Untouchable: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Kathryn Thomas

  Lind looked up when she entered. “You’re up,” he said, getting to his feet. “How are you feeling?”

  Eve thought about it. “You know, I’m actually okay,” she said, surprising herself at the realization.

  The memories of everything that happened had already returned to her, but right now she could only find it in herself to be grateful that she was safe and sound.

  “Would you like some breakfast?” Lind asked.

  “Yes, please. I’m starved.”

  He offered her a smile and gestured for her to take a seat at the table. Soon enough, Eve had her own cup of coffee and a food-packed plate. Lind was sitting across from her, and she regarded him carefully over the brim of her mug.

  “How’s Alec?” she asked after long minutes of silence. “Is he…?” she let the question hang in the air, somewhat terrified to formulate it fully.

  “He’s alive,” Lind said quickly. “He’s going to be just fine.”

  Eve exhaled in relief. “That’s good news,” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  The silence came back, and for the first time since she had met Lind, it was an uncomfortable kind of silence.

  Finally, Lind heaved a deep sight. “I owe you an apology,” he began. “I was an asshole.”

  “No arguments there,” Eve said, but she couldn’t really bring herself to be mad at him. After all, he had saved her. Again.

  “I was…really spiraling,” Lind admitted. “It was touch and go for a long while there. I never meant for you to see me like that. I’m…very sorry. I realize that doesn’t cover it—”

  “It covers it,” Eve said, cutting him off gently. She realized as she said it that she truly meant it. She had longed too fiercely to have him in her life again—however briefly—to let the past ruin this moment. She reached out across the table and squeezed his hand. “We’re okay.”

  He looked at her incredulously. “Really?” he said. “Just like that?”

  Eve grinned. “I won’t say no if you decide to buy me dinner.”

  He chuckled and shook his head.

  Eve sat back in her chair and attacked her food again. “You wanna tell me what happened with Gary? I think I might’ve missed a few things.”

  As it turned out, there wasn’t much to tell. It had taken Lind seventy-two hours to get clean, which Eve thought was surprising given the condition she had found him in. After he had managed to press the pause button on his demons, he and the rest of the Diamondbacks had set out to find her. It didn’t take them very long. The revenge that had clouded Gary mind had also made him not very smart. He was keeping Eve in the back room of the rebuilt Cobra; he thought that, due to it being so obvious, it would be the last place where they would look.

  What happened after that, Lind said, was what always happened in similar circumstances. Shots were fired, and people were killed (luckily, no one from the gang). Eve was a little ashamed to admit that she was happy to learn that Vincent had been one of the casualties. As for Gary, Lind shot him when he picked up the bat from the hands of the fallen Vincent and attempted to strike an unconscious Eve with it.

  At the end of the bloodied tale, Eve smiled shakily. “Sounds like I owe you the use of my legs as well as my life.”

  Lind frowned in confusion.

  “He wanted to cripple me with that bat,” Eve said, surprised at how detached she sounded to her own ears as she recounted the events. “He said he wanted me to know what he had to go through.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Lind hissed in anger.

  Eve shook her head. “It’s done now.” She caught his gaze and held it. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.

  Lind nodded curtly.

  Unable to resist, Eve leaned forward to capture his mouth in a kiss. To her surprise, Lind returned it only for a moment before shaking himself out of it and pulling back sharply.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “I can’t.”

  Eve sat back down slowly and watched him carefully. “Why? What is it?”

  “You’re engaged.”

  Eve arched an eyebrow. “That never seemed to stop you before.”

  Lind gave her a weak smile. He shook his head. “It’s different now. I can’t get caught up in it again.” He hesitated. “And by the way, I may have been high out of my mind, but the one you pulled was really a mean move.”

  Eve frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Asking me to help with your relationship problems?” Lind said. “It was really…I mean, what the hell were you thinking?”

  Eve’s sudden flare of anger died down quickly when she was finally able to put the situation into focus. “Is that what you thought?” she asked, appalled. “You thought I was calling to discuss romantic issues?”

  Lind shrugged. “What else?”

  “I can’t fucking believe you,” Eve muttered.

  “What?” Lind said, genuinely confused. “What is it?”

  Eve took a long sip of her coffee and glared at him over the brim of the mug. “If you must know,” she said, setting the mug back down, “I was calling for advice on how to handle an…um…unpleasant situation.”

  Lind was instantly on guard. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How unpleasant?”

  Eve grimaced. “He hit me. Once.”

  Lind’s impossibly blue eyes flashed with anger. “The bastard’s dead.”

  “No, he isn’t,” Eve said quickly, terrified that Lind might carry out his threat. “I’ll handle it. I shouldn’t have called you,” she admitted after a moment. “It’s just…it had just happened and I didn’t know where else to turn.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lind said again. “I let you down. I’m so sorry.”

  Eve shook her head, waving away his apology. “What should I do now?” she wondered aloud.

  “You should go back.”

  She looked up at him in surprise. He had not even thought about it. “You don’t want me here, do you?”

  Lind sighed. He got up and walked around the table, kneeling down next to her chair. He took her hands in his and squeezed them. “I want you here,” he said, looking so deep into her eyes that for a moment Eve thought she might drown in his stare. “You can’t even begin to imagine how much I want you here.” He took a moment, letting the words he had just spoken reach her and sink in. “But you can’t run from this, Eve. You need to go back and break things off with that asshole, get some closure.”

  Eve hesitated. He was right, of course. She knew he was right, and yet… “I don’t know if I can.”

  “Of course you can.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t get it.”

  “Then make me get it,” he said. “Make me understand.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m scared,” she admitted. “I know it’s ridiculous to be afraid of one man after all that I’ve just been through, but I am. What if things get out of hand?”

  “I’ll be there to watch your back.”

  Eve stared at him. He sounded and looked like he meant it. “I can’t ask that of you.”

  “You’re not asking,” Lind said. “I’m offering.”

  “What will my father say?”

  “He’ll say you’ve done good getting rid of an asshole who beat you,” Lind interrupted. “Doesn’t your father love you?”

  Eve bit her lip. “He does,” she admitted.

  “Then, I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that you’re safe,” Lind said. He squeezed her hands for emphasis. “You know you have to do this, Eve.”

  Eve took a deep, shaky breath. She nodded, finally convinced. “I know. You’re right. I’ll do it.”

  Lind smiled brightly at her. “Good,” he said.

  And then he leaned in. Eve did not pull back, she would have been crazy to do so. Instead, she met him halfway and let herself get lost in a kiss she had been dreaming about for…who the hell cared for how long. Suffice it to say, it had felt like an eternity.

  Lind tasted like coffee, and Eve al
ready could not get enough. They never stopped kissing each other, even as they both got up and half-walked, half-stumbled towards the bedroom. They kept touching each other, clutching at each as if both were afraid the other would disappear into thin air if they were to break contact even for a moment. Eve supposed neither of them could be blamed. She realized right then and there, as Lind touched her all over and caressed her face in the most reverent way, that he had missed her just as fiercely as she had missed him. She suddenly felt very foolish for ever doubting his feelings for her.

  Soon, she was taking off her—technically, his—t-shirt and leaning back on the mattress, with Lind’s gloriously naked figure on top of her. His lips found hers again and sucked greedily on her tongue. Eve responded by arching into his body, craving the feel of his skin against hers.

  When they emerged for breath, Lind didn’t lose any more time. His lips were on the move again; this time leaving hot trails down her throat and then all over her body—her shoulders, her collarbones, her breasts, her stomach, and her thighs. Her sex. All the while, his hands explored her skin. The frantic, hungry touch of his fingers and palms on her body was enough to make her moan in pleasure and anticipation.

  Just as hungry for his body as he was for hers, Eve’s hands also began to trace the outlines of his flawless figure. She outlined every muscle, followed the curves of his shoulders and spines and butt cheeks with a feeling of gentle awe. She could hardly believe this was finally happening. She could hardly believe this gorgeous man was giving himself to her. She let her fingertips run lightly down his sides, all the way down to his crotch. She cupped his testicles, and he moaned in anticipation.

  The sound resonated deep within her, and Eve made a decision. She was going to have some fun. She pushed him away, gently but firmly, and pushed him back onto the mattress, rolling easily on top of him. He watched her, intrigued.

  “What’s the plan, darlin’?” he drawled.

  Eve grinned. She leaned down and took his mouth into a kiss once again. The taste of him exploded on her tongue, and she took her sweet time savoring it. Then, she pulled back and let her lips map out his body. This time she traced a gentle but burning-hot trail down the whole length of his body until she reached his crotch. Her tongue teased him, kissing the dimples between his thighs and cock. Lind arched and moaned in response.

  Part of Eve wanted to drag this out, but she had waited too long to have that kind of patience. She took his length in her mouth and heard him gasp in pleasure. Lind tasted different than any man she had ever known. It was an entirely intoxicating taste, and Eve decided that, if things ever worked out for them, she would be tasting him as often as she could. She cupped his testicles with one palm and ran her tongue languidly along the length of his shaft.

  Lind had worked some kind of magic on her before when he had pleased her orally, and Eve was determined to return the favor. She let her tongue lick and tease, gifting the tip of his cock with small, tantalizing flicks. Soon enough, he was so tense underneath her that she feared he might come unannounced. It was thrilling to know that she was the one who was reducing a proud man like the Viper to a writhing, begging, moaning mess within the sheets.

  “I’m going to suck you now,” she murmured, letting her breath ghost over the length of his cock. She looked up at him and caught his eyes. He looked dazed, and she loved it. “Would you like that?”

  “Yes,” Lind gasped. “Fuck, yes.”

  Eve grinned, pleased with herself. His pre-come was salty, and she savored the taste on her tongue. She set up the perfect cadence, alternating long, deep-throated moves with quicker, easier ones.

  “Stop,” Lind finally said, breathless.

  Eve looked up, frowning. “Is something wrong?”

  His eyes, darkened with lust, looked at her adoringly. “I’m going to enter you now, sweetheart.”

  Eve shivered in anticipation. She settled on top of him and guided him to her entrance. She helped him slide inside of her, and she threw her head back and moaned when he was finally in. Being able to finally clench around Lind—after so much time spent literally dreaming about it—was an emotion so intense that it was almost enough to send her over the edge, but she firmly held herself back.

  As she sat on top of him, Lind pushed himself up on one elbow and reached down with his free hand, teasing her clitoris. Eve cried out in surprise.

  “So…not…fair…” she gasped.

  The combination of his cock inside of her and her finger teasing her was almost too much to bear. He grinned in satisfaction.

  Eve took it upon herself to find the rhythm this time, that perfect cadence for the both of them that Lind had carefully searched for. She swiveled her hips back and forth and side to side, dancing her favorite dance in the world. It started out slow, but soon it was frantic and raw and passionate. It couldn’t be any other way, not after they had been forced apart and had wanted each other for such a long time. They both wanted it faster, deeper, rougher.

  Lind pushed himself up further—so that he too was sitting—and wrapped his arms around her waist. Eve responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. They were locked, and nothing and no one could ever break that embrace again. They traded kisses the whole time, biting and sucking, both of them starving for each other. Lind’s thrusts became more frantic and energetic, until both of them were hovering dangerously over the point of no return.

  It was a blur of hungry, starving touches. Of explosive tastes. Of overwhelming ecstasy. They came in unison, like Eve never thought was actually possible. They rode the aftershocks with their faces buried in each other’s neck, not to hide from their passion but to experience it to the fullest.

  Once it was over, they didn’t move for a very long time. They both longed to get lost in each other’s arms.

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  When Eve walked into her condo apartment, she was not surprised to find that it wasn’t empty. Alan was sitting on the couch in the living room, and he shot to his feet the minute she walked into the room.

  “Where were you?” he demanded.

  The fact that he sounded accusatory rather than worried played a major role in further convincing Eve that she was doing the right thing. She had disappeared for three days, and all he could think about was that she had been with another man. The thought that something might have happened to her did not even cross his mind.

  Eve stared at him coolly. “That’s none of your business.”

  “None of my business?” he repeated, incredulous. “My fiancée goes M.I.A., again, and it’s none of my business?”

  Eve took a deep breath. She knew she had to stay calm; the last thing they needed was for two tempers to flare.

  “I’m fine, by the way,” she said sarcastically.

  The words seemed to wake him up somehow, and Alan paused in his anger. He sighed heavily. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re right. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Eve repeated. “And no, I did not run off with another man.” Technically speaking, at least.

  Alan looked at her with a mixture of suspicion and confusion. “Where were you then?”

  “Alan, sit down,” she said. “We need to talk.”

  He hesitated for a moment, but then he obliged and sat on the white, faux leather couch.

  Eve took a seat on the armchair, close enough to look at him in the eye but far enough away to be out of easy reach should his temper get the best of him again.

  “This isn’t working,” she said after a few moments had gone by, in which Alan miraculously remained silent. She needed to make sure she had his full attention before she went on. “Us. I’m sure you can see that.”

  “Maybe it would work if you didn’t keep disappearing on me,” Alan grumbled.

  Eve clenched her fist for a moment and willed herself to let the comment pass. “There’s no easy way to say this, I guess,” she said. “I’m breaking up with you.”

  Alan stared at her for the longest ti
me, dumbfounded and uncomprehending. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Eve cringed inwardly. Here we go. “You heard me,” she said. “It’s over.” She took her engagement ring off and set it down in front of him on the coffee table. “Pack up your things and go.”

  He was looking at her like he didn’t recognize her. She supposed she couldn’t blame him; she also didn’t recognize herself, and it felt wonderful.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “As serious as a heart attack,” she said. She stood on her feet, towering over him. “Now please, go.”