Risking it All (9 page)

more the theme became obvious. Two

conflicting outcomes: the murals had

split personalities. She didn’t need him

to confirm he’d been the one to paint

them. It was obvious.

“Is this why you keep the lights off?”

She searched his face for answers.

Her breath caught in her throat at the

intensity he radiated.

“Among other reasons.”

Tamping down the urge to pry more,

she walked into the central living room

between an open kitchen and a hallway

she assumed led to the bedrooms. She

dropped the plastic bags to the ground,

her hand stretching out of its own accord

to trace the outline of a woman’s face.

With a frown, she cast a look around the

room and realized the same outline

appeared every few feet. No features,

just the shape of a head with long brown

hair. Running through the strands was a

streak of hot pink.

“Who—”

“Your room is behind the kitchen.” He

pinched her waist. “Come on, stop

gawking.”

She rubbed the tingling spot. “I’m not

gawking.”

“You’re one of those drivers that

slows down to watch someone get a

speeding ticket, aren’t you?” His

disappeared into a door she hadn’t seen

before, just off the kitchen. “A

rubbernecker.”

“You’re just trying to change the

subject.”

He sighed as she entered the room.

“Waitresses aren’t usually so astute,

Ladybug.”

“Guys like you aren’t usually mural

artists.”

Before she could blink, he lunged

toward her, sending her back against the

wall. “Guys like me?” He rested his

palms above her, leaning down until his

breath feathered her lips. “And what

exactly do you know about me?”

Sera realized her massive error. His

playful side had allowed her to get

comfortable,

but

she

needed

to

remember whom she was dealing with.

She’d already gotten a glimpse of his

notorious temper. “I don’t know

anything,” she whispered, letting real

fear show. “I was just surprised.”

“Surprised,” he repeated slowly.

“While you’re here, you need to be more

careful what you say and who you say it

to. Comments like that can get you hurt.

And then
I’ll
have to hurt that somebody

back. It’ll be very ugly, Sera. Do you

understand?”

She nodded, then gasped when he

ground his hips against hers. The steel of

his arousal pressed against the softness

of her belly. He bit his bottom lip and

closed his eyes, an expression that struck

her

as

pained.
Move
, she silently

commanded him.
Touch me.
When he

didn’t grant her the friction she wanted,

she lifted her hands and dug them into

his thick, haphazard mane of burnished

gold hair. With a snarl, he grabbed her

wrists and pinned them to the wall

above her. The loss of control sent

exhilaration snapping along her skin. She

shouldn’t like it. As a cop, the ability to

defend herself should be paramount, but

something about being put on display

made

her

feel

exceedingly

hot.

Tempting.

His gaze raked down her body,

lingering on the rise and fall of her

breasts. The thin material of her T-shirt

hid nothing, telling him without words

that she was turned on. For him. By him.

“Stop begging me for it.” His voice

shook. “I’m hanging on by a goddamn

thread here.”

She didn’t understand his plea. He

obviously

wanted

her,

and

her

willingness couldn’t be clearer. Why

was he holding back? “Can I ask you a

question?”

“If I say no…” Appearing to give in a

little, he ran his tongue along her lower

lip and groaned, “Would it stop you?”

“Probably not.”

“Maybe I’ll kiss you to shut you up.

You’d love that. Wouldn’t you?”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Going on instinct, she gave a long, slow

roll of her hips. “Do it.”

He gave a sharp curse. “Ask the

question,” he rasped at her ear.

“Why did you bring me here, if not for

this?” She tilted her head, hoping he

would take the hint and kiss her there.

When he didn’t disappoint, she moaned

in her throat. His damp lips were smooth

where the rest of him was hard, rough.

They traced the skin beneath her ear with

unerring accuracy, homing in on the

sensitive spot she hadn’t even been

aware of. “You locked me in my room

last night…and n-now I’m in a separate

bedroom. It seems counterproductive.”

His teeth closed around her ear and she

whimpered. “Did Hogan tell you
not
to

touch me or something? Becaus—”

“
What?
” His head whipped up, the

hands holding hers against the wall

flexing hard. “Listen to me, if I wanted

to fuck you, I’d end anyone or anything

who got in my way. Nothing would stop

me. Not a locked door. Not some

lowlife. Nothing.”

“If?” she repeated, embarrassment

cooling her desire. “You don’t want to?”

His laughter was harsh. “Want to?

Want
to?” One of his hands loosened its

grip to drop down and grasp the bulge in

his pants. “I didn’t even know it was

possible to ache this bad. It hurts to

breathe, baby.”

The heat came rushing back in full

force. “Then I don’t understand.”

“I can’t. We can’t.” He pressed his

forehead to hers. “See, I’m wondering if

keeping my hands off you will buy my

way out of hell. God knows I’ll have

experienced the worst hell has to offer

already. You think he’ll make me go

through it twice?”

The suffering in his voice lacerated

her. There was so much more going on

here than sexual frustration, although

there was definitely a healthy dose of

that. He seemed to think there would be

consequences for getting physical with

her. But that didn’t make any sense.

Since when does a man who rules streets

with fear care about consequences for

anything? This man took what he wanted

and damn the outcome. Right?

Without thinking, she took the hand

he’d dropped and brushed a stray piece

of hair off his forehead. His body went

liquid, melting against her for long

moments while she held her breath.

“Aren’t there other ways to buy yourself

out of hell?”

“Not for me.”

No sooner were the words out of his

mouth than someone pounded on the

door.

CHAPTER SIX

Safe. Keep her safe.

Bowen jerked away from Sera, his

body going on full alert. No one just

walked up and pounded on his apartment

door without advance warning. No one,

except for one man. A man who

absolutely could not be allowed

anywhere near Sera. His jaw clenched

against the urge to bury her in the closet

underneath a pile of clothes. It might

give him peace of mind, but it would

make her suspicious. He couldn’t afford

that, nor did he want it. For some reason,

her being comfortable around him

mattered. A lot.

Sensing how closely she watched him,

he ran a casual hand through his hair. “I

need to discuss some business. Make

yourself comfortable.”

She nodded carefully and sat down at

the edge of the bed. Oh, God, what

would it be like if he nudged her onto

her back, settled himself between her

thighs and worked them both into a

sweat? His need for her hadn’t calmed

in the least. In fact, it only raged higher

now that a threat was nearby. He

couldn’t allow anything to touch her. Not

even himself.

She looked so out of place in this

bedroom, fire and destruction raging on

the walls behind her. When he’d painted

that particular mural, he never imagined

a cop sitting in the room with him. He

would have laughed out loud at the very

idea. Yet there she sat, looking like a

lamb on her way to slaughter. Instead of

flames outlining her head, she looked

more suited to wearing a halo. When she

looked up at the ceiling, he followed her

line of vision and nearly laughed out

loud. He’d painted the scales of justice

one night after a particularly bad run-in

with a gang that had been dealing drugs

in Bensonhurst, the one thing he would

never abide. Now the undercover cop

would be sleeping beneath them. If that

wasn’t irony, he didn’t know what was.

To her credit, she showed no reaction

except

for

an

arched

eyebrow.

“Shouldn’t you get the door?”

Christ, he’d been so wrapped up in

her, he’d completely forgotten about the

man waiting outside. “Right,” he said

gruffly. “I’ll be right back.”

“Bowen?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking back over his

shoulder.

“They’re kind of great.” She pushed

her hair behind her ear. “The murals.”

Something heavy inside him shifted so

dramatically, it surprised him she didn’t

react to it. Very few people had ever

seen what he did in his spare time.

Judged the tool he used to occupy his

mind in order to think about anything

other than what he did for a living. He’d

never thought to show it to anyone, let

alone have the work appreciated. Even

more, she seemed to mean what she said.

If he stood here looking at her a

second longer, he wasn’t sure what the

odd mixture of pride and gratefulness

would make him do, so he took a deep

breath to compose himself and walked

into the living room, looking at the

murals with fresh eyes. Wondering what

Sera saw when she looked at them. What

they made her think about him. Pushing

those thoughts to the side, he opened the

door.

His father’s oldest business partner,

Wayne Gibbs, stood in the hallway, the

day’s racing form sticking out of his

front pocket.

“Wayne.”

“You mind letting me in? I’m catching

a cold out here.”

When he made a move to pass him,

Bowen blocked his path. “Let’s talk

downstairs.”

“You can’t invite your godfather

inside?” He clucked his tongue. “I know

Lenny taught you more respect than that.”

His tone was teasing, but Bowen

heard the underlying steel. Jesus, these

old-school guys didn’t take disrespect

lightly. Neglect to invite them in for

coffee and you signed your own death

warrant. Furthermore, Wayne never

failed to bring up his father every time

they met. Bowen knew he was

suspicious about the events leading to

his business partner’s arrest, but since

he didn’t have concrete evidence of

Bowen’s role, he settled on needling him

every chance he got.

He didn’t want to invite Wayne inside,

but not doing so would be suspicious.

The last thing he needed was added

scrutiny while he had Sera under his

protection. He’d just have to hope Sera

knew enough to stay out of sight in the

back bedroom.

With a tight smile, he stepped back.

“Coffee?”

“Nah, I’m good. I only got a minute

before I have to split.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets,

doing his best to ignore Wayne’s usual

amusement over the paint-covered

walls. “What’s up?”

“That crew from Central Brooklyn we

took care of a few weeks ago is back.”

The older man picked up a paintbrush

and let it drop. “One of our guys said

they were selling again down on Kings

Highway. Either they’ve got balls of

steel or they can’t read a map. We told

them to keep it in their territory, but they

ain’t listening.”

Bowen inwardly cringed, knowing

Sera could hear everything from the back