Page 101 of Killer Kiss

Augie shook his head, irritation in his expression. “You know what? No. Fuck that.” He took my hands, linked our fingers together, and slid them up the bed. “I don’t know about you, but to me, we are something.”

His face was fierce, angry almost, like he was daring me to argue with him.

All I wanted to do was kiss him.

I strained up, putting my lips to his.

He pulled back, staring down at me, out of reach.

“Don’t kiss me to shut me up. I’m saying this whether you want to hear it or not.” His expression softened. “I like you, Lia. I like having you in this bed and at my club and on my cock and in my shower. I want more than this though. I want to take you out. Show you off.”

I couldn’t help but grin at him, a slow warmth rolling through my body in a delicious way that had nothing to do with the fact his dick was rubbing over my clit and everything to do with his words. They were clumsy and unpracticed. As rough around the edges as he was.

They were everything I loved about him.

The thought stopped me dead.

But my heart wouldn’t be denied.

“I like you too,” I whispered back, the word ‘like’ so incredibly underwhelming to the way I actually felt. “I want to meet your family. Properly. At a dinner. Not just in a hospital hallway.”

The smile he gave me was so magnificent, it damn near broke my heart in two.

Because in that moment, even though he hadn’t said as such, it felt a whole lot like Augie was giving me his heart.

And I already knew I would be the one to break it.

28

ZANE

In the darkness of my bedroom, cold water hit me in the face, shock stealing my breath before I even had a chance to open my eyes.

But when I did, I wished I hadn’t.

“Wakey, wakey, little brother. Time to rise and shine and tell me all about the fucking colossal mess you’ve made for me.”

I swore beneath my breath, wiping the water off my face with the back of my hand. “Fuck off, Eddie. I didn’t do shit.”

My brother put his hands behind his back and paced the length of my room like he was some sort of aristocrat.

He was anything but. With his huge arms covered in tats, both of the professional and prison variety, Eddie had the appearance of a body builder. All thick biceps and chest and thighs.

But his face was ratlike. Cunning. Sharp.

He missed nothing.

“Get out of bed, Zane.”

I desperately wished I could tell him to go to hell. But I didn’t dare, even now. Getting mouthy with him wouldn’t end well. I’d learned that lesson a million times over, both as a kid and then a teen, and then eventually, as an adult.

What Eddie wanted, Eddie got. No matter what it took. If he told you to get out of bed, then you did as you were fucking told.

Or there’d be a price to pay.

One I would have paid a thousand times over.

Except it was never me he went after.

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