“You’re telling me I’m not interesting?”
“You’re about as interesting as a koi fish. An old one. With digestive issues and a malfunctioning swim bladder.”
Now he’s outraged. His face is turning red.
God, that feels good.
Just to twist the knife deeper, I add, “Plus, you don’t even know how to kiss.”
His eyes flare. His jaw clenches. He growls, “Believe me, I know how to fucking kiss.”
“Sure you do. If it’s opposite day.”
When I smile at his obvious fury, he mutters, “Bloody little smartass.”
Then he grabs my face in both hands and crushes his mouth to mine.
14
Declan
I know it’s a bad idea, but the woman has an uncanny knack for knowing exactly what to say to push my buttons.
The FBI should hire her for their terrorist interrogation team. There’s not a man on earth whose will to live she couldn’t break.
Holding her head and ignoring her little cry of surprise, I drink deep from her mouth. Her sweet, soft, warm mouth.
Her delicious, feminine, incredible mouth, whose appeal is surpassed only by the feel of her lush tits pressed against my chest. And the small tremor that runs through her as I deepen the kiss. And maybe the way the tension in her body starts to melt until she’s leaning into me, giving me her weight and letting her head fall back as my tongue slides against hers.
When she slips her arms up around my neck and sighs in pleasure, a growl of victory rumbles through my chest.
Can’t kiss, my arse.
I wind an arm around her back, the other around her waist, and pull her closer. She fits perfectly against my body, soft everywhere I’m hard. Pliant everywhere my fingers dig. And curved in all the right places.
The urge to push her down to the floor and fuck her until she’s screaming my name is so strong, it shakes me to my core.
I pull away, breathing hard.
She’s breathing hard, too. We stand there for a silent moment, faces inches apart, hearts pounding, until she licks her lips and says in a husky whisper, “Five out of ten.”
“Bollocks. That was the best kiss you’ve ever had, and you know it.”
“I think you can do better.”
She pulls my head down and fits her mouth against mine
This time, the kiss is slower. Softer, but somehow deeper. It goes on and on, getting hotter and hungrier, until she’s squirming against me and my dick is a throbbing steel bar.
I flex my pelvis into hers. She moans softly in the back of her throat. When I break away this time, I’m panting and more than a little dizzy.
She opens her eyes and gazes up at me. Cheeks flushed, lips wet, she looks incredible. Satan did a good job when he created her.
“Six,” she breathes. “C’mon, gangster. Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got.”
“That was a fucking ten. And you’re not in charge here.”
She says teasingly, “You keep saying that, but I’m not sure if it’s me you’re trying to convince or yourself.”
I fist a hand into her hair, sink the other into a plush ass cheek, and hold her head steady as I kiss her again.
I don’t stop until she’s grinding her pelvis against mine and mewling like a kitten.
“Ten,” I growl against her mouth.
Without opening her eyes, she says faintly, “Seven and a half. And that’s being generous.”
When I let loose a blistering string of curses in Gaelic, she laughs. It’s low, pleased, and as maddening as it is sexy.
My heartbeat flying, I put my mouth next to her ear. “You like to live dangerously, don’t you, lass?”
“Live dangerously and you live right.”
I pull away and gaze at her, astonished. “Goethe? Now you’re quoting fucking Goethe?”
She smiles. “Just because I’m cute doesn’t mean my brain is tiny.”
Then she pushes me away, props her hands on her hips, and sends me a look of icy disdain that would make any queen proud. “Oh. I just remembered.”
“What?”
“I hate you.”
We stare at each other. She’s saved from strangulation when my cell phone rings. When I see the number on the screen, I thrust the phone at her and snap, “You have thirty seconds.”
Then I whirl around and walk away, blowing out a hard breath and dragging a shaking hand through my hair. Trying to pull myself together.
I should’ve never taken that gag off her mouth.
“Hello? Nat! Oh my god, I was so worried about you.”
Behind me, Sloane pauses, listening. Then she laughs. “Me? Don’t be ridiculous! You know I always land on my feet.”
Another pause. “Yes, I’m sure it looked bad. But security cameras make everything look worse. It was much less dramatic in real…yes, I did hit my head. Yes, everyone was shooting at each other, but…oh, babe. I’m fine. I promise.”
She listens for a while, then says firmly, “Natalie. Take a breath. I haven’t been beaten. I haven’t been dismembered. I haven’t been buried in a shallow grave.”
I look at her over my shoulder with what I hope are evil, slitted eyes that transmit Yet.
She makes a face and waves a dismissive hand in the air like I’m being silly.
“No, no, I’m being treated very well. No, he doesn’t have a gun pointed at my head right now. Actually…”
A new look comes into her eyes. It’s crafty and confident and worries me.
“Well, if you must know, he’s halfway in love with me already.”
My mouth drops open.
She’s laughing into the phone. “Right? Poor guy. He was a goner from the first time we met.”
I know she’s just trying to aggravate me, but that’s exactly what she said about Stavros. I think I’m going to break something. Maybe her knees.
I stride toward her, holding out my hand for the phone, but she backs away, waving me off like I’m an annoying fly.
“No, tell Kage not to do that. It’s not necessary.”
I stop a foot away and glare down her, breathing fire from my nose. I’d grab the phone, but the mention of Kage makes me hesitate. I want to hear where this conversation is going. What he has planned.
She gazes calmly up at me, staring straight into my eyes when she says, “Declan would never hurt me, that’s why. Even if he wanted to. Which he usually does. How do I know?” Her smile is soft. “Because he gave me his word.”
I mouth I lied.
She sticks out her tongue.
“Now, listen, Nat. I need you to do something for me. Tell your man to call off the cavalry. Tell him that Declan wants to have a sit-down and work this whole war thing out. Tell him that—”
I grab the phone from her, cover the receiver with my hand, and snap, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She meets my furious gaze with a level one of her own. “Saving your ass, gangster.”
“It doesn’t need saving.”
“You might change your mind when you hear that Kage put out a thirty-million-dollar bounty on your head for kidnapping me. Whichever one of the families kills you first gets the money, plus their access to shipping and distribution restored.” Her smile is smug. “There’s another thirty mil for whoever returns me safely to New York. So now you’re the only one with a target on his back. Funny how fast this game can change, isn’t it?”