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“What the hell is her problem anyway?” I muttered as she disappeared down the stairs.
Kaige shrugged. “Don’t mind her. Wylder was in a good mood the first night she showed up, and she thought him being a little friendly meant he was hers for life or something. Give ‘em an inch…” He shook his head wryly, the usual sly gleam returning to his eye. “And how could she possibly help being jealous of a stunner like you?”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring his flirtation and the flicker of heat it sent through me. “So she’s after Wylder, is she?” I said, grabbing my bags and turning toward my room.
Kaige ambled alongside me down the hall. “Pretty much all the girls are.”
“Heir to the Noble legacy and the top prize,” I said dryly, and considered what I’d just seen. “She seemed pretty upset having you tell her off, though.”
“I suppose I make a decent second choice.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And I can’t completely blame her for being possessive about what she wants. We must protect what we intend to belong to us.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I looked up at him, practically having to crane my neck to meet his eyes when he was this close. He was just so freaking tall.
Which was why most of the people around here assumed he’d killed one of the Nobles’ own. Who else was big enough to have a chance at taking on Titus? No real alibi, plenty of justification that even he’d admitted to, even if he’d dismissed their fight…Couldhe have done it? Was the charming smile a front for a ruthless killer?
I didn’t want to think so, which was definitely a problem.
Kaige stopped, halting me with a hand on my waist. As he leaned in, his musky, manly smell washed over me, and my heart skipped a beat despite myself. His hand reached out to touch a strand of hair that had come loose from my ponytail. Instead of tucking it behind my ear, he played with it, twirling the lone strand between his fingers.
“Only that when I see something I want, I make sure I get it,” he said.
It took me a second to remember what question he was answering. “Great,” I said, willing my voice to stay steady and wincing inwardly at the breathiness that crept into it anyway. I wiggled the bags I was still clutching. “I’ve just got to put these away…”
“What’s in the bags?” He refused to step away, his hand dropping to my jaw and then stroking a slow, sensuous path to my neck. I almost curled into his touch. Shit.
I forced myself to ease back a step instead, but I couldn’t go any farther—my shoulders hit the wall. “Just some clothes. I took your advice about the ring.”
“I have plenty of good advice on all sorts of topics.” He grinned, prowling closer again. “Now I can’t help wondering exactly what all is in there. You must have needed more than just T-shirts and jeans. Are you a plain beige girl or black lace? Or maybe you go for scarlet?”
My underwear, he obviously meant. I had actually popped into a store to grab a couple packs of new panties and new bras to match—because who wanted to buy those used?—one set beige, one set black. But I sure as hell wasn’t telling him that. Especially now that his voice had dropped to that suggestive whisper. It seemed to dance on my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
He tapped his finger under my chin, setting off even more sparks. “What’s your favorite color, Mercy?” he asked, making the simple question sound unbelievably dirty.
I licked my lips unintentionally. “It is red, actually.”
His rich brown eyes darkened with desire. “You know what they say about girls who like red…”
“I don’t.”
He leaned even closer, his warm breath washing over my cheek. “No matter what kind of front they put on, underneath they’re dying to get it rough and hard. What do you think, Kitten? Under all that toughness, is there a little freak just waiting to be taken?”
My stomach clenched. Images of him dominating me in all kinds of ways flashed through my mind, and I’d swear lust momentarily short circuited my brain. So it wasn’t really my fault that before I could form any kind of response, Kaige stole whatever words might have tumbled over my lips with his own mouth.
He kissed me slowly at first, easing me back until I was pinned between him and the hard wall. The bags slipped from my hands, but I didn’t give a shit. His tongue traced my lips before seeking its way inside. As it twined with mine, he deepened the kiss. It was hot and insistent and oh, fuck, I could feel my insides turning to putty.
I clutched at the collar of his shirt to try and bring him even closer to me. He grabbed my hips, squeezing them as his tongue explored my mouth, making me moan against him. With a firm grip that sent an eager quiver through me, he nudged my legs apart and settled his thigh in between them. The pressure made me want to grind against him like a bitch in heat.
Damn, he was good at this. Good enough that I couldn’t quite remember why I’d been so resistant a few moments ago. I dug my fingers into his shirt, plundering his mouth right back, and reveled at his groan. He rocked his thigh against just the right spot—
And a loud cough from farther down the hall brought me crashing back to reality.
Kaige pulled back just a few inches—which was far enough for me to see Anthea stopping a short distance away, her arms crossed and her fingers tapping the sleeve of her sundress. Somehow she looked as fierce as a tiger even in clothes that would have suited a ‘50s housewife.
“Got lost on your way to the bedroom?” she sneered.
I shook myself, recovering my sanity. Kaige offered Anthea a lazy smile, barely affected by the fact that she had stumbled on us making out. In fact, I was pretty sure he was enjoying it.
A flash of cold hit me at the thought of how this interlude would look to her, and I shoved him away from me. I hadn’t been trying to seduce Kaige or any of the other three, but Anthea already had her mind made up against me. I’d probably just confirmed the worst of her assumptions.
