My free hand tickled the spines of books I passed. I enjoyed the textures, the feel of the jackets, imagining the millions of words building their contents. I walked us into a corner, no exit but to return the way we came. A dividing curtain hung off to the left, cordoned back to the wall. Grey was lit from behind, his face entirely in shadow just inside the curtain.
“With this many books, you couldn’t convince me they ever sell any,” he said, but he sounded like it was under water. His face blurred and I blinked hard.
The scene before me gave way to a different sort of book collection. A library. The scent of old books. A sharp voice echoed in my ears. Ice shot through my veins and I couldn’t move, stuck in a memory.
“Are you okay, my Lu?”
I blinked a few times and found myself in Grey’s lap with his arms around me as we sat in a chair at the end of a row. He looked incredibly relieved. I nodded, a little disoriented.
“I dropped my bear,” I said with a whimper. My voice almost sounded like the five-year-old child I had been.
He coughed a bit, trying to cover a laugh. “You … your bear?”
I rested my head against his chest. “I remember hiding in the library with my stuffed bear, Viktor. My father had given him to me before he was forced to leave us. I hid the bear in a cupboard in the library so Grandmother wouldn’t take it away.”
“Okay.”
“My grandmother had someone killed,” I said, trying to justify the memory. “I overheard her give the order from my hiding spot.”
I felt his arms hold me tighter. “Are you sure?”
“She spoke in English. I hadn’t understood her then, but,” I swallowed, uneasy, “I did this time.”
I crumbled from the shoulders down into Grey, fully using his body for support. His hands ran slowly and smoothly over my back. I lifted my head from his shoulder to kiss him behind his ear. I felt a sweet rumble in his chest. We just sat for a minute, both tired of the roller coaster of stress the day had brought.
We hailed a cab and climbed in, silent except for the directions to the driver. Once inside the apartment, I kicked off my shoes and turned.
Grey watched me. He looked nervous.
“What?”
He swallowed. “Do you know your family’s name?”
“Novikov,” I said instantly, hearing my father’s name on my lips. I gasped, my eyes wide. It didn’t seem to sit right, though. “Wow. I literally just remembered that! God, that put my head in a vise. Too much remembering for one day.”
His lips in a tight line, he just nodded. I watched him stare past me, dazed. He wasn’t looking at anything, his wheels clearly turning.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Grey
Turn
Novikov. It wasn’t one of the families I was familiar with, but the name rang a bell.
Lucie raised her eyebrows, waiting on an answer. “Blow job for your thoughts?”
“What?” I nearly choked. “Isn’t the phrase ‘penny’?”
“Blow job for a penny?”
I laughed. How did she manage to upend me at every turn? “Never mind.”
She smiled that innocent-except-not smile. “I don’t need a penny.”
“Yeah, I caught that,” I said, involuntarily grinning ear to ear. “And as tempting as you are, I’d rather try my hand at taking care of you for a change.”
She sidled up to me. “And I want to know what you were thinking,” she singsonged as if she were entertaining a child. “You’re deflecting.”
I swallowed. I’d harbored ideas about the hit on her family since she told me her story. The fact that she was essentially a refugee from Russia opened up possibilities that complicated the shit out of things. Crime families never left a target alive if they could help it—and neither did a good contractor.
“Just about your family. I’m wondering how much more you’ll remember.”
Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t believe me. “Fine. I’ll wriggle it out of you eventually.”
“I know you will.” I hoped I hid the unease I felt. “I’m going to run you a bath, okay? You keep going on about them, you might as well take one. That tub is practically begging for it.”
“It’s not the only one,” she mumbled.
I kissed her and shook my head. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
As I turned on the tap, a warm feeling radiated throughout my body. It actually felt good to pamper her. As the water level rose, the scent and sight of the instant bubbles brought a stupid smile to my face. I wanted to slap myself.
I turned toward the door, intending to retrieve my charge from the other room, but my angel was already here, leaning on the frame. Naked. She smiled broadly and bit her lip.
Fucking hell.
“Climb in and get to soaking,” I said in a rough voice as I walked to her. I cleared my throat. “I’ll be back to make sure you don’t fall asleep in there.”
You’d have thought I ran over a kitten with a lawnmower, the way she pouted. “You’re not joining me?”
I pulled her into my arms. “Please, my Lu. You have bent over backwards for me, and I want to return the favor.”
“I accept sexual favors, you know.”
She’s like a seventeen-year-old boy. Or Nash.
The thought knocked me sideways a little, because it opened the gate to some of my crazier high school memories with my friend. I really didn’t want to think about him right now. Not yet. And especially not with a semi.
“And I look forward to providing some.” I kissed her not so chastely as my hands began to roam on their own. “Now get in.”
She gave me a concessionary, knowing smile and slid past me. I took the opportunity to swat her ass. She stepped in the steaming water before she turned off the spout, settled into the bubbles, and looked at me expectantly.
I still felt a little off so I excused myself for a moment. Once I got to the living room, I slipped off my boots and put them by the bench by the door. I took a moment to look around. I felt bizarrely comfortable here. It wasn’t the place, it was Lucie—I knew that. She was the feeling of “home” everyone talks about.
And right now she’s naked in a tub of suds. What the fuck am I doing out here?
Shedding my clothes with the grace of a cyclone, I tripped and nearly did a face-plant in my rush to get back to her.
As I freed my feet tangled in my jeans, I noticed a beat-up, leather cowboy hat on the wall above the bench. It looked more like a decoration compared to the other hats, scarves, and things hanging next to it. I picked up the cowboy hat and grabbed a clementine from the kitchen as I headed toward the bathroom.
Like a bona fide imbecile, I walked in wearing nothing but the hat, and I didn’t care one bit. I tore the rind of the fruit back and bit into it like an apple.
Lucie rested her head on the tub’s edge, eyes closed, and fingers dancing through the mounds of bubbles. I approached slowly, leaned over to kiss her slowly. Her lips parted, an invitation to explore her mouth. She complained with a quiet whine when I broke the kiss to step in the tub at the opposite end.
Submerging most of my body beneath the foam, I rested my elbow on the side and settled back, the citrus dripping from my fingers. I popped the remaining chunk into my mouth and dropped the rind on the floor.
A wicked grin spread across my face as I licked the juice off my thumb just as she opened her eyes. I tipped back the hat with the flick of my index finger.
Her tongue painted a path along her smile. “What was that?” she asked.
I pushed forward to bridge the gap between us. I could see the anticipation in her eyes.
“Clementine,” I said, closing the distance. My tongue found hers again, and just the feel of her mouth together with mine was unreal. “They were my favorite … until you.”
My speech slurred like a drunk. I felt the water move as suds hit my chest. She was trying to grab the hat, but I held it on
, arching an eyebrow. I laughed and went for a deeper kiss. Water splashed over the side and slapped the floor as I pulled her to me. My hands slipped down her frame, gripped her hips, and lifted her. She quickly wound her legs around my back, fastening her to me.
I bit her lip in between kisses while my hands explored her slippery skin. I was so hard it was painful. She slid herself back and forth against me, which only made it worse. I held her firmly as I tickled and swept my fingers across the more sensitive spots.
“I love the way you touch me,” she said, all breathiness.
I stared, openmouthed, simply amazed by how that little phrase made me crazy. I barely manage to say, “Goddamn, Lu,” before I crushed my mouth to hers. I dug my hands into her hips, grinding us together desperately. We were fevered and desperate, devouring each other.
Lucie broke away. “Grey, please. I need you.”
Her breathlessness made me all the more impatient. When her eyes locked on mine, I thought for a moment the world had stopped. I kissed her again just before I lost myself inside her.
Lucie moaned with abandon, her lips curling into a smile that covered her face. When she smiled like that, I felt invincible.
Her fingernails scraped my shoulders, searching for an anchor as her hips met each of my thrusts with her own force. She stroked my spine from the middle slowly to the base of my neck before snapping my hat off and holding it away from me. She panted and held my gaze, finally settling the hat on her head. She simpered sinfully as our rhythm remained steady, though she rocked harder against me.
Moving my mouth along her chin to her lips, I nipped and licked as I went, starving for more of her. I closed my eyes and felt her wet hands running over my hair, pulling and tugging, playing and twisting.
Our tongues warred as I continued to discover her curves with my fingers. I teased her nipples, squeezed and smoothed my palms around her tight bubble of an ass, and tickled along her thighs. My thumbs rubbed along her hipbones as we moved faster.
“Lu, I’m … almost,” I began but she stole my air by sucking my lower lip between her teeth.
She was close—pushing harder, nails digging in my shoulders. I kept up, racing to slow down, to make it last. We moaned together, off-key and in tune, louder, faster.
I ran my teeth faintly along her jugular, doubling back to lick. I found my spot behind her ear, and licked and kissed it. As if a switch had been thrown, she froze, clenched and howled. Something about her animalistic cry and knowing I brought her there, rocketed me over the edge. My hands continued to move as our hips rolled slower and our breath normalized.
Her lips trailed down my forehead and along my nose, settling to kiss and sucked my mouth hard for a moment. She released my lips with a heavy exhale.
“Wow.” Her arms were solidly around my neck, and she had her head flopped back, causing the hat to fall over the side. “That was more than I imagined.”
I assumed she meant she saw this in one of her previews which, despite having witnessed one in action, I just couldn’t reconcile it as true. Not yet. “Uh-huh,” I managed finally. “Seems like a cheat.”
Aglow with joy, she slid her hands through my hair again while drinking in the whole of my face. “Not at all. It was a complete tease. Now you see why I kept asking you to take a bath?”
I finally connected the two and my mouth dropped open. “Why yes, ma’am,” I said, teasing. “It all makes perfect sense now. And damn if you weren’t right.”
She bared her teeth in a full grin before biting my bottom lip. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to wait too long.” She wiggled her bottom.
“Careful, or we’ll have round two in cold water.”
With a snort, she agreed. I held her hand as she stood and stepped from the tub onto the mat. Following her out, I grabbed two huge towels off the bar next to the tub and wrapped one around her. She cuddled up to me, nuzzling my chin and kissing it.
“I’m gonna put some pj’s on. Feel free to take them off,” she told me with a wink. Lucie picked up the hat and disappeared out the door.
I went in search of my clothes before heading back to the bedroom. I spied the desk in the corner of the living room and recalled her mentioning copies of the police reports from her attack. She’d said she put them in the desk because she didn’t want to look at them, but she was afraid to throw them away.
She didn’t say anything about not wanting me to see them. I just wanted to see if there were some details she didn’t mention that could tell me more.
Walking softly through the room, I instinctually avoided the thin streams of moonlight falling through the parted curtains. When I got to the desk, I moved to the side and stilled. I waited at least a minute to let my eyes adjust properly to the dark before slowly peeking around the curtain to the street below.
I looked for signs of watchers. A smattering of couples and a few small groups that passed by were nothing to worry about, but I still felt uneasy. I couldn’t discern whether that was from impending danger or the unusual situation in which I currently found myself.
For several minutes, I waited. Just when I was about to look for the file in the desk, I detected a small movement in a dark window across the street—a tiny swing to the blinds. It wasn’t enough to close a case on.
After another visual sweep of everything I could see from this vantage, I went in search of the police report. The drawer wasn’t locked, and Lucie didn’t have much in the way of paperwork, so it was a quick find.
Still a bit paranoid, I took them to the bathroom where there were no windows and flipped on the light.
Everything she told me was in here, some of it near verbatim. The police had consulted with the local FBI, but supposedly there was “no evidence of organized crime activity,” and there was “no need for further involvement.”
Something was missing here. The details were clear that it was a professional hit, but there was no indication why Lucie’s guardians should have been targeted. The hairs on my arms stood on end. Whoever killed the Gideons left only Lucie as evidence to their motive and identity. No wonder she didn’t want her memory back.
Carefully returning the file in the desk, I picked up my clothes and quietly went to the bedroom. I found Lucie still naked, curled up on top of the covers. Asleep.
I dropped the clothes on the floor by her dresser and padded over to the bed. With a genuine smile on my face, I gently moved the covers, got in behind her, and covered us. Her body shifted, and she hummed. I molded myself to her and closed my eyes, feeling the peace only she gave me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grey
Outside In
I was disoriented when I woke, so when I felt a soft hand wrap around my dick, I wasn’t eager as most guys would be. Instead, I snatched the wrist tightly and held it away from me.
“I’m sorry!” Lucie cried with a tremor attached to the end of the word. Could have been a giggle—she covered a grin with the sheet in her fist. “I didn’t mean to scare you! I’m sorry.”
A deep breath cleared most of the fight or flight—maybe just fight—from my veins, but it only ushered in guilt.
“No, I’m sorry,” I said, hoarsely. “I’ve never really woken up with anyone before you, so—”
“It’s okay,” she promised, pressing toward me and kissing me. “I shouldn’t have. I just saw you sleeping so soundly and you looked so content and handsome and delicious … I thought I might, um, wake you with a favor.”
I smiled involuntarily. “You did, huh?”
“Yeah, I watched these tutorials on YouTube … or maybe it was something else. I don’t know.”
“Hold up. What? You were watching videos on how to—”
“Give an incredible blow job. Yeah, Vivi showed me the site a while ago. I mean, I don’t remember any of the sex I may have had pre-amnesia, so I wanted to … I don’t know, prep.” Her face was so matter-of-fact and unashamed, it made her ten times more beautiful.
“So you wanted to p
ractice on me, eh?”
Jesus Christ, the grinning hurts my face.
“Why? Ya up for it?” She waggled her eyebrows, ran her hands over my ass, and squeezed.
“Uh—”
“Oh, never mind,” she interrupted, lifting the sheet to look under it. “I’m pretty sure you are.”
~
I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling in awe. Lucie crawled up to my shoulder, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Good?”
I grunted, rolling toward her to kiss and suck along her neck. She cackled. I punctuated my nonverbal reply with a kiss to my favorite spot just behind her ear. She hummed and held me against her as she began to ramble about her plans for the day.
“So I thought we could go to Central Park and wander today. I haven’t really explored it yet and since I …”
I moved back to watch her face as she continued. I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. I’d had a bad feeling she was under surveillance and that needled me. How did I explain that to her without lying? I had to ensure she was safe.
I soon realized she was staring back at me, expecting a response. My mouth hung open as I looked into her eyes. What I saw there paralyzed my tongue. She trusted me, and though there was definitely more, I couldn’t exactly name it yet. I owed it to her to tell her everything, from my job title to why I would ask her to stay in today and everything in between. I intended to. At the moment, I could only find the balls to start with the latter.
“I think we’d better—” A loud pounding on the door cut me off.
At first, Lucie seemed unaffected as she slid out of bed. She grabbed my shirt off the floor and slipped it on over her head.
“I’ll get it,” she assured me as she sped out the bedroom door.
When she turned to look at me over her shoulder, I could read the dread in her eyes. Though my mind was racing through as many possible scenarios as I could think up, I pulled on my jeans and followed her. I automatically fell into a quick, silent pace, each step taut with the functional tension that kept me at the top of my game. Part of me was relieved. The past few days, however, it had systematically begun to unravel.
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