Page 84 of Vandal Unbound

Vandal smiles as he puts Elsie’s little bag of toys on the floor by the entrance. “Yeah. She is. Got good bones. Just got to figure out exactly what do to with her.”

He looks good in freshly pressed blue jeans and a black T-shirt that hugs his biceps, which I’m fast starting to think are one of the hottest things about him. Besides his eyes. And his singular dimple. And the way his jeans hug that fine ass.

“Come here,” he says, and I put my hands on his shoulders and laugh as he picks me up.

“Thank you for letting us stay.”

He cups my cheek. “You’re welcome. Is it okay to kiss you now, because I didn’t want to in front of Elsie?”

I press my lips to his first. “I’d like that.”

When his lips touch mine, there’s a different kind of certainty to them. I can’t explain what it is, but there’s a confidence and surety. Makes me want to climb him like a ladder if I’m honest.

“You really okay staying here?” he asks when he finally steps back.

“I can’t decide how to play the answer to that question because most of my answers would be some variant ofheck yes…and I don’t want to come across too keen.”

Vandal grins at that. “Easy, tiger.” He sits me down on the lovely kitchen island.

Inside his home is as neat as the outside. There’s a large open-plan living space with a kitchen and island, and a soft suede sectional sofa in front of a huge TV. “Oh my God, Elsie would fall in love with that television in a heartbeat.”

“We’ll have a movie day or something.”

“You know, I’d love a place like this for her. Somewhere she can make a fort on a rainy day or play outside in the summer when it’s warm.”

Vandal runs his fingers through my hair, smiling as if he can see it too.

“Oh, God. No. Wait,” I say. “Before you join dots that don’t need joining, I wasn’t suggesting that Elsie and I move in permanently or something. In case you thought I was turning into one of those clingy girls who think being here means?—”

“Daze, I got it. Didn’t think you meant that. And I agree. It’s a good space for kids. I mean, me and Havoc do okay in here, and we act like kids together most of the time. Plus, there’s a pool out back.”

My breath leaves me in a whoosh. “Phew. Good.”

“I missed you,” Vandal says quietly before placing his lips to my neck. He runs a line of kisses along my jaw. “I’m sorrywe came back to chaos, but it led to the two of you being here tonight.”

“What happened to the man?” I ask. I try not to overthink why Van is not in the same outfit he was wearing when he dropped me off, and I hate to think why.

Vandal steps even closer between my thighs. “He’s alive, if that’s what you’re asking. Any more than that, and it’s club business.”

“Club business?”

“Think of it as insurance. There are some things you’re just better off not knowing.”

“Oh.” But as the statement settles, it’s shocking how okay with it I become. My past with a man in a similar organization would suggest I shouldn’t be. I can’t decide whether that means I’ve matured enough to handle it, or I’ve become one of those people who never seem to learn from their mistakes.

“This dress is so pretty on you,” he says.

When I got home earlier, after Elsie had her bath, I took a quick shower. I shaved my legs and washed my hair and slipped on a pretty sundress.

Vandal’s hands sneak beneath it, shifting the hem up over my thighs. His fingers gently squeeze my legs as he makes his way higher.

This time, when Vandal kisses me, I sink into it. His hands slip around my ass, and he tugs me to him so the best parts of us align. And despite everything I said about our reunion not quite working out as planned because of the bed situation, I’m suddenly desperate for this man’s hands on me.

“Do you have a bathroom that’s not the en suite?” I ask.

Vandal lets go of me and points to a door off a hallway. “Yeah. Just there. You want me to get you a soda or something while you?—”

“What I want is to find out if you can fuck me standing up?” And then I cover my face with my hands. “Oh, God. I can’t believe I just said that.”