The sharp way he said her name sent a jolt through her, but there was also a sense of relief to finally hear him call her by the correct name. And boy, did that make her feel like an asshole. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know that’s not even remotely adequate, but I couldn’t let you leave without hearing it.” He turned slowly and she fell back a step at the anger she saw in his expression, yet still he said nothing. “Could you please say something?”

“Why did you do it? Why lie?”

Stupidly, that was the one question she hadn’t anticipated. She’d expected, or hoped rather, that he would just shout something awful at her. It would have made her feel better. Absolved her of a tiny bit of her guilt. Instead, he’d caught her off guard, giving her no choice but to answer honestly. “I wanted you. In the coffee shop, before I knew who you were,” she said quietly, watching his jaw clench. “Then I heard you call me a nuisance…and I guess I just wanted to be someone who didn’t inspire irritation. Just for one day. I didn’t want to be your best friend’s little sister. I wanted to be me.”

“Only you weren’t you. You pr

etended to be someone else.”

“The only thing I lied about was my name. Everything else—”

“In this case, your name was the most important detail.” He pushed a hand through his black hair. “I never would have touched you if I’d known.”

“That’s the other reason I lied,” she whispered, trying to ignore the stab of hurt over his statement. She didn’t want to hear that. Wanted to keep imagining that he’d been so attracted to her that he’d had no choice.

Eyes closed, Matt shook his head. “It can’t happen again. It won’t.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I fucked you on your hands and knees on the floor of a dingy motel room that rented by the hour. More than that, I—”

“Spanked me. Manhandled me.” She didn’t know where the words came from, only knew that now that they’d been spoken, the air thickened between her and Matt. In the space of seconds, her breath had grown shallow, cheeks flaming. She might have stopped there, but Matt’s chest shuddered and she couldn’t hold back the truth. “I liked it, Matt.”

“Stop.” He stepped even closer, contradicting his harsh command. As though he couldn’t help himself, his gaze dropped to her breasts where, thanks to her excitement, they swelled at the top of her dress. “It doesn’t matter. Now that I know who you are, touching you would be inexcusable.”

“But you want to.”

He sucked in a breath. “Lucy, that’s enough.”

The authority in his voice brought her back to the motel room, when he’d given her no choice but to obey him. If his intention was to push her away, his demands were having the opposite effect. Her pulse drummed loudly in her ears; her hands ached to run up his sculpted chest. She’d come out here to apologize for her lie, but now that they stood so close and she could feel the undeniable pull between them, she wondered if her lie had affected yesterday’s outcome whatsoever. This attraction would have been there even if he’d known her identity from the beginning. She was sure of it. This wasn’t a lie.

The girl she’d been before, the one who catapulted headlong into the unknown, wanted to push him to admit it. What they’d shared couldn’t be chalked up to convenience. A way to kill time as the car was repaired. No, he’d shown her a part of himself she suspected he didn’t reveal to many women. In turn, he’d taught her something about herself. Unlocked a side to her she hadn’t known existed. Lucy closed the distance between them, letting her curves brush against him. His muscled chest heaved before her eyes. She could feel him, huge and straining at the front of his dress pants. For her. It was the final encouragement she needed. “I thought of you every time I sat down today. Just like you told me to, Matt.”

As if a rope had snapped inside him, Matt fell on her with a strangled groan. His hands dropped to her bottom, hauling her off the ground. Their mouths fought a battle, but she was too overcome with need to acknowledge the stakes. She processed movement, registered Matt walking them into a darkened doorway just off the street. Lucy tunneled her fingers through his hair, letting her head fall back as his teeth raked up the side of her neck.

“Goddammit, I shouldn’t be doing this.”

She gasped as he bit her ear. “W-what are you doing?”

“I’m considering giving you my cock right here and now. Would you like that, baby girl? Would you like to be rewarded for following my instructions?”

“Yes, please.” She slid her inner thigh up his leg until it reached his waist, moaning when he gave a quick pump of his hips against her core. Already, she was damp for him. She felt trapped in between Matt’s demanding body and the hard surface behind her. It was an amazing feeling. New and familiar at the same time, as though she’d been desperate to be immobilized without consciously knowing. When his hands wedged between their bodies to squeeze her breast with just the right amount of pressure, Lucy writhed, desperate for everything he could give her.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do, Lucy?” He grated the words against her lips. “Now that I’ve felt the tight squeeze between your legs? Watched your ass absorb my punishment? I’m fucked now, aren’t I?”

“Matt,” she breathed, trying to hook her legs more firmly around him. “I need to feel you again, too. Please.”

A car passed, blaring music. She could feel Matt come back to himself then, as if an invisible tether had yanked him back to reality. His fist connected with the wall behind her as he slowly put distance between them. Lucy wanted to sob at the loss of pressure and heat.

“Come back,” she said shakily.

“No. No,” Matt ground out, frustration visible in the tight lines around his mouth. “Even if you weren’t Brent’s sister, which is more than enough in itself…”

“Yes?” Lucy prompted him after a moment.

Haunted eyes met hers. “I don’t tolerate liars. Ever. I’ve been there. You’re all the same and you never change.”

Lucy couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe around the ache his words spawned in her chest. What could she say? He was right. She’d deceived him, making her the liar he accused her of being. Measuring her with a final look, Matt walked away and left her there, not glancing back once.

Chapter Seven

Matt stood in the precinct locker room, securing his Kevlar vest and buttoning his NYPD Emergency Service uniform shirt over it. When he heard Brent ribbing another officer in the next aisle, an uncomfortable feeling settled in his chest. He might have done the right thing by walking away from Lucy last night, but that hadn’t stopped every imaginable sexual scenario from playing out in his head after he’d left. Starring Brent’s deceptively sweet-looking little sister. Sure, she might taste sweet, but the things she’d said to him as they stood face-to-face on the sidewalk last night proved she was the furthest thing from it.

She’d known exactly what buttons to push to test his control. Looking up at him with those contrite green eyes, she’d stripped his defenses and tapped into his base desires so effortlessly it should have alarmed him. No one had ever seen through him like that. It was unacceptable. Only he’d been far from alarmed. He’d been turned on to the point of frenzy. Inside the party, his resolve had been unshakable. But with just the two of them standing there, memories sparking between them, everything had changed. She’d been asking him for something he desperately wanted to give her. What felt like his duty to give, even if that made no sense.

He’d gone home and unzipped his pants the second he walked in the door. Picturing Lucy’s mouth, breasts, reddened ass, he’d pressed his forehead to the door and jacked himself off like a horny teenager. He’d thought one time would be enough. Then her words would drift through his head. I thought of you every time I sat down today. Just like you told me to, Matt. Just like that, he’d grow hard again, treating him to a vicious cycle that had lasted until the early hours of the morning. Still, still, he wasn’t satisfied. Might never be again. Not after he’d experienced his real-life fantasies with Lucy. Making it twice as difficult, she wanted to do it again. Had begged him for more.

No. He couldn’t allow it to happen. Not only did his desires have no place around a younger girl with a brighter future, but he hadn’t lied to Lucy. Lying was a deal-breaker with him. For the first time, he welcomed a bitter memory that he normally kept hidden under lock and key, hoping it would serve as a distraction. His ex-fiancée’s utter horror over his “disgusting” needs. Her seeking comfort from his best friend. It had all rushed to the surface last night when he found out Lucy lied to him. After exposing himself to her the way he’d done, it had felt like the worst kind of betrayal. It’s why he was so careful about who he spent time with, who he could actually call a friend. Once you’ve been burned, that shit didn’t come easy anymore.

Had the lie stopped him from wanting Lucy? Hell no. If anything, he wanted to find her this minute and punish her in a way that ended in her screaming his name. He wanted it so bad, his hands shook. The urge was painful to deny, especially knowing she would wrap that limber body around him and tell him to give it

to her hard. Fuck. He had to stop thinking about her now or work would be impossible. Loss of focus in his line of work was tantamount to failure, and he refused to fail at his job.

Matt stowed his neatly folded street clothes in his locker just as Brent rounded the corner, followed by Daniel Chase, his other best friend. The newest member of their group, Troy Bennett, trailed behind, giving Matt a quick nod that he wordlessly returned. Matt had a hard enough time keeping two friends at a comfortable distance. He hadn’t quite gotten around to figuring out how to fit Troy into his organized blueprint. Thankfully, Troy seemed just as content to maintain their casual acquaintance, not pushing for anything more.

He transferred his attention to Daniel, who had a look of exasperation on his face, which was usually the case any time he’d been talking to Brent.

When Brent caught sight of Matt, he did a double take. “Hey, dickhead. You just disappeared on us last night. You’re lucky I don’t have the ability to be insulted.”

Daniel stripped off his shirt and threw it into his locker. “Yeah, you bailed before Story and I even got there. What gives?”

Matt started to answer with some vague excuse about being tired, but caught sight of the thin red scratch marks on Daniel’s back first. Brent noticed at the same time and they exchanged a look. “What happened to your back, bro?

Daniel looked momentarily confused by the question, then he grinned. “Ah. It turns out my girl gets a little crazy after a few glasses of pink champagne. Didn’t even make it in the door. Take note, gentlemen.”

“Why, Daniel, you filthy animal.”

Even though he felt like shit joking around with Brent after what had transpired with his sister, Matt couldn’t help but be amused. “Maybe you should buy stock in the company.”

Daniel pointed at him. “I like the way you think.”

“All right, idea man. Enough stalling.” Brent tugged his king-size Kevlar vest over his head. “Did you bail because of my sister, or what?”

Matt froze in the process of securing his locker. “Excuse me?”