Page 62 of Lies like Rubies, Part One

Finally, he hung up with a curse.

“Jesus, that puppy has it bad for you,” he muttered. “Kitten, I don’t share,” he said as he gripped my hands and began a driving pace that had me wailing with pleasure in seconds.

“You belong to me,” he said as I climaxed, bliss exploding through my limbs like shrapnel, his name on my lips like a prayer as I collapsed against the glass. The only thing holding me up was his weight against me. He swore angrily as he came.

I dropped to my knees when he pulled out of me and stepped away. “Open your eyes.”

The room was dark, pitch black, the only light coming from the city outside. My eyes widened. Had the lights been off the entire time?

He grabbed my hair and yanked my face up to his. “Your body is mine, slut. Nobody else’s. Remember that.” He shoved me back to the ground, where I curled up on the plush carpet, tears streaming down my face.

“Go to bed,” he snapped.

Once again, I cried myself to sleep, alone and miserable, in his guest room.

When I woke the following day, a sheaf of papers sat on the bed beside me. Dante had opened me a bank account.

25

SOFIA

Playingcloak and dagger games with Nick thrilled me. The danger of keeping secrets from Dante and my family turned into breathless wonder whenever I saw him. When I flung open the door to his car, laughing and whispering, “Go, go, go!” Nick’s eyes slid over me, hot and heavy, before he shifted into gear and peeled away from my building.

I let my eyes roam over him in appreciation, taking in his khaki shorts and a faded polo shirt that did nothing to conceal the hard lines of his chest or his thick biceps. He whistled softly at my summer dress, stopping at a light and letting his eyes caress me the way mine did him, making my heart flutter, as if I were going to fly away from the heat of his gaze.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he murmured.

I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned his head and captured my lips.

“Hey there, yourself,” I answered, sitting back in my seat as the light changed.

He moved his hand to my knee, shoving my dress until he could rest his fingers, hot and heavy, against the bare skin of my thigh.

I couldn’t think, the heat of his hand erasing every thought except for the feel of his rough fingers against my skin.

“Where are we going?” I rasped, entwining my fingers in his to stop the spiral of my inappropriate thoughts.

“You’ll see,” he said with a sly smile. Thankfully, he kept the conversation light as we drove. I couldn’t concentrate with his fingers drawing lazy circles along my thigh, arm, and hand. Any skin he could reach, he gently caressed as we made our way out of the city.

Finally, we pulled into a gravel parking lot with a flickering neon sign declaring “Duckpin Bowling” over a building whose paint had seen better days.

When the car stopped, he dragged my mouth to his, slamming his lips onto mine in a possessive kiss as I melted against him. “I fucking missed you, Sofia.”

Oh, what the hell. Instead of replying, I leaned over and pulled the lever on the side of his seat, sliding it backward. When I clambered over the gearbox to straddle him, his smile was worth the affront to my dignity.

I slid my hands up his chest to tangle in his hair and pull him closer to me, reveling in the care of his touch, his goddamned consideration.

“How are you so addictive?” he asked, leaning his forehead against mine as I rolled my core against him, sending jolts of pleasure rocketing through me.

I stroked his cheek with a trembling hand, panting with the pleasure of our physical contact. This was such a bad idea, but it felt so good.

“What’s the plan?” I asked, finally, itching to push the blond hair falling over his face out of his eyes. When I gave in to the impulse, sliding my fingers along his hairline, his breath hitched. He leaned forward, covering my face with sweet presses of his lips against my skin, each a gentle claim. A fierce blush washed over my cheeks as I realized how much I liked this man.

“The plan involves us doing something that isn’t making out in a parking lot,” he said against my neck as he worked his way from my jaw to my collarbone, licking and nipping my skin as he moved, electricity crackling between us as our bodies slid against each other.

My answering chuckle became a gasp as he scraped his teeth against a sensitive spot behind my ear, sending need straight to my clit. “Maybe we should do that, then.”

With one final brush of his lips against mine, Nick opened his door.

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