He was about to break, and he knew it.
It was a danger he’d sensed the first time he’d met Alice. A danger and a temptation. The urge had always been there, the desire to just drop the chains that he kept in place.
To let his darkness out.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” Alice murmured.
Fucking Alice. Fucking beautiful Alice. With her secrets and her pain. The pain that she tried so hard to keep hidden, but it would still slip into her incredible eyes. Whisper through her voice.
Donovan had hurt her. The knowledge had been growing with every bit of intel Saint uncovered. Not some golden boy. Not some perfect boyfriend.
A monster.
“Why didn’t you go to the cops?” Saint bit off from between clenched teeth.
Her lashes flickered. “Which time are you referring to? You need to be a little more specific.”
“When Donovan hurt you,” he said deliberately, “why didn’t you go to the cops?”
Her tongue slid over her lower lip. “What makes you think I didn’t?”
Fucking fuck.
“Nineteen. That’s how old I was. My parents were both dead then. I’d grown up bouncing from town to town with my dad’s shows. That meant I was always an outsider, no matter where I went.” There was no sorrow in her voice. She wasn’t looking for pity. Not Alice. Just stating facts. “Donovan was very much not an outsider. If I told one story and he told another…well, who do you think the local law would believe?”
And records had been erased. Or else no records had ever been created because he hadn’t found them when he’d dug deep on Alice. He had made her life his priority. He’d wanted to learn every detail about her. Getting to unravel the mystery that was Alice—that had been his mission.
He could feel the warmth from her body. She still wore that tight and tempting dress, and it had hiked way up when he’d put her on the counter. The bottom of the dress barely covered her panties. It would be so easy to reach up and touch her. To take what he wanted.
I want her. “If we’re working together, you have to tell me everything.” Each word hit heavily into the silence that had stretched between them. “No lies. No half-truths.”
“But I’m really good at lies.” Her tongue slid over her bottom lip.
I have no doubt that you are.
His gaze had fallen to her mouth. He didn’t think she’d licked her lip to be sexy though, yes, that sensual motion of her tongue made his aching dick all the harder. No, he thought she was nervous. Afraid. But still throwing up her defenses because that was just Alice.
I’m really good at lies.
“So am I,” he told her. His gaze rose to pin hers.
“I guess that’s something we have in common.”
They had a lot in common. Too much. His hands released the counter. Slid a little closer to her. Stopped on the outside of her thighs. Her scent—so light—teased him. “Just what all do you think we have in common?”
“We’re both fighters,” she replied. “We don’t just stand there and take it when people try to hurt us.” Her lips pressed together. “Tried that once. Didn’t work so well for me.”
You fought back against Donovan. You fought and…did you kill him, my Alice? He wanted to ask. The question burned through him. But if he asked…and if she didn’t lie…
“We know what it’s like to be predators,” Alice continued carefully. That his fingers had started to caress the outsides of her thighs. “We weren’t meant to be prey.”
No, they weren’t. But someone was making a terrible mistake by thinking they were. That someone would pay.
“We also know what it’s like when the people around us think that we’re monsters.” Softer. Maybe a little sad.
Alice shouldn’t be sad.
She was right, though. They did both know what it was like when the world looked at you with hate and fear. When he’d been wanted for those crimes…when he’d been hunted, and his own brother had tracked him down and locked him away…
Everyone thought I was guilty. No matter what I said, they wouldn’t believe me. His brow furrowed as he stared at her. “If I told you that the stories were wrong, that I had killed those people years ago, that I got away with murder…” He kept stroking her silky skin. “What would you say?”
Her breath caught.
He didn’t know what drove him. Maybe because so many had looked at him back in those days with suspicion and anger. Maybe he wanted to know just how far he could push Alice. Maybe…
“Did you kill them?” Alice whispered.
“Did you?” he returned without missing a beat.
She swallowed. “If you told me that…” Her hand rose. Pressed to his cheek. “I’d say…what were your reasons? Why did you do it?”
“For the hell of it.”
Her head shook. “That would be a lie.”
He could feel his heart racing.
“You wouldn’t kill for fun. You wouldn’t kill just to do it. That’s not who you are. Taking a life isn’t some easy choice. It rips you apart and shatters you on the inside. When you get put back together, you’re never the same.”
She’d given him a confession. One he could hear in the echo of her words.
“You didn’t kill them,” she added.
But, Alice, did you?
Her fingers trailed down his cheek. “If I told you that I had killed before…what would you say?”
She had told him. In her way. And he still fucking wanted her. She’d all but confessed, and he still stood between her thighs. His hands had curled around her thighs. He should be backing away. He should be putting space between them. He should be… “I’d ask you why.”
Her lower lip trembled. “And would you lock me away?”
“Alice—”
Her fingers flew to press against his mouth. “No. Forget it. Don’t answer. I don’t want you to answer.” Fast, tumbling words. “Kiss me.” Her fingers fell away. “Just kiss me one more time. Just pretend that everything I said—just pretend it didn’t happen.” Almost pleading.
Hadn’t he told her not to beg for anything?
Saint knew Alice was trying to distract him. She’d opened a door, let him see a glimpse inside. The real Alice. Afraid, determined. A victim…a killer?
She wanted to pull back. To regroup. To find a way to get back in control.
Too late. There would be no control. Not for him. Not for her. He would strip her bare. Destroy every defense that she had, and he would know every part of her. No more hiding. No more manipulation.
He wanted the real Alice. He was going to get her.
“I’ll kiss you, sweetheart.”
Her lips started to curl. Relief and pleasure gleamed in her eyes.
Oh, no, my Alice, you aren’t taking back control. You’re going to lose it.
His hands rose up higher. Pushed between her legs. Found the edge of her soft panties.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Getting ready to kiss you.” He yanked hard and tore the panties.
“Saint!”
He eased down in front of her. Moving so he could be at just the right height as he spread her legs and dragged her forward. Then he kissed her. He put his mouth on her hot core, and he tasted her.