Page 125 of Just One Little Bargain

“Bedroom,” I manage. “Can I take you to your bedroom?”

“No.”

For one awful second, I think I’ve misread everything.

She kisses the corner of my mouth. “I mean, I’m not waiting.”

“Here?” I wait for some sign I’ve misunderstood.

“Don’t you dare take me anywhere else.”

My hands settle against her bare stomach. A tremor catches beneath my palms, then returns when she drags in another uneven breath. I find myself following the movement instead of the kiss. Until now, I’ve never paid attention to something this small. Never wanted to until her.

I’ve had sex before. Enough of it to know what it usually feels like. I’ve been with demons who kissed with their teeth, fucked like it was a fight they had to win, and left before I’d even caught my breath. I’d lie there staring at the ceiling, thinking this empty, mechanical thing was all there was.

Evie stays open beneath my hands, naked and trusting, and for the first time I understand what was missing.

There’s chocolate smeared across the pad of her thumb, dark and glossy from where she gripped the counter near the batter bowl. I turn her hand in mine, and her attention drops to my mouth.

I lift her thumb until it brushes my lower lip. The chocolate leaves a faint streak on my skin. I taste it there first, tongue passing over my lip while her fingers tense in my hand. Only then do I draw her thumb into my mouth and suck the sugar from her skin, tracing the crease beside it.

Her free hand closes around my shoulder, nails sinking in by degrees. When I finally let her go, her pupils are blown wide enough to swallow most of the green.

“Jesus,” she breathes.

“Just Milo.” My tongue traces the same spot. “I thought we established that already.”

“Terrible joke. Don’t care. Do that again.”

I release her hand with a pull. “Do what?”

“Everything. All of it.”

My knuckles strike something cold behind her. I glance over and find the knife block sitting inches from her hip.

I pull back.

The protest Evie makes is so indignant I almost smile, but I’m already scanning the counter. The knives are only the first problem. There’s a baking tray, several glass ramekins, and enough olive oil to turn the floor into a death trap.

“Are you cleaning up?” she asks, her voice flat with disbelief.

“No, I’m making sure you don’t end up in the emergency room.” I shift everything dangerous to the far side of the kitchen.

Evie sits bare from the waist up with her arms folded beneath her breasts, watching me clear the space with mounting disbelief.

“I’m not letting you get hurt because I got distracted and we got carried away.”

She hooks two fingers through my belt loop and yanks me back between her knees. Her teeth catch my lower lip, a sharp sting she soothes with her tongue.

“That was the hottest thing you’ve done all night.”

“Moving kitchen hazards?”

“Being careful with me even when you’re desperate.”

I catch her wrist just above my waistband, because my cock is already straining against the denim, aching, and one more inch of friction from her would end this faster than either of us deserves.

Her hands sweep up over my bare stomach before sliding around my sides. I kiss her again, but when my hand starts lower, toward the open space between her thighs, I stop.