Page 64 of Dolls & Daggers
“Turtle Dove, you know how I feel about her.”
“You know, for a second there, I thought maybe you just wanted to reveal her identity so you could write an exposé I couldn’t turn down. One that would skyrocket your career and fuck me over.”
Now, it’s my turn to fix her with a pointed stare.
“What?” She edges away, head bobbing with attitude. “Oh, and technically, I consider what you did cheating. You didn’t know we were two different people.”
Infuriating woman!
“We weren’t together, Dove. I didn’t cheat.” I shift to nuzzle her neck as I pull the sheet from her body.
Her fingers dig into my shoulders as she tilts her head to allow me better access. “Don’t try to distract me now, Songbird. You wanted to talk.”
“Are you going to keep doing it?” My cock hardens at the sound of her throaty gasp when I graze my lips along her collarbone and continue south.
Her nipples pucker, the rosy buds rising to meet me. I pinch one while rolling the other between my teeth and tongue. “The less you know, the better. And no, this does not mean you get to write about me.”
I pinch hard, twisting her stiffened peak and bitingdown on the other before sucking it with enough force to make her cry out. Popping off with an audible smack, I grin up at her, moving further down her body. She widens her legs to make room for me between them.
“I got everything I wanted, you know,” I tell her, each word leaving my lips as I trail soft caresses along her skin. “Except a published article.”
“Don’t even think about blackmailing me, Wren.” Her legs clamp around my head as I dip my mouth toward her center. “After Ryan, I got a taste for the blood of men who can’t keep their noses out of other people’s business.”
I see red at the mention of another man’s name while I’m mere centimeters from her pussy. Unapologetically, I clamp my teeth over her clit and pull.
“Fuck!” She sucks in a breath, digging her nails into my scalp before slapping against the top of my head. “The term eating isjusta term, Songbird! It’s not for actual consumption!”
I laugh and release her so I can lick it better—only to freeze moments later as something about her words register uncomfortably in my gut.
Lifting my head, I will away the bile threatening to rise as I rapidly piece my thoughts together. “Dove?”
“What’s wrong?” She laughs. “I was only kidding.Well, not about the consumption part, you know I like it a little rough, baby, but?—”
“Dove!” I clamber off the bed as I gaze down at her in horror. Even though it was weeks ago and has long since left my body, everything I’ve eaten in the last two days threatens to reappear. “What kind of jerky do you feed Fang?”
Dove’s lips curl in, and her shoulders begin to shake. She slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter as she scrambles up with the sheet. “Baby, listen. That’s onyou.”
Covering my mouth, I run to the bathroom as my stomach cramps. I barely make it as the chunks of the rice and yellow curry I ate for dinner splash into the white porcelain in a spray of bright canary flecked with orange.
“Oh, baby,” Dove coos sympathetically as she enters the bathroom, her cotton candy rasp reverberating off the tile.
I almost tell her to go away, but she’s literally played with human entrails. I’m sure she can handle a little puke.
“Sweet, sweet, Songbird.” The bubbly tone that once grated my nerves reappears. Her nails scrape against my scalp in a soothingly way before venturing down to rub along my shoulders. “It’s okay. I’ve eatendick before. Hell, I went to town on yours earlier. It’s not that bad.”
“Sucking it and eating it is not the same!It’s not for actual consumption!” I reprimand to the best of my ability, parroting her earlier words.
“Touché, Songbird. Touché.”
Night descends swiftlyas Dove prepares her duffel. Gilded rays slash through the forbidden room of her apartment, glinting off the blades in her dagger collection, desperate to soak into the costumes and wigs before fading with the sun.
My angel of death checks the screen of her pink iMac again, humming theLegally Blondetheme as she reviews her target’srequestsfor tonight. She returns to her clothing rack, selecting a light pink-colored babydoll.
A slow simmer heats my blood. The thought of another man seeing her in lingerie,touchingher, drives me bat-shit crazy.
The feeling worsens as she glances over her shoulder, offering me a soft, knowing smile. “I’m sorry,Songbird, but the answer is still no. You can’t come with me. I don’t need the distraction.”
A low growl rumbles in my chest. Fang, who’s curled in my lap, immediately pushes to his feet, turns in a half-circle, and plants his front paws on my chest. He stretches lazily before offering a single, placating lick to my nose. Then, satisfied, he circles once more and resumes his nap.
