Free Contingent by Livia Jamerlan Page A

of Manhattan, but he was who I wanted. Before Landon’s lips could connect with mine, I’d turned my face, giving him the dreaded cheek instead.
    When I’d closed the door, I clutched my hands over my heart, hoping the loneliness would leave. “Why can’t I forget him?” I whispered softly to the empty house.
    The banging on my door startled me back to reality. I shook the loneliness from my body, prepared to greet Landon. To my surprise, it wasn’t him. Instead, it was as if God had answered my prayers and brought Haas back to me. I exhaled the breath I had trapped in my chest and lowered my head. The ache in my chest reminded me that though my heart wanted him here, my mind knew it was only going to cause me more pain.
    Why was he here? Why now?
    After I’d calmed my breath, I lifted my head to look at him. Anger began to seep into my pores. “What are you doing here?”
    “Can I come in?” His hands rested against the door frame, shielding me inside my own safe place. His scent smacked me in the face—the aroma of home. It wafted from his body and wove around mine.
    Trembling with emotions that I couldn’t process all at once, I shook my head. “Haas—”
    “Please.” His husky voice was low, desperate even. I stepped back, allowing him inside my home, inside my heart, yet again.
    Haas strode past me and I closed the door behind him, my heart racing with each passing second. The last time he was here was . . .
    I didn’t let my mind go there. I had to stay strong.
    “What do you need?” I asked, following him further into the living room.
    “Who is he?”
    His words slapped me in the face. He looked so powerful, tall with his wide chest, standing in my quaint living room.
    “What? How do you—?” Had he been watching me?
    “The guy who dropped you off at your door. The one who tried to kiss you good night. The one you were at the Knicks game with. Who is he?” His voice rang through my house with command. He stepped closer, but I stepped back. I needed to keep my distance.
    “Now you’re stalking me?”
    “Answer me, Lynn.”
    I hated that he demanded an answer from me. Hell, he had a girlfriend. Why did he care if I was on a date?
    My weary voice transformed to match his. If he wanted answers, so did I. “I don’t have to answer to you. Shouldn’t you be out with your girlfriend instead? Go worry about who she is seeing.” There was no point in trying to have this conversation while he was still attached.
    “Lynn—” He whispered my name like he had done when we were in bed together. His fingers gripped my upper arm, pulling me back to him.
    “No, Hass!” I yanked my arm away. “You don’t get to bang on my door demanding to know who I’m seeing. You lost that privilege a long time ago.”
    His fingers laced around my elbow yet again and yanked me towards him, pressing me against the wall this time. My breath, my rage, and my confidence all vanished when my back met the hard plaster. Haas claimed my personal space. My world pivoted back to all things Haas. His breath smelled of liquor and mint, and his scent was intoxicating.
    But I needed to be strong.
    “I’ve missed you,” he whispered, bringing his lips to my face. I turned, staring at the edge of the picture frame a few feet away. I couldn’t lose my stance.
    His hands wove together with mine. Lifting them above my head, he held them against the wall. His lips grazed my skin and I held my breath. “Tell me to stop,” he growled in my ear. His voice was a velvet murmur.
    I couldn’t tell him to stop. My heart felt as if it would pump out of my chest at any second. Asking him to stop was out of the question.
    “Haas . . .”
    “I need to play, Lynn.”
    It was our way.
    His lips pressed against my neck. His tongue licked my sensitive skin, leaving a trail of dampness. My knees weakened as I thought about him crawling over my body.
    “You have a girlfriend now, Haas. Play with her.” It was the last shred of fight I had