Bad Behavior(27)

"Like the criminal Castille?"

"Absolutely not."

"Figures."

She quieted and strummed her fingers along my chest, as if pondering her next move.

"What about your family?" The lack of photos told me a lot, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything about her.

She chewed her bottom lip and shifted away from me. I gripped her tighter. There was no letting her go, not now.

"I don't really like to talk about them." Her voice was quiet.

"I just want to know about you. That's all." I smoothed my hand through her hair, trying to will my good intentions into her.

She shook her head faintly.

"It's okay to tell me, you know? I'll listen." I dropped a kiss in her fragrant hair. "Believe me when I say I have no moral high ground when it comes to family issues."

Her lips curled against my chest, a meager smile, and she glanced up to me.

"Come on. Give me something."

She smirked. "I feel like I've already given you quite a bit."

Smoothing a hand over her soft cheek, I said, "And I appreciate every moment of it. But I want just a little more."

She sighed, defeated. "I don't talk to my family either."

My chest heated at the knowledge that she'd trusted me enough to tell me anything, even if she spoke no more about a subject that clearly bothered her. "Why not?"

"They don't like what I do."

"Are they doctors or something?" The old adage "If you aren't smart enough to get into medical school, then go to law school" came to mind.

"Ha. No." She dropped her gaze. "They were like your parents. Well, I take that back, it sounds like the only thing they had in common with your parents was lack of formal education. They were disappointed in me for leaving the small town where I'm from. They never wanted me to go to school, to come to the city. None of it. I was just supposed to stay in their tiny, upstate town and do . . . Well, I don't know what. Just work at the local grocery store or not at all, I guess. They thought my ambition was a sin. My sister, Eudora, called me the Whore of Babylon the last time we spoke." She laughed, but there was no smile in it, no warmth. 

She was always so tough, like a fortified wall that no one could pierce. When I heard true sadness in her voice, it shocked me, broke off a piece of my heart.

"They don't deserve you." Of that I was sure.

"They don't see it that way." She shook her head.

"Then they're fucking morons. You can feel free to send them a postcard with that quote on it. I'll sign it."

"I know. I don't need them." She said it with finality, but there was a tremor in her voice.

I didn't like the deep well of hurt in her. I pulled her up to me, the feeling of her breasts pressing against me making my cock come back to life. I took her lips, gently this time. She answered and cupped my jaw as we tasted each other. She was sweet, like wine and something else I couldn't put my finger on. She drew away for air. I let her settle back against my chest, though I wanted to take her again, to feel her clenching me tight as a fist. I settled for her delicious mouth.

"You taste like heaven."

"Why do you call me angel?" she murmured against my chest.

"Seems to fit you."

"I don't think anyone else in this town, or on this planet, for that matter, would agree with that statement." She laughed.

"That's because they don't know you like I do."

She tried to pull away, but I held her tightly to me. She gave up and relaxed again. "You don't know me, Lincoln. You just met me. We've fucked a couple of times."

"It's more than that, angel. Don't kid yourself."

I meant it. Evan was right that we'd only just met. But I'd never felt such a need for any woman in my life. I'd had plenty, but not one like her. I didn't think there was another one like her anywhere. Fucking badass and ballsy, but the way she'd spoken about her family showed where her walls came from, at least partly. Her revelations were the real her, not the harsh persona she projected. She wasn't just the "bad bitch" that terrorized prosecutors and AUSAs; she was much, much more.

"I googled what your tattoo says, you know."

"Oh, did you now? Been thinking about me quite a bit, haven't you?"

She made a pfft noise of denial. "Fortune favors the bold?"

"Yep."

"It's kind of perfect, really. If nothing else, you certainly are bold." She stretched before cuddling against me.

I nuzzled into her hair. "Are you going to make me breakfast in the morning?"

"Are you going to drop all charges against Castille in the morning?"

I laughed. "So, breakfast is a no?"