Page 28 of Savage Beauty

Her tongue slips between my lips. And fuck if that brief touch doesn’t go straight to my dick. She tugs my hair, and my mouth opens. Her tongue tells me she’s into this kiss, and fuck me, the girl can kiss. She tastes like mint with a hint of sweetness. There’s no hesitation. She alternates between nipping my lips and kissing me so hard it’s a fucking challenge to keep an ear out for the folks behind us. Her body rocks against my hips as she mewls.

“Get a room, you two.” A low chuckle follows, and I hear a slap and a squeal as the guy corrals his female companion away, presumably to his apartment.

Their steps grow distant, and Sloane’s fingers tap against my cheek. I lift my head, my breaths rapid and deep. Christ. That went from zero to sixty at lightning speed.

“I think they’re gone.”

She’s right. I push off the wall and grimace when I straighten. My dick presses uncomfortably against my zipper, a reaction I need to settle pronto.

“Get in the car.”

CHAPTER8

Sloane

“Hey, Sloane!”

My little sister’s face fills the screen. She’s smiling so wide you’d think she discovered the cure for cancer.

“Happy to be home?” A burgundy red wall fills the screen behind her along with the corner of a framed black and white print. “Where are you?”

“We’re at Jimmy’s. Where’re you?”

“Hotel in D.C.”

The lie comes easily because I know it’s best for her, but since I’m on a video call, I need to be careful with how much of the frame behind me she can see.

The truth of my situation starkly contrasts with my lie. I’m on a lounge chair with thick white cushions. A lap pool stretches the length of the deck, and then beyond the tiled pool rim lies the Caribbean Ocean. The villa Arrow rented for us is in the exclusive, touristy section off of Bodden Town Road. The only time I’ve ever been to this section is when Sage visited, and I drove down here to let her see where all the rich vacationers stay.

“Are you safe there?” There’s worry in Sage’s trusting eyes.

Max doesn’t think we’re safe. He wants to leave but has agreed to stay until we confirm Dr. Kallio is safe. I’m smart enough to know he doesn’t really care one way or another if she’s safe. The only reason his employer is funding our continued stay on the island is they’re developing a plan for us to break into Origins Labs one night so I can access the server. They want to figure out who did this, too, as whoever is behind this killed one of their colleagues.

I can’t help but believe this is all a big misunderstanding. The work I am doing is important, but the aim is to save lives. Killing over research that will help humanity is contradictory.

“We’re safe,” Max’s voice cuts in.

“Where are you?” I ask, looking around for the growly guardian.

“Right here.” He’s sitting at a table behind me wearing shorts and a t-shirt one size too small. The material stretches over his shoulders and biceps.

“Can I have some privacy?” His presence disturbs my cognitive abilities. My thought processes simply don’t run as smoothly when he’s around, but especially since last night when he pretended to kiss me. Another lie, but it didn’t feel like a lie, and that, in and of itself, is perplexing.

“I’ll be right inside where I can see you,” he says, and I glare at him.

That’s not what I asked. I keep the phone close to my face so Sage can’t see what he’s wearing, but I don’t break my expressive reprimand. His clothes are appropriate for island wear, but not for D.C. And if Sage sees all those muscles, she might see what I see, that he would be an appropriate cover model, and then I would risk her teasing me. She loves to ask about my sex life. Not that I have one these days.

“Hey, Max,” Sage says from the phone.

“Hey there, Sagey Bean.” He hardly knows her well enough to apply a family nickname. “Is Knox there?”

“He went on a run.”

“Can you have him call me when he gets back?”

“Sure thing, Max.” Sage practically sings her answer to him.

The glass door slides closed. The sunrays reflect off the glass at a sharp angle and distort the interior view, but I can still make out the shape of Max’s torso. As I discovered last night, his very hard torso. Too hard. Like a brick wall.

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