Page 136 of Reckless Hearts

“Oh my God!” She cracks up, grinning at me. “This guy!”

Deimos lifts a brow at her. “It wasn’t a joke.”

Which, of course, makes everyone else think it’s evenmoreof a joke.

Deimos ignores them, turning slightly toward me and catching me red-faced as I take a bite of Pad Thai. I grin at him.

“What?” I giggle quietly.

He smiles an alarminglynormalsmile right back. It’s…unsettling, like he’s wearing a mask.

“Nothing, babe,” he chuckles.

Wait. What the fuck? He never calls mebabe.

I eye him suspiciously before turning back to my food. And that’s exactly when he pounces. Victoria, Castle and Callie are all on the other side of the kitchen island laughing about something with each other when I almost choke. Deimos’ hand has just slid right up my bare thigh to cup my pussy through my cotton shorts and panties as he leans in, as if pushing a stray hair away from my face for me.

“When our guests leave,” he growls quietly in a low tone that turns my core to molten fire, “I’m going to chase you. And when I catch you, I’m going to rip your fucking clothes off, and tie your hands behind your back using your messy little panties. And then I’m going to fuck your mouth until I come all over your pretty face.ThenI’m going to fuck you into the floor like a dirty little slut until my cum is dripping from your body.”

Holy. Fucking.Shit.

It’s a struggle to swallow the bite of food in my mouth, fire spreading across my face.

“Dahlia, you okay?” Castle frowns, turning suddenly and seeing the way I’m almost choking on my Pad Thai.

I muscle it down and flash him a weak smile, gasping a little as Deimos’ hand on my pussy tightens just a little.

“Yeah, I’mgreat.”

Callie and Castle agree to keep Deimos’ and my relationship to themselves for now. Victoria does too. We all hug at the door, my arm around Deimos’ waist and his around mine, just like a totally normal, regular couple saying goodnight to their friends after a totally normal, regular dinner.

But then they’re gone, and he locks the door and turns to me with a look that promises me the rest of the night is about to be anythingbutnormal.

“I’m going to count to five after these lights go off,” he growls quietly, his dark eyes burning into mine, his hand on the master light switch.

My core tightens, my nipples hardening instantly as my body preemptively begins to dump adrenaline into my system. I’m conditioned for this now.

“And when I catch you—”

“If,” I blurt, purposefully antagonizing him by both interrupting and by suggesting he mightnotcatch me. “Ifyou catch me.”

I know by now that antagonizing him makes him pounce on me just a little harder. Makes him maul me with his hands and mouth just a little more aggressively.

Makes him fuck me a little more animalistically.

Which isexactlywhy I do it.

“What happens if you catch me?” I say innocently, biting my lip.

I gasp as he suddenly reaches out and grabs my jaw, his thumb rubbing sensually across my bottom lip, pulling it from my teeth with a pop.

“If I catch you, darling,” he murmurs, leaning down to graze my earlobe with his teeth, “I’ll fucking ruin you.”

My pulse skips.

The lights slam off.

“Nowrun, darling.”

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