Page 58 of Sinner's Secret

“You are not an asshole,” she said, punctuating every word with another shove until he ran into the bed and her body was only an inch from his.

Anger had added color to her cheeks and a sparkle to her eyes.

Absolutely gorgeous.

He cupped her cheek. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I was thinking right now.” He allowed one thumb to slide over her bottom lip. He bent his head, needing to taste her plump flesh just once. Just a little taste. Something to keep him warm in the long years of his life to come.

“You might not be an asshole,” she snarled at him. “But you are an idiot.” Her hands slid up his shoulders and neck, then higher, into his hair, bringing his head down until she could reach his mouth with her own.

So fucking hot.

So soft.

And her taste, sweet and spicy, and delicious.

Her tongue played with his, sliding against him in a dance he craved. Her curved body, soft in all the right places, fit against his like she’d been made for him. Her breasts were heavy in his hands, her nipples tight, and when he squeezed, she groaned and kissed him harder.

She wanted him. He’d warned her, repeatedly, that this was a bad idea, but her hands were on him, pulling at him, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

A noise pulled at his attention, but he ignored it in favor of Nika’s sleek neck and the spice of her skin.

The noise came again, and he lifted his head to identify it.

Someone was knocking on the door.

Nika blinked, her gaze glazed with desire. She swayed when he took a step back, so he held her in place with his hands on her shoulders.

The knock came again, and she frowned at the door. “Who is that?”

He had a pretty good idea of who it might be. Another asshole with terrible timing. “Let me check.”

One glance in the peephole confirmed his guess. Fuck.

Baz disengaged all the locks and opened the door. “Come on in,” he said to his cousin. “You do own the place.”

His cousin strode in wearing his usual impeccably expensive suit. Baz shut the door, locked it back up again, and turned to find Yvgeny and Nika sizing each other up.

“This is your cousin?” she asked as if Baz had opened the door for a cockroach.

“This is your cop?” Yvgeny asked in the same tone.

Oh boy. They were in the same room with each other for less than ten seconds and they were already gearing up to attack each other.

“No fighting,” he ordered them both. Then he focused on his cousin. “Why are you here?”

“Someone planted a bomb in my Manhattan office.”

“Huh.” Baz took another look at Yvgeny’s suit. Not a thread or stitch out of place. “Did it blow up?”

“Yes. My receptionist was killed along with three other members of my staff. Sixteen were injured.” His expression was pinched. “I’d left to meet with...” he paused and glanced at Nika. “An informant when the bomb went off. Had I been a minute or two later in leaving, I’d have been blown to bits.” He smiled, showing Baz his teeth. “What the fuck are you involved in dear cousin that has me under attack?”

“You know everything I do,” Baz said. “I thought I knew what was going on, the play and the players, but I’m beginning to think that the playing field is much larger than I thought.”

Yvgeny held up a hand, glancing at Nika again. “Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere else.”

Nika crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t shut me out. I’m in the middle of this mess, too.”

“You started this mess,” Yvgeny said, looking down his nose at her.

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