Page 54 of Obsessive Cravings

I slid my keycard and pushed the penthouse button. As the doors closed, a heeled foot stopped them. I followed the line of the leg, recognizing the curves as my heart thudded. The doors closed, and Riley stood across from me. She was stunning. Her thick ebony hair was down, cascading in waves over her shoulders. She wore a tight black skirt that slit on the side and a loose silk shirt that sat softly on her chest, the buttons left undone just enough to show the swell of her breasts. Her emerald eyes were dark, nearly knocking me over with the confidence behind them.

She gave me a coy smile before hitting the emergency button, stopping our ascent.

“Miss Brinks,” I said, hoping I was reading her right, but afraid of the pain it would bring if I weren’t. “I thought I warned you about stepping into my elevator.”

Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Our elevator, Mr. Tides.”

My breath caught, the strain of the past few months tempted to flee. She moved closer to me so that I could smell the light fragrance of her shampoo that mixed delicately with her perfume.

“Our elevator?” I asked, cocking my brow.

“Ours,” she said, leaning into me. I dropped my paper and grabbed her waist, bringing her against me, that fear of misreading her still in the back of my mind and not allowing me to kiss her like I wanted. She searched my eyes, her fingers coming up to trace my face, and I closed my eyes to her touch. “If,” she said, and I opened my eyes, caution returning to me, “you meet my conditions.”

“Conditions? I don’t do conditions, Miss Brinks.”

“That’s too bad.” She drew from my hold, but I yanked her back to me. The feel of her body against mine brought me to life where nothing but death had seemed to sit within me since I’d lost her.

“But you might persuade me to make an exception,” I said, moving my hand down to her hip. “Be a good girl and make me an offer.”

Her lips parted, a tremble going through her body. The pain in my chest receded completely as my heart pounded in anticipation. I slipped my hand up the slit of her skirt, hitting the distinct feel of thigh highs attached to a garter. My dick jumped at the feel. I turned her so that I had her back pinned against the elevator wall.

“Conditions, Miss Brinks, before I lose my patience.” Because I wanted to devour her, but I knew I needed to wait. Too much had happened between us, and I wouldn’t risk losing her again.

“You bring me in. Make me part of the business.”

I dropped my hands, stepping back. “No.” The thought of her getting hurt again was too much. I still couldn’t get the vision of her bloody and bruised face out of my mind.

Her jaw ticked. “Yes. You’re not leaving me in the dark again. Neither you nor Mason. That’s the reason Clint hurt me in the first place.”

I bit back the rage at the mention of his name and replied, “It’s too dangerous?—”

“How could it get any more dangerous, Greyson? Clint almost killed me twice. It doesn’t get more dangerous than that.”

“Yes, it does. You could be dead,” I said, hitting the elevator button. She pressed it again, and I shot her a look.

“You’re not winning this. You don’t get me unless I’m part of things. Mason let me on the inside, and I’ve spent the last month learning everything he could teach me.”

I laughed. “Mason is a child in this business.”

She leaned into me. “Then teach me what he couldn’t.”

I gritted my teeth, hating what she was asking because it would expose her to everything she despised about me and the life I led.

“I can’t love you completely if I don’t know you, Greyson.”

“What’s the other condition?” I asked, hearing the bite to my tone.

“Who said there were only two?” she replied, knotting my stomach with worry about what could be next.

“What, Riley?”

“You return to working with Mason?—”

“Fuck, no. I don’t work with anyone.” I tried to start the elevator again, but she stepped in my path. She was aggravating me with her conditions, none of which were ones I liked.

“Mason agreed to it, just like you offered when you agreed to find Clint. When you pretended you didn’t know where I was and hunted the man who threatened to hurt me, agreeing to a truce with Mason to keep me safe.”

“That was necessary.”

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