Page 104 of Tainted Love

Lilah grins. “We’ll be careful.”

“I know.”

She stands up and walks over to me. I join her in a hug, and I brace myself for her tight, unyielding squeeze.

“Take care of each other,” I say.

“Ditto,” she says.

Elijah takes her place. “Please stop letting Lucy hurt herself…” he jokes, but not really. “My medkit is only so big.”

“I would if I could,” I say, looking at her mischievous face.

Lucy laughs and shrugs her little shoulders. “I’ll try and behave.”

“Liar,” I say.

The twins say their goodbyes to Lucy and grab their bags by the door. I sit with her, staring into her green eyes while listening to their bikes take off down the drive.

“You think they’ll be back?” she asks.

“Someday.” I nod. My lips curl. “But not for a while.”

I grab her hand and pull her toward me. She slides off her chair and over mine, straddling my waist as our lips press together. I touch her little body and a powerful urge rises in me to take her here and now.

Lucy moans against my mouth, tasting my tongue as she sways her hips on me. Her hand falls south, and she cups the growing bulge, massaging me the way I like it.

The phone vibrates, tittering softly against the table.

I reach for it, sighing. “What do they need now?”

Lucy’s mouth falls to my neck, silently teasing me with kisses as I bring the phone to my ear.

“Yeah?” I answer it.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

I slide Lucy off my lap, leaving her in confusion as I step outside onto the porch.

His voice — young but hard with experience — twitches a nerve deep in my brain.

“Fox Fitzpatrick.” I say his name and my tongue tastes like bile. “How did you get this number?”

“I know a guy who knows some things.”

I snort. “So I heard. What do you want?”

“To talk.”

I listen for any background noise — anything that might hint at where he is — but Fox is too well-trained for a screw up like that. “From what I’ve heard, you’ve been doing a lot more than talking lately, Fox. There’s an awfully long line of dead agents behind you right now.”

“They tried to take someone important from me. I reacted. Perhaps you know a thing or two about that.”

My gaze pulls toward the house. “I might.”

“Then, it shouldn’t be too far of a stretch to suggest a truce between us.”

I chuckle. “And here I thought you called to threaten me.”

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