Hard to Fight

I need to get home.

I drag myself out of the building and into my car. The drive home is slow, and my head is pounding by the time I get there. I park the car down the road in the only spot I can find and walk the rest of the way to my apartment. I reach the front gate and freeze. Raide is standing at my door, arms crossed, leaning against it casually, like he’s been here a thousand times.

My heart begins to pound.

“Why the hell are you at my house?” I cry. This is not good. Not cool at all. He can’t know where I live. This is bad, bad, bad.

He pushes off the frame, his eyes narrowed as he starts walking toward me.

I take a step back, putting my hand up. “Stop right there—don’t you come a foot closer.”

“What happened to your face?” he asks, taking a step closer.

“Seriously, I’ll crash-tackle you to the floor!” I cry, waving a hand in front of his face.

His eyes flash and his lips twitch. Yeah, yeah, of course that’s funny. Of course I couldn’t take him to the floor. Still, I’m having a bad day and I’m tired. He’s pissing me off. He kissed me—how dare he freaking kiss me!—and now he’s at my door looking so damned good, it hurts.

“Lady,” he says, his voice dropping low. “I said what the fuck happened to your face?”

“Why are you at my house?” I demand again, becoming frustrated.

“Followed you the other day after the café, needed to make sure I knew where you lived, in case you decided to keep stalking me. Now, I’m goin’ to ask once more, and you’re goin’ to answer me. What happened to your face?”

“For the last time, I was not stalking you!” I cry.

He growls and reaches out, curling a hand over my shoulder and pulling me forward. “I don’t like repeating myself, Gracie. Now, answer me.”

“Bossy,” I mumble. “Terry managed to head-butt me.”

He flinches. “Your cousin did that to you?”

I want to laugh out loud at that, but I don’t. “Yeah, he was high, he didn’t want to be taken home. Shit happens. Now, can you move? Because I want to go to bed.”

“You put ice on that?” he asks, nodding to my eye.

“No.”

“Right, then let me in, and we’ll sort it.”

I laugh and step back, waving my hands. “Oh no, you don’t. I’m not letting you anywhere near my house.”

He raises his brows. “Standin’ on your front lawn, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe, and I didn’t invite you to stand on my front lawn. So now it’s time you leave and I go to bed. Okay? Great. Have a nice night.” I step past him and head toward my front door.

“Admit it!” he calls out. “You’re scared I’ll kiss you again, and lady, you’re scared you’ll fuckin’ love it as much as you loved it the first time I did it.”

My cheeks heat and I turn, scowling at him. “You assaulted me—I’d hardly say it was enjoyable.” He grins and my heart gives up on beating. My ears ring. My skin tingles. God, he’s beautiful, so fucking beautiful.

“Last time I checked, when a woman grinds against you while moaning, she ain’t hating it.”

I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out.

His smile gets bigger.

“I—I—,” I splutter, “was not grinding.”

God. His smile. It’s huge. And wolfish. And sexy as hell.

I grit my teeth and spin, hurrying toward my door. I begin to unlock it when I feel his body press against my back. I take a step forward on a gasp, my entire body pressing against the wooden door in front of me. Raide’s body presses against me, and his breath hits my neck. I whimper, unable to stop it from escaping.

“Lady,” he murmurs, running his lips up my neck. “You were grinding.”

I shudder and flinch when he runs his hands up my sides, up my arms, over my fingers until he’s got his palms flat against my door. His hips thrust against my ass, and my God, he’s got an erection and it feels amazing. Dammit, it’s not meant to feel amazing. Kick him off, Grace. Your job is on the line. Invite him inside. Call Don. End this.

“And right now your heart is fuckin’ pounding for me.”

Call it in, Grace.

“And I’m going to kiss you again.”

Now. Do it now.

He spins me around, I open my mouth to argue, he captures it before a word even comes out. His lips, his body, his hands. All of them so rough, so damned beautiful. He runs his hands down my arms and around to cup my backside. He hauls me forward all while his mouth consumes mine. Heat floods between my legs, and I whimper, clutching his shirt, not sure if I’m going to push him back or pull him closer.

I pull him closer.

Then I kiss him harder.

Our tongues tangle, our hands roam, and our bodies collide in the most exquisite way. I’m panting, he’s growling, and I know I have to dig deep to find the restraint not to pull him into my house and let him slam me against the wall.

I manage to find enough of that restraint to put my hands to his chest and push him back, disconnecting our lips. “That’s enough,” I breathe.

“You can play hard to get, lady,” he murmurs, running his tongue over my bottom lip. “But I will win.”

With that, he lets me go and turns, striding down my front walk. When he reaches the street, he looks over his shoulder and calls, “Ice that eye, yeah?”

Then he’s gone.

Dammit. It occurs to me only then that I should have called it in while he was standing in my front yard.

Chapter Eleven

I drag my feet through the halls toward my office the next morning. I’m exhausted. I’m tired. I’m sore. My eye is now swollen and black. Thanks, Terry. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night due to the fact that I had Raide on my mind and a throbbing headache. I’m trying to figure out my best plan of action that allows me to prove my point and keep this case. Keeping this case means bringing Raide in. Which means any emotion I may have needs to go. I have to stay professional.

My plan was a bust—that’s clear.

Now I have to go to plan B … except I don’t have a plan B.

“Morning, Gracie Lou,” Vance calls as I trudge past his office.

“Hey,” I mutter.

“Hey!” he yells, getting up and rushing out after me. “What’s up?”

I turn without thinking and stare up at him. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. “Jesus, Gracie, what the hell happened?”

“Ah—” I press my fingers to my eye and wince. “—Terry did that.”

“Shit, it looks bad. You look bad.”

“Thanks, Vance.”

He narrows his eyes. “You need to talk?”

I sigh and drop my head. “I think I do.”

He takes my arm and leads me into his office. He shuts the door and I flop down onto the chair beside his desk. He sits down and wheels his chair over to me, stopping when our knees bump. “What’s going on?”

“The seducing thing … it, ah, it was a bad idea.”

He narrows his eyes. “How so?”

“It just was,” I lie. “It’s taking too long and I don’t think it’s the right plan.”