Page 57 of Wilde and Deadly

“Liberating?” he suggested when she trailed off.

“Yeah, you get it.” She searched his eyes, seeing only patience and understanding. No judgment, no condemnation. Just a desire to know her, to understand what made her tick.

“My entire life, I watched my dad and his men fight against the evil in this world. And even when they won, they didn’t. Not really. Because there were always more evil people to take the places of the ones they eliminated. I guess I just got tired of feeling like we’re on a hamster wheel, you know? Running and running but never actually getting anywhere. At least as an assassin, I can make a tangible difference. I can target the worst of the worst and know that when I take them out, the world is a little bit safer.”

Davey was quiet for a moment, his brow still furrowed in thought. Then he reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a tenderness that made her heart ache. “I do get it. I can’t say I’ve never thought that myself. But the system and rules are in place for a reason. What happens when there are no rules at all? When the lines between right and wrong get blurred, and it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad?”

She leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed briefly. “I’m not saying my way is right. It’s just... it’s the only way I know how to cope with all the shit I’ve seen. All the evil I’ve witnessed.” She opened her eyes, meeting his gaze head-on. “Does that make me a monster?”

“No,” he said firmly and cupped her cheek in his palm. “It makes you human. We all have our ways of dealing with the darkness we face. I can’t judge you for yours any more than you can judge me for mine.”

She covered his hand with her own, turning her face to press a kiss to his palm. “And what’s your way of coping, Davey Wilde?”

A wry smile tugged at his lips. “Apparently, it’s falling in love with a beautiful, deadly woman who frustrates me and challenges me in every way possible.”

Rowan’s heart stuttered in her chest at his words, a warmth spreading through her that had nothing to do with the heated tangle of their bodies. “Careful, Wilde. Keep saying things like that, and a girl might start to think you’re going soft.”

His smile widened into a grin. “Oh, I assure you, Hellcat, there’s nothing soft about me right now.”

As if to prove his point, he rolled his hips, pressing his unmistakably hard length against her thigh. Rowan bit back a moan, her body instantly responding to the promise in his touch.

“Again? Seriously?”

“What can I say?” He dipped his head, nuzzling the sensitive spot just below her ear. “You bring out the insatiable beast in me.”

She laughed and rolled onto her back, pulling him with her until he settled in the cradle of her thighs. “Then, by all means, let the beast out to play.”

Davey grinned wolfishly down at her before capturing her lips in a heated kiss that stole her breath. His hands roamed her body, his touch alternately gentle and demanding, stoking the embers of desire within her into a blazing inferno. She arched into him, her fingers tangling in his hair as she lost herself in the sensations he evoked.

A loud chirp from her phone on the nightstand jolted them both out of the moment. Davey groaned against her neck. “Was that mine or yours?”

“I think it was mine.”

“Ignore it.” He cupped her breast in his big palm and swirled his tongue around her nipple. “We still have time before the meeting.”

Oh, how she wanted to. But the phone buzzed again. And again. With an aggravated sigh, she stretched out an arm and snatched it up, glancing at the screen.

“Shit.” She shoved at Davey’s shoulder until he let her sit up. “It’s Benji.”

“Who’s Benji?”

She sent him a dry look. “My informant thatyouscared away.”

He grunted. “The assholes with the guns scared him away, not me.”

Rowan rolled her eyes but didn’t argue the point as she opened the text messages. “Either way, he still wants to meet.”

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing slightly as her stitches pulled.

Davey’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Is he reliable?”

“As much as any informant looking to save his own ass can be.” She shook off his grip and stood, gathering her clothes from the floor. “But he’s never wasted my time before. I asked him to dig around for the name behind Kryos Solutions, and if he’s this eager to meet, it’s worth checking out.”

“Kryos Solutions. The broker that hired you to kill me?”

She winced. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“I’ve mostly forgiven you.”

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