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living in suburbia.”

“But you don‟t know that for a fact?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Let me ask you something. Were you
ever
jealous watching me in

bed with Kimber?”

Luc paused. But the answer was easy. “No. Though you two had a

bond, for a long time I felt completely involved in the relationship.”

“I couldn‟t stand watching you touch her,” Deke admitted. “Every time

you did, I thought it was going to fucking kill me. How is that different from

how you feel about Alyssa being with Tyler?”

“I knew you weren‟t going to hurt Kimber,” Luc hedged.

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But did he really believe that Tyler would hurt Alyssa when he was

trying so hard to guard her?

“Okay, forget this guy. What about Jack Cole? If Morgan was out of

the picture, would you share Alyssa with Jack? He‟s a stand-up guy, and

I‟m pretty sure it wouldn‟t be the first time he‟d had sex with her. Sure, it‟s

been a few years—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Luc growled.

The image of Jack Cole unleashing his chains and cuffs and

commands on Alyssa was like running his guts through a meat grinder.

Truth was, he didn‟t want anyone else touching her.

“Okay.” Deke held up his hands. “But take my word for it. When you‟ve

got feelings for a woman, jealousy comes with the territory.” He stood as

his wife approached. “Especially when the woman is beautiful. Everything

okay?”

“Great.” Then she frowned at Luc. “You all right?”

No. Leave it to Deke to throw the fact he felt more than lust for Alyssa

in his face. What the hell was he supposed to do about it?

“Fine.” He did his best to sound sincere . . . and knew he fell short of

the mark.

“I have my next doctor appointment in a few weeks, and Deke will be

out of town. Can you take me?” Kimber asked. “How much longer will you

be here?”

A pity invitation, and he was desperate enough to grab it. Any small

involvement with Deke and Kimber‟s baby was likely more than he‟d ever

have for himself, especially if he kept ignoring Emily and chasing Alyssa

like a schmuck.

Bless Kimber for caring how he felt. He brought her close for a long

hug. “I‟d love to. I‟m only here until Thursday.”

“Oh, just a few days, then.” She smiled. “That‟s great!”

Deke clapped him on the back and sent him a meaningful stare. “Make

the most of them.”

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Shayla Black

JUST after midnight, Alyssa shut the doors to Bonheur. A weight lifted

from her shoulders. The evening had been a huge success, and everyone

who‟d come tonight said the food and service were spectacular. All wanted

to come back, and she finally believed she had a future comprised of more

than taking off her clothes for strangers. The evening really couldn‟t have

gone better.

Except watching Luc with Deke and Kimber.

To say that the sexy chef still had feelings for his cousin‟s beautiful

wife would be stating the obvious. He‟d hugged her, looked into her eyes.

The moment hadn‟t seemed sexual, but they were in public. And Deke

supposedly didn‟t share anymore. Still, the embrace had unnerved Alyssa.

Was the other woman the reason Luc couldn‟t give more of himself to her?

“You ready to go?” Tyler asked, hovering near her as he had all night.

“I‟ll take her home,” Luc said, appearing behind her.

“It‟s my job.” Tyler crossed his arms and donned his badass mien as

tightly as he would leather pants.

Luc ignored him. Instead, he turned to her, face solemn. “I‟d like to

take you home. We should talk.” She hesitated, and he pressed. “Please.”

What did he want? If she went, she risked further heartbreak. But if

she refused him, she‟d never know. What if he wanted to renew their earlier

argument? Or just have sex again. She winced.

“All right.” She avoided looking at Tyler. “I packed up your things.

They‟re in my foyer. Homer is expecting you.”

At that, Tyler smiled. She also read the hurt on Luc‟s face. For her

sanity, she had to sideline him to Homer‟s, but she should have done it

when they were alone.

“Fine,” he bit out.

Telling her that it wasn‟t fine at all.

“You sure you want to ride with him?” Tyler asked, clearly looking for

any reason to get one up on Luc. “I can follow you, make sure he doesn‟t

give you any issues.”

She leveled him with a no-nonsense stare. “He‟s a chef, not a serial

rapist. I‟ll be all right. We‟ll talk tomorrow.”

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Shayla Black

Scowling, Tyler drifted closer, reaching for her. Luc was faster and

closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. She ignored Tyler‟s not-so-silent

curse.

Outside, she locked the restaurant‟s door and let Luc lead her to his

SUV. His touch lingered at her waist, and she tried not to notice her

quivering knees.

Once they were on the road and the beautiful night air sifted through

her hair, she turned to Luc. “Spill it. What did you want to talk about?”

“Everything.”

Alyssa had this niggling suspicion that Luc was going to try to talk his

way back in her bed. And where he was concerned, she was so, so weak.

Though she should give him brownie points for facing the conversation

head-on, she really didn‟t know what to say that wouldn‟t lead to her

admitting she had deep feelings for him and them undressed and entwined.

“I‟m exhausted, and it‟s late,” she begged off. “Can‟t it wait until

tomorrow?”

“It shouldn‟t take me more than a few minutes to apologize.”

She whipped her gaze around to him—and didn‟t say a word.

He swallowed, his long, dark hair whipping around in the night wind.

He looked gorgeous, so capable and sensitive. She fell for him a bit more.

“Don‟t look shocked, please. I‟ve had a few hours to think about what

happened earlier. I was wrong to jump down your throat about your leaving

this morning to be with Tyler. It‟s none of my business. You have a lot on

your mind, and he works for you . . .” Luc shrugged. “I won‟t lie and say I

like the way he looks at you. I have no doubt his thoughts are totally

unprofessional. I also won‟t lie and say the thought of you with him doesn‟t

make me crazy.” Luc gripped the steering wheel tighter. “But that‟s

between the two of you, and I have no right to interfere.”

So he was past the anger and knew he‟d pissed her off, and

accordingly wheeled out an apology. But . . . “In other words, it‟s none of

your business if I fuck Tyler, but you still think I am and will try not to growl

at me about it?”

“It doesn‟t matter what I think. It‟s your life, and I have no right to tell

you how to live it. I have four days and some change left here. I‟d rather

spend the time enjoying you than fighting with you.”

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Shayla Black

“So let‟s put all the emotion behind us so we can fuck like rabbits for

four days?”

God, why didn‟t he just slap her in the face instead of slowly stabbing

her in the heart?

“I meant that you‟re right. I haven‟t been a monk since we first got

together, and it‟s wrong of me to expect that you have no other life. I don‟t

know whether you and Tyler have something going. I‟m not passing

judgment. All I‟m saying is that I‟d rather spend time with you, whatever we

choose to do, than argue.” He sighed, and shot an enigmatic dark stare at

her. “You‟re a fascinating woman. I want to know you more.”

Good guy or player?
That was the problem. She didn‟t know Luc deep

down. Either he was genuinely apologizing for allowing his misplaced

jealousy to get the better of him or he was saying what he thought she

wanted to hear, hoping that she‟d be motivated to shed her clothes and

spread her legs. Either way, he‟d said nothing emotional . . . but this was

the first time he‟d pursued her. Could it lead somewhere?

“What I really wanted to hear was that you believed I didn‟t have sex

with Tyler today.”

Luc shrugged. “You don‟t owe me explanations.”

“I don‟t,” she agreed. “But I want to know what you really think.”

It was probably pointless, but she couldn‟t stand him thinking she was

the kind of woman who slept around.

He paused, seemingly lost in his thoughts, sorting through them.

“You‟re too dedicated to your future to fuck away the afternoon the day

your
happiness opens its doors.”

Tears hit her instantly. He got it. He got her! It was a start.

Alyssa bit her lip to hold it in. Damn exhaustion was making her

weepy, and the shit had to stop.

She took a deep breath to compose herself. “Exactly.”

“I‟m sorry I put extra stress on you.”

“I‟m sorry I disappeared this morning. I should have left a note or

something, explaining . . .”

What? That she‟d been too overwhelmed by their time together and

had lost her heart?

“That you were too keyed up?” he guessed.

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Shayla Black

It was as good an excuse as any. She nodded.

“I understand.” He slanted a concerned frown to her. “Did you get any

dinner?”

She sorted through her evening‟s events, then shook her head.

“Lunch?”

No, she‟d been too busy making sure her appearance tonight was

perfect to worry about food. “I skipped it.”

“Breakfast?” He sounded incredulous.

Alyssa winced. She‟d been curled up on her bed at Sexy Sirens, crying

her eyes out.

“Damn it! You‟re not taking care of yourself. Did you sleep at all

today?”

Because Lord knew Luc had made certain she didn‟t get any sleep last

night.

Again, she shook her head.

A moment later, they pulled up in front of her house. He hopped out

and rushed around his SUV to get her door.

Now that she‟d been still for a bit, weariness crept up on her, and she

stumbled out of the vehicle—into his arms. He brought her close, and she

allowed herself to feel safety and warmth, pretend that she really mattered

to him.

“That‟s it.” He sounded fed up. “I know you‟re eager to throw me out,

but you have to let me in to take care of you.”

If she did that, she‟d wind up naked with him again, letting him deep

inside her body, deeper inside her heart.

“Luc . . .”

“You‟re not talking me out of it. Keys?” He held out his hand.

Alyssa wavered. How nice would it be to let Luc take care of her for a

few minutes? She was always in charge of everything—had been since the

day she left home. Right now, giving over her responsibility to him sounded

like a ridiculously wonderful fantasy.

Fearing she would regret the decision but too tempted to care, she

dropped her keys in Luc‟s palm.

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Shayla Black

A
S soon as Luc closed the keys inside his fist, he bent and swept her

into his arms. She clung to his neck, and the masculine scents of pine,

musk, and soap hit her system. It was a good thing he held her or her

knees would have given way completely.

“Wh-what?” she sputtered. “What are you doing?”

He unlocked the door with one hand, shouldered his way in, and

stopped her before the burglar alarm so she could disarm it. After the

beeping stopped, he walked past her kitchen and stepped down to the den,

depositing her on the downy-soft sofa. He lifted the quilt she usually kept

across the back for chilly mornings and draped it over her legs.

“You okay?”

“More tired than I thought . . .” she mumbled. God, she wasn‟t even

sure she could stay awake long enough to disrobe, even though sleeping in

this dress would ruin it.

Groaning, she tried to push to her feet. Luc eased her back down.

Lacking the will to resist, she settled back into the cushions with a mutinous

expression.

“You‟re not going anywhere.”

“I have to change. Take off my makeup.”

“Not right now, you don‟t. Give me five minutes. Just sit here that long.

I promise to make it worthwhile.”

She had no idea what he was up to and was too tired to argue. “ ‟K.”

As her eyes slid shut, she heard his footsteps retreat. The next thing

she knew, Luc was gently shaking her.

“Alyssa?”

“Hmm.” She‟d fallen asleep on the couch while he‟d . . . what?

Watched?

Then the smell of food hit her, and her stomach rumbled in response.

She opened her eyes to find eggs and toast and some fruit in yogurt on a

plate beside her.

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Shayla Black

Before she could ask, he pulled the plate into his lap and sent her a

stern glance. “You‟re going to eat. Furthermore, you‟re not going to go a

whole day without eating or sleeping again. Now, open up.”

Luc looked as if he meant business. Secretly, she was touched. Was

the man trying to make her fall even more in love with him? Even in Tyler‟s

most solicitous moments, he would never cook for her. He barely cooked

for himself. And yes, this was Luc‟s profession, but the fact he‟d done it

after getting little sleep himself and being on his feet all evening melted her.

“I can feed myself.” She reached for the fork.

“I‟m sure you‟ve been doing it since roughly your first birthday. But I‟m