Free Delicious by Shayla Black

into the SUV beside Luc in Bonheur’s parking lot. The heavy silence between them jangled her nerves. He’d definitely put off the vibe that he didn’t want to continue what Misa had interrupted. But his erection had risen again the minute they were alone, unmistakable and unflagging.
    She tapped her toe, thinking. Everything inside her wanted to throw her arms around him and entice him again. The other half . . . Well, the off-putting vibe was strong, and she wasn’t dumb. He was close to the breaking point. After she got him into bed, she hoped he’d relax and conversation would follow. Until then, all she could do was continue to tease him and deny her own needs.
    She reached out, touched his shoulder. “The meetings went well. The staff seems very excited. Thank you for staying this week.”
    Luc jolted at her touch, then relaxed. “I needed to live up to our bargain. You had every right to call me on it.”
    “Actually, I’m sorry about that. I feel strongly about not forcing people to be where they don’t want to.” The truth, but it made her wince. Pray to God he didn’t ask her why. “If I hadn’t advertised the fact you’d be here opening week and had so much of my savings into the place, I would have let you walk.”
    He turned to her with a puzzled scowl. “After the way I—After that night, I don’t deserve your compassion. I know I was hard on you.”
    “Luc, I’m not a hothouse flower.”
    “No,” he agreed immediately. “You’re far stronger than I suspected. But that doesn’t erase the fact I wasn’t gentle with you. I’m not proud of that night. I’m . . . sorry.”
    “I liked it. I’m not sorry at all.” Her words came out in a passionate rush. “Don’t you dare be sorry, either.”
    He didn’t comment. Instead, he seemed to mull her answer over. “What if Deke had stayed that night? Would you have regretted that?”
    Where was that question coming from? Luc was fishing for something. How much should she reveal?
    Finally, she shook her head. “I still would have been with you.”
    Luc’s jaw dropped. Then he closed his mouth, shaking his head as he sped down the road. “You barely knew me. We’d met . . . what, twice before that night?”
    Three times, actually. But the first time, she’d been working—taking off her clothes. They hadn’t been formally introduced. The other times had been casual gatherings. “I suspected right away we’d be good together. I was right.”
    Pasting on a smile, Alyssa turned away. Hopefully, Luc wouldn’t dig any further into that topic. She’d have to keep playing it casual. He wasn’t ready to hear that he’d rocked her to her core the night they’d spent together, that she’d loved his toe-curlingly intimate conversation.
    No woman has ever given me such pleasure. I could drown in you forever. Touch me, sugar. Yeeessss . . .
    As they approached the club, Alyssa filed the memory away. In silence, Luc stopped the car and shoved it into park. She reached for the door handle, and he grabbed her wrist, staying her.
    “We’re good together sexually, God knows. But that’s it.”
    A dozen comebacks ran through her head, most on the theme that he couldn’t truly know his statement to be fact because they hadn’t tried anything beyond sex. But contradicting him would only make him more resistant. And that was counterproductive. She had to keep playing her trump card.
    “I never said I was talking about anything but sex.”
    Before he could respond, she jerked from his grasp and exited the SUV. She burst into the club through the back door, Luc at her heels.
    “Why do I get the feeling you’re not being completely honest?”
    Refusing to allow herself to be rattled, she kept walking. “I can’t answer that. Nor do I have time to try. I have a business to run. If you’d like to go back to the house, I’ll have Tyler give me a ride home when the club is closed.”
    Just then, her bouncer approached, wearing two days’ growth