Page 41 of Root

“Yes,” she says. “Nikolai wants you before you show, uh, Jess around.”

“Told you,” Jess says.

“Go away, Rose.”

I kiss Jess again, but she tries to wiggle free. I lift my mouth, sighing, and whisper, “Rose’ll go away.”

And I pull Jess back in before she gathers her resolve and her sound mind and dive down into a deep kiss before Rose taps me on the shoulder.

This time I stop and let Jess wiggle away.

“Rose? Do I do that when you and Nikolai are being disgusting?”

Her eyes go big and round. “You spy?”

“No!”

Jess shifts over to the furthest edge of the island, taking the cookies with her and gets another one. The one I fed her’s sitting on the bench, which I try not to take personally.

I shove a hand through my hair and count to ten, trying to get my erection under control.

“Couldn’t you assess the situation Rose,” I mutter. “Make an executive decision and pretend you couldn’t find me?”

“Don’t mind me,” Jess says. “As prisoner I should have rights under international fucking law. And shouldn’t be subjected to manhandling.”

“It’s called a blessing,” I say. “You were kissed by Rush.”

She just looks at me.

Rose crosses her arms, and I eat the abandoned cookie.

“I’ve got the cookies, I’m good,” Jess says.

Rose flicks a look at me, then Jess, and finally a soft smile at the devil himself. Who purrs. “Eat all the cookies, Jess, and I’ll have to take you down.”

Mia bustles through. “We’ll make some more, Rose.” Then she sets her gaze on Jess. “Oh, good. You can help with lunch.”

“I don’t cook,” Jess says as Dante pours himself off the bench so he doesn’t get the sharp side of Mia’s tongue.

“You can learn,” Mia says.

“Are there any other females in this house who want to come in here?” I mutter. “Interrupt a man’s time with his cookies?”

“They’re my cookies now,” Jess says.

But Mia and Rose did do one thing. They killed my boner.

“I’ll be back, okay, Jessie?” I grab a handful of cookies and get singed by the heat of Jess’s look, and go to Rose, giving her half the cookies. I wait until we’re at the door. “What does he want, Rose?”

“Your head, probably.” We head out the door to the main part of the mansion.

“His not working? I mean his head on his shoulders not his—” She hits my ass. “Ow, you’re very violent. Niko’s rubbing off on you.”

We head out and she stops, leaning against the wall in the hall as she nibbles a cookie. “What are you doing, Rush?”

“Walking with a sexy lady?” But I sigh. “C’mon she’s hot, she saved my life. She warned me of gang activity.” I blow out a breath. “Jokes aside? Why would she get stabbed?”

“I don’t know,” Rose says. “But Nikolai always has a reason. This is Smith territory, formally no man’s land, or so he said…”

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