Page 104 of Sweet as Sin (Bad Habit 1)
He cupped my bottom and ground me against him, digging his fingers into my ass. “The word ‘cherry’ leavin’ your mouth does the same thing the word ‘lick’ does, darlin’. You askin’ for trouble?”
“No trouble,” I said, sugar sweet. “Just negotiating.”
He snorted. “In my experience, negotiations usually end with both parties gettin’ screwed outta what they want.”
“No, honey. This is a win-win negotiation. I get what I want, which is to go to work, and you get what you want, which is for me to be safe. Because I will be, because I’ll have Barney the ex–special ops ex-cop with a Taser trigger finger. See? Total win-win.”
He stared at me silently. I smiled what I hoped was a brilliant, irresistible smile. After a long moment he shook his head and sighed, resigned. My smile grew wider.
“Don’t get too excited yet,” he warned. “You’re gonna need to give me some additional terms before we close this deal.”
The cool tone of his voice made me worry. “Oh? Such as?”
His gaze dropped to my lips. His voice was a husky rasp. “Mouth. Now.”
My worry disappeared in a poof; he’d been playing with me. The desire in his expression made me feel melty all over. I stood on my tiptoes, bringing my lips close to his. “That’s another win-win honey,” I said, then gave him what he’d asked for.
He drank deep, threading a hand into my hair to hold my head in place as he explored my mouth with his tongue. I loved the way he kissed, the way he held me still and took what he wanted, giving me what I needed in return. I loved his warm, sleepy male scent, the stubble on his chin that tickled me, the way his heart raced when I made a small noise of surrender in my throat.
Most of all, I loved the way he looked at me when he broke the kiss. The wonder. The desire. The way it seemed nothing else in the world existed to him except my face.
He was right when he told me he’d ruin me for any other man. Nothing could compare to the way his eyes showed me what he felt. At that moment, I pitied every other woman on earth.
“You taste so fuckin’ good,” he whispered.
I had to smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Sweet as sin, baby. Sweet as sin.”
“You should remember that, superstar, because the next time you’re dismissive of my livelihood, I won’t resort to feminine wiles to get what I want. I’ll just kick your ass six ways from Sunday and go on my merry way, and you won’t be getting any sweetness from me for who knows how long.”
His brows rose. “Don’t mistake me worryin’ about your safety for not respectin’ your work, baby. Know it means a lot to you, just as much as mine means to me. I’m proud you’re such a hard worker and so responsible.”
“Thank you, honey,” I said, pleased.
He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “Which has absolutely nothin’ to do with me needin’ to make sure you stay safe. Which I’ll continue to do, no matter how much flak I get for it.”
I sighed. We’d come to an obvious impasse. “Well, I suppose you’ll just have to be prepared to have your ass kicked, then.”
His smile in answer was wry. “Suppose I will. Though if you wanted to throw in a few feminine wiles while you were doin’ it, I’d be grateful.”
I had to press the smile from my lips. I knew I’d won this particular battle, but was far from winning the war.
Barney’s voice drifted up from the bottom of the stairs. “Nico? We ready?”
Nico’s expression hardened. “Y
ou’re not to be out of his sight, understood? Not even for a minute.”
“What if I have to pee?” I teased.
Apparently he didn’t think that was funny, because it earned me a swat on the ass.
“Not that again!” I wormed my way out of his embrace, but he didn’t let me get far. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back into the circle of his arms.
“Kat. I’m serious. Don’t fight me on this. Be safe.”
I searched his face. His eyes had closed off, and he wore an expression I interpreted as worry mixed with a dose of anger. Along with his repeated warnings, it was very uncomforting.
