Page 27 of Illicit Temptation

“It’s twenty degrees out there.” He gets dangerously close to me. And yep, more handsome.

Sigh.

“Then do whatever Soren did. He wasn’t in my face. He didn’t need any instructions.”

“I’m not Soren.”

No shit...I swallow, his eyes on my throat.

Cheeks blaring with heat, I say, “What bodyguard duties did you perform while you were guarding Balor?”

He leans in and whispers, “Well, I’m not married to Balor, so I wasn’t sitting around waiting to fuck him.”

I snap back, and laugh, “I hope not.”

Where does he get the balls to talk to me this way? And why am I not lifting my foot and kicking him in the teeth?

Because I’ve been secretly craving this man since I saw him a few months ago with Balor, and it cracked the rust around my heart since dumping Archer.

“There’s that smile I remember,” Trace growls. “I drove Balor around. He worked from his command center, and I hung out in the game room. When he was at Divona, I stayed in the guard’s booth.”

My heart pinches, hearing him calling my family home by the Celtic name Da gave it. Divona, Goddess of Springs and Rivers. Da named it for the fresh running water of Astoria Harbor behind the house.

“We’re going to have to do a sit-down and figure this out. I don’t work from home.” I spread my arms to show off my storefront salon. “I’m here every day. There’s no game room. If I’m not here, or at an event, I’m meeting with caterers, photographers, stylists, bands, printers, or florists.”

Trace’s dark eyebrows cinch together. “Are all these places vetted beforehand?”

“Vetted for what?”

“To be safe.”

I roll my eyes and open my mouth to respond, but Trace grips my chin softly.

“Oh, princess. Don’t roll those eyes at me. Unless you want to do it while I fuck you senseless.”

My core tightens.Down kitty!

With his cologne, he smells like a musky dream and that sharp suit makes him look like a billionaire. Only... I’mthe billionaire. I think. I haven’t added up the balances of all the accounts Eoghan created for me.

If Trace had a different job or worked for someone else, I wouldn’t mind having a little fling. But he’s my bodyguard. I know better. If he’s supposed to be watching me, he can’t do that if he’s buried deep inside me. I take that back. He surely would be watching me duringthat, but well...he wouldn’t be able to protect me. He’d be way too distracted.

“Princess...” Trace’s voice, rough like that night in Vegas, snaps me out of my thoughts. “You’re blushing the deepest crimson I’ve ever seen on someone without a dangerous fever. And the vein in your neck is throbbing. Reminds me of when I had my cock down your throat.”

I have a fever, all right. And speaking of heat, he should feel my clit. “I... I went down on you?”

He cocks his head. “Still no memory of our wedding night?”

“Shhh.” I yank him into my supply room.

“Thisis much better.” He backs me against the copier.

“Larke doesn’t know.” I made her sign an NDA, but there’s too much at stake if she slips. You... You fucked my mouth?”

“I did indeed.” He strokes my lips. “I came down your throat, too. Then I fucked your pussy so damn deep.”

I swallow a lump. We were married. It wasn’t a sin. Licking my lips, I say, “Was I good?”

He grins wickedly. “Care to refresh my memory?”

---