Page 123 of Allegiance

He was trying to be good.

“Hello, Remmy,” she said, putting down his beer. “How are you today?”

He tried to keep it business-like.

“Interested in anything that might make Mikey O’ happy,” he said, clueing her into the business he was there to handle.

Calyx wasn’t shocked.

She figured as much.

Was it too much to ask for a sexy man to come visit the girl?

She’d hinted, flirted, and pretty much did everything but hang a banner under her bedroom window that personally invited him to her bed.

It was rare that she wanted to have sex. When that was all you did for years, to survive, the last thing you wanted was to do it again.

She’d been used, abused, raped, and forgotten. Now, she wanted something more.

Calyx wanted him.

She was intrigued by him, and curious by nature. That was likely a bad combination for her and him.

Only, there was something about his big, capable hands, and that scar.

Jesus, but she wanted to see his whole face. He never showed it to her. She got a peek at it the night he rescued her, but she wanted to see his eyes, his hair, his smile, and him.

He was the one lure that would make her sin all over again.

“I actually do have something for Mikey O’. It just turned up with some mercenaries. First, has anyone ever told you that you’re model handsome?”

He said nothing.

Why?

She was clueing him in that the place to look was the modeling agencies.

As for what she thought of him…

If he let her see him, he’d be vulnerable. This young woman deserved a life she could enjoy. He was older than her, and he was definitely not a hero.

So he changed the subject.

“We already are focused on the two specific businesses. Anything more than that?”

She pretended to wipe the table so she could stand there longer. Calyx didn’t want him to leave. When he came in, she felt safe.

Sue her.

She was attracted to the white knight trope.

When her knee bumped his, there was a shock of electricity that shot through her body.

His too.

She saw him move, and she backed off. What she wanted, and what he was willing to share weren’t the same thing.

Calyx gave him more.