“As much as I’d love to make your day and give you a break—because, shit, God knows you deserve one—there’s no way in hell I can ever forget how we met.”
She winced before looking away. “Yeah, okay. I get it. You have every right to hold a grudge. God knows I earned it.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Something twisted in his chest at the self-loathing in her tone, and before he gave it another thought he moved to face her, leaning his hands against the wall on either side of her head so he could look down into her wet, startled eyes. “If I forget how we met, I’ll forget how you impressed the hell out of me when you put me on my ass. I’ll forget how vital it is to never underestimate you when you’ve got your mad on. And most of all, I’ll forget the first moment I looked into these dark bedroom eyes of yours and wondered what I’d have to do to get you to want to fuck me instead of fight me. So, no, Stems. The last thing I want to do is forget you.”
When he finally stopped speaking, it seemed to take her a while to put a sentence together. “You… When you kissed me earlier, was that the reason why…? I mean, you wanted to, uh…”
“Fuck you? Are you seriously asking me that?”
“All things considered, I think it’s understandable that I might be confused on the subject.”
Ha. “New flash, Alice. Every time a man kisses a woman, it’s because he wants to fuck her. Do you understand, or do I need to get some crayons and draw you pictures?”
He was pleased to see the flash of anger cutting through the weary defeat in her eyes. “I get it, Loki.”
“Good.” Satisfied, he lowered his head and covered her lips with his.
For a heartbeat she was unresponsive, and it was almost like kissing a mannequin. Then the mouth beneath his melted like wax to mold against him, and the earthshaking perfection of it made him gasp.
Goddamn.
Goddamn.
How could a kiss shake his world?
How could a woman?
A faint sound that was part sigh, part whimper escaped her. It buckled something inside him, something he didn’t even know was there. But when it gave, a torrent of unending hunger and fire and a savage kind of yearning hit him so hard he wrapped his arms around her and hauled her to him so fiercely her feet left the ground.
He didn’t care.
Nothing mattered but losing himself in this perfect, heaven-sent kiss.
A craving to possess her, to own her, filled every part of him until he shook with it. He needed to hold her so hard her body melded to his and became a forever part of him.
If the way her arms roped around his neck and held on was any indication—like she was drowning and he was the only life preserver around—she felt the same way.
Perfect.
The feel of her fingers sliding into his hair made his world rock, and he brushed his tongue against hers to better wallow in her intimate taste. Feverish heat erupted through him when her tongue answered the caress, a sensual stroking that was all about teasing and pleasuring and unapologetic sexing it up.
This woman didn’t just kiss.
No.
She fucking seduced.
He was all for it.
Then in a blink, it was over. She pushed away from him just as he was getting good and hard and ready to show her what sexing it up was all about. Worse yet, she didn’t stop her retreat until she was out of arm’s reach, breathing like she’d just run a marathon as she once again leaned back against the concrete wall several feet away from him.
She chose a cold, damp wall to lean into instead of his arms, where she fit like she was made for him.
Damned if that didn’t stab at him in the strangest fucking way.
“What the hell was that?” She’d probably tried to sound demanding, but the sweet tremor in her voice took all the starch out of it. Because of that, he couldn’t help but relax enough to grin.
Good to know he could shake her up.
“It was supposed to be a kiss.” Casually he slid his fingers into his back pockets, watching her all the while. What he saw didn’t ease the heavy throb in his dick in the least. “But since you had to ask, I obviously didn’t do it right. I should probably take another crack at it. I’m sure I’ll get it right eventually if I practice hard enough.”
“No, don’t.” The hand she put up meant business, as did the real alarm in her tone. He froze, eyes narrowing as she took in a shuddering breath. “Look, I’m… sorry.”
“Sorry?” That was the last thing he wanted to hear. “About what?”
“I’m in a weird place right now, Loki. This morning I wanted to kill you. And now I’m kissing you and I’m totally into it, and that’s just too big a swing for me to cope with when the rest of my world is falling apart. I need some non-crazy room to breathe and get things settled in my head, all right? That’s not too much to ask, is it?”
He sifted through all that to get to what was important. “So, you’re into kissing me.”
She gave him that hard stare he found so hilarious. “Loki—”
“Hey, I’m not complaining, Stems. Far from it. That works for me, because I’m all about kissing you, too. Like, it’s now my mission in life to kiss you every fucking chance I get.”
“Didn’t you hear everything else I said?”
“Yeah, but let’s not overlook the point that we’re seriously into each other, yeah? In fact, you should probably know I can’t wait to kiss that sweet mouth of yours again when you’re not dealing with a ton of shit, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to help you get rid of that ton of shit. That way, I can get down to the business of kissing you again.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“You’re going to help me with my ton of shit.”
“Yep.”
“Why? You don’t even know me.”
“Have you already forgotten what I said about kissing? Every man who kisses a woman is actually interested in fucking her.”
She gaped at him for a long moment before she shook her head. “Honestly, the things you say. It’s like you’ve taken too many punches to the head.”
“Not as many as I’ve dished out.”
That made her glance toward the ramp they’d used to exit The Pit. “Listen, Loki, that circus that’s going on down there in the Lower Lower… It’s bad. It’s really bad. You know that, right?”
“Depends on what your definition of bad is.”
“It’s the usual definition, so please, for the sake of your loved ones, don’t go down there to fight again, okay? You could be doing lasting damage to yourself, and that’s a horrifying thought. If not for yourself, please quit that craziness for the people who love you. You don’t have anything to prove, trust me on this. You’re the most manly man I’ve ever met.”
The concern in her expression kicked off another odd twisting sensation in his chest. “Alice, no one loves me. And Gravediggers don’t love anyone.”
“You should still stop.” At last her midnight gaze came back to him, and the genuine distress—for him—was there for him to see. “Do it for yourself. Do it for the sake of whatever kind of art you do at House Of Payne. Do it for… for me.”