Page 16 of Midnight Dissonance

He pressed his palm against her back, steering her out of the club and over to his Mercedes parked out front. And he liked touching her, liked what the implications of his hand on her meant—that she belonged to him. The men they passed as they exited, looked at him like he was a lucky bastard.

And he was, because he’d begun to suspect that she was a hidden gem just waiting for the right Dom to unleash her. A Dom to whom she granted her submission willingly, kneeling not because she was forced but because she wanted to.

The thought of that Dom being him left him dizzy with pulse-pounding desire.

Bloody hell, he wanted her.

It took all the powers of his control to keep his hands to himself. She stored the guitar in the back before sliding into the front passenger seat. Once she was inside, Josh climbed behind the wheel and had them on Interstate 25 in minutes.

“You know this whole overbearing, protective Dom thing? While it’s cute, I don’t need it.”

“You do. You’re just being ornery because it’s me.” And he didn’t like that she thought he was nothing more than a player. Aye, he had played the field at the club. But he never made the subs he scened with promises he had no intention of keeping. Yet in her eyes, he was no different.

And it left him taking a hard look at himself. But he didn’t want to think about it. “Your band’s amazing. Why aren’t you playing other venues?”

“We have a few other bars we play at, but the music business isn’t easy. We count ourselves fortunate that we have paying gigs.”

“You should talk to Gabe and Sophia about playing Eternal Eros.”

“Like Gabe would ever let me play the club.” She scoffed at his suggestion.

“You never know. He just might, if you asked.” And had some help. But she fought for independence like someone who had existed without anyone helping her. What would it take to make her bend?

“Maybe,” she murmured and glanced out the window as he exited off the highway in Thornton.

They drove the remaining distance to her house in silence. Although it wasn’t really her house. “How long have you lived at your sister’s house?”

“Two lovely years.” She sighed as if it were her cross to bear.

Her response set off alarm bells. “Do you like living with her? Do you guys get along?”

She shrugged. “As well as I do with anybody.”

Her dejected tone struck him. He pulled into the driveway and put his car in park. He shifted in her direction.

“Why did you kiss me?” God, he sounded like such a girl.

She glanced his way and rolled her eyes. “And there it is. I wondered when you were going to bring that up. I don’t know why I did it. It seemed right at the time. But then I remembered what a manwhore you are at the club.”

He winced internally. Was that how the subs at Eros thought of him? As a manwhore? His mum would be vastly disappointed in him. Hell, he wasn’t too proud of himself either. But he had gone the commitment route, and look where that had landed him.

Divorced before he was thirty, with his heart and dreams sliced to ribbons under his ex-wife’s stiletto.

But it smacked of cowardice. It was time he put a stop to it. Because he wasn’t getting any younger. And she’d sparked needs in him that had been dormant for years. Perhaps it was time for a different approach. One that ended with Lexi in his bed.

His dick jolted at the thought. Randy moron.

He leaned across the console, pushing his way into her space. “You know what I think?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.” Her bravado was cute. But he spied the wild thumping pulse at the base of her neck. And noticed the way she licked her lips and her breathing had sped up. All signs she wanted him too.

He leaned even closer, crowding her in the seat. “I think you want me. But it pisses you off. And I think you did it because you wanted to.”

A seductive combination of anger and heat flashed in her eyes. “You’re delusional.”

“Am I?” He cupped her chin, marveling at her soft skin. “Then stop me.”

But Josh didn’t give her a chance to refuse. He crushed her lips. Claimed them. Took them in a heated exchange that fired every one of his cylinders.

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