Page 53 of Lust

“I might have figured out a way to hack into the police forensics database. Those are the red ones.”

“Show me London and the surrounding areas,” I ask.

Oz does and when the data loads on the spreadsheet, Annabel’s name is there. But that’s not what catches my eye. No, it’s the strange pattern surrounding London.

“He lives in London. Right?”

“I reckon so, yes. According to this, he’s been jumping in and out of London and the surrounding counties since Kincaid moved here two years ago.” Oz taps a couple of buttons, and the pins change colour to orange, purple and blue. “Each pin colour represents a different year. Blue is 2022, as Kincaid moved here late 2022, then orange is 2023, purple 2024.”

“You’re a fucking genius, Oz. The force were fools letting you go,” I praise him, slapping him on the shoulder as I get to my feet. “I need to show this to Ro, then we need to pay Kincaid another visit.”

“No problem. I’ll send you the link and add any more cases I find.”

“Perfect. I take it you didn’t have any luck with actually locating him?”

“Nah, but if we had a photo of him, I could try an image search.”

I tell him I’ll see if Kincaid has one, then thank him again before leaving.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

ROMAN

Islam my phone down on the counter as Sydney walks back in. “He still not answering?” she asks, and there’s a hint of sarcasm in her question. “What’s your problem anyway? You’ve been prickly since this morning.”

“I’m not fucking prickly.”

“If you say so,” she says, laughing. She fills a glass up with water and turns to face me, leaning against the counter.

I watch as she takes a mouthful, her throat working as she swallows, and I thank god I’m behind the counter and she can’t see how hard I am. Her eyes meet mine as she pulls the glass aside, holding it aloft beside her face.

This goes on for a couple of minutes, and like a kid having a staring contest with a friend and unable to hold out, I say, “What?”

“Nothing,” she says with a shrug. “So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room or just continue to ignore it?”

“No. Because there’s nothing to talk about.” I pick my phone up again, checking to see if he’s messaged even though I know he hasn’t. I just need something to focus on that isn’t her. Blake’s words as he left have been on a constant loop inside my head. I mean, he isn’t wrong. My go-to is to fuck away my frustrations.But just like I’m not sure she’s ready to know what Blake and I do, I don’t think she’s ready for angry fucking either.

She pours the rest of her water away and places the empty glass upside down on the draining board, then walks toward me. Something in her eyes and the wicked smirk she’s wearing tell me I might just be proved wrong.

She stops directly in front of me, as close as she can get without touching me, and quickly takes my phone from my hand before I have a chance to stop her. She lays it on the counter beside her and shoves it away out of reach.

“I was just about to try Blake again as we need to visit your—” Her hand covers my mouth.

“I’m sure he’ll come back when he’s ready. And I don’t want to talk about Pa right now.” Her eyes run the length of my body, and she pauses on the obvious bulge in my joggers before bringing her eyes back to me.

This crazy minx is trying to top me from the bottom. I’m sure she has absolutely no idea that’s what’s she doing though and just thinks she’s seducing me. Well, now I’m intrigued to let this play out a little and see how far she can get before I flip on her.

“Sydney,” I warn, but she carries on as though she didn’t hear the threat in my tone.

“What,” she asks innocently, even fluttering her damn eyelashes at me, as she presses a hand to my chest. She holds it there before trailing it down my body to the waistband of my bottoms.

“This is not a good idea,” I say with a growl.

“I disagree. Quite vehemently, actually.” She slips her hand in the top of my joggers, just under the waistband, and runs her hand along it, brushing against my skin. “You need to relax, and I need to focus on something else while satisfying a craving you and Blake are responsible for releasing.”

Her words shake a little, hinting at her nerves. And she should be nervous. Because if she continues down this path, I’m going to let all my fury free on her.

Sliding her hand down further inside my joggers, her fingers brush the head of my cock, already slick with precum—something that has become normal around her. She sucks in a sharp breath before wrapping her fingers around my shaft and squeezing as it throbs in her hand.

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