing his big ugly ass out of the window behind us.
"Fuck you, man." He walked past me and didn't turn back.
"Who was he?" I turned to face her.
"An old boyfriend. No one really." She turned as if she were done with the conversation.
"Hey. You belong to me. Don't let anyone touch you unless you wanna clean up their blood." I leaned in close, brushing my lips against her ear. "Or did you forget?"
She turned a little, brushing her nose by mine. The bitch had such a strong pull over me that my knees grew weak just staring into her beautiful face.
"I don't belong to anyone. Period." She kissed me quickly, jerked away and walked down the stairs hurriedly.
I followed like an alpha male on the hunt. She didn't belong to anyone? Poor thing must have forgotten what I told her.
She darted in between a row of bookshelves and headed toward the back of the library. I wasn't sure whether she was teasing me or truly scared. Both thoughts lit me up.
Tease.
The door to the conference center almost closed by the time I reached it, but I slipped my fingers in at the last minute and pulled the door open. She turned and walked into a room at the end of the hall. No windows. Good.
I opened the door and slipped into the room as she attacked, surprising me a little.
"I can't stop thinking about you, you sorry bastard." She wrapped her arms around my neck and lifted, jumping and wrapping her legs around my waist.
"And here I thought you were in need of a good spanking for forgetting who you belong to." I reached back and locked the door as I cupped her ass and enjoyed the feeling of her lips all over my neck.
"I hate you." She lifted up and rolled her hips, massaging my cock with her soft body and promising me much more than I'd expected after setting her straight the night before.
"I know you do, kitten." I nipped at her lips and put her down. "Shirt and bra off. Get on the table on your back and spread your legs."
"You're so bossy." She walked to the table, pulling off her dark brown sweater and chucking her pretty pink bra at me. Her breasts were perfect, beautiful; her nipples budded hard.
"I'm in charge of you, Grace. Call it what you will." I dropped my jeans and walked toward her as I pulled my shirt over my head. "I wanted to read today, but you had to act up, didn't you?"
"You don't come here to read." She laid down, and her dark hair splayed all over the table. "You come here to see me."
I smirked and slid my hand down between her breasts, over her stomach, and into her panties. "Mighty cocky today, aren't we?" I pressed my fingers down into her heat, and she arched her back, whining a little.
"It's true." She said breathless and reached up to stroke me.
"Maybe." I climbed up on the table, holding myself up with one hand and fingering her tight pussy with the other. "Press your tits together and lower your chin. I want you mouth on me when I come."
Her panting was cute. She was scared. Again.
"What? I don't understand." She reached up and pressed her pretty tits together.
"I think you do." I pulled my hand from her panties for a minute to position my cock to press down through her pretty breasts and made sure to tug on each nipple as I pressed forward between her soft skin. "There we go. Such a good girl." I reached back to grip her face between my thighs and smiled down at her. "Lick anything that comes close to you, kitten."
Her eyes went wide as I pulled back and ran my balls over her mouth. She’s almost cute in her innocence.
"Erik," she mumbled and sucked one of my nuts into her mouth.
I groaned loudly and pressed my free hand back against the table as I fucked her chest nice and slow. Her teasing my balls had me on edge far too fast, but it was all part of the game.
After licking my fingers and getting them good and wet, I slid my hand back into her horrible looking slacks and cupped her mound, driving into her hard and fast.
She jerked on the table below me, her sweet moans filling up the room alongside the scent of her arousal. I breathed in deep and grunted as she scored the back of my thighs with her nails.
"I'm gonna come," she cried out.
I leaned farther forward and tugged her pants down, replacing my hand with my mouth and bringing her over the edge hard and fast. She wrapped her thighs around my head and cried out over and over, bringing me to life in ways I didn't know were possible.
"Please, stop." She pushed on the back of my leg, and I moved up, smiling like a tom-cat. She was beyond beautiful, and untapped by any other man but me. There was something beyond precious in realizing that.
"You play a good girl, but I'm not so sure I believe that lie." I leaned down to look at her from my hands and knees position as I hovered above her sloppy wet sex. "My turn."
"Anything you want." She reached up and grabbed my cock as I adjusted my hips and pressed it deep into her mouth. It only took a few strokes, and I was flying over the edge, stars bursting behind my closed eyelids. I let myself go and rocked against her as she drank me down, her lips so fucking soft, her tongue slapping against the head of my cock as I pulled out.
I was in love, and she was in danger.
After a few more seconds of letting her lick me clean, I rolled over and let out a long groan before looking for my clothes. "You're gonna be the death of me, woman. I swear to God."
"Me?" She sat up and turned, looking like an angel perched up on the conference room table. "You're the one that keeps showing up and stripping me down."
"That's not likely to change, Grace." I grabbed my jeans and pulled them over my waist, my cock still thick and pulsing. "Tell your ex-boyfriend to keep his distance. I'm not a nice guy in the least. I kill for a living. Don't think I wouldn't do it for pleasure."
She stiffened. Good. She needed to understand the reality of who I was. Her next words shocked me.
"Come home with me. Please. Tonight? Like last night. Let me make you dinner." She got off the table and walked over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist as I pulled my shirt down between us.
I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "No."
"Erik. Please. I want more than sex. You know there's something between us."
"Yeah. Sex." I cupped the sides of her face and leaned down, forgoing her beautiful mouth and kissing her cheek. "I can't give you anything more than I'm already giving. Period."
"Not ever?" She pulled back, her skin growing flush as her eyes filled with tears. Fuck.
"No, Grace. Never." I released her and turned, walking toward the door.
"Then don't come back. I'm not sleeping with you again. Period."
I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. "It doesn't work that way, kitten. You're mine right now. When I grow tired of you, you can move on and find a man like frat-boy upstairs, but until then... there's nowhere you can run that I won't find you." I licked my fingers and walked down the hall, hating myself for hurting her, but what fucking choice did I have?
I was falling in love. She had to run. And hopefully she would.
Chapter 14
Grace
"I hate you so fucking much." I leaned toward the mirror and stared at myself. Why had I thought I had the power to bring a man like Erik to heel? He'd flipped the game on me and had me under his thumb. And the sickening part was that I loved it. I loved his attention, his affection, even if it was only when he wanted it. I jerked away from the mirror and paced the bathroom in the library, wondering if I should quit my job.
No. I'd been working at the library for years. It was what my degree was in, and scoring a job on NYU after graduating early was a dream come true. I was a brain. An intellect. I belonged in the library.
"But you don't." I walked toward the door, jerking it open and almost plo
wing down a group of college students. "Sorry!"
I moved into the hall as they laughed and walked into the bathroom. They had to be my age, but I felt twenty years older. Why? Glancing down at my clothes, I realized they were one of the reasons. Why was I still hiding myself behind frumpy clothes? The man of my dreams could see beyond what I was doing and wanted me anyway. At least physically.
Man of my dreams? I walked numbly toward the foyer in the library, ignoring someone calling my name from an open conference room. The gala was approaching fast, and I was in charge of a huge chunk of it, but nothing mattered.
"Grace Adams?" A handsome guy with a great smile stood at the front desk as I walked out. His button down white shirt and black slacks had me thinking cop for some reason.
"Yeah. That's me." I walked toward him and extended my hand.
The smile on his face widened as he took the liberty of checking me out. My Thanksgiving sweater had been the rage all day long. It looked like something someone's grandmother would wear to a family dinner. My bright green tights matched one of the leaves in the table decorations that ran across the front of the sweater. It was hideous and humorous. I didn't care. It kept me safe, or it used to.
"Do you have a few minutes? I'm detective Matthenson from NYPD. I just had a few questions about your brother's whereabouts a few days ago." He motioned toward the door. "Can you grab a cup of coffee perhaps?"
"Yeah. I can." I turned and walked back toward the office, clocking out and letting Nelly know exactly where I would be. Anyone could pretend to be a cop. This guy was no different.
"I appreciate your time." He held the door and smiled down at me as I walked past him.
He smelled like soap and cologne. Along with his deep blue eyes and smile lines along his mouth, he was almost dreamy. Why the hell couldn't I fall in love with a guy like him? One of the good guys.
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