Page 90 of Lure

Course, if it didn’t work, abuse was next.

“Leave him,” Bones said. “Showers. Food. Rest. Give him until dawn.”

Worked for me.

Upstairs, the scent of sex was unmistakable even after being smothered in Gallo’s funk. Grace stood in the archway separating the dining room from the living area and she studied us as we came up.

Alphabet stood slightly in front of her with Goblin parked between them. The dog was relaxed, but Alphabet seemed a little warier.

Then again, she looked worried as well. Right.

They’d had sex.

“Hungry?” Lunchbox asked, breaking the impasse. Behind me, I could have sworn Bones cursed, but I ignored him.

“I’m gonna shower,” I said taking the handoff easily and flashed a grin at Grace and Alphabet. “Give me fifteen and I’ll happily eat and we can debrief.”

“You guys are all okay?” Grace pushed forward a couple of steps.

“All good, Gracie,” Lunchbox said. “Be back in five.” Then he was jogging up to his room.

“Not a scratch,” I told Grace. “Gallo is secure. You good?”

Her cheeks seemed to pinken. Was that a blush? That could have been the light, but the faint smirk on Alphabet’s face said otherwise. It was utterly charming on her.

“I’m fine,” she said. “We had a good day.”

“Good. Be right back.” I winked and yep, there was relief flickering over her face. Right, we needed to tackle that. If theguys wanted her, I had no problem with that, as long as she wanted it too.

Shower. Eat. Debrief. Put Grace’s mind at ease. Sleep.

Tomorrow, we would crack Gallo like an egg and find out what the fuck he had to do with all of this.

Excellent plan.

Chapter

Thirty-Three

GRACE

Dinner was grilled burgers and fast fried potatoes with rosemary. Lunchbox was back before Bones or Voodoo reappeared. When I slipped into the kitchen to offer to help, he wrapped an arm around me and dragged me close.

“You can give me a kiss,” he’d murmured and I swore the knot of emotions inside of me twisted me up even tighter. Then his lips grazed over mine, more like miming a kiss than committing to it.

The whisper of his breath on my skin was even headier than the hint of a kiss itself. Shivers eddied over my skin as he lifted his head. “You are so damn dangerous.”

“Never to you,” he promised, then rubbed his thumb over my lower lip. “You okay?” The intensity in his eyes made them seem far darker than the blue they were normally. It was almost like they were a dark navy with hints of gray. Or maybe that was my imagination.

I sucked in a deep breath of him, the fresh and clean scent of his soap tickled my nostrils. There were hints of sandalwoodaround him but the cooking burgers and frying potatoes threatened to drown out the crisper notes.

Despite how short his shower was, he’d taken the time to shave and the lines of his jaw were sharp and angular. There was something innately beautiful about the shape of his features.

He could have been a model. The combination of his height and long, rangy body with his athletic build made for a potent combination. The t-shirt he wore fit him so well it might as well have been tailored, and hid nothing of his muscular shoulders. At the same time, the contrast of soft cotton with the harder body beneath made me want to lean into him.

“Grace?” Lunchbox leaned back to study me, before he shifted to flip the burgers while still keeping an arm around me. The ease in the fluid motion was so damn natural.

“I’m fine,” I said, stumbling a little mentally. I’d almost forgotten he asked me a question. Then I gave into the desire to just lean against him.

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