Page 17 of The Love Destroyers

“You need to get back inside,” I observe, taking another appreciative glance at her beaded nipples beneath the dress. I’ve never pretended to be a good guy—why start now?

“I do,” she agrees, but she doesn’t move. She just stands there propped against that wall, studying me. I don’t mind the attention. She can look her fill. Touch her fill too if she sees fit to do so. Finally, she asks, “What does it feel like to pop a man’s kneecaps?”

She’s surprised me, and I don’t care if she can tell.

Emma is alawyer. I should tell her that I was messing with her earlier and I don’t have the faintest idea. The expression on her face compels honesty, though. I can tell she’s not asking me out of judgment. While I don’t think she’s going to hightail it to Charlotte tonight so she can kneecap that lawyer, she does want revenge. She wants to know what it feels like. Whether it’s worth it.

“I puked,” I admit, shoving my hands into my pockets.

She lifts her eyebrows, surprised that I told her, maybe, then says, “Never smart to leave behind DNA evidence.”

“No, but I’m never going to be given a lifetime achievement award for academic excellence. Kneecapping this guy probably isn’t the way to go, even if it would carry a certain satisfaction.”

“Did it for you?”

“No,” I say, feeling a burn in my chest. “Because I wasn’t doing it for myself. Like I said, I left all of that behind a long time ago. I trusted the wrong people. Did the wrong things.”

She watches me for another long moment before nodding in acceptance. “I believe you, but I suppose it’s not me you have to convince.”

“I don’t care to convince anyone of anything,” I say, letting my weariness seep into the words. “I just want to live out my life in peace.”

One of her eyebrows wings up. “Which is precisely what you’re trying to convince me not to do.”

Laughter escapes me. “I never paid much mind to being consistent either.” I nod toward the part of the house where the reception is being held. Strains of music drift toward us. “You should get back in there. It’s your brother’s wedding.”

“And your sister’s.”

She takes a step toward me. Another. She’s prowling, like one of those big cats. I half expect her to kiss me. Or to pull me inside and tell me she’ll take me for a test drive after all, thank Christ. But instead she tugs off my coat and hands it over.

“Keep it,” I say, pushing it at her.

“I’m not keeping your coat,” she scoffs. “You might be a big strong man, but you don’t want to get hypothermia. One of my clients divorced her husband because he lost the tip of his dick to frostbite.”

I flinch, as any man would. “Christ, aren’t you supposed to keep that kind of thing to yourself?”

“Yes. Are you going to turn me in?”

“No,” I say. She pushes the coat at me, but I don’t take it. “If you’re giving that to me, you’re going inside.”

She gives me an unimpressed look, but when I don’t budge, she sighs and starts walking—not toward the front of the house, the way I figured she would, but moving farther along the side.

“A different entrance?”

“And they say Nicole is the private investigator.”

I laugh and start walking with her. Call me stubborn, but I won’t leave until she’s inside. If my dick’s in danger, so are her gorgeous nipples, and it would be a crime against humanity if they froze off.

“Are you stalking me?” she asks, giving me a look over her shoulder as I follow her.

“Yes, for the moment. You’re making it damn easy, too. You might want to keep that in mind if you ever find yourself in this position again.”

She snorts, then nearly trips over a stone. I take her hand to help her right herself, feeling a zip of awareness as her cold fingers twine with mine for half a second before she swats my hand away.

“I can walk by myself.”

“Evidence suggests otherwise.”

We walk in quiet for a moment, the chill air crowding us—Emma’s too bull-headed to put the coat back on, and so am I, dammit. Finally we reach a side door, leading who knows where. It feels an awful lot like goodbye, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to wishing it were otherwise.

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