Page 50 of Bound By Revenge

Her hand slides boldly over the bulge straining against my jeans, and an erratic breath escapes me before I can stop it.

“Liar,” she teases, chuckling as her tongue flicks along the seam of my lips. “You want me.”

Her gaze locks with mine, daring me to deny it.

I can’t.

I don’t.

I stare back at her, refusing to answer.

“It’s okay, Nik,” she murmurs, her voice soft and coaxing. “You made me feel so good. Let me return the favor. Why fight it?”

Her hand moves slowly, deliberately, pressing exactly where I ache for her touch. The other slides behind my neck, her nails grazing my skin before tangling in my hair. A shiver betrays my fragile hold on self-control, but I force myself to remain steady.

“There are plenty of reasons,” I grit out, my voice strained.

Her lips curve into a sly smirk. “None that matter.”

A short, humorless laugh escapes me, but her eyes narrow, the teasing edge replaced by something far sharper.

“You want me,” she says, her tone low and certain. “Will you deny it?”

Untangling myself from her hold, I sigh. “No. But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten who you are or what you’ve done. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean I’ll let you control me through this… attraction.”

She smiles, unbothered. “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“No,” I admit, “but I can wish she’d stop.”

“I don’t think you do,” she says, her voice laced with mischief. “I think you like it. I think you love it.”

Before I can react, she lunges forward, kissing me. For a moment, I nearly let her, the temptation overwhelming. But with a groan, I push her away and move to the far end of the couch.

“Back to the footage,” I say firmly.

She laughs, reclining against the cushions. “All work and no play will make you a very dull boy.”

“We’ve got all the time in the world to play—later. After the work’s done,” I reply, my voice hardening. The flicker ofMaxim’s face on the screen brings my focus back to where it belongs.

His lifeless eyes. The faint blue tint to his skin. The angry ligature marks around his neck.

It’s a sobering memory.

She opens her infuriating mouth, that playful, flirty glint in her ocean-blue eyes

“Kat,” I say, cutting her off before she can talk me into something reckless.

“I meant what I said. This job comes first—above everything else. I won’t let anyone, including you, keep me from seeing it through.”

Her smile dims just a little, and a frustrating pang twists in my chest as the teasing spark leaves her eyes.

“I understand,” she says softly. “I’ll help. I promise. But it doesn’t have to be all work, Nik. You’re under so much pressure. Let me help with that, too.”

Against my better judgment, I glance her way. The maddening woman is smiling at me again—coy, calculating, irritatingly beautiful. I sigh heavily and say, sternly, “We’re not going down this path. And that’s my final word.”

“We’re not going down this path, Kat. And that’s my final word.”

“We’ll see about that,” she murmurs, her tone full of challenge.

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