Page 24 of Breaking the Sinner

He’d never considered them before. But Gen made him eager to start. “Uh. Sure. What’s your favorite?”

“Daisies.”

He scratched the back of his neck, looking around at the flowers. He’d seen them, sure, but he hadn’tseen them.Bright pinks, lush purples, columns of scarlet and billowing white. He didn’t know the names of a single one. Hell, he couldn’t even placedaisyin his head.

Gen looked up at him, curiosity glittering in her eyes. “What’s yours?”

“I don’t have one.”

She scoffed, heading toward a long bed of flowers. It looked like a repurposed, overturned fishing boat. Sweet smells wafted toward him, but what they were, he couldn’t identify. A strange spiky succulent fanned out, with one large stalk shooting upward.

“Do you like that?”

Cobra snorted. “Sure. Kinda looks like a dick.”

She swatted his arm, a flush staining her cheek. “You should have a favorite flower.”

He slowed to a stop in front of a sloping hill of foliage behind tightly trimmed bushes lining the walkway. People flowed around them, and for a moment he was jaggedly aware that they were the only two who had stopped to smell the roses.

Patrons with huge shopping bags dangling from arms barely spared them a glance as they filed past. This shopping center was known for its huge selection of name-brand shopping. Gen hadn’t even glanced at the shops—like she existed on a different plane from the materialism.

Cobra drew a slow breath, surveying the array of colors. Hell, this was the first time he’d evenlookedat flowers.

“I like that one.” He yanked his hand from his pocket to point at the plant. It looked like a slug bursting from the ground. Weird and cool at the same time. Gen followed his gaze, pushing up onto tiptoes to see.

“Mmm. That’s a pitcher plant.” Her grin held a secret, but he couldn’t crack it. “Also known as a Cobra Lily.”

He snorted. “Seriously?”

“Looks like a striking cobra.” She tutted. “Just like you.”

“I don’t strike all the time,” he said, her words still cycling through him, honey warm and provocative. “Only when it’s right.”

She nibbled on her plump lower lip, looking up at him as if she wanted to ask him something. Her heart-shaped faced begged him to touch it. Maybe this was the time to go for an extra item on her list.

He cupped the side of her face without thinking, without even deciding to. She inhaled sharply, and the world around them puckered to a distant murmur. The hundreds of people who a moment ago he’d felt all around them, like the warning jab of a knife blade, faded into a neutral obscurity. Gen was the only thing that mattered.

“Red,” he began.

Her throat bobbed, and her wild gaze searched his face. His fingertips burned on her skin.

“Wh…” she began, but said nothing more.

“Can I kiss you?” Normally he wouldn’t ask. Normally he’d just do it. But this flower was different. This flower was delicate.

She stumbled backward suddenly, jolting onto a bench. A laugh escaped him. She wasn’t hurt, only flustered. She popped to her feet a second later, grabbing his hand, placing it right back where it had been.

“I didn’t mean to ruin that,” she said quietly, so quietly he almost didn’t hear. “But I couldn’t believe you said that.”

“Yeah?” He trailed the pad of his thumb over her jawline, loving the angle, her bone structure, the way her breath came out in ragged gasps when his thumb neared her lips. Stopping to smell the roses meant he could stop and enjoy these details, when normally he’d never notice. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the second I laid eyes on you.”

Her mouth parted. “That is the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Her raw response had him hard as a rock. He glanced around to assess their surroundings. Everyone passed by without even noticing them. Just two lovebirds necking by the fountain. He ground his jaw as he searched her face, feeling the fog of arousal descend, thick and choking. He’d imagined what it might feel like to kiss her, but this nearness was more explosive and satisfying than he’d been able to fathom.

Cobra ran his thumb over the line of her bottom lip. She wilted slightly. Her breath came out tremulous.

“Please, Cobra,” she said. His cock twitched. Begging sounded good from her lips.

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