I shake my head. “Nothing but dead ends. Can’t find a single speck of dirt on your boss.”

I watch her carefully, looking for any signs of the lies Titch seems to think she’s telling. My eyes scan her face, but I don’t see anything. Relief washes over me. I didn’t think she was lying, but that little seed of doubt is hard to uproot once it’s planted.

“So, what do we do next?”

“Keep digging.” I grab her hand, her soft warm skin scraping over my calloused palms. I like the feel of her against me. “We’ll keep you safe, Lucy. I swear.”

“I wish you weren’t tied up in my mess.”

“That’s what family does. Looks after each other.”

She peers at me, her long lashes making her blue eyes seem bolder. “Is that how you see me? Family?”

“There’s nothing familial in how I see you, sweetheart.”

My pointed words have her swallowing hard and heat rises in her cheeks. She glances down at her hands in her lap. “Nox—”

I don’t let her finish. I can’t. I refuse to believe that she doesn’t want me the same way I want her. I can see the longing, the need in her eyes.

And I’m done waiting for her to play catch up.

I dip my head and capture her mouth. She tastes sweet, and I wonder what she’s been eating or drinking. For a moment, she stiffens, then her spine melts and she sags into my arms as I lick along the seam of her lips. Triumph roars through me as she opens to me and I suck her tongue into my mouth.

Lucy makes a little moan that makes my cock harden in my jeans. I want her. I’ve wanted her sassy mouth from the moment I laid eyes on her, and while I probably shouldn’t have taken her like this, now I’ve tasted her there’s no going back.

7

Lucy

Nox is kissing me. I should pull away, I should make him stop, but part of me doesn’t want him to. Knowing I’m wanted by someone other than Isaac is a heady feeling. He told me for years I was worthless, that everyone would find me wanting. Those words scored me deeply, creating scars I thought could never heal, but I’m seeing the lies shining through the clouds.

Nox wants me.

I see it in his heated eyes, in the way they trail over my face as if he thinks I’m a precious gemstone.

I want to bottle this feeling, but right now I’m focused on the fact that he’s kissing me senseless.

I feel dizzied as he continues to devour my mouth, taking, needing more from me. I want to deliver, even though I’m scared of getting too close. This really isn’t the time to embark on anything with a biker, especially one as dangerous as Nox. I can’t get close to anyone, but as his fingers move into the back of my hair, tangling in the strands, all sense goes out of the window.

He scrapes my hair into his fist, giving a slight tug that stings my scalp. I moan against his lips as my belly dips. The way he takes over makes my legs shake. I shouldn’t like it. I’ve never had control over any aspect of my life—not until I left Isaac and met Sasha—but Nox is different to Isaac. He wants to show me pleasure through control; Isaac did it to hurt me.

I can see the differences in the two men as clear as day. If I told Nox to stop right now, he would. Isaac never did. He took what he wanted whether I wanted it or not.

But just because I can see the differences in the two men, doesn’t mean I’m not terrified of letting Nox in. Isaac didn’t start off as the devil. He slipped into that role over time, slowly peeling back my layers and finding my weaknesses to use against me. Will Nox be the same?

Sasha trusts these men, and I trust her, but opening myself up again, letting my walls down is a petrifying thought—and I’m not sure I’m ready to go there yet.

Itchy fear makes me pull back, and I hate myself for tearing my lips from his. He doesn’t seem to notice, though. His eyes blaze with heat as he takes me in, his passion, his desire shining from them. The intensity makes me tremble. I have no doubt Nox would take more from me, but I’m not in a position to offer anything right now. Not when I’m making exit plans.

He’s breathless as his forehead presses to mine, his hands cupping my jaw. I’m gasping for air too, and my lips feel swollen, deliciously so.

“I’ll keep you safe, Lucy.”

The promise in his voice should assure me, but it turns my veins to ice. He shouldn’t be promising that. He shouldn’t be thinking of me as some kind of damsel who needs saving. Like Isaac, I’m the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Everything about me is fake and I hate myself for the choices I’ve made over the years. I should have told Sasha the truth. She bared her soul to me about her painful past, about Sin raping her, about leaving Rav. I should have told her my secrets too, but I’d held onto them for so long I couldn’t open up to anyone—even her. There was a part of me that was scared she’d leave too. I’d been on my own, not trusting anyone for months. It was a relief to find someone.

I also thought I was finally safe.

The more time that passed without Isaac or his men turning up, the more I let that false sense of security dig under my skin. I believed it. I thought he had finally let me go. I should have known better. The master doesn’t let the dog have its freedom. He might let it off its leash for a short time, but the dog always comes back when its owner calls. Isaac let me have my freedom, but now, his patience is done.

Leon made it clear Isaac won’t stop until I’m home, and I’ll die before I go back there.

“You can’t promise that,” I tell him, my voice soft.

He kisses me again and I should pull away, but I can’t. I’m as enthralled by him as he is by me. The depth of feelings I have are dangerous. They show too much weakness, let too much emotion in. I can’t let it happen.

I pull back a little, hating myself for it. “I don’t need saving.”

His lips quirk. “I never thought you did.”

“You have no idea what’s going on here.” The urge to break down and bare my soul is overwhelming. I want to desperately, but I hold my tongue. The truth could put me in greater danger.

“I’ve seen this same scenario a hundred times, Lucy. Suits dabbling in a world they don’t understand, thinking their ivory towers will protect them from men like me.”

He’s talking about Hank. How easily he bought my lies that he was the target.

I should come clean, but instead I ask, “Men like you?”

He grins a little lopsided smile. “You know who I am, what I am.”

I do know who he is. He’s danger wrapped in leather and denim packaging. It’s precisely why I should stay the hell away from him. Going from Isaac to Nox would be like jumping out of the fire into the frying pan. I’ll still get burnt.

“What will you do if you can’t find anything out about Hank?”

“We’ll find it, even if we have to dig into the deepest, darkest holes that fucker has.”

They won’t, because there’s nothing to find. Guilt stabs my heart. My lies taste sour on my tongue, and I wonder what kind of person I am that I can sully a good man’s memory.

“But what if you can’t,” I press, needing to know what path the club might take if Hank continues to come up clean.