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nerve.
    He hit the end button on the conversation. Instead of giving in to his urge to throw the phone, he stiffly handed it back to Alyssa.
    “You were right.”
    “Thought I’d save you the drive out there, since I know Homer too well.”
    And since he was, no doubt, another man who had seen Alyssa naked, Homer knew her awfully well, too.
    Luc sighed. He had to stop caring who’d seen her bare. He’d want to rip the heads off most of the male population of this town for the next week if he didn’t get himself under control. He’d fucked her for one night. What she’d done before—or after—was none of his affair.
    So why did it bug the hell out of him? And where was he going to sleep tonight?
    “I have an extra room at my place,” Alyssa offered quietly. “It’s clean and quiet and—”
    “I couldn’t impose.” Because if he did, he’d get inside her again.
    Last time he’d spent the night in her body, he’d been insatiable. For six hours. Nothing had been too searing, too depraved, too intimate. She’d wrenched the sort of desire from him that burned him, shamed and elated him at once. He’d taken everything she offered, then more—then come back again. He’d fucked her in every way a man could, repeatedly. Bareback. Something he hadn’t done in more than a decade, except with Kimber.
    And the memories of that incredible night with Alyssa were fraying his self-control.
    “No imposition. I have the room; you need a bed.”
    She laid a soft hand over his as it gripped the gearshift. Her touch seized him clear down to his balls, igniting his blood.
    “Besides,” she murmured. “Maybe . . . you’re right. If what happened tonight isn’t a prank, then I’d feel better not to be alone. Do you mind?”
    Yes. Very much . But he’d be every kind of a bastard if he said no.
    He sent her a tight smile. “It will be my pleasure.”

    HE was lying through his teeth. Then again, so was she. She’d paid Homer very handsomely to give Luc’s room away and she doubted that, despite the prank, anyone would try to hurt her tonight.
    As Luc’s SUV whipped down Lafayette’s dark streets, exhaustion should have been weighing on her. Instead, she was filled with anticipation. She was finally going to be alone with the man she most wanted, in her house, where he’d made mad love to her before. Too bad Luc wasn’t happy about it.
    He was a puzzle. The lust in his eyes was unmistakable. Hell, every time he looked her way he damn near burned her. But his contempt wasn’t hard to piece together. So his anger that someone else thought she was a whore intrigued her.
    “If it’s not a prank, who would stab such a note to the seat of your car?”
    Sadly, the list was long. “Luc, let’s wait and see what Remy comes back with.”
    “No.” He flashed her an impatient stare. “If whoever did this drops by while you’re sleeping, I’d like to have some idea who I’ll be dealing with.”
    “Don’t worry too much. If I thought I was in serious jeopardy, I’d call Tyler. Or Jack Cole. He and your cousin are the best, and he’s an old friend. Because of him, the house has a top-of-the-line security system.”
    Luc ground his jaw. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “I said I’d keep you safe tonight and I will. Answer the question.”
    He wasn’t letting this go, and that gave Alyssa hope. Maybe he cared, at least a bit. Even if it was against his good sense and his will.
    “First, just about any jealous wife or girlfriend who doesn’t like the amount of time her man spends in my club. That’s common.”
    “Knives aren’t usually a woman’s style.”
    No. She’d had her tires deflated, her house egged, more ugly notes than she could count. Scorned women usually annoyed and rarely disturbed.
    “What about past lovers?” He pinned her with a burning stare. “Current ones?”
    She closed her eyes. Naturally, he’d assume there were many of both. She’d been down this road; it