Page 46 of For the Love of the Gods

“Oh, really?” The words rolled off his tongue slowly, like he was giving me the space to interrupt and apologize.

I would do no such thing.

“Yes, because, you see, you say things like that and steal dances and flirt with me, but it’s all just to get under my skin isn’t it?” I was in his space now, crowding him like he always did to me. He didn’t get to make a scene in front of my friends and act like it was normal because I looked good and people noticed. “If I actually called you on it, you’d run away.”

“Are you saying youwantme to call you on it?” He growled out. This conversation felt like the inner thoughts of the lion about the gazelle that dared to walk into his space. And that always ended with the lion’s teeth around the gazelle’s neck.

Except, I didn’t have the same self-preservation instincts as the gazelle.

“Nice deflection.”

Dominic scoffed. Clearly, no one called him on his shit. Just let him roam through the world flashing his sharp teeth and shaking out his overgrown mane.

Any attempt at a peaceful end to this night was thrown out the window. “You know, I think you’re scared.”

“I am not scared of you.” Dominic looked so offended, it sent my heart beating double time.

“Not of me directly. But of being attracted to me.”

Now, I was really sure he would never be able to chew solid food again. It would be impossible, with how hard he was clenching his jaw, the joint bulging out of the side of his sculpted jaw and perfect beard so prominently it looked like someone shoved a stone in the corner of his mouth.

“See?” I said, dropping my gaze to his jaw. “It’s killing you to think of me that way.”

He stayed dead silent, doing nothing but ball his hands into fists.

I kept going.

“And you wouldn’t do anything that would be against your unbreakable little moral code now would you.” I jabbed my finger into his chest as I said it, and before I could get a second one in, Dominic snatched my wrist, wrapping his hand around it.

His skin was molten lava.

“I would choose your next words very, very carefully.” He was mad—furious—and I loved it.

“Why? Because you’ll do something bad?” I said, pouting my lips and drawing in my eyebrows. His attention snagged on my mouth. “I don’t think so.”

“You underestimate me.”

“Do I, now?”

“Yes.” The word was a lion’s growl. “Because I would do just about anything to wipe that smug grin off your face.”

“Thendo it,” and when he didn’t move, I added, “Coward.”

Every tightly wound muscle in his body snapped. He pulled me forward against his chest, still holding onto my wrist with one hand. The other dove into my hair. Before I could pull away, Dominic slammed his mouth down on mine, taking my gasp as an opportunity to push his tongue past my lips. My momentary shock was quickly replaced by a blazing, burning, all-consuming fire as his mouth worked against mine.

I turned my still captive wrist towards his chest and pushed my other into his hair, yanking him closer. His tongue moved against mine in long, deft strokes, each stroke shooting sensation into a different part of my body.

The kiss was stealing my breath, but I refused to pull away. Not when his hands were traveling around my waist to pull me closer to him, to feel everywhere his chest touched mine, to feel him hardening against my stomach.

He tasted like whiskey. I liked whiskey, but knowing he loved it made me want to kiss him harder, to replace the taste of it with my lip gloss and wine.

The way I gripped Dominic tightened him to me, pressing the heat of his body into mine. I moaned into his mouth, and if he wasn’t unrestrained before, he was now. He shot his hands under my ass and hoisted me up to set me on the back of the couch. I trailed my now free hand down his chest to grab onto the waistband of his pants, pulling him flush against my core.

He groaned, breaking his mouth away to press hot, open-mouthed kisses to the tender spot in between my jaw and neck. My back arched into him and I must have whimpered out his name, because he mumbled “Yes, sweetheart?” against my neck in between kisses.

I wanted to say that I needed him,now. Right here, propped on a couch in an open living room. That I didn’t care, not when his tongue was doing wicked, wicked things to the side of my neck. But that would expose how much he affected me.

His tongue licked across my skin and I had the overwhelming thought that I needed to feel his tongue in my mouth again. I pulled the back of his hair, beckoning him back to my lips.

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