“Don’t move.”
“Okay.”
He got out and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. She had no idea why he was making her wait there unless he had to visit someone first. He returned a minute later and approached her. He just leaned over, unfastened her belt and lifted her out of the seat. Kat hugged his shoulders as he carried her up the walkway.
The front door stood wide open and he entered the house then used his foot to slam the door. He stopped. Kat glanced around. It was an open living space, showing off a living room, dining area and a bar that separated them from the kitchen.
“Nice place.”
“Thank you.” He strode across the room to follow a long hallway.
“Where are we going?”
“My room.”
They passed one open door on the right. Probably a guest room. The door across from it looked like a bathroom from the quick glimpse she got. He paused at the end of the hallway and turned, making sure she didn’t hit the doorway as he took them into the master suite of the home.
“It’s much bigger than your apartment.”
“It’s a two-bedroom, two-bath. It’s not as big as some of the homes in the Species living section but it is the one I chose.” He approached the bed and bent, setting her on the edge of the bed. He let her go and straightened, backing up a few feet.
She got comfortable and took a deep breath. “Okay. You brought me here. Let me have it. Go ahead and yell at me. Tell me what I did to piss you off. I’m ready.”
“You’re not allowed to risk your life for anyone else’s. You came too close to death. That’s unacceptable.”
She was surprised by his rational tone. “We’ve already had this fight. Missy is my best friend and Mason didn’t give me much choice. Where is she?”
“I set her up in an apartment inside the women’s dorms with her pets. She’s fine. A friend of mine is going to make certain she’s comfortable. The females will look out for her and will acquire everything she needs to set up her new life here.”
That wasn’t the answer she’d expected. “The NSO is okay with that?”
“I said I’d get you a job at the NSO. I made inquiries and you no longer need to work for the FBI. Give your notice. You and Missy are a package deal. You care for her. That means we care for her as well.”
They wouldn’t be homeless. It would be tight living, sharing a one-bedroom apartment with Missy but they’d done that right after high school. Missy would probably take over the living room as her office. It wouldn’t interrupt Kat’s sleeping time. It also meant she could kiss the investigation regarding Mason goodbye and all the stress that came with it at work. The police couldn’t touch her if they did charge her with arson. It was almost too good to be true.
Darkness had made it all possible. “I don’t know how to thank you enough.”
“Stop saying that,” he growled, his eyes flashing anger.
It pushed her into feeling a bit of temper too. “Fine. Fuck you. Is that better?”
“Only if it’s an offer.”
That remark knocked her for a loop. She gawked at him. Darkness came forward and crouched next to the bed, pinning her legs between his spread ones. She stared into his eyes, stunned. He had that hungry look she remembered too well.
She flattened her palms on his chest. “Uh-uh. I’m not doing this again. We made a clean break, remember?”
“Things change.”
“But you don’t. We don’t want the same things. You made it clear that it can’t ever be anything but sex to you. It’s more than that to me.”
He put his hands on the bed next to her hips and leaned in. “I’m going to kiss you, Kat.”
“You don’t kiss.”
“I’ll make an exception for you.”
She stared at his lips. They parted and he ran his tongue over them before inching closer. She leaned back, wondering if it was payback for angering him. He’d had to go to a lot of trouble for her. First to save her life then to get her a job and home with the NSO.
“Don’t.”
“Why not?” He spoke softly, his gruff voice sexy.
“This is just cruel.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do. It was hard enough walking away once.”
He lifted one hand and reached behind him, digging something out of his back pocket. Metal clanked and he showed her a set of handcuffs. She glanced at them then stared into his eyes.
“No.”
He arched one eyebrow.
“I’m not going to allow you to hook me up to your headboard and do this dance again.”
He tossed them across the room. “I’m going to allow you to touch me all you want. I removed them to make a point. I won’t restrain you anymore.”
“You’re such a bastard. What did I ever do to deserve this?”
“You got under my skin.” He rose, the movement pushing her flat on her back with her hands still on his chest, just inches between their bodies. He climbed over her, trapping her under him. “You nearly died. When I lifted that roof off you I couldn’t detect your breathing at first. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“So this is how you decide to get even? Give me what I want then regret it right afterward?”
He had the nerve to smile. “I lost control the last time you touched me.”
“What makes you think it won’t happen again? You’re that smug?”
“I was too focused on how good your hands felt to remember to use a condom. I could have accidently gotten you pregnant.”
“Yeah, that was five days of waiting I’ll never forget.”
“This time will be different.”
“No. I’m done with casual sex.”
“There’s nothing casual between us.”“My point exactly.”
He lifted one leg and gently nudged hers. She locked them together, shaking her head. “No.”
“Spread open for me.”
“Darkness, don’t seduce me just to be an asshole.”
“I’m not.”
“Right. We have sex and then what? You tell me to leave again? That the job offer and living in the apartment were just bullshit?”
“You’re not living in the women’s dorm.”
“You said that’s where Missy was.”
“She is. That’s her new home.”
“She gets to stay at Homeland but I don’t?”
“You’re going to stay here with me.”
She had to be hearing him wrong.
“This is our house,” he said as he nudged her leg again. “Our bedroom. Our bed.” He rolled over suddenly, taking her with him. “And there will be no more regrets.”
Kat ended up sprawled on top of him. She spread her legs and straddled his lap, pushing against his chest until she sat atop him. “What kind of game are you playing?”
“I’m not. You’re important to me. I don’t want to lose you.”
He looked sincere and it made her angry. “Are you kidding me?”
Darkness growled, his mood matching hers. “Do I look as if I’m telling a joke? I got us a house. We shouldn’t have to live in the men’s dorm where other males can hear everything through the walls.”
“You don’t do relationships. You don’t let anyone get too close to you. What changed? I almost died? That’s what you’re saying?”
“Yes.”
“What about tomorrow or next week when you get over the fact that I had a close call? You shut down again and build up the walls? No thanks.”
He sat up, almost knocking her off his lap. His arms hooked around her waist and he jerked her tightly against his chest until they were almost hugging. “I tried to resist the emotions you bring forth. I regretted it when you left Homeland.”
“Which time?”
“Both.”
“But you let me go a second time.”
“What do you want from me, Kat? I got us a house and I promise not to restrain you during sex anymore. I’m offering to share my life with you.”
“Do you want a list?”
“Yes.”
“You’re never home. I lived with you before.”
“I’ll work fewer hours and spend more time with you.”
She wanted to believe him. “You don’t like to talk. I do.”
“I’m talking to you now.”
“That’s only because you want to have sex. That motivates any guy to be a chatterbox if he thinks it’s going to get a woman’s pants down.”
“You want proof that I’m going to do everything to be the kind of male a female mates?”
She couldn’t believe he used that word. “Mates?”
“Mates,” he growled. “That’s what you want.”
“It’s not what you want.”
“I want you.”
“For sex.”
“Work with me this time, Kat.” His tone softened. “I’m trying.”
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back. “I don’t want to get my heart stomped on.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“You won’t mean to. That, I believe.”
Darkness was frustrated. He’d expected Kat to allow him to kiss her and just agree to move in with him. Instead she was sitting on his lap and he felt as if he were holding her in place. She might put space between them if he allowed it. He wasn’t going to.
She wanted him to talk to her. It wasn’t easy to express his feelings. Losing her wasn’t an option. “I feel things for you.”