Page 134 of Hot for Hostage

And I didn’t need to see Gladys gaping over my shoulder to know Davian had gone deathly still behind me.

“Torture?” he echoed softly.

…Oops. Heat crept up my cheeks at how badly I’d misjudged this going.

“Oh. Well, I mean, notliteraltorture.” I faced him, and any ill-timed nervous laughter died when his eyes darkened. I gulped. “Zain threatened to chop off my nipples, but it was all talk. He didn’t actuallydoit. Clearly.”

If the way his eyes iced over was anything to go by, that did nothing to reassure Davian.

“That’s what he said? I thought I misheard.” He looked toward the house with that predatory chill that made me shake in my boots. “I’ll kill him.”

He said it so casually my jaw dropped.

“What?” I straightened in alarm, just as Bear sneezed. “No, you won’t.”

Davian’s voice was the epitome of calm. “I will.”

I was less calm. “No. You won’t.”

He faced me, raising a brow.

If the tension was uncomfortable before, now it turned suffocating, and Ryan cleared his throat. “Maybe we should give you two a minute?—”

Gladys cut him off as her nostrils flared. “We’re not going anywhere. I want to see this Zain character. If he thinks he can take our friend and threaten her goodies, then I need to set him straight.”

“No, no, no! There’s no need for that. It turned out to be a misunderstanding,” I said, not wanting to start anything. Zain had been bluffing about any nipple-chopping, after all. But, from a glance at Davian’s lethal expression, it would be better to stop talking about my nipples altogether. “Regardless, I was justtrying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work. Can we talk about something else now?”

“Smooth save,” Ryan muttered under his breath, earning a sharp look from me.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Sadie.” Gladys frowned. “I’m sure you held your own and told him where he could shove his threats.”

Oh boy. I wished I deserved even a smidgen of the faith she had in me.

“Actually, I couldn’t spill my secrets fast enough,” I admitted with a wince. Pursing my lips, I forced myself to face Davian. It was important for him to hear this. “Everything poured out. I would’ve told Zain anything he asked. All my secrets, and yours, too. So, maybe Vince had a point. This makes me a liability to you.”

The curve to Davian’s lips surprised me, and I could swear he lookedamusedwhen he closed the distance between us and raised a hand to cup my cheek. “How about you let me worry about liabilities?”

“But—”

His thumb pressed against my lips, cutting off any protest.

“I’ve always liked a challenge,” he murmured, lips twitching. “So, if anyone is stupid enough to try to take you from me again—which I won’t allow to happen—tell them anything they want to know. All my secrets.”

Well, then.

His thumb stopped me from biting my lip, so I pressed my lips against the pad of his thumb instead, giving it a little kiss. Something in Davian’s gaze flashed, and he pulled his thumb away just in time to replace it with his lips.

It wasn’t a sweet kiss like his touch had been, but it wasn’t hot and passionate like when he pinned me against the SUV either.

This one was hard and fast—earning a snort of displeasure from Bear—but it lingered long after it ended. It was a kiss that tingled all the way down to the tips of my toes. A claiming kiss.

I blinked in surprise when he ended it, but Davian didn’t go far. In fact, he pulled me into his arms, and I gladly made myself at home.

Gladys let out a low whistle. “I heard every word he said with my own ears, and I still don’t believe it happened. Who knew Davian Reed was sappy as hell?”

“Gladys,” Ryan hissed. “Give them some privacy.”

My shoulders shook with sudden laughter when I saw Ryan had turned his back to us, and I scratched between Bear’s ears where he’d glued himself to my hip.

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