Page 127 of Kiss an Angel

“I read that she had a lusty nature.”

“She had a long string of lovers.”

“And a lot of power.” She leaned forward and nipped his pectoral muscle with her teeth. He jumped, so she nipped him again.

“Ouch!” He caught her chin and tilted it. “Exactly what’s going on in that devious little brain of yours?”

“I was just imagining all those strong men forced to bow down to Catherine the Great.”

“Uh huh.”

“Forced to serve her. To submit to her.”

“Uh-oh.”

She brushed her lips across his. “It’s your turn to be the slave, big guy.”

For a moment he looked startled, and then he gave a sigh that came all the way from his toes. “I think I just died and went to heaven.”

21

Alex had been impossible all week. Ever since they’d gone out to dinner and then returned to play their erotic games, he’d been looking for excuses to pick an argument with her, and now he scowled at her as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.

“Couldn’t you have put some gas in the truck when you when into town for groceries?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t notice it was empty.”

“You never notice,” he said belligerently. “Do you think it runs on air?”

She gritted her teeth. It was as if she’d gotten too close to him that night and he needed to distance her. So far she’d managed to dodge all the grenades he kept lobbing at her, but it was growing increasingly difficult to keep her temper in check. Now she had to force herself to speak in a reasonable tone of voice. “I didn’t know you wanted me to do it. You’ve always kept the truck gassed.”

“Yeah, well in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been kind of busy lately. We’ve had sick horses, a fire in the cook tent, and now I’ve got a blackmailing health inspector threatening to slap us with a batch of safety violations we don’t deserve.”

“I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure. If you’d said something, I would have been happy to get gas.”

“Yeah, right. How many times have you ever worked a pump?”

She mentally counted to five. “None. But I can learn.”

“Don’t bother.” He stalked away.

She couldn’t hold her tongue a moment longer. Splaying one hand on her hip, she called out, “You have a nice day, too!”

He stopped in his tracks, then turned to give her one of his blackest stares. “Don’t push me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped the toe of her sneaker in the dirt. Just because he was on the run from a tumult of feelings he didn’t know how to cope with didn’t mean he could keep taking his frustration out on her. For days now she’d been trying to be patient, but enough was enough.

He set his jaw and stomped toward her.

She dug in her heels, refusing to budge.

He came to a stop directly in front of her, deliberately using his size to intimidate her.

She was forced to admit he did it very well.

“Do you have a problem with something?” he barked out.

This whole argument was ridiculous, and a streak of mischief made her smile. “If anybody ever tells you that you’re beautiful when you’re angry, they’re lying.”

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