Page 110 of False Start

Well, fuck him… When the hell did I ask him anyway?

New at wielding this temper, I took a breath and bit back the words. Adrenaline was a tricky fucker. Once activated, it hid behind corners just waiting to pop up and see if you needed backup. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“I know, but—”

“It’s fine, Priest. Really. I get it. Now give me food, dammit, before I gnaw off an arm or something.”

He handed me a box, found the exact right drawer, and handed me a fork. “I’d rather you gnaw the leg.”

“I’m sure you would.” I rolled my eyes but laughed at his rather predictable attempt at dude humor. I mean, he wasn’t at his best right now either so who was I to judge.

And he wasn’t exactly wrong; that leg sounded a hell of a lot better than any arm.

Serious bout temper averted, I stabbed a hunk of medium rare beef and popped the entire thing in my mouth.

We settled in on the floor, our backs against the couch, our legs stretched out over the carpet.

I leaned over and peeked in his container. “What’d you get?”

“Brussels sprout panini,” he said as he eyed it like it might just take a bite out of him instead of the other way around.

“Why are you glaring at it?”

He held the first half in his hand and eyed the innards. “I don’t like Brussels sprouts.”

“Then why did you order it?”

“Because the stealth little bastards are addictive with prosciutto and melted cheese. It’s witchcraft.”

“It’s Patti’s invention.”

“Like I said, witchcraft. I should have known what she was capable of after she won this place in a card game,” he said, taking a healthy bite.

I turned, propped my shoulders against the couch, and offered him a chunk of steak. “What?”

“She never told you?” he asked, taking my hand to guide the bite to his mouth.

“Hell no, she never told me.” He was totally not doing it to be sexy, but my nipples perked up anyway.

Food made me horny. What can I say?

“She won it playing strip poker.”

He offered me a bite of his sandwich; his hot, dark eyes locked on me as a piece of the prosciutto brushed against my chin before I captured it with my upper lip.

His gaze dropped to my mouth, his thumb brushing over the spot, and I forgot to breathe. I gulped the bite down as my eyes slid shut and I swayed toward him.

“This mouth,” he murmured, his lips brushing over mine. “So sweet sometimes, but others… I never know what’s coming next.”

Me. I was coming next. Again.

Whatever.

I so wanted to go where he was going, but something kept poking at me. Not him. Unfortunately, but about Patti. “But I thought the ultimate prize in strip poker is the getting to the naked part?”

“It is,” he said before sinking his teeth into my bottom lip. “Mmmm, so much better than food.”

I laughed against his mouth. “Says the guy feeling all sorts of lukewarm about the Brussels sprouts.”

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