Page 73 of Fortune's Control
“She’s threatening our case, Davis.”
“She’s done no such thing.” They could take their bickering outside my house and my town. “You two need to leave.” I used my size to push them out of the living room and towards the front door. Lilah didn’t follow, which suited me fine.
Davis handed me a card. “My contact info if you ever need it.”
I took it, not particularly caring. “If you speak to her again, or even think about coming near her, you’ll deal with me first. Now, both of you, get the hell out.”
I waited until their vehicle left my driveway and disappeared before returning to Lilah. She hadn’t moved.
“You look worn out.”
Her head fell forward so her chin and neck touched. She glanced up at me through her soft brown eyes and frowned. “I must look awful if that’s the best compliment you can find.”
I twirled some of the tighter curls along her forehead around my finger and released them. “They won’t be back.”
“I made the entire thing up. That’s what they think.”
“That guy is a prick.”
“One fact doesn’t negate the other.”
“The hell it doesn’t. Come on, sit with me.” I pulled her up, guiding her to the formal sofa. Its previous occupants were the first to use it in over a year, and we were the second. “Isn’t this better?” I asked once my arms were around her.
“Will you hold me every time I describe my horrible day, or even mention some minor complaint, even thepetty ones?”
“If it works.”
“Oh, it works. What did I see if I didn’t make it up?”
The question gave me pause. Evidence showed Wilson Skane was hours away and not responsible for the attack two days ago. A random college kid asking Pete about her made little sense. The two detectives had a suspect and a solved case; Lilah’s assertions threatened both. “It was real, and I’m here to protect you.”
“You shouldn’t. I’m a hopeless mess, Shane. It’s my destiny, so there’s no escaping it. Forever and ever.” Lilah put her hand on my chest and squirmed so we faced each other. “I’ll move from one calamity to another. Job losses, missing grandmothers, broken phones, and crazy killers. You’ve done nothing but fix my problems since the beginning.”
I’ve heard variants of this speech and dismissed every one of them. If she thought today would bring a different result, I’d disabuse her of that real quick. “Forever and ever? Do you promise?”
Her stern expression almost made me laugh. “That isn’t funny. I’m a burden, a mess. Maybe I should move out. We agreed to an annulment, so maybe this is the right time. Maybe we should end this before I bring more disaster into your life.”
Lilah considered herself a mess, when that was never the problem. She suffered from low self-esteem, which I put at her mother’s feet. “How about we add another maybe to your list? Maybe we do none of those things, and you stay here with me.” Where she belonged. Lilah knew better than to believe I’d ever let her go.
She’d confessed her concerns about Wilson Skane before. No evidence or proof, only a few wisps of doubt and instinct whispering that the police had the wrong guy. Lilah listened to the part of herself that brought her to Fortune’s Creek. It’d serve us both well to hear the rest because if she doubted, sodid I.
She opened her mouth to argue, so I beat her to it. “That list will keep growing. You want to hear more of them? Maybe I love your mess. Maybe I don’t regret a damn thing. Maybe you drop this entire line of conversation. Is that enough of them for you, or should I keep going?”
“Are you trying to make me cry?”
I wanted her to acknowledge that the decision was final. “Not at all.” I lowered my voice. “I’m trying to convince you.”
“I’m not moving out,” she said.
As if that was ever an option. “Delighted to hear it.” I crooked my finger, and she leaned in, arching her back to reach my lips.
We kissed as I moved her until she straddled my hips. I unbuckled my belt and pulled down the zipper.
She moaned my name, and my cock begged for release.
Our lips parted just enough for me to murmur a few words. “Hold on. I have you.”
I lifted my hips as gratitude for my running and strength training hit. The strength in my thighs helped compensate for the lack of leverage when lifting her. Working together, our hands grabbed and yanked, pulling at my trousers until my cock sprang free.
