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His hand slid down. Down. He shifted his hips away enough so that his hand could wedge between them. That big hand went to her core and began to stroke her through what was, indeed, thin fabric.
She bit her lip to hold back a hungry cry. And that was not her telling him to stop.
“You’re so beautiful. I could have you screaming…”
She’d never screamed. Her sexual experience to date had been, well, it had been practically zero. Not that she intended to tell Midas.
She wanted him to keep stroking her. To stroke harder. To push her to the edge and then over it.
Instead, he pulled his hand away. Caught her legs and lowered them to the bed. Then the man jumped away from her and the bed like he’d just been scalded. “You don’t want me touching you.”
Alina sat up. Glaring, she said, “You seem to know an awful lot about what I want.” What she wanted was for him to finish what he’d just started.
“You’re class. You’re substance. You’re good.” His hands fisted. “If you knew the real me, you would never let me put my hands on you.”
“I don’t know the real you.” He was right on that score. “Due to the fact that you lied to me.” That hindered the whole real-me process.
“You’re gonna know. The cops will tell you. They think I killed those two men.”
Moments before, she’d been kissing Midas. They’d been hot. Passionate. Now—this? “You didn’t. I was there. The redhead was alive. There was certainly no knife sticking out of his chest. I would have noticed that.” Hard to miss something like that.
“The other man was stabbed and had his neck broken.”
“Yes, I heard that.” Scary. But what did that have to do with Midas?
“Your father told me that you wouldn’t know about my past. It was a long time ago. Hell, I was barely nineteen when they locked me up.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “When who locked you up?”
“A lot of people have forgotten. You would have been so young then. The memory would have passed for you by now, and hell, only true crime buffs are familiar with the dirty details these days.”
Her hands clenched in the covers. “You are losing me, Midas. I don’t understand what you are talking about.”
A jerky nod. “Right. And this isn’t the time to tell you. You’re already terrorized enough.” He took a step back. “Go to sleep, Alina.”
“You’re bossy, you know that?”
“I’m a straight A bastard, that’s what I am. Don’t ever think otherwise.” A shadow seemed to darken his face. He sawed a hand over the beard along his hard jaw. “But I can keep you safe. I can protect you better than anyone else. So when you do learn all the dirty details, remember that, would you?”
Enough of the mystery. “Just spit it out, Midas. Tell me what you’re hiding. I am sick of secrets.”
“You won’t sleep. You have enough fear as it is. Adding more to it now…”
This was crazy. He couldn’t just leave her in the dark.
He turned for the door. “If you need me, I’ll be a shout away.”
No. Absolutely not. “You don’t drop bombshells and walk away.”
He didn’t look back.
“Fine. Should I do an internet search on you? I’m sure I’ll get some hits. Whatever dirty secrets you’re keeping, I’m certain I can uncover them. But don’t you think it would just be better for you to tell me the truth?”
Slowly, he faced her.
“Why were you locked up, Midas?”
“Alina…”
