There’s a rustling sound on the other end, and I imagine she’s nodding. “Okay,” she caves breathlessly.
Ending the call, I press the gas and peel out, heading past the campus, the coffee shop, and the bar where I first introduced myself. As I hang a left onto her block, my heart pumps loudly in my chest, so loud I can feel and hear it in my skull. Cop cars are parked awkwardly in the driveway and along the street, the flashing red and blue lights nearly obstructing my view. My tires screech when I slam the brakes into the space in front of her house.
I’m out of the car and onto her porch in a blink. The front door is open, and in the entryway is an officer, and when I glance past him, two more are surveying the house. Movement on my right alerts me to a fourth cop who’s searching the grounds. I step inside but am immediately denied entry.
“Whoa, whoa. You can’t just come in like that.” The officer talking to Siân blocks me from entering. “Ma’am, do you know this man?”
I suck air into my lungs and will myself to relax. Authority issues aside, the last thing I need is to cause a scene. My friend might be in danger, and I’m the doting guy who only wants to make sure she’s safe. That’s the tale I want told—nothing more and nothing less.
Siân pokes her head around the door with her arms wrapped around herself—her usual form of defense, no matter how weak it is. Her features soften when we make eye contact, and it does something to me. My chest tightens at the look of relief on her face. No matter the thrill I get from being the reason for this fear, causing her relief feels just as fucking good. I giveth and I taketh away.
“Yes, Officer, he’s my friend,” she admits and rushes to me.
A groan of annoyance builds in my gut. I’m more than your fucking friend, topolina. I want to scream those words at her and punish her until she accepts it.
Siân throws her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a hug. I slowly wrap my arms around her waist. My body drums from the feel of her against me, my dick jolting to life just from one innocent embrace. Her scent tickles my nose, and I dig my nails into her hips.
She pulls back at that, and we stare at each other for a moment. She’s been crying. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her cheeks are flushed. Then I glance down at her lips, spotting the evidence that she’s been chewing on them. They’re raw, and in the corner is a tiny drop of blood.
Fuck.
I want to devour her mouth and lick the blood clean off. I wet my own lips, a pitiful excuse of a surrogate for hers. This is the first I’ve touched her like this, the first time we’ve been this close, and dammit if she doesn’t feel fucking amazing. So warm and soft in my hold, fragile and defenseless. She’s tiny compared to me, and the realization shoots right to my balls as my mind thinks of all the ways I could break her. Even more so when I consider how ferocious she could be when she accepts who she is truly meant to be and joins me on the throne. Together in darkness is where we belong.
The heirs of two vicious dynasties.
“Thank you for coming.” She pulls away, and I immediately tug her back to me.
Siân’s eyes fly open, but she’s something other than surprised by my actions. A response I can’t quite pinpoint. One thing that is clear to me is that she wants me to touch her just as much as I do.
“Come in,” she instructs after a beat.
I take a minute to let her words register before I release my grip on her waist and follow her inside. Every light in the house is on, even those upstairs. I glance at the officer over my shoulder, then focus my attention on the female a few feet away. She’s hovering over the table in the hall that leads into the kitchen. The space where the pictures are. The cop dusts the frames for prints, and I have to hide the smile that threatens to break through.
Good luck, I mutter inwardly.
I’ve been at this game a long time. If they think I was stupid enough to leave prints, they have another thing coming. But as soon as the thought crosses my mind, my eyes shoot to the top of the stairs. The shirt I emptied my load in as I watched her finger herself.
Shit.
With an inhale, I turn to Siân and rub her arms. “Are you okay?”
She nods with her eyes closed. “Yes.”