Page 34 of The Death Dealer

She squeezed his hand, and Trev was startled to realize that sometime during their conversation, he’d reached for hers to hold. His subconscious need to touch her had overcome his reticence to start anything between them.

Purposefully, he released her and backed away. “Stockton has breakfast laid out in the dining room if you’re hungry.” Internally, he cringed at the stiffness in his tone.

Her smile didn’t falter as one might expect it would. Instead, it widened. “Thanks.”

“Um, okay. I’ll be in there.” He pointed lamely behind her, weirdly unsure of himself for the first time in history.

The sparkle in her eyes spoke of her amusement.

When had the tables turned? How had she gained the upper hand? Maybe he should kiss the smirk off her face. His focus dropped to her mouth, and his sudden desire to taste her made his knees weak. What the hell was happening to him?

Her lips moved, but it took him a solid ten seconds to register she was speaking.

“What?”

“Isaid, for the record, I don’t admire Damian more than what’s healthy.” Her exaggerated patience annoyed Trevor. “But I can recognize he’s a great guy,”

“Wha—oh. Yeah. Uh.”

Fuck!

He’d forgotten to shield his thoughts, and that forgetfulness was becoming a bad habit when he was around her. Screw it, he was going for the kiss. It was the only way he could scramble her thoughts and regain the upper hand. As he leaned in, he was met with her palm in his face.

“Don’t even think about it,” she growled. There was laughter in the sound, as if she thought his behavior was hilarious but didn’t want to let on that she did.

“Why not?”

“You don’t believe I’m the type to dally with.”

“Yousaid you were,” he countered.

“Meh.”

She shrugged and sauntered off.

Trev was oddly proud of her faux air of indifference. Their back-and-forth was challenging and bizarrely fun. When he’d started this gig, he thought monitoring her movements would be duller than watching paint dry. Now, he knew differently.

The thought brought him up short.

He’d forgotten his mission! How the hell had that happened? He still hadn’t worked out thewhyof his job, but then again, he hadn’t given it a helluva lot of consideration after the first time they kissed. His obsession for the earth witch had gotten the better of him.

“Dalli?”

She paused in her escape and glanced back at him.

Trev closed the distance.

“I forgot something,” he said.

Color crept into her cheeks, but she remained quiet and watchful.

He swept her into his embrace.

“I forgot to tell you a good-morning kiss wasn’t optional. It’s a necessity,” he murmured against her lips.

* * *

Soleil was still thinkingabout that earth-trembling kiss two hours later. How was it so much hotter than any they’d exchanged before? What had changed?

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