Page 51 of Wicked Sin

“You’ve busted my slumming it cherry, okay?” The corner of her mouth twitches up in a reluctant smile. “That’s what I was thinking. And given…our accidental thing, I thought maybe it was best not shared with the class. But you dragged it out of me, so there you go.”

My neck heats up.

It’s a weird feeling, one that’s hard to place at first.

When she flicks her hair over her shoulder, though, I recognize what this sensation is—she makes me feel like I’m in high school. Which is fucked. I’m the one in the position of power here.

Maybe she really is a pro at tying men up in knots.

Maybe I want her to get under my skin, because even as I think about it, I can’t shut down the visceral reaction she tugs out of me.

I change the subject again. “You’re a good listener, you know that?”

“Literally my job, Detective, but thanks.”

The heat crawls higher, from my neck to my cheeks. “Right. Sorry.”

She shrugs. “It’s fine. I’m a bit of an enigma, and I’m fine with that.”

But she can’t hide the tiny twitch at the corner of her eye.Liar, liar, pants on fire.She wouldn’t have corrected me if she didn’t care. Taylor cares more than she’ll ever let on about the one-eighty she’s done with her life.

That’s fine.

She keeps showing me who she is, and soon enough, that’s going to lead me to the heart of why someone might want to hurt her. Eventually, I’ll figure it all out, with or without her help.

She thought she could drag me to Washington and I’d end up thinking it was a fool’s errand. Instead, we made whoever is stalking her—and I’m now convinced that’s probably what we’re dealing with—come out of the woodwork again. Hastily.

Now it’s just a matter of time before the puzzle pieces slide together.

The jokeabout busting her cherry sticks in my subconscious, though, and I wake up in the middle of the night, disoriented and turned-on.

Flashes of a disrupted dream rocket through my mind as I lay in the dark, staring up at the ceiling. Taylor pretending to be an innocent young woman.

Hey, Luke.

Breathy. Curvy. Naked.

Biting her thumb and licking her lips.

Me holding her down, spreading her legs.

With a groan, I roll over. My cock presses hard against the mattress.

Go away.

But it’s not that easy.

As the filthy dream fades into the ether, the memory of the kiss replaces it in my mind. And a different conversation than the one we had launches bright and dirty, a feverish radio play in my head.

We can’t do this.

I won’t tell anyone. I need you. Please, Luke…

With a violent start, I jump out of bed. My heart is pounding. I can’t entertain those kinds of ideas. It’s unprofessional. It’s dangerous.

It’s far too enticing.

Get some water,and get over yourself.

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