Page 58 of Bad Enough

An hour later, he was done. He threw the pen down on top of the legal pad. He flipped one more time through the file, scanning the notes he’d made in the margin and the highlighting he’d done on the appended documents.

What. The. Fuck? This isn’t possible.

21

JUNE 15TH

TB

Jogging down the stairs, TB glanced at his watch and saw that it was around ten o’clock. Over the monitor, he could hear some music playing softly in the background and up closer, a swift clicking. Obviously, Flame had made her way up to her sanctuary and was working toward her new release. If he went up, he wouldn’t be waking her up, at least.

He heard a rustle over the monitor and a sigh. The keys had stopped clicking, and she’d shut the music off. She must be going to bed.

All he could picture was her in that window bed, moonlight shining down on her as she slept. Internally, he groaned.

There was a creak of a floorboard. Fading into the shadows, he reached for his weapon behind his back, unholstered it, and pointed it down at the floor next to him.

Fingers trailing along the banister, hair up in a messy top knot, she had on a purple silk kimono tied tight around her without any skin showing other than her neck and hands. His throat went tight and his mouth dry at the sight of her. He honestly hadn’t expected her to come back downstairs tonight, so he wasn’t prepared. Although, what that meant was beyond even him. But he did know one thing.

She was stunning. There was no other word for it.

I want to pull down her hair and make it flow down around her shoulders and back. I want to wrap it around my fist, pull it back so that her neck arches, and then I want to lick her from shoulder to ear. I want to whisper the dirtiest things to her. All the things I want to do to her. With her.

So? What are you waiting for? Nothing’s stopping you.

If I touch her, there’s no staying away. I’ll make her mine, and we’ll both be ruined for anyone else.

Surreptitiously, he reholstered his weapon.

“What’s wrong, little Flame?”

She startled at his voice, her hand covering her heart.

“Jiminy Cricket!” she exclaimed. One hand clutched the neck of her robe, the other curled around her stomach like she was trying to protect herself. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t realize you were down here. I’ll go.”

He stepped out of the deep shadow he had moved into. “It’s your house. Why should you leave the room just because I’m here?”

Her hands clasped each other in front of her at the waist, and she began twisting them, picking at her nails, then twisting again. “I just don’t want to be in your way.”

He walked toward her frozen form at the foot of the stairs. “You’re not in my way. I’m the one in your way. Having a near stranger in your house isn’t comfortable, I’m sure, even if you know they’re here to keep you safe.”

“You’re not a stranger.” She blushed. “Well, I mean, I guess as TB you are, but I obviously know the other side of you, the Lobo side.” She glanced away.

He cleared his throat. “So, why did you come down here?”

“Oh, yeah, I got distracted.” She blushed again. “I just came down for ice cream. Do you like ice cream? I have lots of different flavors.” She started to move into the kitchen.

“It’s not something I eat a lot of.”

She glanced at him, looking at him from head to toe. “No,” she sighed, “looking like that, I wouldn’t guess you do.” She opened the freezer and took out a pint, then grabbed a spoon out of the island drawer. She looked at him again, worried her bottom lip, then went to put the ice cream back in the freezer.

“Hey,” he called out. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t need it.”

She went to put the spoon back in the drawer. Suddenly, he found himself standing next to her, pushing the drawer closed and holding her hand with the spoon to keep her from putting it away. “If you want ice cream, eat it.” He went to the freezer and opened it back up.

Whoa.

---