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  “Oh, God!” She threw her head back, closing her eyes. Her hips pumped up at his hand, and he slipped another finger into her tight, wet heat. Her teeth bit into her lower lip as she made a low, moaning sound.

  He watched her, transfixed as her face twisted in blissful agony. He continued to thrust his fingers into her, giving her what she wanted. The scent of her arousal was filling the air, and he continued, his thumb brushing her engorged clit. That drove her over the edge, and she clamped around his fingers, her hips pushing against his hand and her expression so utterly lovely that he wanted to preserve that moment in his mind forever.

  Her breathing slowed down, and her lids gradually opened. The raw passion he saw in them aroused him even more, and his cock strained painfully against his pants. He could have her now, and she would let him. It would be so easy, to strip her down fully and take her. But he didn’t want just her body.

  He cleared his throat and then took her hand, pulling her upright. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Lucas?”

  “I …” He didn’t know what to say, so he kissed her instead. “Did you really come here to apologize?”

  “Yes. Originally, I did.” She blushed.

  “Then I know the perfect way you can make it up to me.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes.” He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Go out with me. On a date.”

  She looked at him skeptically. “Just one date?”

  “Well, you’re going to have to impress me on the first before I commit to a second,” he teased.

  She laughed. “But, come on. A date? Isn’t that old-fashioned?”

  “People still date these days, you know,” he said.

  “Yes, but not after …” She moved closer to him, her hands landing on his chest. Her hands moved outward, pushing his jacket aside.

  “Sofia.” God, he wanted to let her continue but took her hands in his instead.

  She raised a brow at him. “You don’t want—”

  “I do.” Goddammit, he wanted so bad his damn zipper was imprinting on his dick. “But I think it would be best if we started again. Started fresh.”

  “Oh.” She thought for a moment.

  His heart pounded in his chest, waiting for her to reject him. She slipped her hands from his and his stomach dropped. However, to his surprise, she held her palm out. “Sofia Selinofoto.”

  It took him a moment, but he knew what this was. An olive branch. A fresh start. “Lucas Anderson.” He took her hand, but instead of shaking it, pulled on it and brought her back to straddle his hips.

  “Some fresh start, Anderson,” she muttered.

  “This is as fresh as it gets, sweetheart.” He slid his fingers into her thick dark hair and brought her head down. He kissed her, devouring her mouth with his, letting the taste of her burn into his memory. He dragged his lips away from hers, trailing lower, and he brushed his nose against her pulse, getting in as much of that sweet scent as he could. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow? Dinner?”

  “Sure,” she sighed, then slid off his lap and began to button her blouse. “I should get home, it’s getting late.”

  He wanted her to stay. But it was probably best she go, or else he wouldn’t have the strength to keep his hands off her. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  As they headed to the door, he picked up her fallen coat from the foyer floor and then helped her put it on. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked.

  He opened the door and gestured for her to go first. “We’re only going to be outside for a minute.” They walked out to her parked car across the street.

  “What time should I be ready?” she asked.

  “Six,” he said. “Should I pick you up at work?”

  “No!” she said vehemently. “I mean, I’m not working tomorrow.”

  “You’re off?”

  She nodded.

  He was tempted to take the day off and just spend it with her. But he knew that he had a million things to do. “All right. I’ll pick you up at home.” Then, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, planting a long, lingering kiss on her mouth. “Drive safe.”

  “I will.” She gave him one last look before she got into her car and drove off.

  He stood there, watching her car disappear down the street. Tonight’s events had certainly turned out differently than he’d thought. But it was like a runaway train going full speed ahead: He couldn’t stop it. And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sofia sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that hour, staring at the piles of notepads in front of her spread out on her coffee table. Despite the captain’s advice of taking a break from her work, she could hardly do that. First of all, the date of her testimony was coming up, and she had to make sure she could remember all the facts. And second, if she didn’t find something to occupy her time, she would surely go insane waiting for six o’clock to arrive.

  Could they really start afresh? As she told him and herself, she was done with looking into his past. Sometimes, it was better to let things be. It wasn’t easy killing someone in order to protect yourself or those around you, but sometimes it had to be done.

  But now, things were different. She never liked feeling vulnerable, and Lucas seemed to be breaking every one of her walls. Sex, she could do. God knows, she and Derek never even went on a real date; they just kind of fell into bed after a particularly long, hard day at work and she was feeling weak. She told herself that she would never be vulnerable like that again, but now …

  This was different, right? Lucas wasn’t a corrupt cop on some crime boss’s payroll. She hardly thought anyone was paying him to get close to her. He was just a man. A man who kissed her so hard she forgot her own name. And those fingers of his. She hadn’t come that hard in a while, not even with her vibrator. And that wasn’t even the main event.

  A shiver of anticipation ran through her. What should she wear tonight? Would Lucas expect her to jump into bed right away? It sounded like he wanted more. But what was more? Could she even give more of herself? What would it be like to date someone like him?

  It was a good thing her phone ringing interrupted her thoughts or she would have spiraled down into her own thoughts. The number flashing on the screen was unfamiliar.

  “Selinofoto,” she answered briskly.

  “It’s me.”

  “Oh. Hey, Lucas.”

  “Sofia.” There was a long pause, but the tension in the silence that spanned across them was obvious. “I’m sorry, I can’t make it tonight.”

  She tried to hide her disappointment. “Right. I mean, that’s all right.”

  “Sofia, I …” He let out a frustrated sound. “It’s not what you think. I’ve got a crisis on my hands. A family crisis.”

  The panic in his voice erased her doubts. “Crisis? What’s wrong?”

  “It’s my sister. She’s in a lot of trouble.” The anger in his tone was barely contained. “My parents are doing what they can, but I have to stay home and hold the fort, so to speak. I hate to cancel our date.”

  “It’s okay,” she soothed. She wished she was there beside him right now. “We can re-schedule. Is there anything I can do?”

  “No, we can handle it. But, are you sure this is okay?”

  “It’s fine,” she assured him. “Take care of your family.” God knows, if it was Dad or Pappoús, she would have dropped their date too. “But promise you’ll tell me right away when things settle down.” She’d never heard him sound so alarmed before.

  “I will, Sofia. Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  The click from the other end told her he had hung up. What could possibly have gotten him shaken? It sounded like a life or death situation, but if that were true, surely the Andersons would get the authorities involved?

  With a deep sigh, she turned her attention back to her notes. Looks like she was having a date tonight with General Tso and his friends, egg rolls, and fried rice.


  Sofia woke up with a start as she straightened up from her sleeping position. Glancing around her, she realized she had fallen asleep on the couch, surrounded by her notes and leftover Chinese food. A crick had developed in her neck because of her lumpy cushions, but that wasn’t what woke her up. It was the sound of knocking on the door.

  “Hold your horses!” She scrambled to her feet, trying to put some semblance of order to her hair. The knocking was so insistent and she was still half-asleep that she didn’t check the peephole, though she at least had the sense to keep the door chain in place. “What the hell—Lucas?”

  She quickly slammed the door closed and removed the chain before flinging it open. “Lucas? What are you—” She checked her watch. “It’s five o’clock in the morning.”

  “I know. But you said you wanted to know right away when things settled down.” His voice was raspy, and from the rumpled suit he wore and the dark circles under his eyes, it was obvious he’d hadn’t been home or had any sleep. “Can I come in?”

  She moved aside. “Of course. Have a seat.” Then, she cursed silently when she realized what a mess her living room was. “Oops,” she swooped in and grabbed the half-empty boxes of takeout. “I’ll be right back.” Running to the kitchen, she deposited the boxes in the garbage. When she came back to the living room, he was seated on the couch, one of her notepads in his hand.

  She snatched the pad from him. “Confidential police business,” she bristled.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at her with those incredible eyes of his. He looked exhausted. “I sat down and it was under me.”

  “No worries.” She put the pad aside, discreetly closing the pages and shoving it under a bunch of magazines. “Now, is everything okay? With your sister?” Moving closer, she placed a hand over his. “What happened?”

  His shoulders sank and he let out a long breath. “Adrianna was attacked.”

  She tensed and he lifted her hand to his cheek, the day-old growth of rough bristles rubbing on her skin. “I’m sorry. Is she all right? Did you call the police?”

  “She’s fine. She wasn’t hurt or anything, but she was threatened in her own home in Jersey. My mother and my other sister were there with her, but these men … let’s just say they’ve been causing trouble in the area and when my mom tried to put a stop to it, they retaliated.”

  “Was it some kind of gang?”

  “Sort of.” He pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm, making her shiver. “But it doesn’t matter now. She’s safe. They all are.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Me too, but,” his brows drew together, “I’m sorry I missed our first date.”

  “You had more important things to attend to,” she reminded him.

  His gaze fixed on her. “Other important things. Not more important.”

  “Well, I’m free now.” She smiled at him. “Why don’t you give me fifteen minutes and then you can take me to breakfast? There’s an all-night diner on Third Avenue.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I’m still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.”

  “Well, you’ll have to hold your head up high when you do the walk of shame past my neighbors.” She winked at him before disappearing into her bedroom.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dating Sofia was a lesson in patience.

  They’d had two dates now, but he always went home afterwards, alone. He knew he had to take it slow with her, but it was hard when all he wanted to do was to bring her to his bed and fuck her senseless. Every minute he wasn’t with her, all he could think about was that night on his couch. How sweet she tasted. And what she looked like when she came. His wolf, too, was urging him on to make her theirs. It didn’t want to be patient. It wanted to own her. Dominate her.

  Having dated Lycan women exclusively, most of his bed partners had been eager to please him—no, scratch that, they were eager to please the future Alpha of New York. They all acted submissive in bed, letting him take over and dominate them. But Sofia didn’t have a submissive bone in her body, and he was looking forward to find out what she was like in bed.

  And the other problem was that the damned woman refused to let him sweep her off her feet.

  Not counting their breakfast date, he had taken her out two nights in a row, one to a Japanese restaurant with a famous celebrity chef, and the other was a Michelin-starred restaurant that usually needed a year’s reservation in advance. Though she seemed happy enough with the food and even gracious when they met the chefs at both places, she just didn’t seem impressed.

  He was used to women being dazzled by the glitz and glamour of what he could offer, but Sofia didn’t have the usual wide-eyed surprise most of his previous dates did. Instead, she seemed eager to get on with the meal. He was pulling out all the stops and she didn’t even seem fazed, like she dined at exclusive restaurants all the time. She was also annoyed that each time she tried to pay, the waiter told her that the bill had been taken care of and refused to let her see the check.

  So now, on their third date at the private-dining room of a famous TV chef, she shot him a dirty look when the waiter shook his head when she handed him her card.

  “Will you stop doing that?” she huffed, training her annoyed gaze on him. “You can’t expect me to just keep letting you pay. I do hold a job, you know.”

  He did know that, but also knew that detectives probably didn’t make a lot, at least not enough to be able to afford all these places. “What’s wrong with the restaurants I’ve been taking you to? Aren’t they good enough?”

  “Good enough?” she asked, puzzled.

  His irritation was rising. “I’ve taken you out three times now and you don’t seem impressed.”

  “I don’t?” Her expression changed. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, Lucas.” She shook her head. “It’s not that I’m not impressed—I don’t even know how you managed a reservation at the last place. It’s just that …” She let out a breath. “I don’t know. These restaurants, they all seem stuffy and boring. You don’t have to take me to these fancy places to impress me, you know.”

  Her explanation rendered him speechless.

  She gave him a smirk. “And I know I can’t afford these places, but you really have to let me pay sometime. At least half.”

  “I’m the one who invited you out, so I should pay,” he insisted.

  “Fine.” She put her napkin down. “Lucas, will you go out with me?”

  That took him aback. “Go out with you?”

  “What? I haven’t made a good enough impression to warrant a fourth date?” She sounded hurt but was grinning when she said those words.

  “All right,” he said. “I’ll go out with you. When?”

  “Tomorrow’s Sunday, and I have to go home to Queens, so it’ll have to be Monday.”

  He didn’t want to wait more than twenty-four hours to see her, but he knew how important her family was. “All right, I’ll be ready.”

  “I’ll choose the restaurant, I’ll pick you up, and I’ll pay.”

  The smile on her face was worth swallowing his pride.

  On their last three dates, he had picked her up at home, but this time, Sofia insisted on doing the same for him. She showed up at exactly six o’clock on the dot.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, his eyes roaming over her face. Her hair was done up, and she wore only the most minimal makeup to enhance her features. As always, he found himself staring at her lips, thinking about kissing them again.

  “Thank you, but I’m taking you out, so I should be the one giving the compliments.”

  “All right then,” he challenged, spreading his arms. “What do you think?”

  “Meh, you clean up nice.” A smile tugged up at the corner of her mouth as he gave her a mock hurt expression. “Just kidding. You’re beautiful too. C’mon.”

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “I have the whole night planned, but it’s a surprise.” She led him down the st
eps, where there was a waiting yellow cab. “Come, my finest chariot awaits.”

  “You’re not driving?” he asked.

  “This place has great, if overpriced, wine, so I’m planning to splurge,” she said. “And besides, parking downtown is hell if I’m not on official duty.”

  “And where is this place?”

  “I’m not telling.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Don’t worry, it’ll be up to your standards, but I promise you, it isn’t stuffy or snooty.”

  When she attempted to open the door, that was where he drew the line. Instead, he pushed her aside gently and pulled on the handle, then let her go in. He sent a quick text message to Reyes, who was in the town car parked behind the cab, then slid inside to join Sofia.

  “You’ve been to this place before?” he asked as the vehicle began to move. She didn’t even have to tell the cabbie the address, which meant he had no idea where they were going.

  “No, but my parents went twice,” she said. “The first was on their first date and the second when my dad proposed to my mom.”

  He felt her tense beside him, and her cheeks went pink. The implication, of course, wasn’t lost on him either. “So, the food’s good, huh?” He wanted to spare her the embarrassment. “Even better than your grandfather’s place?”

  She laughed. “Supposedly, though I’m not really fond of Italian food. My mom said the chef was even nice enough to come out of the kitchen and give them his congratulations. Even comped the meal.”

  “Hmmm.” So, they were going to an Italian place downtown. He hoped it wasn’t to one of those touristy restaurants in Little Italy. Not that he would look his nose down at her choice of restaurants, but he had eaten real Italian food all his life. He would be as gracious as he could of course.

  “We’re almost there,” she said cheerfully.

  He looked outside the window and realized they were on a familiar street on SoHo. A bad feeling suddenly came over him. Oh, no. Please don’t let it be—

  “We’re here,” she announced before stepping out of the cab. “Lucas? Are you all right?”