Page 77 of Hers to Control

“I don’t think you’re supposed to talk about hell while we’re in here.”

Mia looks over at me and grins. “You’re probably right about that.”

We reach the steps leading up to the altar. This is the place where I’m supposed to let her go off by herself to stand up there for the entire ceremony. Well, she won’t have to stand the entire time, but long enough for all the men in this church to stare at her.

Suddenly, I don’t feel like letting her go up to the altar alone. Instead, I place my hand over hers on my arm and tighten my grasp.

“What are you doing?”

“Bringing you to your spot.”

“You’re supposed to let me go up there alone,” Mia hisses, obviously annoyed, which makes me feel a little less cranky.

“I know,” I tell her, feeling good about my decision.

When we reach the top, I guide her to the side where she will wait for Gianna, but before I leave, I lean down to kiss her. Properly. Ensuring that every single one of the horny assholes in the pews knows exactly that Mia is my woman, and not for the taking.

There are some chuckles that I ignore. In fact, I don’t even show them my middle finger. I simply walk down to the front row and take my seat, the first one in the center aisle.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Mia

When Eric said he was going to stick around, I hadn’t quite realized just how much that would feed into my growing addiction to him. There is no pointless chit-chat happening with Eric around, but the man has excellent taste in thrillers. Whenever he finishes a book, I pick it up. With the Russians off my back, I finally have the mental space to actually read again and getting Eric’s perspective on the books is a messed up kind of fascinating.

Unlike my assessment of character arcs and plot development, he likes to analyze the murder scenes. In detail. There is probably a therapist waiting somewhere who would have something to say about it, but it’s becoming a serious turn-on for me. Not the gore, but the way Eric thinks everything through. It’s reassuring in a very messed up kind of way, because whatever Eric does, he does it with precision.

Now, he’s sitting at the kitchen island rubbing mineral oil onto his knife collection after he spent the past fifteen minutes cleaning them in the sink, while I’m on the couch with our latest read, ignoring the fact that I should look through the applications of people wanting to teach at my studio while I’m on maternity leave.

“Tell me the date,” Eric says, not for the first time, and I’m loving holding this over his head.

“No.”

“If you think you can draw this out much longer, you’re wrong,” Eric states, which has me ditching my book and grinning over at him.

“What will you do about it?”

Teasing the killer – not a good idea in the books we read, but definitely high up on my list of favorite things to do lately. Now, in my third trimester, I am horny as fuck. All. The. Time. And fortunately, it’s easy enough to get Eric to comply with my needs.

He gives me a level look. “I mean it, Mia.”

I shrug. “All talk, no action.”

With a growl, he drops the knife he’s been working on and stalks over to me.

I tilt my head, meeting his intense gaze head-on. There is little that riles him up as much as having me stare him down. It’s become a bit of a game, really.

He stops just inches away, the scent of the mineral oil he just used, something I easily identify with him now.

Without a word, Eric’s hand cups my chin, tilting my face up to meet his gaze fully. His touch sends electricity coursing through me, igniting that arousal that never seems to go away anymore. At least not when Eric’s around. Smug bastard.

My breath hitches as his intense stare travels down my body to linger on my nipples, which are poking through my shirt.

Grinning, I reach up and tangle my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer until our lips are mere inches apart. He makes a noise under his breath that I choose to ignore. Instead, I lean into him and our lips collide.

His hands slide down my sides, but I’m feeling greedy, so I shift until one of his hands moves to my breast. He pinches me, punishing me for being so demanding, but that’s where he’s messing up, because I moan in his mouth, enjoying the way his touch makes me feel.

Realizing his mistake, Eric pulls his hand away, forcing me to punish him in turn. I bite his lower lip, drawing it into my mouth and not letting go. His eyes open and the way he’s looking at me promises retribution, but I know how to deal with him. My hand reaches for the bulge forming in his pants, and just like that, his eyes close again as he moans into my mouth.

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