Page 47 of Midnight Dissonance

“Lass, the cost of living downtown is higher than out in the suburbs. And there are things you will need I know your salary won’t cover. It’s my job to take care of you and provide you with the things you need. You’ll need a car for your own safety, if nothing else, when you go out to run errands or go to work or have rehearsal with your band.”

She’d cross her arms if they weren’t full of bags. He really had bought her way too much. “Who says I’m going to move in? We could break up. I mean, are we going out? We haven’t been on an actual date. All we’ve done is screw. And you could get sick of me.”

He growled deep within his chest, sounding almost like an ancient Celt battle cry. “Lexi, get this through that thick skull of yours, woman. This—us—we’re happening. And I’m going to buy you things and make sure you have whatever the feck your heart desires. I’ll protect you, even when you’re being difficult and make me want to spank your ass until the lesson gets through that thick brain. And once your suspension at Eros is up, I’m collaring you, because you're fecking mine.”

She sucked in a shocked breath, staring into his eyes to discern the truth behind his words. “You want to collar me?”

The elevator quietly dinged their arrival at his floor.

“When are you going to realize that I’m all in? That I want your ornery ass in my life and my bed. It’s where you belong, lass. And I don’t care if I have to fight you to make it happen.” He pressed the button to keep the doors open but leaned in so his face hovered an inch from hers. “And I’ll take you on our first date. Just not tonight. Because tonight I intend to prove just how right we are for each other. And I’ll start by fucking the resistance out of you.”

He jerked his head toward the hall. “Now let’s get inside, or I’ll fuck you right here in the hall, and I won’t care who sees us.”

Part of her wanted to push him that far. Discover if he would do as he threatened. But then, Josh didn’t back down from a fight and thought better of it. It wasn’t that she minded public sex because she didn’t, but it could harm his standing in the building, and they could get arrested. And she refused to live up to her sister’s expectations.

“If you want me to leave the elevator, you’re going to have to move.”

He retreated three steps. Just enough to allow her to walk past him. But she intentionally brushed her body against him and was rewarded when his gaze narrowed, pulsing with untamed lust.

Lexi headed to his front door at the end of the hall, with Josh a step and a half behind her the entire trek, breathing down her neck. Her body sizzled at his nearness, at the scorching heat throbbing between them. Whatever lesson he planned to teach her would be dirty and depraved, and she would love every naughty second of it.

Josh unlocked the door. The moment they stepped inside, they dropped the bags on the floor, and he had her up against the wall in his foyer. His mouth crushed hers in a hungry, devastating exchange. He slid his hands beneath her skirt and palmed her ass through her tights. She was bare beneath them, and she cursed them because they created a barrier.

She yearned to have him inside her. She moaned into his mouth, returning his kiss with a desire bordering on manic when he lifted her up and wrapped her legs about his waist. The contact of his hips pressing against her sex had them both groaning. He couldn’t know what it meant to her that he wanted to collar her. Because in their world, it was as good as a marriage proposal. And it sparked an emotion inside her she wasn’t familiar with—hope.

The idea of wearing his collar, of belonging to him permanently, tossed a grenade on her lust. And Lexi couldn’t get close enough to him. She rolled her hips as he ground his pelvis, letting her feel all his inches. She needed him inside her. She reached between them, and her nimble fingers undid the clasp and zipper on his jeans. She teased the waistband of his boxers, threatening what she intended.

A throat cleared nearby.

And a voice said, “Bloody hell. Guess we shoulda called first.”

Lexi froze. She couldn’t even move her hand from his boxers. Josh lifted his mouth and glanced toward the kitchen and living room beyond. “Aye, you bloody well should have called, you feckin’ eejits.”

She followed the direction of Josh’s gaze. Standing in the living room with their hands shoved into their slacks were his brothers, Sean and Aiden. The two rascals were grinning ear to ear over the show they had inadvertently given them.

What a damn predicament. Lexi wasn’t a prude. In her time at Eros, she performed public scenes. It added extra heat to the scene, and she had enjoyed herself fully. But she also wanted to be mentally prepared for that level of vulnerability. Besides, they were his brothers, which made this whole thing awkward.

She shoved at Josh’s chest, signaling he should put her down. He gave her an apologetic look. But he unwrapped her legs from his waist, holding her steady as he lowered her feet to the floor.

The moment she was free, she grabbed all the bags they’d dropped in their hurry and made her escape.

“Um, hi. I’ll just let you guys talk.” She power walked past them to the stairs. Holding her head high, she ascended the stairs to his bedroom, fighting mortification and losing.

On the way up, she overheard Sean ask, “Isn’t that the same sub who rejected you?”

She winced because the situation painted her in a terrible light.

14

Josh grunted at Sean’s question. Ignoring his brothers because he needed a moment to cool his lust, he waltzed into the kitchen and grabbed a couple beers from the fridge. Lexi had scurried out of sight as fast as her feet would carry her.

Not that he blamed her. He’d seen the pink blush spread over her cheeks. But it puzzled him because it was at odds with the fantasy she mentioned. But then, she was a walking dichotomy with her sass and soulfulness. And the revelations about her family, how they treated her, royally pissed him off. It didn’t paint his coworker, Lisa, in a good light either.

How did they not see how amazing she was? Were they blind?

Sean and Aiden had a seat on his couch with mile-wide, cheesy grins on their faces. He carried over the beers and handed them each a bottle.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He sat across from them, eyeing his brothers. He was two years older than Sean and four years older than Aiden. When his cousins offered him the lead counsel position and he made his plans to move to the States, these two decided they wanted to leave Ireland as well, much to their mum’s dismay.

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