Page 73 of Cold Hard Truth

“I can imagine.”

She pushes her dark hair off her face. “Do you still come here a lot?”

“Not anymore.”

She nods her head, holding my gaze as she thinks something over.

“Why do you ask?” Clearly, something’s working in her mind.

“You did come here a lot though, right?” She glances up at me. “At least, back then? To party or get laid or whatever.”

She’s edging me again. Trying to push me away. And it’s fucking irritating.

Pausing in the hallway, I spin her until I have her caged against the wall. “Do you really want to know the answer to that question?”

She blinks up at me, chewing her bottom lip. Her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of red, and I fucking hate it because if she was off-limits back then, this is worse.

I’m no good for her.

So when she nods, I close my eyes and take a breath and wonder if maybe it’s for the best.

The worse she thinks of me, the easier it’ll be for her to walk away. God knows I won’t be able to do it.

Leaning in, I get a hit of the incense she was burning in the apartment this morning—the smell of smoke lingers like our fate hanging in the balance.

She tips her chin up to look at me with those eyes that make me lose all common sense.

Kane increased security after what happened to Lyla and Ellie, so he probably has cameras in this hallway, but I can’t help gripping her chin and drowning in how her whole face softens at my touch.

It takes everything in me not to grab her jaw and plant my mouth over hers just to see if she tastes as wicked as I remember.

“After you left, I became everything you hated about bikers.” I clench my jaw. “Maybe even worse.”

Her hands flatten on the wall behind her when she should be guarding herself from me.

“Does that bother you, Lyla?”

“No.” She surprises me with her answer.

“Why?”

“Because, Sage…” She takes a step closer to me; we’re almost chest to chest and she has to crane her neck back. “It doesn’t matter what you did to try to escape. We were both running from something, and I understand that. I know who you really are.”

Reaching for the leather choker around her throat, I tuck my finger under the band and pull her closer. “I’m not good like I was back then.”

“Neither am I.” She narrows her eyes.

Fuck, this girl is temptation. Dangerous. Everything I’ve ever wanted and should never be allowed to have. And it takes all my power to release her and pull back, even if I’m frozen for a moment.

“I think you’re not that different after all,” Lyla says, looking me over.

“I guess we’ll see.”

Once more, I start down the hallway, not looking back as I feel her following. It’s too big of a risk to stare into her eyes and face the man she makes me when I forgot how to be him. Every time I try to put distance between us, she finds her way closer, just like she did back then.

A couple of prospects are cleaning up the living room, and when we walk in, Kane looks up from his phone and lifts off the couch.

“Clear the room.”

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