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Those had been the thoughts running through my mind when a growling noise had pulled my focus and Lake had been standing there looking startled and shy. It had taken me a moment to realize the growl had been her stomach, and I’d been about to sit her down and feed her until Hurricane Avery blew through the room.
Once she’d left, I became hyper aware that at some point, I’d stepped up beside Lake, and my hand had made its way to her lower back. It was a move I seemed to make without conscious effort, and I had no plans to work on it. The small contact with her was the grounding I’d needed these past few hours. The peace that seemed to settle in me was new, and I’d figured out in that hospital room that it was her touch that did it. Funny, since her attitude seemed to be the thing that worked me up into needing calm.
I led Lake back toward the table in the corner and pulled out the chair next to mine. She sat without a word and instead of taking my seat again, I moved around the large kitchen in the break room grabbing anything we’d need for a sandwich. I couldn’t stop the danger in her life, but at least I could stop her hunger.
“So you and your sister are close.” It wasn’t a question and I glanced up from my sandwich prep to meet a pair of curious green eyes.
“We are. She took care of me when we were kids, and now I try to return the favor.” She nodded and I went back to spreading mayonnaise on one slice of bread, before wiping the butter knife clean and spreading mustard on the other slice. I’d watched the nit picking as Lake had shown Turner how her perfect sandwiches were made back at the estate. I had a feeling it was more about her particulars about food than making a “perfect” sandwich, but still, I’d watched and learned.
“Is she older or younger?” This time it was in the form of a question, and I found myself biting back some prickly words about her manners just to get her going.
And why did I want to rile Lake Harrington?
Because when she was on fire, she was alive, and this subdued woman who’d left the hospital was not the hellion I’d come to react to. She was still in a state of shock and it was far worse than her dissociation in the past. The total disconnect was like watching her mind go offline. I could see it, work on it, fix it. But I couldn’t do anything for the polite and cautious woman who was sitting there silently watching me make her a damn sandwich.
She was also still waiting for my answer, so I gave a noncommittal shrug and simply said. “Older.”
“By how much?”
“Few years.” I could almost count down the seconds until she made a pissy noise. And there it was, a huff of frustration. I looked into a glare that could melt stone and couldn’t keep the triumphant smirk from my own face as I made sure the meat stayed on the mayo side and the cheese on the mustard side. “Something wrong?” I asked calmly as I plated the sandwich and set it down in front of her.
“Besides the fact that your answers are vague and annoying?” She asked, trying to discreetly check that her sandwich was made in the correct order before lifting it and taking a bite so large I feared she might choke on it.
“Or are your questions just broad and probing?”
“Probably,” she replied through a mouth full of her second bite and I let out a sharp bark of laughter at that admission. I hadn’t been expecting it, but I was finding out more and more that Lake Harrington was nothing like I’d expected. She swallowed the sandwich and smirked. “You know absolutely everything about me, I think it's time to return the favor, so I’m starting with the easy stuff.”
I tried to hide my cringe at her words. “Family is hardly the easy stuff, Lake. Might as well ask me how many people I’ve killed.” I looked up into her wide eyes and cursed myself. Now she was both nervous and curious about the people I’d killed. I really needed to control myself better when in close proximity to this woman.
She set her sandwich down and squared her shoulders, her eyes focused on me with determination and just a hint of lust that I’d noticed was present every time she was looking at me. I probably had the same damn look every time my gaze was on her. “So,” she said, tone all business. “Is Avery older or younger? And by how much?” She’d brought us back to her original fishing expedition, granting me a reprieve from the horrors I’d suggested.
“She’s four years older than me. She took care of us for a few years until we got adopted.” There, I’d opened up. Sure this was the heavily sanitized version of my childhood, but it was more than I’d shared with others. And more than she’d asked for. That counted, right?
Unfortunately, mentioning that I was adopted only piled more questions on and I saw each and every one in her eyes.What happened to your birth parents? When were you adopted? Why do you look sick any time you talk about your childhood?
Lake’s eyes narrowed on me and I saw the moment she locked onto a question like a dog with a bone. “Be completely honest with me here, Decker. How often did she dress you up like her own personal doll?”
I don’t know if it was the absurdity of the question or the relief that I wasn’t expected to dive so deeply into the shit show that was my childhood, but I threw my head back and laughed. It wasn’t a chuckle or even the ghost of a laugh I’d been sporting for years, it was deep in my belly and I felt tears rising in the corners of my eyes as I continued on. It felt more freeing than just releasing humor, it felt like a baptism. It was cleansing to let go and laugh and the actual joke hadn’t even been that funny. We both knew the laughter wasn’t the result of her joke, but the much needed breath out after the horrors we’d been subjected to lately.
By the time I could control the laughter enough to look back over at her, Lake was biting down on her bottom lip, trying to suppress her own laugh as she watched me. Without giving myself time to weigh the pros and cons and talk myself out of it, I reached over and with the pad of my thumb, pulled her bottom lip from between her teeth. If anyone was sinking teeth into that pouty lip, it would be me.
As if the thought had been broadcast openly to her, Lake sucked in a quick breath of anticipation, and I couldn’t help the growl that escaped my own lips as that desire flared to life from simple proximity. With my thumb still on her bottom lip, she leaned down slightly and caught the digit lightly between her teeth, eyes flashing challenge at me.
My heart pounded excitedly in my chest at her boldness and when I felt the tip of her tongue slide over the pad of my thumb, my cock was alert and ready to join the fun. Fuck, this woman could wreck me. I couldn’t remember the room around us, the building we were hiding in, the situation that brought us to this very moment. There was only Lake, and the urgent need to strip her down and bury myself inside her.
I was already leaning in when the rushing footsteps on the tiled hallway beyond the break room had my attention snapping to the door, Lake releasing my thumb from her hot wet mouth, earning a groan of displeasure from me, despite my best efforts. The footsteps had belonged to Cabot, looking slightly panicked as he stopped short in the doorway. I was on my feet before my brain had registered the need to stand.
“We got something,” he said, eyes looking both murderous and excited.
I turned to Lake and saw her watching Cabot with a mix of curiosity and dread. To her, every time there was news, it was followed by death. I couldn’t blame her for fearing the worst. She started to stand as well and I set my hand on her shoulder guiding her back down to the seat. When she snapped her head up to shoot me a glare, I lifted my hand to her face, tracing her cheekbone with the thumb she’d just been nibbling on. Immediately I saw the indignation drift back, and locked this information away for future use. Lake Harrington could be seduced into not arguing back.
“Finish eating, meet us in Kasey’s office when you’re done.” Though the words were orders, I kept my tone soft and intimate, ignoring the penetrating gaze of Cabot as he stared openly at our exchange.
“I don’t…” Her voice was heavy with lust and I shot Cabot a warning look, irritated that I had to share this side of her with anyone. He turned and left the break room, and Lake cleared her throat. “I don’t have a key card to use the elevator yet.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled the card Kasey had sent down with me earlier to give to Lake. I hadn’t intended on holding onto it, but fuck if she wasn’t the distraction I’d needed. She took the card and gave me a knowing smirk.
“Did you just wait with this, so I’d have to ask you for something?”
