“Who was that?” I asked, a feeling of unease coming over me, and I wasn’t quite sure why.

Lee wore a faraway expression as he answered, “Someone trying to send a message.”

“What does that mean?”

Shaking himself out of it, he blinked before replying, “Nothing, Karla. Come on, let’s get you home.”

I knew instinctively that there was something he wasn’t telling me, but I allowed him to lead me into the car anyway.

Nine

Lee spent several minutes checking out his car before finally starting the engine. He seemed distant, his mind elsewhere as his fists white-knuckled the steering wheel and he drove in the direction of Reya’s house. She lived with a couple of other students and was always complaining about how messy and rude they were. I didn’t envy her.

Glancing through the overhead mirror, I saw Trevor with his arm resting along the back of the car seat while he asked Reya questions and she gave him tentative answers, trying not to blush at his attention. I was jolted out of watching them when I felt a warm hand grasp my knee, and looked to the side to see Lee’s eyes flickering from the road to the hem of my dress. His thumb grazed the inside of my thigh, and I was suddenly remembering our time in the office room, how good it felt to have him inside me, invading every one of my senses.

God, I wanted to go back to his place so badly. Being with him tonight hadn’t quelled my hunger at all. On the contrary¸ it only grew stronger.

A few minutes later, we were stopping outside Reya’s. Trevor got out and walked her to her door. When he returned, he let his head fall back, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

“Okay, this is probably verging on TMI, but that is the finest rack I’ve ever seen.”

Lee chuckled at his brother, and I twisted around in my seat to eye him. “That’s my friend you’re talking about, and she’s more than just a pair of tits, so show some respect.”

“Oh, calm your knickers. My intentions are pure – purely sexual.”

I narrowed my gaze at him as Lee warned, “That’s enough, Trev.”

The younger brother flopped back in his seat, muttering, “Your girlfriend needs to chill out.”

“I’m not his girlfriend,” I protested at the same time Trevor’s gaze wandered to Lee’s hand firmly grasping my thigh. He shot me a cynical look that said it all. Sure you’re not.

A second later, his phone beeped and he pulled it out to read the message. I turned back around in my seat.

“Hey, where are we, bruv?” Trevor asked.

“Just coming up to Bethnal Green.”

“Pull up here and let me out. Got a few things to take care of.”

Lee stared at Trevor through the mirror, and they shared a moment of that weird silent communication again. Without questioning him, Lee stopped the car and his brother hopped out. When we were back on the road, I shot him a curious look.

“Where’s he off to?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“It’s almost two o’clock in the morning.”

“And Trevor’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

Now that we were alone in the car, Lee’s hand moved farther up my thigh. My skin prickled with goose bumps and I closed my eyes for a second, trying to summon the ability to think straight. When I opened them again, the engine was off, and I looked up to see we were parked outside my building.

“Come here,” Lee said, his voice a low command.

“I’d better get inside.”

“Not yet,” he argued, and grabbed my hand.

He lifted my body deftly until I was sitting astride him in the driver’s seat, his fingers trailing up and down the outside of my thighs. I heaved a shuddering a breath. He stared up at me with his mouth hanging slightly open. Looking like that, he was more or less impossible to resist. The adoration in his eyes made my chest feel too tight, and when he began to harden against me, I was done for.

It was late, and there was nobody around. Still, I shouldn’t have been considering having sex with Lee Cross in the front seat of his car where anyone could see.

“I can’t do this,” I said, shaking my head.

Reaching forward, Lee gripped the back of my neck and pulled my mouth to his for a quick, hard kiss. “Break the rules, Karla. Just this once,” he said breathlessly as his hands trailed down my body to palm my arse.

I whimpered when he squeezed, pulling me tight to his erection. Before I could protest further, he slid my underwear to the side and plunged two fingers inside me.

“Wet,” he hissed, and I melted against him, my face falling to the crook of his neck.

“Look at me. I need your eyes,” Lee said, and I pulled back, watching while he coaxed me to orgasm. He continued fingering me, and when his thumb moved over my clit, I moaned. “That’s it — give me those eyes. You’re so beautiful.”

His chest rose and fell as he watched me, his gaze glittering in the dark. The intensity in his expression made me flush, my breaths and sighs filling the small confines of the car. I bent down and kissed him. When I slid my tongue inside his mouth, I was rewarded with a deep, masculine groan, and the next time he circled my clit, I came with an unexpected ferocity right on his hand.

It took me a long time to recover, but Lee just held me, one hand running soothingly up and down my spine.

“Come on, I’ll walk you up to your flat,” he said, finally breaking the quiet.