Page 46 of The Sinner and the Gunslinger
No.I refuse to let her see that mess.
And I refuse to let that be our first kiss. She deserves a moment so hot it’s seared into her brain forever. She deserves to have someone stare at her longingly from across the room. She deserves to feel wanted. Precious. If there’s one lesson drilled into my thick skull, it’s that this doomsday shit will never stop interfering with our lives. Why wait another second to let her know how I feel? Why not shoot two birds with one bullet?
Leila steps toward the door, and it’s like the ground has opened up beneath us. All I can think is that I’ll lose her again, so I yank her back. She slams against me. Breath bursts from her lips. My fingers tangle in her hair and tug down so her face tilts up, and we’re looking into each other’s wild eyes.
Slowly, I lower my lips but stop and check her eyes again. Satisfaction ignites my blood as her pupils darken with desire. She licks her lips and releases a breathy moan.
Good... she doesn’t think of me as family either.
Our lips collide. I claim every inch of her mouth with hungry, beastly tongue strokes. Her moans become needy breathless whimpers. I deepen the kiss until her body melts against mine.
She grabs me by the shirt and kisses me back.
How I’ve dreamed of this moment. Every sleepless night since I arrived at the abbey was spent thinking about her across the hall, imagining how I would melt her icy armor—even before I realized who she was to me. I think my body knew. It craved her like a drug.
And now I’m hooked.
She tugs me closer—as if there is still space between us. She knows exactly how to use her tongue. It duels with mine, teases and taunts, battles and submits. Every erotic slide shoots obsession into my veins. The world, our responsibilities, everything falls away. I groan into her mouth and bend her backward with my ferocity. Fuck, she’s so perfect—ow.
Pain pierces my bottom lip. With a gasp, I pull back and test my throbbing lip with my finger.Blood. “You bit me.”
Twenty
Leila
Ishove Zeke off me and turn away. He’s too handsome with all that brooding entitlement and scruff that I know I’ll lose my resolve if I look back. I’ll kiss him again, but I’mangry. So fucking angry that I don’t know what to do with it all.
He can’t go dropping a bomb like that here and now. It’s confusing the hell out of me. I need to think. To figure out what’s happening in my body when he touches me. What’s happening in my soul when he tells me he only ever wanted to protect me.
Bastard.
“Why did you bite me?”
“I’ll keep biting if you kiss me again.”
“Promise?” His deep, velvety purr sends shivers down my spine.
I should hate that word. It’s given me nothing but grief. But instead, I glance at him and wish I hadn’t. Wicked mischief glimmers in his eyes. He’s back to how he looked at me before remembering who I was—with carnal desire. His tongue swipes blood from his lower lip in a slow, sexy, deliberate move.
“Stop it.”Stop making me want you.
“No,” he replies curtly. “I’m a straight shooter, kitty cat. I made a mistake leaving you. Thought I lost you for good. Thought I was dying without knowing what your lips would taste like.”
“Gross. I was a child.”
He chuckles. “I didn’t even know what I wanted back then, only that I was obsessed with you. The fantasies came later... even when I thought you were dead.”
“Sure,” I counter dryly. The crusty, cheap bracelet is still in my fist. “I was so memorable that you forgot what I looked like.”
“I didn’t forget,” he replies, brow furrowing. “I told you. I thought you were dead. I didn’t expect you to be alive and to have grown into such a beautiful woman. Now that you’re back in my life, I won’t stop showing you we’re supposed to be together.”
When I don’t reply, he steps back and raises his palms. “One thing, darlin’.”
One thing?My mind scrambles to recall what he said to me in the shed from the car.
I’d have left Snuggles to burn.
I lock eyes with him.
