Page 128 of Killer Kiss

“They take one look at you and something inside them screams to run, don’t they?” I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand. “You a virgin, Riddick?”

“No,” he huffed out.

It had been a bluff. I didn’t really think a man like him in his thirties, despite his off-putting appearance and the way he couldn’t hide that there was something abnormal about him, would actually still be a virgin.

But the way he’d said no…

Fuck. I remembered the way he’d pushed up against me in my apartment.

He’d wanted me, but he hadn’t forced me.

When he so easily could have.

He could have forced any woman if he wanted to.

Maybe that was the one moral line Riddick had held on to. Maybe he did just want someone who actually wanted him.

I could relate to that. I almost felt sorry for him.

Until Banjo let out a whimper of pain and I knew this couldn’t go on any longer.

“Let him go, Riddick,” I said softly, stepping in so the heat of my body seeped into his. “I’m not in love with him. I’m promised to you, so any other man I’ve been with is inconsequential anyway.”

Riddick leaned into my touch, lowering his head to my neck and inhaling my scent. “You always smell so good.”

“So do you.” I tried not to choke on the words.

“I don’t want you with other men.”

I shook my head. “We’ll get married. You and me. There’ll be no other men.”

He inhaled sharply. “I want you to want me, Ophelia. I don’t like having to force you.”

I rubbed myself against him. “I do want you,” I lied, hating every touch but knowing it was all I had to give. If this didn’t work, there was no backup plan. I didn’t even have a gun anymore.

“Prove it,” he demanded.

My mind raced. I had no idea. Other than…

“Tomorrow,” I said with conviction. “No more waiting. We get married tomorrow.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Tomorrow?”

I nodded quickly. Hell. What did it matter anymore anyway? This was always going to be my life. Augie had been the sweetest of reprieves. A time I would look back on for the rest of my life and silently thank him for, because it would be those memories that got me through endless days with a man I despised.

“Tomorrow,” I confirmed again, though the word was starting to sound strange to my ears. “We’ll do it at my mom’s place. It’s nice in her yard. All your friends. Our siblings and parents. Invite whoever you want. Our families will be merged, and so will our businesses. My parents will be pleased. You’ll have a wife. Everyone will be happy.”

Everyone except me.

That didn’t matter if I could get Banjo out alive.

I pressed onto my toes and kissed Riddick’s cheek. “But let him go. That’s all I ask.”

Riddick’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “He’s a target. I was given a job to do, and I need to do it.”

“My mom won’t care if there’s a wedding to distract her. If our business is merging with yours, she doesn’t have to worry about our reputation anymore.” I smiled stiffly and forced out the words. “We can just rely on yours.”

The sentence tasted sour. But it had the desired effect of making Riddick preen with pride.

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