Page 22 of Breaking the Sinner

A laugh burst out of him. “What’s my illness?”

“Probably cancer, I hate to say it.” She watched him for a second. “Like muscle cancer.”

“Why muscle cancer?”

“Because you’ve got so much of it.” She took a sip of her drink, but it scalded her lips. She inhaled sharply. “Oh fudge, this is like lava.”

Cobra’s eyes narrowed. His scrutiny left her on pins and needles. “You don’t swear, do you?”

“I just did.”

He cocked his head. “No, you said ‘fudge.’ That’s not swearing.”

She cleared her throat.Uh-oh.She’d been outed. “Well, you know what I’m trying to say.”

“Fuck.”

A shiver went up her spine. “Yeah.”

“So say it.”

She gave him aduhlook. “Fine.”

Silence stretched between them. His amused smile crept wider and wider. Her skin prickled.

“I don’t feel like saying it right now.”

He nodded, finally taking a sip of his coffee. “Okay.” He looked at the coffee cup, then took another sip. “Fuck, this is good.”

“Fuck right good.” The words tumbled out of her. And then she realized they didn’t make any sense. She covered her face with her free hand. “Well, there, I said it.”

Cobra snorted, leaning back in his chair. “That your first time?”

“No. But maybe my fifth.” She tried to mimic his relaxed posture, but her muscles wouldn’t loosen.

“You think swearing is evil or something?”

“No, not evil. Just…”New. Weird. Forbidden.“Not something I normally do.”

“Like all the other stuff on your list.” His umber gaze seared her. “Be real with me. Are you an alien?”

A laugh popped out of her. Cobra looked as pleased as she felt.

“No. Unless you are too. Maybe we both are.” She ran her thumb over the plastic lid again, gaze drifting toward the roses outside. “Why do you think I’m an alien?”

He leaned forward, his voice dropping a little. “Because you’re gorgeous, you’re a red-head, you don’t swear, and you’ve never had alcohol before. Either you were raised in a cave, or you’re from outer space.”

Darn. He was onto her. The integration wasn’t going as well as expected. Admitting to him where she came from seemed…naïve, somehow. Being a newbie wasn’t something to be proud of. Especially when connected togorgeous. “Well, you guessed it. Raised in a cave.”

He leaned back, his smug smile the stuff of fantasies. “You’re sassy for being raised in a cave.” He took a deliberate sip, his gaze leaving goosepimples in its wake. “I like it.”

I like it.Something so satisfying in those words, as if she was personally responsible for creating pleasure.Hispleasure. Even if it was distant amusement, she’d take it.

Because the longer she was around him, the more she realized she’d take anything he had to offer. As long as it meant more Cobra.

Chapter 10

“What do people normally do after dates?” Gen’s emerald gaze punctured him. She was the living embodiment of sweetness and light. It took everything in him to look away.

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