Since I Saw You (Because You Are Mine #4)(29)
Author: Beth Kery

“Did I hurt you?”

“No.” She swiped at the dampness and turned, finishing pulling up her dress. “Of course you didn’t hurt me. You must have . . . realized how much . . . I liked it,” she faltered.

It alarmed him, the strained quality of her voice. She was typically so controlled. True, she’d lost her temper with him this morning—deservedly so—but this break in her armor was much more alarming. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he demanded, sounding harsher than he intended, out of concern. He wouldn’t apologize for taking her under these circumstances. In his opinion, it was a natural conclusion to all the heat they’d been generating all day, as normal a progression as a storm breaking after the buildup of a hot, sultry day. But he did feel guilty for how forcefully he’d made love to her . . . how savagely . . .

“I just had sex with you on the cloakroom floor of a hotel—”

“There’s no one around—”

“With my boss dining just down the hallway,” she finished without pause. His mouth snapped shut. She stared up at him wildly. Desperately. He couldn’t say which. One thing was for certain: He’d run up against her walls again.

He dropped his hands. “So. Here we are. Back to Ian.”

She turned abruptly and began fastening the collar of her dress around her neck. She found her discarded panties. Unable to think of anything else to say to make her feel better, he removed the condom, found a place to dispose of it and grabbed his discarded clothing. The atmosphere in the small cloakroom seemed to take on a heavy, stifling weight as they both gathered themselves. Their separation and silence seemed especially glaring following their raw, uninhibited joining just now. It seemed a little bizarre that they’d both been frantically in the grips of lust only moments ago. He finished dressing first, seething as he watched her smooth her hair and apply some lipstick from her purse, her back turned to him the whole time.

She finally turned and met his stare calmly. His irritation mounted, but then disappeared in an instant when he looked down over her.

“Damn it. Your knees,” he muttered. Her delicate hosiery hadn’t torn, but the color of it was so sheer that he could see the skin of her knees was red and abraded.

Merde. You rode her like a fucking animal.

“I’m going home,” she said quietly. His eyes widened with alarm as he studied her impassive, beautiful face. Her cheeks were still flushed from arousal and orgasm, but her skin looked especially pale beneath it. “Will you please tell Ian, Lucien, and Francesca that I felt a little unwell?”

“But—”

“Tell them. Please. I can’t show up looking like this.”

“I’m sorry about your . . .” He glanced down at her knees, regret swamping him. “I tried to take the pressure off them by standing, but—”

“I know you did,” she said. “I’m not blaming you. It’s my fault. I’m the one who let it happen.”

He made a disbelieving sound at that. “You make it sound like you agreed to a crime. We didn’t commit murder together,” he added darkly.

She closed her eyes. He flinched inwardly, seeing her discomposure. “You don’t understand. I don’t do things like this.”

“You obviously do now,” he said before he could stop himself. “Why is that such a problem?” She shot him an anxious glance and draped her wrap over her shoulders, covering herself.

“Lin, wait—” he called out when she moved past him. She unlocked the door. “We still need to talk.”

“I know. We still need to discuss the details of the Klinf meeting this weekend. I also need you to tell me all that you require for the first demonstration of your device for the Gersbachs. I’ll call,” she said.

And she was gone.

For several seconds, he just stared blindly up at the ceiling, replaying the last half hour of his life and trying to make sense of it, with not a modicum of success. They’d gone from combustible lust to uncontrollable, wild, blistering sex to Lin saying the only thing they had to discuss was business.

“C’est vraiment des conneries,” he cursed bitterly before he stalked out of the cloakroom and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

•   •   •

The Coffee Boutique was hopping with customers when he arrived. He understood from Lucien that while Elise’s heralded new restaurant was the soul of their hotel, the coffeehouse was the heart of the thriving microcommunity. It was the comfortable living room of the luxurious establishment, a place where travelers, locals, and tourists alike lounged on deep couches and chairs and sipped premium coffees that had been individually prepared with chicory-roasted beans. They devoured mouthwatering confections made by Elise’s pastry chef. Some of the patrons read books and magazines they’d bought at the attached bookstore that specialized in first editions, rare books, and antiquities. Lucien must have spent about what Kam survived off of annually on the two space-age coffee makers behind the bar.

Not that Kam was focused on any of these niceties. His purpose was single-minded as he stalked into the energetic room. He saw Lucien exiting the coffee bar at the same time he was entering. He gave Kam a bland look as they met, and paused.

“What happened to you?” Lucien asked.

“What?” Kam demanded sourly.

“You look like you’re about to kick someone’s ass. And your shirttail is hanging out,” Lucien added calmly under his breath as several patrons passed them.

“Merde,” Kam muttered, shoving his shirt down into his pants. He never wanted to dress like this to begin with. He wouldn’t be trussed up in this damn suit if it weren’t for Lin.

“Did something happen with Gersbach?” Lucien asked.

“No. It went well with the Gersbachs.”

“Was Lin pleased?” Lucien asked, glancing in the direction of the lobby as if in search of her.

“What, my opinion isn’t good enough?” Kam growled.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed on him. “Trying to pick a fight?” he asked levelly, gray eyes as cool and sharp as a driving ice pick. “Pick a better target. I’ve got too much work to do at the moment. If you still feel like a spar tomorrow, give me a call and we’ll go a couple rounds at the gym.”

Kam rolled his eyes in mounting frustration when Lucien walked past him. His eldest brother was intimidating and tough, but it was his control that was already growing legendary in Kam’s mind.