Page 5 of Silent Night Sins
Pain radiated from my side.
Before I could reach for her, she was gone, sprinting to the other end of the counter. I realized what she was after, jumped to my feet, and tackled her a heartbeat later.
She let out an enraged shriek as I tugged her away from the knife block. With a vicious jerk, she clipped my jaw with the back of her head. If the stinging pain jarring through me was any indication, her head would have a lump. I wrapped my arms around her and brought us to the floor, pinning her body with mine.
As she continued to struggle, I brought my nose to her throat…and inhaled. She smelled of pine and smoke. And something darker.
I let out a low, throaty moan of appreciation.
“Did you just smell me?” she panted.
I rubbed my nose along her pulse. “Has no one ever taken the time to appreciate you before they devoured you?”
She scoffed. “Hardly. That’s not something a sane person does.”
“And what about me screams sane?” I countered.
“Touche,” she huffed and jerked, trying to bat me away with her shoulder.
“Stop struggling. This isn’t a fight you can win, Nicky.”
She stilled. “How do you know my name?”
Regretting the slip, I brushed my hand over her body. The featherlight touch sent a wave of heat through me. Her ass was just as perfect as I imagined, and I moved my neck to take a peek.
Simply gorgeous.
I scooped her up and set her on the counter—keeping her a healthy distance from the knives. Her bare thighs were smooth, begging me to touch, but I planted my back on the island across from her. Distance was the smart choice right now.
She studied me. Her keen blue gaze lingered on the mask, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had a thing for masked men, like so many of the naughty girls on the internet app the girls in the famiglia were obsessed with. There was no missing the way her body shifted. Her legs clenched tight together, and her nipples were definitely hard and straining. They mirrored the stiff erection in my pants.
“See something you like?” I murmured.
Her breath hitched as she swept another look over me. “What were you doing here?”
Straight to business.I see how it is.
I told her a half-truth, letting her mind fill in the blanks. “Sneaking around. Thought the family was gone for the holidays. Imagine my surprise upon seeing…you. Now you’ve gone and ruined my plans for making extra money to get me through the cold,coldwinter.”
“Stealing for a living,” she hummed. “Oh, well, that’s not very bad.”
The display of grey morals surprised me. I couldn’t help but grin behind the mask. “What do you mean?”
“My dad used to work with shady characters. I thought for a moment you were one of them.”
Ah, ha.Smart girl. Maybe there was hope for us yet. The night might not be entirely ruined.
“Why don’t you steal whatever it is you came for and get out?” she demanded.
I might not have come here to thieve, but I wanted something now. Something I could only ever dream about. “Maybe I’ve changed my mind, maybe I’m having more fun talking to you.”
“You’re crazy.”
You have no idea, baby girl.
I caught the flash of determination in her glittering blue eyes right before she threw the jar from the back of the counter at me. I turned my shoulder to take the brunt of the impact. White powder burst over me. Flour. She’d hurled the flour container while I was too wrapped up in staring at her. Coughing in the cloud of powder, I jerked up and realized she’d taken the chance to sprint away.
“Oh, it’s on, angel.” I grinned and started walking out of the kitchen. “You’re on my naughty list now.”
