Page 85 of Tainted Love

He laughs. “No, Luce. I could easily kill Fox if I wanted to.”

“Then, why—”

“Because we’re even,” he says over me. “They went after his girl because of what I told them… and you were hurt because of what he did in response. The way I see it, he and I are even, and we’ll stay that way as long as we stay out of each other’s way.”

He reaches for my calf, wrapping both hands around it to massage the muscle beneath.

“How’s it feel in there?” he asks, changing the subject.

“Okay,” I answer, focusing on my knee.

The dull pain subsides as the satisfying rub of his fingers takes over.

“Ready to go again?” he asks.

I nod and he lets go of me. “As long as I get more of that massage later.”

“You disarm me, Lucy, and I’ll do so much more than massage that body of yours.”

“Deal.”

I stand in front of him.

He raises the gun and points it at me. Before he can even take a breath, I reach out and snatch it, yanking him off-balance and throwing a firm punch into his jaw. I twist the gun from his grip and spin away before he can react.

I point the gun at his face and his eyes grow wide. “Okay…” He smiles and rubs the side of his jaw. “That wasn’t bad.”

I laugh at the adrenaline rush tingling my nerves. “Yeah,” I say. “Not bad.”

Chapter 27

Lucy

I’d almost forgotten how satisfying it felt to train my body. I’ve missed that harsh muscle burn, the kind that lingers inside days after exercise. A gentle reminder of how far I’ve come and how much further I have to go. It feels amazing to be in-between those worlds again rather than lagging behind them.

But not as amazing as Dante’s hands gliding across my wet skin.

Steam rises off the bathwater around us. I hum softly, relaxing even more against his chest, resting my head back on his hard shoulder.

“That’s nice…” I say.

Dante digs his thumbs a little deeper into my back, just an inch or two above the shoulder blades. “Here?” he asks.

“Mmm-hmmm…”

He chuckles and continues to rub the knot beneath the surface. His lips fall to my neck and he leaves a trail of kisses up to my earlobe. I fall even deeper into my relaxed state, closing my eyes and listening to the soft thumping of my heart beating in my chest.

“Lucy?”

I try to respond but I can’t will myself out of the deep, blissful coma.

“Lucy?”

His hands dip into the water, sliding down my body to cup my breasts and give them a firm squeeze. I chuckle softly, enjoying the groping, letting him do what he wants to me. He nibbles at the flesh of my neck and draws me even closer to his body as his hand reaches between my thighs.

My sigh becomes a moan. “What are you doing?” I ask, lifting my head and gazing back at him.

“I thought it was obvious,” he jokes, crushing his lips against mine while his fingers rub me a little more.

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