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I sighed, put out by my own comments. “I mean, yes and no. He does when it comes to everything outside the bedroom.” I cleared my throat, uncomfortable for a second discussing such things with Sloan. But it wasn’t like I was ashamed either. “It’s like banging my head into a wall every time I talk to that man. He thinks he knows better, and maybe he does, but he doesn’t have to be such a jerk about it.”
“And you’d like to be treated more like the impressive woman you are than the child he sees you as,” Sloan summarized.
“Yes!” I nearly yelled.
Sloan had this way of getting to the heart of things and voicing my internal qualms better than I ever could. I wanted to be eloquent and clever, but it always came across as sarcastic and half-assed—and one-hundred percent teenager. It sucked to be worse about explaining yourself than someone else could, but I also appreciated that he understood what I wanted to say even before I knew what I wanted to say.
Chuckling, Sloan didn’t retract his hand from my face. “Maybe you should explore a bit. Youareyoung.” His smile was nothing but delighted when I glared at him pointedly. “Young, as in you haven’t been given a real chance to ascertain what you want, V. It’s not immaturity. I’m simply saying that your experiences are limited to Phillip and Nigel, I assume.” My answering nod made the Hunter continue his thought. “So, maybe he wants you to have the freedom to find what it is you want.”
“You think so?”
Sloan shrugged, lips tilted sensuously. “That’d be my guess, anyway. Phillip doesn’t like to be tied down, and maybe this is his way of making sure you’re not tied down before you’re ready. He’d be the type to push you away enough so you’re sure he’s who you want.”
“Why are dudes so damn complicated?”
“Right back at you, love.”
I bit my lower lip, smiling. “Guess that’s fair.”
“If you’re up for it,” Sloan started in a husky whisper, “I might be willing to offer something different.”
I looked over at him, not the least bit sure what he meant. “Come again?”
I’d seen it a couple times, the erotic tension in Sloan’s body, but it seemed stronger tonight for some reason. Different, noticeably changed, more openly expressed. The way his eyes slid down my body with overt interest, and how every touch seemed blatantly sexual, were a brand-new side to a man whose sensuous nature never presented so strongly before. It no longer gave the feeling of natural.
It was all done on purpose.
From what I encountered in our training sessions, most of Sloan’s sexual touches were accidental and a surprise to the both of us. So, the intense sexual tension was out of place in our discussion about not only the man who I’d been rolling in the sheets with for weeks, but a close friend to the Hunter in front of me. Still, Sloan’s intention to volunteer himself was clear as day when the Brit looked at me, and I couldn’t deal.
Hot dude offering himself on a silver platter to me was not on this year’s bingo card.
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
Sloan leaned forward, his glittering eyes locked with mine. “I’m saying it’s not a bad idea to try a few things out before you put all your money on one, hmm?”
It wasn’t clear what or even how it happened, but Sloan was suddenly kissing me. The Brit’s mouth was as soft as it looked. It moved and swept over mine in an entirely different way than Phillip’s—still sensuous but painfully gentle. Sloan’s kiss wasn’t hurried or rough. Still, it was beyond confident and electric, and I didn’t contain the short, happy gasp I gave way to when his tongue teased past my lips and entered my mouth. A hand locked around the back of my neck, bringing me closer, and Sloan’s tongue flicked and roamed my mouth with growing intensity.
Fuck, this dude’s a good kisser.
Clinging to his shirt, I tried poorly to mimic his experienced movements, but it was pointless at my barely beginner level. I hardly kept up with how well his lips moved over mine and the teasing swipe of a tongue that knew just where to lick to enslave me.
It was my first kiss with Phillip all over again.
I didn’t have the good sense to be mortified by my hussy ways, or the strength to fight a kiss by the god of lust himself—and it showed when Sloan pulled away and I all but chased him in hopes of a few seconds more of gentle euphoria.
I blinked rapidly to dispel the passionate haze in my head when I noticed Sloan turned his head towards the door. If I needed to breathe, I wouldn’t be able to as reality came crashing down and the mixed mint scent I knew better than my own came wafting my direction. I turned my head and a pair of lifeless blue irises stared back. Phillip didn’t appear upset or really emotional at all. Instead, his face was removed of all signs of life as I got up from my seat, caught in the act.
Sloan rose and offered the silent man a smile. “Everything done?”
Phillip nodded, his steel eyes still locked with mine. “It is. Seems like you two have made yourselves comfortable.”
The accusation hit like the crack of a whip, and my spine straightened in reaction. “Phil—”
“I’ll expect you two to be ready and aware at all times. This isn’t some game you’re playing. Eros will exploit every weakness, every opportunity,” the Austrian cut in sharply, then left with the loud slam of the door.
I wasn’t given the chance to say anything in my defense. My throat and eyes burned with a hundred years of guilt, stealing the pleasure of Sloan’s kiss and replacing every bit of it with a shame I’d never felt in my entire life.
Sloan pivoted and lifted my chin so I was forced to look at him. “You did nothing wrong, V. Don’t cry.”
