Page 8 of Hard to Handle
“Yep.’Bout that time.”I peered back at Amy.“Why don’t you head on out?I’ve got it from here.”
Amy smiled, then placed her apron beneath the bar.
“Oh, and Amy?”
“Hmm?”
“Takebothof them with you.”
Amy giggled.“Right.Like Lynx is going anywhere.”
I frowned.I'd figured as much, but I honestly wished he would go on about his life.Ever since the day the Houston detective had come to Embers Ridge to talk to Rhys, Lynx had been my shadow.
And sure, part of me was grateful in a way.After all, the detective had been killed that night, and only a couple of hours later, someone had tried to break into Amy’s house while I was there.We figured Lynx thwarted the guy’s plan by showing up to warn me.
That was only a few weeks ago.
But as I'd proven, I could take care of myself.I'd been doing so for long enough now that it was second nature.It wasn’t like I had anyone to watch my back.Although my family was tight, they were still a little self-absorbed, which usually left me out of their minds unless I was within their sight.And Billy… God, I didn’t even want to get into how self-absorbed that man had been during our time together.
“You ready to lock it down?”
I looked up to see Lynx standing on the other side of the bar.
Sex on a freaking stick.So tall, so sexy, it was hard to look at him sometimes.And those damn tattoos that covered him from neck to knuckles were almost too much temptation.Yet I'd managed to ignore my body’s disturbing reaction to him all this time.
I could see the dark shadow of a bruise marring his cheekbone.Looked as though Billy had gotten in at least one good hit.Granted, the asshole was far worse off than Lynx.
“You don’t have to stick around,” I told him, moving to the register to pull out the till.
I carried it to the back office, where I secured it in the fireproof safe, then locked the steel door on the office.Damn fools in this town had tried to break in one too many times.It was bad enough they raided my beer, but I worked hard for my money.I wasn’t going to make it easy for them.And when I'd finally gotten tired of replacing the damn door, I'd had a bigger one installed three years ago.So far, no one had been able to break through and I hoped it stayed that way.
When I returned to the bar, Lynx was still there, his long, lean body propped against the wood, his eyes raking over me.
I nodded toward the door as I grabbed my truck keys.
“You don’t have to follow me home, you know?”I figured it was a waste of breath, but I told him the same thing I'd told him every night since the first night he’d camped outside my house.
I pulled the door shut and locked it.I could practically feel Lynx behind me.
When I turned to face him, he grinned.
“I don’thaveto do anything,” he told me.“Iwantto.”
Suddenly fueled by a raging case of frustration, I stomped right up to Lynx.“Why?”I asked, trying to keep my tone civil but failing.“Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
He stared down at me, and I felt the full impact of his heated gaze.The desire that swirled there was enough to make my knees weak, but I allowed the anger and irritation to win out.
“Tell me, Lynx.Why?”
“Because I want you,” he professed.“More than my next fucking breath.”
God.Those words said in that raspy tone … they were more than I could handle, and honestly, I felt as though I'd been waiting an eternity for this man.A freaking lifetime.
For years, I'd come up with one excuse after another as to why I had to stay away from Lynx Caine.My biggest reason being he couldn’t seem to keep his dick in his pants.He was always with a different girl and it pissed me off.And I'd used my crappy relationship with Billy as my armor, as a way to keep Lynx at arm’s length.All the while, I thought of him endlessly.
And here he was saying things I'd always wanted him to say.It made me want to jump him, to knock him to the gravel and straddle him, right here beneath the moon.
Rather than give in to that urge, I spun on my boot heel and stomped toward my truck.I could hear Lynx behind me, and I balled my hands into fists.The man didn’t know when to stop.The worst part was, if he didn’t, I feared I was going to do something I would likely regret for the rest of my life.
