Page 8 of Hothead

Turning Bella’s hand until her palm was facing upward, he laced their fingers together and gave her another squeeze. What he was dying to do was pull her into his arms. Hold her tight. Tell her everything was going to be okay. But that was just freaking crazy. He’d known the woman five minutes and his screwed-up brain was acting like she was his. He didn’t even want to think about what his body was doing.

Then something she said clicked. “You said Marco was prey ... how so? Why would this guy go after him?”

Those beautiful bright eyes shot open and were back on him. “Marco was gay. That’s why he was killed.”

What the fucking fuck?

Every muscle in Luke’s body tightened, even the one gripping Bella’s hand. “W-what?”

“He was gay,” she repeated, eyeing him warily.

The anger burning his insides was making it hard to breathe. “You’re saying some fucker hunted Marco down and fucking killed him ’cause of his goddamn sexuality?”

She gave him a solemn nod as moisture pooled in her silver eyes. The sight alone was enough to simmer his rage. It also made him want to listen to his instincts and pull her into his hold. But he held back.

“Please fucking tell me they caught the guy.”

Okay. Maybe the rage is still seething.

It was her turn to squeeze his hand, offering him something he wasn’t used to. “They caught him. I had access to Marco’s computer. He’d been corresponding with the guy for months, and Marco kept everything. It took a few weeks, but eventually they managed to track the guy down through an IP address.”

Thank God for that. That was something at least. And saved Luke from a murder charge of his own.

Lock that shit down.

Emotion was off-limits. It always had been, and it always would be. That Pandora’s box was sealed shut, and not even Marco could pry it open. No, instead, Luke would bury today with all the other crap life had thrown his way. At least that was the plan. Until he got a look at the despair dripping down Bella’s cheeks.

Without thinking, he tugged on her hand until she fell forward. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her tight as she melted into him.

Luke was not a hugger. Never had been. On the rare occasion he’d been forced to hug another person, it had been awkward at best. Even after sex, he didn’t hug. He got the hell out of there and never looked back. So, to hug someone now, of his own accord, was batshit freaking crazy. The fact that he was enjoying every second of it too, made him wonder if hell had frozen over.

What on earth was it about this woman that had him in knots? Made him question what he wanted?

It’s just ’cause she’s hot. That has to be it. I wanna sleep with her, that’s all. End of story.

But when those dainty fingers curled around him and flexed over his back muscles, he was starting to wonder if it was just the beginning.

By the time she pulled back, his mental tug-of-war was far from over.

“I see you, Luke Cappelli.” She looked so deep into him, for a moment, he believed her. “You may have built those bricks around you high, but there is more than one way through a wall.”

Who the fuck is this girl?

If there was a wall, then she sure knew how to activate its defences. Denial was his weapon of choice.

“This ain’t an after-school special, darlin’—one hug doesn’t mean you know me. Far from it. Trust me when I tell you a pretty girl rubbing against me is no hardship. I’ve got something else you can rub against too if you want?”

Wow. You really just said that, huh?

There was no taking it back now anyway, so he might as well just go with it. Back to being a bastard. A persona he was comfortable with. It had nothing at all to do with what Bella saw in him. Nope. None whatsoever.

He didn’t know what he expected her reaction to be. Offended. Embarrassed. God knows he deserved a slap. But her lips tilting up to one side was not it. Flashing him a crooked smile that made her look even more like the fallen angel she was.

“And what exactly did you want me to rub up against, Cappelli?” She must be calling his bluff. Surely?

“Oh, darlin’, if you don’t know ... then I’m more than happy to show you.” Never one to shy away from a challenge, he leaned back into the leather, his legs dropping open.

He’d underestimated her though. He realized that as soon as she rose, only to drop back down onto his lap, her legs going wide as she straddled him and laid her hands atop his shoulders.

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