Page 55 of Hot for Hostage

We both stared at her. She thought I waskind?

This girl was single-handedly wrecking the reputation I’d spent years building.

Vince shook off his surprise first, looking unimpressed. “And I’m sure you mounting him at the first opportunity had nothing to do with earning that forgiveness?”

“Vince,” I snapped over Sadie’s gasp. He had no business baiting her.

But Vince never knew when to shut up.

“It’s just convenient your mongrel goes missing, and now you’re shacking up with Reed here,” he taunted Sadie, crossing his arms. “Almost like you planned this.”

I snorted at his ridiculousness, while Sadie stiffened on my lap with a scowl.

“What did I tell you about calling Bear names?” She moved to jump off my lap, but I pulled her back down.

I didn’t need Sadie starting a brawl with Vince.

“He won’t do it again,” I promised her, keeping my hands on her hips in case she tried to launch herself at him again. I eyed my oldest friend. He wouldn’t still be out here unless something was wrong. “What happened?”

He glowered at Sadie before answering. “You’re needed inside.”

“Something you can’t take care of?”

That was new.

He sent a meaningful glance at Sadie before clearing his throat. “The rat problem is worse than we thought.”

The towel bunched in my fist.

Lorenzo.

“You guys have rats here?” Sadie perked up, oblivious to the double meaning. “Have you looked into getting a cat? We used to have mice at the shelter. The dogs were scared of them, so we brought in a cat to hunt the mice. Cleared up the problem in a day.”

Some of my frustration melted into amusement at that visual. “You let a cat loose in a dog shelter? That must’ve gone over well.”

“Oh, the dogs loved Artemis.” She frowned. “A little too much, actually. They mistook her for a squeaky toy too many times, so we couldn’t keep her long term.”

She reached underneath the towel, adjusting her panties, and I swallowed a groan. All talk of cats was forgotten.

“I’ll meet you inside,” I told Vince, not taking my eyes off Sadie.

Her gaze met mine in disbelief as the door shut behind Vince.

“You’releaving?” She squirmed on my lap. I tightened my grip on her hips to hold her still. “Now?”

The slight whine in her voice made me grin.

“I’m sorry.” Apologies were rare and usually tasted like sandpaper on my tongue, but I meant this one. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

Her eyes dropped to my mouth, cheeks reddening. “Deal.”

“There’s something I need to take care of. I won’t be long.” I stood and set her on her feet. Her flushed face and kiss-swollen lips filled me with satisfaction, and I pressed a kiss to her forehead. I would’ve rather placed a claiming one to her lips, butlingering wasn’t an option. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

Then, not one to waste a good meal, I took the fingers that’d been inside her and held Sadie’s gaze as I sucked the taste of her from them.

That was a mistake. The moment my tongue got a taste, I wanted to spread her out on the table and feast.

Sadie squeaked, her eyes growing comically wide.

---