Taking What's His (Entangled Brazen) (10 page)

Chapter Twelve

Holt ran his hands through his hair and stared down at his phone. He wanted to call Lydia, but last night he might have blown any chances he’d had of being with her. Not only had he been weak, but he’d been an asshole, too. Two things women generally didn’t find attractive. So…yeah.

But that didn’t stop him from longing to call her anyway.

His head still had that dull ache he was all too fucking familiar with, but he felt mostly human. And a lot of that had to do with Lydia’s care. She’d given him his meds, put him in bed, and made sure he was all right. She would have stayed longer, too, but he’d made her leave. Hadn’t wanted her to see what came next—the vomiting.

He ran his thumb over the screen. “Son of a bitch.”

Shoving his phone into his pocket without breaking down and calling her, he opened his truck door and walked up the path to Steven’s house. He’d asked Holt to stop by this morning, so he walked in without knocking, like he always did. But as soon as he stepped foot inside, he froze. Steven wasn’t alone.

“But you have to—”

“No, I don’t,” Lydia said, her voice hard. “I don’t have to tell you a single thing, if I don’t want to. And I don’t want to.”

“Just tell me his name. That’s all I want.”

She scoffed. “Who he is doesn’t matter. We’re just…you know, having fun. It’s nothing important, or I would tell you who he was. He’s nothing.”

Holt tightened his fists. Yeah, they’d decided not to tell anyone else about their secret affair, but it still stung to hear it coming from her lips. He was two seconds away from barging in there and demanding she tell Steven the truth…which was crazy as hell.

Just like me.

“So, he’s, what exactly?” Steven asked. “A booty call?”

“Call it what you want. It’s just a temporary arrangement between the two of us. That’s all.”

Steven sighed. “And then once it’s over, you’ll go back to dating guys you can actually bring home?”

It sounded like she stomped her foot. “Steven, I don’t like—”

Not wanting to hear the rest of that statement, Holt cleared his throat and stepped into the room. “Am I interrupting something?”

Lydia’s cheeks suffused with color. She still wore the same outfit she’d had on last night, and her hair was a bit frizzy. Also, her face was devoid of makeup. He’d never seen her looking so fresh before. Gorgeous.

And so off-limits.

Steven turned to him, his cheeks red, too, but with anger, not embarrassment. “No, we were just having a little talk.”

“About?” he asked, cocking a brow.

“Inappropriate boyfriends.”

Lydia turned even redder. “I never said he was my boyfriend. He isn’t.”

“Who has a boyfriend?” he asked, playing along. But the game made him feel sick to his stomach. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone special, Steven.”

“Fuck you,” Steven shot back. “I told you, if I was going to date a dude, I’d date you. But as it is, I still prefer chicks.”

Holt snapped his fingers. “Damn.”

“Wait.” Lydia rubbed her head. “What?”

Steven snorted. “Don’t even think about it. He might be my type, but he’s not yours. He’s too damn stubborn and dirty for a little girl like you.” He slapped Holt on the back, sending a shard of pain through his skull. “Right, man?”

Of course he was right. But again, Holt wasn’t that much worse than any other dude out there. He just…got migraines and couldn’t always form his words properly. That wasn’t so bad, was it? He winced.
Yeah, it was.

“Right,” Holt said between his clenched teeth.

“Are you okay?” Lydia asked, coming forward.

“Yes.” Holt locked gazes with her. “I’m fine.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” Steven looked at them both, no longer looking quite as jovial as before. “What did I miss here? What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Just a headache,” Holt said quickly. “I mean, just, uh…I—”

Lydia stepped forward. “When he drove me home the other night, he told me he gets headaches every once in a while. Said he felt one coming on, so I was asking about it. That’s all.”

Holt blinked at her. She’d been quick to jump in and make sure Steven didn’t see anything between the two of them. But in doing so, she’d given away information he didn’t like giving out. Damn it. If people at work knew he was having headaches, and episodes, he’d never be able to keep his job. He’d already lost one position due to his injury.

He wasn’t about to lose another.

Steven eyed Holt. “You still get those? I thought they stopped.”

“Uh…” He looked at Lydia, giving himself a second to form his thoughts. “I don’t get them anymore. They stopped. I thought I was going to have another one, but then it went away. False alarm.”

“Oh. Good.”

Lydia crossed her arms. “Yeah.”

He stared right the fuck back at her. If he didn’t want to tell anyone he was having migraines and panic attacks and every other awful thing he had…then it was his own fucking business. She’d sworn to keep his secret, and she would.

Steven cleared his throat. “Anyway, I have to go to another morning meeting with my new supervisor, and I’m late. Can you maybe give Lydia a ride back to her place, Holt? It’s why I called you over here.”

“Yes, of course,” he said.

At the same time, Lydia said, “I can call a cab.”

“No.”

“No,” Holt said at the same time as Steven. It earned him a weird look from his best friend. “I mean, I don’t mind.”

Lydia nodded once. “All right.”

Steven grabbed his bag and hugged Lydia. “Let me know if you hear back from Ian. He’s supposed to be calling you again today.”

“Yeah.” Lydia glanced at Steven, then back at Holt. “Of course.”

Holt stiffened. Who the fuck was Ian? And why hadn’t she mentioned him before? He nodded at Steven as he walked by, waiting to hear the door shut behind him. As soon as it did, he cocked a brow. “Ian?”

She nodded, smoothing her hair with a trembling hand. “Yeah.”

“Is there something I need to know about this Ian guy?”

Lydia blinked. “No. He’s nobody. Just some guy that…that Steven wants me to meet, is all.”

“Is that so?”

She crossed her arms. “Yeah.”

“Bullshit. He—” He shook his head at himself. What the hell did he think he was doing, demanding answers out of her? They weren’t exclusive. They weren’t
anything
, really. “Never mind. Forget I asked. Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Come on.”

When they got to his truck, he helped her into it again, but his mind was elsewhere on the ride to her place. On this Ian guy, whoever the fuck he was. Was she seeing him, too? He’d beat the shit outta the guy, and then strangle him until he never even thought about approaching his Lydia again.
Shit
. He didn’t even know the guy, but he was already fantasizing about kicking his ass. With a muttered curse, he pulled into her parking lot, his grip on the wheel even tighter than before.

She glanced at him, then sighed and opened her door. “Well, thanks for the ride.”

“I’ll walk you up.”

She hopped down. “You don’t have—”

“I said, I’ll walk you up.” He opened his door and shut it behind him. “And I will.”

“All right.” She shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.”

She floated his fucking boat, but she already knew that. “Your roommate come home yet?”

“No. She’s coming back in a couple of days.” She unlocked her door and stepped inside. He followed her in, closing the door behind him. He locked it, too. “Thanks for the ride,” she said again.

He nodded and rocked back on his heels, taking in her apartment. The flowers he’d given her were in a vase on a table in the dining room. That day felt like lifetimes ago. “Why did you go to Steven’s instead of going home?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you tell him about what happened? About…my issue?”

“No. Of course I didn’t.” She crossed her arms. “First of all, I didn’t mean to slip up earlier. I just saw you flinch, and before I thought it through, I was asking if you were okay.”

He swallowed hard. “It’s fine.”

“And second of all, how could I have told him? He would have wanted to know why I was there, and what we were doing.” She lifted a shoulder. “But really, I just wanted to walk somewhere to clear my head, so I did. And then I was all ready to yell at Steven for not taking care of you. But then I realized—”

“Hold on.” He held a hand up and took a step closer to her. “You walked there alone, while I was in bed sick?”

She crossed her arms. “Yeah. I’ve been walking by myself for a while now. About twenty-three years, actually.”

“You know what I mean.” He took another step toward her. Two more steps and she’d be in his arms, bent over. He hadn’t been finished with her last night when that headache had struck him. And he wasn’t finished now. “It was dark out.”

Rolling her eyes, she dropped her arms to her sides. “You don’t say? And here I thought it stayed light all day long, and I was just in a really big shadow.”

“
Lydia
.” Another step, and he grabbed her chin, tilting her face up to his. “You shouldn’t do that kind of shit. What if something happened to you while I was unable to help?”

“I was fine.” She grabbed his wrists, holding onto him but not pushing him away. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know. But I want to.” He paused, trying to form the words perfectly. “Take care of you. Like you did for me.”

She licked her lips. “You do?”

“I do.” He ran his thumb over her jawline. She was so soft and smooth. So very different from him. “I know a great way to do that, actually. Unless that Ian guy would object…”

“It’s not like that,” she said softly. “He’s nothing to me, not like you. He’s just some guy who wants me to—”

“Shh.” He lowered his lips to hers, stopping just short of touching. He hauled her closer by pressing a hand to her lower back. She surged against him, every tantalizing inch of her body touching his. “It doesn’t matter who he is, and I have no right to be a jealous prick over it. For now, you’re mine, and I’m yours. That’s all that matters.”

He backed her against the red wall that led into her kitchen, right next to her bookshelf. It was true. The future and the past weren’t important.

All that mattered was
this
.

“You’re jealous?” she asked, dipping her fingers down his chest, over his belt buckle, and then cupping his hard cock. She could barely squeeze her hand in, because he was pressed up so tightly against her. “I thought you didn’t get jealous?”

He kissed her, knowing it was enough of an answer. Besides, he didn’t think he could give her a straight reply when her hand was on his dick. As he kissed her, she undid his pants with trembling hands and flicked her tongue over his.

It almost sent him over the edge, just that simple gesture. This undying need to have her, to make her his, in every sense of the word, wasn’t getting any weaker. And that was scary. Despite his attraction to her, he didn’t fool himself into thinking they had anything worth trying to keep. She needed a better man than him.

No, she
deserved
a better man than him.

But he could be good enough for now.

He swept her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom, his lips never leaving hers. Hell, if he stopped kissing her, he’d die. That’s how much he needed her. It was both scary and new. As soon as they cleared the bedroom door, he tossed her onto the bed, following her down on it and ravishing her mouth even more.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, making those hot little whimpering sounds he loved so fucking much. This time, he wouldn’t lose control. This time, he would remain sane and not spew out a shitload of words that made no sense.

But when she slid her hand inside his pants and closed her small hand around his cock…all thoughts fled. Growling, he deepened the kiss and shoved his hand up her skirt. The second he touched her wet heat, he was a goner. He could sit there and say he was going to remain in control until he was blue in the face, but the truth was, around her…

He couldn’t.

“Shit,” he muttered, thrusting a finger inside of her.

She cried out, arching her hips. He could make her come right here, right now, with a finger. But he wanted to be buried inside of her when she came.

He pushed off of her and stood, his hands on his pants. “No.”

“What?” She blinked and sat up partially, pouting, and she looked two seconds from either hitting him or crying. Maybe both. “What do you mean,
no
?”

“Stand up,” he said, letting his pants hit the floor. Slowly, he took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand. “Now.”

She bit down on her plump lip. “Yes, sir.” Rolling to the side, she stood in front of him within two seconds flat, her hand resting over his heart. “Now what?”

Lifting his hand, he spun his finger in a circle. “Turn around.”

Her lips parted on a ragged breath, but she did as he asked immediately. Once she faced away from him, she peeked over her shoulder with sultry eyes. “Sir?”

“So eager.” Reaching around her, he gripped the bottom of her silk shirt in a tight ball and tugged her back against his chest. Nibbling on her ear, he murmured, “So fucking sweet, too.”

She arched her neck for him, granting him access. “
Holt
.”

He yanked her shirt over her head, grinning at her surprised gasp. Dropping it to the floor, he undid her bra and let that fall, too. Splaying his hand over her stomach, he rolled his hips against her ass, loving how soft she felt against his cock. “Yeah, Lyd?”

“P-Please.” She gripped his thighs, pressing against him.

“Not yet.” He tugged her skirt down over her generous hips, watching hungrily as more and more of her skin became visible. When the skirt hit the floor, she wore nothing but a thong and her long hair. He curled his fist into those soft locks, tugging her head back. “But don’t worry. I’ll be buried inside you soon. And you’ll never want me to leave.”

“I’m already worried about that,” she whispered, pressing her thighs together.

His grip on her hair tightened. “What?”