She sucks in a shocked breath through her nose. Her entire body stiffens. She’s frozen for a split second.
Until the freeze thaws, and the claws come out.
She bites my lip.
Hard.
Cursing, I jerk away. She glares up at me, pushing against my chest with all her might, trying to shove me off.
I don’t budge. Instead, I clamp a hand around her jaw and kiss her again.
She writhes beneath me, making angry sounds, fighting. Not giving in or opening her mouth.
I’m surprised at the resistance. She doesn’t look strong enough to stand upright in a brisk breeze.
I’m even more surprised when she yanks at my hair, scratching my scalp with her nails.
I pull away, chuckling. “My little bird has claws.”
“Call me a bird one more time, and I’ll—”
“What?” I demand, pressing my chest to hers so I feel her heart pounding right through my shirt. “You’ll do what? Shoot me? Stab me? Drown me in a sea of words?”
“Fuck you.”
“Is that an invitation?”
“You wish, you arrogant prick!”
She’s so mad, she’s almost spitting.
I like this side of her. This feisty, angry side.
It’s so rare that someone challenges me.
“Careful,” I whisper, brushing my lips against hers. “Combat makes my dick hard.”
She stops fighting me instantly. But not a single ounce of her anger fades. She lies beneath me, breathing raggedly, glaring murder into my face. Her lips are pressed together so tightly, they’re white.
It’s disarmingly cute. Like a furious kitten, all puffy tail and tiny hisses.
No—we’re enemies. I can’t let myself get distracted.
I’m already distracted. Fuck.
So improvise. You’re good at that. Kill two birds with one stone.
Gazing deep into her eyes so she can see I’m serious, I say, “Open your mouth for me, or I’ll shoot both your bodyguards.”
She snaps, “I thought you wanted me to keep my mouth shut.”
“Let’s try this again, smartass. Let me kiss you or two men die. Choose. Now.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“Yes. I told you I’m a bad person. Choose.”
She’s so furious, she’s trembling. If she had lasers in her eyes, my head would explode.
My dick and I are both really enjoying this.
“How do I know you won’t shoot them anyway?”
“You don’t. One more question, though, and I will.”
She’s getting desperate. I see her struggling to find a way out of this, to find an escape, and almost laugh out loud when I finally see her give in.
She licks her lips, then says defiantly, “Fine. Kiss me. But I won’t like it.”
Challenge accepted.
Instead of pressing my lips to hers, I turn her head and run the tip of my nose along her jaw. Beneath her ear, I inhale. Then I kiss her there, my mouth barely brushing her skin.
I have to suppress a chuckle when she shivers.
I think I might’ve been going about this revenge business all wrong.
“One more thing. You have to kiss me back. Lie there like a cold fish, and your friend Spider eats a bullet.”
“I take back what I said about you being a gentleman.”
“I’ll burst into tears over that right after you give me your fucking mouth.”
She inhales, closing her eyes and swallowing. When she opens her eyes again, I know it’s war.
I’ve seen hardened killers look less psychotic.
My smile makes her gnash her teeth.
“Ready?”
“Go to hell.”
“Can’t. The devil has a restraining order against me.”
“That’s not even original! I saw it on a T-shirt once!”
“You want original?” I put my mouth close to her ear and growl, “I want to impale you on my cock. I also want to wring your neck. I’ll settle for a kiss, instead.”
She mutters, “I can’t believe I didn’t let Spider shoot you when I had the chance.”
Ignoring that, I press my lips to hers.
It’s gentle, not hard like the first time. A warm, lingering touch, mouth closed. I do it again, brushing our lips together lightly.
She wasn’t expecting gentleness. I can tell because she stares up at me, startled.
“Close your eyes. Unclench your hands from my hair. And get your knee out of my ribs.”
“How many more rules will there be for this one kiss?”
“Do it. Now.”
She does everything I asked. Grudgingly. Then, when I only stay still, staring at her sweet mouth, she whispers, “Hurry up and get it over with.”
Her voice trembles.
I know it’s not from fear.
I also know the way to deal with her isn’t with brute force. She won’t respond to that. It’ll only make her fight harder.
This girl needs to be teased open.
Unfurled slowly, one petal at a time.
I gently kiss one corner of her mouth. Then the other. Then I softly kiss her nose and chin.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Kissing you. Shut up.”
She makes an aggravated noise, which I ignore. Trailing my lips down the side of her neck, I pause to press another gentle kiss to the pulse throbbing there. I stroke the tip of my tongue along it.
A fine tremor runs through her chest.
She says my name breathlessly.
I ignore that as well.
Nuzzling my nose into the curve where her neck meets her shoulder makes her shudder. I inhale deeply against her skin. She smells so sweet, I want to bite her.
So I do.
“Malek!”
“The sooner you stay quiet, the sooner this will be over. Keep interrupting me, and I’ll make this kiss last all night long.”
Which, now that I think of it, might not be a bad idea.
She’s breathing hard now. Tense and trembling beneath me. I know exactly why she wants me to stop. It’s the same reason I won’t.
She likes the feel of my mouth on her skin.
And I like how much she hates that she likes it.
I kiss a soft trail along her clavicle to her shoulder, nosing the neckline of her white cotton T-shirt aside to get there. I kiss my way back and dip my tongue into the dent at the base of her throat.
“Please. Stop. Stop this.”
Her voice is hoarse. Her whole body trembles. I feel like someone just lit me on fire.
“You want Spider to die?”
“I just want this to be over.”
“It will be.”
“When?”
“Soon enough.”
When she opens her mouth to protest, I slide my thumb inside it and growl, “Suck on that, or I’ll give you something to choke on.”
Her teeth press down hard against my finger. I fist my other hand into her hair.
“Draw blood, and I’ll make Spider’s death last a few weeks.”
She makes an angry noise, staring up at me in fury.
“You want this to be over? Close your eyes. And suck.”
Our eyes clash. She doesn’t obey me immediately, so I wait to see what she’ll decide.
I know full well that the bite of an adult human can cause massive destruction to a finger. Possibly even sever it. She’d do damage to her teeth and jaw, but I doubt she’d care.
I don’t care, either. It would be worth losing a finger just for this look on her face.
Finally, she closes her eyes. She exhales a short, angry breath through her nose.
When she starts to suck on my thumb, my already-hard dick throbs in response.
I lower my head and kiss her throat, licking and nipping at it. She moans around my thumb.
That sound shoots an arrow of heat straight through my body, right down to my balls. I’ve never heard anything sexier.
She’s your enemy. Enemy! Remember?
My brain keeps trying to tell me that, but my dick has other ideas about our relationship.
Other, very strong ideas.
I remove my thumb from her mouth and replace it with my tongue.
She forgets she hates me kissing her and arches into me with a sigh, opening her mouth to kiss me back passionately.
She’s all heat and shivering nerves, pounding pulse and hunger. If her earlier angry resistance surprised me, the way she responds when she’s aroused surprises me even more.
She’s needy. Greedy.
Almost as much as I am.
The kiss grows deeper and hotter. We’re both breathing hard. I’m starting to sweat. I love the way her mouth feels. The sweet, soft heat. Her warm lips. I love the way she clings to me with her body curved and both hands dug into my hair.
I love the feel of her hard nipples against my chest.
I want to feel them against my bare skin, not through my shirt. I want to suck on them, bite them, pinch them until she begs me to fuck her.
And I do want to fuck her.
I want to fuck her hard and deep. I want to make her claw my back and come for me. I want to make her scream my name until she’s hoarse. I want—
SHE’S YOUR ENEMY!
I jerk away and stare down at her, trying to catch my breath. Trying to clear my head of the searing images of her naked and moaning underneath me, her breasts bouncing against my chest, her slender legs wound around my waist as I thrust deep inside her body.
Her eyes drift open.
She gazes up at me with a soft, hazy look, blinking slowly like she has no idea where she is. Her face is flushed. Her lips are wet. She whispers my name.
Whispers it so sweetly, it makes me want to break something.
Declan O’Donnell murdered my brother.
One of her family killed one of mine.
I should be anywhere else on earth but in this room with this woman.
My voice comes out thick. “Tell anyone I was here, and they die.”
I rise from the bed and leave.
