Want Me (11 page)

Ethan didn’t look concerned. “I put in a few security upgrades after the last mishap here.”

Mishap? Is that what he was going to call the time he’d nearly died in that place, courtesy of Daniel?

“During the day, I have a security monitor in place that tells me when anyone gets a little too close.” He tapped a button, and a screen appeared behind the bar. The shelves of glasses slid back, and the flat screen literally just appeared. Ethan tapped a button on his phone, and an image immediately appeared on that screen.

She saw the front exterior of Wicked.

She also saw a very determined Lex heading their way.

“Here comes the new lover,” Ethan said. He glanced over at Sophie. “You sure you know what you’re doing with that one? He doesn’t seem like the type to let go easily.”

No, he wasn’t. He also wasn’t the type to give up on someone. “I trust him.”

Shock flashed on Ethan’s face.

A bit self-consciously, Sophie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And that’s not the whiskey talking, okay? Lex is one of the good guys.”

He tapped another button on his phone, and, on the screen behind the bar, she saw the door to Wicked swing open.
Remote controlled.
Handy.

“Since when…” Ethan asked, “do you date good guys?”

Lex quickened his steps and entered Wicked. “Since him,” Sophie said.

Ethan swore, but she was already turning away from him. She hurried across the bar and met Lex seconds later. “Look, I can explain,” Sophie began even as she wondered how he’d tracked her to Wicked. Dev, probably.

Lex caught her in his arms. He pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly. She could feel the frantic racing of his heart. Then—

He kissed her. Wildly, desperately.

“I am standing right here,” Ethan called out. “And this shit is extremely awkward. It’s like you’re making out with my sister right in front of me. Stop it, seriously.”

Lex pulled back, but only a little. He rested his forehead against hers.

“Lex, what’s wrong?”

“Griffin is dead. He was shot right in front of me. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to save him.”

She shook her head, an instinctive denial.

“The shooter was good. He hit from across the street. Sniper position. He took out his target then got the hell out of there before the police arrived.” Lex looked over her shoulder, and she followed his gaze.

Ethan had the whiskey glass in his hand as he frowned at Lex. “Not me, man. I didn’t hire anyone to kill Daniel. The guy was rotting in prison. He wasn’t my concern.”

“Bull. You came huffing and puffing to my house because you were afraid he’d turn on you. But he got shot before he could, then—bam—Griffin is taken out, too.”

Ethan rolled his shoulders. “So you think that means I eliminated all of the ties to me. Clever, but—”

“Stop it!” Sophie nearly yelled. “Drop the tough guy act, Ethan! I told you, I trust Lex.”

She felt the ripple of surprise roll through Lex.

“She’s been drinking,” Ethan said quickly. “Don’t go getting all excited there, Lex. Whiskey makes her say crazy things.”

The hell it did. She could drink him under the table any day of the week. “Drop it,” she ordered Ethan again. “We need to find out who is doing this. What if he comes after me again? What then, Ethan?”

Ethan seemed to pale, but he nodded toward Lex and admitted, “I knew Sophie would stop the deal from going through, okay? I wasn’t planning to kill the guy right there. And if—fucking worst case scenario—Daniel
had
talked, then I would have applied pressure directly on the ADA. It’s not like that guy doesn’t have skeletons in his closet. Hell, years ago, Clarke liked to go slumming on the wrong side of town. I saved his ass a time or ten, but he likes to act like that never happened.”

She hadn’t known that.

“And all the times that Griffin came here?” Lex wanted to know. “What was that about?”

“Man, I don’t even stay here at night. Don’t like the crowds.” Ethan stroked the scar on his left cheek, then grazed the one on his right. “I’m not really in the mood for the ladies to look at me like I’m some kind of freak.”

“You’re not,” Sophie said immediately.

Ethan laughed. “Soph, I’ve always told you, we have to do something about that soft heart.” Then his face tightened as he focused on Lex once more. “I didn’t even see Griffin so I sure didn’t go hiring the guy to kill for me. Look somewhere else, and look fast.”

Sophie opened her mouth, ready to tell Ethan that she’d fired the guys from VJS, so there would be no looking for them. That Lex was there because…

He wants me?

But Lex beat her to the punch. “Dev and Chance are already searching. We’ll find the bastard.”

“Good,” Ethan retorted. “Because it almost sounds as if the SOB wants to make me look guilty. Been there, done that shit already, and I sure don’t plan to do it again. I’ve got enough hell already on my plate.”

Yes, he did.

“Let’s go, Sophie,” Lex said. His fingers twined with hers.

She nodded.

“Sophie!” Ethan’s voice held a worried edge. “Be careful with him.”

With Lex?

“Good guys can hurt you, too.”

Lex pulled her closer to his side. “No, I won’t. Count on that. I’d fucking take a bullet before I hurt her.”

She could practically feel Ethan measuring Lex. Judging him. Finally, Ethan said, “Good. Remember that promise. I expect you to keep it.” Then he waved them away. “Sophie knows the way out.”

She did and she was the one who led them away from Ethan, and from the heavy darkness that always seemed to cling to him. A darkness that she’d known, too, for so long. But she was tired of the dark. Couldn’t it be time for her to step into the light?

They didn’t speak until they were at Lex’s car. He opened the passenger door for her and she slid inside.

“I needed to see you.” His voice was gruff.

Before she could reply, he’d hurried around the car and climbed into the driver’s seat. She reached for his hand just as he was about to start the car. “I needed you, too.” She needed him more than she’d realized.

He sucked in a breath and looked down at her hand. “Did you think about what I told you earlier?”

She glanced out of the front windshield. The sun was starting to set. In a few hours, when darkness really took over, Wicked would be packed. She didn’t plan to be anywhere near the club then. She planned to be in bed with Lex. “How about we try for that second night?” Sophie forced a smile, hoping it hid her nerves. “Want to see if it will be as good as the first?” Her gaze slid back to him, and she saw his whole face harden, even as his eyes lit with a fire.

“I don’t need to see.”

His voice alone could turn her on—and did.

“I know making love to you again will be fucking fantastic.” A muscle flexed in his jaw. “The hard part will be holding on until I get you home. When I’m near you, I want.” It sounded as if he were just stating a fact.

It had never been that way for her. Having someone want her so completely. So totally. All of her flaws and secrets, exactly as she was.

A thrill shot through her and she leaned across the seat toward him. Sophie caught Lex’s lower lip between her teeth, feeling reckless and wild with her own desire. She tugged sensually even as her hand slid down his chest. Down, down to his waist, then to his crotch. He was turned on—she could feel the hot length of his cock through his jeans. “I want, too. So drive fast, Lex. Because this time, I’ll get to make you crazy.”

He growled and said. “Sweetheart, you already do.”

She stroked him again, eased back in her seat, and smiled.

Lex spun the car out of the lot.

***

No, no, no!
He sank back into the alley as fury pumped through him. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Sophie wasn’t supposed to turn to someone else. He was the one who’d done everything for her. He was the one who’d taken all of the risks. He’d
killed
for her.

But the bitch thought she could just go to another?

She was dead wrong.

No, no, Lex Jensen was the one who was dead. Tonight. Lex was dying tonight. And maybe he’d die in front of Sophie. Then she’d see. She’d realize all that he’d done for her over the years. She’d know that she belonged completely—

To me.

***

“Who the hell is that?” Ethan muttered beneath his breath as he stared at the security feed. He’d left the monitor up and he’d watched Lex play the gentleman and open Sophie’s car door.

You’d better treat her like a fucking queen. She deserves that.

But, after they’d pulled away, Ethan had noticed something else. A shadow that shouldn’t be there. Lurking, near the alley. A shadow that had the form of a man.

He unlocked his safe, took out his gun, and headed outside.

Ethan knew that shadow had been watching Sophie.

He searched the alley. The place reeked, but there was no one back there.
Not anymore.
Still clutching his weapon, Ethan returned to the front of Wicked.

Sophie was gone. Her watcher was gone.

This shit wasn’t good.

She wants to be with me.

Lex knew just how important these moments were for him, for Sophie, and he was determined not to screw anything up.

He shut the door at his house. Set the alarms. Looked around. The place wasn’t good enough for her. He should light candles—do some kind of romantic gesture that women were supposed to like. Maybe he should get some wine for Sophie. Run her a bubble bath?

His gaze jerked around the room. The fireplace. Right. A crackling fire would be good. But first, he needed to get clean. He’d been surrounded by blood and death and before he touched Sophie, he wanted to wash that off his skin.

“Just relax here,” he told her, his body actually aching because he wanted her so much. “I’ll be right back.”

She frowned a little bit, but he hurried down the hallway. He stripped and jumped in the shower, not caring that the water was ice cold. Maybe it would slow him down a bit and help him to keep his control longer because when he touched Sophie, he pretty much went up in flames.

“I could join you.”

He whirled around. The still cold water pelted him, and through the glass door, he saw Sophie standing there. Stripping.

Not fast like he’d done. But slowly, sensually. Her shirt. Her skirt. Her thigh highs. How many pairs of those sexy things did she own? As he watched, she unhooked her bra and smiled. Then she kicked out of her shoes and, with her gaze on him, she pushed her panties down her hips.

The water didn’t feel so cold.

His hand flew out. He yanked off the faucet even as he opened that door.

Sophie waited a few steps away. She was completely nude. A perfect temptation. “I figure there is a reason you ran in here.”

His gaze was on her breasts. Those perfect pink nipples. Sweeter than strawberries. “Couldn’t touch you…” His voice was a rumble. “With death still on me.”

He heard her surprised inhalation. Maybe he should have sugarcoated, but thinking was kind of hard then, what with her sex bare and so very close.

I want to taste her again.

He grabbed a towel. Yanked it over him. He was dragging that towel down his chest when Sophie touched him. Her fingers slid over his stomach, and he was the one sucking in a hard breath.

“Let me,” Sophie said.

He’d let her do anything she wanted. Didn’t she know that?

She took the towel and slid it down his chest. Every muscle locked down. Well, his cock shot
up.
He was hard and aching, and if his control didn’t hold, he’d be coming all too soon.

She eased the towel down more. Put it right over his straining erection. Through the towel, she squeezed.

“Sophie, sweetheart, let me get you to the bed.” Or wait, hadn’t he been planning to light a fire? Or get wine or—

Planning to fuck her. Hard and deep. Planning to take her so completely there will never be another for her.

So much for good intentions. Every stroke had his primitive side—a side never too far away—surging forward.

Then Sophie dropped the towel. She leaned forward.

“Sophie—”

She put her mouth on him. A hot, wet heaven. She licked and she sucked and control disintegrated. He was supposed to seduce.

He barely stayed sane. His arms locked around her. He lifted her up, trying desperately not to hold her too tightly but—

“Are you going to fuck me?” Sophie asked. She arched up toward him. Bit his neck. He
loved
it when she did that. “Or do you want to make me wait while you shower again?”

The question shocked a laugh out of him and bought him a few more moments of not actually pouncing on her. He carried her to the bed. Spread her out. Looked his fill at her. “I was going to seduce you.”

She smiled. A real, warm, actual smile. One that stole his breath and his heart.

“Didn’t you notice?” Sophie murmured. “I just seduced you.”

Hell, yes, she had.

He reached for the nightstand and Lex yanked on a condom that waited there. Sophie’s eyes were on him, so watchful. “I can’t be easy,” Lex warned.

“Good. I don’t want you to be.”

“Hard. Wild?”

“Yes, please,” she whispered.

Fuck,
yes.
He drove into her. As deep as he could. Her legs wrapped around him even as Lex yanked her closer. Her sex squeezed him and when he pulled back—
yes, yes!—
her core was a tight, wet clasp. He thrust into her, again and again.

He took her breast in his hand. Stroked the nipple. Applied just enough pressure to make her moan and arch up against him. His hips pistoned against her and then they were rolling across the bed. Sophie rose above him, her knees on either side of his hips. His hands clamped around her waist and he guided her, moving her faster. With her rising above him like that, she looked so incredibly perfect.

If possible, he felt his cock growing even harder for her. His right hand slid down, found her sweet spot, and stroked her. Sophie’s hands slapped down on his chest as she moaned, but she kept rising and falling, rising and falling—then she was coming.

Her eyes met his, and Lex saw her gaze go blind with pleasure. Her hips slammed down against his once more as she shuddered. He drove his cock into her as deeply as he could, then he held himself still, gritting his teeth as he tightened his muscles. He could feel her sex squeezing around him with the contractions of her release. So good. Freaking amazing.

She choked out his name. Her nails scored his flesh.

Her sex contracted again.

Yes.

She slumped forward. He wasn’t done. Not yet. He spun her so that she was beneath him in that bed. He lifted up her legs, putting them over his shoulders, and opening her even wider to him. Then he thrust. She was so warm and wet from her release, and he sank in to the hilt fast. The pleasure was so intense his whole body jerked.

“Lex!” His name was a sharp cry from her and he looked up immediately, afraid he’d hurt her. But pain wasn’t on her face. Only pleasure.

Sweet hell, she’s still coming for me.

He thrust into her. Claimed her. Got lost in her warmth and when his climax hit him, the release thundered through his whole body. His blood heated, his spine tightened, and he poured into her, riding a wave of pleasure so strong that his breath shuddered and his heart quaked.

When it was over, he slowly lowered her legs. He eased from her body and pressed a kiss to her lips. Lex ditched the condom then went back to her, carefully arranging the covers for her before he slid into bed beside Sophie. The lights were out. They were in the darkness. She was soft and sweet beside him.

In the dark, with pleasure still pulsing in his veins, he found that he could tell her his secrets. “I never had a normal life.” His voice rumbled as he stroked her arm with his fingertips, enjoying the silk of her skin. “I was relieved when I entered foster care. Most folks think it’s bad, but it was a million times better than the life I had at home. And there, I met my family. Chance and Dev. We bonded, became brothers, and I knew I’d never be alone again.” He kept stroking her. “Chance and I entered the military together, we fought together. We nearly died together.” But he didn’t want to think about those times. “Then we decided to look for a better life.” When the fighting had been done. When his soul had felt too dark.

She pressed closer to him. Her hand rose and curled with his. “I never had a normal life.”

He almost didn’t breathe right then, because he knew—this moment—she was sharing her secrets with him, too.

“My father hurt me all the time. My mother watched, always telling me that if I was a good girl, if I just stopped being bad, he wouldn’t have to punish me anymore. He’d stopped punishing her, after all, and he only turned his rage on me.”

He lifted their twined fingers to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

“I knew it didn’t matter how good I was. He wouldn’t stop. So I started to think the only escape I had…was death.”

Fear and fury whipped through him. Fear for what could have been. A world without Sophie. Fury because a young girl had been pushed so brutally far.

“But it wasn’t my death that came. It was theirs. And for so long, I felt guilty because I wasn’t sad. I didn’t mourn them. I was happy.” A brief moment of silence then, “I was happy because I was free.”

“You didn’t kill them.”

“No, but I did lie to the police.” Her voice thickened a bit, as if with a memory that hurt her. “When I got home, I saw Ethan running from my house. When I went in and found the blood, the bodies, I thought he’d killed them.”

Lex still thought—

“But he was just protecting me. I learned tonight that he’d gotten to the scene before me. When he discovered the bodies, he thought I’d killed them. Ethan got rid of the weapon, to protect me.”

Was that true? Or was Ethan lying to her?

“I don’t know who killed them. For years, I thought I was protecting Ethan, but I wasn’t. Someone else killed them, and I have no idea who it was.”

I’ll find out for you, Sophie.
He pressed another kiss to her knuckles. “Why did you become a defense attorney?”

“Because sometimes, people do bad things, but only because they’re pushed too far. They’re pushed so far and so hard that they break. Some of my clients are broken, and they need my help to get pieced back together.” She turned in his arms. “And some of them are just straight-up innocent. They need my help even more. I know what it’s like to be looked at as if you were the monster in the room.” Her hair slid over his arm as she shook her head. “I prove they aren’t monsters.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “You could never be a monster.” He could, though. If something happened to Sophie, if he lost her now…

“We can all be monsters,” she said, sounding thoughtful. “If we’re pushed hard enough.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but the ringing of his phone cut him off. Frowning, he glanced around the room.

“I think the phone is on the floor,” Sophie said helpfully, “in the bathroom.”

Hell. He climbed from the bed, thinking someone had just gotten on his shit list. He’d been in paradise with Sophie, actually getting her trust, then the call had wrecked the scene.

But it could be about her case. Get the damn phone, then get back to her.

He found the phone on the bathroom floor. He scooped it up and saw Dev’s face on the screen. “What did you find out?” Lex demanded immediately. He made the mistake of glancing toward the mirror. His face was hard, tense, and stubble lined his jaw.

Sophie had seriously climbed into bed with
that
? He was such a lucky bastard.

“I’ve got a money trail,” Dev said. “Didn’t take too long. A couple of false leads but…guess who paid Griffin twenty grand?”

“Cut the crap and tell me,” Lex snapped. “I’m ready to kick the guy’s ass.” Because it was all connected. Every single bit—

“Finn Scott.”

“What?”

“It took some tracking, but I found a separate account that the guy had, one from a bank in Grand Cayman. Tricky bastard. It looks like he’s been funneling money down there for years. But I caught him. He’s the one who paid Griffin.”

And he was Sophie’s lover. A man who might not have been able to let go of her.

“Do you know where Finn Scott is right now?” Lex wanted to know.

“Chance and I are on the way to his house. We should be there in about ten minutes.”

He needed to be there, too. If that jerk really was the one who’d done all of this…
has he been obsessed with Sophie for all these years?
“Finn knew her before her parents died,” Lex said, his mind spinning. “Hell, it’s possible he’s even the one who killed them.” Finn would have known about Sophie’s pain. Maybe he’d wanted to end that pain and punish those who’d hurt her.

The same way he’d wanted to punish Daniel?

“Give me the address,” Lex said. He had to confront Finn himself. This was Sophie’s life they were talking about. Lex needed to be there. Right damn then.

Dev rattled off the address.

“Good. I’m on my way. And, hey, watch your ass, okay? If this guy is the one who took out Daniel today, he might be waiting at his house, armed.” And ready to take out anyone who came close.

“You just keep Sophie safe,” Dev replied. “Chance and I can handle this SOB.”

Lex lowered the phone. His rough reflection still stared back at him from the mirror, but now that reflection wasn’t alone. Sophie was there, wrapped in a white sheet. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders. Her eyes—so big and deep—met his in that mirror. She looked delicate, sexy.

His.

“Who is it?” Her voice was incredibly calm. “You know now, don’t you?”

He nodded. “Finn.”

Her reflection showed her pain. Lex turned toward her, wrapping his arms around Sophie’s shoulders. “Dev traced the twenty grand back to him, back to an account that Finn had in Grand Cayman.”

“He still had that account?”

She knew about it?

“He set it up years ago, when he was afraid he’d be convicted. I told him it was a terrible idea, but he was panicked. Finn was so afraid he’d lose everything he’d built. I warned him that if the district attorney’s office found out, Finn would just look even more guilty.” She bit her lower lip then said, “He told me he got rid of that account.”

“Yeah, well, he lied.”
And probably killed.
“He’s not the man you thought.” Lex gave her a reassuring squeeze before he hurried from the bathroom. He grabbed some clothes from his closet and dressed as fast as he could.

“You’re going after him.”

“Chance and Dev are heading to the guy’s place now. I plan to provide them with backup.” He heard rustling behind him. He looked back and saw that Sophie had taken clothes out of her bag. She was dressing even faster than he was, sliding on jeans, a sweatshirt, boots. “Sophie…”

“Don’t even think of telling me to stay here, Lex. This is my life. I’m confronting him. I get to find out why he did this to me.”

Lex wanted her to stay locked in his house. He wanted her safe. Always, but…

He also understood her. Sophie wasn’t the type to hide from the pain around her. She was a fighter, and she was right—this was her life.